Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Just in! News about Ron.
Great news! I got an email that said Ron crossed into Mexico at Brownsville last Friday. He should be here any day now. It sure will be good to see that boy again!
And life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize…
On Monday 10/4 I finally moved my home back to Kismet. Thank God! While I didn’t have any problems living up on the road it was a bit of a bother taking a 500 hundred foot bike ride for a shower every night. Plus my fresh water tank was almost empty. I could have wheel barreled a couple of 5 gallon bottles of water up the driveway and up the hill and hand pumped it into my tank. But since I’m retired and lazy… So now I’m back in my spot and a full tank and a short shower walk again. I leveled my home as best I could but it’s an inch low on the left side but that can wait until tomorrow when I have light to see my level and can a jack to make it easier. One thing that did change though, besides not having the palapa overhead, is that we knocked a concrete pillar down backing the trailer in but that’s a good thing. It really wasn’t doing anything anyway. Now I can extend my awning (am I tempting fate yet again? Some would say that the 3rd time is the charm though) and have a nice shaded sitting area right outside my door.
We’ve heard no news from Ron. Last I talked to him he was leaving for Hopkins the next day and that was 2 weeks ago. Hopefully he hasn’t left the states yet. Hopefully his 25 year old pickup truck didn’t break down or hasn’t had an accident. I’m getting worried about him and I have no way of contacting him as he doesn’t have a cell phone that works internationally. I haven’t heard anything more from Tricia other that she is having a great time visiting with Bruce. They’ve been shopping and she’s eating up a storm, filling herself with everything she hasn’t had a chance to eat in the 8 years she’s been in Belize. She is in San Francisco visiting her BFF for the next 10 days. We miss her but don’t want her to think of us and enjoy being away from Kismet for a while. Peter and his wife Myra have the place almost all spiffed up now. Another day or 2 and they will be finished. On October 8th there are 2 people coming to stay for 10 days. Maybe a Caye fishing/snorkeling trip in the near future???
Have you ever seen a million of anything? Peter and I stood and watched amazed at 30 minutes of what seemed like an endless stream of dragonflies flying over and around us in on Monday. The stream was probably 200 feet wide and hundreds of feet in the air with literally thousands in each vertical foot. They poured in from the coast and headed inland. I thought I’d seen a lot of them when I was driving from here to Houston a month or so ago but this put that sight to shame. It was an incredible sight. There had to be more than a million. So now I can say I’ve seen a million of something.
And life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
We’ve heard no news from Ron. Last I talked to him he was leaving for Hopkins the next day and that was 2 weeks ago. Hopefully he hasn’t left the states yet. Hopefully his 25 year old pickup truck didn’t break down or hasn’t had an accident. I’m getting worried about him and I have no way of contacting him as he doesn’t have a cell phone that works internationally. I haven’t heard anything more from Tricia other that she is having a great time visiting with Bruce. They’ve been shopping and she’s eating up a storm, filling herself with everything she hasn’t had a chance to eat in the 8 years she’s been in Belize. She is in San Francisco visiting her BFF for the next 10 days. We miss her but don’t want her to think of us and enjoy being away from Kismet for a while. Peter and his wife Myra have the place almost all spiffed up now. Another day or 2 and they will be finished. On October 8th there are 2 people coming to stay for 10 days. Maybe a Caye fishing/snorkeling trip in the near future???
Have you ever seen a million of anything? Peter and I stood and watched amazed at 30 minutes of what seemed like an endless stream of dragonflies flying over and around us in on Monday. The stream was probably 200 feet wide and hundreds of feet in the air with literally thousands in each vertical foot. They poured in from the coast and headed inland. I thought I’d seen a lot of them when I was driving from here to Houston a month or so ago but this put that sight to shame. It was an incredible sight. There had to be more than a million. So now I can say I’ve seen a million of something.
And life goes on for the Fatboy in Belize… As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Great news about Tricia and the non-hurricane.
Tricia was released from jail on Friday and is now in Maine! Bruce called to tell us she was on her way to his house. On Saturday I called and talked to Tricia. She said the whole matter was dropped. The reason she had been arrested was because her lawyer didn’t appear in court as he promised to and a bench warrant was issued. So she is now free and clear of all charges and will be spending 40 days in Maine and San Francisco before coming home. THANK GOD!!!
