I know this will come as a very big shock to everyone. We have left Mexico and are in Texas. Due to personal problems and reasons we are not able to continue with our journey. Our boat has been sold, we bought an SUV, loaded it up and are staying in Texas with my mother. We are unsure as to how long we will be here. While we are sad that we weren't able to continue on, we still feel a sense of achievement. After all, we did cut the ropes, and made it to La Paz, Mexico. We have made a lot of friends and memories along the way and this makes us feel very good. Eventually we will end up in the North Carolina area to relocate and hopefully call it home. You can always reach us by phone or our e-mail, neilshelley10@live.com if you want. I will check this blog periodically but will probably not maintain it.

Thanks to all of you who have kept in touch with us. With you, this has been a true adventure and I hope to keep in contact with you all.

Neil and Shelley

Happy New Year to everyone! We are still in La Paz and will be here for the next couple of months. We are staying in Marina Fonatur and we are doing small visits to some island that are within 50 miles. It really beautiful and warm. Yesterday it was 81 degrees here so you know I am really happy. Let us know if you would like to come for a visit as we would love to see some friends from home. Take care and miss you all.

Ok, I know this is late but I really do want you to know all that went on during the trip to Cabo San Lucas.

Baja Haha Turtle Bay to Bahia Santa Maria
We left Turtle Bay under sunny skies and some winds to sail. Another great start with all the other boats. Some were sailing with their spinnakers and it was a beautiful site. Along the way we encountered some rough seas and then it got harder to sleep and everyone I think started sleeping in the middle of the cabin rather than in the V-berth or aft cabin. At one point Neil and I was getting ready to come on shift and I decided to make some Top Ramen using hot tap water. Just as I was about to finish putting water in my cup the boat bucked to the side and sent me and my Top Ramen flying across the cabin and slammed into the nav center and ended up on the floor. At first I wasnt sure what happened but then Marci was yelling at me trying to find out if I was OK. She said it reminded her of 2 different things, one looked as if I was being pulled away buy some alien and the other was as if I was near an explosion and was being thrown back from the blast. Well all I know is I could barely get up and move for a bit. Marci thinks if there should be an award for bruises I should get one for mine. It is on my rear since that was the first to land but thankfully I didnt hurt the tail bone and just some bruises. About the only other exciting moment was that Neil did catch a tuna. That was really good eating. Thanks Neil! This leg took us 3 days and 2 nights. Upon arrival into Bahia Santa Maria we all took our wonderful showers with the exception of Chris. He couldnt wait to jump into the water and go for the bath. He said the water wasnt bad but it was a bit too cold for me. The local families had prepared an incredible lunch consisting of seafood soup, salad, and some really good cooked fish. We could either get there by using our own dinghy or getting a panga again. We thought we would try taking our own however when we go close to shore we were afraid we were going to flip the boat in the shore wave. We ended up going to a different part of the bay and Chris, Marci, and I got off and walked up to their home. Neil took the dinghy back to the boat and got a ride in with the panga. While we were eating we listened to a band that came up from La Paz. They were pretty good and enjoyed the music. We hiked around some and realized how poor these people really are and how good it made me feel that with all of us coming here they were able to make quite a bit of money from us paying for lunch, drinks, tips, and panga rides. I hope it helped them out. After all this we went back to the boat to prepare for the final leg into Cabo San Lucas. Yea! We have almost made it there!

Baja Haha Bahia Santa Maria to Cabo San Lucas
The final leg took 2 days and one night. Low winds and calm seas let us fly our spinnaker for part of the way. Along the way in on the 2nd day Chris was able to land a tuna. This one we decided to release it. Now its Marci's turn at the pole. (I dont like fishing, just want to eat them!) The first hit got loose...not sure what it was. And then, another hit! This time she kept it on and we brought in an 84 inch Marlin! Wow what an adventure that was. It seemed as though it didnt want to be brought in and was sure fighting and jumping. After that excitement got over we started figuring out how long it was going to take us to get to Cabo compared to how much fuel we had. We thought we may make it into Cabo but it would be really close. So we got the dinghy out and started pushing the sailboat with the dinghy. Boy did we get some strange looks from the Mexicans that went by us! Luckily we talked to another Haha-er that had some fuel we could get from them. In addition to the fuel he also gave us some of his Dorado he caught, yummmm. By the time we got into Cabo it was dark but we found Lon and Carlann and rafted up next to them at the docks. We were actually 3 boats deep and it seemed that whenever we went to get off the boat it was like a parade across the boats. What a releif, we have made it to Cabo San Lucas. Thanks, Chris and Marci for the good times that was shared by all. I know it is an experience that I will never forget. We found out as soon as we got in there was a big party at Squid Row and all the Haha-ers would be there. OK, lets go! What a riot that was. This place is 3 stories but is all open in the middle so you can look up and see all the people having fun, dancing and whatever. There was dancing everywhere, the floor, tables, that stands behind the tables, the stage, and oh yea even the ladder platform in the middle of the floor. Anyone could climb up this ladder (like the ones you see at Home Depot to stock the shelves) and dance or -whatever-! Neil decided he wants to go up with me. Really, we going to do this?! Yes, we did and we really had alot of fun up there. Then next thing we know is the MC is calling for couple to come up on the ladder and kiss for I think 10 minutes. Well guess who did this one....yep, Chris and Marci. It was soo funny and I have never seen a couple get into soo many positions on a ladder while kissing! It was indeed a fun night and a great welcome into Cabo San Lucas.

