Honduras to Granada, Home at last.

We had gotten bitten the night before, not only by the border swindlers but by mosquitos. But we were now headed for home, one last border. We arrived early, not so much craziness. Got through again saying the registration was both title and registration. We had made it. We thought we might stop in the Nicaraguan highlands for lunch, but did not see anything too appealing and did not want to hunt it out. So we carried on and were just about in Granada when we got waved over by the police. All papers were in order, but we did not have an emergency triangle. They were going to take away my liscence. After 3000 miles I was about to lose my liscence for not having a $4 dollar plastic triangle. Well the offense was "taken care of" and we limped finally into Granada. We came into the hotel, no reservation, just beaten down.
"You're back" We were greeted with. "I remember you two. You're back. Welcome" We were finally home.

Guatemala through El Salvador to Honduras

Left our hotel in Guatemala and charged off....in the wrong direction. An hour and a half later, 50 precious miles and we were back where we started from. Ok fine, now off to El Salvador, a country, justified or not neither of us were looking forward to. We ended up making it to the border before noon, again sketching our way through without title. The last thing I was on the phone with Ronnie, a friend of the guy who helped get us through the El Salvador-Guatemala border. He would be waiting for us at the El Salvador-Honduros border, where we needed him.

It was not Guatemala, but there were some amazingly beautiful parts of El Salvador, at least what we saw in the few hours we were there.

Ok, so we're coming up on the border. I really don't think anything of the Ronnie rendevous. But sure enough we come to a fork in the road and there they are the border "officials" who try to wave us down, waving obviously(by now) fake id's. We blast past them. We know better now. They take pursuit in a pick up truck. They parallel us. "It's me. It's me. Ronnie. You know me."

Ok, we slow down maybe we can use his help. Over the next few hours, several things happen. Ronnie gets us to the head of the line in the worst immigration office yet. Good. Ronnie's brother realizes we don't have title. Bad, very bad. They have us by the balls. They run off with our liscenses, passports, registrations, several times. I know, all cardinal sins in traveling. But we are in reality, traveling illegally and they have us by the balls. Oh and then there is a lightning storm and black out, thank you God or mother nature. Now we are blocked in at this impossibly crowded border, litterally dozens of truckers sleeping in there cabs while Ronnie and Jose work us for everything they can.

The border just before dark and the black out.

But we do not want to spend the night here. At the end of it they got us for a few hundred bucks but we did get in front of the crazy lines, got past without title, and got the name of a hotel in Honduras that did prove to be a port in the storm. At the end of the day it was a bargain.

Acapulco to Guatemala, Goodbye Mexico

We charged out of Acapulco early, but not as early as we thought we might. We immediately hit grade and curves and again were slowed to an impossibly ridiculous mph. We lunched in our favorite Mexican site to date Puerto Escondido,

rather late and then shot out to try to get to the Mexican/Guatemalan border. Luckily we didn't make it and spent the night in Salina Cruz which was dicey and seedy enough. The next day we hit the border mid-morning. And we were hit by a gauntlet. First two boys, almost in uniform waving official looking id had a pull over and said we had to have certain documentation and they needed to take care of this for us. At some point we realized they were not official and literally had to push them out and away from the car. When we got to the border it was worse. At least a dozen people waving id's, slapping the car, yelling, waving their arms accosted/assaulted us, telling us what we needed. I found the most reliable official ID was someone wielding serious firearms. Well the process of crossing borders with a vehichle has one going back and forth between borders, getting the proper stamps and stickers from both borders, one recieving the vehichle, one canceling the previous countries admission. Each wanting to see proper ID, registration and title, which as you may recall was in the interum process in the States. So I basically had to play stupid and somehow convince them that the registration was both registration and title. Having the Mexican permission helped and we got through the Guatemalan border. Guatemala was stunning. The roads were in good condition although the drivers were absolutely mad. Let me add that they we mad in Mexico as well. What I had not imagined were there ridiculous number of big trucks we would be dueling with all the way down to Nicaragua. We made it half way through Guatemala and found a really OK hotel. Guatemala was very nice. I don't have photos to do it justice. Charles does. I may publish them in a later blog. For now believe me it was beautiful.

Mazatlan to Acapulco

Mazatlan was nice. Over touristy, yeah. But we had a nice meal, beautiful beach, good brekfast. It would have been nice to stay longer, but on we had to go.

We had just finished going on about the great road system when we hit a detour. Both of us assumed it would be a few miles and then we would back on the racetrack we had gotten accustomed to. We were so wrong. The detour never took us back to a speedway. Granted the road surface remained quite good, but the grade, the turns; we went from averaging 65 mph to 30 mph on average. A dramatic coastline has its drawbacks. Our mileage went from over 800 to just above 400. We thought we might hit Acapulco. We made it half way there, driving again in the dark, only for a bit, to Manzanillo. We did have a wonderful lunch in Puerto Vallerta but that's all we could afford there(in time currency) beautiful place, amazing beaches and cliffs, but we had to press on.

