This is about par for last years posting....it's almost been a month. My excuse is too much work on the boat and too exhausted to do anything but watch movies. I got the woodwork done where the carpenter bees destroyed it and a lot of the painting done. As I was installing the glass bottom window, I noticed a crack appearing on it. So I took it off and tried to get another made here in Guaymas. Their safety glass is thinner than the one I had made in Rancho Cordova and it made me a little queesy putting in a thinner piece of safety glass the what was in there in the first place. So I decided to get get two of them and put a clear plastic spacer between them. Now they are installed and I kept messing with the regular spacers that keep the pressure on the glass. Tomorrow I will find out if I put the right amount of pressure on the glass. I'm glad that the travel-lift operator is my best friend down here and won't get upset if he has to pull me out of the water if it is not right. After I splash, I will get busy on my mast and boom. I have no idea how long it will take me to paint and and install all the new rigging. Everyone is asking me to organize the Thanksgiving dinner potluck here at the marina. I really wanted to be on my way by Thanksgiving, but as usual, it will be after. The new Walmart and Sam's Club in Guaymas has really changed things around here. There is a new girl in the office, so I have twice the fun as I did with just Ariana. Marlene has lived in Vancouver and has good English skills as she does business skills. The locals celbrate Revolution Day with a big parade down there main street(Aquiles Serdan) and every school and organization in the area participate. I promise to let you all know within a few days if the splash was successful.

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The trip down from Rancho Cordova to Guaymas was the easiest yet. Picked up Steve in Lotus and packed all his stuff in the van, had to put the outboard and my large luggage on the roof to make room. We drove down to Costa Mesa so I could stop by Minneys Yacht Surplus to pick up my new to me drifter. Also bought a few other odds and ends and then we met up with a couple of friends of Steve's who are rebuilding a Katrina salvaged boat. When we left Nogales to cross the border the stress level created from the fear of Mexican customs was high. We came up to the first (Red light/Green light) and it showed red. So the gate opened and I crept forward and there was no one around, so I kept driving forward and before we knew it, we were on our way to the next customs and visa area at KM21 marker. After we got our visas we drove around the building to the customs inspection area and got a GREEN light. After we drove for a couple of miles and were muttering to ourselves saying we cant believe we got off so easy.......we were joking about going back and demanding they inspect our vehicle. Got to the boat and was pleasantly surprised that everything was working properly. Did laundry and cleaned the boat and left it wide open to air out. Started to work on my dryrot areas and noticed tons of sawdust or chewed wood around the area along with these perfect half-inch holes. It looked someone just drilled those holes, but it was these huge black bees that chewed into the dryrot areas to feast on the bad wood. So I started to cut out the affected area and the bees came out and larvae fell out. They really set up housekeeping in that wood. There were about 12 black adults and 4 or 5 reddish/orange juveniles and three maggots. My blog picture is a black bee flying around looking for its home that I destroyed. The boat work begins................

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This is the toughest part of cruising...saying good-bye to my granddaughter. Thank God that it has gotten a little better and does not come close to that first year when I sailed out of Rio Vista. That was pure torture pulling Gabriella out of my arms. Anyway, there are so many little things to take care of before leaving, like getting the car in shape and buying a thousand little items that I think I won't be able to buy in Mexico. Then there is packing the car with said items and still having enough room for my friend Steve and all his stuff. This year Steve is jumping off to the South Pacific, so I will be commuting by myself after this trip. As always, I will promise to post more blogs and more pictures, but only time will tell if I hold true to my promise. I am supposed to paint the interior of the school in Colomilla this year, but I will not rush through my upgrades on the boat to achieve that task. I have to redo all my standing rigging as it's only about 25 years overdue. I also have to install my new glass bottom porthole and paint the boat from the decks up. I really enjoy hanging around Guaymas as I work on the boat. I will post the upgrade progress with pics and text so you can see that all this cruising stuff is not just beautiful sunsets and Mahi-Mahi dinners in palapas on beuatiful beaches. I leave in 2 days, the 14th of Oct. and will drive through Costa Mesa and San Diego. Comments and questions are welcomed.

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