It was a busy morning, having to walk 2 miles one way to fill up my two 5-gal fuel cans with gas for my outboard engines and dive compressor. I should have taken an open air golf cart taxi, but for some stupid reason I wanted to walk for exercise. I had a folding cart, so carrying back the two full fuel tanks wasn't that difficult and I even had room to carry back a $4 roasted pollo for lunch. Rotisserie chicken is big in Mexico and it's often cheaper to buy a roasted whole chicken with tortillas, beans, rice and salsa than to buy a whole uncooked chicken in the market, so when I walked by the storefront with chickens spinning in the stainless steel rotisserie, I thought it was a good use of $60 pesos (or $4) to not only bring back fuel but lunch for the crew.

Following lunch I took a nap while Lori and Amy went through their stash of treasures that they bought along the way and were getting them packed for the drive to Bakersfield while Jason worked on his balsa wood plane engineering skills out in the cockpit. When I awoke, I was hungry and in a � sleeping stage opened the snack locker and pulled open the bag of Cheetos. Now the cheetos they make down in Mexico are worlds better than the ones in the States. They could have some type of drug in them for all I know because I don't think we have ever found ourselves in the position of storing a � eaten bag but only disposing of and empty bag! As soon as I popped the first orange puff into my mouth, I remembered that Lori and I had put the Two Key Rule into affect regarding the opening of the cheetos and that I was now in big trouble. The Two Key Rule is modeled after the launching of a nuclear bomb where it takes Two Keys, owned by two different people to arm the missile. That way, a rouge officer (or boat captain) can't launch a nuclear bomb (or open a bag of cheetos) without proper authorization. Being Captain of THIRD DAY, I of course hold one of the two keys, but for obvious reasons, the Admiral of THIRD DAY holds the second key. The Two Key Rule was instituted after the Captain and junior crew mad some mistakes in the eating of some prized snack foods while the Admiral was away. See, while out cruising, some things (good snack foods) are sometimes hard to find, so stick eating protocols are now in place with respect to special foods and snacks.

When Lori saw my orange fingertips and orange specks clinging to my shirt, she knew what I had done and let out a blood curling yell, that I think could be heard in the engine room of the passing cruise ship as they left the Mazatlan breakwater! What could I do and say, but to admit guilt and ask for forgiveness. The evidence was taken away and hid, for further study no doubt, and now my worthiness to hold one of the Two Keys is seriously in doubt. The only thing saving me at this point is that the only two alternatives to me are Amy and Jason, so I may win by simple default!

Tonight we are having dinner with our friends Scott and Debbie on SV Viva over at Marina El Cid and then we will head to sea Wednesday late afternoon. Lori typically does the 2300hrs to 0400hrs watch, so I'll have 5hrs to search out her hiding place for what's left of the Cheetos. It's surprising how many little hiding places there are on a 36ft boat!