OUR NOV. 2018 to ??? 2019 TRIP STARTS HERE

Gentle Reader:

Thank you for visiting my BlogSpot. This is my effort to stay in touch with you, our friends and family, while Ann and I enjoy our extended trip to the Southwest. If you would like to be notified when new pictures are posted, you may “sign-up” for email notifications. It’s good to know that our “community” is interested in our travels. Likewise, we would appreciate hearing from you, from time to time. So, please send us an update on your life via email, or leave your comments (for all to see) on this blog. This will help us feel connected while we are on our “Big Adventure”.

As you probably know, from March through October 2018 we withdrew from most of our social commitments (hiking, recorder group, and social justice activities) to focus on selling our home. We dumped, donated, sold, burned, or otherwise disposed of 40 years’ worth of accumulations. Some items (hobby and sports related) were harder for me to part with than others (literally about 6 tons worth of construction cr#p, including a couple of trailer loads of rotten, old, tar-papered, cedar shakes). I also met a lot of nice people through Craigslist.

Last year we had our greenhouse rebuilt.

This year, I refurbished the rest of our “hobby-house” by removing a rotten balcony, painting inside & out, . . .

. . . and adding interior and exterior wood trim to all of the doors and windows.

Ann weeded and worked wonders on the landscaping and flower beds.

In the vegetable garden, I repaired many of the raised beds, caught up on years of weeding, and cleared, leveled, and covered some paths with cedar chips.

I reset the flagstones leading up to the front door.

Damage, caused by UV light, to the large sliding doors in the sunroom, and to almost all the window sills in the house, had to be repaired by hand-sanding and re-varnishing.

 

Luckily, just after Labor Day, before putting our home on the market, our former neighbor said she was interested in buying our home. At first she thought her son (who still lives next door) would move into our home. But, when he said he wasn’t interested in moving, she decided she would buy our home for herself, so she could be near her grandchildren. We are glad to think of someone, whom we have known for a long time, enjoying our home. And, we are grateful that she promised not to cut down our wonderful, old trees.

Our “Plan A” was to sell our home in June, to travel across Canada to Nova Scotia and then to follow the Fall colors down the Eastern Seaboard, to spend winter in the South, and to return to Olympia in the Spring. Well, we “missed that boat” but we a willing to be flexible. So, our current plan is to head south, to escape the rain, and to make up our itinerary as we go! Ann and I are grateful for our freedom, our health and for our mutual love. We are pleased to have you follow our adventure, and would be delighted to hear from you.

 

 

Much time has passed since posting the 2016 Costa Rica trip BELOW.
The posts ABOVE this point are from our Southwest USA trip in 2018-19.

2016 01 26 Day 4, La Fortuna

This morning Beth drove us to the Cartago train station where we got a free (geezer) ride to San José. The ride was crowded and bumpy I stood by the door, bracing myself with two hands and used my knees to steady the luggage. At the San Jose' station we asked a taxi to take us to the Terminal Norte Atlantico. However, he took us to Terminal 7-10 instead. 

As a result, we had a two hour wait for the bus to La Fortuna. The terminal however was very modern. It has three floors that look more like a shopping mall than a bus station.

The bus had moderately comfortable seats, but the ride was 4 hours long. We watched the scenery change as we crossed mountain ranges and valley floors.

Finally, as we approached LaFortuna, I spotted the hotel from the window, pulled the cord to signal a stop and we were done traveling for the day.


After we got our cabin, we relaxed for a short while before going out to dinner. We had refrescos (papaya and guayabana con leche). Then ordered a salad, pasta al pesto, and fish with mushroom sauce. It was well prepared and the service was relaxed and attentive.

The remainder of the evening was spent sitting on the cabin porch, trying to cool off. The temperature eventually left the eighties and probably got to the low seventies.

2016 01 25 Day 3, Cartago

We walked from Beth and Mathew's all around Cartago. The day started off cool, misty and windy. Before noon, we had to take off our jackets and sweaters, but we wore light rain coats from time to time. Although it drizzled some, by late afternoon it became partly sunny.

We ate lunch next to Las Ruinas, the site of an old church, destroyed by an earthquake in 1910.

Then we walked on the promenade that follows rehabilitated train tracks.

I tried to purchase an Eng/Span dictionary (electronic or standard) but could not find one. We did buy a couple of yogurts at an upscale "Fresh Market" and a bouquet for our hosts.

When we returned there was a lasagna waiting to be baked. Ann and I played our recorders until Joslyn came home. We made a cole slaw and ate when Matt arrived. Beth had to work late and had dinner at 8PM. Matt had to go to bed shortly after Beth came home because he has to go to work super early. The rest of us spent the remainder of the evening talking in the kitchen. Joslyn lent us a phone and dictionary for the next two weeks

 

2016 01 24 Day 2, Cartago

Joslyn and her boyfriend Randall gave us a lesson in dancing the bolero.

We went to a Tico restaurant called Mi Tierra. I had a Casado Vegetriano which included thick little tortillas, rice, beans, avocado, elote (corn), and I had some of Ann's pescado frito and papas. I drank a refresco de cas and Ann had a Rebalado (barley, cinnamon, nutmeg).

The weather was cool, 66F and misty. We spent the afternoon and evening chatting around the kitchen table and checking maps and bus schedules on the computer in the living room.

Jan 23, 2016   Costa Rica

Our first few days are spent with cousins Beth and Mathew and their daughter, Joslyn in Cartago.

 

Above: COSTA RICA 2016
Below: MEXICO 2015

2015 Trip to Mexico

Jan 30, 2015   We are delighted to be in Mexico once again!

When we speak about our trips to Mexico, people often ask if we aren't afraid of all the narco-violence. My usual response is to speak about how friendly the people are, and how lively the cities are.  I describe how much we enjoy visiting city parks at night, like the one pictured above. There is usually music and the streets are always filled with families and couples (young and old) walking arm in arm enjoying the cool evening air. Whether it is a weeknight or weekend, they are shopping, eating in open air cafes, listening to free concerts, (or listening to strolling mariachis) occasionally dancing, or just hanging out with friends. Compare this to parks in any US city on any night of the week.

Guanajuato, Days Two and Three

JANUARY 31, 2015    SECOND DAY:

We hit the streets, walkin', ready to explore the town. First discovery, right around the corner from the hotel, was Fuente de las Ranas, the Fountain of the Frogs (the city's mascot). There were no live frogs to be seen, but there were about twenty stone sculpted frogs, all carved in different styles. 

   

Guanajuato is a city of hills. We enjoyed hiking around the city and seeing the brightly painted homes.

We hiked and climbed, looking for the the Museum for which GTO is famous, Museo de los 

Momias--Mummies!

THIRD DAY:
Today we moved from our Hotel room to this AirB&B apartment on the other side of town.









This is the view from the bedroom and living room windows.

This is the living room & dining area. There is also a small kitchen.

Our hosts were very welcoming. After settling-in we walked down the steep streets and callejones into the University district. We wandered through several galleries and then visited the Museo Regional de Guanajato. This is the central court yard containing an exhibit of modern sculptural pieces.

This mural painted on the walls and ceiling of the main stairway depicts the injustices that led to the Mexican Revolution in 1810-1821.

Six THEM Guys hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern Washington State.

This bridge, spanning the Columbia river, is the southern-most part of the PCT in Washington State.