On our way

Hello friends and family.  We're on our way south!!  My last blog was dated Aug. 31 and here it is already Oct. 19th and we are sitting in the Coulee Playland Resort in Electric City, Washington.  It was a beautiful day for a drive although we did have one big hiccup-we left all our money at home.  We realized our error when we stopped at Costco in Kelowna and hubby asked me for the money.  I thought he had the money.  We went over the scenario of where the money might be and he finally realized that on Tuesday he had taken it from my purse and put it in the drawer because there was someone working on installing a window in our home and we were busy in the rig putting things away.  Unbeknownst to me he thought I had put it back in my purse because he saw a lump of paper that resembled a bulging envelope with American, Mexican and Philippino bills inside my already bulging purse.  Well, the chase was on.  The race was to make it back to Enderby without hitting any red lights back through Kelowna, Winfield, Oyama, Vernon and Armstrong.  Can you believe it?  We did not hit a single red light all the way home.  There it was, right where he put it.  Now the race was on to get back to Kelowna by 12:00, renew our Costco membership, buy a big tub of popping corn, contact lens cleaner and two big bags of hubby's favourite treat that cannot be purchased in the US or Mexico.  Only close personal friends and family will know what that is.  I'll know you have been reading this blog when you comment on the what that favourite treat is.  Anyway, we had the car hooked back on and out of the Costco parking lot by 12:18 pm.  I'm still laughing.

 We have a new passenger with us.  His name is Hobo.  He was a gift from our daughter this past summer.  He's a little shy, so I took a picture of him while he had his back turned to me.  He was asleep when I took the picture of the sign, otherwise he would have wanted to part of the picture.

We had planned to stay here two days but we decided to get away as fast as possible from the cooler weather so we up and left in the morning.  Lots of fishers here with their boats and it is only four miles south of the Coulee Dam on Banks Lake.  The drive south from here was very nice.  Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park is on Hwy 17.  The roads are newly paved all the way to Soap Lake.  There are lots of camping and fishing spots to pull into and launch the boat.  One distinguishing feature of this drive is Steamboat Rock.

Time to get ready to go to Mexico

Hello followers of our blog.  Lots of things have happened since our last blog on March 1, 2011.

It's taken me a long time to get over the loss of my Weaverdog, but I'm finally understanding that having a pet is a huge responsibility when we are so busy.  I've put on a lot of weight because I just sat in the house to keep warm this past Spring.  What a miserable time we've had here in our beautiful North Okanagan.  The weather finally started to act like summer near the end of July and August was lovely and warm.  It made great golfing weather.

We are going down to Lo de Marcos Nayarit in a month or so and we are going in our new (to us) rig.
Our lovely old Southwind is now sitting on a RV lot waiting anxiously for its new owner and ours is sitting in our RV parking waiting to go out again on Saturday morning.  This will be its third trip since we got it in June in Chilliwack, BC.  It,  is Dos, our second and much newer rig.  He is a 2006 Tiffin Allegro Open Road model 32.6 ft in length - not 34 feet that we were led to believe by the RV dealer.  They only had to get a measuring tape out to see that it is shorter. 

Our real first trip was home from the dealer.  The drive over the Coquihalla highway was fine.  We had no trouble going up or coming down.  Our second trip was to Lloydminster, Sk to visit my sister and bro-in-law at Sandy Beach which is north on Hwy 17.  The weather was very nice but windy and some rain so we didn't get much golfing in.  We stayed at a Casino parking lot east of Canmore, AB the first night and the second night at the Wal-Mart in Vegreville, AB.  Our family reunion was cancelled this year due to unforeseen circumstances but we stopped in Edmonton to say hello to Mike's auntie Jennie and his uncle Joe.  They were both home so it was nice to stop and say hello.  We also stopped at Mike's old home on 41st Street.
Another Mike H. lives there now and Mike H's wife Debbie gave him a tour.  My Mike's Dad built that house and hubby lived there until his Dad moved his family to the beautiful Shuswap country.  From Vegreville, Mike drove about 50 km and pulled over; saying it was my turn to drive.  What a difference 16 years makes in the stability and ease of driving.  I drove Dos the rest of the way and stopped just before the Home Depot in Lloyd so Mike could take over driving us around the city to Hwy 17 and north to S.B.

