Year end summary

                                                            Dec 10 2016

Seasons Greetings loved ones, 

This year has had its ups and downs as, I guess, most years do. We're still on Isla Mujeres, and probably will be for a bit longer. We've looked at the possibility of making a more permanent base here but haven't had the right opportunity show up just yet. So we'll see what the new year brings and move on when the wind and waves call us.

We did some travelling away from Second Star this year and plan more for 2017. Our first big trip was to Indian Wells CA in March for the big tennis event. Bob has been telling us to come for years and now that we have it may be an annual event for us (as long as the invitation lasts). We had a great time and got see some family and friends while we were there.
For three months, Madison, Capt Johne's latest apprentice, was living abroad, working and learning about the boating life. In July, after we did a delivery job to FL, she moved on to other adventures. 
There were visits from friends and family including Danile and Larry coming to do some diving which resulted in my first night dive. That was very exciting and interesting and there were lots of turtles. And Carson's first solo visit to fish with Grampa Johne. 
There was also a trip with Bob to Bahia Ascencion in October for a week of great wild life spotting(my first wild flamingo and pilot whales, roseate ibis and roseate spoon-bills, bull sharks and lots of dolphin), a lot of bone fish stalking and a little catching. And a bit of just relaxing. 
In doing the delivery job to FL we also made new friends. Kate and James (Magic Badgers people) are kindred spirits and we're looking forward to seeing more of them in the near future. 

On the down side; in April, Eve, our cat, who had been with us for 17 years, past on. She was a wonderful part of our life and we miss her.
I also lost one of my best friends do to complications from heart surgery. Teresa Bryan-Burns was one of the brightest lights in the universe and, November 14 was a very dark day for those of us who love her. I'm trying very hard to celebrate and honor her life while I learn to deal with her absence from this plane of existence. 
Some of our family have also had some difficult things to deal with. We've tried to be as emotionally supportive as we can through some trying times. It's always tough when people you love have issues, and you can't make it all better.

Over all life is very good. We're happy to continue enjoying each day as it comes and see what the universe has in store for us tomorrow. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and all things bright and beautiful in 2017.  

Work and play update

29 June 2016

Greetings loved ones,
I'm writing this entry from the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. We are delivering a boat from Isla Mujeres to Ft Myers. It's a Beneteau 38. It's my first long passage on comparatively small sail boat. We have perfect motor boat weather conditions. But little to no wind so we're motoring our way along.

Madison, who has been with us on Second Star for the last 3 months, is, right now, sitting her first solo watch. She has been with us learning about boating and, when we get to Ft Myers, will be leaving us to join the crew of another boat.

Kate, the owner of Magic Badger (the boat we're on), is also aboard. With Madison now able to stand her own watch, we're doing 2 hours on watch, 6 hours off, which is the easiest watch schedule I've ever had. 
It's been a beautiful trip so far. We've seen lots of dolphin, a fabulous sunset, lots of stars, and miles and miles of blues, calm water. And the next 2 days promise more of the same. I'll continue writing this when we get there...

Aug 7 2016
Oh well, so much for continuing writing when we got to FL. I get side tracked. 

So, when we did get there, there was lots of work to get Magic Badger ready to put on a truck so she could continue her trip to Canada and get settled into her new home. Kate, Madison and I were there for about a week helping with the preparations. We all left on the 8th of July (Kate up to Canada to get ready to receive the boat when it arrived. Madison to Curacao to start her new job, and I came back to Isla Mujeres to take care of things on Second Star) while Capt Johne stayed on in Ft Myers for another ten days finishing all the work involved in getting a sail boat ready to be demasted, lifted out of the water, and properly secured on the truck. 
I'm happy to report that Magic Badger is now re-masted in Canada where I'm sure she will do much happy sailing the rest of this season and in summers to come. 

When Capt Johne got back to Isla Mujeres he had some jobs waiting. As we've worked our way through those we've also started to work on "what next". Until we figure that out, we're taking a little time to have some fun. Like going with friends to anchor up at Isla Blanca, just north of here, for the weekend. It was lovely and relaxing. So nice to just get away. 

I would say I'll post more soon, but we all know that it will happen when it happens. So, until then... 

