Living In Mexico

I am completely obsessed with the idea of living in Mexico. I hate to admit it, but I was resigned to McCain winning the election and moving to Mexico, if not looking forward to it. Now, of course I am thrilled with our new president elect, but now I don't have a good excuse to get the hell out of here.
I still want to end up in Mexico someday, sooner than later. The only problem is figuring out how to successfully live there and support myself. One idea is to go to school there for something. Another idea is to live there 6 months of the year, like in the winter. I would have to give up snowboarding, but it might even be worth it. Or I could own a bed and breakfast... Or maybe teach English? Or both? Does any one else have any brilliant ideas?
I miss the beach and the heat, and the food, and speaking Spanish every day. When I hear Mayra (my Spanish speaking worker) on the phone, I get excited that I can understand what she is saying.
I know I wouldn't want to live somewhere as remote as Olinala. But at the same time I probably wouldn't want to be in a place like Acapulco either. I have a friend who just returned from Oaxaca, on a visit with his mother. His mother is talking about buying a place and living there half the year. I have another friend who is still down there (I believe) finishing (hopefully, because I am getting impatient) a film about Mexican culture.
I keep thinking I need to write a book about Mexico. But I have seen the ones I want to write, so I need to think of something that isn't already out there.
I feel it in my bones. It will happen, I just need to percolate some more.

Reflections On a Beautiful Holiday

Caroline and I arrived home a week ago tomorrow night. The week has flown by. I am currently collecting all of my photos in one album so I can post them, shortly. It is rough getting back into the swing of things, although it has been great hanging out with my doggie and kitties.

Saturday morning I woke up and was locked in the condo. Caroline had gone out to take some photos or something and had locked the door on her way out. Curry rang the bell and I went scurrying around to find my key, to no avail. I finally realized I must have left it at the Penthouse, Melvin and Cheryl's place. I had to wait for Caroline to return before I could run up and check it out.

We had gone to dinner with Melvin, Cheryl, Carol, Laurie, and Curry. After dinner we went to finish off the beer and rum at the Penthouse and watch Cheech & Chong (which I have never seen). I was so tired when I got up to go, I left my key on the table. In any case, the key was there and not out to sea or something.

We packed everything and took it all to Curry's place. After hanging there for an hour or so we all went out for breakfast at 100% Natural. I have to tell you, crossing the main street (to get to 100%) is risking your life every time. It is La Costera, a 3 lane street in each direction with a large median running down it for the entire length of the beach. There are very few stop lights and they last a very long time making it almost impossible to cross most of the time. This time was no different. And Curry almost got knocked off crossing the intersection. Two lanes of traffic stopped, a car in the third lane not paying attention flies through the intersection. Curry stopped in the nick of time. Nothing like a little adrenalin to get you going for breakfast. 100% has a terrific breakfast but I had eaten so much the night before all I really wanted was a bowl of fruit, yogurt, granola and honey. It was perfect.

Next we went for a last quick swim in the pool. I was hoping to get in the ocean again, but after Caroline's run in with the waves and undertow, she wasn't too keen on getting back in the ocean. She preferred the calm of the pool. So, I stayed in the pool too. After 30 minutes or so, I needed to get out, shower and get ready for our final departure to Acapulco airport. Caroline and I talked about drawing with eyeliner or lipstick on Curry's bathroom mirror, but somehow (how?) decided to play nice.

After hugs all around we took off for the airport at around 12:30pm.

We arrived at the airport in one piece, which in Mexico you never know! We got our bags checked and through security in a heartbeat. Actually, my makeup kit has an eyebrow tweezers which the security guards wanted to see. Once they saw them, they gave them back and didn't say much of anything.

At a certain point Caroline and I finally pull up a seat at the bar get a beer with Cheryl and Melvin.
Just as Cheryl and Melvin are saying goodbye, Caroline realizes that her carry-on bag is missing and she completely freaks out. She re-traces her steps into the bathroom. Not there. She takes off for the security gate getting more and more anxious that it is gone forever, which would really suck because all of her gifts were wrapped up in the bag, including all the silver jewelry she bought. Oh, except the bracelet she bought that is pretty much stuck on her arm.
She found her bag at the gate with a bunch of other bags that had also been left there. They ex-rayed it and asked her what was inside so she could make a positive ID of her bag. Interestingly there were a number of other people who had also left things. So, although Caroline kept saying, "Who does that?! Leaves their bag of gifts at the security depot?!" Apparently lots of people.
Whew. She found it and nothing was missing at all.
We boarded our plane and sat separately. They only had one emergency exit row seat which obviously Caroline needed. If you hadn't noticed, she is kinda tall (smile). Actually, I know many of you haven't met Caroline, but she is 6'3". While traveling in Mexico she endured stares from people ALL the time. On at least one occasion someone in a silver shop said, "Wow, did you know you are really tall." News ALERT! I think she gets this often, but somehow it came to be one of those inane things we would randomly say to each other when things were getting weird or boring or someone else said something dumb. Our slogans of the trip were, "By the way, did I mention I almost died yesterday (or a few days ago, or now just I almost died in Mexico)." And, "Did you notice, you are kinda tall?"

I am literally falling asleep writing this... I need to rest my eyes.