In case you golfers are interested, there is a very nice nine hole golf course at Sandy Beach.  Right now though, all the greens are oiled sand greens.  Not too many of them left around nowadays. 

Hubby, myself and my soeur, along with one other lady, went into a golf tournament at Silver Lake.  I'd never heard of the place but there is a lake there and a very nice golf course.  It is sufficient to say that we never won anything, except for Mike who got a KP and won $5.00.

My bro-in-law is a very hard worker but when he gets home he likes nothing better than to grab his geetar and make music.  On Friday night we had a jam session at their home.  It was a very interesting event.  Seestor made a big pot of chili and we bought buns and potato salad and everyone filled up before the music started.  I won't go into the old time dance we attended because the band came to the house to play again for a smaller audience.

Time to leave and home again by the beginning of the August long weekend.

More news to come on future blogs.  Sorry I didn't use my camera at all on this last trip.  I guess I could throw some pics in somewhere here but not right now.
Cheers from the Holoidays still on holiday

Tragedy in the family

I am sad to announce the untimely death of my wonder dog Weaver.  He was a spunky little poodle/bishon cross that I got six years ago from the parents of a student at the school where I worked.  To make a long story short, the pups were going to the pet store, but first Carrie had to drop off one puppy that was purchased by one of our SEA's.  I couldn't bear them all going to the pet store so I twisted hubby's arm and came home with Weaver.  He was a wonderful little dog.  He went to doggie daycare for the first four months of his life.  The daycare was only just passed the school so I put him in his crate every morning and he went happily to begin his day with all the other dogs living on the farm.

After Spring Break that year he stayed at home.  Once we retired he developed separation anxiety.  Our first trip to Mexico he came too.  He was very anxious when the motorhome was moving but calmed right down when we stopped for the night and was happy spending his time with us.  Driving home was not too bad when he was allowed to sit with hubby on the driver's left arm rest.



Now he's happy with the wind blowing his ears back

He loved to play "Ball" and was a delight to watch running circles in the ball diamond behind the condo.

He was friendly to everyone and loved to give his mommy hugs.  He'd put his paws on my shoulders and his head would be tucked into the side of my neck. 

We didn't bring Weaver south with us this year.   His separation anxiety got the better of the wonderful family who volunteered to take care of him when we went south.  Bob and Cher and family; thank you. 
Jeanette took him in November and had him to the end.  Jeanette we can never thank you for your patience and compassion.  I knew he grew on you too.

Weaver Beaver you have left a big hole in my heart but wonderful memories to keep me smiling.

R. I. P.



Only a few week left, boohoo

We've only got a few weeks left here in Lo de Marcos.  I don't have a lot of exciting things to talk about so I'm posting some photos that I've taken since the last post and some from before the last post but I didn't use them.



yellow flowers from vines behind our rig



Lovely amaranth plant on wall of bungalow and hummer peacefully sitting for photo




Same little hummingbird still eating




Little hummer not too disturbed by encroaching fellow/lady?




Taking a rest from sentry duty




Oh oh; is someone coming?




One of the noisiest and busiest birds in the bush






News since Tonala

It's been three weeks since we went to Tonala.  The weather has been up and down.  One week we had cool cloudy weather that kept us from the beach for a couple of days.  Only stayed away because it was too cool and breezy to enjoy the beach.  Now cool and breezy is all relative, depending on where you are living.  I think of this cool and breezy in relation to cool and breezy at Harald's Park near the end of August.

At the end of January, hubby went into a charity golf tournament at Campo de Ensueno.  He enjoyed himself and received a t-shirt out of the deal and helped raise money for the after school activity centre here in Lo de Marcos.

I'll have more pics to show later in this blog.

On Febrero cinco (February 5th), the town celebrated Los Amigos do Lo de Marcos.  The day started out at 8 am with registration for a town walkabout.  I put in this photo to show the stage at the back of the plaza and how nice it has been painted this last fall.



