Bread Machine Bites the dust 23 Jan 2015

For anyone who has been to MX , you will know that their bread is not the same as our bread in Canada.  In the small town bakeries , it is either " cake like " or  too fine of grain. The large stores like Wal-Mart and Costco do have bread that is acceptable but we tend to frequent small cities and town so we bring along our bread machine AND our flour.
Today Carroll decided to make raisin bread so out comes the Bread Machine. She thru the ingredients in machine and it automatically was set to 3 hours.
Then Carroll thru a load in the washing machine ( yes we have a washing /dryer combo in the rig ) and therefore her day is practically done except to hit the pool or the beach. By the way,  the washing machine takes an hour to wash a small load. I wonder what famous Engineer could design a washing machine, which cost 1500.00 and then takes  an hour to wash 2 sheets. However, time is something we have lots of.
Well, we left the bread machine and the washing machine to do their  work while  we went the beach to soak up the Sun and read a book.
When we returned several hours later ,  I check the bread machine only to find the bread burnt on the bottom. After wrestling  the loaf out of the machine I noticed one of the mixing arms was stuck in the burnt bread. Then I put the mixing arm back in the machine and realized I could not turn one arm. Upon further inspection I realized the bearing seized causing the bread to burnt. The machine is now part of the MX junk pile. However, I'm sure that if I taken it to a mechanic he could repair it.
I say that because an guy from Sask hit a tree branch with his MH,on the way here and smashed the motor and bracket that automatically operates his patio awning. He took the pieces to a mechanic shop in our small town and the mechanic  say to come back in three days. Amazingly, it was repaired and is now working. We never under estimate the ability of the Mexican people.
On our way back from the beach we stopped to say hi to Dave and Joanne and I ask Dave what he was up to. He said we have to go out for supper because the stove broke. I said how could it break, it's only 3 years old. He says , all I know is that Joanne says the stove is broke , we are going out for supper; would  you like to join us and before I got a chance to say No, Carroll said Yes. So we went out for supper.  Apparently , Joanne's stove it breaks every Friday night.
Another couple joined us and we went to an really nice Italian restaurant. Most restaurants are within walking distance from our Park and there are many. cheers   

Hot Pools 22 Jan 2015

The Hot Pools story can wait. We have to deal with the "Old Geezer" meeting first. The chairman " Swain " was missing and so was Eli ( actually  his name is Elliott  ) was also missing so the topic was very mild.
Somehow we got on the topic of aircraft and Bob #1 is an Engineer, a Commercial pilot , retired and a real dedicated fisherman , and a good one as he has a Fishing Lodge in N. Ontario. So he educated us on different Aircraft that he flew and some of the problems he encountered in his career , especially landing and takeoff incidents. However, he walked us thru the procedure when he lost one engine on a Aircraft with 4 engines which was very interesting and if I do say so. At least  it was more interesting  than the normal B. S. we have most mornings.
Now for the Hot Pools; The hot pools are located 36 KM from Guayabitos however it takes 1 1/2 hours to reach them by road so you can imagine what type and condition of the  roads we had to travel over.
 There are 31 hot pools,  and are an attraction for the Snowbirds in this area. When we arrived there where about 20 people there and there was another  30 people arrived while we were there. There was 8 of us. Beside having a few beer , most folks either bring a picnic lunch or like us bring a Bar-B-Q and to cook some hamburgs and hotdogs.  Each pools holds about 6 to 10 pers and the temperature varies in each pools. It was a great experience and I'm sure we will do a return trip the next time we are in Guayabitos.

Now we had to return to our Park by 5 PM as one couple ( Lou and Becky ) hosted a supper for the entire park. The had , what they called a " Good Luck " supper which was Pulled Pork, Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Most of us had never heard of a Good Luck supper but I can assure you we all showed up and it was great. Apparently , it is a Germany custom. cheers

Carroll's New Ring Jan 21 2014

The talk around the Old Geezers table this morning started about the weather and if it was going to be a good day to go fishing. It's funny how all the guys that never fish seem to have all the answers about whether or not that this  would be good day to fish. However, those who actually know all about the weather and the fishing acumen  usually ignore those who never fish.
After about 15 minutes of should I or shouldn't go fishing , one guys says that's it,  I'm going and 15 minutes later 2 boats are in the water. Geo from Edm couldn't go as he had already scheduled a Trail ride with the "Quad" club. Decisions : Decisions.
After the fishermen where launched we return to the table and of course the topic was president Obama's speech last evening. Boy!!! I didn't know that we Canadians were so well versed in US politics. If Obama would just listen to us , it would be so much easier to run his country.
 
Carroll had picked our a ring and her birthstone at the market last week so we had to go to the town of  Lo de Marco ( 14 KM away ) to pick it up as that is where the Jeweler has his store. The ring was made of .95 ( something) of silver as if we could tell the difference. The jewelry clerk said the ring cost 900 P but she would sell it for 800 P because that was the price that our friend paid for hers. What a deal!!! Since Carroll rationalized that we had saved 100 P on the ring she spotted a bracelet made of Iguana skin and Goat skin. " I" ask the price and Jeweler said 250 P and before I got say no, she said 200 P for you. So now Carroll has a ring and a bracelet for about a 100.00. Cdn.
While in Lo de Marcos we dropped in to see Bob and Linda who are the couple who invited us to the birthday party on 6 Jan. We are leaving on 1 Feb and may not get another chance to see them.
Now that we have the afternoon to kill,  we decided to hit the pool to cool off, as opposite to the ocean. There is never anything wrong with ocean/beach but we got lots of Sun yesterday at Chacala so the pool will be enough for today. Cheers

Chacala, MX Jan 20 ( 2015 )

This day had all the ear marks of a lazy day even from the "get go" as the Old Geezer didn't even have a worthy topic for our meeting. I was going to say the "meeting of the minds" but that would be a stretch. Our only topic was whether the " Sandboni " does a good job of reclaiming the beach.
I may have mentioned it before that the  "Sandboni " is a machine that is part rock picker and part cultivator. The idea is to clean the beach daily, of garbage and to smooth the sand. I would like to take a picture but it works between 4 and 5 AM and I may be  an early riser but 5 AM is a tad to early.

