Our first few days in San Miguel de Allende

October 16, 2021 - October 18, 2021

A good night’s sleep restored our sense of adventure.  After much needed showers in our tiny bathroom (only complaint I have about the apartment) we walked to a cafe just a few doors down from us for a delightful breakfast.

This cafe is only half block from our apartment.

My veggie omelette was artistically presented.

Bob is waiting for his breakfast.

Next stop Ignazio Ramirez Farmers Market.  The walk turned out to be more strenuous than we had anticipated, but the market was a great introduction to our new location.  Much like similar markets in the US there were individual stalls selling produce, flowers, meats, eggs and various other items. The challenge was paying for the items we chose.  By the end of our shopping I think I was getting the hang of it.  Unfortunately Duolingo has not taught me numbers higher than three so I was relying on what I remembered from my high school Spanish which was over 50 years ago. We were both tired from the walk and the shopping and grabbed a cab for the trip back to our casita. We purchased lots of fruits and vegetables but still not enough items to create a meal. I went to a few other shops for household supplies while Bob rested.  When I got back we were both ready for lunch.  We tried to find a restaurant nearby that had gotten all five star reviews on Travelocity but to no avail.  Back at our street we noticed Gabos Pizza Restaurant just two doors away from our apartment.  Since we didn’t have lunch until 3:00 pm we relaxed for the rest of the day.

This salad was as delicious as it was beautiful.

Sunday morning was grocery shopping day.  We decided to drive since we would be buying so many items.  We used my phone maps app to get to La Comer Market.  We missed quite a few turns and the trip took us much longer than we had expected.  The store was huge with groceries, household items, clothing, etc.  Shopping in a foreign language is not easy. We left with 5038.13 pesos ($251.90) worth of groceries and alcohol.  Considering that we had almost no food and no alcohol at the apartment I think our bill was very very reasonable. We lunched at Gabos Pizza again.  I had Sopa Azteca and a spinach crepe while Bob had a hamburger with potatoes and a salad.  Everything was delicious especially the mango crepe we had for dessert (this might be turning into a foodie blog). Grocery shopping and lugging it all up the stairs to our apartment completely exhausted us so we spent the afternoon watching American Football.

The cats seem to be adjusting well to their new temporary home.

The nighttime temperature early Monday morning was 41 degrees, but it warmed up to 75 by the afternoon.  We had two places to visit today.  The first was an old muslin factory that had been repurposed as a series of galleries and studios for a multitude of artists .  We had visited Aurora de Artists when we were here ten years ago but there were many new artists displaying their creations.

The wall that runs down the street we live on
 is completely covered in murals.
This one greets us every time
we leave the apartment.

Another mural on the wall

Horses galloping on the wall is one of my favorites.

A statue of a rearing horse graces the lawn
of the Aurora Artist  Galleries.

A unique "Day of the Dead" statue 
is displayed in the gallery hallway.

The grounds of the Aurora are representative of the local climate.

Our next stop was lunch at Hierba Santa - Cocina de Sur. I had their delicious chicken tacos served with fresh and lightly cooked vegetables with a hot broth poured over everything.  Bob had Sea Bass cooked with a sweet/ tart sauce and bananas along with a salad.  Both dishes were artistically presented.  

There is unique artwork everywhere you look in SMA.

This sign helped us to locate the
restaurant that we couldn't
find yesterday.

A mariachi statue stood at the entrance
to the small street lined with shops
that had the restaurant
we were looking for at the end

The outdoor seating area was decorated with 
"Day of the Dead"  fiesta banners.

The dessert of hand made ice cream was a
delicious ending to our meal.

Lastly we proceeded to our final stop - The Mercado de Artesanias, an arts and crafts market.  Everything in the market was created by local artisans.  Since we were getting tired we flagged a taxi for the trip back to the apartment.  

I think we need to learn to limit our outings each day to prevent becoming over tired and burned out.  After all we will be here until the end of March.  

Thank you for reading my blog.

Our Drive to Mexico - 2

 October 12, 2021 - October 15, 2021

Our appointment at the dealership in Jackson was for 9:00 am.  Consequently, we had to get an early start to drive the 60 miles east.  The service department got right to work and had our valve replace and the car ready to continue our trip by 10:00 am  We made it to our hotel in Greenville TX by 5:30 pm. However, our room on the third floor did not have a working air conditioner so we were moved to a suite on the second floor.  By that time we were both exhausted, hungry, and grouchy.  We fed the cats and headed to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a good meal.  Full tummies helped our mood and we returned to the hotel in much better spirits.

