Demo is ongoing at new house

We had a quiet trip to Cancun December 10th to 17th with Rick & Carol.  It is strange being so far away from them after being 2 hours away for over 12 years. We took a ferry ride one day and were very sad to see the changes to Isla Mujeres, which have happened in just the past couple of years.  When we stayed there before it was a sleepy little island with no traffic.  Now it was packed and is looking more and more like Cozumel - too many tourists!!!  We had considered going there next fall for an extended stay but have cancelled those plans.

Since our return, the house has been our total focus.   Mike is on site daily to oversee the crews working there and has begun to clear out some of the landscaping.  We spent Christmas Eve making two trips to the dump/landfill to throw out some of our overgrown shrubs and trees.

Last week all of the popcorn ceilings were taken down and the existing tile flooring jack hammered up.  The a grinder and sander smoothed out the mastic which the jack hammer did not remove.  This week the 2 layers of lino in the kitchen were scraped up and electrical pulled in for ceiling fans in every room.  Next week the new electrical runs for the kitchen will be pulled in and I'll have more holes in my walls and ceilings.



Living room with no popcorn ceiling or floor covering, just concrete pad



Yesterday Mike measured out and marked the placement of our cabinets and appliances in the new kitchen.  I was finally able to picture it in my mind.  We are getting Holace style KraftMaid cabinets in a painted mushroom (light taupe) finish.  The left side of the kitchen with the sink will have all glass upper doors and the right side with my new 36 inch Blue Star gas range will have standard wood doors.  We will be installing a nice stainless 36 inch range hood and side by side stand alone fridge and freezer so I'll have over 18 cubic feet of fridge and freezer both!!

 

This is the range side of the kitchen.  Higher blue stripe is where bottom of range hood will be placed

 

 

Our homeowner's association approved plans for our sunroom addition so we are now just waiting for Pima County to issue our permit.  Once we have the permit the footer for the exterior wall can be poured.  I am impatient to move in but I want it done right as this will be my forever home.  Excited!!



Desert Living

I don't know about you but I always thought living in the desert would be like the Sahara - all sand.  I just cannot get over all the wildlife and vegetation here in Green Valley.  Frankly, I haven't seen this many butterflies since I was a little girl hanging out in Grandma Burnett's garden.  We have a huge butterfly bush in the front yard and there might be up to 10 different species on it at any one time.

There is a roadrunner who passes through our back yard occasionally.  We think he is the cause of the disappearance of the lizard that was living in our new house's utility room.  And I think that darn roadrunner also goes up the hill in front of our house to stir up the quail.  We have about 30 quail who wander through daily as well.  The largest male stands guard while all the others help themselves to the bird seed our neighbors set out.  Those quail quarrel and chatter like nobody's business.  They are VERY noisy birds.  I miss watching them.

 

We've settled quite well into our rental in Tubac AZ, an artist colony south of Green Valley.  We planned to spend the winter here and it has worked out well since the house will be under construction for the winter months.  I really didn't want to live through  another remodel.

We have been doing little projects at the house, mostly painting.  It was great to find out that our local Ace Hardware has a record of all of the approved paint colors for our homeowner's association.  I made the mistake of buying dark walnut stain instead of the paint we actually needed for our beams after we removed the horrid metal security screen door on the front porch.  Hopefully our new kitchen window will be delivered this week as well.

Now it is time to head off to Mexico for a little vacation with Rick & Carol.  Can't wait to dip my toes in the ocean!


 

 



Destruction in Progress

So we have been camping out in our new house since September 20th and we have been very busy.  Our furniture consists of a card table and 2 folding chairs from WalMart and a small table for MIke's office space.  We did splurge on two twin XL beds which will be going into our guest room.  We figured they would be easier to store for the construction period through next spring rather than a king size mattress.

Week one , all the carpeting was removed, along with the padding and tack strips.  We are convinced the person who handled the original carpet installation was paid by the tack as they must have been shot into the concrete about every 3 inches in both bedrooms, closets and the home office.  That was trip one to the dump.

Next we tackled the kitchen.  All cabinets and appliances have been removed.  The 30 year old fridge is working quite well in the garage.  The cabinets are stacked and will be donated to Local charity White Elephant as they just require either painting or refinishing...all hardware was saved too.  We have the sink and one cabinet left in the kitchen was we needed someplace to set the microwave and prepare our few meals we don't eat out.  Those will be removed when we move down to Tubac on November 1st for our winter rental.  No way am I staying in the house while all the work is done!!

The "fun" started when we began to take down the soffit in the kitchen.  We've done it before and thought it would be a piece of cake.  Famous last words!!  What a nightmare.  The soffit was framed with 1/2 inch plywood covered by wallboard.  The 2 x 4 studs were buried behind all of that so every part of the soffit was a pain in the butt to take down.  After much pounding and sawing, it finally was all down...trip two to the dump.

Then we decided to take out the kitchen archway and expand the doorway into the living/dining room.  That was also a fun experience as it was built never, never, never  crack or split.  It took us 6 hours to demo that archway.  Third trip to the dump.

Right now we are patching holes in the walls and weeding.  We are hoping for some rainfall before we tackle the back yard.  Front yard is weeded and ready for our desert landscape expert, Kathy, to come out in November to design what we want - something very simple and full of cactus.  We will not have a drip system and want low maintenance for when we travel away from home each summer.

Sundays are our day of rest.  We've started going to the movies most Sundays and then stop for dinner at the Arizona Family Restaurant.  Sunday specials are roasted turkey dinner just like Thanksgiving, which is our favorite.  They also have leg of lamb or prime rib specials as well.  And since football season is in full swing, we always ask for a  booth away from the bar.  Some of those Cardinal fans get quite loud!

We are enjoying the slow pace of life here in Green Valley.  It is quiet and all of our neighbors that we've met are very nice.  Everyone looks out for each other and they have all been welcoming to us.  We even were invited to play Texas Hold 'em Poker in a league.  Buy in to the game is a dollar and I won!!!  Yep, got me $9.  They say the size of the game will increase when the snowbirds from Seattle arrive so I think we'll be going a couple times a month once things settle in.

The Latest?

Our latest news?  We bought a house in Green Valley Arizona.  Our great experiment has gone well but one of us (ME!) just can't handle the extended hotel times.  I love to travel but I prefer destination travel rather than full time travel.  So Mike agreed.  We will stay to our travel plans through September 2017 which means this winter we will stay in Tubac AZ and then Hawaii May thru August in 2017.