In mourning

                                                             April 19 2016
Greetings loved ones,

20 years ago Johne and I met. A couple of years later our little family grew when a wonderful little kitty cat, whom we called Eve, came to live with us. She travelled from Reno to Ft Myers with us when we got this crazy idea to rebuild a boat. Over 11 years ago we all moved aboard that boat and she has been aboard ever since. She has travelled around the Caribbean and enjoyed watching the birds in many different countries.

For several months Eve has been showing the signs of aging. At over 18 years old she was having some difficulty with her balance and problems with her back hips and legs. It had gotten to difficult for her to go up and down the stairs so we had blocked them to keep her from falling down them.

About a week ago she seemed to be getting worse so called the local vet.  He came and said that this type of neurological degeneration might be worsened by inflammation around the brain. He gave her a shot of corticosteroid and said if it was going to help we'd know in a couple of hours. It didn't help and she got worse quickly. Over the weekend she stopped being able to stand on her own. By Sunday I was hand feeding her.
Today, just before 1:00, Delfino, the local vet, came to Second Star to help Eve pass gently from this life. He was lovely in his manor with her and with us. She passed quickly and peacefully when he gave her the shot.
We feel fortunate to have had her in our lives for so long. She's been a wonderful part of our family and we will miss her.

Rest in peace beloved companion. 

New crew

                                                           March 25 2016
Greetings loved ones, 
What, another blog post, so soon! Yes, I know it's shocking. But we have more news on Second Star. 

During the long break in my blogging last year, back in June, Alexis, our crew/apprentice we'd taken on in the Dominican Republic, returned home.  It seemed his family needed more than he could provide from here and, while he'd learned a lot, he wasn't making enough progress on his English to be able to learn all he would need for getting his Captains license. He left us as a better, more experienced mariner than he was when he came aboard, and I believe that, overall, his time on Second Star improved his life.

So, coming back to the current news. We've just "adopted" a new crew/apprentice/project. Madison is a 22 year old, college graduate from Missouri, who decided that she wants to become a mariner. We met her parents here in Isla Mujeres last year, and when she started thinking about learning to be a boater, her father suggested that she get in touch with Capt Johne for advice on how best to proceed. She did, and the more they talked (exchanged emails) the more Capt Johne thought Second Star might be the place for her to get started. We agreed to have her come down for a week to see if she fit in our world and if we, and Second Star, would give her what she was looking for. She came aboard on March 16th and we started getting her accustomed to how things are done on a boat. On the 22nd, after lunch, the three of us discussed where we stood. None of us had any major hangups, so we committed to her being with us for the next few months. She will be learning navigation, boat handling, maintenance inside and out including cleaning, polishing, engine maintenance and repair. She's learning about the electrical systems, the plumbing systems and about how to read/predict the weather. She wants to learn to weld. I'll teach her how to splice lines. She's is a very excited and enthusiastic student. 

Indian Wells trip

                                                  March 18 2016

Greetings loved ones, 

We have arrived back in Isla Mujeres after a trip to Indian Wells CA to watch some tennis and visit some family and friends. It was a really fun trip. 

We left Second Star early on the morning of the 9th and it was a long travel day. We got to the Cancun airport plenty early, got checked in and had breakfast. The flight to Mexico City was uneventful. We thought the connection was going to be tight, but when we got to the gate we found the next flight was delayed. So we had time to grab a sandwich for the ride to Tijuana. With a good tail wind we made up some time in the air and only got in a little later than expected. At the rental car place they had our reservation but wouldn't take the voucher and prepaid insurance we'd gotten on line. It took quite some time to get things sorted out and get on the road. By the time we left there to cross the border it was almost 1700 hrs. The border crossing at Otay isn't very well marked if you don't know where you're going and we accidentally ended up in the line for people with passes who go back and forth a lot. We were very apologetic and asked how to get back where we supposed to be. We were told that we'd "passed the point of no return" and that at this point they would give us a warning and search the car. That was fine with us especially when the warning turned out to be "don't do it again" and the whole thing saved us at least an hour over doing it right. 

