Month: September 2026

After I posted my blog yesterday afternoon I looked over the balcony toward the mountains. I am always looking outside! So much to take in and to observe.

Thanks for checking and comments are appreciated. That is the only way I know that you are out there!!

 

 

 

 

 

It is 4:30PM PST and I think that Mazatlan got lucky.

I am officially off of bed rest as of a week ago. But I was to keep taking my meds until they were completed. They are pretty strong anti inflammatories and my stomach rebelled so I stopped those as well. About two days later my right side ( which I fell on ) has some unusual aches. Even my ankle, toes and calf when I walk. I think it is going to take me a while to get back to full walking mode. I am going to have to back to the beginning go my strength rebuilding exercises.

The only time I have been out was to go see my eye doctor last week. He still had not had a chance to check if the yag laser surgery had worked. Dr Wong pronounced my cataract lenses were clear. However I still can’t see properly out of my right eye and wanted a stronger prescription. Long story short I was told that my left eye is at 90-95% while I only had 40-45% vision in my right eye. I have never seen clearly after my cataract surgery back in August 2024. The doctor who performed that surgery thought I was joking when I said I want my cataracts back. He said that I should just add reading glasses.  I have struggled the past few years and I have seen at least six different vision specialists. It was suggested to me that perhaps the wrong lenses were implanted in my eyes. And no I can’t have another cataract surgery as it is much too dangerous to attempt it. That I should not have had a monofilament lense but rather a progressive lense.

I was in deep shock and felt that my life was over. Reading and working on the computer is what I do. Of course this being my first outing since July 22nd, I was worn out and began to cry. My next step was to immediately go the the Galeria Optica and get a second eye specialist opinion. He spent close to an hour with me and checked my eyes and my glasses and did a few tests. Sadly he confirmed that my vision was as good as it would get and that a different prescription would be of no help. I was devastated and he was very kind to me. No charge for his time. So I bought an expensive pair of eye glasses with red in them! However I have to got to yet another place to get high end Zeiss lenses put it. That will ensure that I have the best possible vision. I feel bad for not being able to give my money to Galeria Optica but he insisted I go to this other place. I do plan to got there next week when I hopefully have more energy. I also intend to have a discussion with Doctor Daniel about my current vision. His father was an optician and his wife and son also work in the business. Meanwhile I am still mourning my vision.

Nothing has been happening with the RV and we made a decision to move it from Mesa to another consignment location. We had a driver go to pick it up last Tuesday and the batteries were dead and the was no fuel in the tank to use the generator. No way to start the RV  never mind bring the slides in. What a mess! And a huge amount of stress for Colin – which we are trying to shield him from. But later that day we received a message asking us to please leave the RV there for another week. Apparently someone is very interested in our coach. He made an offer that was accepted but it is based on him getting a 3 year job contract in Missouri which was to happen within a week or less.  The fellow is waiting to find out if he gets the job and then will then live in the RV full-time. We have heard nothing 😯 Probably we will give them a few more days and arrange to move the RV next week.

The girls are good and have totally settled in and hardly ever bark. Even when one of us comes back in they just run up for hugs and kisses. They love their long morning slow walk with Colin. They stop and sit on the malecon wall for a break every so often enjoying a bit of shade.  The girls have lots of dogs friends and Colin has met many people that he visits with everyday. I do think they miss seeing all their RV friends from the Isla.

Hurricane Polo has been deemed the  most powerful cyclone ever off the Pacific coast of Mexico. For a short yesterday it decreased back down to a Cat 4 but soon was back up to a Cat 5. It bounces back and forth and now has a new path. This is the latest from Zoom Earth Satellite taken 25 minutes ago. as you can see there will be heavy & surf coming our way.

 

SURF: Swells generated by Polo will affect portions of the coast of
southwestern Mexico during the next few days. Swells will spread
northward along the coast of west-central Mexico and toward Baja
California Sur on Friday and into the weekend. These swells are
likely to cause life-threatening surf, rip currents, and coastal
flooding. Please consult products from your local weather office.

These photos go back to Monday September 14th……

This next photo was taken September 19th.

And these final shots were taken this evening. Wow, just wow!

It was unreal – a first for both of us. What is this strange dark tunnel from heaven to the deep sea? UFO? End of the world? It was bizarre and unsettling.

But we do have a Category 5 hurricane offshore and  it is coming closer to us. It is not expected to make landfall but for certain we will have lots of rain and high waves.

I expect that I will be posting everyday for the next while so please be sure to check in.

 

Preface.  This is the first time in my life that I have ever written a preface even on an essay, way back when. So let us start with right this very second.