True to our past, we purchased a fixer upper.  I'd love to have Chip and Joanna Gaines take it on but Mike and I will be making or overseeing the necessary repairs and upgrades.  Our place is a 30 year old slump block townhouse with 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths plus a den/office.   We figure with a townhouse we can lock up and go when the spirit moves us (summer travel with winter stays in AZ). 

Our work list, so far?  The house needs all popcorn ceilings scraped, kitchen drop ceiling removed, enlarging the kitchen entry, all new kitchen cabinets and appliances,  new flooring through-out which will be Saltillo tile, new bathroom vanities and toilets, new gutters, and a new HVAC unit.  We will be the demo labor and handle changing the landscaping to desert based and will contract out the rest.  Most likely it will not be ready for full time living until late 2017.  In the meantime, we'll be 'camping' there October this year and April next spring. 

Yes, I know we have taken on a lot but it is something we enjoy doing.  I will be haunting the consignment and second hand shops in Tucson to furnish it.  I think our one splurge will be a custom mesquite dining room table from a shop in Tubac we have found.

Wish us luck!

Post Mexico Travels

Since returning from Mexico, we've been on the road until this past week.  We drove from Houston to Galveston TX, Galveston to Livingston TX, Livingston to Tucson AZ, Tucson to Santa Fe NM, and Santa Fe to Keystone Colorado.  Poor old Sabine (our Toyota Tundra) is getting some miles on her!

We had fun in Texas but really enjoyed exploring the Tucson area.  It is where we built a house in 2005, which fell through due to lack of golf course for Mike.  We discovered a great little restaurant in Green Valley AZ call Arizona Family Restaurant.  Good plain food, just like Bob Evans.  The clientele is "over 55+" and we seemed to fit right in there.  Green Valley is a retirement area 20 miles south of Tucson.  It has a great climate as it is higher in elevation than Phoenix which makes it cooler in summer.  The area also has a monsoon season during summer which is strong thunder & lightening storms.  They are window rattlers and you would not believe how the rain just pours as if from a bucket.

Next we hit the road for New Mexico.  It was pouring monsoon rain as we left our hotel and a truck in front of us kicked up a 'boulder' into our windshield.  Hit us just right so that we had a big chip and starburst right in front of me!  Mike was VERY unhappy about this.  Our first night on the road we stopped in Truth or Consequences New Mexico.  We were lucky to get a room in a new Holiday Inn Express just off I-25 -- senior rates of course.  We went in search of dinner, driving towards town.  We did not find a restaurant but we did find the Windshield Doctor.  On our way back to the hotel we decided to chance dinner at La Cocina across the highway from our hotel.  Great dinner!  Excellent carnitas tacos.   At 9 AM the next morning we were at the Windshield Doctor and he was able to repair our windshield for $25.  Hooray!!!!!!!

We then spent 3 days in Santa Fe exploring and relaxing.  (I really need to begin using some of our hotel points!).  It has been about 13 years since I was in Santa Fe and it has really become a tourist area.  The plaza is still beautiful but the stores are crammed with junk souvenirs and t-shirts or extremely high priced art and jewelry.   We had a lovely walk though all the shops.  I love old pawn silver & turquoise jewelry so I had hit the mother lode; however, I am a gold jewelry person.   Mike bought me a new gold wedding band in a rare green turquoise.  I love it!

My new ring

Friday we took a day trip to Taos driving the "high road" up and the "low road" back to Santa Fe.  The scenery was beautiful...it reminded us of driving from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe.  When we found a parking lot near the Plaza, the owner gave us a map and told us some places to check out.  Most of the stores were similar to Santa Fe except for one antique shop.  It was gross with glass eyes and false teeth and all kinds of old medical equipment!  The saving grace was stumbling into Plaza Café in the La Fonda hotel lobby on the Plaza.  OMG!!!!  My lunch choice was the Green Chili Pork Stew and a mixed green salad with lemon, ginger, & sesame dressing.   I had to control myself from licking the bowl & plate.  Just the right amount of heat and spice with well seasoned pork and the salad dressing was so full of flavor.  I could eat this every day!  The chef came out to ask us how we liked his food.   We were surprised when he sent us out a sample of his Potato Leek soup.  He makes his soups fresh every morning when he arrives at 8 AM.  He recommended his coconut flan for dessert and we both had to try it.  Amazing!!

Coconut Flan with Caramel Sauce!

 

Our last day in Santa Fe, we met up with our friend Carrie from So Cal.  Carrie was my vendor at First Interstate and became a close friend.  She was also our Big Bear friend.  We spent many fun weekends at Mom and Pop's cabin in Sugarloaf.  She and her husband moved to NM many years ago and I hadn't seen Carrie in 13 years, since a Cardinal Health business trip to Albuquerque.   Mike and I were looking forward to reconnecting and within 2 minutes, it was like we had never been apart.    Great catching up with all that's happened to our families over the years.  At Carrie's recommendation, we had a wonderful lunch at Blue Corn Café.

Next stop?  Keystone Colorado.  See you there!

 

 

Last Day fishing East Cape and Good-bye

 

...Leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...

 

 

We had our last day of fishing on Wednesday the 20th aboard Scorpion panga with Captain Jorge.  We have had great days on the water with him over the past 2 months and Wednesday did not disappoint.  The sea was choppy by the hotel so we headed south to La Ribera/Punta Colorado where the water was totally flat.  The morning was slow as we trolled looking for any wahoo, dorado, or tuna who would join us in the panga.  Jorge and Mike decided it was time to move a little after 10 AM so we headed back to the spot that was very good to them the week before.  At exactly 10:30 AM we had 4 lines hit.   First tuna we lost, second I brought in, third Mike brought in and the fourth Mike and I tag teamed with Mike completing the catch.



 

Me with my tuna (sorry about those farmer tan arms but it was really, really hot!!)



 

Once all the excitement was over, we started trolling again but weren't getting any further bites.  As we were heading back to shore and packing up our equipment, we got another hit and Mike brought in our 4th tuna of the morning (literally a volunteer...).  We had stopped to reel in the lines and pack it in... and there he was!  A welcome surprise. 

 

Mike and the volunteer tuna

 



We head home to Texas tomorrow morning (July 30th) so this week has been all about saying good-bye to Los Barriles.  We have eaten at El Gecko and Tio Pablo's in addition to the Bay View downstairs.  Pedro, our building manager, is the beneficiary of our last tuna catch (15 lbs).  We really wanted to ship it to Rick and Carol but neither UPS, FedEx or the Smokehouse would either ship fresh fish nor guarantee it would make it past Mexico City  - so lucky Pedro!!  It has been so nice to spend an extended period of time here and get to know the people just a little better.  We will miss Gabby (head of housekeeping), Pedro, Eve at Tio Pablo's, Rafael at Chapito's Grocery, and Junior at El Gecko.

