February -
For some reason I only write a couple paragraphs each month for this journal, it’s so amazing how hectic life gets after a person is retired. My Rotary Club has kept me very busy with big community activities and my friends at the beach love to get together for talks, drinks, and good food to share. I always have folks to enjoy whatever I cook, and my cooking group has shopped together and eaten amazing meals at the bakery where we have our classes. I take long walks with my old dog Cheyenne and read as many books as I can, usually late at night in bed. I adore my Asus tablet and in it there’s a stockpile of books waiting their turn.

In January Rotary hosted the huge “Cow Plop Bingo” event. It was hilarious and fun, with a giant board of squares painted onto the ground, which each sold for a ticket that cost 50 pesos (about $2.50). Local cowboys brought cows out, one each hour, to see wander around until they first drop a plop! The person with that square would win 5000 pesos ($250!). We had hundreds of people, bbq ribs, corn on the cob, hot dogs, drinks, live music and lots of laughing. In February Rotary has the fabulous Tour of Homes event to visit lovely local houses followed by margaritas, snacks, and a lively auction. These fundraisers are for school scholarships and construction projects, area orphanages, and other community needs. It’s impressive what a terrific reputation our club has throughout the region for doing great work.

To put it mildly my calendar is full and I rarely get a whole day off just to relax. The weather is getting warmer and more “snowbirds” are arriving for the spring months. At home in Alaska it’s been extra cold with lots of snow, my driveway has been plowed ten times already. When it warms up it’s icy. I know how fortunate I am to be able to get away for some part of each winter, now that I’m older and am nervous about falling down!

Life around friends is wonderful, and I’m so grateful to love these people!

I had an upper back molar break off, one of the only ones without a crown, and finally went to the dentist to get it fixed. I was prepared for another expensive crown, but was happy when it only required a new filling for 1000 pesos (under $50!). I can’t give enough praise to these great dentists who deserve their sterling reputations. The medical care is wonderful here too, even for serious heart problems or other health complications.

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January -
I sit writing in the sunshine, with birds flying all around me, beside the little pond where my motor home camp is located, just over a small dune from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. I have other friends in RVs within sight, and usually I feel very safe. The local police come by very often, and my RV has a “protection decal” from them on on the kitchen window, even have the cellphone of the lieutenant in the event that I have any problem. Anyway I like having friends nearby “just in case”.

The sunsets here are often unbelievably gorgeous, breathtaking, even from my bedroom! One would think that a hundred photos would be enough, but probably not, it’s like an addiction. At my home Alaska, they just had two feet of snow and at a couple weeks past the solstice, there’s not much daylight and I’m glad to be here. My aunt called the other day from Anchorage, and she was so happy that they had fresh snow and it was just beautiful! But we ended the 45-minute call by her saying, “Well, I guess you are where you want to be, and I’m where I want to be!” So true, but then she has grown kids who still live in Alaska or visit often, while mine are long gone far away, to Central Oregon, Bavaria in Germany, or Southern Nevada, certainly not close enough to see for holidays or even every year for any reason.

Then my oldest son Grey called from Nevada and we talked for more than an hour, so I began to feel that I really do have a family, even though we are thousands of miles apart. My son Peter and grandson Janek in Germany call a couple times each month and we get a long talk, too. It’s great to have this magical technology!

Delivering Christmas gifts to the school children was wonderful. I absolutely loved our Rotary Santa! His gentle, sweet way with each child truly put the spirit back into Christmas for me. But I was a little shocked when the teachers said (in Spanish, of course) that I looked exactly like Mrs. Santa Claus!! Oddly enough, I mostly forget that my hair is white! Perhaps for next year I’ll make the whole costume! That would make it even more fun.

More gift deliveries to another rural kindergarten on King’s Day January 6th -

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December -
Finally, my solar holiday lights got put up, and now it feels more like the Christmas season! It’s been busy with Rotary and a very fun cooking class with some of the same women as last year, the next morning was spent wrapping Christmas gifts for disadvantaged school children. I’m tired and will be glad to hang around my beautiful beachfront home for a while to recuperate. Next week are the school Christmas parties with masquerade masks like the ones at AbracadabraNYC.com and I’ll get some good photos.

Christmas dinner with friends and the annual Yacht Club Parade of Lights –

My home at the beach and my Christmas cooking classmates –

We had another “super moon” this week, and earlier in the month I managed to get wonderful photos of the moon with Venus. Such bright starlit skies are one of the delights of living in Mexico.

My water pump gave me trouble, and I found an amazing young local man to fix it. I was also able to order a replacement from Amazon thanks to friends traveling from Arizona I can get it here.

Every day I am grateful for my wonderful solar panels and the new batteries. I have all the electricity I need, and can flag down a water truck to fill my freshwater tank with “reverse osmosis” water, also find a propane truck to come to my beach site to fill that tank when it gets low. In short, I am completely independent and love it! The local police come by several times a day to patrol the area and I was happy to contribute 100 pesos ($5) to them for their police “protection” decal.

