Almost the end of March! Got to counting up time until June 9th and it's only 11 weeks away! So I've got planning to do. And my mind has been working overtime! Today I'm exhusted and am going to try and get a good nights sleep.

We got a few things done these last couple of days. Caterer is arranged, park is reserved, Rebecca came over last night and we got the mentoes designed - and I worked on some of the peices after she left.

Chatted with a Brett for a little bit last night by IM. He got his flight information and will be here on June 6th through the 11th. All the boys will be here for the celebration!

Jack's wetsuit, PDF, gloves and splash jacket came before his IK! We are still waiting for the arrival of the Aire Tomcat but when it gets here we'll be ready to hit the rivers! I ordered the appearel as a surprize for Jack so he can use his IK when it gets here rather than have to wait for the rivers to warm up - he was surprized! Hope the boat comes soon! :-)

We're heading North this weekend. Taking Mike stuff for his place when he gets one... and clearing out our craft room. First step to preparing a home to sell... get rid of the clutter! We won't move until after the celebration but it will take us that long to get everything ready! We have lots of stuff!

I tried to make today a day of rest as much as I could! We've been doing more "going" all week with Dad being in the hospital. Dad was overjoyed when he was told he could go home today, on Friday. The Nurse reported he climbed over the railing and was looking for his clothes immediately. He had to wait for Jack to being him some! His ride there in the ambulance was in slacks only!

Dad had told Jack the first thing he was going to do was go to Casey's and get a 10 oz prime rib dinner so we took him to Casey's Friday evening and we all had prime rib! Saturday morning was the monthly Intergroup Breakfast at the Grange. We spent the afternoon at Dad's. Jack vacuumed and shampooed carpets while I dusted, cleaned windows and together we did the laundry. It was an old-fashioned spring cleaning and we were able get a good idea how Dad was doing. He is very tired and sleeps a lot but that is to be expected. This morning Jack and I went to the Sunday morning Breakfast at Elmer's and went to see Dad afterwards. He was up and is doing much better! We heard from a neighbor that Dad had gone out to his truck on Saturday and asked him about that today. He admitted he'd thought he needed something from the store but thought better of it and returned to the house without going anywhere. We got a list of the things he thought he needed and got them for him from Albertson's before we returned to our house! He's promised not to drive!

At home we loaded up all our yard trimmings and Jack hauled them off to the dump while I did a test ride to work and back on my bicycle. The weather is getting nice and I want to start riding to work. We are putting together a FitandHealthy team in the payroll department and will get points for doing things like that. It's a city wide competition and we will win "something" if our team makes the most points. It really doesn't matter what to me... I just want to be motivated to be active! I think I can stretch the 2 miles in to a 4 or 5 mile bike ride by taking a scenic route.

Good news and bad news. Good news is that the weather has been beautiful and Jack and I got most of our spring yard work done this past weekend.

Bad news is that Jack found his dad nearly unconscious and bleeding internally on Monday morning. Jack called 911 and spent a harrowing day with trying to get all the information on what medications Dad takes and why. Dad can't hear anything that is being said without his hearing aides and they didn't stop to get them in the rush to get him to the hospital. Jack ended up going back to the house and getting all the RX bottles and taking them to the hospital.

In the course of the day Jack shut the truck door on his hand and split his forefinger about the length of the first joint! This was after he'd spent a big part of the afternoon shampooing Dad's carpet so stains wouldn't be left from the blood. He should get stitches (about 4 I think) but won't go to the doctors. We've got it wrapped with a butterfly bandage and are putting neosporan on it every time he changes the bandage. It is still bleeding through the band aide gauze as of this evening. He says it's to late to get stitches now. I don't know so I am not going to argue the point.

Dad is being kept at the hospital and has had at least 3 units of blood transfused in to him. He is looking better but is very weak. I spent a couple hours keeping him company last night but when we went in after I got off work this afternoon he looked very tired and sleepy. I decided to just make it a short visit and come home. The doctor said Dad will stay in the telemetry unit until Thursday so they can monitor him. I'm feeling pretty tired myself. Jack's hand hurt him so much he tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable way to lay all through the night... so neither of us slept much!