So after a few days in East Texas, we will be on our way to Keystone in Colorado.  Going from sea level to 9500 feet should be an experience, shouldn't it?? 

Fishin' with Jim and Jack and Kevin

 

This is our week to spend with friends Jim and Jack on the big boat Fin-atic.  ( http://www.finaticsportsfishingbaja.com/home ) . 

 

Jim and Jack brought their nephew Kevin, who will be 12 next month.  He has never been ocean fishing before so we told him he could catch the first fish.  Imagine our surprise when it turned out to be a 385+ pound Blue Marlin.  You can't really tell from the picture how big this fish was although you get some perspective from the orange & yellow lure you see (18 inches long).   He was HUGE and it was very exciting for us as it was our first Blue Marlin - not Jim's.  Took about 1.5 hours to bring him in.  Kevin reeled in the leader 3 times before he finally had to hand off to "The Closer", Uncle Jim.

 

350+ pound Blue Marlin

 

 

While Jim was busy on the stern (back of the boat) with the blue, Mike was heading to the front (bow) catching a shark!  Yep, we had 2 sharks show up while the blue was on the line.  Mike's job was to keep the shark away from the blue so we could bring him in. 

 

Mike's Shark - he was about 7' or 8' long

 

 

Jack caught a dorado for our dinner and then it was Mike's turn at another fish.  His was one of our standard 120 pound striped marlins.  Look how it is 'lit up' (electric blue stripes)!  Never saw that before when we caught one.

 

Mike's Striped Marlin

 

Second day out we were looking for tuna or dorado closer towards shore but nothing was biting.  So we headed out to where we'd caught the marlin on Sunday.  Captain Tony found the porpoises that travel with the tuna eating the bait they drive to the surface.  We were so excited that we'd get tuna for sashimi but that was not to be.  I was set to catch the first tuna when we hooked another Blue Marlin so I handed off to Mike.   The water was getting very rough as there was a hurricane off the mainland Mexico coast pushing wind in our direction.   Mike worked the fish for 30 minutes but his old golf injury (lower back) started acting up so he handed off  to "The Closer" for the final 30 minutes, resulting in an even bigger marlin.  He was over 500 pounds! 

 

As we headed back to shore, we were traveling with the waves and I didn't notice anything out of ordinary before we got close to the dock.  That is when we were told we had to quickly jump off the big boat onto the dock because the waves were dropping up to 6 feet.  I said 'no way' because I don't do quick and Mike stuck up for me (bless him!!!)  Then it got worse because it was too dangerous for our boat to get to the dock because it was too rough. They brought in this little dingy, row boat thing and told us we still had to move quickly from boat to dingy and then again from dingy to dock.  I said I am staying on the boat!  And everyone kept trying to talk me into it.  I should have stood firm and insisted on going back to the marina.  Mike could have come over to pick me up - it is a 45 minute drive.  But NNNNOOOOOOOO!!  Stupid me listened to them.  I almost did a face plant and went overboard getting on the dingy.  Luckily Mike and the guy driving the dingy grabbed me...water is 220 feet deep there and me still not swimming, ya know.  Then we get to the dock after bobbing around on the way, getting soaked by the waves.  I have no balance to speak of, no speed of motion and I'm supposed to stand up in a severely rocking dingy, stand on it's side rail, and pull myself up 6 feet on to the deck!  Ha!  If the big boat's owner, Warner, wasn't standing on the dock, hadn't grabbed my hand, and somehow yanked my hefty ass up very quickly, I would have been squashed between the dock and dingy.  Scared the crap out of me!!

 

Needless to say, I did not go fishing on Wednesday but did go back out on Thursday.  Again we found porpoises but no tuna were biting.  Captain Tony was sick so the boat's owner, Warner, was our captain for this final day.  We thought we hadn't caught anything but did hook a nice striped marlin in the final hour.  I should say Jack started reeling it in but Kevin was the one who actually landed it and brought it into the boat, this time without any help from either Mike or Jim.  He did a great job and had it all under control.  It was fun to watch this kid go from novice to experienced in a week. 

 

So Jim and Jack and Kevin have headed home to California and we are in our last 3 weeks at Los Barriles.  We are off of the big boat and back to our half day panga trips.  Next scheduled outing is  going out on Wednesday morning (July 13th) with Jorge.



Foodie Alert in Los Barriles!!

So I haven't written in a while.  Been busy?  Not really, just enjoying the peace and quiet and watching the fishing fleet come in every afternoon.

We have been eating quite well.  First, we are making our own burritos to take fishing.  Just marinate chicken or beef in ranchero sauce, fry up some bell pepper, onion, tomatoes with the saucy meat, add juice of 3 or 4 very small limes and wrap in a tortilla.  Yummy!  So we have been cooking more at home and only going out every other night.  I have found rice packets at the local tienda that are 1 Cup so it is perfect for us for  2 meals.  And last week Joe's Deli staff told us about a green grocer next door so we've shopped there twice.  They have fresh broccoli, peppers, onions, fruits, etc.  I did buy some "Safee" product to spray the produce, just in case, but it is much nicer and a larger selection than the local tienda (supermarket) has. 

 

This is how I mostly fish on the panga, looking for bait balls and marlin fins.

 

 

This year we have tried many new restaurants in the area.  I still want to go to LaRibera for 'linner' one afternoon before we leave but Los Barriles has everything we need. 

 

1.  Best tacos in town are at El Viejo.  Hands down the best.  Fresh, fresh, fresh!  They have a toppings bar where you decide what you want to add to your breakfast omelet or your tacos - things like fresh chopped salsa, pickled jalapenos, onion, cheese, etc.  Simple menu and you can choose grilled vs. fried on your tacos for N$2 extra (N$ peso = about 17 cents US) and well worth the cost.  Grilled shrimp and grilled scallops were just amazing.

 

2.  Herman used to be the fishing boat scheduler to see here at Palmas de Cortez.  About 3 years ago he left and opened a small family restaurant above street level on the "main drag" called Terrazzo de German (Herman's Terrace).  They have an open air kitchen and a very large wood grill.  Special is grilled fish which is very good.  Mike had his with cilantro sauce and mine was just grilled with lime on the side.  We buy the same tortillas they use at the grocery store, piping hot and fresh.  The tortillas have replaced bread in our diet...why by Oroweat 12-grain bread when you can have fresh maize (corn) tortillas?

