May ‘95

*Additional notes may appear in italics after my mom’s initial journal entries.
A ladybug means you should check the comments at the bottom of the page to see what Mom has chimed in on after reading these!

May 1, Monday

Where oh where does the time go?!
Being on the east side of the Baja is mountainous desert. It looks like Phoenix – except that we are floating on by rather than being confined in a car surrounded with all the blaring horns and far too much traffic. The transportation of a slow sail, opposed to a speeding car lets us enjoy the scenery. When I woke up this morning and came out on deck, the sun was shining on the mountain face, giving the small caves that are scattered about the appearance of many faces with the different lights and shadows.
We hauled in the ‘ole anchor at 8 am and headed for Isla San Francisco. Dead flat seas with only a small floating ripple and the clouds reflecting in its peacefulness – like silk, Samie says. Absolutely no wind, only an occasional whisper of a faint breeze. Spotting a few fish jumping here and there, but not a one hungry enough to take the lines we had out. Just before reaching our destination to the starboard, we spy a huge whale about 4-5 hundred yards away. John says Blue, Samie says humpback – I’m staying out of this one!
Once again we find ourselves anchored (noon) in a tranquil little bay with all the usual: beautiful beach and clear, clean liquid all around. North Wind and Nanamuck are also here, so after a little lunch we all head to the beach. While the kids swim and burn up some energy the adults swim and go in search of Puka shells to make necklaces. What a totally enjoyable day!!
Tonight John and I were sitting on deck listening to the dolphins swim around and come up for air, unfortunately we never saw them in the darkness. The stars were out in the millions!

*Mom is absolutely right! I have thought before when hiking the San Tan Mountains, that if you filled everything up with turquoise water, it would look like Baja. Isla San Francisco really is a beautiful anchorage, with a long, stretching white sand beach. I think we heard dolphins and whales in this anchorage a few times; they must have had some favorite spots around that area. I believe this is the anchorage where I would eventually write a story called “A Day as Sweet as Candy.” 🐞

 1-3 - Fun in the sun at Isla San Francisco!
4 - The silky waters of Baja.

May 2, Tuesday

We left Isla San Francisco at 7am along with Nanamuck and North Wind. There was not even a breath of air, 92° and high humidity – all of this works together to give the water ahead and behind a look that was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen. It was as if an artist had drawn a line in the water and put a mirror down in front of the mountains. All that was beyond, including the clouds, reflected down on that “mirror”. I suppose much like a mirage – I couldn’t take my eyes from it.
We also had little dolphins performing as we passed through a pod. Jumping and flipping just like Sea World – only free! Once we anchored we all went for a swim to cool down!
We are anchored in only 10 feet (at low tide) – that’s not enough, I want to move in the morning.
We all had fresh scallops over at North Wind – a big power boat – yum!
A year ago I could never have imagined that I would fall so deeply in love with this never-ending awesome world of water and all the beauty that surrounds it and lives within it!! Hell – a year ago I was scared to death.

*These days of breathtaking calm were not entirely infrequent in the Sea, and we loved them. They were a nice reprieve from the afternoon winds that are regular in the afternoons. At night, this mirrored effect made it feel like you were actually hanging in outer space with the stars above reflecting immaculately into the water and shining just as bright from below as from above. With zero light pollution, you already can not believe how bright the stars are and how many are there, let alone to be doubled in this reflection. Mom’s little moments of awe for our surroundings increase here as we get further into the Sea and all it’s magic. This place really does cast a spell on you, I don’t know how to explain it. I love telling people about it, but I also feel protective of it. I pray that it and its many treasures hold steady into the future. This is actually about the point in reading my mom’s journals that I decided to type them out for her, for easier access in the future. As I got into it, I decided to make it sharable to the family and that is how I got here with this page and all its extra doo-dads, links, photos and whatnot. 🥰
Baja’s magic holds no boundaries. ❤
This painting is called Hiraeth and was created in 2019 while daydreaming of these nights in Escondido, a place you’ll learn about soon!