I'm sure worry over his Dad was going on too. Dad had been complaining of being tired and Jack went to the house Monday morning with the intention of taking him to the doctors offfice. The doctor has told us there is nothing more that should have been done and that Jack did everything right but it is hard not to second guess yourself under these circumstances.

And today I find out Mom Judy has a broken foot and is in a walking cast. It took her doctor three weeks, x-rays, and a CAT scan to figure out what she told him the first day... that her foot is broken!

Seems like everyone around me is having difficult times one way or another! I'm closing this day with a prayer that Dad and all those that I love are given healing and strength from my friend upstairs!

Day 12 - Tuesday - 2-13-07 By 6:15 am and Jack and I were awake and agreed we wanted to get home!

On Crater Lake Hwy heading for White City the traffic and speed at which everyone was moving unnerved me to the point of being a back seat driver and frightening Jack with my reactions to driving choices he was making. When we stopped to get coffee I took a walk to settle myself down and returned to apologize to Jack for my outbursts. We agreed my being scared scared Jack and that makes him yell. Understanding is half the battle! We made it the rest of the way home without any further harsh words! It's still winter here! Hwy 140 had fresh snow as you can see!






















And we have had more winter weather since then! It was a joy to be home - icy air and all. Mike was thrilled to see us! He did his little front leg hop dance which is equivalent to jumping up and down. Jack was really pleased that Mike seemed really torn between greeting me or him!

After being home for a few minutes we went out to the car to unload our suitcases. The minute that Jack lifted the hatch to the back of the car Mike jumped in! I would have said there wasn't enough room for him to fit in there on top of the luggage but there he was perched on top of it all - he wasn't being left behind again!

We had quite a time convincing him to get out so we could unload! With a lot of coaxing he finally jumped out and watched us closely as we pulled the suitcases out. I didn't get a picture of him on top of the luggage - peeking out at us from the ceiling and I regret that. It was comical!

As soon as we moved away from the hatch Mike popped back into the car and there he stayed until we called him in to the house! It is good to be home!

Day 11 – Monday - 2-12-07

We packed our suitcases first thing this morning. Jack became a little concerned we might exceed the weight limit per bag! We certainly accumulated a lot of stuff!

Taking stock of our pesos we realized we did a good job of spending them down last night! We had enough time to spend the rest on breakfast and a few small last minute purchases. One of those items was jar of pure vanilla and the other was a quart of Kailua for Mom. I’d looked in every grocery store we came across for the kind of instant coffee Judy loves but all we found was Nescafe. So we compromised and got her the coffee additive she enjoys once in a while! We are planning to go to her house in Anderson, California and will take it to her then.

Casa Café is closed on Mondays so we headed to Café Marina for breakfast once we had everything ready to go in our room. Café Marina was packed so we decided to try another restaurant at the south end of the Paseo called Tata’s. French toast Mexican style is crunchy!

We dawdled over our coffee looking out across the beach and watching the tide roll in. The vast flock of pelicans seems to have left. We’d heard there were more than 1,000 of the ugly brown guys in the bay because a huge school of feeder fish were here. I guess the school has gone.

Most of the sailboats are almost all gone too. The vast number here earlier was due to SailFest – an annual charity drive to raise money for schools for the Indian children. Evidently the government has gotten involved and now wants to use the funds for the benefit of education for ALL the children in the state of Guermo which has the sailors a bit unhappy. The fund raisers started Sail Fest to help the Indian children specifically as they have the least opportunity and resources in the social structure in Mexico. They’ve all sailed on to other ports now.

A stop at Café Marina for a book for the trip home and to say farewell to Joe Wells – we found a write up about him in our Zihuatanejo book and know his name now! I got Dan Brown’s Deception Point for $2 from his book shelves. We continued to the north end of the Paseo and out on to the pier where a cool breeze was blowing. We sat on the bench and watched people board panga’s for the short trip to Los Gatos, watched the charter boats come in with their catches.

One charter boat came in with a blue marlin (looked like a swordfish) lay across the back of the boat because it was longer than the boat! The fish was huge. Jack estimates it weighed over 500 pounds. It took 5 men to haul it upon the dock and hoist it up with block and tackle for everyone to have a picture taken with it. It will be sold to the restaurants and be eaten today so I don’t feel bad about it being caught and kept.

