Rain Shower

Last night we had the usual lightning show and then around 10 PM, it suddenly got very windy. It quickly got very dusty. Shortly thereafter it began to sprinkle rain. Wow, haven't seen that for months and months, can't remember if it has rained since the hurricane last September or not. Anyway we got enough rain to settle the dust abit and this morning it is again sunny, dry and hot.

More Photos Of Tucson

A few more pictures from our trip to Tucson. All in all it was a good trip. We got in some quality pet time with the dog, got our necessary shopping done and enjoyed some good coffee at a local coffee shop every morning. The owners of the coffee shop are originally from Alaska and we enjoyed chatting with them every morning. If you want a good cup of coffee at a friendly place, go to "Coffees On" on Campbell about a block north of Grant. The actual address is 2502 N. Campbell Ave.. This is an unpaid commercial by the way, we just enjoyed sitting outside in the shade with our coffee there. I didn't take a photo of the place; but the following photo was taken not far from there.

Another building on the University Campus.

Getting ready to plant some more palm trees on the campus.





I didn't do a lot of price comparisons on groceries, etc. as a lot of the things that we bought are not found here. I did find it overwhelming that there is so much "stuff" available. Not only can you find products there; but you can find an enormous choice of each product. Here if we find peanut butter we buy it, regardless of what kind/size it is. Beggars can't be choosers. In the stores in Tucson there will be 100 brands, sizes, etc. (OK that is a bit of exaggeration; but you get my meaning). I think I was on overload, like a kid in a candystore.
I really enjoyed drinking some tomato juice which I cannot find here; but their Coca Cola tasted horrible we thought. We didn't do any cooking there as it was so hot, so I didn't check the price of meat; but did notice that you can buy shrimp there for cheaper than you can here right now.
We did go out and eat a greasy burger a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed them!
Loved the air conditioning on the city buses!
Loved the University Campus.
Didn't love the heat.
And that is that for Tucson.

Cleaning Up The 'Hood

There are a couple of places right across the street from us that have accumulated a lot of garbage/mess in the last few months. One is a vacant house, a few months ago some people came to clean the yard and just threw everything over the wall and left it there. Plastic bags, weeds, tree branches, etc.. The other is our neighbor who does not keep the neatest yard. A couple of weeks ago we were surprised to see him out with his rake cleaning up his yard. He raked it up into a pile and then just left it there for the wind to blow around again. We decided that someone from the city must have told him to clean up as we have never seen him clean up like that before.
Yesterday I happened to glance out of the window and there were 3 or 4 men and a big truck picking up all the garbage from these two places. I don't know whether some of the neighbors complained to the city or what; but it was being cleaned up anyway. The fellows did a so-so job of cleaning the mess up and then drove away.
Later on in the evening a couple of the neighbor ladies got out their rakes and did some more cleaning, a little burning and now it looks much better. Or it did until our messy neighbor decided he would rake some more of his garbage up. He again made a pile and then just left it for the wind to blow as it will. Oh well, it is still better than it was.

Meeting Another Blogger

Yesterday before Spanish class I stopped to visit blogger Cynthia and her husband Mike, shortly after I arrived Bliss also arrived. We had a nice visit with iced tea and cookies. Mike, unfortunately took a picture, so if you really have to you can go over to their blog to see it.
Bliss and I then went to our Spanish class to chat with our teacher for an hour in Spanish. I wasn't feeling the greatest, after picking up a bad cold in Tucson and my brain was totally fuzzy, so don't think I contributed much or got much out of the class. Oh well, hopefully next week will be better.