May 3, Wednesday

Happy B-day Janet!
John cleaned the boat bottom while the girls did school – I’m trying to double up on lessons in an effort to finish before we go to Arizona. It will be close at best.
We did move anchoring spots this morning, now we’re sitting in 18 feet rather than the 8’ this am at low tide. Another gorgeous day at the beach, the kids are all having a ball together. John caught a trigger fish, but turned him back and bought a sea bass from on of the fisherman here – absolutely wonderful, I fried it this time rather than BBQ.

*I realize here that Mom never said where we anchored, but I according to our photo albums, I see it was Los Gatos. I loved the orange/red rocks here, they were so much fun to climb and explore. And we could take a short trip around the corner to the north to see the tide pools covered in sea urchins.

 *Los Gatos and the dolphins on our way there.

May 4, Thursday

We hauled in the anchor around 8 am and headed for Agua Verde, only 10 knots, so it was another motor sail – but nice and beautiful day. The anchor set by 1pm – along with Nanamuck and North Wind.
We all spent the afternoon at the beach. It’s such a beautiful habit we have gotten into! True Blue pulled in just before dark.

*Oooh! I can feel the excitement of 8-year-old me, hearing that True Blue had just arrived! I would have already been stoked with the other two kid boats, but add two more “already friends” to the mix - wahoo! I’ll bet I went to bed dreaming about all the fun we’d have the next day. I remember I used to review my day before I went to bed, playing it out from start to finish. Maybe that’s how I remember so much, so clearly. Did I somehow know how important it was to keep these memories and hold them tight? I never thought of that before. ❤ …And now I’m crying again. I cry a lot when I talk about the boat - happy, grateful, still-in-awe-of-the-magic tears. Anyway, after logging my day for future recall, I would then dream up all the fun to be had the next day, especially on nights like these, going to bed thinking, “I get to see Tameron tomorrow!” and wondering what all us goobers could get into on the beach. What worlds would we make up and what new things would we see and learn? Between the sun and sand, the clear waters and our imaginations, the possibilities were endless. 🥰

May 5, Friday

Happy Birthday Schyler H! Born at 12:20 pm, 7lb 2oz, 19”, black hair and beautiful!

John shined the boat up and once again we all – after school – headed for the beach!

Yesterday we talked to Danielle and my Mom on phone patch through Leo P. Danielle told us that they were gonna induce Chelle’s labor next Tuesday, because the little squirt was getting so big. Sitting in the sun on the beach I was telling the other girls that now she’ll go ahead and have him on her own first. John had a feeling that we needed to be by the radio tonight just in case they called. We had set up a schedule with Leo for 5 pm every night- just in case. Sure enough! Schyler was born today. We talked to Danielle and Michelle in her hospital room! Here we are in a small cove on a sail boat – no phone – yet we were able to talk to her. I miss not being there today, but she sounded real good – HAPPY – and no worse for the wear. “Grandpa John” is in heaven and so happy – we all are!

We all had happy hour over on North Wind and broke out the bottle of Champagne that Kenny B. gave us before we left and said save it for a special occasion This was it!!

*I remember crowding around the radio, excited to talk to the girls and get all the details about their first grand baby and my first nephew! Mom would have been ready with pen and paper, taking down the time and weight and all. I can see Dad’s huge smile - he has this particular smile that doesn’t come out often, but when it does, it lights up the whole room! He definitely had that smile on this day, being his first day as ‘Papa’. I know Mom really wished she could have been there for support and to hold sweet little newborn Schyler and welcome him to the world.
With the times and technology having come so far, it sounds a little funny now how in awe Mom is of being able to talk to them from a tiny anchorage without phone service. These days there’s a million ways to connect and it’s so easy to take it all for granted. If this were in 2023, rather than one phone call afterward with all the details, we would have had regular updates, almost to the minute. We’d probably also have been able to facetime and see the baby right away. Instead, I don’t think we even saw a picture of him until after we met him a month or so later. It has been a good reminder for me to think about these days when we were just left to wonder so much of the time. It’d be months before hearing from friends and family who weren’t on the priority list for the high-priced phone calls or third-party phone patches through the ham-radio. There were no daily check-ins on social media or anything like that, and while it might feel like there was a lot to miss out on, I think it also gave you a good idea who really thought about you and cared enough to take the time to write and keep in touch. It may seem small, but it makes a big difference. I also think you were more free to enjoy all the things you were doing because you couldn’t see what everyone else was up to.

