NEOS LOG
August, 2011

We began the month settled in at Caleta Lobos, about 8 miles northwest of La Paz. This cove is well protected from the summer night winds, known as coromuels. The cove is small, although we have shared it with up to two other boats. We get nice afternoon breezes and can jump into the warm waters whenever we get overheated. There is a turtle who visits occasionally as well as plenty of birds and fish. A great place to relax and finish some boat chores before heading home to California.

Rog and I decided to refinish the salon table and had to make a trip into La Paz to get some varnish remover. Easily done. Back in Caleta Lobos, Rog got the table stripped and sanded. Then we applied a coat of varnish each day for about 5 days.

By August 15, the table was done and we headed into Costa Baja to put NEOS in a slip for a couple of months. We tied off at the fuel dock and walked up to the office to check in. We had made all of our arrangements with the manager, who had failed to let the office staff know so our slip had been given to someone else. After some haggling (and Rog adamantly refusing to accept an end tie) they miraculously found us a slip. We were in the first row and were able to drive right in. All went smoothly and we were able to relax with a surprisingly nice cool breeze on the back of the boat. We spent the next five days preparing the boat. While I cleaned and put things away, Rog took off all of the extras attached to the boat and tied the boom down. We removed the jib and packed all of the cushions in the spare bedroom. We thought we had plenty of time, but barely got it all done before Saturday morning.
We caught the 10am shuttle from Costa Baja to Soriana where we had lunch, then took a taxi to the airport. We had a 4 hour layover at LAX …thank goodness! It took us over 2 hours to get through immigration and another hour for customs. We didn’t have much time to spare. From LAX, we hopped up to SFO, caught BART and Jer and Sue Duda picked us up from Del Norte station at 11:30pm. We chatted for a few hours at their home, then hit the sack. The next morning, we all went to breakfast at Alley Cafe where Sue works. After a delicious and filling meal, we left Sue there for her work shift and Jer took us to his plant, Benchmark, to give us a tour of the facilities. Then he dropped us off at the Amtrak station in Martinez where we caught the train to Sacto, then the bus to Rocklin. After enduring an hour ride with the bus driver from hell, we were glad to hit Rocklin. Ryan was waiting for us with his new love, Beth. We headed to his place and the Blooms joined us for dinner. Beth is a doll and she and Ryan seem very happy together.

We did our usual commuting from Ryan’s to Michelle’s, spending the days with Max and Karissa. Max started kindergarten the week before we arrived, and we joined him in his daily walks to and from school. Already he has a girlfriend, Jillian, who lives across the street from him. So he has a social butterfly who will help him adapt to his new environment. There is another girl in his class who lives down the street named Zoe. So lots of new friends and experiences.

His teacher, Mrs. Piazza, quickly became aware of Max’s academic abilities and put him into a special advanced reading program and was soon sending a special homework packet home with him. Michelle, meanwhile, signed up as the PTC communication representative for the class. Just before we left, Max was chosen as Star of the Week and will get to do special things in class that focus on him.

Karissa surprised us by waiting for our arrival to start walking. We celebrated her first birthday with family and friends at Rocklin Memorial Park. Bill, Rog’s brother, came by with his 2 foster children and we had a good visit.

The following week, I encouraged Karissa to walk on the grass in front of the house as we cooled off after dinner. She was soon walking around with me gently holding the back of her dress. A few days later, she began to take steps inside the house. Nice of her to let us share this milestone with her. Michelle has Karissa on a great schedule of naps and snacks. She gets up at 7 in the morning and has breakfast. At 8:15, she gets a ride in the stroller taking Max to school. At 9am, she has a small snack and takes a morning nap from 9:30 to 10:30. She has another snack at 11 and then gets in the stroller while mom walks to Antelope Creek Elementary to pick up Max. I think she gets another snack, then goes down for her afternoon nap from 12:30 to 3ish. Then a snack at 4pm, dinner with the family at 5:30, bath at 6:45, followed by a fruit snack and then bed at 7pm. She is starting to use signs for eat, dog, frog, bird, bye, more, all done and shoes. We tried to teach her “pop” for Pops and she actually used it once. She seems to share Max’s love for books and joins Max and Michelle on weekly library visits.
We took Max to the Sacramento Children’s Museum for our date. We picked him up from school and went to Brookfield’s for lunch where he enjoyed spaghetti. Then it was off to Rancho Cordova and the museum. The museum has been open one week and features a number of areas for interactive play; waterworks, raceways, careers, and an art studio. Max spent almost an hour in careers playing in the grocery store. We each took turns being the grocery clerk, then the customer.

He spent half an hour in each of the other areas and seemed to have a really good time. We stopped for ice cream and got home about 4:30. A full afternoon and lots of fun.
Max enjoyed showing Maxville to Pops and playing soccer on the front lawn. He read Junie B books and Henny Penny. We had brought him a big bag of shells, rocks and bones that he sorted through. He played his new Lego game with us and showed off his new swimming skills in Ryan’s pool.

Michelle and Eric were able to have 2 dates with us there to babysit. On their second date, they brought home a bottle of tequila and they bonded with Rog until almost 3am. Michelle has started working a couple of nights a week as bartender at Auburn Alehouse. She started 2 major projects while we were there. Rog helped her with a window seat/bench for the living room and I helped her make a pattern of her favorite dress so she could make another one just like it. Eric and Rog worked on the plumbing for the upstairs bathroom.
Meanwhile, over at Ryan’s, we played “64” and Apples to Apples. Ryan taught me how to play Angry Birds on his Ipad and we all had a great afternoon bowling at Strikes.

Ryan downloaded a new supply of movies and TV shows on my hard drive. We got to know Beth and enjoyed her cooking skills. I am happy to watch them together; obviously very much in love.
We had dinner in Auburn with the Nordstrums and Remaleys, then headed to the Nordstrum’s for an evening of “64”. Rog made a presentation for the 49er Lions and then headed to Bob Snyder’s house to pick up our front doorbell. We drove it down to Ryan’s who will take care of it for us now. We had dinner at Fat’s with Micki and Brian and met Phil and Lynda Adamson at BJ’s for lunch. Rog and I got our entire “to do” list done and even took the time to have an ice cream at Coldstone.
It was an absolutely perfect 3 weeks…great weather, fabulous kids and grandkids and wonderful friends.