We're Home

It is good to be home again, we arrived after a long and sometimes frustrating trip.
We called a cab a little early to get to our bus in Tucson, as we were not sure how long the cab would take to come. After waiting for 20 minutes I called the cab company again. They were still not sure how long the cab would be so we waited some more. After waiting for an hour and no cab in sight I called again. At this point I was told that they had no idea of when he would come, basically whenever the contract driver decided to fit the call in, and they basically did not care. I cancelled it. So, if you are ever in Tucson and using taxis, I heartily recommend that you DO NOT call Allstate Cab company. I then called a Yellow Cab and he arrived at the door 15 minutes later.
We arrived at the Tufesa bus depot at the other end of town, cab fare about $22.00, cheaper than the night we arrived when it was almost $30.00! The cab fares there are priced at $2.50 a flag stop and anywhere from $1.75 to $2.50 per mile travelled. We walked into the bus depot and discovered that their 2:30 PM bus was booked solid and we would have to wait until their next bus at 8:30 PM. Not a pleasant thought. We decided to head over to the Greyhound bus station and see if we could get a bus out to the border, Nogales, sooner. The Tufesa station had phone booths; but no phone book, so we walked over to a Circle K convenience store and found a phone book there and called another cab. The cab arrived in about 10 minutes and we took a ride over to the Greyhound depot, cab fare about $12.00. They had changed their schedule since we had phoned them a couple of days ago and did have a bus leaving at 3:30 PM to Nogales. We sat down and waited. Finally we got on the bus and were pleasantly surprised. It was fairly clean and comfortable; although there wasn't much leg room for Roy. Bus ticket cost from Tucson to Nogales, Arizona $10.50. After a short 1 hr. ride we arrived in Nogales and after looking around realised that we didn't need a cab to the border as it was right there. The first bonus of the day! We walked across the border and got a cab to take us to the Tufesa bus station in Nogales, Sonora, cost $7.00. We got there and found out there was a bus leaving in an hour for Guaymas. Bus ticket cost $25.40. Sat down to wait for the bus and decided to go to the restaurant for a torta as we hadn't eaten anything much all day. No such luck, the restaurant was out of bread! Purchased a soda and sat down again to wait.
We were surprised when we boarded the bus that there was no washroom on board, this is the first bus we have ever been on that didn't have a washroom. The movies were shown of course and after a couple of stops we arrived back in Guaymas about 11:00 PM. We grabbed a cab, $3.50 and arrived home a few minutes later. A long and at times, frustrating day.
It is good to be home and we are settling in again. It is good to have our computers again and the cooler temperatures, compared to Tucson.

Baby, It's Hot Outside

I thought that we were used to the heat; but baby it is hot here. The other day it was 109 F./around 43C., it tied the record high temperature set in 1989. Today the high is supposed to be 110 F..
We haven't been doing very much in the way of sightseeing, it is just too hot. Roy hasn't been feeling well the last 2 days so we haven't done anything at all. He seems to have caught a very bad chest cold, I think from the way the A/C is vented into the rooms here. This morning he is feeling a little better and we went for coffee. No coffee for the last 2 days, yikes. He then was going for a few groceries, while I caught the bus to the University to use the computer.
We have been walking the dog in the early mornings before it gets too hot, it is usually around 76 F. at 6 AM so it feels not too bad. It was still 96 F. the other night at 10 PM so we feel it is better to walk him when it is cooler in the mornings. He is a good dog and we are really enjoying him. I think he is enjoying all the attention that he is getting also.

We will be heading home on Monday and I probably won't be at the computer again until we get home.

Until then stay cool.

Settling In, In Tucson

Well, we have been here a few days now and are starting to find our way around on the bus system. I have to say that the bus system here is nice. The buses are air conditioned and clean, the drivers are friendly and helpful.
On Tuesday morning, our homeowner gave us a ride to the University and showed us where the library was. We used the computers and then caught a bus back to within about 6 blocks of the house.
Wednesday we found the grocery store and bought some supplies after going to a coffee shop for our morning coffee.
Yesterday, after our coffee and a chat with the owners of the coffee shop who are friendly people who moved here from Alaska, we decided that we would try and find a store to do our shopping at. We walked down to a different street and hopped on a bus. Unfortunately, the driver gave us some wrong information and we exited the bus too soon. We walked on to the next stop and asked some people for directions. Too make a long story short we did arrive at a store and managed to get our shopping done. The trip back home was uneventful as we now knew where we were going. The people here are friendly and helpful which is nice.
We vegged out for the afternoon, before taking the dog for his walk in the evening. He is doing well and just being a dog. So no problems.
After having our coffee this morning we caught the bus to the University and are at the library once again to do our 'puter stuff.
Here are some pictures from the last few days.
This is the Tufesa bus we came here on.