 

3.  We went to La Casita, a very small patio totally surrounded by a stick, privacy fence.  They have actual stemmed wine glasses and cloth napkins, which is HUGE for this area.  The menu is very upscale and different from most every other dining option in town.  Can't wait to go back and try the grilled sea bass.  And you'd never know it could be this amazing when you see the small house beside the road.  In fact, we drove past it for almost 2 weeks before we realized it was the restaurant we'd been looking for...the map locator on Trip Advisor was WAY OFF!  This restaurant also has sushi!  We had salads, Mike had sushi roll, and I had coconut shrimp in a mango/jalapeño sauce.  And the best lemonade - fresh squeezed into mineral water (agua con gas).  That has become a new addiction and is so refreshing!!  We order it everywhere now.

 

 

Mike says I look happy.  I think I look goofy but the salad was soooooo tasty and fresh!

 

 

Mike's sushi roll

 

 

 

My coconut shrimp with mashed potatoes and veggies - delish!

 

4.  There are signs all over town about El Gecko.  We aren't telling our friend Jackie it is down a dirt road past a trailer park on the beach until she's here.  Our greeter was a very well groomed French poodle named Tiki...I'm usually very good remembering dog names, it's the people names I never remember!  So I got puppy kisses before dinner.  They had Don Julio anejo tequila and made guacamole at our table side (extra spicy, of course)

 

 

Yep, made table side!

 

And El Gecko had molcajete bowls!!!!!!!!!  Molcajete is generally used to grind up seeds or nuts, made out of lava rock.  These bowls have a red or green sauce (mine was green) with meat, cactus, green onions, & white cheese served with rice, beans and tortillas.  Mine was the grilled skirt steak bowl but could also have had pork, chicken or shrimp.  The bowls are heated thru so everything in them stays nice and hot throughout your meal. 



 

 

My happy face with my molcajete bowl

 

5.  Our old stand-by is Tio Pablo's.  It has been here since the 1990's.  They have great waitresses and  good, consistent quality, Americanized food.  Daily specials include:

 

• Thursday - Reuben sandwich & fries
• Friday - fish & chips
• Saturday - 50% off pork dishes on menu (and you have to have the pork filet medallions)
• Sunday - Angus beef Prime Rib. 

 

That Prime Rib is at least a pound of meat so we always split it and order an extra salad and potato.  It is our go to spot when we don't know what we want to eat. 

 

So we've gotten through our first month here.  I'm anxious to see what the second 30 days will bring. And I'll keep you posted on that!



 

 

 

Exploring East Cape

Last week we drove down to La Ribera and Santa Cruz just to the south of us.  Los Barriles is at KM 110 on Rt. #1 and the turn off to these two towns is at the KM 93 back towards Cabo.  There is a lot of traffic on both of those roads and we were just one of many.  

You first reach Santa Cruz about 9.5 KM down the alternate road, which is paved.  We like paved as most roads around here are dirt and sand.  Santa Cruz is small but an extremely neat and well cared for town on top of a mesa.  There was an old man working the center of the boulevard, trimming and watering all the flowers and plants between the lanes of traffic.  They have a grammar school and high school and also what looks like a junior college along the boulevard.  To your left and right are wide streets with approximately 10 houses down each side to the end of the mesa.  It does not look "Americanized" yet.

Another 2.5 KM down the road you come to La Ribera which is a larger town  with a population of close to 2,000 - about the size of Shinnston WV.  There are many new vacation/retirement homes on the hillsides.  We drove through town and down towards the beach.  They have a large marina under construction that currently has two houses with large boats docked behind them.  This area has a guard and it was fenced so we didn't go in to explore the area. Back up on the main road, we saw  huge hardware store and plumbing supply store along with the typical tendas (small convenience stores).  We headed further south hoping to get to Punta Colorado but it was off of a soft dirt road and we turned our little Nissan March around at the dump and headed back towards Los Barriles.  We will be taking this trip again.

We found a new place in Los Barriles for breakfast and lunch.  It is call El Viejo.  They have hibiscus tea!  This is a drink we found and enjoyed in Isla Mujeres and were very happy to find it here as well.  Their menu is simple but the food is well prepared and plentiful. 

Mike's chorizo omelet with hash browns

Hibiscus Tea

We have been checking Yelp and Travel Advisor looking for new places to eat in this area.  We did go to check out the menu at the Buena Vista Hotel and Spa and will be heading back there soon.  One of the new restaurants in town is La Casita. While the map shows it downtown next to Caleb's we actually found it on the north side of town just before the wash.  We were heading to El Gecko, which was closed, for an early dinner at 4 PM and Mike decided to stop at La Casita.  

La Casita is an open air restaurant with a mix of tables surrounded by a stick fence.  There are tarps for the roof and lots of fans around to keep the humidity down.  One reviewer said it was nice to have a restaurant in town with stemmed wine glasses.  So we didn't know quite what to expect.  As we didn't want a cocktail, the waitress suggested lemonade.  Mike's was made with sparkling water and mine with plain, purified water.  Both were delicious - quite tart - and served in glass rather than plastic cups.  Mike ordered the grilled tuna salad and a Darrell sushi roll.  I had a small house salad and coconut grilled shrimp.  The food was delicious and well prepared.  My shrimp came with a mango jalapeno sauce along with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies.  I can't wait to go back and try their seared sea bass.  It was my second selection on their menu.

Yesterday I wanted to head north to the mining town we'd seen on our trip to La Paz from 2 years ago.  It looked rustic with cobblestone streets and our driver told us it was good for tourists.  So we checked road conditions at the front desk at Palmas de Cortez and headed towards San Bartolo.

San Bartolo is quite a surprise.  You are driving across dried washes and riverbeds through the desert and look to the west and there is a beautiful green, lush valley.  There are mango trees everywhere and roadside shops selling tree ripened mangoes and guayana (guava), along with fresh produce, baked goods, dried fruits, etc.  We didn't stop but headed north into no man's land, or so it seemed.

After about 5 miles out of San Bartolo, we cut our explorations short.  The farther north we drove, the more Mike and I realized:

1. no one knows where we are going
2. we don't have a valid map
3. we don't have a cell phone
4. we are in a clearly marked rental car

We turned around, stopped in San Bartolo for what I told Mike were key limes.  Turns out they weren't limes at all but guayana.  The girl at the counter offered to let me taste them and we left with a bag full along with a box of mango empanadas.  Guayana fruit are small with a big pit but so very sweet.  Taste is something like a cross between a Granny Smith apple and a ripe pear.  I will buy them again.