May 6, Saturday

I didn’t get much sleep last night; I was avoiding another boat – bumper boats. All the boats – except one – were on chain lines and he kept swinging way around. By moving our boat forward and back we avoided him 3 times. Once his dink, trailing behind, got caught on our anchor chain. After shining a light in his window, he finally woke up and took in enough of his line so that I could go to sleep – at 5 am!

We all left Agua Verde at 7:30 am headed for Honeymoon Cove on Isla Danzante. I was too tired to put up with the 20-25 knots of NNW winds that we had for the 1st couple of hours before calming right back down to 10 knots SW. North Wind- being a power boat- leaves last and arrives first, when we came around the point of the island the sight that was waiting was so picturesque. North Wind was resting peacefully in the most pristine turquoise and blue blends of silent water I have ever seen. The sunshine reflecting back on the white hull, causing her to look just a shade lighter than the water itself.

We anchored next to them, both having out stern anchors. It’s such a small cove, Nanamuck anchored out in 58’ - more in the open. I took a much needed siesta while the rest of the gang went to the beach – only 100 or so feet away – I can wait till mañana to snorkel in this haven.

The only thing that could have gone wrong in this ideal hideaway - did. A SW windy little breeze came up and within 5 minutes was puffing in at 20-25 knots, which was putting us and even Nanamuck far too close to the rocks. The sun has gone down and darkness is settling in while we let the stern anchor go (we’ll get it later), haul in the main anchor and shoot on out of there! Nanamuck following behind – North Wind remaining (they are slightly more protected). As we make our way across to Escondido we have white caps surrounding us and spray-washing down the top sides. It only takes an hour and we are anchored in the “Waiting Room” at Escondido. The wind has stopped blowing, but I will sleep much better knowing the rocks aren’t so, so close if it should come up again.

*More technicalities of anchoring! Rope has a lot more give than chain does, which is why this one boat was swinging wider and differently from the other boats. We’re lucky Mom was up to notice the situation before anything happened, as it sounds like we would have easily hit each other at some point. Such is life on a boat - always keeping you on your toes!
The Waiting Room is an anchorage just south and outside the main harbor. I don’t remember why we wouldn’t just mosey on in to the anchorage, but my guess would have to do with tides and entering through the more narrow entrance or maybe securing a mooring.

 1 - Picturesque moments in Honeymoon Cove.
2 - Nanamuk heading over in their dinghy.

May 7, Sunday

After a peaceful night’s rest we, along with Nanamuck head back out to Honeymoon Cove, where we anchor for the day. While the kids all play in the water along the beach the adults take turns snorkeling with the beautiful butterfly fish, puffers and a few sting rays below are some of the inhabitants in this underwater world.

After lunch, we headed back into Escondido, but all the way inside the harbor. The entrance is only a small 65 feet wide and at low tide can be shallow – 6’ for us!

*A-ha! I was right about low tide being why there’s a “waiting room”! Gold star for me! 🌠

Monday, May 8

North Wind came on in to the harbor today, but not soon enough to go into Loredo with ourselves and Nanamuck. We hiked up the desert road only a couple of hot and dry miles before an American who lives here picked us up, all of us, we rode in the camper shell on his truck for the 30 miles into Loredo. We were able to renew our Visas for 60 days, they had ran out on the 3rd. All check-in procedures done, we happened by the same fellow and he gave us a ride back to the dock in Escondido. What are the chances of that happening?!