The University stadium as seen from a sitting area near the library.

A sitting area near the library.

At one of the University buildings, I think it was the chemistry building.

The museum building.

Museum building.

Tucson

We caught the Tufesa bus out of Guaymas at 11:20 AM yesterday and had a good trip. The fare to Tucson is 415 pesos or about $41.50. We were stopped at one checkpoint for awhile but not long. Bus didn't make too many stops, Hermosillo and Nogales. It then drove over to the Mariposa crossing and of course, we were pulled over to be checked out. They checked out everyones documents and put our luggage through the scanner. They pulled 3 people out of the bus to get more documents of some type or permission to enter the USA, I am not sure. Anyway they rejoined the bus a few minutes later and we were on our way. We arrived in Tucson about 6:30 or 7:00 PM.
Stopped and checked when the bus leaves daily for Guaymas, called a cab and headed to the homeowners place. We were quite aways from their house as the cab fare was $29.50 USD!!!!!! The bus trip cost about $40.00 and the cab almost $30.00???????? Go Figure!!!!! Price shock and culture shock all in one day.
The homeowners will be taking their laptop with them on their trip so we won't have computer access at the house. At the moment we are on the University of Arizona campus in the library using the computers for free. Free is good, after yesterday.
This morning we took a walk for almost 2 hrs., we stopped at a coffee shop and had a coffee and discovered where the grocery store, art supply store and a few other things are. It was a nice walk.
We like the look of the area we are in, it is well treed and there are lots of birds. While we were sitting out in the backyard this morning we saw a multitude of birds, including a male and female cardinel. Pictures will be forthcoming I am sure.
Will try to come here every couple of days to use the computers I think. That's it for today.

Housesitting

I have had lots of interest expressed since I talked about housesitting. Kelsi, the radio girl,
(who did an interview with me last winter about moving to Mexico), had some questions about it also. I sent her an email and she did a blog post about it today. If you are interested in housesitting you can head over there to read it.
Housesitting can be a fun and enjoyable experience if you do your homework before leaving. Have some experience with the pet varieties that you will be housesitting. As an example, if you have never had anything to do with birds, it is probably not a good idea to apply for a housesit that involves lots of bird care. Use your common sense. As with anything else in life, remember that people are not always the same in person as they portray themselves in emails or on the phone. Be prepared for unexpected things, be flexible, be open and hopefully nasty surprises will not happen. We have been lucky so far, with very few misrepresentations given us by the homeowners; but it does happen so be aware.
Remember, when you do a housesit you are there to look after the homeowners house and pets, it is a BIG responsibility and that responsibility is YOURS. It is NOT all about you wanting a free vacation. If there are pets involved you will only be able to be away from the house sightseeing for limited hours at a time. The pets need to be looked after, fed, walked, and loved so please remember that it is not all about you.
On the other hand we have gotten to see some things that we probably wouldn't have otherwise. The first time we went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA it was during their big Balloon Fiesta
and the many balloons were a sight to see. The second time we went to Albuquerque for a housesit we arrived a day early and went and spent the day in Santa Fe. We are not big on touristy type towns, so we probably wouldn't have gone there, gotten a hotel and stayed. This way we just went for the day, wandered around and saw the sights and then headed to our housesit. We enjoyed spending a few afternoons wandering around "Old Town" Albuquerque looking at the shops, galleries, buildings and listening to the street music. We went to several museums, botanical gardens, etc. and really enjoyed our time there.
Entrance to "Old Town" Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Church in Santa Fe.

We spent 7 weeks in a beachfront home on the Sea of Cortes on the Baja Peninsula. Unfortunately, after being told that we could swim, snorkel and fish, the beach and water were full of big rocks, so we did not swim, snorkel or fish after lugging our things all the way from here on the buses and ferry. You live and learn.
View from the patio on the Baja.


We also spent a few weeks close to home in San Carlos, Sonora. We got to walk to the beach on Christmas Eve and watch the lighted boat parade. We probably wouldn't have driven out there to see that and it was a pretty sight to see.
Overall we have had good experiences, so go ahead and try it, you might like it.

