Happy Anniversary to Paula and Me

This post is long overdue, but I have an excuse. I took my grandkids to Disneyland, went on a cruise in the Sea of Cortez and spent 4 days with ChaCha and Jim in Pescadero and Todos Santos.

Encinitas is always a good place to refresh the body and the mind and the soul. Paula and I bought a house near the beach in 1999 and we make an annual trek there several times a year.

Encinitas Beach Art:

Disneyland distracts the soul, but it is a place which must be visited with grandkids. Once.

I kid. We had a great time with the whole gang and big thanks to Josh for organizing. All of us who were over the age of seven were completely tuckered out by the end of the day, but the grandkids, surfing waves of glucose, sucrose, fructose and some other form of energy denied to us older folks, wanted “one more ride!”

A few days later, Paula and I flew into Cabo and hopped on a bus to La Paz, where we boarded the Safari Voyager for a cruise upon Jacque Cousteau’s Galapagos of the North, along with Jim and Catherine Wisner, Don and Erin Byrne and Brad and Lisa Middleton. We spotted blue whales, rode mules or hiked along hillside trails surrounded by cardon and other desert plants, snorkeled with sea lions and enjoyed starlit evenings. Paula and I celebrated our 44th wedding anniversary halfway through the trip. We were served delicious meals and took advantage of the open bar. It was a Disneyland for adults.

Brad compiled some videos he took of our group snorkeling with sea lion pups. Hope this works (you might have to copy/paste, but it is entertaining): https://youtu.be/2gu1f3EqT8U

We then spent some time ashore, hanging out with Jim and Chach. Jim, Brad, Don and I went fishing for our dinner one day while the ladies assisted the local economy. I will let Brad explain how they launch and recover the pangas (fishing boats).

Paula and I drove up to the wranch when we got back to Houston. I decided to cut some weeds with the brush hog, so I hopped into the saddle of my mean green machine. I was nearly finished when I heard a thwop-thwop-thwop which upon investigation turned out to be a tree stump jammed against the PTO shaft, the brush hog and the back tire of ol’ greenie. “Let’s just cut it out,” suggested Paula when she came over wondering what I was scratching my head for. I was trying to figure out how to get a chain saw in the clog without tearing something up. Aha! I thought, and got my trusty Sawzall and went after the stump. Two batteries later (it was a tough stump!), it was free. No damage to old greenie except for the PTO shaft cover which was ripped apart where the stump was. But it rotated fine without wobbling, so only my pride was bruised.

There may be a dryad in my woods. More on that later. But I try to keep these posts short so you don’t fall asleep halfway through. Next post I promise – more news on the wranch house!