Cabo San Lucas and the closing ceremony of 2013 Baja Haha
Now that we have gotten into Cabo we needed to go to immigration/customs and the port captain. We could have paid someone to do this for us but I figured we are going to have to do it sometime so better now than ever. We walked to Immigrations with all of our papers along with Chris and Marci's passport. They went the other way in search of a hotel, lucky them. We found out that they should have come with us to immigrations but the guy let us go. We had to fill out some more forms and when we went back up to give them to him we couldnt find our (Neil and mine) passports. We were sure the guy didnt give them back and he kept telling us to go find them. After about 15 minutes of going back and forth with him, assuring him that he had them, Neil found them in his pants pocket with his wallet. How embarrassing! We went back to him and showed that we found them, he stamped our papers, very loudly, and said "Bye Bye Bye! I guess he wanted us out of there. Next we went on to the Port Captain office on the other side of town, walking the whole way. Everything went fine here and we were off in seek of some pesos and food. We found a Tequilla store (of course) and met a really nice guy who told us everything you want to know about changing money and anything else about Cabo. After a couple of Coronas (no, no tequilla..yet) we found the money exchange and food. We met up with Chris and Marci who had half of their stuff in the hotel and we decided to go to their place for cocktails and sitting around the pool. It was so nice to kick back and relax. What a great place they found, and it was like they had their own cottage right by the pool. The next day was mostly spent cleaning the boat and laundry. That night was the closing ceremony for the 2013 Baja Haha. They called up everyone according to the group you were under and recognized every boat that finished. This is where you have really felt like you accomplished something. Then all sorts of prizes were handed out. They were given out for almost every reason you can think of. One being given out to the person with "The biggest boat bite". If you have bruise or whatever you are eligible to win. Hey, I have one! So up on stage I go with about 8 other people. The Grand Poobah says "OK, state your name, your boat name and describe what happened to you and then SHOW US THE BITE! Holy crap! I have to show all these people my rear....no, I dont think so, and I ran back to my chair! Well the first person to show hers on the cheek of her rear just lifted her shorts up from the bottom. I thought, I can do that too. Back on stage I go. Of course I was last to tell their story and boy did I get the OOOO's and AAAHHH's when I showed it. It was pretty hands down that I won the prize, which was my very own First Aid Kit! YEEAAA! Oh, and did I mention the photographer as I was getting the award? Well I had to show the bruise, again, with him taking a picture of it. I am told it will be in the December issure of Lattitude 38 for the whole world to see...OMG, dont tell Mom! The last thing to give away was a Day at the Spa at the Sheraton. When they asked who do you think should get this, Chris hollers "The girl with the bruised butt"! And so everyone else agreed and I did get it but when I went up to get it....yea, I had to show the bruise one more time! It was a good time that was had by all and it really was kind of sad to think that its come to an end, and now what and where do we go. At that point we werent sure but its something we will figure along the way.

Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas! It doesn't feel like the normal Christmas we are used to. However we are loving the warm weather. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season and we are missing and thinking of everyone.

Ok I am still trying to update this but I am really having a lot of trouble. Not sure if it is me or the internet connection. We are still in La Paz and at Marina Palmira. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it doesn't even seem like it since we are in 80 degree weather. I sure hope everyone has a great day. We will be spending dinner with 200 other cruisers. Should be a good time with a lot of different food. They are fixing about 25-30 turkeys and everyone else will bring a dish. I will be thinking of you all and thanks for being patient until I find a computer guru. I was able to load a few more pics until it quit responding. Happy Thanksgiving!

We got into La Paz on Monday but just got into a marina today and will have more time with internet.

If needed our email is neilshelley10@live.com

We will be staying here for awhile, everyone is doing good and I will post more after we take care of the never ending paperwork.