I guess I should stop extending my trailer awning. The 1st time I did it was a few days after arriving in Dangriga. I was prepared for windy days as I had purchased several of those spiral dog leash holders that screw into the ground and a couple of come-along straps to stiffen the awning. That night we had a tremendous thunderstorm that actually pulled 1 of the holders out of the ground and snapped the other. I was sure that I’d find my awning in tatters. Well today (Thursday 9/23) I partially extended it to provide a bit more shade in the afternoons. Peter came by and gave me the news that a yet to be names tropical storm was headed our way. So tonight I had to untie the awning and retract it again. What are the odds that the 2 times I’ve extended it are the 2 times huge storms have hit???
Peter and I spent Friday preparing Kismet and my trailer for Matthew. We figured we’d get everything done today so we don’t have to do it on the rain on Saturday. We moved chairs, lounges, tables, and anything else that could become missiles in hurricane force winds into the tool room or under the building. We placed my gas generator high up on the back of my trailer for when the power fails and moved my tent and screen house higher off the floor in the tool room to keep in dry in the flooding that we expect from all the rain we’ll get. We have water stored for drinking, cooking, and the toilets too. Now that I don’t have a car I worry more about the flooding. I can live with a foot of water around me but much higher and it will get into the bottom of my trailer. I’ll pack up all the things of value for a quick escape. I am always prepared for a hasty move so there’s no worry there. I didn’t mention moving my solar panels to higher ground. Someone stole them Thursday nite/Friday morning. Stupid is as stupid does though. They cut the wires to the converter box and only took the panels. Peter and I will keep a look out and an ear open. Someone will say something about them. Plus, no one has solar panels in Hopkins so they will abandon them somewhere soon enough when they find out they can’t use them. Anyway…we’re as ready as we can be for the storm.
As we sit here Friday night listening to the radio the forecast has changed. They are now predicting gale force winds and rain to start early Saturday morning with 8-12 inches of rain just on Saturday. That leaves Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday to add to the rainfall totals. I’m guessing that Tricia’s story of waist deep water in a previous story may be equaled or exceeded. We’ve already lost between 2-3 feet of beach during the incoming tide and that means the buffer that protects the Kismet property. If that’s the case my home won’t make it. I’ve gotten the important things together as well as enough clothing to last me until I can replace what I think I’ll lose. My trailer has been a wonderful home and will be a big loss for me if the worst case scenario comes true. I’m not sure what I’ll do… It’s 9pm mountain time and it just started raining very hard. The winds are what they normally would be so far. A tropical Storm warning has just been issued by the Belize government for the next 24 hours and they are recommending people in low laying coastal areas and the Cayes to begin moving to higher ground on the mainland. Our evacuation center is at mile marker 25 on the Hummingbird Hwy, just at the foot of the Mayan Mountains. Hmmm??? Any chances of mud slides???
When I woke up Saturday morning, after a night of torrential rain, I had 6” of water around my trailer and ½ of the Kismet property was underwater too. All of the bottom rooms were flooded as well. I walked to the beach side and saw that the waves were breaking over the berm and water was running down toward the back where my trailer and the flooded driveway out were. Not what I needed to see! I only needed less than a foot of water before the bottom of my trailer would start flooding. The weather forecast was still calling for up to 15” of rain between now and Wednesday. So I made the decision to move to higher ground. So after Peter and I moved the mattresses from the 2 lower rooms out to the upper deck of the cabana I went off to see if our friend Tonic was still around. He has a farm tractor and I knew he was moving his belongings to a family member’s house in Dangriga. He was already gone and his wife said he wouldn’t be back with the tractor. I asked Peter if he knew anyone and he suggested a guy who worked at Hopkins Bay Resort next door. He was available and came in short order. I had everything disconnected in short order and things in the trailer secured. What I didn’t notice was that one of the palapa support posts was between the rear of my trailer and the back tow deck on the trailer. So as the guys started pulling the trailer out the palapa started coming with it. I quickly got him stopped but the damage was already done. Peter and I got the tow deck off and the tow began again. He stopped with the rear of my trailer at the front of the palapa to make the turn into the driveway. Down came the palapa and it tore a hole in the rear wall and a jagged strip on the right rear side, both of which I’ve duct taped already. So my palapa is in a heap and will need to be removed before I can come back home. I’m across from the end of the driveway on a little used road but it’s a good 4 feet higher than I was so I’m safe now. This afternoon cleared up and we had sunny skies while I helped Peter add shoring posts to his house in case of high winds. While he was holding one of the 12 foot 6X10” beams up against the bottom of his house (8 feet off the ground) it slipped and bounced off the left side if my head. Boy did I see stars! No blood but a huge goose egg. I said it could have knocked some sense into me but Peter assured me that it didn’t because I wasn’t headed to the airport to move back to the states. (Since them I’ve cut my left foot on a conch shell and sprained and cut my big right toe. I’m the walking wounded this week!) So anyway it seems that the storm is back to being a tropical depression and there is no news on the radio about where it’s headed. But the rain is still in the forecast and that will be a big problem. Since this is the rainy season, and we’ve had plenty, any more than 10 inches of rain will flood most low laying areas of the country and ruin the crops that are ready for harvest. We’ll still keep a weather eye open and I won’t move back onto Kismet until Thursday at the earliest. Thank God the storm died before devastating Belize! We still have some clean up from the heavy rains to do here but nothing like it would have been had we gotten the 15 inches of rain and/or tropical storm/hurricane force winds. It’s Tuesday now and we’ve had some rain but not what they’ve predicted. I’m having my trailer moved back home tomorrow. It will be nice being there again even though I’m only a couple hundred feet away.