Un Dia Mas

It´s the last day in Acapulco. We have been really taking it easy: hanging out at the pool, drinking beers and chatting with the staff here at the hotel. This morning we had an adventure: We started for breakfast at 100% Natural, a pretty good and even healthy chain restaurant. They are all over Acapulco and other large cities. I think there are at least 5 of them here. The one we went to was on the way to the old part of town on a pier sticking out into the water. We left there and walked to Sanborns which is the original Mexican department store. It is quite fancy, has a decent cafe and very clean bathrooms. They also have a cash machine which is why we ended up there. Coming out of the Sanborns we headed to the artisan market. A little man with very little neck heard us talking about it and started showing us where to go. He was walking with us and trying to talk to us about doing a tour or something. We have been warned about the Mayan Palace which we now call the Hell Palace because of the awful timeshare presentations they rope people into. Anyway, as we were walking we tried to ditch him by stepping into a clothing store. We wandered around for at least 5 minutes and came out. As soon as we were outside we realized that he was onto our game and was waiting for us. At another point he told us to go to the right and we went straight instead thinking again we had lost him. After a few blocks, there he was again!! When we finally made it to the market Caroline told some shop keepers (there are a few for every stall) that little man was making us feel uncomfortable. They got rid of him for us. The artisan market is filled with junk for the most part: t-shirts, hats, blankets, shot glasses, some ceramic odds and ends, and other things they are trying to sell for more than double what it is worth. Caroline was looking for a couple of things. I was pretty much shopped out, but of course found something I wasn´t looking for (which is a gift, so I can´t say what it is). Then I started thinking about the baskets I had seen in SMA at a store with crafts from all over Mexico. They are made with a metal frame and plastic cords. In SMA they were incredibly expensive. I figured if I could find out where they actually make them I would be able to buy them for much less. The guys in the market seemed to think I could find them at the central market.
We hopped in a taxi and made our way to the central market. It is HUGE and quite smelly. You can find almost everything and anything there... except those baskets I was looking for. But, it was really fascinating. There are stalls with veggies, with herbs and chilies, with candles, with piñatas, plastic grocery bags, flowers, decorations of all types, fabric, animal food, plastic of all types, kitchen wares, canned goods, etc. And then there are the really smelly parts with fish, chicken, and meat. They hang the chickens spread out by their feet. We avoided these areas because Caroline is quite squeemish. But honestly, I am not really fond of seeing the giant bloody animals or the fish guts. That and the smell is so foul it really could make you puke which would be really rude. After we had had enough of that, and we were all (Caroline, Cory - we call him Curry - and myself) dripping with sweat, we climbed in another taxi and headed for the hotel.
There seems to be a lot of action here today. Most of the guests are here hanging out, playing in the pool and on the ocean. We got some beers and headed for the pool. Caroline and I had a great time playing with the neighbors grandkids who are all about showing us how they can do back flips, front flips, handstands, and various other underwater feats. I also tried to teach them how to squirt water through their hands. They are super sweet kids. At one point we were all splashing with our feet and their grandmother told them to stop, but we had started it! Getting the kids in trouble..
Tonight we are going to celebrate with a nice meal at the nearby restaurant. We went there last night with Evy and had a great time. They have the best fresh veggies and potatoes and terrific fish as well. We went early for 2 for 1 drinks and rolled out of there completely stuffed because we had eaten a giant lunch I prepared in the mid afternoon. I made delicious guacamole, salsa, chips, and beans. We had corn quesadillas today, but didn´t eat nearly as much as yesterday. So, last night my belly was literally hurting from eating all together too much. But I so love the food here. I am really going to hit the WW when I get home. That and the gym.
Although I am looking forward to seeing my little Ruby and Pearl and Rascal, I will be really sad to leave here. We have made some great friends and I feel like there is a great community here at the condo/hotel. It is a community of other tourists/travelers and the staff who have treated us so well. We will leave with many fond memories.

Vamos a Taxco

Taxco is a town built on the side of a mountain about 3.5 hours from Acapulco. It is known for its silver and gold mines and jewelry design. Although they still mine silver there, it isn´t what it once was back in the 1600´s. On the other hand, the entire town is filled with little and not so little silver shops with amazing jewelry, plates, tea services, statues, and anything you can think of made with silver.
Caroline, Cory, and I went on a tour of Taxco yesterday. We got up at 6:30am yesterday morning, climbed into a mini van with 5 other people and a driver and took off through the mountains (again!). Happily, our driver, Ruben, was a much more mellow driver than the last one we had! And he was filled with knowledge of the history and ecology of the entire area. We got a whole lesson on the various trees and cactus that grow on the mountains on the way to Taxco. When we got closer to town, we got the history lesson. I won´t give you all the details here, but suffice to say, when the Spaniards took over Mexico, they also took over all the riches they could find, including the mines in Taxco. Additionally, there is a huge church that was built in Taxco. The altars, organ, and most of the church is covered in gold leaf. They are planning to restore the entire church for the 250th anniversary. This will be very time consuming and costly of course. And they are planning ahead at least 10 years to raise the money and begin the actual process of cleaning and re-applying some of the gold. Additionally, there are many original oil paintings of God, Mary, Jesus, all the saints, various bishops, etc. Those will also be restored I presume.
Because Taxco is built on the side of a mountain, and it was built before there were cars and during a time when the indigenous people were not allowed to own any form of transportation, the roads were built for walking. They are mostly still cobblestone roads, very narrow, winding, and quite trecherous if you are not paying attention. Cars actually drive on them, but there are places where no cars can get through. It is actually very similar to Guanajuato in this way. In any case, I highly recommend going if you haven´t been there before.

Yes We Can, Yes We Did, Yes We Will

Well, in all the rush of winning the election I completely missed the fact that Prop 8 passed. I found out this afternoon watching CNN that there was a huge protest in Los Angeles in front of the Mormon Temple because they were such supporters of ¨traditional marriage.¨ Since when was polygamy traditional? Anyway, I was so disappointed. It really burst my happy bubble.

Caroline and I joined an American couple, Melvin and Cheryl and our Canadian friend Cory to watch the election coverage on Tuesday. As it happens, Melvin and Cheryl are African American and they live and work in Washington DC. It was really exciting to share such a momentous occasion with them. We all agree that this was one of the most amazing moments in history to witness. They both agreed that they never believed in their lifetimes that they would see an African American president. This really completely changes the entire landscape of life all over the world, but especially in the United States. I am really excited to see positive changes in the coming 4 years. It is already happening.

As an aside, Mexican people here have made many comments about how relieved they are as well. Before the election many people asked us, with some reservation, how we felt about Bush and the current election. As soon as we told them that we were looking forward to getting rid of Bush and hoping that Obama would perservere, you could see a look of relief come over their faces. No one would want to risk their tip over a political controversy. As soon as our opinion was on the table they were happy to commiserate. We all understand together how important it was for a democratic win, never mind the importance of the actual candidate.

So, we can bask in the pure joy of Obama winning.
And, we have to be committed to fighting the fight against the crazy bigots who don´t feel that all people should have the opportunity and right to be married. Honestly, I believe it is only a matter of time before it is looked upon as so backward that same sex marriages are acknowledged just as straight marriages. Just as we look back and think how crazy it is that blacks couldn´t vote, women couldn´t vote, blacks couldn´t marry and interracial couples couldn´t marry. It is a matter of time and a good fight. Yes we will!

Snorkling and Our New Friend Evy

Caroline and I have been having a great time. Monday we went snorkling at Isla Roqueta. We had a giant 32´catamaran to ourselves. It was us and two crew, Pepe and Raymondo. It was a beautiful day as it had rained a little and cleared out the sky a bit. It was really sad though. All the coral here is pretty much dead and they are trying hopelessly (it seems) to get it to grow back. The pollution and the amount of building, fishing, boats, etc. has really destroyed the environment and it was never more apparent than out under the water. On the way to the snorkling location we saw tons of plastic bottles and plastic bags floating around. It really made me realize how much we humans have negatively impacted our environments. It is really awful. I am making a concerted effort not to use plastic anything from now on. Anyway, there were quite a few beautiful fish, trumpets, butterflies, puffer, and we even saw some eagle rays. I also saw a sea snake (my first ever) and a couple of eels. After getting back on the boat having been out for over an hour, I felt very woozy. We went to another good snorkling spot and I actually just swam around the boat while Caroline went with Raymondo to see the sunken Virgen de Guadalupe. Ray cleaned off her face and crossed himself. Too bad we didn´t get any photos of that. How sweet.
When we got back we spent lots of time in the pool. I had one beer and felt drunk!