Coming back into Los Barriles, we decided to have lunch at La Viejo.  The tacos are 24 to 26 pesos each.  I had one grilled shrimp taco and one grilled scallop taco.  Mike had 2 fish tacos and one scallop taco.  There is a condiment bar where you can add just about anything to your order including grilled onion, roasted jalapenos, radishes, lettuce, cheese, fresh chopped salsa and some killer habanero cooked salsa (my lips tingled for about an hour after having that on my tacos!!).  Lunch cost us about $9 with our tea.

Last night we ate the last of Mike's tuna he caught on Wednesday with steamed rice and a mango salsa I made when we got home.  I think this weekend we will drive north along the cliffs where the ex-pat Americans and Canadians are building their vacation and retirement homes.  Sadly, this area is growing super fast and now about 70% of the residents here are from North America.  It is becoming more populated and losing the charm of a small Mexican fishing village.

East Cape Fishing 6-8-2016

Wednesday we went fishing on a panga named Scorpion.  Our Captain was Jorge who we have met on previous trips.  And we had a great day on the water!! 

There was a panga tournament, of which we were not a part.  We were one of the first boats away from the dock (the first panga too!) and ran north towards the shark buoys.  We did not end up that far up the coast and stopped about Ensenada del Muertos.  Mike hooked a  3 to 3.5 foot, 30 lb wahoo and had it on board by 7:30 AM.  We kept seeing bait balls disturbing the water so we know there were other large fish in the area.  No one was catching anything so we moved a little farther from shore.

Mike's Wahoo

Eventually around 9 AM, with some trolling, we hooked a small female dorado which I caught.  When we saw her size, we chose to release her back.  This year there is a new conservation direction on what size fish you and keep and exactly how many.  We believe this is a great idea.  During the past few years, there have not been strict guidelines and the area may be getting over-fished.  Better to throw her back, let her spawn, and then catch her next month when she's 20+ pounds.

While we continued to troll, nothing was biting.  We decided to head to port about 10:45 but continue to troll on the trip back.  That is when Mike got to catch his striped marlin - all 175 pounds of him (the fish, not Mike).  It took him between 35 and 40 minutes to bring this bad boy to the boat!  He  put up a VERY good fight.  We released him after this photo.  He was as tired out as Mike at this point.

Mike's Marlin

We took 1/2 of the wahoo and gave the second half to Jorge.  Our 8 wahoo filets were prepared by Tio Pablo's Wednesday night -  half garlic & capers and half Veracruz (tomatoes, onions, peppers & olives).  The cost of our meal was $8 each and included our fish with rice, beans and tortillas.  Can't beat that.  We took the leftover Veracruz home and had burritos on Thursday.  Friday night the other 8 filets made it to Tio's as well for more Veracruz.  Their prep is AMAZING!!!  More burritos on Saturday.  Maybe tonight dinner will be beef. 

Next week we will be bottom fishing for snapper and grouper and maybe try for another wahoo.  I will have gills by the time we make it back to Texas!!

 

 

Los Barriles

Well, we are in Mexico now at Los Barriles on the Sea of Cortez.   We have stayed in 5 different units here at Villas de Cortez over the years and have had amazing experiences in all but the one we will be staying in for the next 8 weeks. I am sure that most people who rent this unit stay anywhere from 3 to 7 days on the hotel fishing plan and eat at the Café downstairs and main buffet restaurant for breakfast before fishing.  When you are planning an 8 week stay, your expectations are higher and your needs a little more defined than a place to sleep.   I am disappointed but we will muddle through.  We will purchase what we need as we go.  So far that has been a Melita coffee filter system, a set of glasses, and an ceramic water dispenser for large bottles of purified water. 

The owner was here last week and left us a handwritten note on a scrap of paper saying to "enjoy the liquor and beer we left for you"  which was a 1.75 liter bottle of Kirkland Plata tequila and 2 six packs of Corona Lite beer.  Everyone who knows us knows that we don't drink beer and would never touch a plata tequila but it was a nice thought.  However, with the owner being here the week before we arrived, you'd think some of these issues might have  been addressed, wouldn't you?  The key, in my opinion,  is that you really need to put money into your investment to keep it current and cutting edge when asking top rental dollar but that doesn't seem to be the case for Villa 1209.  They will not  be getting a favorable review on www.VRBo.com!

LIVING AREA

Upside in the living area is the couch is comfortable.  There is a nice table and 4 chairs (original to the unit) and the Murphy bed is firm.  On the downside, an old 23" Olevia TV is not hooked up to anything but an older Sony DVD player - no cable, no Dish, no antenna.  Can you imagine me without a TV for 2  months??

Owner states in his welcome letter (not provided until the final rent check is received):  "The Wi-Fi instructions should be in the unit.  We have a nice Home Theater system but do not have satellite (so not many US channels).  Bring your favorite DVD's...We have a pretty good selection down there...you will find maps, restaurant info, brochures for the area etc."

Our response:

1. There is no Wi-Fi.  The building manager was gracious enough to provide us with Wi-Fi from the hotel.
2. When I asked the owner about TV viewing/connections he said they only use it to watch DVDs so we tried that.  You only hear the sound but no picture ever makes it to the TV.   No big loss as their "good selection" of DVDs identified by the owner has in it exactly 9 movies, the newest movie is Madagascar from 2007.   Sony DVD player will not accept BluRay disks.
3. The only information in the unit about the local area is a 1998 copy of Cabo Handbook by Joe Cummings.  Luckily we've been here before and know where to go for food and services.
4. There is no phone service, not even local to the front desk for emergencies and our Verizon cell service doesn't work on the AT&T cell network here.  We can buy a burner phone but so far we don't see any need for one.

 KITCHEN

1. There is one stainless steel pot.  All other pots and pans have Teflon coating which is peeling, making them unusable.
2. Missing cutlery - there are 2 teaspoons and 2 forks (and there are just 2 of us)
3. Rusty and dull knife set
4. No glassware - just a few horribly stained/discolored plastic items
5. Coffee maker doesn't work - only releases 1/2 of water sent through filter
6. Dishwasher latch is "iffy" at best.
7. No food staples such as salt, pepper, and oil that every other VRBO rental has provided.    Unit does has: unrefrigerated, open bottles of red wine vinegar & salsa picante, salt with 4/15/15 expiration date,  powdered chocolate creamer in a small Mason jar that's one solid lump, ancient box of Sleepy Time tea that expired in January 2010, and 1/2 box of Sweet & Low

BATHROOM

While this unit is listed as handicapped accessible, the shower door opens about 18" inward and 12" outward.   Even I can't squeeze thru the 12" opening with the sink countertop in the way.  In all fairness the shower is very nice with good water pressure and ample hot water.