I’m in Belmopan today. I just picked up my replacement passport. Headed back to Hopkins in an hour or so.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
I guess I should stop extending my trailer awning. The 1st time I did it was a few days after arriving in Dangriga. I was prepared for windy days as I had purchased several of those spiral dog leash holders that screw into the ground and a couple of come-along straps to stiffen the awning. That night we had a tremendous thunderstorm that actually pulled 1 of the holders out of the ground and snapped the other. I was sure that I’d find my awning in tatters. Well today (Thursday 9/23) I partially extended it to provide a bit more shade in the afternoons. Peter came by and gave me the news that a yet to be names tropical storm was headed our way. So tonight I had to untie the awning and retract it again. What are the odds that the 2 times I’ve extended it are the 2 times huge storms have hit???
Peter and I spent Friday preparing Kismet and my trailer for Matthew. We figured we’d get everything done today so we don’t have to do it on the rain on Saturday. We moved chairs, lounges, tables, and anything else that could become missiles in hurricane force winds into the tool room or under the building. We placed my gas generator high up on the back of my trailer for when the power fails and moved my tent and screen house higher off the floor in the tool room to keep in dry in the flooding that we expect from all the rain we’ll get. We have water stored for drinking, cooking, and the toilets too. Now that I don’t have a car I worry more about the flooding. I can live with a foot of water around me but much higher and it will get into the bottom of my trailer. I’ll pack up all the things of value for a quick escape. I am always prepared for a hasty move so there’s no worry there. I didn’t mention moving my solar panels to higher ground. Someone stole them Thursday nite/Friday morning. Stupid is as stupid does though. They cut the wires to the converter box and only took the panels. Peter and I will keep a look out and an ear open. Someone will say something about them. Plus, no one has solar panels in Hopkins so they will abandon them somewhere soon enough when they find out they can’t use them. Anyway…we’re as ready as we can be for the storm.
As we sit here Friday night listening to the radio the forecast has changed. They are now predicting gale force winds and rain to start early Saturday morning with 8-12 inches of rain just on Saturday. That leaves Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday to add to the rainfall totals. I’m guessing that Tricia’s story of waist deep water in a previous story may be equaled or exceeded. We’ve already lost between 2-3 feet of beach during the incoming tide and that means the buffer that protects the Kismet property. If that’s the case my home won’t make it. I’ve gotten the important things together as well as enough clothing to last me until I can replace what I think I’ll lose. My trailer has been a wonderful home and will be a big loss for me if the worst case scenario comes true. I’m not sure what I’ll do… It’s 9pm mountain time and it just started raining very hard. The winds are what they normally would be so far. A tropical Storm warning has just been issued by the Belize government for the next 24 hours and they are recommending people in low laying coastal areas and the Cayes to begin moving to higher ground on the mainland. Our evacuation center is at mile marker 25 on the Hummingbird Hwy, just at the foot of the Mayan Mountains. Hmmm??? Any chances of mud slides???