Getting Ready For Vacation

It looks like we will be spending a couple of weeks in Tucson, Arizona doing a housesit. We will be riding up there in style on the Tufesa bus, which has runs that go across the border into the USA, so we won't even have to transfer bus lines.

Tufesa Bus Terminal here in Guaymas.

We haven't been across the border to the USA since February of 2007 and we haven't been in Canada since June of 2006 so I am expecting some culture shock. It should be interesting.
I am intending to do some shopping for some things that I can't get here so price ticket shock will be in store for me also, I am sure.
We are looking forward to being able to play with a dog again and have some quality petting time. Should be fun.
We leave Monday and will be gone for a couple of weeks, not sure if we will have access to a computer there or not, I didn't bother asking them, so posting could be either non-existent or sporadic.

I hadn't checked the site for Mexican housesits for a few weeks, and when I did tonight I noticed that there is one on there for Isla Mujeres, hmmmm, that is where blogger Wayne lives. I think that is too far to go for just a couple of weeks though, and after being away on the Baja for so long last spring we have decided that we don't want to do long housesits. Anyway, I don't think that we will apply for that one. There is one for a couple of weeks around Lake Chapala though and that would get us out of the heat here which is a nice thought. Hmmm, will have to think about that one.

What Are You Gonna Be When You Grow Up?

Last evening when I was heading downstairs to feed the dog I saw something on one of the lime tree leaves. It looked like bird poop but it was moving, it was a caterpillar. I have to say that this fellow was pretty homely (read ugly) as far as caterpillars go. I did a search online (I am not going to say what I typed into the search box) to see if I could find out something about him. I found out he is called an "Orange Dog" caterpillar and that he would "grow up" to be an Asian?? Swallowtail Butterfly. They eat the leaves of citrus trees, hence his presence on the lime tree. Apparently when the caterpillars are this age they have a "juvenile" hormone that makes them look like bird poop and protects them from becoming bird food. Once they get too big to pass for bird poo, they turn green and make like a leaf. Isn't nature amazing?

Below is a picture of an Asian Swallowtail Butterfly (swiped from the web); but I am not sure if it is this type of Swallowtail that the caterpiller turns into. We have never seen butterflies like that around here.

This type below, we have seen here. I don't know, but he will survive to turn into something I am sure, as nothing would eat anything that looks the way he does. Blech!

Mother And Child Park

The Mother and Child park in Guaymas is quite close to the Iglesia San Fernando and also to the 13 de Julio Park. It is a small but pretty park with some flowers, trees and benches. There is a water feature there; but I have never see it working. A quiet, calm and shady place to sit and relax.

Being Really Lazy

See anything in the picture above? No? Well look down to the base of the tree in the next picture. Yup, it is our old buddy, Rojo the street dog. He found a nice, cool, shady place to sleep the other day. Usually he sleeps on another ladies patio; but I guess it wasn't shady there yet when he wanted his nap. Looks comfy, doesn't he?

We are still feeding him a bit everyday, not enough to keep him full as we don't want him to become dependant on us; but enough to "top him up" for the day. He loves the dog food and gets really excited when he sees me coming with it. He usually shows up around 5 PM or so to be fed. A couple of nights he was late and I was just heading out to class so didn't have time to go back and get his food for him. He waited until I returned after 7 PM and greeted me enthusiastically. We also keep a bowl of fresh water out for the birds, cats and Rojo so that they can have a drink when they want. Yes, the water is changed daily so that the mosquitos can't breed in it and give us Dengue.
I have been feeling just as lazy lately as Rojo. It could be the heat or it could be that I am just really being lazy. It is getting hotter here as we get into summer. Right now at 8:30 AM it is 30 C. or about 86 F. and will get hotter as the day progresses, naturally. Other than going to my painting and spanish classes I haven't been doing too much. Cooking has been slack because of the heat, right now I have the crock pot full of chicken stew, plugged in on the patio table outside to keep the heat out of the house. I used to use the electric frying pan a lot; but unfortunately it quit working and we cannot find one here in any of the stores.
We may be heading north for a couple of weeks soon, not far enough north to cool off, just to Tucson where it is just as hot as here. It will be a change of pace and after all it is a year since our last "vacation" over on the Baja. Everyone needs a vacation right?