You never know what you will find at a VRBO rental.  We hope for the best but are flexible enough to handle what is thrown at us wherever we travel.  The staff here are the Villas are very easy to work with.  Gabby did our laundry on Tuesday for $10 - about what I pay in the hotels as we travel.  Pedro, the manager, gave us free Wi-Fi and an 8 gallon bottle of purified water until we could buy our own.  He also hooked us up with Thrifty Car Rental for a very nice deal on a 2 month rental of a Nissan March.  We will have a great time here and go with the flow.

 

May 2016

May started out great with a visit to my sister Liz in NC.  She has bought a beautiful house and moved from DC the end of last year.  Mike came down with a cold and was in bed for about 3 days while we were in Hendersonville.  Nelson and Olivia made me Carne Asada for dinner one night with fresh pico de gallo and black beans.  It was wonderful!  Liz also made stuffed peppers for dinner before we left.  Due to Mike's cold, we didn't get out much but did manage to enjoy a morning exploring in downtown Hendersonville. 

We left NC and headed back to Ohio.  Mike had to have his new crown "installed".  It was a quick overnight trip and then we were off to eastern PA to visit with cousins Terry & Dave, Al & Karen and Marion and Jay.  We had a very nice time just kicking back and enjoying some home cooked food.  Thanks Tair!!  And no stop is complete without breakfast at the Hellertown Diner - twice! 

After PA we were planning a trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland then meandering down to Kiawah Island SC but that got tabled when I received a call from my niece Emma telling us my sister Becky was hospitalized.  Needless to say we were back in WV shortly.  I couldn't do much but stare at her while she lay in her hospital bed and will her to get better.  Since the doctors never did discover what caused her illness, I'm thinking my staring might have made everything better - HA!  She says I'm the bossy one but I think that it is the duty of the oldest child to be exactly that when necessary.  Oh, and as oldest, I get to also decide when it is necessary.  Rank has its privileges.  So once Becky was discharged, we drove her down to Liz's for some R&R.  She will be in NC gaining strength and fattening up for a couple of weeks or so. 

I also had to tell Mike that I was so very, very tired of hotels after 8 weeks on the road.  Thank goodness we were able to rent a beautiful cabin on top of a mountain in Bat Cave NC.  This picture below shows what most of our mornings looked like.  We loved sitting in the two rocking chairs and watching the mountains.  Two days we had rain and were totally surrounded by clouds.  It felt there was no one else on Earth but the two of us.  There was enough moisture in the air to cause condensation on the leaves of the trees so it sounded as if it was raining when the water fell from leaf to leaf.  My favorite observation was 'watching the breeze'.  Yep, we could watch the wind move the tree tops down the mountain before the breeze ever reached our porch.  The peace and quiet was absolutely what I needed.

View from our Cabin on top of the mountains

Our first night here was just scrambling to find the cabin and then getting food shopping and dinner.  We had a wonderful dinner on the deck at La Strada overlooking Lake Lure.  Great Italian food but those portions were HUGE.  We had our leftovers for linner (lunch/dinner) the next two days.  Mostly we just stayed in the cabin and had Becky and Liz over for lunch one day.

In case you don't know, Lake Lure NC is next to Chimney Rock NC.  Dirty Dancing was filmed at Lake Lure and the Lake Lure Inn and Spa has two suites named for Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze.  There is a current sequel being filmed nearby.  One of the dancer's is Jennifer Lopez's boyfriend Cesar so she was in Hendersonville about 2 weeks before we got there.  Also, Last of the Mohicans with Daniel Day Lewis was partially filmed in the Chimney Rock area.  The cost is $15 per person to go up onto Chimney Rock so we snapped this pic from downtown Chimney Rock.  I'd rather spend that $15 on wine, tequila or good food.

 

Chimney Rock - Rather unimpressive

 

Next adventure will be heading back to Texas so that we can fly off to Los Barriles BCS Mexico on June 1st.

April 2016

Well, we had a fun week with tests and doctors in Columbus.  We each have new medicines to take, all tests came back in good order, and we are on our way to West Virginia and then Washington DC.  We were able to see a few old friends while in town but not everyone we wanted to see.  I swear we spent the whole 10 days here in doctor's offices.  It's what happens with medical doctors, dentists,  optometrists.  Now except for a quick October visit to the anti-coagulation clinic & my GP, we are finished for the next 12 months!!

When we left WV, we considered going over Route 50 but opted for I-68 instead.  Every time I drive over Keyser Ridge and Big Savage Mountain, I expect to see snow - even on the 4th of July.  We lucked out and got over both mountains without one snowflake.  And we stopped in Frederick Maryland for a day.  I had not been back there since 1997 and there are many changes.  It has built up so very much since I worked there.  Farms have become shops and restaurants.  We spent a nice afternoon in Emmetsburg antique-ing and didn't buy a single item.

Then it was on to Washington DC.  The trip from Frederick was uneventful, if very wet, until we reached the beltway.  The beltway was backed up and Connecticut  Avenue was horrid with traffic.  Luckily the GPS was feeling helpful and we made it to our hotel safely, if not quickly.  It was beautiful in Washington for the 4 days we were there.  We ended up exploring a little, meeting up with Jim & Rhonda for Katie & Niall's wedding. 

Our first day in town we walked from our hotel at 10th NW and K St NW down to the Vietnam Memorial.  I thought my feet were going to fall off and that new medicine from Dr. Albers was kicking my hind end!!  Seemed we had to stop every 2 blocks so I could sit down and rest.  Thank goodness there are many, many benches along the National Mall.  Some observations:

• The FBI building has great security, especially for their parking garage
• Never leave a Nationals' game in the 7th inning.  That baseball game lasted 16 innings!
• Ford's Theatre had lines around the block.  Why do people want to see where a president was murdered? 
• The last of the cherry blossoms were still very pretty
• Why did they have to change the Smithsonian so much?  And where was my Hope Diamond?
• My main complaint about the Smithsonian is the number of unruly school kids running wild through the exhibits.  They weren't enjoying the experience, just trying to fill out the questionnaire's their teachers had given them.  Ruined the experience for us, that's for sure.

The wedding was held April 26th at 6 PM in the Senate Park beside the Capitol Building.  It was a beautiful venue with all of the azaleas blooming.  One of Katie's friends officiated and Ryan's daughters were flower girls.  After the ceremony, we went off to an Irish pub for the celebration. 

