Capt. Crabby
03/26/2012, Guadalajara, Jalisco

Friday PM last, we returned from a 4-day excursion to Guadalajara. It was a really nice trip, about 4 hours on a really nice, comfortable A/C bus with movies, bathrooms and comfortable seats. The price was about $50 US round trip-very reasonable. We got a beautiful room in a very eclectic B&B type place owned by an American landscape architect. The gardens were gorgeous, and our large suite had a beautiful private patio that was about 30X50'. We were just a few blocks from the historic district, which is really scenic with really cool horse-drawn carriages for sightseeing. Robert, the owner of our B&B, turned us on to some local restaurants that had great food, really cheap. Eating out is so reasonable here that we rarely cook on the boat.
Saturday, we went out for a sail and saw the final race of the Banderas Bay regatta. Very cool.
Sunday, there was a huge Tourism show here for travel agents which of course, we attended. They put a a huge venue for this on the Malecon, and had quite an extravaganza of folkloric dancing, music, food, drinks etc.
We actually stayed up till midnight to watch the fireworks display.
This week, we're going to Punta de Mita to anchor for a few days with our friends on "Endless Summer".
More later.

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Capt. Crabby
03/19/2012, Puerto Vallarta

Last Saturday, St. Patrick's Day, (and also my granddaughter Keeley's B-day), we took the bus to Puerto Vallarta to go to an Irish Pub with with Frank and Stephanie from "Endless Summer". While touring the Malecon, we found C-Monkey's cousin, called Sea Monkey. They had a great family reunion. Okay, I know this C-Monkey stuff is getting a bit much, but Jeanette's really gotten into it!
Anyhow, the Irish Pub was so noisy, we ended up eating at an Italian restaurant-good food!
Lee and Cathy left yesterday after crewing on "Alchemy" which put OYC on the map by winning first in its class and first overall in the MEXORC series. Saturday night was exciting, after the awards ceremony, the whole Marina was lit up with a beautiful fireworks display.
We are off to Guadalajara tomorrow for a few days, more later.

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Capt. Crabby
03/11/2012, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

Lee & Cathy arrived last evening and we went with them and another couple, Anne & Mark to Tacos-on-the-Street for dinner. C-monkey was so happy to see them that he probably over-indulged in beer, (see photo gallery).
Anne & Mark are getting ready to do the Pacific Puddle Jump to the Marquesas and beyond next month.
It was really nice to see someone from home, and I hope we'll be able to spend more time with them this week. Today, they are crewing on Alchemy on the first MEXORC race.
Friday, we went out to watch the final race of the J-24 Copa de Mexico race. See the photo gallery for some pix.
We'll keep you posted as the week progresses.

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Capt. Crabby
03/08/2012, La Cruz

I just looked out over the marina and saw a giant OYC burgee flying. I went over and Alchemy has apparently just finished the SD to PV race. Unfortunately there was no one on the boat, but at least now there are 2 OYC boats in the marina.
last night we went with some friends to El Colequita for dinner, better known as "109" because all of the dinners are 109 pesos, (about $8.50 US) and include several shots of tequila, shrimp soup, salad, a huge seafood entree, after dinner drink and dessert! The entrees are so large, we brought half home and had another meal.
Eating out here is so reasonable and good, we don't cook much.
More later.

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Capt. Crabby
03/04/2012, La Cruz de Huanacaxtle

Well, last night we finally made it to Tacos-on-the-street. We went with Frank and Stephanie from "Endless Summer". The tacos were great, although the price has gone up to 15 pesos (about $1.20 US). I had 4, and I was stuffed!
Last week, I caught a cold and wasn't feeling too well, but on Thursday, we motored over to Punta Mita and then sailed all the way back. It was a really nice sail, and the weather was just right. Next week, we plan to go over to Punta Mita and anchor for a couple of nights and then go to Las Tres Mariettas islands and check it out. Frank and Stephanie are going to take "Endless Summer" as well.
There is a lot of activity in La Cruz right now. Today is the beginning of La Copa de Mexico J-24 races, an international event that is connected with the Pan-American games and the Olympics. There are over 50 J-24's here, and the racing starts tomorrow. This is going to be followed by the MEXORC ocean races, which start in about a week. A lot of the boats from the SD-PV race will enter, I believe. We heard a report yesterday that some of the SD-PV boats were making 22knots!
The whole town of La Cruz has been a bustling construction zone for the last couple of weeks, re-paving the streets, putting up venues for the races, re-doing the town plaza etc. It's really looking nice, and they even installed a small swimming pool in the marina.
Last night, we visited a small gift shop in La Cruz and found that the owner, who also sells Real Estate here, is from Oceanside. We had old home week with him, a really nice young fellow married to a lovely local girl.
I'll try to get some good pix of the races after they begin

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