Settling in new home and preparing to head north.

We have been in our new home in Centro Historico for a little over a week now. Pictures are being hung and the place is looking more like home. Our water feature is now on our rooftop patio along with our barbecue. Our patio is partly covered and partly open. Friday evening we did our first entertaining with a total of ten of us enjoying pizza, salad,soft drinks, wine and beer. Eight out of the ten of us happened to be from Washington State along with my brother Steve from Iowa and neighbor Gabino from Spain. This new home is of a daunting size. There are 11 rooms, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms. After our maid came for her weekly cleaning we agreed that a raise was appropriate. In the downstairs the ceilings are around 14 feet high, so I am dreading it when light bulbs burn out.

We learned one lesson. We get our water at night which fills a large tank called a tinaco. The tinaco then provides water during the day. One day we did two loads of laundry took three showers and had our guests over for the evening. At the end of the day the water was gone. Toilets would not flush, etc. The next morning the tinaco was full and we had water again. Now we know what others already know. Utilize your water supply wisely.

Centro is a vibrant place to live. Tuesday night we were treated to three hours of great jazz improvisations from several musicians. Within a few blocks of us there is always music of many varieties. We are right behind the art museum where many music lessons take place during the day. When we sit on the patio with our morning coffee and look at the lines of the buildings around us you know that you are in another country. Sometimes you can almost picture the middle east. We are in an arty area with several galleries within a few blocks. Our home may be showing some artists this fall during the monthly art walks.

This week was moto week in Mazatlan. Motorcycles from all over Mexico converge on Mazatlan for the week. Last night was the big motorcycle parade. The route was about two blocks away from us on the oceanfront Olas Altas. We enjoyed front row seats to an endless line of all sorts of motorcycles all decked out, some with as many as five family members on them, many of the riders had gorilla or ghost masks. The crowds were good natured and you can tell this is not an outlaw event, but a very family friendly event.

Friday morning we head north. Our planned trip takes us halfway to the border for a stopover in Navajoa, Mexico. Saturday afternoon we hope to cross the border at Nogales. We expect to arrive Monday afternoon in Colorado Springs to spend a couple of days with Janice's brother Ken, sister-in-law Ruth, along with nephew and niece, Jim and Carol. We expect to arrive in Spokane late on the 13th of May or possibly the 14th. It has been a great seven months this season that has flown by. We have been blessed by good health and continue to establish many treasured friendships. We said goodbye to Marina Gardens, our home for three winters. There are friends there that I am sure we will visit next fall when all return. We will try and let everyone know of our progress on our trip north.
Until then; La vida is Buena"