Only one more Witz  niece to marry off now.

Kentucky

After we left West Virginia, we headed west to Rick and Carol's for a few days of catching up and relaxing with them.  It was great to reconnect.  I think all of us will be on diets after this visit as they fed us so very well with salmon, tri tip and homemade navy bean soup plus many lunches and dinners we had around their neighborhood.

On April 1st, we decided to try a couple of distilleries on the Bourbon Trail in central Kentucky.  It is a very pretty drive down to Lexington and we headed first to Wild Turkey.  You drive through a beautiful old town of Lawrenceburg then follow a winding road, cross a rickety bridge, and climb a hill to arrive at Wild Turkey Distillery.  There are so many 4 and 5 story warehouses on both sides of the road and signs leading us to the Visitor Center.  I listened to their retired master distiller talk to different groups shopping in the gift area - he signed hat, t-shirts and bottles.

One factoid about Wild Turkey's Kentucky location is this company also owns Sky Vodka.  While the vodka is made up north, it is shipped into Lawrenceburg for bottling.  We were not taken on a tour of the vodka bottling operation...now that I really would have liked to sample!  HA!  We took a tour of the bourbon distillery and had tastings in the main building.  Their Honey Wild Turkey was good but I still prefer tequila.

Mike and I during the Wild Turkey Distillery Tour

One of the visitor's displays

 

 

After Wild Turkey, we stopped for lunch in Lawrenceburg and then drove on to Woodford Distillery.  Their visitor center is beautiful and sits up on a hill.  From the porch you look down upon their old 1800's warehouses.   We chose not to tour this distillery but enjoyed a tasting.  Yes, the picture below is my empty tasting glasses.  I preferred the Distiller's Select but only with the dark chocolate truffle....and those of you that know me know, since my last rounds of chemo, I can't stand the taste of milk and dark chocolate.  Woodford Reserve Select made me a chocolate eater again!



Endings

The past few weeks have been difficult.  On March 13th my mother entered into hospice care.  She had lived with my sister Liz for the past 2 years and was slowly fading away.  She passed on March 23, 2016.  Mike and I started preparing that day to leave Texas and pre-packed all of our belongings, except for daily clothes by the 20th. (There was also the final trip to Goodwill for all the things we discovered we no longer needed to carry with us!)  So when the call came, it took us just the final day to load everything into our truck and head north.

Of course any trip with the two of us is not without some drama.  The morning of March 24th we stopped in Livingston to pick up accumulated mail and found a jury summons for Mike.  He was supposed to have reported on March 21st!  I was sure that he had a "failure to report" subpoena sworn out against him and would be arrested at any minute, being the hardened criminal he is.  Needless to say we went to the courthouse right away to correct this error.  And happily Livingston is used to dealing with Escapees like us, who travel full time.  The clerk just said "OK, when do you want to serve?"  So we will be back in Texas on September 26th for Mike to serve jury duty.  And I cancelled the last 2 weeks of our Colorado trip.

The trip to West Virginia was good as the roads were clear but the orange barrels are EVERYWHERE!!!  I know they are the state flower of PA, but seriously?????  Anyway, with all the rain in Arkansas, it looked like the whole state is just one huge swamp.  There was water standing on both sides of the roads in fields.  I don't think it is because AR is growing all of the world's rice, it just looked like it.

So we finally got to WV and had a very nice funeral for mother.  Liz's son-in-law Nelson officiated at the ceremony.  As with all funerals, we saw many friends and family and, for me, quite a few unknown people who knew mother over the years and came to pay their respects.  She is now laid to rest beside Daddy and Bruce.

Edith's Shinnston High School Senior Picture

L to R:  me, Liz, mother, Becky

 



Last month

Nothing is guaranteed in life except death  & taxes so we took a trip up to Texas City/NASA area to Frye's to buy Turbo Tax.  It was discounted about $20 less than Wally World next door.  Besides we need to get out and about and keep moving, don't we? 

This memory is for my Star Trek fan friends and family.  We missed the turn into Frye's driveway and had to go around "the block".  (FYI, the blocks are Texas sized as well so it was probably a quarter mile round trip to get back to the driveway.)  Here we are on the NASA Parkway and we had to make a right on to - here it comes!!!! - Kobayoshi Drive.  If you are a Star Trek fan of either the original series or the new prequels, you will get this thanks to James T. Kirk's Star Fleet Academy days.  I have to admit I was bouncing in my seat and laughing that the folks around NASA have such a great sense of humor.

We met our landlords, Bob and Maureen, this past week when they stopped by to change the filters on the furnace. It was nice to have faces to match with the phone calls and correspondence which were necessary to arrange our stay here in Galveston.  They live about an hour northwest of the island.

When we were chatting Maureen mentioned going to Scotland to spread her mother's ashes when we were explaining our travel life style.  Interesting fact is along the Galveston seawall there are slab granite jetties jutting out into the ocean.  There are also many slabs stacked south of 80th street to build up beach.  When Maureen was in Scotland in the Hebrides Islands, she was told one of the islands has a large granite quarry and the majority of the granite they ship out of Scotland goes to Galveston.  The Scots didn't know why Galveston Texas was purchasing so much of their granite so she enjoyed explaining to them exactly what their granite was placed to do.  You really can learn something new every day if you pay attention!!

So this past week we finally made it to the train museum here on the island.  The trains were originally brought to the island to by-pass Houston.  There was a amjor rivalry between business men on Galveston and Houston.  We enjoyed the scale trains set up similar to my ex-boss' collection.  I worked for David in Sacramento and he has built a layout of the Sierra foothill towns and their trains.  The ones here in Galveston were multi-level with tunnels and trestles.  Two older men were looking at them and saying "Gee I wish we could see them running" so I pushed the large button which said "Push Here to Start Trains"!  It was their DUH moment.  Out on the old tracks by the train station, we could look into the private train cars but were not permitted to enter.  We were able to climb into a caboose, an engine, a fully restored mail car and a Pullman car donated from Canada.  It was a nice morning trip and we got some really good pictures from there. 

We are beginning to pack to leave Galveston and I will be very sad to go.  I have enjoyed exploring this area and just kicking back for the past 3 months.  On to Ohio, WV, & NC

Spring in East Texas

Blooming Redbud

Well, spring has come to East Texas and the redbud trees, pictured above, are blooming all over!!  The other trees have a faint light green glow to them as their new leaves are coming in now too.  When we lived in Ohio, I always looked forward to seeing those redbuds but not until late April to early May and then I would know that winter was finally over.  I think East Texas has the same kind of winter season my friend Stephanie tells me they have in costal North Carolina.