When I woke up Saturday morning, after a night of torrential rain, I had 6” of water around my trailer and ½ of the Kismet property was underwater too. All of the bottom rooms were flooded as well. I walked to the beach side and saw that the waves were breaking over the berm and water was running down toward the back where my trailer and the flooded driveway out were. Not what I needed to see! I only needed less than a foot of water before the bottom of my trailer would start flooding. The weather forecast was still calling for up to 15” of rain between now and Wednesday. So I made the decision to move to higher ground. So after Peter and I moved the mattresses from the 2 lower rooms out to the upper deck of the cabana I went off to see if our friend Tonic was still around. He has a farm tractor and I knew he was moving his belongings to a family member’s house in Dangriga. He was already gone and his wife said he wouldn’t be back with the tractor. I asked Peter if he knew anyone and he suggested a guy who worked at Hopkins Bay Resort next door. He was available and came in short order. I had everything disconnected in short order and things in the trailer secured. What I didn’t notice was that one of the palapa support posts was between the rear of my trailer and the back tow deck on the trailer. So as the guys started pulling the trailer out the palapa started coming with it. I quickly got him stopped but the damage was already done. Peter and I got the tow deck off and the tow began again. He stopped with the rear of my trailer at the front of the palapa to make the turn into the driveway. Down came the palapa and it tore a hole in the rear wall and a jagged strip on the right rear side, both of which I’ve duct taped already. So my palapa is in a heap and will need to be removed before I can come back home. I’m across from the end of the driveway on a little used road but it’s a good 4 feet higher than I was so I’m safe now. This afternoon cleared up and we had sunny skies while I helped Peter add shoring posts to his house in case of high winds. While he was holding one of the 12 foot 6X10” beams up against the bottom of his house (8 feet off the ground) it slipped and bounced off the left side if my head. Boy did I see stars! No blood but a huge goose egg. I said it could have knocked some sense into me but Peter assured me that it didn’t because I wasn’t headed to the airport to move back to the states. (Since them I’ve cut my left foot on a conch shell and sprained and cut my big right toe. I’m the walking wounded this week!) So anyway it seems that the storm is back to being a tropical depression and there is no news on the radio about where it’s headed. But the rain is still in the forecast and that will be a big problem. Since this is the rainy season, and we’ve had plenty, any more than 10 inches of rain will flood most low laying areas of the country and ruin the crops that are ready for harvest. We’ll still keep a weather eye open and I won’t move back onto Kismet until Thursday at the earliest. Thank God the storm died before devastating Belize! We still have some clean up from the heavy rains to do here but nothing like it would have been had we gotten the 15 inches of rain and/or tropical storm/hurricane force winds. It’s Tuesday now and we’ve had some rain but not what they’ve predicted. I’m having my trailer moved back home tomorrow. It will be nice being there again even though I’m only a couple hundred feet away.
I’m in Belmopan today. I just picked up my replacement passport. Headed back to Hopkins in an hour or so.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Back home and a possible huricane
I finally got to sleep in my own bed Monday night (9/20)! As much as I love to travel I always look forward to my own bed and pillow after a while. I guess it’s just the feeling of home, and comfort, and peace that makes me long for it. It’s always been that way for me. Of course that won’t stop me from heading home to Orlando for Christmas or any other adventure I chose. I know my bed will be here when I get back…
Tuesday, September 21, happy birthday to Peter and to Belize. Peter is 53 and Belize is 29. Belize gained their independence from the British in 1981, although it wasn’t Belize that wanted it. Great Britain was basically bankrupt and started giving independence to those countries that were of little value. Of course they kept places like the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands because they are tourist meccas that bring in millions of tax dollars every year. Belize is the sadder for it as it has never been able to truly make anything of itself. Sad to say it will always be a poor 3rd world country. The government is corrupt and does not want its citizens to be educated basically past the 8th grade. Should the population become educated they would know what their government has done to them, kept them down trodden while lining their pockets. There are a lot of stories of government officials being caught through the years but no one seems to want to do anything about it. It’s so sad because these are a really nice, friendly people who will always be poor and have no future in our world.
Independence Day here is nothing like in the U.S. No city, town or village celebrations to speak of and no firework displays. I did see 2 BBQs here in Hopkins but that may or may not have been to celebrate their independence. There were no flags or banners, no signs, or anything. Me, I made an Independence Day seafood gumbo (crab, shrimp and snapper) and fed Peter and Felix before we went afternoon fishing. Peter took a day off from the net and used his hand line as did Felix. I was the only one who caught anything though, 2 nice size snappers, one black and 1 red, that I gave to Peter and 1 black that I threw back to get bigger. I’ll catch him another day. We all had a good time though. We were done by 6pm and Peter and Felix went home to his birthday meatloaf (his favorite) and hopefully a chocolate cake.