It was a long drive up to La Quinta and we needed to stop for food. When we got off the highway, and made sure we were heading the right way we'd passed all the fast food places but we saw a little Mexican restaurant on the side of the road. I told Capt Johne "we are in southern California; this will be good Mexican food." He thought it was funny to come from Mexico to eat Mexican food in California but agreed that it would probably be good, and it was there. We enjoyed the meal very much and got back on the road. 

We arrived in La Quinta about 17 hours after leaving the boat. After another hour or two of visiting with Bob and Karen it was definitely time for bed. 

The next day we had a lovely morning visiting over coffee, sitting out on the back patio, overlooking the mountains and the golf course. Bob had to be at work (the Plexipave booth in the tennis gardens) by 1030 hrs. He had gotten us tickets for every day we were going to be there, which were general admission to the whole event with reserved seating in stadium 1. We ran a couple of errands on the way in and, once Bob was in the booth working, we had the rest of the morning to explore the event, watching practice sessions and matches as we chose. My sister Ellen was driving down from Sunland to visit for the afternoon so we got back to Bob's booth before noon so Johne could have lunch with Bob, and I could hook up with Ellen. She and I had a wonderful afternoon visiting and taking care of more errands we both needed to do. 

Bob's daughter Lindy had arrived from Reno sometime in the afternoon and that evening we all got back together at the house, got cleaned up, and Bob took us out for a fabulous dinner at Arnold Palmer’s restaurant. There was lots of laughter and the food was outstanding. After that Ellen had to head home. The rest of us were pretty tired so we called it a night. 

Friday and Saturday brought more great days of visiting and watching tennis. It was very exciting getting to watch some of the big name players live in person. Sunday our friend Janet came up to see us and we also got to have lunch with Johnes Aunt Hope. Hope is the eldest living member of Johnes family. It had been several years since we had last seen her. She is doing great and it was wonderful to see her and have a chance to catch up. We had to leave very early (0430 hrs) the next day so that evening after dinner was for getting everything organized and packed. 

The drive back down to the boarder had some small stress with weather (a bit of fog and rain) and heavy (but not horrible) traffic. We got to the boarder before 0700 hrs and, after choosing the nothing-to-declare lane, we were waved on through without even stopping. I had a small freak out about being in Mexico without a visa. But Johne said we'd find immigration at the airport and get it straightened out. So after we'd return the car, we got to the terminal and the first thing you see is the immigration counter. The sign says, if you need a visa go there before checking in at the airline desk. Since you can walk or drive across there they just have it before the check in. But it would be very easy to be an illegal coming in there.

The flights were, once again, uneventful. So, after another very long travel day, we arrived back at Second Star, worn out, but in the best way. 

Live your dreams...

Holiday's

                                              Jan 22 2016
Greetings loved ones,

Here we are almost a month into the new year and life continues to be fun and busy. After the trip to Monterrey it was time to get ready for the holidays, our solstice party and the string of company we had coming. We had the party on Dec 21st and, as usual, it was a blast with lots of interesting friends, old and new. Ava and Mike  (friends from Ft. Myers) came down on the 22nd and Janet  (who lived and traveled with us for four months last year) arrived on the 23rd. Sharon joined us for Christmas eve and the six of us had a wonderful lobster dinner on the aft deck. 

Ava and Mike left Christmas day but we had the pleasure of Janet's company until the 5th. During that time we enjoyed several great meals, some fabulous music, catch-up visiting and fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Janet left on the 5th and Jeni and Bill arrived on the 6th. It was a brief but fun visit with a trip out on Second Star to see the turtles and for Jeni to catch what she is sure was a sail fish (although it got away before we could see it to know for sure). On the 9th Jeni and Bill left and Capt Johne went to AZ to visit the Nolans and meet his youngest grandson.

He returned on the 13th and now we're just getting back into "normal" (whatever that means) mode. The weather here has been rough for paradise. With one norther after another we've had high winds and/or stormy conditions for much of the last three weeks. But no complaints. Life is good. 

Trip to Monterrey

                                                           Dec 15 2015

Greetings loved ones,

Last week we left tropical paradise for a few days. We took a trip north and west and up into the mountains to Monterrey MX. We went to visit our new friends César and Sylvia and their lovely family. Capt. Johne had met César on Isla last summer. César (a professor from the University Tecnologico de Monterrey) wants a boat but has very little boating experience. So Capt. Johne has been him teaching him boating skills. They invited us to come to their home in Monterrey,  so on Dec. 4th we flew up for a long weekend.