Our Manzanillo hotel when we left. Yes it was still dark. Like I said we had to press on.

Acapulco greeting us...in daylight. It was so nice to arrive at a destination before it was dark. Granted it was dark by the time we checked in, but we arrived in daylight and that was a huge success. Acapulco is crazy big, but still beautiful. Because we drove both in and out we were able to see what a massive sprawl it really is and we also saw the poverty stricken suburbs(not even close to an accurate word) that support our luxury tourism. But again I can't take away from Acapulco's striking beauty.

Acapulco at night from our dinner at our hotel.

Leaving LA to Mazatlan

Charles and I had already delayed the trip one day, after delaying it three the week before. Both of us were completely overwhelmed with other aspects of our lives. Neither of us were properly prepared for the trip, but we had to go. We had already realized it was much too late to buy a car and have titled transfered. That takes 60 days. So we were taking my truck, which I planned to sell anyway. I paid it off and had a letter from the financing company allowing me to take it into Mexico. After that, well I hoped Cindy would have recieved the pink slip and could fax it to me somewhere in Mexico before we had to go through anymore borders. Not the best of plans but like I said we were overwhelmed and out of time. Off we went.



Goodbye Hollywood.

We made it to Tuscon uneventfully. We breezed through the Mexican border at Nogales, all the proper paperwork in hand and hit the road hard. By the end of the day we had clocked in over 800 miles and had blown past Guaymas, Los Mochis and Culiacan, all cities we thought we might be staying in to make it to Mazatlan. We traveled for longer than we were comfortable in the night, not seriously considering the time change and really wanting to make a good first day. We were so impressed by Mexico's wonderful roads. It was a good first day. Ok second day. Good first international day.




Mazatlan in morning

Backyard-Last looks

I had planned to have a much more step by step blogging of the backyard nightmare/dream evolution, but again slammed with time. So these are shots I shot off just before heading off to Nicaragua. It's getting closer but still nowhere close to where I wanted to be at this point, but it's getting there.

Bravo Mexico

Hola amigos,

Unfortunately that's almost all my Spanish. Ok not really, but seriously, I don't know very much at all and Charles knows less and here we are driving down to Nicaragua.....That's what I started writing several days ago, but didn't have time nor energy to complete. And now we're here in Nicaragua. Cindy and Skye arrive in a couple of days. Charles and I are going up to Los Congos today. I am going to post several blogs about the journey. It was incredible, exhausting, frightening at times. It is amazing that we are here. We made the trip in seven days, going through through Tuscon into Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondorus and finally Nicaragua. Here a couple photo tidbits.


Mazatlan in the morning

Puerto Escondido for lunch

Cindy's back. Construction progress revealed

And I finished the back yard in time, .....yeah right. So I worked really, really hard got a lot done, but this time I took on more than I could accomplish in the time available, alotmore.What follows is mostly pics of the process with comments
peppered in.

Yet another dumpster, I think we're up to ten now and by God this will be the last one!


Finding room for all the materials and still having room to work proved to become a backbreaking chore. Kind of like digging a hole and then filling it up.


And I worked into the night.....


And then we had a heat wave and I spend half my time making shade, hooking up a mist system and drinking water

The whole house became a work site.



And the very fancy pizza oven became an even more fancy cat lounge

More materials and progress




And more junk.

I have much more narrative and more photos, but unfortunately not time. I must leave now. Driving to Nicaragua, it's around 4000 miles so I should get going. More later, I promise

Goodbye Skye, Hello Hell Week

So Friday Skye flew up to Oregon to visit my mom, Granma Dianne, and of course, Cindy. Thing is, she is flying by herself, whoa, big girl time. Yeah Skye is making the trip on her own, and as you can see, she is a little nervous.




But in the end she fared wonderfully and now I am attempting to finish the "backyard project". The little project that started 2 years ago, the little project that I bought a pick-up truck to help complete, the little project that has become more than a thorn in my side. When it is complete, however, I will be, (hopefully) in paradise. I am taking daily photos and records but because there are secret surprises for Cindy, I will not publish until her LA return.

That ain't no big thing

I've hired the guys standing outside Home Depot a couple of times, and I always end up outworking them by like a 2-1 margin, giving them the benefit of the doubt on that, and I end up feeling like a baby sitter or a warden or something. Needless to say, it's not my favorite option and after literally 3 attempts I just decided I'd do it myself, or if seriously pressed I'd call up a friend or two, maybe shanghai a set dressing crew, pull a little g job(I guess it would help to be working) Overall I haven't either of these often, almost never. What I have been doing, is taking forever to get these projects done and doing serious damage to my body and sanity. Case in point, yesterday's delivery: 175 cinder block, 75 bags gravel, 67 bags of cement, 50 bags of sand.



