Flossie Flamingo and Garrett the Parrot

These two birds have found a new home--on Argo. Flossie ( my name for her ) was kicking back in the yard fronting the kite store in Seaport Village. I invited her to relocate, hammock and all, and she consented. The store owner JUST happened to have Garrett the Parrot as well and I decided to invite him back to the marina homestead as well. Just look at them. How could I not?

So Welcome to the Argo roost, Flossie and Garrett. Don't bother getting up.

Pickled Pete, Perchance

It had been a long afternoon and I had put miles and miles on my Ecco sandals. It was time to head back for the motel which meant more than a mile yet to travel in those Ecco's. But I had had a very successful visit to Seaport Village. Lots of photos for possible blogging. Great memories of my time along the Embarcadero and Seaport Village. And a FIND -- a PELICANO!! which I had been looking for for the last two years. NO, that is NOT the pelican pictured here. That's a parrot. Even in Iowa we know the difference between a pelican and a parrot. ANYWAY, -- this delightful character was noticed outside a kite shop in the Seaside Village. It may have been called 'Kite Flight' but I'm not certain. But I was certain that I got quite a bump in my flagging spirits at the sight of this winged margarita drinker. Salud!

BTW --- the pelican is in the form of a necklace piece. It is only about an inch or so tall and is made of sterling silver with accents of Australian blue opal. I love, love, love it!---But it's a bit too small to photograph. But I'll keep trying.

A Fellow Iowan I Presume

Ain't he Grand!! A happy hog such as this must originate in a happy place such as IOWA!!

San Diego's 'Unconditional Surrender'

What's not to love? This 25 foot

sculpture is taken from the famous Times Square

photo of a sailor kissing an unknown nurse in jubilant response to the news that World War 11 was over.

Being a nurse, -- excuse me, a RETIRED nurse, -- this speaks doubly to me.

Thanks for the Memories Bob Hope

This was such a surprise to me! A wonderful, unexpected show of gratitude for an entertainer who lightened the hearts of the members of the military by his selfless gift of humor carried for decades to the forgotten outposts of battlefields the world over.

Homeless in San Diego

Probably one of the most frequent sights along the Embarcadero of San Diego, unfortuneately, was of the homeless. Alongside the great ship Midway, this is one of the reminders of the less fortunate in our society. And this sight is but one of many, many in a very short span of tourist real estate.

Star of India - Walking Excursion of San Diego

A walk along the Embarcadero in San Diego is a feast for the eyes! One of the main courses would have to be the 'Star of India'. The 'Star of India' is an iron ship built in the Isle of Man in 1863. She is the oldest still active ship in the world. At least once a year she is taken out with a volunteer crew for a reminder of her former glory days.

Standing next to the 'Star of India' is awe inspiring. She is regally dressed in her finest sails and rigging. Quite a sight to behold.

Hearst Castle

For over 35 years I have wanted to see Hearst Castle near San Simeon, Ca. And it was worth the wait. Built by William Randolph Hearst starting in 1919 and continuing for almost 3 decades, the main house, pools, guest houses and grounds are magnificent and truly an American 'Castle'.

The outdoor, or Neptune pool, is truly worthy of the mythical god for which it is named. In it's third incarnation the pool and surroundings are 'out of this world'!

Opulance and Splendor Galore

And the indoor pool, the Roman pool, is no slouch either. It is covered with Venetian blue glass and gold tiles. Carefully watched over by sculptures of glorious days gone by. Simply splendid!

Northern Elephant Seals - Enmass

As we drove south along California Highway 1 we found beautiful scenery, breathtaking scenery. Thankfully someone had had the foresight to put pullouts, or 'vista' areas along the best of the views. Certainly would prevent traffic backups in a lot of places.

One of the 'vistas' we pulled over to view held a large colony of Northern Elephant Seals. These are different from the sea lions I have photographed earlier. The males are quite a bit larger than the females and have a very distinctive proboscis, or nose. It is inflatable and resembles, somewhat, an elephant's trunk. It is used to make loud roaring noises, useful for defending it's territory from intruders, other males, and in attracting a mate.

There were probably a couple hundred of these Elephant Seals at the 'vista' where we stopped. At first glance they almost appear to be logs laid out haphazardly on the beach.

California Poppies--My All Time Favorite Flower

It was not at all unusual to see glorious patches of the California state flower, California Poppies, in bright orange abundance along the roadsides and hillsides.
The California Hills are ablaze with poppies!

Highway 1 Coastal Views

The views along Highway 1 are really exceptional! It is a winding, hilly road and speed cannot be of importance, because speed is not an option.

At times we were driving right alongside beaches of rock and sand. Othertimes we stood atop high cliffs and looked over at the breathtaking coastal scenery below.

Sea Lions of Moss Landing

Not far south of Santa Cruz is Moss Landing. This is the dockside home of several dozen sea lions who do not make their home the Santa Cruz Wharf. But they are also exceedingly sociable and loud - and stinky! Sometimes even cute.

Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk

Look really, really hard and you can just make out the roller coaster, Hurricane. There are also little dots which represent people on the beach. The blue-gray up above is sky. The blue-gray at the bottom is the ocean. Thought I'd better point out the difference.

Okay, Just One More

Just hanging 'round.

Under-Wharf World

On the edge of the dock, next to the Wharf, I spied probably 2 dozen or more sea lions, trying to catch the rays, or at least a little shuteye.

One of the characters on the dock was a big old bull sealion. He had a bellow to match his size, believe me. He also had a female sea lion who was using his body for a sun deck, not that he seemed to mind at all.