Flying in we could see how rugged the mountains were on both sides of the city. The Sierra Madre mountains are shear rock cliffs that rise thousands of feet from the valley. They are very young geologically speaking. The city of Monterrey and the surrounding metropolitan area, which has a population of about four million, sprawl in the valley between the cliffs.

When we arrived, they picked us up at the airport and took us back to the house to drop off our bags. Then we took a drive up the closest part of the mountains to a water fall called Cola de Caballo (horse tail falls). It is stunning. The weather was beautiful, fresh and chilly. The rocks are huge and the clear, clean water flowing around them is gorgeous.
They live south of the city, in Santiago. After the falls we went to the old plaza of Santiago where the church from the 1700's was getting all dressed up for Christmas. The plaza has charming restaurants and shops. We got to look through an art gallery and saw some beautiful courtyards. Then we went back to the house and César grilled s​t​eaks for dinner. 

Saturday they drove us to the NW side of town, back up into the mountains to Grutas de Gracia park. It has a cave with huge stalactite and stalagmite formations. There's a cable car from the parking area up to the entrance of the cave. There's also a walking path, if you feel up to the climb, but they said it would take about an hour and we opted for the ride. The tour of the cave also takes about an hour but they've put in stairs and paths and the guide stops often to point things out so it's not too tiring. After the caves we had dinner at a local brew pub with their son and daughter-in-law whom we had met before on Isla. That evening they had a wedding to go to so we had a quiet evening at the house, reading and relaxing.
Sunday was another trip up into the mountains. This time to a family gathering. Their son-in-law's family has a house way up past the horse tail falls next to a dry  (at this time of year) river bed and a canyon that is a rock climbers heaven. We loaded up four vehicles with enough food for an army, and about 15 people, and drove up switch-back roads for over an hour. When we got to the house we unloaded everything and they lighted wood fires in the beehive-oven-thingy and the grill. (A little tip for wood fire cooking. Vegetable oil works as lighter fluid and doesn't make the food taste like gas.) Then cooking started (and continued all afternoon and evening). Potatoes, onions and beets were wrapped in foil and put in the beehive. The elotes (mexican corn on the cob) were roasted in the husks on the grill. After the elotes were done the steaks went on. While all this was going on there was much visiting, munching on snacks, laughing, watching the kids and dogs romp, drinking and fun. During that time Johne and I took a brief walk in the river bed and enjoyed the surroundings. When the steaks and potatoes were done, we all sat down and enjoyed the meal and the company. Conversation was in both English and Spanish. We tried to use our Spanish but everyone there spoke better English than our Spanish so it kept switching back. They were all really great about making sure we were included. We were made to feel like part of the family, not just visitors. (We have had the privilege of being invited to, and included in, several different family events and homes throughout Latin America. At some I've felt like an observer. At some like royalty, which is very uncomfortable. But in this case we were just part of the family and it was wonderful.) Half of a huge pumpkin had been put in the beehive to roast and after dinner some of the ladies made dough for pumpkin empanadas which were also baked in the beehive-oven-thingy. The smoky flavor added by baking both the pumpkin and the empanadas in the wood oven was wonderful.
After dinner they loaded everyone into two 4x4's and drove us farther up into the canyon to see some amazing rock formations cut by the waterfall  (when there is water).
After a long, fun and exhausting day, we loaded everything up to head back down the mountain.

Monday, Sylvia took us downtown to see the historical area and do some of the museums. When we got there we discovered that Monday all the museums are closed, so we saw some of the historic part of town, did a bit of shopping, then met up with more of the family at a local restaurant that speciali​z​es in goat. During the time we were there, we got to experience a lot of food indigenous to the area. They introduced us to several dishes we hadn't tried before and it was all good.

We spent that evening quietly at the house, visiting and watching Monday night football. Then it was time to pack and sleep before the early trip to the airport in the morning. 

Overall it was an amazing experience and we're very grateful to our hosts for sharing their home, their family and the area in which they live, with us.

Live your dreams...