Wednesday was a long day as well. We passed by San Antonio and Austin on our way to Loredo TX. We had several tasks to complete before crossing the border on Friday. Bob gathered all of the paperwork needed for entering Mexico  with a car while I visited the Cambio (money exchange) to convert our US dollars to Pesos. I tried out my Spanish a bit but I wasn’t very good. I'll just have to keep learning and keep trying. 

I got up at 4:30 am so we could get to the immigration office early. We got to International Bridge 2 by 6:00 am and came to the inspection area. I guess our rooftop carrier looked suspicious and we were stopped. The inspector went through everything in the back section of the car and asked for us to open the carrier. He went through some luggage and then said we could continue. It took us awhile to find the immigration office but once there we sailed through the stations until the last one. We had inadvertently included an expired registration form. I went out to the car and searched through our glove box until I located the current form and went back to the station to get our car permit. We left the parking lot a little uneasy about where to go but got on 85 south heading to Monterey some how. Our gps was not working and the internet connection was spotty until we got out of Nuevo Laredo. The route we had to take was simple but dealing with kilometers, Spanish, and pesos for tolls was not so simple. We finally made it to Matehuala where we checked into Las Palmas Midway Inn (4 stars) at 3:00pm. The cats were about at the end of their patience with traveling as was I. We relaxed for a bit and caught up on our blogs before we went to the hotel restaurant for a well deserved dinner. Our appetizer was quite interesting and delicious. It contained cactus flowers.

Friday was our last day on the road. We are all tired of this trip and were discussing flying next time we decide to come to Mexico. Believe me, it would be less expensive, and probably less traumatic for the cats and Bob and I.  Our thinking about driving was that the cats would be more comfortable and we could take more stuff.  Probably a mistake all the way around.  

Although we woke up early we waited until the cafe opened at 7:00 am to have breakfast before we started the final leg of our journey.  The breakfast was delicious especially the fresh fruit.  We got on our way around 8:00 fully expecting to be in San Miguel de Allende (SMA) by lunch time.  Unfortunately, we ran into two very lengthy back ups and didn’t make it to our apartment until 2:30.  

This is the view from the entrance down the 
hallway to the bedroom. 

It is an eat in kitchen with great appliances.
It has a six burner gas range and a large fridge.

Bob is at the desk in our sitting room.

The opposite side of the sitting room

The walls are decorated with Mexican art.

Our bedroom is spacious and bright.
Although we do not have windows
we have skylights everywhere.

You can see how limited the clothing storage is.

We unloaded the car and I started the unpacking process.  I’m sure we will move items around as we find better spots to store them.  The apartment is bright and spacious, but with very little storage.  I’m sure we can purchase a few items to help with the storage. 

In the middle of unpacking Lola escaped and ran into our neighbors apartment and hid.  Fortunately our neighbor is a nice and understanding person.  She didn't complain at all as I ran back and forth through the apartment trying to catch Lola.  Finally I cornered her and carried her back to her new home for six months.  Lola seems to be a bit traumatized by our move to SMA, but Kali seems happy as can be.

We were exhausted by 6:00 pm, but I volunteered to walk (7 minutes) to a cafe nearby to purchase a pizza and bring it home for dinner.  One thing I found out on that walk is that the cobblestone streets and narrow side walks are somewhat difficult to walk on and will take some getting used to.

My next blog will be about settling into to the SMA experience.

Thank you for reading my blog

Our Drive to Mexico - 1

October 7, 2021 -  October 11, 2021

After completing our final packing of the car and readying the boat for engine work we loaded the cats in the car and started on the road to Salem, VA (our first stop). Lola was a bit traumatized by the car ride and remained huddled on the floor of the backseat for the entire trip, but Kahli enjoyed looking around and sitting on laps. Hopefully, Lola will get more used to the car. Even though we only drove for four to five hours I was exhausted by the time we settled into hotel.  I apparently under estimated how much energy it would take to load and unload the cats and all of the extra paraphernalia they require and our own necessary clothing and toiletries items. Since we didn’t want to leave the cats in the hotel by themselves we ordered a Papa John’s pizza and relaxed in front of the TV for a bit.  

Kali is obviously the more adventurous of our two cats.