It feels great to be on the road again! I didn’t leave Alaska until Halloween, and even now there isn’t much snow. But it was already way below freezing when I left and I’m happy to be in warm sunshine again. I traveled slowly south, and finally made it back to San Carlos. I’m happy to have good internet and my phone works so I still feel connected. For Thanksgiving I heard from all three of my children, so I know they and their families are good, no worries.

As usual there have been some glitches and unexpected expenses. The house batteries weren’t holding the charge like they should, so I invested in new ones after I got to Arizona, also had an old ceiling fan refurbished, both urgently important. These expenses made the first month’s finances very tight. Fortunately I can camp cheap, so lie low and patiently wait for deposits to arrive. I love my solar panels that make me completely independent by providing all the electricity I need for daily life. I wish I could do more repairs myself, and keep trying to learn more about how everything works. I had a kind neighbor help me track down an electric glitch that kept my water heater from lighting. It has been touchy ever since I bought the rig, and have received many kinds of advice about what was wrong with it. Finally it turned out that the suspect switch was okay, it was a connection in the ignition board that was dirty, probably had been for years. Fortunately I had a can of contact cleaner and could take care of it myself. I’m delighted every time it fires up perfectly now.

I’m thrilled with my Millenicom internet, especially since it works in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and most places around the world, with one SIM card for one price. I feel the need to be connected so that I can enjoy my free life alone. In addition this program saves rollover gigs to use later. I was skeptical of their T-Mobile GSM but the company is expanding rapidly, and it covers more areas all the time. Best of all, these are very nice people with excellent customer service and I like them very much. Highly recommended. I still have AT&T prepaid on my cellphone which charges by the minute, which does work in Mexico, but I’m not a big phone talker.

My dearest friends write often, sometimes every day, and it’s great to have wonderful women to anchor my wandering life to the person I have always been. I can’t imagine living without these bonds, and hope they live forever! We share joys and pains, successes and frustrations, recipes and books and hopes and ideas. This isn’t a vacation anymore, it has become normal life. Life rules: never rush, create and savour slow food, take easy long walks with my dog Cheyenne, read good books, listen to daily podcasts for news and feature stories, watch downloaded videos, and sleep soundly in my lovely traveling home. My heart and body thrive on low stress and high contentment.

I read online journals from other travelers who post updates almost every day, with photos of everything they see and almost every meal they eat. Some are in Europe now and I’m envious, must go soon to see my grandkids in Germany. But for now I’m committed to my old lady dog and must be satisfied with vicarious adventures abroad. I’ll never post updates every day, realize that most of what I write is for my future self, but appreciate those who like to share my adventures.

It was nice to stay in the Arizona desert for a week getting adjusted to my traveling mode of life, and was in a perfect place to see the Super Moon!  Nice spot for photos, lots of birds too.

Cheyenne enjoys this traveling life too, and stretches out between the bed and sofa for a comfy sleep at night –

I stayed a couple weeks at the beach in Puerto Penasco where peddlers walk the beach endlessly, trying to make some money from the tourists or even from each other, and their colorful efforts make great images. Although I rarely buy anything I tremendously admire their determined energy. Everyone works so hard, while maintaining wonderful cheerful attitudes and constant optimism. Of course while traveling anywhere one must be smart about leaving things out and be normally careful, but I do feel comfortable in Mexico.

I meet interesting people all the time… this happy couple are Mexican, but live in Phoenix.  They have been married 43 years and never stop talking and laughing, having fun together and are obviously best friends.  Nice to see them cozily camping on the beach next to me.

Something amazing happened to me! I took a long walk with Cheyenne to the hardware store, hoping to find some magnets to try to fix the catch on my screen door. We walked a total of 3 1\2 miles, which was good for both of us. On the way to town I passed a peddler along the street selling bracelets, smiled and told him “Quiero Nada”, I don’t want anything. We went on our way, and were gone almost an hour. On the way back I heard him shouting from across the street, “Do you remember me? I remember you!” I figured he was just trying to get my attention, but waited for him to catch up anyway. He told me that he remembered me from years ago at Melaque, near Barra de Navidad, in 1989 or the early 1990s. That’s about a thousand miles south of here. He said he never forgets a face, that he was just a young kid, and I gave him some breakfast. He knew it was me! I don’t exactly remember him, but yes, I was there – some TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO – and probably talked to young people as I always do. He said he has a great memory for faces. Now another quirky part — on this walk I had been listening to a podcast of The Hidden Brain, about people who have amazingly “super” memories for faces! Police Departments and Federal Customs are finding them to hire for special services! These are the sorts of coincidences that I really love. Unbelievable, huh? I love this story, and I must remember it! Life is so full of surprises! Unlikely blessings.

These are the views from my bed and the kitchen… Sunrises and sunsets are wonderful on this beach.. This is a great place to get fresh shrimp, and these fishing boats are out every day right offshore…

At the end of the long drive to San Carlos, I was surprised when turning down the entry road to feel like I was returning home. It’s so lovely to be back with my usual beach neighbors, in this beautiful place. I’ll put up the holiday lights, go to the big Christmas bazaar, attend Rotary meetings, maybe even ride along on a sailboat this year for the Parade of Lights. It’s so quiet and peaceful, balm for the soul.

I hope to update this journal more often, especially since there are so many wonderful images to capture and memories to hold.