*Mom and I were laughing about this recently - what a long way to start hiking and hope for the best! I’m sure we had no other option, or limited options, as both places were smaller and quite remote; I doubt there was any kind of taxi or bus service. I think it was smart to trek the whole crew and not just send the dads, as we were way more likely to catch a ride when viewed as a family which someone would be inclined to help and not just three random dudes. It’s awesome that we were able to catch the same ride back! I seem to remember stopping off at his house? Maybe to drop off his groceries and have a bathroom break, idk. Photos found! We did, indeed stop by his place for a moment. What a gorgeous place to live, as long as you don’t mind slight desolation. 🙃

 *Majestic views in Escondido! The boat in the first photo here was called Island Woman, and we would go on to make good friends with her Captain, Bert. When we took a tour of Island Woman, I fell so in love with her I made Bert swear up and down that when he was ready to sell her, he would contact me so that one day I could be her Captain. I loved the interior design of the ship that felt less modern and more “pirate shippy” with beautiful wood interiors, cozy berths and lots of aesthetics as I recall. The sunset photo is the view looking to the northeast of the bay, a view which would come to inspire my Hiraeth painting. 🥰 Finally, the friendly local’s house and our eventual returning to the dinghy dock where we had “parked” our dinghies.

May 9, Tuesday

All 3 boats headed for Isla Carmen and Ballandra Bay, arriving around noon sometime.
- Another paradise –
Happy Hour was on our boat tonight.
We found out Renegade is only just now leaving P.V. Hurry up!

May 10, Wednesday

School, beach, ski-bob and all forms of fun in the sun!

May 11, Thursday

John waxed the boat. He took Samie to the beach, while I stayed home for quiet time. All the kids had a sleep over at North Wind, dinner and movies. Samie and Alan stayed up until 3 am watching a movie and holding hands. It must be love! At 8 years old?! My 1st love was at 13 years.

*Awe, of course I remember this night. We were all watching movies and slowly the younger kids kept falling asleep, but Alan and I were wide awake - both soaking up the fun of being off our own boats and doing something different while also being excited about getting so much time with our crush. I remember feeling so “grown up,” being the two oldest, awake later than the rest and holding hands “like grown ups do.” It was sweet. Side note - I think, I think the movie we were watching was Beethoven, but that thought just popped up randomly, so I could be making it up, haha.

*Nanamuk’s silhouette at sunset in Ballandra, as well as waking up to a cruise ship hovering over us in the morning!
North Wind and crew, Ballandra landscapes and being able to see our anchor chain through the clear waters all the way to the bottom!

May 12, Friday

Another of the usual. Southeast wind all day, calming down around 4 pm and the swell refracting around the point, causing us to roll and bounce most of the night.

May 13, Saturday

Nanamuk and ourselves left the beauty of Ballandra heading for San Juanico while North Wind headed south – they have to go back around and up to California. Poor Souls!
WE had 5 knots ESE all the way to Juanico when it picked up to 20 knots. This anchorage looks beautiful but not good for this wind, so we head up and around the corner and drop the hook in Caleta Ramada. A very small bay with 2 other boats already here. The wind kept its gusty breezes blowen 10 to 20  ESE until 7 pm before it calmed down, but came right back up at 8pm to 10-20 out of the west off and on all night.

May 14, Sunday

Happy Mother’s Day
Happy B-Day Dad Spear

We weighed anchors at 6 am and are under way to Bahia Concepcion with a soft 10 knot breeze WNW. As John was putting up the main, it blew an inside lower seam! All seams on all sails will be resewn this summer. The winds were real fluky off to either side, but on our nose for the most part. We made a phone patch to Mom and Chelle (through Leo) for Mother’s Day, tried Goon, but no one was home. When we turned the corner to come into the channel of Concepcion the winds picked up to 15-18 out of the NNW, right on our stern so John put up the mizzen staysail. We breezed on in under red, white and blue. We set the anchor in a good size cove behind Isla Bargo.

Ok – right after the sail blew a seam the generator quit while we were making water – great!
-Tomorrow’s project! –

I sat and watched the moon rising for at least an hour, so spectacular! Coming up over the horizon, floating through the tender, whispy clouds, the ball of dusky pink reaches until it has conquered its majestic beauty in full brightness and brilliance of a white crystal reflecting its warm glow on the still water below.