I spent over two hours today writing a blog post that I wanted to publish today. It was well written ( in my opinion ) and I simply needed to add photos. Then suddenly the entire post had disappeared as in totally vanished 👿 User error. I spent over 30 minutes trying everything I could to find it or parts of it. I came to realize that as I was creating today I neglected to hit “save draft”. I thought that I had opened a new tab to research something, but somehow I ended up using the same tab that I had created my blog on and hence lost the entire post when I went back to get it. I was very upset with myself. I started this blog over sixteen years ago in 2010 and one of the biggest lessons I had to learn was to keep hitting that save draft button. I guess it has been awhile since I did a lengthier post that required some research and heavy concentration. Or maybe I was simply inspired and kept writing. No matter. Lost my storyline with all the extras. I simply could not start again so wasted 2 hours online doing nothing of value. I restarted this post 29 minutes ago and have hit save draft already four times🧐.

So let’s see how much I recall.

¡Viva México!

Last evening  ( Tuesday, September 15 ) was the beginning of the 2 day holiday celebrating Mexico’s independence from Spain.

“September 16th is the day that the Mexican Independence is celebrated. On this day in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato 1810, el padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bells of a small parish and inspired the people who gathered  to rebel against the Spanish monarchy and take control of their own lives, their own country, their own destiny. His grito.

Many local places here in Mazatlan started the two day holiday with a celebration in the evening serving local dishes, national drinks and much Mariachi music. Here as in many plazas all over Mexico hundreds and likely thousands gathered just before midnight at the main square in town to listen to an impassioned speech by a city official commemorating the fallen heroes and then ringing a symbolic bell and finishing their speech by exclaiming three times, “!Viva Mexico!”. Of course then the crowds roar back “!Viva Mexico!” three times. This is called EL Grito, the cry or scream for independence.

Then the magic of fireworks happens in a victory celebration. We are so fortunate that our new home looks directly over the bay where one of the several Mazatlan fireworks barge celebrations were being set off from. Of course I was already in bed and the noise woke me up. Colin took these photos. How magical to be right here at this location.

The percussive booming of drums woke me up at about 6:20AM. Of course Colin was already awake.

The deep boom and rat a tat carried a long distance. Military drums are commonly called a field drum and there were many many of them outside on the street early this morning 😮  Today, September 16th, the official Independence Day for Mexico usually involves a military/civilian parade. Ours was scheduled to start at 8:00AM which it did but I guess many of these fellows just wanted to flex their wrists and elbows. In addition to the numerous drums and marching feet, the parade featured sirens. Every police, motorcyle, ambulance or rescue vehicle. etc, has a siren and they all sound different. Can you imagine how they sound when mixed together? So from 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM we heard a variety of sirens and often all at the same time. The locals sitting outside on the malecon curb clapped in approval. I think the ambulance is the most obnoxious. It took a further 40 minutes for my hearing to clear.  We are at 14 “save draft” hits!!!

I started this blog at 6:00PM September 16 and now at 8:25PM I have come this far. Photos have been chosen. Not perfect but good enough. We are now at 22 “save draft hits”  8-). Colin wants his dinner and I must complete this post first.

 

There was also a spitfire airplane flying in and out but with all the noise from the parade we had no idea where it was until it was ”just there” in front of us. Another just WOW moment.

I hope that you enjoyed this post. It is now 9:40PM September 16th.  And we have now had 40 save the draft clicks!! So it took 3 hours and 40 minutes to create this post – FOR THE SECOND time. Colin is vocally asking for his dinner. So I will forgo yet another blog proof. If it is really bad send me an email and I will correct it.

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia, amigos!

 

 

 

 

This area is open and unsettled and we had waves over 8 feet last night. The malecon was wet from the  ocean spay in parts. People were warned to be cautious and to stay away from the beach. High waves and high tides were expected.  I spent some time during the night watching Mother Nature at work. Because of both hurricanes the ocean action is expected to continue for the next few days.

We are not bored watching all the activity.  Well I am a wee bit bored as I still have 2 3- weeks to before I get permission to walk again.

Colin meanwhile is enjoying some new shoes that he purchased which are giving him more flex to the bottom of his foot and toe area. Between them and not one but two new therapies he is working with, he seems to be walking a bit better. Still tires easily.  He never gives up and is constantly working to get ahead. Not fair that I have to sit still all the time.

By the way there is a two bedroom condo in our same building for rent for the winter ( or however many months you want ) at a very reasonable rate. It is on the 8th floor ( we are on the 11th ). Exactly the same layout as we have including the huge balcony. Perfect for Carnival.

We were told by the RV dealer that someone who reads our blog went to see our RV ( for sale on consignment ) in Mesa, Arizona. Just want to let you know that next week our RV comes out of the 4 month contract and will then go on a day by day basis. So if you or anyone you know is interested, send us an email and a lower price WILL be arranged.

A few sunsets taken over the past week……

I so appreciate your emails, texts and comments….thanks for hanging with me all these years 😎