Last week we took Mike's cousin Terry to Hobby Airport for her return home to PA.  She was able to visit us for 5 days and her visits are never long enough.  We didn't do much more than show her the island and relax/veg during her visit.  We did find two other restaurants in our search for gluten free menus.  They are Mario's Seawall for pasta and wood fired pizza and Nick's for seafood.  Terry says Nick's makes a wonderful mojito too with lots of fresh mint and I can vouch for their Grilled Mahi Mahi with mango salsa.

After driving up to Hobby, and since we were half way there, we decided to continue on north to Livingston to pick up our mail, instead of having it shipped to General Delivery here in Galveston.  And since Texas votes March 1st in the Super Tuesday primaries, we dug out our new Voter's Registration Cards and took them with us too.  Texas is another state which now allows you to vote early and not wait for election day.   I hadn't checked into absentee ballots so I was happy we could stop by the Justice Center in downtown Livingston and cast our votes.  Not saying who each of us voted for and both chose different candidates.  I am already sick unto death of all the political rigmarole.  By the end of October, as the political ads overtake the air waves, I will probably stop watching TV, listening to radio, checking the Book of Face, etc.  For November's general election, we will request absentee ballots as we will be somewhere in between Colorado and Tucson.

One of our meal stops in Livingston is either Manny's for Cajun food or the Whistle Stop Café across the street from the Polk County Courthouse.  Yesterday it was Whistle Stop.  We'd had breakfast at Denny's by the airport after dropping Terry at Hobby so we decided Whistle Stop would be the perfect spot for a snack.  Both of us had Bean & Andouille sausage soup with Mexican cornbread (nice and spicy with jalapeño peppers).  For dessert I had a slice of very tart lemon meringue pie and Mike had peach cobbler.  I like the Whistle Stop because its atmosphere reminds me of Griffin's Bar-B-Que run by my Aunt Griffie (Martha Ellen Griffin) and Aunt Peg Anderson on Shinnston's West Side.  Whistle Stop is obviously a local restaurant in a small town with waitresses who know most of the customers and what they usually order.  And the pies are almost as good as my Aunt Griffie's  but the crust just isn't as good.  There is also a gift/antique shop connected to the restaurant and it's always fun to explore.

Whistle Stop Café

We are still really liking Texas and Galveston.  This winter has been the best in many years!

Mardi Gras & Tawn

 

We had our first guest last week, my cousin Tawn.  It was a good time to visit.  Not too cold, sunny days, and the second weekend of Mardi Gras.  Galveston Texas has the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the US, right after New Orleans and the Galveston celebration is much more family friendly!  We bought balcony tickets overlooking the main parade route and the band stage. 

 

So, regarding those balcony tickets....  We are spoiled by NASCAR.  When you buy premium tickets to view a race, those include a commemorative souvenir, snacks, free soft drinks & water, and a nice area to sit and chat.  Not here with their balcony rates.  All you get is access to the balcony.  No food, no reserved seating, no reserve or timed space on the balcony for the parades, etc.  In our building they had between 15 & 20 tables spread between 2 rooms and those were grabbed by the first 50 people there.  Those first 50 were also the balcony hogs and never moved, they just rotated thru their group of folks so no one could get on the east side of the balcony.  There was no accommodation for the number of tickets they sold.  One of the Crewe  Bob-a-loo leaders was most unhappy as she'd paid a very large fee for about 60 of her group working parade floats and there was no seating available for the food she'd brought in for them.  If and when we do this again, we will stay at street level with the masses.

 

There were so many people downtown on Saturday.  The majority were families with a lot of small children.  Some of those kids had sooooooo many beads around their necks that you couldn't figure out how they were still able to stand upright!!  The kids would stand below the balconies and call out for beads.  Mike bought us a large bag of beads and we had a very good time throwing them down to the crowd of people below our balcony.  We threw our beads to the kids mostly and all 3 of us had pretty good aim.  We still have about 1/3 of them left if anyone wants a few strands??

 

The crowd below 

 

 

I bought Tawn and I each a mask at the 23rd Street Star Café.  It seemed the later in the day it became, the more masks we saw.  We finally gave up around 7 PM and came home.  Got a good picture of Tawn in her mask with Mike.  The bandstand is behind them.  Best thing about the west side of the balcony was being able to sing along with the bands.  They were each very loud so I sounded VERY good singing along with each of them.  I really rocked Whole Lotta Love & Heartbreaker by Led Zepplin!!  Just sayin'...

 

Tawn and Mike

 

Finally in self defense and to rest our weary feet, we walked over to Pier 21 and had dinner at the Olympia Restaurant.  No wine with dinner but the restaurant had many to choose from as you can see them all behind us!  Dinner was very good - grilled salmon, stuffed shrimp and seared Ahi tuna - but the desserts left something to be desired.  I have been EXTREMELY disappointed by all of the flan I have tasted since we settled into Galveston.  I guess I'll have to stick with the beignets.

Dinner at Olympia

 

While we planned to go out for Super Bowl, we ended up staying at home.  Tawn's Denver Broncos won the day.  I could not root for Denver as they had beat my Steelers in the playoffs.  I felt sorry for Carolina but such is life. 

 

On Monday we went to visit Bishop's Palace on Broadway & 14th downtown.  It is a beautiful mansion built in the 1870's by the Gresham family.  In the early 1900's it was purchased by the Catholic diocese to become the Bishop's residence.  The self guided tour took about an hour and a half.  The historical society decided only to put back into the house what either belonged to the Bishop or to the Gresham family so most rooms are sparsely furnished, if at all.  I can't even begin to describe the wood work, chandeliers, marble, etc. in this old mansion.  The decorative work in the coving of the dining room ceiling was linoleum, which I couldn't believe as it looked like hand painted plaster and was very ornate.  It is truly a beautiful building and there is much restoration on-going.  Right now there is a $3 million grant to repair the roof and collections being made to preserve the sunroom, which is mostly constructed out of zinc.   I was intrigued by the kitchen and bathrooms too.  The Butler's Pantry had a gold fixture for hot water and a silver one for cold water.  Oh, and the bathtub in Mrs. Gresham's bathroom had 3 taps - one for hot water, one for cold water & one for rain water.  The rain water was for washing her hair. 

 

The stairway in Bishop's Palace

 

There are many mansions on Galveston from the 1800's and many Victorians built after the great hurricane of 1900.  I hope we have the time and gumption to get out and tour more of them before we leave.