At lunch time we returned to our favorite fish taco spot, La Mandarina and were joined shortly by Buck and Kathy whom we’d first met at that same spot. Buck told us the route to drive if we wanted to drive to Zihuatanejo like they did – it’s a 9 day drive from Sacramento, California. 2 days of that being from Puerto Vajarta to Zihuatanejo! Mountain roads full of switch backs! Jack has an army friend that has a place in Puerto Vajarta that had told Jack the same thing when Jack mentioned getting together while we were down there. The drive is pretty demanding. Jack passed on lunch but I enjoyed the fish taco special and a chocochino. Saying farewell we returned to our room to gather our luggage and head to the airport. Checking out consisted of giving the desk clerk our key. Hailing a cab we were at the airport within 15 minutes. The cab cost $27 from the airport to town and $10 to travel from town to the airport!


Since we were there at 1:45 PM (our flight leaves at 5 PM) we had plenty of time to print our e-tickets. The Alaska Airlines personnel did not arrive and start checking baggage until 2:30 PM. We were through that checkout point at 2:45 and sat for a few minutes outside the ticketed passenger’s only point. The ticket counter clerk had said to go in about 3:30 but since we were already there and didn’t intend to go elsewhere we checked in to the holding area at 3 PM. Finally Jack seemed at ease that we were not going to run in to any problems getting on the plane. We had until 4:30 before they would even begin boarding the plane. I sat down with my book and read. It is a good thing that it was a good book.

Jack took multiple tours of the holding area and spent the remaining pesos he had not spent – just in case – on candy bars and coconut cakes.

The 1 ½ hours passed and the attendants called for special needs passengers. A line formed that wrapped around the waiting room. I don’t ever like sitting on a plane any longer than necessary so I continued to read. Jack sat with me as long as he could stand it – which wasn’t long – and then joined the line. I agreed I’d join him when he got close to the attendant taking the boarding passes. It took about 15 minutes and we were climbing in to the plane.



The seating was two rows of seats – three across. Our seats were on opposite sides of the same row! We hoped there would be some one willing to switch seats or that there would be empty seats that would allow us to sit together but neither option played out.

I focused on reading until the plane took off. Closing my eyes and doing deep breathing until we reached altitude got me through. Deception Point is a very captivating book so time went pretty fast – interrupted only by the delivery of cheeseburgers that tasted extremely good!

At LAX the plane, being an international flight, was parked over a mile form the terminal and we were loaded on a bus to cover the distance. Already not happy about us not being seated together Jack was aggravated by the inconvenence and delay in getting to customs. He’d been told by “people” that customs is a long drawn out process and he was worried about us making our connecting flight in 2 hours. I tried to focus more on appreciating the precautions that were being taken to insure the safety of the airport. After reading Shadow War I am aware of how highly a prized target LAX is for terrorists.

When the bus arrived at the terminal we were through customs within 10 minutes. So much for what "people" say. Customs officers checked our passports – stamped them and we were done. The longest wait was for our baggage. There was a man who complained loudly about the delay and made a butt of himself among the 100+ people patiently waiting. I didn’t say anything but Jack knew I was feeling sorry for the wife of the man as she tried to quiet him.

When our bags were collected we were off to get them checked in for our connecting flight. It was good news was that Alaska Airlines had a station that collected our bags as we came to the top floor of the international terminal and took them off to be loaded on our plane. The walk to the Alaska Airlines terminal was short and the fresh air felt great. We got through security and to the gate with 20 minutes to spare before they began loading passengers. I gratefully dropped in to a seat and strove to relax for a few minutes before climbing on to another cramped airplane. The minute they called for the 1st passengers to load Jack was poised to get in line again. I spoke out against getting on the plane or even getting in line until absolutely necessary. Jack grudgingly sat down and waited – anxiously watching the line and looking at me for the go ahead. I see a distinct difference in our personalities here and wonder what our final solution will be after we’ve gone through this for a couple of years.

I waited until there were only a few people remaining in the line before I stood up. Jack let out a loud “Finally” and rushed for the line. We were seated in the plane within minutes and sat waiting until all the straggler passengers boarded and were seated. Twenty minutes later the plane took off.