Later in the evening Caroline and I took Evy out. We met her the first evening at the grocery store. She is here by herself. She was supposed to come down with a friend of hers, but she died. Her husband has also been dead for 5 years. She is 83!! We are so impressed with her courage and she says she doesn´t let things hold her back. She even has a few boyfriends. We were both so happy to have some time with a ¨grandma¨ again. She has some serious spunk and many years I would guess. Dinner was fabulous, although a little loud with techno music for the bungie jumpers.

Every night we sleep like rocks. Tonight will be the same.
Mas mañana.

Baños and More

Actually, we have been lucky for the most part. The bathrooms in Mexico have been greatly improved over the last 10 years. Most places actually have toilet seats and some soap to wash your hands with afterward. There is really nothing worse than trying to squat over a filthy dirty porcelain seat while buzzed off tequila, except accidentally sitting down. Lucky for me I rarely drink to excess any more so I don´t have to worry too much about balancing while drunk.
When we first arrived there were some bodily functions issues that we both had. At one point or another we have either not been able to go or it was coming out much too easily. I think we have adjusted and neither one of us has been sick yet. So, really we can´t complain. It is rather humurous though because we are constantly checking in about ¨dropping the kids off.¨ It is a very fascinating topic I guess. Never a dull moment down here.
Speaking of which... the last time I was writing on the blog two days ago I think, Caroline came running into the lobby giggling hysterically about something. She had been on the deck by the pool checking out the stars and she noticed something funny going on down the beach about 50 feet. Two men were making out against some stacked chairs and started getting hot and heavy. At first she wasn´t sure of what she was seeing, but as soon as it became clear to her what was going on, she ran in to get Aurelio (our hotel manager) and me to come and see too. I actually stayed at the computer, but Aurelio and Caroline went running out to the beach. Sure enough the lovers were totally getting in on under a spot light right on the beach with a bunch of on lookers. Not much later, from what I understand, they were caught by the Federalis. According to Aurelio, that probably cost them more than a 5 star hotel. Bummer. A 5 star hotel would have been a lot more comfortable that is for sure.
Anyway, remember if you are in Mexico: it is illegal to have sex on the beach, drink in public, piss in publc, and most things you can think of that are also illegal in the USA. That is unless you are able and willing to PAY for it. And you will pay one way or another. Either you will spend time in jail or you will pay money and lots of it. They do not play around. It is no joke.

By the Way, Did I Mention We Almost Died Yesterday?

Okay, no trip to Mexico would be complete without a ride from hell with some crazy driver. There is no exception this trip. Caroline and I woke at the break of dawn on Saturday and walked over hill and yonder to get to the combi stop, arriving at around 7am. There were already a few people in the combi waiting to leave. Caroline took her seat in the front and I in the seat behind the driver (who I will call Pedro) While we were waiting I commented to Caroline that the broken window wasn´t a great sign for the kind of driver we were going to get. When we finally took off at about 7:20am. Pedro didn´t shut the door which I thought was interesting. It slammed shut itself as we pulled out of the parking lot. We laughed. Little did we know.
As we were pulling out of town Pedro put his seatbelt on. This is something you never see in Mexico. They laugh at you when you try to make the seatbelt work. I made a comment to Caroline that this was also not a great sign.
As he was putting on his seatbelt, screetching around a corner, the woman sitting next to me double or triple crossed herself. She promptly fell asleep. She was in such a peaceful sleep that during some of the more ¨curvas peligrosos¨ (dangerous curves) she fell into me.
The beginning, middle and end of the ride was like being in a bad video game. At each curve (only some were labeled peligroso and I wondered what made one more so than another since they all seemed extremely dangerous to me) Pedro would lean into the turn and lean back the other way. He was a wanna-be race car driver.
I guess I should explain: this was about a 3 hour drive of curves up mountains and down, similar to Wild Cat Canyon or Grizzly Peak. Most of the time on the edge of one cliff or another. This 3 hour drive took only 2.25 hours! At some point I said to Caroline, "Well, IF we get there, we will get there early."
At certain points Caroline and I would look at each other and give each other knowing stares of pure terror. Occasionally Caroline would get out her camera and try to take a photo of some scenery. There was a point at which she wanted to take one of the volcano Popo and not having very much luck. He actually stopped the van and let us get a decent photo of it. Then back again, lurching back and forth over the mountain side.
One of the last people to get off was a man who said, ¨No mas.¨ Dejarme aqui (Let me off here). At that time Caroline turned to me and told me that he was sometimes going at least 100 km/hour! We were laughing hysterically. I actually was laughing so hard I was crying.
Did I mention that there were lots of pot holes in the road which he would steer around, crossing into the oncoming lane - at a blind corner. At any moment another car could be coming and we would have been dust. Or, another car could be doing the same and we could hit them, especially since we were going so fast. There would have been no time to stop or get out of the way. On a number of occasions we just missed cars in our lane and the driver honked and cursed at them! As if.
One of the things that made it feel like a video game was that he was playing chicked with other cars on the road, particularly taxis. One taxi ¨Street Pirate¨ was really playing. Going slow and then speeding up so we couldn´t pass. He was driving so close we almost touched the taxi´s bumper (more than once according to Caroline). Mr. Driver was really unhappy with him and kept calling him a ¨cabron.¨ My response to that was, ¨Now who is the cabron here?¨ I would have certainly said our driver. He was completely insane.
What I learned later from Caroline was that throughout the entire drive Pedro was grabbing the cross he had hanging from his rearview mirror, kissing it and then crossing himself with it. He did this at least 10 times!!
By the time we arrived in Chilapa Caroline and I were both shaking and could barely get out of the van and stand on our feet. I felt like I had run another 1/2 marathon! My legs and butt cheeks ached. It was as if we had had a full body work out while basically sitting still the enrire time. What a concept. I think someone could make some money off gym equipment that simulated something like this!
We have gotten rested and are fully recovered. Enjoying the heat, beaches, food and beautiful people of Acapulco.
In my next installment: baños and bm´s (another story that has to be told when you are traveling in Mexico!)