Good night and sweet dreams.

*Isla Bargo must have had a name change over the years, as it pulls up now as Coyote Island. Our main reference while cruising was our 5th edition copy of Charlie’s Charts, published in 1994. It was a constant go-to when coming into new territory, especially. Charlie’s charts help show where shoals are, or where it gets especially shallow, it notes various tips and tricks to remember in the area, even where the good fishing spots or where you can find lots of scallops. Over time, we added some of our own notes, as well.

May 15, Monday

John replaced every part possible on the gen-set and no luck, it keeps blowing a fuse. We moved to Santispac anchorage so he can hitch a ride into Mulege to get 10 gallons of diesel. He did it – took only 1.5 hours to get a ride in and get back. We added 5 gallons in tanks and left 5 in the jerry jug.

We weighed the ‘ole anchor again and headed out to the channel on our way to San Carlos. (5pm) Coming out and rounding the point, the sun set in another spectacular array of oranges, looking as if the mountains are on fire. Streaks of deep orange and reds finger their way through the darkening clouds. Deeper and deeper grow the flames of the glowing horizon until darkness overtakes it all.*

Within an hour the full moon is overhead, casting bright light patterns on the rippling ocean. It can be quite startling when you are looking out to the dark side of the boat and turn to have the brilliant light of the shining moon on the other side. We were not too far away from land when we see a moving blip on the radar, but no lights on the horizon. Unbelievably, a sailboat passed within ¼ mile to starboard with no lights on, crazy! The rest of the night was peaceful and uneventful, both of us getting about 3.5 hours sleep. Samie watched a couple movies before she fell asleep. The winds were 10-20 knots filling the sails and pushing us right along. The summer season is approaching and the sun is coming up as early 4:30 am in the shades of pink against a partly cloudy sky. We have just enough light to see a pod of dolphins greeting us and swimming right alongside the boat for 15 or 20 minutes. I could never get bored or tired of watching the graceful dolphins as they so effortlessly move through the blue waters. It’s now 5:30 am and the winds are out of the north picking up to 25 and 30 knots, which also brings the sloppy, rolly 5’ to 6’ swells and chop – NOT AGAIN! But thankfully it’s daylight and we can’t see land. Only 4 hours to go. We made our way into San Carlos and set our anchor, which is not an easy task. The bottom here is “shingles” (whatever that is) but it’s hard and doesn’t grab and hold too great. The wind continues to whip around gusting up to 20 & 25 knots. We know that we won’t get any sleep worrying about dragging anchor – so we pull up and hook on to a mooring line. As I was trying to hold the line and get it to where I could cleat it off, I not only broke a nail, but I bruised my arm and bent one of the forward starboard stanchions – woo, such strength! It bent at the base where it is attached to the deck. One more thing to fix. But we did get a good night’s sleep.

*While I was transcribing this entry, I happened to be enjoying my own sunset! The colors that night were a combination of pastel blues and peaches. 
It sounds a little funny, to be startled by the moon - but when you are out in all that darkness, with nothing but solitude for miles, and you turn around to see this giant, rising full moon watching over you - it might catch you off guard for a second. 🙃
😅Mom made me laugh with the “woo, such strength!” comment! So strong, Momma! It was weird when we would take a stanchion down for repair, because the lines would be totally slack and it felt really weird on deck, as though I were liable to just fly off the totally calm deck just because there were no lifelines. 🐞