Santa Cruz Wharf Wildlife

The Wharf in Santa Cruz is a wondrous place to visit. That goes for humans and wildlife as well. This pelican seemed to be in a posing frame of mind. He was very cooperative and really quite a dashing figure on the rail.

On the underside of the Wharf, at or just above sea level, was a world inhabited by the Sea Lion! This fellow appeared to be standing up in the water waiting patiently for a handout from a benevolent wharf walker. But I didn't see it get him anywhere.

It did not appear that he had missed many meals however, and was in no danger of wasting away.

Tuffy #2 ? Nope, it's Miss Molly! and family

We have been away from La Paz for a 10 day visit to California. This was blogged after our return.

It's been a week and a half since I lost my heart yet again. This time to a sweet young, near twin of Tuffy. Her name is Molly and she was rescued by Ron's mom, JoyDel, about a year and a half ago. What a great decision for both of them!! I have to say that I do believe that Molly is even more pampered than Tuffy was - hard to believe, I know. Her paperwork may not say Bichon Frese, but she is the epitome of what a Bichon looks like and has so many of the characteristics of a Bichon. These she shared with Tuffy and so often watching her reminded me of my precious time with Tuffy.

Molly does not know a stranger. Thankfully. I was able to spend lots of quality time holding her and petting and pampering her as she so deserves. She has quite a wardrobe for a California dog and seems to delight in dressing up before going out to meet her public. She gained 2 additions to her wardrobe while I was there - a yellow rain slicker and a black leather bomber jacket.

Molly never wants for a lap to sit on or a hand to pet and pamper her. She is cozy in Ron's lap here. She is obviously adored by her adopted family and provides many hours of loving adoration in return.

Mision El Triunfo

Saturday morning Tom Ireton, JJ Katis, of Rapscullion, and I took off for a day trip to the mining region around El Triunfo and San Antonio about 48 kilometers south of La Paz.
Coming into El Triunfo the first substantial edifice is the Mision El Triunfo. It has surely lost some of its splendor from the time of the Progresso Mining Company but is still a most charming church in a land of hills, scrub brush, scrawny cattle and memories of days gone by.

Eiffel's El Triunfo Tower

Gustave Eiffel, the man responsible for the incredible Eiffel Tower in Paris, France also has his stamp on Baja. He is credited with designing the Iglesia Santa Barbara in Santa Rosalia. But he is also known for having been the architect for the enormous smelting chimney in El Triunfo for the Progresso Mining Company. Silver and gold mining was started in this area in 1862 after the gold rush in California. Though apparently no one ever got rich mining in this area, the Progresso Mining Company was open until 1926. At one time the population of El Truinfo climbed to 14,000 with the mining jobs available. Currently there are less than 1000.

Eiffel's Tower can be seen to the right while the Mision El Triunfo can be seen off the left.

Caffe el Triunfo

Tom, JJ and I enjoyed lunch at this unique old cafe, Caffe el Triunfo. The owner, Mark, has owned the cafe for 10 or 11 years having moved from the US over 20 years ago.

The bar inside the small restaurant was presided over by this comely, but most likely chilly, fair maiden. Thank heavens for all that hair!

Mark, the owner of the cafe, was gracious to explain some of the history of the area. He had an awesome dog as well, but the dog was rather reluctant to be photographed. As he was largely mastiff I accepted his reluctance and moved along.

San Antonio Smelters and Smokestack

Another silver and gold smeltering operation was down the road outside of San Antonio. These mining areas were abandoned after 1926. Inside the smelters the ceilings can still be found to be covered with several inches of soot from the decades of mining.

Each of these individual ovens were probably at least 6 feet tall. I climbed to the top of this string of smelters just to be able to say I did. Thankfully I found an animal trail to follow back down or I may have returned in the manner of the luge at the Olympics!

Galleria Paz opening - some Wow!

Now I may have nowhere to put something like this but it certainly did elicit a resounding 'WOW' from me.

Even in my wildest nightmares I never contemplated such amazing beings of imagination!

Try double clicking on either of these two creations and enjoy the detail involved! Marvelous!

Galleria Pax and Dia de Los Muertos Artwork

The art of Tequila

When I lived in La Paz in 2007-8 I discovered the 'La Casa del Patron', a very nice wine and spirits store a few short blocks from the Marina.

Since I do not normally imbibe, I don't quite remember how I came to be in this fine establishment. Accompanied by someone else that's for sure.

Browsing for drink was of no interest to me, but these beautifully decorated Tequila bottles, hand made and painted here in Mexico, surely did catch my eye. I purchased two previously, a large and a small one. They currently reside in Iowa.

I happened to be traveling near the same store last Friday and decided to drop in once again - - to browse for art. And I spied this beauty decked out in what I describe as 'my colors'! Ron will graciously empty the vessel of the Tequila of which I want no part. But the artful bottle is destined to join its predecessors in Iowa.

Anne's Art

Notice a theme here? Every boat needs a parrot!

The first parrot has been firmly affixed to the
wall over my bed in the v-berth. I love the bright colors!

Then I decided that it would be so wonderful to have a sampling of the artwork by this same artist to brighten my walls back in Iowa.


Thankfully, I know the artist. She is my friend Anne ( of s/v Kiloran ) and she not only has allowed me to transport the next two paintings to Iowa, but she has tried with only minimal success, unfortunately, to stretch and exercise me into a little better condition with her daily morning yoga class held across from the marina office.

The last photo shows Anne and her husband George.

Thanks for brightening my life and my walls, Anne!