Bugs and Creepy Crawlies Just in Time for Halloween

Making our way to Olinala was an adventure taking 2.5 - 3 hours. More mountains, up down, around. Our driver was careful to not have any head on collisions. Nice of him. Once here we easily found the Moon Travel book recommended Hotel Cindy. It is owned by an older man, Domingo. He and a bevy of young girls run the place. For some reason there have been lots of bug and critters in my life since we arrived here. I am hoping to leave them here when we leave in the morning. Last night we both wore ear plugs which protected our ears from earwigs and kept the noise level at a minimum especially at 5am this morning. Basically there were at least 3 earwigs on the bedside table last night. In the morning we came across a scorpion in our doorway. As soon as I opened the door and the light hit it, it went scurrying for the next doorway. Caroline got a quick photo though. Then, as we were descending the stairs, a giant grasshopper swooped just milimeters from my head. Later in the afternoon at lunch Caroline had to flick an earwig off my shoulder - that really freaked me out. Back in the room for a quick siesta, an earwig was having its way with my toothbrush. And finally (we can hope)in the tiny church yard I was buzzed by a giant bumble bee or something like it.

I don´t mind spiders, but these other things really bother me. I did find the scorpion fascinating. I have only ever seen a dead one and one in a cage at the Vivarium. I like to think of myself as pretty tough and not easily ruffled. I become a blathering idiot when it comes to these things.

Other than bugs and creepy crawlies, Olinala has been absolutely beautiful. The people here are incredibly friendly (including the missionary who tried to lure us into watching a movie about Jesus they were playing on the wall in the place next door to our hotel). The girls who run our hotel and make food are very sweet and have fun talking with us about random things like bugs. Everyone on the street has been very nice. We have both received lots of stares as if people have never seen two gringas in their town. It is probably true they have never seen a woman as tall as Caroline. Kids are particularly impressed by her and will stare as we walk by and then turn so they can keep watching! We have met lots of sweet dogs and even a few cats. Tonight we even found some pigs, burros, cows/bulls, and giant turkeys and chickens. Speaking of which, the animals here appear to be VERY well fed compared to other places in Mexico I have been. It makes me happy to see.

Finding food for Caroline has been an interesting task and somewhat humurous. We ask for a torta with queso Oaxaqueno (somewhat like mozzarella) and they go to the store, come back and tell us there is only Bimbo (bread in a bag) no rolls. We settle for tortillas. Then she shows us the cheese she has, something much different than the one we requested. But they try very hard. And in the end we ate like queens: handmade tortillas, refried beans, tomatoes, avocados, onion, and salty fresh cheese. That was after a giant plate of papaya, pineapple, and oranges with fresh honey. Wow. I believe it will be a bit easier to find fish and other edible items for Caroline in Acapulco.

The craft stores have been exactly what I expected. Beautiful works of art stacked up one on top of another. Francisco (Don Chilo)Coronel is definitely the most talented and his prices are reflective of the quality. He even had silver and gold leafed boxes, then painted with the traditional flowers which were gorgeous. There are a handful of shops around town. I think we hit all of them. I will take photos to post at some point. I got a decent variety of the available designs, but somewhat regret not sucking it up and spending the money on a silver or gold one from Don Chilo´s.

Tomorrow we are off to Acapulco. It is going to be a very long day, starting at about 6:15am, catching a combi (van) back to Chilapa and from there, getting back to Chilpancino and then Acapulco or possibly straight through from Chilapa to Acapulco depending on what is available and how uncomfortable it will be.

Mas tarde.

Travels to Chilapa

Caroline and I left on the plane at about midnight on Tuesday night. We arrived in Mexico City at 6am. Our flight to Acapulco wasn´t leaving until almost 10am so we had quite a bit of time to wander around and get some exercise.
I hear a horse walking down the street outside.
They actually have a Starbucks, Subway, MacDonalds, and Burger King in the airport domestic terminal. We splurged on $4 lattes. And slept, and ate a delicious torta (Mexican sandwich), and sat around people watching. We finally boarded the plane for Acapulco 4 hours later. It was an hour flight over beautiful mountains and past two snow capped volcanos. We arrived just as I was getting a little shut eye.
As soon as we touched down and the cabin door was open, you could instantly feel the hot muggy air. I couldn´t get my sweatshirt off soon enough.
A cab to the bus station was $25. When we arrived there, they told us the first bus for Chilpancingo (our first stop) was going to be at 1pm, in two hours. So, we hopped another taxi for $15 to the central bus station. Acapulco was teaming with activity and almost bumper to bumper traffic. Lining the beaches and the main streets are huge high rise hotels mixed in with smaller, ocean side restaurants and clubs. I was happy to be driving through and not stopping. I need to brace myself for that mess.
We arrived just in time for the 12:30pm bus to Chilpancingo with front row seats. Perfect for Caroline with her very long legs! The cuota - toll road - goes from Acapulco all the way to Mexico City actually. We were only going about an hour to Chilpancingo, however.

Chilpancingo is a fairly large city with a university and lots of businesses. It is also the capital of the state of Guerrero. We wanted to take a bus to Chilapa, a small town on the way to Olinala, but the next bus wasn´t leaving until 6pm. Obviously that was much too late. The bus station attendant directed us up the street to find a combi - a van - going to Chilapa. Sure enough, when we reached the aformentioned street, there were thousands of combis all going to various locations. We didn´t see any going to Chilapa. I was feeling very conspicuous with my long red hair, very tall friend, backpacks and rolly suitcases. There were men everywhere staring at us. I asked a couple of people about combis to Chilapa, but was unsuccessful. I am not sure if I didn´t understand, or was just getting too overwhelmed. It was loud, tons of cars, lots of people, men staring at us and I decided the best thing to do would be to find a taxi. So, we got one and he wanted $40! I talked another one down to $35. Actually that is a deal! It was about an hour and a half drive on a narrow winding road into and through the mountains.

The ride was gorgeous. The landscape is very green and lush. The terrain is mountainous, but not at a very high altitude. I think Chilapa is at about 4000 feet. When we arrived, the town was bustling, lots of activity particularly near the market on the main road into town. The hotel we had picked out was very easy to find, just off the main street and up a block or two.

The hotel room was very basic, but very clean. Two very hard double beds, an overhead light, a TV, and a shower in the bathroom. Hot water too. All for $25. That is $12.50 each! After getting settled in we headed out for some comida (food) and found a great restaurant a few blocks away, near the zocalo (town center). The restaurant was in a giant open building with brick walls, wooden beams and beautful wood and clay masks all over the walls. We both had cheese enchiladas served with cream and something like parmesan on top, black beans and salsa on the side with fresh tortillas. Excellent.

After a stroll around town, into the iglesia (church) and up the hill to see the vista, we were ready to chill in the zocalo. Everyone in the town comes out to sit in the square, eat popsicles of fresh fruit, sweet pancakes with fruit sauce, fresh potato chips, and corn on the cob with mayonaise and hot sauce. Caroline and I feasted on strawberry popsicles, mine chocolate covered, nut dipped.
On the way home we met two very cute, very attentive chiuauas. Their people, in one of the many shops were happy to share them with us. Such sweet boys! It really made me miss Ruby (and Charlie too)!