Since we had a long day ahead of us on Friday we left the hotel at 6:30 am.  Lola seemed happier about being in the car and Kahli was her usual adventurous self during the trip.  We traveled through the beautiful mountains of western Virginia and southern Tennessee. We didn’t see much fall color but it was refreshing to see so many healthy trees.  Our trip was uneventful until we were about 30 miles from our destination of Jackson, TN where we endured an hour long delay on route 40 west due to a truck accident (at least that is what it appeared to be once we passed the scene).  The hotel in Jackson was old and run down, but we were happy to be there and settled in with the cats.  Again we ordered dinner to be delivered, this time it was from a Chinese restaurant just across the street.  

One of my text messages that night included 
this photo of my granddaughter, Claire.

On Saturday morning we packed up early as Bob wanted to be settled in our hotel by 3:00 pm for watching the Penn State vs. Iowa game.  As soon as he turned the car on the check engine light came on; proof that the most meticulous car maintenance does not prevent engine trouble along the way.  We drove directly to the local Toyota dealer and waited outside the service bays until they opened at 7:30 am.  The service manager had our car checked out quickly and reported that the problem was a valve in the emission system that needed to be replaced.  Of course they didn’t have the part in stock and couldn’t get the part until Tuesday morning.  After exploring some other options (the car was drivable for a few days) we opted to get a hotel close to Memphis and then return to Jackson on Tuesday to have the repair done. I think the break from driving everyday will do us and the cats some good.  We watched the Penn State vs. Iowa game. It was heartbreaking to see Penn State loose after dominating through out most of the game when their starting quarterback was injured and left the game.  The score was 20 - 23.

On Sunday we decided to do a little exploring of Memphis.  The cats appeared to be happy and safe in the hotel room and we left them there for a few hours.

Our first stop was the iconic Peabody Hotel for the march of the ducks.

The duck Master is explaining the history
of the hotel and the ducks.

Two of the ducks that marched from their rooftop home
to the fountain in the lobby.

You can read the history of the Peabody Hotel and their ducks here: https://www.peabodymemphis.com

Our next stop was Beale Street.

We stopped here for a lunch of gumbo, fried catfish, and all the fixings.

There was music everywhere!

We were there during the day, but I can just
imagine the spectacle of all of the colorful
neon sins all lit up at night.

This sign speaks for itself.

We passed this sign as we were leaving Beale Street.

I captured these images on the walk back to our car.

An alley we passed on our way home
was lined with colorful murals.
The message in this one caught my eye.

The architecture of the city was a
quaint mixture of old and new.

On Monday Bob filled out the paper work for our Mexican Tourist Visas

 and for our Mexican car insurance on line.  After a nice lunch we 

copied our documents for Mexico and spent the rest of the day enjoying 

our mini vacation from our road trip.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Our Final days on the Boat (for awhile)

 September 30, 2021 - October 6, 2021

Our last couple of days at Castle Marina on Kent Island were spent preparing for our trip to Mexico. We packed all of the clothing and toiletries we were taking with us except the few items we will need on our six day trip.  The roof top carrier filled up more quickly than we expected.  

We had hoped to rent a car and drive our car to Galesville where our boat will be wintering but nothing was available.  Thankfully, the boat yard where Rainy Days will be stored has a van that they will let us borrow to retrieve our car when we get there on Sunday.

We left Castle Marina at 2:00 pm to take advantage of the high tide.  If you remember we went aground on our way into Castle Marina last spring.  Bob did a great job of motoring out the channel and we arrived in the Chester River without a bump on the bottom.  The first part of the trip to Galesville was beautiful.  It had warmed up considerably over the past week and we enjoyed being back on the water in the bright sun shine.  After we motored under the Bay Bridge the wind picked up, and, of course, it was right on our nose.  When we have a head wind the boat slows down because of the hobby horse motion of plowing into the oncoming waves. Needless to say the last two hours of the trip were not as pleasant.  Lola always rides in the cock pit when we are under way, but Kali stayed below.

Lola looks a little seasick.

We followed this sail boat into the West River

The iconic Thomas Point Lighthouse is the 
most photographed lighthouse on the bay.

We anchored in the West River at about 6:00 pm.  We were glad to be out of the wind and in such a quiet and beautiful spot.  Anchoring out is one of my favorite boating experiences. Bob cooked some steaks and I made a salad for dinner. Yum!  After a good nights rest we were blessed with a lovely morning.

We anchored across the river from Pirates Cove Marina
with sailboat masts reflected in the water.

This view shows a hint of the fall colors to come.

This Sailboat Anchored close by.