I had catered to Jacks preference to be early to everything the entire day and he was still just as anxious as ever. I’d hoped he’d see that rushing to things just left us waiting for long periods of time. I’ve never known anyone so willing wait or to stand in line when it doesn’t make any difference in the outcome. We are confirmed for the flight, our seats are assigned, there is no added value or points for waiting in line. The irony is that he then gets impatient because he has waited so long (because he arrived so far in advance) that it seems like things aren’t happening fast enough when the time for things to occur arrives. It is exhausting to watch him and keep myself from either lashing out or get sucked in to the anxiety ridden attitude!

I am reasonably certain that my unwillingness to stand in lines and my tendency to arrive just before scheduled times is equally distressing for Jack. I pray God will give us both the patience to work towards compromise!

I practiced deep breathing. Medford Airport came quickly compared to the previous flight. It was 11 pm and the shortage of taxi’s delayed our getting to Days Inn until midnight! It had been an exhausting day. Stretching out on a bed felt wonderful after the long day of plastic chairs and crowded airline seats!

Jack and I kissed, said good night and fell asleep in each others arms back in the USA.

Day 10 - Sunday - 2-11-07 Woke refreshed this morning! Rested and happy! My rash has receded to small bumps. Jack has similar bumps across his back. When snorkeling on Isla Ixtapa on Friday his back received extra sun - the rest of the day he had stayed under the palapa. I think it's sun poisoning or a heat rash.

At Casa Cafe this morning it was suggested that I try talcum powder and we picked some up. It has helped with the discomfort. We've kept to the shade during our walks today and I wore long sleeves to keep the direct sun off.

This being our last full day we made a list of what we wanted to get - a plaque for the kitchen that says "Este Rey si Cocina" (The King of the Kitchen) and a couple ceramic ashtrays for Mom Judy's porch. I also came across a cute silver butterfly hair clasp and a pair of abalone and silver earrings. I am DONE shopping now!

Jack has asked me once or twice if I was done shopping for jewelry and I never would give him a solid "yes" - usually just a smile, but now I can. I have accumulated quite a few "memento's" of our honeymoon. The pewter dish will look great on our dinning room table with fruit on it and also can be used for a meat dish during a dinner! We have coffee mugs, the plaque for the wall, ceramic fruit bowls, tee-shirts, dresses and all my new jewelry!

Since this is our last day we decided to stop at Pollo Locos and have their grilled chicken. We have walked past it every day that we have been here. The chicken always smells great on the huge open grill they cook on but we hadn't seen it recommended anywhere so we had gone on to others we felt more sure of. It was delicious! It seems to be kind of like their Kentucky Fried Chicken - the delivery boy loaded up his "delivery box" (a cooler on the back of his motorcycle) several times and made deliveries during our meal.

Two-thirty in the afternoon and it is HOT. I have retreated to the room to sit under the fan and journal. Jack has ventured off- alone again- to find a travel agency we'd been told would call the airport and confirm our flight tomorrow. He returned within 20 minutes with the mission accomplished but not through the travel agency. He never found that place but he made use of one of the shop's we'd noticed where there are several phones on a table and a person to pay for using the phones - that person will also place the call for you. It's well worth the 3 pesos to have a local make the call!

These jaunts in to the streets alone are risk taking exercises for Jack and he is really getting to enjoy them. To bad we are leaving tomorrow. He's really beating down some fears of the unknown and unfamiliar! Breaking free from habitual routine!

Prior to laying down for our siesta Jack's back erupted in water blisters! Reaching back to scratch an itchy spot his hand came away wet! Wiping his back down with a Kleenex was enough for all the blisters to pop and now he is peeling. We haven't done so well staying covered with sun screen - obviously!

My rash was all but gone when we woke up later in the afternoon!

There is a wind and it is cooling everything down nicely. Jack and I plan to have a nice dinner somewhere to celebrate our last evening here. I have enjoyed our time here but am looking forward to going home, seeing Mr. Mike, our mountains and Klamath Lake!