At 8:30pm we crawled into bed and fell asleep reading about our next adventure.

Mexico!

I leave for Mexico with my friend Caroline tomorrow night! I am super excited to show her my favorite place in the world. She has never been there, but has a true traveler's spirit. I think she will love it! Stay tuned!

Pacific Northwest Tour

I am planning to post a bit about my trip up north. I had a fabulous time. It was awesome to see some great friends and meet some new ones too. Ruby and I recovered and enjoyed a week at home chillin'. Back to work now... my first day in my new position went really well. And, I am looking forward to my second day.

I am leaving my unit...

Yesterday my unit and I went to lunch at the Dead Fish in Crockett. It was a goodbye lunch because I am moving to supervise a new unit. I have been in the unit almost 8 years! 4 as a Child Welfare Worker and 3.5 as a supervisor. It is time for a change, but it isn't easy to leave. For the first time since I have been supervising the unit, I feel like we are really bonded and cohesive. We also have the best assistant/clerk in the entire agency!
Anyway, it was a bittersweet celebration. We had wonderful seafood (I had a delicious crab louis and fried calamari for appetizer) and carrot cake for dessert. The Dead Fish is in a beautiful location right next to the Carquinas Bridge and with a 180 degree vista of the water. It was really warm on the patio outside, but it was worth the view. They gave me a lovely card and a couple of very appropriate gift certificates. One for my favorite Ethiopian restaurant and the other for a pedicure. They are the sweetest and I will really miss them all.
Happily, I know they will be in good hands when I am gone. We finally found out who is going to take over the K230 Unit.

When I return from vacation on 9/8/08, I will be reporting to what I lovingly refer to as "the haunted building." St. Joseph's Hospital is located on 26th and International Blvd. in Oakland. It is really close to the Fruitvale neighborhood and therefore LOTS of Mexican food! In a month or so we will be moving into Eastmont Mall. How fun! I actually don't think it will be bad and it makes a lot of sense for our clients.
Oh, yes, our clients... I will be supervising the Independent Living Skills Unit. Mostly what this means is that I will have a lot more interaction with the clients who are all teenagers. 15.5 - 19 and then the emancipated kids up to 25. I will also be intimately involved in developing different programs for our teens, as well as various programs that have already been developed, such as the various independent living classes, youth adult partnerships, contracts with outside agencies that serve the youth both before and after emancipation, and a growing movement toward finding permanent connections for the kids/adults who are emancipating into the big wide world. It is a very exciting move for me at a pivotal point in the history of the Agency and ILSP. There are many inspired changes afoot in the program that I will be a part of.
Furthermore, I am totally thrilled that my former first supervisor when I arrived at the Agency, then co-worker, will once again be my supervisor! Sonya was promoted to Program Manager over the ILSP and Group Homes Section. I am really really excited to get started!!

Until then,,,

Training

I have started training again. I have a triathlon Sunday September 28 - The Mermaid in Santa Cruz, and the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon in October. I started a training group which has been pretty successful. I can usually find at least one person to train with most days which truly keeps me motivated. First of all, I am accountable to more than just myself and second, I am more likely to get out there when I have someone else to go with. We have been all over too, which is nice. I go to Danville on Sunday mornings at 8m generally. Then on Wednesdays we have been to Inspiration Point/Nimitz Trail, Lake Merritt, Lake Chabot, San Ramon, and today I was at Cesar Chavez. My running has improved significantly. I am actually looking forward to it some of the time. This is a huge improvement. I am going to start putting in the biking and swimming next week. And I really need to make my runs a bit longer as well. September will be here before I know it.
Angel's Camp Triathlon was killer and really kicked my ass. I almost passed out on the run. I was completely dehydrated due to the heat and obviously not having enough water. It was quite an ego crusher, because I have usually done pretty well. It was also much longer than most of the sprints I have done, so I expected it to take lots less time than it actually did. I want to be in better condition for the next one!

East Coast Visit

I have been back from the East Coast for over a week now. It was a fabulous vacation! Rest and relaxation were the name of the game. Success! Thanks to the Yellow VW Bug (Sunflower Power) I was able to see lots of friends and some of my family. I visited with my Auntie Louise who is my last surviving great aunt. She is the sister of my father's mother and she was my father's God Mother. They came from a family of 13 kids (3 of whom died in childhood) and now she is the last one. I can only imagine how lonely that would feel. She has a great sense of humor and a positive outlook on her life. Last November, just before Thanksgiving she passed out and fell, breaking her shoulder. She was found by my cousin Lauren who was over to take her to dinner. Thank goodness they had dinner plans, or who knows how long she would have been trapped in her house. As it was, the fire department had to break in to get to her. She immediately went to the hospital and had surgery to fix the shoulder. Apparently she almost didn't make it through the anesthesia. But she was strong and came through. For many months she was living in a rehabilitation center, but eventually she was able to move into basic assisted living, where she lives now. It is a relatively nice place and just a block from her house. Auntie seems to be doing relatively well. She walks around with a walker, is able to get out and go places with some assistance, and has a bright spirit. She has a birthday on 6/20 and will be 82 years old! She told me that she doesn't mind telling people how old she is now. It is more a badge of honor than something to be embarrassed about!
Susan, Adam, Lily, Zoe, Fabian and his clan, Saul, Carolyn, and Maya with one on the way, Josh and Jane, James and Lucy, and Barbara. I missed Ben and wish that I had seen him too.
Showed Tricia and Roger around Boston a little. Took the T to the North End, ate pizza at Regina's and cannoli at Modern Bakery.

Angels Camp Triathlon!! It's here!

Tomorrow is my triathlon at Angels Camp. I am getting really excited.
Wish me luck!