May 17, Wenesday

We motored over the 6 miles to Marina Real through a good size swell left over from yesterday. Not knowing the marina, John hopped in the dink and went to check it out as I circled in the bay waiting to make our landing. Ok, it will be so simple – if we don’t scrape bottom going through the entrance at the breakwater with low tide and all that, but we made it with maybe a foot to spare. The lowest the depth meter has ever read – 4 feet! Once inside it’s an easy wide turn into #31. 1st on the list is to plug in to shore power and chill down the fridge. John’s at it already meeting the “neighbors”, like Harry M., from Tubac, Az -where John and Maryann live – he runs the little country store there – what a small world it can be. After a fast wash-down on the boat he gave us a ride into San Carlos where we caught a bus into Guaymas to get the cell phone connected, or at least tried to. US West no longer has any service that is compatible with the Mexican systems and in order to get a Mexican # we have to have proof of an address here – long story – very long day. There are no busses going all the way to Marina Real so from San Carlos we have to take a taxi, $40 pesos for 3 miles! We bought some great veggies and fresh orange juice, also delicious shrimp (no heads) from a “traveling salesman”. He comes by everyday and will bring ice or anything else you request.
The breeze is still blowen 15 to 20 knots and pretty cold so we have the canvas up around the cockpit to keep the chill out. Too bad we don’t have air conditioning for the hot days and nights that are only around the corner.

*If I am correct, this “traveling salesman” Mom speaks of was named Alejandro, and it was so funny because he would announce his arrival to the marina with his “la cucaracha” car horn. 😂 His little truck was decked out with a canopy over the back and all the fruits and veggies tucked under the shade. I remember Mom bragging about the size of avocados he sold for probably half the price they cost in the sates. To this day I rarely purchase avocadoes now without thinking about Alejandro and “la cucaracha”. 🥑🪳😅

*Ah, Marina Real! We almost always had this same slip for the next 7 years! The circled area highlights the condominiums where I would go expend my energy, running up and down the stairs, swimming in the pool, and riding my bike all over the place. Eventually, my adult friends Jinxie and Mad Dog would be docked on the south side of the marina and I’d bike over to pester her or pick her brain about probably anything and everything.

May 18, Thursday

At least I think that’s the right day, it’s so easy to lose track.
John went into Guaymas again, this time he did get the phone hooked up but when he got back out here the signal is too weak to use it. Shit. We made a phone patch through Leo to John R. and Mom. I did manage to get a good enough signal to call Mom by standing on top of the dodger, but not great.
There are houses along the edge of the marina where we can hear the hum of lawn mowers, dogs barking and traffic passing by. It seems like a world of foreign noises long ago left behind for the peaceful silence of the ocean anchorages except for the small breaking waves on the beaches nearby.

*I absolutely love reading these sweet observations from my Momma. 🥰

May 19, Friday

Roach said he faxed the required statement of American Express so that we could get the phone hooked up with the other company, hoping for a better signal, but the guy never came out. We went into town with Keith, who has a van here. We had dinner, John real Mexican food, me a delicious steak, Samie a cheeseburger and fries that she said was the best ever!

*I’d be willing to bet this was our first dinner at Tequila’s! We loved this restaurant which is located just up the street the San Carlos Marina, it was one of our most frequented stops in town, and I always got my favorite, the hamburguesa con queso y papas! The staff was always friendly and kind, remembering us through the years. It’s always nice to have little hubs of familiarity when living a nomadic lifestyle. ❤🐞

May 20, Saturday

John has been cleaning on the boat non-stop and it’s looking like new.
Bill and Trish G. from Lakeside (Charlie Clark’s) are down here staying in their house. We got a ride over there, beautiful house! It is Trish’s B-day, 40 – like me, we both graduated from Snowflake in 1973.
The sunsets are still beautiful trying to peak through the houses that block them from our view, that’s the bad thing about marinas, no great views. Talked to Peg and John and Maryann.

*Mom just showed me these yearbook photos from their graduation in ‘73! We were looking through them after celebrating two new graduations in the family. I had never realized they went to school together!

May 21, Sunday

John buffed out and waxed the hull of the boat – shiny! I did laundry and scrubbed so hard I wore the skin off 2 knuckles, ouch! But compared to all of John’s cuts and scrapes, it’s minor.
Ok we will be here in this area for about 3 months. We will take short trips to anchor and spend a few days in the beautiful coves nearby – but basically we, or at least I feel like I’m “home” for awhile. After being on the move every 2 or 3 days for the last month or so I was feeling like a beach-front transient. Which in reality is not a bad way to spend our days and I love every minute of it! But maybe at a slower pace. Anyhow, when I have the steps, a “door”mat (dockmat), shore power (full time 120v) and local mailing address and a phone (total luxury), it feels like home.
John and Samie went out along the beach and caught a red snapper.