We made the short trip to Hartge’s Yacht Yard after breakfast.  Our next task was retrieving our car from Castle Marina back on Kent Island.  Then we settled in to complete our preparations for the trip to Mexico.  We finished packing, made arrangements with the yacht yard for the work we need to have done over the winter, winterized all the water systems, took the cats to the vet, cleaned out the fridge, and made sure everything inside the boat was ship shape. I even squeezed three visits to my physical therapist into the week. We will leave Thursday morning around 10:00 am (to avoid D.C. rush hour traffic).  Hopefully, the cats will do well on the trip.  Kali is becoming a good car rider, but Lola is still unhappy in the car.

Kali decided to join us in the front seat
 on the way back from the vet.

My daughter Rachel continues to brighten my days with photos of my granddaughter Claire.

Surprise!

My next blog will be posted in Mexico!

Thank you for reading my blog.

The end of Summer and the Beginning of Fall

 September 13, 2021 - September 29, 2021

We had the bottom of the boat cleaned last week by a professional diver. This included cleaning all of the marine growth out of the sea cocks, especially the one that is the intake  for our air-conditioning system.  We had hoped that we would be HPF (high pressure fault) free for the rest of the summer.  No such luck - on Monday we had to once again remove the whole intake hose and clean it out by banging it on the dock and forcing water through the hose until a very large glop of stuff flew out.  Bob figured it was jelly fish remains with bottom sludge.  Always fun spending the afternoon on such a fabulous project!

Bob and I both had doctor’s appointments on Tuesday.  I just had to have blood drawn, but Bob saw his primary care doctor to discuss the probable cause of his recent falls.  His blood work looked good ruling out a stroke (thank goodness) so the doctor concluded that the worst fall was caused by low blood sugar.  Now that we are on a more reasonable diet than Keto his low blood sugar problem will be a thing of the past, hopefully.  

Earlier in the summer I agreed to make a formal suit for my youngest child for a special event they will be attending in the fall.  They are on a weight loss plan so I wanted to wait as long as possible to complete the suit.  Now, it is crunch time and with a kitten and an adult cat around it is difficult for me to get much done. I can’t imagine why they are so fascinated with my measuring tape and paper patterns, AAAAgh!

Even with all of Kali's assistance I was able to complete my daughter's suit.

We have neglected getting Lola used to car rides because she is so resistant to getting in her carrier.  Since we are leaving for Mexica, which will entail six to seven days of riding in the car, we decided to get the cats in the car for a short ride.  Lola was resistant but we finally got her in the carrier and into the car. Kali actually seems to like her carrier so getting her to the car was easy.  Once in the car we opened the carriers and let them out.  Lola climbed out and hid under a large bag we had in the car and Kali eventually joined her there.  We did a few errands and came back to the boat.  I wouldn’t rate the trip as a success, but at least we tried.

One day I thought it was time to start training Kali to walk on a leash.  It didn’t go very well, but it was a start.

You can see that Kali is very confused
about what she is supposed to do.

Lola watched the process closely.  
She is very protective of her little sister.

Much of the rest of the days were spent preparing for our trip to Mexico..  Since the cats will have the whole back seat to themselves our space for packing will be very limited.  Bob persisted until he was able to order a suitable roof rack and container to hold our clothes and other items we need to take with us.  After we installed them we started packing.  Packing for six months was difficult for me.  Even on a much shorter trip I tend to overpack and with our limited space I had to sort and resort my clothes several times before I reached a point where the clothes would fit in my allotted bag. 

Looking good!

Our next big job was packing up all of the items in our dock box and transporting them to storage.  That job was exhausting, but it went smoothly.

My daughter continues to send me pictures of my adorable granddaughter, Claire.

She's so busy moving her arms and legs.

She can even grab her toy, now!

Such a happy girl!

I’ve been having pain in my thumbs for several months. After talking to my doctor about the issue she referred me to physical therapy.  I started hand therapy this week.  I will see the therapist three more times before we leave for Mexico.  Hopefully, I will learn enough exercises and techniques to help reduce the pain from those sessions and I can continue the therapy on my own.

My next blog will be about our final preparations for our trip.