There were over 80 gringos signed up and were split into three groups.  Some of the places we visited included the primary school which taught up to grade six.  There is no grass in the courtyard, but they do have a large football field behind the school.  Los amigos has helped with the school by providing doors on the washrooms to give more privacy; one lady has donated Spanish language books for a library so that children could read for pleasure and they are building a palapa over the concrete tables set beside the outside cafeteria.  The rooms are crowded with desks and the one room we saw had only one white board.   The students are provided with lunch every day.  The teachers drive from Tepic; 100 kms away; every day.

Some photos we took: The top picture is the cafeteria.  The bottom one is one of the classrooms.

From the school we walked down to the Casa de los ninos; an after school activity centre.  This service was provided by two couples who had lost family to accidents.  They are very dedicated to this after school activity centre and on average they get about 50 students a day coming after school.   They get help with homework, play games, do art and craft projects and generally hang out with a great group of volunteers, both locals and gringos.

We had walked past this place many times and I couldn't see any buildings when I peeked through the gate lock.  We went into the yard and found that the building was at the back.  Didn't look like much from the outside but we were pleasantly surprised by the size inside.

This is the medical clinic.  It is on a side street that I wouldn't have found it I hadn't seen it a few weeks ago on a walk with Bev.  It has one doctor who lives on the premises and he is not a full fledged doctor yet.  He is like an intern or resident doctor who has to do one year in a clinic as part of his schooling.

Our next stop was a walk past the home that is volunteered for the sterilization program for dogs and cats that is run at least two times a year.  Unfortunately no picture.  It wouldn't have turned out anyway because it was so surrounded by trees and palms that all we could see was the beautiful fence.

We continued on to visit the Senior Centre.  I never knew what this building was for when we were here last season.  Now I know.  Folks from Niagara Falls staying here in Lo de Marcos put on a Christmas party for 90 seniors in this room.  The seniors were very surprised when Santa showed up bearing gifts.  It was the talk of the town.  Next year, look out Lloyd and Lisa.  One big problem getting the seniors here is that the roads are so rutted and full of holes and rocks that the elderly have trouble walking on them.  Some gringos with golf carts go and pick them up so that they can go to the Centre and enjoy the company of their friends.  Cars also have a hard time driving on these roads because of their condition.



From the Senior Centre we walked down a street that we were told had another kindergarten.  Sure enough there it was; in a little house with about 15 children attending.  These parents cannot afford to send their children to the State run kindergarten so they take turns helping out and providing meals every day.   This little school  helps those not as fortunate.  The teacher is a professional teacher who is hoping that Amigos de Lo de Marcos will put her school on their grant agenda for next year.  I hope so too.

Down the street from the kindergarten are stables that house horses being trained to "dance".   I even saw a turkey back in the trees.  Anyone who has been to Mexico has probably seen the "dancing horses" in parades and at fiestas.





Our last stop was the recycling centre.  Anything the gringos do has to have the approval of the town council.  This is a money making venture and it employs locals year round.  Every Friday we see the gringos collecting plastics, aluminum and glass. 



Later in the day there was a silent auction, a rummage sale, and live auction.  The local restaurants sold their foods on the street beside the plaza.  Great fish tacos, chili rellanos and more. 

Thanks for walking with us.  It's always better in person and there were guides to tell us about the different areas we visited and what they were doing.  It was a great day.  We look forward to seeing what the Amigos do next year.  If you are interested in finding out about theAmigos de Lo de Marcos you can go to their website:  http://www.amigosdelodemarcos.org/.



Trip to Tonala

On January 21st my friend and neighbour Bev and I returned home from a three day shopping spree in Tonala, Mexico.  Tonala is a suburb of Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico.

We signed up on a ladies' bus trip that had 42 ladies wanting to spend, spend, spend.  We stayed at the Hacienda del Sol hotel which was in the heart of the Tonala Thursday and Sunday market area.

  We walked everywhere.  If we bought something too big to carry easily we had it delivered to the hotel.  I bought some beautiful lamps for 290 pesos which works out to about 24.00 Canadian.  I am sure that if I tried to buy them at home they would cost about five times that much; shades included.  I bought a couple of other small things and a few gifts for folks back home but nothing major.  Bev and I rewrapped the lamps in a bigger box and the shades and the gifts in the old lamp box.  Bev said she was giving me her shopping parcel space on the bus home.  I'm glad she did.  There was some (I mean a lot) of juggling of parcels and suitcases to get everything on the bus for the return trip.   The bus driver was very good but it annoyed me no end that he would end up talking on his cell phone and driving us home.  Total cost of the trip excluding meals and purchases was 1100 pesos which works out to about $100 Canadian.  That included the bus, driver's tip, tip to the first night's restuarant, and hotel room for two nights.  Do you think we could do a shopping bus trip at home for that price? 