*Dad always had a smattering of cuts and scrapes - half the time he didn’t even know he had them until Mom or I pointed it out or he left a smear against something he’d rubbed up against. lol They were mostly minor, but every now and again he’d get a “good one.” Speaking of, some of the worse beatings my dad got on the boat had to do with the dodger! The dodger is the fiberglass structure with windows which was built up, over and partially around the cockpit, protecting us from sea spray, winds, and tall waves. The underside of the roof had several half-inch wide fiberglass slats which came down, perpendicular from the roof - I assume some sort of support for the dodger, which was solid and sturdy enough to walk on. Anyway, Dad had a real bad habit of coming up the companionway stairs and forgetting to duck, as the dodger overhung the companionway. This resulted in many gnargly bumps, bruises and bleeds from cracking his head on these slats! 😬I can still hear the strange, sharp thud that was specific to that particular event, along with the string of curse words that would inevitably follow. 😅 Our attempt at literally softening the blow for Dad’s poor skull was to super glue long strips of wetsuit fabric, which is cushy, kind of like a gym or yoga mat. This definitely made a difference while Dad’s muscle memory improved! I’m not sure Mom ever hit her head on it, and I certainly never had that issue - one the perks of being short! Here’s a photo of the dodger (also, naptime!) and of the steps Mom’s talking about . Since our deck is quite a bit higher than dock-level, we had these heavy-duty plastic steps with grip-tape that you’d set on the dock, next to your entry way. Getting into a marina after a few months always felt like checking in to the Ritz Carlton or something.

1 - Here you can see the underside of the dodger and the slats we cushioned. The bottom right corner is our compass at the helm, and tucked away next to me you can see the radar (covered for protection from the sun) and the VHF radio. The VHF is essentially a Walkie Talkie, reaching much shorter distances than the HAM radio. There were main, public frequencies for different areas and all the boaters would be tuned into that station. You would hail whomever [Nanamuk, Nanamuk, this is Wandrin’ Star, come in? …. Wandrin’ Star, calling Nanamuk, over.] and once they responded, you’d designate another frequency for your conversation and then return to the main frequency when finished. [Wandrin’ Star, out.]
2 - Our steps! We eventually got a dock mat to put under them, because sometimes the lack of traction underneath sent them sliding out from under you as you stepped off them. Whoopsie-daisy!

May 22, Monday

Nanamuk made it in this morning. On their way in from Concepcion, as the sun was coming up they ran right up to and over a whale sleeping on the surface. It jarred their boat, no damage, and he floated on by.
They are in the slip next to us and the kids are runn’en and have’n a ball.
John added 62 gallons of diesel by way of jerry jugs and dink. He figures we used 1  2/3 gallons per hour including the gen-set, since leaving La Paz.
Dark clouds overhead look threatening but we only got a few sprinkles. Just enough to tease us. They did carry with them some lightning that brightened the sky through the night.

*This was one of the wildest stories I remember hearing! Rob was on watch at the time and everyone else was asleep. The way I remember hearing it, Rob was quite sleepy and perhaps dozing off a little when suddenly startled by the boat lifting up and out of the water while being pushed off course some 45° or more. The whale was not disturbed, thankfully - who knows what reaction it may have had if startled!

May 23, Tuesday

Just another normal day. A little of this and that.

May 24, Wednesday

Alan and Janelle stayed here while Grace and Rob went in to do laundry and such. The kids watched movie after movie. We all had a ‘dock party’. BBQ’d red snaper – scallops (hot dogs for the kids). Yum! Very enjoyable evening – as they all are.