We went to Coconuts for dinner! It was the original hacienda of the owner of the area now called Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa. Completely renovated it is now one of the nicest restaurants in town. The courtyard was lit with little white lights, a fountain gurgled in one corner, Parasol lights hung from the massive tree in the center of the courtyard, there were lush plants everywhere and soft music played in the background. It was very romantic! I was glad I had "dressed up" in a white silky tank top, a purple wrap around skirt and left my hair down! (I've had it up most of the time we've been here).

Jack had his first Carne Asada and I had one of my favorites, Chile Riano. This one was stuffed with cheese and shrimp. Mmm, wonderful! We had salads before the main meal and dessert and coffee afterwards. Lingering as long as we could in the moment. Very aware this would be our last evening in warm air among tropical trees. Our waiter took a snapshot of us there but it does not do the evening justice.

We walked the Paseo de Pescador, weaving our way through the Sunday crowd at the Zacola. Someone in a white suit was singing on the stage and he sounded very smooth. I think he was a celebrity. The crowd was especially large and since neither Jack or I are fond of crowds we quickly made our way through and continued on to the municipal pier to gaze out over Zihuatanejo Bay. The pier is dimly lighted and mostly populated with locals this evening. Jack was uncomfortable lingering there very long but I wanted to let the view sink in to my mind ~ to remember on cold winter nights at home.

The shore of the bay is lit with almost a continuous string of lights - even on Playa Los Gatos. Homes I assume. Sailboat silhouettes, with their single lights high on their masts marking their location, rock slightly. For once there is not a cruise ship blocking the view of the bay opening out into the Pacific Ocean. Moonlight shines bright enough to see shadows of the bluffs marking the entrance to the ocean. Music, softened by the distance, drifts across the water. The air is warm and soft on my bare skin. Jack's fingers intertwined with mine. This is happiness. I kept us there a few minutes and then I gave way to Jack's urging that we go. We made our way back down the streets that have become familiar. This has been a wonderful honeymoon!

Day 9 - Saturday - 2-10-2007

Last night was a quieter Friday night than our 1st Friday night here. Since it is not a fiesta weekend it might have been a more normal evening.

We returned to Casa Cafe for our usual breakfast. My energy level is very low. On the back of both my hands and up most of my arms I have a skin rash. In some spots pustules have formed and I'm trying not to scratch at them. My left arm is not as bad as the right. Jack says my face is flushed too. We've decided to stay out of the sun today. Don't know if it is sun, salt water, a combination of both, or a reaction to some food but the sun seems to aggravate it. We found a long sleeved Scuba pull over shirt for me to wear as we shopped for gifts to take home for my co-workers and friends.

The streets are brick or pavers and radiate the heat! We finally bought Tee-shirts for everyone we hadn't already purchased for. Jack's ankle has doubled in size although he says it doesn't hurt anymore than usual. Maybe it's the heat and humidity. People are saying it is unusually humid for this time of year. We decided it was siesta time early today!

I finished my third book this evening. I'd picked "Leave No Trace" by Hannah Nyala up this morning at Cafe Marina's book exchange. The story was captivating, which was good because the day proceeded to get hotter and muggier. My rash raised up red as we walked around in the morning sun so after our siesta we decided to lay around under the ceiling fan and read until the sun set. Jack ventured out ALONE this afternoon to get fresh fruit from the Mercado for us to snack on. That was a first! He didn't have any trouble getting what he wanted either!
















About 7 pm we dressed - we strip down to bare essentials while in our room to best enjoy the fan - and strolled the two blocks to Nueva Zelanda on Galena and had dinner. We had a light dinner and the took our "routine" walk to the bay and getting ice cream from the Italian ice cream shop on Juan Alvarez. I got Tarasumi tonight and Jack got a watermelon sherbet. Not on purpose - he just pointed at one that looked good!

We ate our ice cream under the big tree on the Paseo we started making our way back to our hotel is a leisurely way. Looking in silver shops for unique hair clasps, checking prices on pure vanilla at different shops and finally stopping at the little hole in the wall pastry shop just around the corner from our room. Last night the baker said they would have apple turnovers like the ones we got the first time we stopped there. I really liked that and wanted another so we made a point of stopping tonight. No apple turnovers! I settled for a creama turnover. It was okay but but I think I will make apple turnovers soon after we get home!

Jack read until about 8:30 pm and then fell asleep. My book kept me awake until almost midnight. One of those books you just can't put down!