We've had a pretty busy month.  Hubby and I took a drive up to Las Varas.  It is a real Mexican town not too far north of here.  We looked around, had lunch and then came home again.  I think we saw one gringo in town.  It looked pretty prosperous.  If you want to buy good shoes, go there.  They had lots of shoe stores for men. 

One morning the shrimp sellers came down the street so hubby and Vic went out to see what was for sale.  These crusteaseans (sp) were pretty big.  Pretty good too if I do say so myself.

Hubby and I continue to go to our yoga exercises in the morning.  Hubby is also reading a lot of books; our friends Vic and Bev were given lots of books by his brother so they've been reading them and passing them on to the library under the palapa. 

Alfredo and Erica's grandson was born December 31.  Bev and I went to the Fruteria yesterday, and ran into Alfredo, who pointed us to the store where his daughter was shopping and baby was there.  He's a beautiful baby, now one month old. Already.

There hasn't been a lot of motorhome traffic here this January.  I think we've had four vehicles come in and four move out.  Two couples moved down the street to the new rv park on the beach.  This last week we've had two vans come in.  Two of the men were from Ontario and they drove on down south after staying only two days.  Yesterday Jennifer left for the south to visit her friend.  She is a bird watcher so she stayed two days too, but she liked it so much here that she says she just might come back next season and stay longer.  She's from Ottawa and drove all the way down here by herself.

While she was here we had a beautiful sunset one evening.  Hubby tried to capture the setting sun but cameras never do the same job that God does. God being whoever or whatever one believes.

Till next time,
we are the Holoidays on holiday

Time is flying by...

Yes, I know.  I haven't written anything since January 1, 2011.  I'm glad you all noticed.  What can I say?
It must get boring for you to read that the weather is sunny and warm, with a cooling sea breeze to make every day bearable.  I guess I can say now that we have had quite cool evenings here lately.  After all it is January.  One night the temperature went all the way down to 12 degrees C.  Today we woke up and it was still dark.  It was foggy out.  We went to yoga with the fog but by the time we started the sun was out, the sky was clear, the waves were wild and noisy.            


Our yoga instructors and one of the students (in the hat)

The golfing is good; sorry Ken, they don't have electric or gas carts here so it might be hard for you to golf here unless you put Brooklyn on a trailer and pull her out here. :)  In case I haven't mentioned before; hubby golfs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and sometimes Wednesdays.  I golf Wednesday and Sundays.  This hole has an island green that is surrounded by water with only a ramp up to the green.  Kind of hard to see but it is a par 4 hole.  I've left quite a few golf balls in that water and it is so deep one cannot retrieve one's ball unless one uses a floater ball.  At this course it doesn't seem to be illegal to use one.


Signature hole #6 Field of Dreams Golf Course












We've been having a great time watching the hummingbirds devour the sugar water.  Bev and Vic went to P.V. to Home Depot and found us a real bird feeder and we've now got two; one at each end of the rig.  Our neighbours went to Guadalajara last week for a few days and their feeder ran out of sugar water.  Needless to say we had lots of visitors fighting for position as pack leader, so to speak.  The most hubby has seen around the feeder were 11 birds at one time.  This time there are five birds and four feeding at the same time, which is very unusual.  One usually warns off the others and feeds by himself (herself?)  Both of us will turn the lawn chair to face the bird feeder just so we can sit and watch them fight over the sugar water




Hubby and I went shopping at Costco in P.V. last week and on our way there and home we drive through a small village called San Ignacio.  On the highway there is a house that is a very bright green.  I had the camera and I opened the window to take a picture of the house as hubby was driving by.  I got a pleasant surprise when I viewed the photo on my computer.  I got the house but I also got the tree in the yard.  These trees are all over and they are beautiful.  I think you all will think so too.



The green hacienda with the parota tree in the front yard

Until next time,

Holoidays on holiday  < :)