*Dock parties were great! Basically just happy hour on your dock with whichever neighbors wanted to join in. Marina Real was definitely host to the most regularly held dock parties. There always seemed to be someone playing guitar and people would bring their snacks and drinks and post up in a deck chair or on a dock box. What the heck is a dock box? It’s a storage box alloted to each slip which is really helpful for having your hose, power cords and other such tools handy. Fun fact: There’s a really silly song I learned from one such of these parties which was written down for me and I memorized and can randomly spit out to this day if I give my brain a second to pluck it out of the ether. It’s called the Moose Gooser’s Song and it still makes me laugh.

 1- Dock party with crew from Nanamuck, Scallywag, Miss Teak II and others.
2 - Some questionably-framed family photos of Nanamuk - and their stow-away.
3 - Finally, the little trio that was us. 🥰

May 25, Thursday

John and I got a ride into San Carlos while Samie stayed with Nanamuk. We did laundry and bedding and towels and checked on some boat insurance. The kids with their usual endless energy played all day. I called Goon, she’s still coming back with us for about a month. John called John M. – he will pick us up in Nogales on Tuesday the 30th when Bob and Cynthia from Miss Teak II drop us off there.

May 26, Friday

We took the main sail down and got it all folded and in its bag to take to Arizona to have all the seams restitched. We had another dock party tonight. Grace and I walked with the kids down to the beach, but as far as we could walk it was all covered with sea weed as well as the surf so no one went swimming.

May 27, Saturday

I’m a few days behind – so I don’t remember what happened today, but nothing unusual.

May 28, Sunday

Everyone on the dock is busy getting ready to leave either for a few weeks or the whole summer.
I called Gary A. to wish him a Happy B-day. He was quite surprised.

May 29, Monday

Happy Anniversary Chelle and Faron

Nanamuk left this morning to be hauled out for the summer. They have to go home to Canada to work for a while. Bummer! 
John got a local guy over here to work out the gen-set. He does all the maintenance work for the Shrimpers. He found the problem and fixed it for $N300 pesos. When John replaced all the parts trying to find the problem, the solenoid he put in (brand new) was no good. Put the old one in – presto! It must have just been hung up to begin with. You know – a good kick was all it needed!
The night before Nanamuk left Samie finally got the kiss she had been waiting for. Her and Alan were behind the pillar at the end of the dock and for at least 10 minutes I could hear them saying  “do you want to?” “yes” “no” back and forth until finally they kissed twice! It was so cute, they both came out of there wiping their mouths off, saying “I never should have done that.”
Samie came straight down and brushed her teeth. It was so cute and so funny!

*Ah yes, my first kiss. They were leaving the next morning, so he and I went behind the pillar for “privacy” to say goodbye before we had to go inside for the night. I do remember the “do you want to?” hesitations before going for it. I only remember one peck on the lips, but maybe there were two short ones. I definitely remember bouncing out of there like “yech!” and running to brush my teeth, wondering why kissing was such a big deal. 😅 Thankfully, we weren’t ready for that!

May 30, Tuesday

We closed up the boat for our trip to Arizona. Leaving the boat is much more difficult than leaving a house. We are traveling with Bob & Cynthia Smith from Miss Teak II who are on their way to Denver, CO for the summer. We ate breakfast in San Carlos and were on our way by 9 am. Nice easy trip in to Nogalas, where we had a good inspection at the border. The mini van was way crammed and completely full, but at least we didn’t have to empty it out. Welcome back to the U.S.!
John M. was waiting there for us and we stayed at their house tonight. Good food and company.

1 - Morning of departure, we still had the wind scoop up that morning; it was a life-saver and helped funnel any kind of a breeze down my hatch, into the vessel. I had a GIANT hatch up front, which was like having a sun-roof in my bedroom and also meant I had the most temperature-controlled room. 😎
2 - Everything’s taken down, tucked away, and ready to hunker down and wait for our return. 

May 31, Wednesday

John is letting us borrow his pickup, we stopped at Mac’s Indian Jewelry and came on into Mesa. Chelle, Schlyer and Danielle came over and we did a bunch of errands, saw Danielle’s apartment. Schyler is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen! John was so cute – proud Grandpa!

Meeting baby Schyler for the first time and being silly with my sister, Danielle. ❤