Zachary

This is the story of Zachary. He found me, as most cats do, in Seattle in October of 1992. Scott and I had just moved into an apartment on Pine, a really busy street, near downtown. We didn't have our phone hooked up to the door yet and we were having a friend over for dinner. I went down to the lobby to wait for our friend to arrive. While I was waiting, a man came to the door with a beautiful, fluffy gray cat with clear, wise, green eyes.
He told me he had found the cat outside wandering around, trying to get out of the rain. I said the cat might be my neighbors' cat and took him into my arms. He was very sweet and very happy to be in my arms. He had no tags and no collar.
I took the cat to the neighbors' house and they laughed. Their girl kitty looked nothing like the gray kitty I was holding. I immediately took him home and told Scott we might have a new kitty joining us. We made a poster and plastered the neighborhood with them. We never received one call. He adopted us easily. We were good suckers for it.
My kitty Jazmine was still in California when we found Zachary. When she arrived in Seattle she was NOT happy to meet Zachary. She was really angry about the whole thing. Eventually she got used to him and even grew to love him fairly quickly.
Zachary was a one man show. He loved feather toys and anything he could wrestle to the ground and kill. He could jump two to three feet in the air. We both played with him for hours at a time. While we were living in the apartment on Pine Street, we lived on the top floor of a converted warehouse. It was pretty fancy and the top units each had an outdoor patio big enough for a chair or two and some plants. All of them were connected, with low barriers. Zachary taught Jazmine to go from patio to patio. I believe he even made a habit of visiting people in their apartments. Not much changed over the years!
We did some kitty research and found a photo of a Norwegian Forrest Cat. It was an exact replica of Zachary. Norwegian Forrest Cats are known for their love of people, being really smart, needing companionship and playmates, having large paws and continuing to grow up to 4 years old. That was Zachary, although I don't think he ever got over 15lbs. (I have a friend with a 30lb Maine Coon cat! Prince Willie)
Scott and I moved to a duplex in the Fremont District of Seattle after living in Seattle for a little under a year. Zachary loved our new digs. He was allowed to be outside for the first time since his escape (or his exile?) from his first family. There is nothing he loved more than to roam the neighborhood. He made friends everywhere he went. There were a number of occasions that he would wander off and stay away for two or three days. I would always find him walking down the street as if he was just on his way home.
When Scott and I broke up, I got custody of Jazmine and Zachary. There was no question in my mind about who should have custody of Zachary, but apparently, Scott loved him as much as I did and seemed to be really sad about having to leave him with me. It was this way in which Zachary really made an impression on people.
About a year or so later Zachary became an only child. Jazmine was hit by a car during the day when I was at work. It was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. Her spine had been broken and she was paralyzed from her shoulders down. The only thing I could do was have her put out of her misery. God that was awful. She was my own very first kitty. It seemed that Zach missed her, but how can you really tell?
I eventually had a roommate. May had a 19 year old cat, Prince. He and Zachary got along great. I always hoped Zachary would live that long or longer.
There were only two cats Zachary was ever afraid of. One was "Gimpy" aka Bazil. He lived with the girl next door. He had a bad front paw (and he was mean) so we called him Gimpy. Apparently the trauma to his paw really affected his personality. There are very few cats I would call "mean" but he was definitely one of them. He would pace back and forth outside my place, looking in the windows to catch a glimpse of Zachary. If any windows were open Gimpy would happily come in and chase Zachary around our house! It got ugly a few times. I am sure they both lost fur and skin more than once. Gimpy's mom tried to keep him in as much as possible, but sometimes wasn't successful.
Zachary and I left Seattle for Berkeley in 1997. We moved in with my parents and their cats, Trouble and Pandora. He took to Trouble fairly easily. Pandora didn't really have anything to do with him. She is another story altogether.
After about a year and a half Zachary and I moved out of the parents' house and into an apartment in Oakland with my cousin Dylan.
Shortly after, Dylan picked out a kitty for himself at the SPCA in San Francisco.
This was only one of the many kittens Zachary had to accept into his life. He did it with absolute grace. He got along very well with other cats most of the time.
He continued to run away occasionally. He made friends everywhere he went. And he loved a party. Most cats will run and hide when there are lots of people around. Zachary, however, was quite the party animal. He would spend time mingling and sitting on laps whenever there was one to sit on.
Zachary enjoyed all the finer things in life, many of them things I enjoy myself... he was a man after my own heart. He liked to sleep in till all hours of the day, he regularly ate tortilla chips, bread, and he LOVED butter, preferably right off the stick in the dish on the counter.
It was during this time that we had to start shaving him. While in Seattle I had him groomed once at the vet. I think they gave him some drugs to accomplish it. When we were at my parents' house I took him to a groomer who said they could groom any cat. They were confident it wouldn't be a problem. When we picked him up he was mostly shaved, but not completely and the women said they would never have him back because he was so vicious. He really hated being shaved.
At our apartment on Benvenue my mom, Dylan and I all got together to shave him. We were using a people shaver and it wasn't working very well at all. All of his fur was getting caught in it and clogging it up. At that point my mom grabs her bag and pulls out a pair of MONSTER clippers! These things were seriously on steroids. About two or three times the size of normal clippers. They certainly did the job. Very quickly too. After clipping him we called him the "Lamb Lion."
The second really mean kitty Zachary encountered showed up when Dylan, Dawn, Wendell and I lived in the big house on Benvenue. The cat was another white cat. He would come into the house in the middle of the night and terrorized Zachary and Tom. Neither Zach nor Tom were easily intimidated, but there is something about being woken up in your own house by some terrorizing freak of a cat. I think we called him "Paycho kitty." When we went to tell it's owner she couldn't believe that her sweet, loving cat was literally going after our cats. I think she finally put him on some prozac and she kept him in the house at night. he stopped coming around.

Zachary and I moved back in with my parents at the end of 2001. We were back home. Although I bought a house in Oakland and moved out of my parents house in July 2002, Zachary stayed with his grandparents. My house was in a pretty bad neighborhood. My mom wasn't happy about me moving there, I guess she felt she had to draw the line with her grandkitty. She was worried he might get eaten by a pit bull or something.
During his years with my parents, Zachary was very well taken care of. He had the run of the house and kept all the other animals (Pandora, Trouble, Pancake, Inky, and Finnegan) in line and where he wanted them. For example, Inky was not allowed on the bed with Zachary until recently.
When he was out in the neighborhood he also reined supreme. My step-dad, Mark received a telephone call and the person asked if he belonged to Zachary. Once ownership had been established the guy said that Zachary was sitting on the dining room table as if he owned the place. Mark said, "Yep, that's Zachary. Can I come get him?" And the neighbor said it was fine and he actually liked Zach and he could stay as long as he wanted.
Zach also taunted the neighbor's dog by sitting up on the fence just out of reach of the dog, until the dog was frothing at the mouth. That particular dog almost got Zach in the front yard when he was off guard.
At one point a year or so ago, Zachary was staying out all night. Unlike my cats, Zachary had to be home for dinner and in for the rest of the night. But he had found a home down the street where the owner was feeding feral cats. Zach, being opportunistic would wait around for the food and scarf it down. There was no reason for him to come home!
One day Zach was outside with Mark. Zachary had recently been shaved and looked like his little lamblion self. Someone walked by and asked if he was some special breed.
In the last year, Zachary had been getting really skinny. Last May he had a tumor on his back left leg. The tumor had not metastasized, but his leg needed to be amputated. He became a tri-pod kitty and actually adjusted to having only 3 legs rather quickly. What he didn't get used to was being home-bound. Due to his compromised ability to run, he was no longer allowed to leave the house. He did get away a few times, and was thrilled to run around the neighborhood while my Mom was in a complete panic.
The last days of Zachary's life he spent curled up in a ball under various tables and in a box of bedding in the basement. He didn't eat much and when he did he wasn't able to keep it down. An ultrasound showed a cancerous tumor in his intestine. There was no way to remove it and it was only a matter of time before it would kill him. Rather than waiting for certain death, my Mom, Mark and I decided to have him put to sleep in the most humane way we could. We were able to locate a vet who does house calls only for euthanasia of animals.