Fishing has been iffy for everyone the past 2 weeks. Some of it is due to the weather, including Tropical Storm Karl and several other days of heavy rains. The recession, and lack of tourists, has put many people out of work including Myra. I’ve never seen so many men throwing net and hand line fishing just to put food on their family table since I moved here. The lagoon is crowded in the evening. They are keeping the smallest of fish. Fish they would have released in the past. It’s sad to see. Monday night, my 1st fishing trip, resulted in a really nice catfish and a decent snapper, both of which I gave to Peter. My freezer is still full so I don’t need fish. But, as any fisherman knows, it’s fun to just get out there and catch and release if nothing else. For me it’s very relaxing. Of course, since I’m not feeding a family, I don’t have the pressure to catch anything so I guess that has a bit to do with it. Tuesday the fishing picked up for both Peter and me. I got a couple of snappers both in the morning evening sessions. In the evening we both stayed after everyone else left and Peter made a killing in stone bass, snook and mullet, probably 35-40 pounds. So he’ll have a nice payday on Wednesday after he cleans them.
Peter and Myra are running Kismet and doing a great job of it. They plan to serve breakfast lunch and dinner as well and will begin advertising that fact in the next couple of days. It’s been a long time dream of Peter’s to have a place serving fish fillet sandwiches. Now he has the opportunity to fulfill his dream. Myra has cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom and Peter and his son Felix are clearing overgrown vegetation all around the property and have raked the beach. Kismet is looking nice again. Sad to say things had not been done since Steve and the bad boys came and the upsetment with them. I know it was hard on Tricia, which put her in a funk, and kept her from hiring people to do the necessary yard work. Now that’s taken care of and all she has to worry about is herself.
According to the weather reports it looks like we will be under a hurricane in a couple of days. Right now it's a tropical depression (#15) that is slated to hit Nicaragua and Honduras and head north over Guatemala, Belize and the MX Yucatan. The forecast has it as a category 1 until it hits the Gulf Of Mexico and then building as it heads toward the U.S. Hopefully we'll be OK. I guess I better start filling sand bags because the water table is very high right now and is just inches below the surface.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Tuesday, September 21, happy birthday to Peter and to Belize. Peter is 53 and Belize is 29. Belize gained their independence from the British in 1981, although it wasn’t Belize that wanted it. Great Britain was basically bankrupt and started giving independence to those countries that were of little value. Of course they kept places like the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands because they are tourist meccas that bring in millions of tax dollars every year. Belize is the sadder for it as it has never been able to truly make anything of itself. Sad to say it will always be a poor 3rd world country. The government is corrupt and does not want its citizens to be educated basically past the 8th grade. Should the population become educated they would know what their government has done to them, kept them down trodden while lining their pockets. There are a lot of stories of government officials being caught through the years but no one seems to want to do anything about it. It’s so sad because these are a really nice, friendly people who will always be poor and have no future in our world.
Independence Day here is nothing like in the U.S. No city, town or village celebrations to speak of and no firework displays. I did see 2 BBQs here in Hopkins but that may or may not have been to celebrate their independence. There were no flags or banners, no signs, or anything. Me, I made an Independence Day seafood gumbo (crab, shrimp and snapper) and fed Peter and Felix before we went afternoon fishing. Peter took a day off from the net and used his hand line as did Felix. I was the only one who caught anything though, 2 nice size snappers, one black and 1 red, that I gave to Peter and 1 black that I threw back to get bigger. I’ll catch him another day. We all had a good time though. We were done by 6pm and Peter and Felix went home to his birthday meatloaf (his favorite) and hopefully a chocolate cake.
Fishing has been iffy for everyone the past 2 weeks. Some of it is due to the weather, including Tropical Storm Karl and several other days of heavy rains. The recession, and lack of tourists, has put many people out of work including Myra. I’ve never seen so many men throwing net and hand line fishing just to put food on their family table since I moved here. The lagoon is crowded in the evening. They are keeping the smallest of fish. Fish they would have released in the past. It’s sad to see. Monday night, my 1st fishing trip, resulted in a really nice catfish and a decent snapper, both of which I gave to Peter. My freezer is still full so I don’t need fish. But, as any fisherman knows, it’s fun to just get out there and catch and release if nothing else. For me it’s very relaxing. Of course, since I’m not feeding a family, I don’t have the pressure to catch anything so I guess that has a bit to do with it. Tuesday the fishing picked up for both Peter and me. I got a couple of snappers both in the morning evening sessions. In the evening we both stayed after everyone else left and Peter made a killing in stone bass, snook and mullet, probably 35-40 pounds. So he’ll have a nice payday on Wednesday after he cleans them.