It took a little longer to move and find places to store all this stuff than I thought it would and I'm a bit sore, but I didn't hire the guys from Home Depot and I think the cement bags had fun on the slide I made for them

Soccer camp

Skye took advantage of the spring break season by attending a soccer camp, ran by some Irish fellows, so not only did she get some excercise improve her soccer skills but she got a little cultural exposure as well. Her coach was Bulgarian, so she was sporting the Bulgarian colors, in their "World Cup".

Check me out.

The coach gives her a certificate and points out her authentic Bulgarian shield. Way to go Skye!!!

Cancer for a Cancer? What the _____!!!!

Okay, I go somewhat regularly to a dermatologist to get my skin checked out for cancer, being so pale and pink. And I generally get some stuff frozen or cut away. All in house, takes a few minutes, no big deal. That being said, you wouldn't think I would be too shocked when I got the call that a biopsy came back with the result being melanoma. Turns out I had a surface variety that apparently is the best one to get, it spreads on the surface before going deeper and into your lymph system, etc. The good news, we caught it early, they sliced it out, chest ex ray clean, lab report says they got it. Bad news, I am even more predisposed to get it in the future than I thought, oh by the way I was shock, smack you in the head and look at the world a bit differently kind of shocked, which means more regular check ups and monitoring. And my tattoo is rather marred, to the point that I don't know if it still holds its original meaning, "Never give up, Persevere" Ironic, foretelling, I try not to read too much into it, but what the hell? So Toshi or Deborah, if you read this can you check out the before and after and tell me.


You see that little scab? That was where the mole was that they biopsied. The one next to it is obviously the after, note the tattoo alteration.
So I guess I am officially a cancer survivor. I didn't lose a testicle or breast, or have to go through chemo or major surgery, so I probably won't be winning the Tour or making the talk show circuit. I just got a little scarred or scared depending on how you look at it.

Happy Easter from Portland

Skye and I head up to Portland to have a nice Easter break with Cindy. We stay at Timberline Lodge, up at Mt. Hood. Absolutely beautiful and clear when we get up there. I take one picture, figuring we'll pose tommorrow when we're all a bit more rested.....



A bit of advice, sieze the moment, especially when it comes to photo ops. The next day brought clouds. Really couldn't tell where we were. It was slushy and rainy there would be no skiing today.


Back in Portland, we took the MAX, up to the World Forestry Center. Another fun homeschool/tourist/family outing combo oppurtunity. We realize how exhausted we all are, that we all are fighting colds and sniffles, and the weekend becomes a wonderful series of naps, TV and take out food. Skye was much more adept at finding the Easter Bunny's hidden offerings. With that we say

PEACE OUT

Blog, blog blog

Quick post, too tired, busy and nuts to go beyond. Cindy is coming down to LA, like every weekend, ya know, like, it's so cool, ya know, to see and ya know, like hang out. So a week before St. Paddy's we hit the Irish Faire, interesting sub-culture, event at LA fairgrounds, the Inland Empire they call it, nuf said, right.












Then, a week later, St. Paddy proper. I wake up way too early and then run a 10k, worst time ever, overweight and too old and not training Skye ran in the Leprechaun Dash, good for her, and....













afternoon spent weeding hanging out with brother in law and then off to Yacht club opening brunch at 5pm. Yeah we missed the brunch. And then to UCLA play of nephew, Adam, youth of Cindy's sis Beth and in-law Dan. Long but Adam was a hit, 11+ rolling along and off to 40 b-day of Max. We get there just as they're getting ready to leave. Home late. Sunday spend sending people off. Week, too busy and crazed to get to. Homeschool Super Duper Show and Tell, Science faire. Very cool. We built a volcano and did the age old baking soda and vinegar eruption. They had quite a turnout and I was impressed with some of the exhibits. Must log out beggining to fade.

Settling back In—My Most Navel-gazing blog yet.

I’m sure that there have always been the same 24 hours in a day and that each hour still consists of the same 60 second minute and that 1440 of these minutes make up a day unlike money with inflation and memory with getting older. But somehow I am falling back on the proverbial treadmill on the verge of becoming an accidental heap of embarrassment on the gym floor.

Or I could simply say where has all my time gone?

I still have clean clothes waiting to be put away from before the last Nica trip. Skye regularly comes out of her room dressed and “ready to go” in clothes that are two sizes too small and in our constant rush I more often than not pretend like I don’t notice and whisk her away off on errands, promising myself that upon return I will take those clothes and all others that are too small and set them aside for the Goodwill or
Boys and Girls Thrift. But some how they make it back into the closet.

Or I could simply say that I am still unpacking from Nicaragua, Portland and Mammoth.

