Our location - Kyle and I
flew to New Mexico in May via Salt Lake City while Ken stayed a few more days in La Cruz to make sure everything was safely tied down and put away on Sea
Biscuit. Banderas Bay is a known “hurricane hole” where Sea Biscuit will hopefully
be safe from hurricanes this summer. Although Hurricane Bud recently traveled through that part of Mexico, the hot water necessary for the hurricanes to gain strength doesn't typically happen until September and October.
Before leaving, we (well, Ken mostly) carefully went over our checklists to make sure everything was in ship shape.
Boat Preparation for Tropical Summer Conditions
Hurricane Contingency Plan
We’ll get back on the boat later this summer/fall and be back to sailing in November when the hurricane season is over. In the meantime, Merle and Allison McAssey from Anclar Marine are watching Sea Biscuit while we are away. The boat is in good hands.
Kyle and I flew standby from Puerto Vallarta to Salt Lake where we met up with my dad and his friend, Lorie. We stayed at Lorie's, where Kyle had fun jumping on the trampoline and playing with the dog. Kyle and my dad made it out the next day, Saturday, flying standby and I made it out on Sunday. Thank you Lorie for all the hospitality, thank you Dad for setting up the flights, and thank you Will for the standby-buddy passes.
Instead of flying, Ken took a bus to San Carlos to pick up our truck and drive to New Mexico. His bus ride was not the first class
experience Kyle and I had going from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. The bus was
packed and Ken was squished by a large fellow who flowed over into Ken’s seat
and also had nervous leg syndrome, he twitched every few minutes.
Since arriving in New Mexico, we
have been staying with my mom in Albuquerque. She has kindly offered to let us stay with her while I wait to have
bunion surgery. As seems to be the custom, I will have to wait more than a
month to have the surgery done, but at least I found a good doctor and it is scheduled. So as to not wear out our welcome and
to take advantage of a chance to visit friends in Santa Fe and in Nambé, Ken, Kyle and I
house sat for our friend, Liz, in Santa Fe for a few days this last week. My favorite part of Liz's house is her backyard.
Liz's house
The koi pond where my pet fish from work now lives.
Agave
Terraced gardens of cactus
Liz's dogs - the escape artists!
The day we arrived in New Mexico, out of the blue, I got an email saying "According to Seamus, Kyle has been in ABQ since the weekend! Sea's
B-day is this Saturday. We'd love to see you guys." Seamus, Kyle's best friend from his school days at Desert Montessori, seems to have an uncanny ability to keep track of Kyle. So the
first event for us in Santa Fe was the birthday party, Le Gran Prix du Seamus. When we arrived at their house, Kyle went straight in and gave Seamus a big hug. We all enjoyed the birthday party.
Making a wish.
Ruza - Grand Prix racer extraordinaire
Grand Prix competitors
Kyle coming around the corner.
Trying out Seamus' new Green Machine.
Christina on the Green Machine
Francis, Quinn's mom,taking the Green Machine for a spin.
Later on in the weekend we
went up to Nambé to visit our neighbors and checked on all the stuff in the
shed. We had a nice lunch with Lee and Candie and went home with a bag full of fresh salad fixings from their garden. Thanks!
I also got a chance to visit a few people at work. It was great to catch
up with them. Although I wish I didn’t
have to wait until July for surgery, I am pleased we will have some time to visit family and friends. We have missed you all and are very happy to be
on dry land and get a chance to see you!
p.s. Ken misses Sea Biscuit already. I miss parts of being on Sea Biscuit, but I'm definitely enjoying our home stay. Kyle says he is enjoying be on dry land, but he also misses being on the boat.
