Jun 27, 2009 - Children's Music and Art

I spent the morning with Alejandra and her son Alain at a summer program of music and art for kids. It was held on the lakefront at the ejido balneario, a community beach near Casita Carolina. The leader, Jose Manuel, was very talented and kept the children entertained all morning with musical games and art activities. He had a gift for interesting all of them, the toddlers and the older more spirited boys.

Jun 18, 2009 - One World Spokane

Today a couple from Spokane WA, Janice and Keith Raschko, arrived. They operate a non-profit organic community kitchen restaurant called One World that offers healthy and interesting meals. The cost? Whatever you feel is fair and respectable for what you have eaten or volunteer in exchange for a meal. You choose your own portions. The food is fresh and locally sourced as much as possible. www.oneworldspokane.org Next a couple from Australia arrived. They were Chantel and Blair and she is a clothing designer. I went to...

Jun 15, 2009 - Heading west.

The rest of Santorini was unreal. We rented the quad bike and drove around the island which was beautiful but no where near as fun as a scooter... the maximum speed of the quad (going down hill with full acceleration) was 33km per hour. We visited a bunch of little towns all over the island, went snorkeling through caves, and then made our was to oia to see the famous sunset which was pretty amazing. The rest of our time on the island involved swimming, snorkeling, drinking and playing card games. We watched the sunrise over the water one...

Jun 3, 2009 - Dinner with the Anthropologists

Tonight Bob Meckling my neighbor and I were invited to a pasta dinner by three of the guests. They are anthropologists from Mexico City who are in town for the week studying local populations and their interaction with the lake. Dinner and conversation made for an interesting evening. I baked brownies for dessert.

Jun 1, 2009 - Cenote Azul

I took two of the guests to Cenote Azul for a swim this morning. Ricardo is a doctor in the neurology department at the IMSS hospital in Guadalajara. Dean is travelling around Mexico from Australia. A cenote is a sinkhole in the limestone firmament of the earth. There are lots of them in Yucatan. Some cenotes require going down a ladder to reach the water level and resemble caves with stalactites and stalgmites. Cenote Azul is unique because it is at ground level and easy to enjoy. There is a restaurant on the edge of the cenote. We ordered...

May 27, 2009 - On My Own at Casita Carolina

I'm just starting a month of welcoming guests to Casita Carolina and taking care of reservations by phone and the internet. The first guests were a couple from Oregon. He is a professor of philosophy at a Benedictine seminary and Karen is a retired trapeze artist with a troupe that has been described as the poor man's Cirque de Soleil. I attach a photo of her. www.casitacarolina.com

May 27, 2009 - Turkish Delight. Yum.

I can't believe I left it this long again. I can't remember yesterday let alone way back in Ephesus so I'll have to make it pretty brief. Basically from Selcuk we travelled down the coast of Turkey. Our first stop was a place called Fethiye which is a fishing town that likes to rain. It poured but we put on our ponchos and pretended like it was nice. So that was fine. We had one nice day so we went on a day cruise around the small islands just off the coast. It was beautiful but unfortunately the only nice day fell on a Saturday and Turkish...

May 22, 2009 - Mexico

Our flight to Cancun, Mexico from LA was uneventful and we landed in the steamy heat of Cancun to be greeted by the face-masked ground staff. This was our first introduction to the swine flu precautions that have been implemented in Mexico, the so-called epicentre. Our temperature was taken as we passed through customs but after that we haven’t heard a thing, in fact the locals say that they haven’t had one instance of swine flu in the entire Yucatan Peninsula! It is a great pity that the media have created such a negative hype. The people...

Apr 30, 2009 - Central Amerıca to Europe

Another long one... So After spendıng a day ın Tulum we went a lıttle furter north to Playa Del Carmen. Agaınö very tourısty but a really cool beach town. Much nıcer than Tulum. Turned out there was a Mınıstry of Sounds concert that nıght on the beach whıch was awesome. Spent a couple of days hangıng out, goıng to the beach and tastıng tequıla whılst wearıng sombreros. On the 15th I saıd goodbye to Central Amerıca and flew to LA. It was great to see Lydıa and Alık agaın (my frıends ın LA). It was also great to eat Asıan food... I mıssed ıt...

Apr 27, 2009 - W-a-i-t-i-n-g!

The day started out a regular speed! First thing Glen mowed Darin's yard. The grass would have been a foot tall very quickly if it rains all week as forecast. Secondly there was a trip to the Post Office; third, a trip to a clothing store. Then, another trip to Best Buy. We had a couple of questions about the desktop which they answered to our satisfaction. We left our GPS to be updated and the laptop to be updated and anti-virus/spy ware software added. It was supposed to be done in an hour! This was about 10:45. It turns out the laptop...

Apr 26, 2009 - Day of Rest!

We are still at Cape Camping and RV Park. It was a quiet day on the homefront. Glen repaired the two dining room chairs. The seats were separating from the backs. They are now better than new! No need for a furniture repair business. We visited with the grandchildren tonight before their bedtime! Those night time kisses and hugs are extra special. We made stops at Sam's and Target this afternoon. We watched The Amazing Race and Cold Case. We know who we want to win The Amazing Race! There are a few errands that had to wait until Monday....

Apr 25, 2009 - Computer Back Home!

We picked up the desk top computer this afternoon! It was in bad need of a clean up! But the virus and other attachments were not contagious! The speed is much improved! But I think all the things we asked to be done was not done! I have trouble organizing the photos that I download from the digital camera. The Geek Squad was supposed to make that task easier, but don't think it was done. We will re-check with them tomorrow or Monday. There was a car show scheduled in Jackson MO this morning. We drove by and there was a total of 5 cars...