Now for Chacala. This a beach Town about 30 KM away that has a couple of miles of a beautiful beach with several restaurants. The town also has several hotels but some hotels are a block or so from the beach and the streets are all cobble stone, which makes walking to the beach slightly trouble some , especially for seniors. The attraction for Snowbirds must be the beach and solitude because there is no shopping to speak of.
I did speak with a guy on the beach, who spends the winter in Chacala and he said that during the Christmas New Year holiday there was 60 Buses a day bringing people to the beach and the beach was wall to wall people.
All that to say that we went to Chacala for the day and there was very few people on the beach. Apparently, it is never real busy during the week , hence, the reason  many of us Snowbirds go there on week days.
We enjoyed the day at the beach and even had a nice lunch of fish and Shrimp.
When we were in  Yuma an RVer in this park  needed a part for his MH and through a third party he heard I was coming to Guayabitos . Although he did know it at the time ( but I did ) that we had met 5 years ago and I remember his name and that he was a business man from Peace River.  Long story short, I picked up his part and delivered it. He was so grateful that he and his wife  insisted that they buy us supper  so they took us out tonight to the best restaurant in town. This restaurant is located  high above the town with a million dollar view of the bay,  which is more impressive at night than during the day. cheers

Guayabitos Jan 19 2015

This was a fairly non-descript day at Guayabitos. There was only 4  of at the Old Geezers table this morning and Alaska Dave (aka Mickey Rooney ) was telling us the trials  and tribulation about owning a house in Mexico. In fact he says you never really know if you own it until you try to sell and above all never consider it an investment. In 2004 he " obtain" a piece of property thru a written contract in MX and built a 3000 Sq Ft home. The deal was that he would pay for the property once the Land owner got the property subdivided. It hasn't happened yet. If he loses the house sometime in the future he say he will considered it as fairly reasonable rent.                    

This morning we went to the Arty's Farty's  crat market which is held every Monday and has mostly Jewelry, Tee shirts and other crap we don't need. Then we went to la Pentia  to a Jewelry store to purchase a Birthday gift for our G/daughter. By the time we got home it was Pool time so after a quick lunch we headed to the pool. Apparently we were not the only ones who needed pool time as there was about 16 of in the pool. It actually is a good time to swap travel stories  and I for one gained a wealth of knowledge for the next leg of our trip since  one couple did the same trip last year.

 I kind of had to snicker as the pool regulations says ( in Spanish )  " No Alcohol " in the pool and the only one who did not have an alcohol drink was Carroll. While in the pool we heard of a Chinese restaurant in La Penita so we decided to do Chinese "takeout " for supper . It cost 65 P ( 6.00 ) and there is enough for lunch the next day. I have added a couple of pics but that is the best I can do. I need help in this area but I'm working on it. Cheers

 

Carroll checking her email and daily Blogs that we follow.

 

 

 

This the Party Boat that provides a Daily "Drunk and Disorderly " Boat ride

 

Winterof 2015 in MX ( Jan 18 )

Starting on the 19 Jan I plan to change my Post (Heading) as to better identify our location since we will be leaving Guayabitos on 1 Feb. and heading towards TX but not leaving MX on or about 28 Feb.
There wasn't any Old Geezers meeting today ( you actually need 5 for a Quorum)  as two boats went out by 6:30, which was before I got there and some of the Old Geezers were either late or forgot to get up on time.
Carroll and I didn't even get to the beach or the pool . Instead we watched Curling and then Football. After the Seattle/ Green Bay fiasco we retried to the Happy Hour patio where the 3 American couples were cheering as Seattle won in OT.  The Canadians were sort of Ho Hum .
I'm still trying to get pictures on the Blog , I just lack some training. Cheers

Wintwer of 2015 in MX ( 17 Jan )

One of the latest members to the Old Geezers is a guy whose vehicles are "licensed " in Alaska. He an his wife have a home in Alaska, one in San Diego and another one in San Carlo, MX. He also has a Yacht, which is parked in the Pacific coast somewhere. He is the "spitting " imagine of Mickey Rooney so we call him "mickey" of course. His wife is a Lawyer and Judge  and amazingly enough she does look a little  like "Judge Judy". He is great for the Old Geezers because very knowledgeable on many topics and doesn't hesitate to challenge some of the B.S. I will try to get a picture of him hopefully with his hat on.
Well, today (hopefully ) is the day I get my car at 1 PM.  My friend Swain was going to town ( at ( 9 AM ) so he suggested we drive my the Shop to verify the 1 PM pickup. When we  got to the shop the mechanic was polishing the car and said come back at one. Then he said, be sure to be here before 2 PM because I closed at 2 PM. I know tomorrow is Sunday and we have been without a car since Tuesday, so I WILL  be on time.
We returned at 1 PM and the car was ready. I was amazed at the workmanship and the paint match. I ask several people to look at my car and tell be were it  was repaired and they could not tell. It cost 5500 P or about 500.00 Cdn.
So now it is Beach time as the temp has just reached 100 F. therefore it was Beer, Book and Beach for the next few hours. After Happy Hour and since we did not plan for supper we decided to go to the local restaurant named the Pelican. The last time we were here this restaurant was called "Tequila  Willie's " but he has died so I guess a " Pelican " bought but the food is great. cheers.