Peter and Myra are running Kismet and doing a great job of it. They plan to serve breakfast lunch and dinner as well and will begin advertising that fact in the next couple of days. It’s been a long time dream of Peter’s to have a place serving fish fillet sandwiches. Now he has the opportunity to fulfill his dream. Myra has cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom and Peter and his son Felix are clearing overgrown vegetation all around the property and have raked the beach. Kismet is looking nice again. Sad to say things had not been done since Steve and the bad boys came and the upsetment with them. I know it was hard on Tricia, which put her in a funk, and kept her from hiring people to do the necessary yard work. Now that’s taken care of and all she has to worry about is herself.
According to the weather reports it looks like we will be under a hurricane in a couple of days. Right now it's a tropical depression (#15) that is slated to hit Nicaragua and Honduras and head north over Guatemala, Belize and the MX Yucatan. The forecast has it as a category 1 until it hits the Gulf Of Mexico and then building as it heads toward the U.S. Hopefully we'll be OK. I guess I better start filling sand bags because the water table is very high right now and is just inches below the surface.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Almost in Hopkins and Tricia update
Hmmm… As soon as I cleared customs and immigration in Belize I placed a call to Peter to see if he’d heard from our friend Tricia. It seems that she was arrested in Miami on 3very serious federal charges. He said she thought she was safe because of the statute of limitations having expired in New York. She’s been out of the states for 8 years. Well it seems there is no limitation on federal crimes so she was on a watch list and they got her as she stepped off the plane.. He didn’t know the particulars about the crimes though. Her arraignment is set for September 24th and he has been trying to arrange for a lawyer for her. My guess is she will have to use a court appointed lawyer though since she is basically broke. And, since the charges are federal, she is still in Miami and her trial will be held in the federal court in Dade County. With her past history she is a flight risk so it doesn’t look like bail is a possibility either. Another thing Peter said was that he was told the court is severely backed up and it could be a year before her trial. Not a good thing!!! We need our friend Tricia back at Kismet.
I had a 2nd phone conversation with Peter later Sunday night and he said that he and his wife Myra are taking care of Kismet. Either he or she spends the night there and Myra, when she isn’t working, is the cook for anyone wanting dinner. He’s also been keeping up with email reservations from her website. So that’s one less worry for Tricia. Ron and I talked on the phone as well. He’s still in Omaha but is planning to drive back starting at noon on Monday. He bout an 86 Toyota pick up truck that he said is severe;y overloaded with the tools that he is bringing down now that he is making Belize his permanent home. So we should see him in about a week or so. It will be nice to have him back again and he will be a big help around Kismet as well.
Peter also said that Steve is checking into a drug treatment clinic in Cancun on Monday. He’s working out the payment arrangements. Hopefully he will be diligent and listen to what he’ sees and hears in the group and private sessions and takes it to heart and turns his life around.
Now that all that is out of the way… I’m almost back home in Hopkins. The bus ride to Belize city was fine, not up to the ADO (Mexican company) standards but comfortable and 2 I met a German couple who live in a small house behind the Wind Chief Bar in Hopkins, and 2 young girls, Australian medical students, who will be working for 2 months in the cancer clinic in Dangriga. We got to Belize City at 2:15pm, just missing the 2:30pm Maya Island Air flight to Dangriga because it’s a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport. So I was forced to sit for 2 hours until the 4:30 flight. That also meant that I would miss the 5pm because the flight gets into Riga too late for a taxi ride to the bus depot and last Hopkins bus of the day. I wanting to sleep in my own bed Sunday night but it galled me to pony up US$60 for a cab, when the bus costs only US$3.50. So I spent the night at Val’s Guest Hostel (where I’d spent so many hours using the internet keeping up with all of you) for US$10.50 and had a fried chicken for dinner (US$2.50) a spent a nice quiet night watching the 3:47 hour 1962 movie “Lawrence of Arabia” starring Peter O’Toole. As a side note I last saw that movie when I was 11, growing up in Oak Lawn. I remember my Mom taking the 7 of us kids to Walgreen’s Drug store every Saturday and giving us 25 cents for candy (you could buy 5 candy bars for a quarter then) and dropping us off for the day at the Coral Theater with the 25 or 50 cent admission (I can’t remember) and enough money to buy a soda. Those were the days of double feature movies and a cartoon or 2. Its one of my fond memories of growing up. Anyway, the taxi driver who brought me to Val’s from the airport told me he was headed for Hopkins Monday morning to pick someone up so he offered to bring me home for US$10 at 9:30am in the morning and I took him up on it. I’ll hit the vegetable market before hand and stock up on fruit and veggie. Later in the morning Peter will drop off the fishing gear that I lent to Joe and James before I left and, later today,I’ll be happily fishing in the lagoon again! It’s the one thing I continually miss when I’m away from home.