I arrived at my parents before the vet came to the house so I would have some time to spend with Zachary. I retrieved him from his bed in the basement. I decided I would take him outside to enjoy some fresh air since it had been more than a year since he was allowed to go outside. We sat on the back deck taking in the sun and breeze. At first he tried to get away from me, but eventually was convinced I wasn't going to let him go. After about 5 minutes, I went to the front yard and sat on the stoop of my parents' house. He got calm more quickly this time, settling in to being held and petted. Zachary had big, soft paws. I stroked them and thought about having one on a key chain like we used to have lucky rabbit's feet. Remember those? Zachary would have left a beautiful lucky cat foot!
The euthanasia process was relatively quick and mostly painless. My Mom, Mark and I all sat on the love seat in the living room. Zachary was on my Mom's lap; Mark and I on either side. Zachary was looking at me to the last minute. His eyes ever green, clear, all seeing, seemingly all knowing. Just like they were when he found me.
He was loved by all who met him. The king of cats. He will live on in our hearts.

Glory Hole Camping / Angels Camp Tri Preview

Camping at Glory Hole was awesome! I was able to preview the Angels Camp Triathlon and go camping for the first time in eons at the same time.
We arrived on Friday afternoon. Set up our camp site. It is amazing how much crap 4 women can bring to live outdoors for two days! We had both a station wagon and a full size car FULL. We each had our own tent, two dogs, bags and bags of food (we ate really well), three coolers filled with drinks and more food, and all of my tri gear of course. Friday night we fixed tilapia, asparagus, potatoes, corn on the cob, and a spinach salad. Everything was gourmet; cooked on the grill. And we topped it off with a couple of roasted marshmallows. Yummy. The other girls did a bit of drinking, but I held off knowing I would need my strength and no raging hangovers for the next day's exercise. I had seen the hill I was going to need to tackle the next day and didn't want to be dehydrated.
Ruby, my dog, really didn't like being in the dark out in the open. She spent most of the afternoon and evening in the tent. She knew where her home was as soon as she saw the Mexican blanket.
When I crawled into my tent, I had a really hard time getting comfortable. I got next to no sleep. I had to turn over every hour or so to relieve my hip from becoming one with the earth. It is amazing how little the Thermarest does. You still really feel like you are sleeping on the ground. Ruby needed to move about every half hour and wanted to sleep inside the sleeping bag with me, making it impossible for me to easily roll over or move my legs. It is no problem having her sleep with me at home in my queen bed, but in a small mummy bag, it is incredibly awkward. Of course I had to pee at 3:30am, as did Ruby. Then she disappeared. She decided it was a good time to get a little bite to eat! I was somehow reminded of my friends with babies. And to top it off, my friend across the camp site snored the entire night. My earplugs didn't work at all.

I was relieved when the sun came up and I had an excuse to get up and start my day. I treated myself to a lovely cup of coffee. I thought I wanted a nap before going to check out the site of the tri and starting my brick workout. As it turned out coffee and some French toast breakfast was perfect.
It was about 10:30am and getting really HOT.

We all drove over to the boat launch, where the tri will begin (off Angels Creek Road), with all my gear in tow. The boat launch looks like it's a mile long, down down down. And it is concrete corduroy, not so great for the feet. I walked down and threw on my wetsuit... more like squeezed my sweaty self into it. Take note: it is harder to get a wetsuit on when you are wet in any way. And I forgot my conditioner to help be more slippery. After what felt like a workout in and of itself, I was zipped up and ready to go.

The lake up close looks nothing like what you see in a satellite photo. It was difficult to discern where I was supposed to swim based on what Mark had told me two days before. I figured I would swim for 20 minutes or so and call it a swim. There were lots of boats coming in and out which was quite nerve-racking. I hope that on the day of the race there won't be many boaters early in the morning when we are doing our swim. Apparently, however, they don't close the boat ramp or the road at all during the race.

The swim felt good. The water was cool but not like Aquatic Park! It was warm compared to swimming in SF. Once I finished, I got out, climbed up the boat ramp and jumped on my bike.
For those of you who may go out there and check it out before the event, you will get out of the water, run up the LONG ass boat ramp, hop on your bike and ride out Angel Creek Road to the right. When you get to Glory Hole Road you will take a right turn and take that road all the way to the other boat launch. There you will turn around and go back, passing Angels Creek Road, and heading up the hill (this is the most difficult part of the ride) to Highway 49. Just before the highway, you will turn around and ride down and back to the boat launch. It is about a 15 mile ride.

Once you return from the ride and are ready for the run, you will be running up a good hill for the first 100 yards or so. before the top of the hill is a little trail heading out to the left. Take that "turn." From that point on the run is a single track trail, which circles a small peninsula. It is beautiful, especially with all of the wild flowers! I believe there is another fork about a mile in, again stay to the left. When you are almost finished with the loop, there is yet another fork in the trail. Here is where things can get a little tricky. This time you will go right. Just when you think the run is almost over, because you come out of the woods and can see the parking lot, you actually have to turn to the left again and go around another loop, coming back to the most recent fork where you took a right. You are essentially doing a figure 8. This will make much more sense when you see it for yourself.

Check yourself for ticks after your run. Ruby got a tick out there. Yuck! And stay away from the poison oak too! It is growing all over the place. Although the trail is very well kept up, there is some poison oak growing into the trail. Last but certainly not least, there are holes and roots riddling the trail. You will need to watch the ground some when you are running so as not to trip and fall on your face.
That is pretty much it in a nutshell.

I think it is going to be a challenging, but very fun event. If you have been training with See Jane Tri, you are going to be more than ready to tackle this and just DO the damn thing!