Thank you for reading my blog

Late Summer on Kent Island

 August 30, 2021 - September 12, 2021

My plan to take a long walk on Monday morning was ditched because of a serious HPF (high pressure fault) on the air conditioner at 6:00 am.  The usual quick fix of cleaning the filter basket didn’t correct the problem.  We had to move to step two which was detaching the inlet hose and cleaning it out with a strong flow of water from our hose.  Needless to say this took over an hour with only a small improvement in the water flow through the raw water filter.  Bob concluded that there must be marine growth around the sea cock.  The only way to fix this problem is to dive down below the boat and clean off the marine growth. When Bob asked where our diving equipment was I immediately said, “It’s time to hire a diver.”  While I cleaned up the huge mess created by our work on the intake hose Bob contacted a local diver and made arrangements for him to clean the bottom of the boat.  He can get to us on Tuesday of this week or next.  Hopefully, the air-conditioning continues to work that long.  There is a cool down in the coming week's forecast, thank goodness. As an aside our little kitten, Kali, was very interested in what we were doing and continually got in the way.  What did we expect from a kitten, right?

We survived hurricane Ida which hit our area on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 in the afternoon and continued to pelt us with heavy rain and high winds most of the night.  At 2:00 pm we both received tornado alerts on our phones.  Bob wasn’t concerned, but having lived in the midwest for 17 years I cannot be blasé about tornadoes.  I stayed in the cockpit observing the sky and the storm cloud movements until 3:00 pm.  The worst part of the storm was west of us (Annapolis area) and was moving North East.  Fortunately, the tornadoes stayed at least 12 miles away form us.  One touched down in Annapolis and one in Talbot County (one county over).  The next morning the sky was a beautiful clear blue and the breeze was cool and dry.  My job after a storm is to bail out the dinghy.  The water was well over my ankles.  I haven’t bailed that much water since we weathered Hurricane Matthew in Onancock, VA almost five years ago. 

Rachel kept me up to date this week with my granddaughter's progress with lots of great pictures.

My granddaughter Claire being cute

Claire has started to smile and laugh.

We decided since this year is my 70th birthday I could celebrate it for a whole week.  I started that week on Thursday with lunch at Lemon Grass Too and a visit to Joann Fabrics for their Labor Day Sale.

My celebrations mostly consisted of eating my favorite foods. On Friday we went to Ram’s Head and I had a delicious Cobb Salad after which I spent the afternoon at the pool.  Saturday was the First Penn State game and it started at 12:30 pm.  We headed to the Pour House Tavern just outside the marina gates to watch the game (our TV has never worked on Kent Island). For lunch we both had hamburgers with fries (they taste like boardwalk fries)! It was a great game especially since Penn State won by a score of 16 - 10. Sunday was overcast and my plan to go to the pool all day was nixed.  We went to the Fisherman’s Crab Deck for lunch where I had three huge steamed crabs and a salad for lunch - the crabs were perfect! 

A gorgeous Maryland steamed crab

A delicious Maryland steamed crab

The weather was spectacular on Labor Day and I spent a large part of the day at the pool since it was the last day the pool would be open this season. On Tuesday we again went to the Crab Deck for lunch thinking I would get some more of their fabulous steamed crabs, but there was a big sign saying they had no steamed crabs (so glad I had some on Sunday). I just had to settle for a great crab cake sandwich - poor me. I also heard from my sisters and children wishing me a “Happy Birthday” that day.

Our favorite seafood restaurant in the area is such a fun place!

 Several times during the previous week I had finished some sewing projects.  When I started sewing a knit tank top on Tuesday (my actual birthday) my machine skipped stitches so badly that I couldn’t finish the top. On Wednesday before my doctor appointment to discuss the pain I was experiencing in my thumbs we dropped my machine off to the guy who had recently serviced it and explained the problem.  Hopefully, he can fix it. The next day I picked up the machine and he said he fixed it by changing the needle from a stretch needle (always used to sew knits) to a woven fabric needle - odd, but it did sew properly. 

 My food choices for the rest of my birthday week were - a Tostado Salad at Chevy’s, pizza and a salad at Italian Market, tuna sub at Italian Market, and a soft crab sandwich at the Crab Deck.  I hit all of my favorite foods including chocolate cake and peanut butter ice cream. 

I did have to help with various boat projects during my week.  We finished bolting the teak table in place (quite an involved project0, attached the second set of piling guards and replaced the inferior bolts on the first set of guards, took down the fore sail and folded it and rolled it up, and cleaned the inlet hose to the air conditioner a couple more times.

The round teak table is now permanently
attached to the floor in the main salon.

I was able to recognize the 20th anniversary of 9/11 tragedy on Saturday by live streaming the concert the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra performed at the memorial of the flight 93 crash sight in Shanksville PA. It was such a moving concert.

Thank you for reading my blog.