Ok, simply stated updates:

Home schooling: Good. Skye now loves it. We have met other home schoolers and she’s not so different for being the only person she knows who is not going to traditional school. Her self-esteem is back up. She seems really happy. She’s discovering and learning about lots of different things, some of them useful I hope. Those most important 3 R’s, let’s just say I am grateful for calculators, spell check and keyboards. No, honestly it is a challenge to build a solid foundation of said skills, try to not be the child that’s left too far behind and not become ridiculously bored and/or frustrated in that standard memorization process. Juggling many playdates and adventures. Monitoring progress, maintaining, adapting and trying to keep up with curriculum with our Distance Learning School, Laurel Springs is a feat within itself. I am learning more about myself, Skye and modern education than I have at any other point in my life. Overall-A

Weight Loss/Fitness: What the ---- is happening to me? Since my “resolution” which I have followed through with in a less than full out manner, I have gained weight instead of losing it. My intent was to maintain weight, maybe lose some while I traveled and then when back at home for a stretch, really ramp it up and lose those last remaining pounds. Well, after being away from my scale for two weeks, I have to face the sad fact that what used to be my maintenance diet/routine, simply isn’t working. Overall-D

Nica/Business plans ideas etc.—Charles and I talk regularly, get excited by the designs and the eventual outcome as well as much of the process. The same goes for Los Congos developer, Jeff. That being said in my mind the nuts and bolts of the process are figuratively speaking, lying all around my garage and house waiting to be organized and sorted, but no need to rush because the practicalities of the endeavor are still on Nica time. Overall-B

Socially-Since our return, we have had one sleepover/lunch/group-bike ride, joined the Y and geared up for racquetball, a Terrell Moore art opening, a park date that turned into an extended play date with a new friend, a doctor’s visit, a new temporary roommate, another playdate, a playdate/museum trip, catching up with friends on two evenings, an afternoon boat trip (I ended up falling in the ocean upon docking in a very Buster Keaton/ 3 stooges manner). And just verging on being social because I ran into several acquaintances, I went on a 4 hour job interview with Skye in tow, which I obviously had to turn down. We’ll be back for a week on Thursday. Overall- A or F depending on how much you value rest and sanity.

3 Blizzards and a beautiful day on the slopes

We left at 3 in the morning so that we wouldn't get stuck in bad weather in the dark. I came close to timing it almost perfectly. We hit some snow before sunrise but at lower elevations, so not such a big deal.


We hit snow up in the Shasta area that got pretty funky, almost had to chain up. We slid around, did a 360 and a 180 on a small road off the 5 interstate when we got off in search of gas, after we righted ourselves we hopped back on muy pronto. Slid a little getting back into traffic but from then on managed with the ice and frost and snow pretty well. Things got dicey and icey, a bit slushy through Tahoe which is where we ended up cutting over after having to turn back at a couple of other road closures. Amazing views coming down into Neveda.









These detours set us back just enough to put us in Mammoth at night, arriving just as it started coming down good. With a mile or less left after being on the road for 16 hours, the windshield froze up, the wipers skipping over ice, we slid around a little bit and finally cruised into a parking space in the nick of time. The next day the skiing was exquisite. Skye is coming along quite well coming down blue runs now. I am also just about ready to hit a blue run, she has been skiing longer than me afterall. Then back to LALAland the next day.

Goodbye Cindy, Goodbye Oregon

Boy does it rain here, alot and I love the rain. We ran off to the beach on Saturday. It was amazingly beautiful and really frikin' cold and I was surprised by how many people were on the beach, walking and playing, even attempting to fly a kite in a really, really strong wind. So we had a fun tourist day. And then the Oscars on Sunday, a small gathering of film friends from Cindy's movie, nice and uneventful, the awards were uneventful, the gathering was nice. And today Skye and I went through our lessons and packed and I jogged and then then the rain lifted and the most amazing(I know, word overuse) rainbow appeared right out our window, click on the image to enlarge and get full effect. It was surrreal. And tommorrow, around 3 in the morning tommorrow we head off for Mammoth Lakes to get in a little skiing this season.

Visiting in Portland

Monday just basically chilled with Cindy. Checked out Powell's Books, huge and wonderful, very Portlandesque, a landmark. Tuesday, Cindy back at work and Skye and I meet up with Grandma Dianne(my mom) at the Oregon Zoo. Luckily it wasn't too big, so we could see everything, linger here and there and get out of the freezing cold in not too many hours. It didn't rain on us,(unbelievable) but it was pretty cold. The polar bears and musk ox seemed to appreciate and even the tropical going lorakeets didn't seem to mind. Maybe it was just that they were being fed a constant flow of sweet sugary nectar by the many zoo visitors, the three of us included. Again, I had to threaten and bribe Skye and then threaten again before she would feed the little guys, and of course after she started it was hard getting her out of there and it became her favorite thing at the zoo. I'm such a mean dad.