Monday

Feeling better already. And it's only Monday.
On Friday I am going camping! Caroline, Suzanne and I are going up to Angels Camp, Glory Hole camp site. I am going to try out the course. I was hoping to get some other Janes to go with me, but it looks like I may be on my own. We will see I guess.
Anyway, I am getting really excited. I think Ruby is going to have a terrific time. I haven't been camping since the time I went to Lake Chabot with Kathleen, Mike, Paul, etc. It was fun. I really enjoy being out there. So, it should be a fun time. Hopefully I will get a good preview of the course from one of the guys up there. I have to call and check in with Mark because I never heard back from him.
Tomorrow I have a training with Bob Lewis. One of the gurus of permanency.
Apparently he has the exact opposite view of permanency than Darla Henry. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.
Then I will go swimming. I am looking forward to getting back to it. An entire week with no exercise begins to work on my mood. And not in a positive way. It really is amazing how evident it is to me when I am not working out how negative I can get.
And when I am, I feel even keeled, happy, content.
I will be feeling better and better as the week goes on because I will be getting more and more exercise... swimming, running, and more running. Then more swimming and a bike ride and a run. Hopefully the weather will hold.

Slump

Well, it has been one of those weeks. I am happy to be starting a new week with the possibility of feeling a bit better. Not exactly sure what was going on with me besides my period which is plenty I guess. Monday was okay. Tuesday I missed swimming because I didn't want to be away from Ruby all day and then all night. So, I just coached, but didn't swim and figured I would swim on Wednesday. But then I donated blood on Wednesday and that kicked my ass. I was really woozy afterward and there was no swimming in my future. On Thursday I wasn't feeling much better so I didn't go to the track after sitting on my ass all day in a training (to be a supervisor). On Friday I went again to the training. Sat all day on my ass and went out to a really nice dinner with my friend Suzanne. I went to bed at 10pm and slept 12 hours. In the morning I was supposed to go to Shadow Cliffs to mentor at the mock tri. At 6am when I woke up I had a sore throat and a raging headache. When I woke up again at 11am, the headache had gone from bad to worse. Blinding, debilitating. I was sick to my stomach and really couldn't do anything. Last night I forced myself to stay up and deal with my back room which literally looked like a bomb had gone off in it. I managed to get everything filed, checkbooks balanced, bills paid (including property taxes and fed taxes), and documentation for a new mortgage gathered. Whew. Thank God that is done. Today I slept late, watched a movie and then went over to Marianne & Jerry's to say "Aloha" to Shred and Joanie. It was a very sweet gathering. I love being over there. Ruby had a good time too. And although it was a little hard saying goodbye to Shred, I think I will see him again in Hawaii. I would love to go visit. So, I have his phone number and will make some plans. He is really an inspiration. He has stage 4 cancer, but looks great and is full of life.
I am feeling better today, but drank a little too much this afternoon. Also, yesterday I realized I hadn't taken my meds for a few days. That couldn't be helping my mood. Funny how that works.
I am making a commitment to myself to get a good 4 or 5 workouts in this coming week. And I am getting ready to go to Angels Camp next weekend to try out the course. Hopefully there will be someone available to show us around. Hopefully there will be some others from Team SJT to join us, but if not, I will be happy getting out there myself as well.

Busy Life

Well, it has been quite some time since my last blog entry. I have started training again for another triathlon. It is on May 10 in Angels Camp, CA. I am getting really excited which keeps me doing some of the more difficult workouts. Last Saturday I swam at Aquatic Park in SF Bay and then ran 2 miles. My legs were trashed after that. So, what did I do but hike 5 miles (down to and then back out of Lake Chabot). It was beautiful. Ruby my little Chug, loved it...ran circles around us.
I am also getting excited about another trip back east to see family and friends in May and then another trip to Mexico in October/November. I feel so alive when I travel.
Now it's time for zzzz. I keep sleeping through my alarm (mala chica!)..

December in New Orleans

Did I mention I was in New Orleans for a conference in December? No, I guess I didn't. It was fabulous. I would love to go back sometime and spend a little longer, seeing more of the real New Orleans, and volunteering to assist building or whatever needs to be done. The interesting thing is that the downtown area and the French Quarter were mostly spared from any devastation because the levies in that area held. If you went to New Orleans and only visited downtown and the French Quarter, you would never know anything had happened. You might think that the tourist business was failing though.
Before I left I looked at the weather report. Even though it showed warm weather, I somehow didn't believe it. I thought it was going to be a little chilly. WRONG. It was steaming hot there. I actually had to go shopping for flip-flops and a couple of short sleeved shirts. I brought sweaters, boots, and all long pants...no shorts, skirts, sandals, etc.
The food in New Orleans is out of control. There were great restaurants everywhere. I think K-Paul's was my favorite fancy place. They served a giant basket of different types of bread, including cheese & chive scones, molasses muffins, and regular dinner rolls. For dinner we shared a Cesar salad and both had blackened red fish with mashed potatoes and broccoli or something like that. There was no way to finish it all.
And Acme Oyster was my favorite down-home place. The oysters were awesome both on the half shell and baked: fresh, flavorful, juicy. And very reasonably priced. The evening we went Acme (we also went for lunch one day) we had a great time sitting at the bar, chatting with the oyster shuckers and the other patrons.
We frequented Cafe Du Monde, for beignets and cafe au laits, both in the afternoons and evenings after dinner. Their beignets are like pillows of fried dough (think chewy doughnut) covered in a mound of powdered sugar. And their coffee is smooth with a hint of chicory.
One night we took a mule drawn carriage ride around the French Quarter with a guy who could have been a history teacher, he knew so much about the area. It was fascinating. I highly recommend taking a tour if you ever get down to New Orleans. Their history is thick with scandal and intrigue. Nothing dull about it, especially given a good story teller.

Ruby Loves Apollo

Well, I guess it's been more than a month since my last post. I was busy getting used to having a dog. She is really amazing. We are still working on potty training. She has done rather well recently. Although she still seems a bit unclear on the concept of going to the door to be let out when she needs to go. However, when she was left in my Uncle David's kitchen for a few hours while I was at a seminar and he was out, she used the pad I set out for her. This was a major breakthrough.
So, I came down to Ventura to visit my Uncle David, his girlfriend Cindy and their posse of dogs: Diggie the old man, Trevor the mellow one (but don't fuck with his food), and Apollo Cindy's 65lb baby Golden. And Anisa also visited one night. She is a 100 lb Ridgeback. When we first arrived Ruby was skeptical of the boys, especially Apollo because he was so big and aggressive. By the second day, however, she had no issues and had a great time playing with him. He was able to play really well with her, just rough enough not to hurt her. On Monday morning when we got up (Ruby and I) she ran around the house looking for Apollo. He had been taken to the vet really early to be fixed. She seemed very sad. Now we are having to keep them apart, because Apollo really wants to play, but he is not allowed due to his fresh sutures.
In any case, I got some great photos of them playing.
Today it is raining in Ventura. I don't think I have ever been here in the rain. I am happy I decided to stay another day, because I don't really feel like driving in the rain. Hopefully it will be dry, for at least part of my trip, tomorrow.