And…I’ll be finally be sleeping in my own bed tonight!
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
I had a 2nd phone conversation with Peter later Sunday night and he said that he and his wife Myra are taking care of Kismet. Either he or she spends the night there and Myra, when she isn’t working, is the cook for anyone wanting dinner. He’s also been keeping up with email reservations from her website. So that’s one less worry for Tricia. Ron and I talked on the phone as well. He’s still in Omaha but is planning to drive back starting at noon on Monday. He bout an 86 Toyota pick up truck that he said is severe;y overloaded with the tools that he is bringing down now that he is making Belize his permanent home. So we should see him in about a week or so. It will be nice to have him back again and he will be a big help around Kismet as well.
Peter also said that Steve is checking into a drug treatment clinic in Cancun on Monday. He’s working out the payment arrangements. Hopefully he will be diligent and listen to what he’ sees and hears in the group and private sessions and takes it to heart and turns his life around.
Now that all that is out of the way… I’m almost back home in Hopkins. The bus ride to Belize city was fine, not up to the ADO (Mexican company) standards but comfortable and 2 I met a German couple who live in a small house behind the Wind Chief Bar in Hopkins, and 2 young girls, Australian medical students, who will be working for 2 months in the cancer clinic in Dangriga. We got to Belize City at 2:15pm, just missing the 2:30pm Maya Island Air flight to Dangriga because it’s a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport. So I was forced to sit for 2 hours until the 4:30 flight. That also meant that I would miss the 5pm because the flight gets into Riga too late for a taxi ride to the bus depot and last Hopkins bus of the day. I wanting to sleep in my own bed Sunday night but it galled me to pony up US$60 for a cab, when the bus costs only US$3.50. So I spent the night at Val’s Guest Hostel (where I’d spent so many hours using the internet keeping up with all of you) for US$10.50 and had a fried chicken for dinner (US$2.50) a spent a nice quiet night watching the 3:47 hour 1962 movie “Lawrence of Arabia” starring Peter O’Toole. As a side note I last saw that movie when I was 11, growing up in Oak Lawn. I remember my Mom taking the 7 of us kids to Walgreen’s Drug store every Saturday and giving us 25 cents for candy (you could buy 5 candy bars for a quarter then) and dropping us off for the day at the Coral Theater with the 25 or 50 cent admission (I can’t remember) and enough money to buy a soda. Those were the days of double feature movies and a cartoon or 2. Its one of my fond memories of growing up. Anyway, the taxi driver who brought me to Val’s from the airport told me he was headed for Hopkins Monday morning to pick someone up so he offered to bring me home for US$10 at 9:30am in the morning and I took him up on it. I’ll hit the vegetable market before hand and stock up on fruit and veggie. Later in the morning Peter will drop off the fishing gear that I lent to Joe and James before I left and, later today,I’ll be happily fishing in the lagoon again! It’s the one thing I continually miss when I’m away from home.
And…I’ll be finally be sleeping in my own bed tonight!
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
On the road again...
We’ve still heard nothing of Tricia or her whereabouts and it’s very frustrating!
Thanks again Pat, Reese, and family for making me feel so at home in Houston! Monday 9/13 was my Cajun food day and I had 2 very delicious dishes, 2 of my favorites too. Seafood Gumbo and Crawfish Ettufee. Sadly it was at my 2nd choice of restaurants, Boudreaux, because, after all the time I’ve spent in Houston since October of last year, I didn’t know that there was a Pappadeau’s right around the corner from Boudreaux. I LOVE Pappa’s! I was a constant diner when we lived in Alpharetta GA. I’ve eaten tens of dozens of oysters on the ½ shell, gallons of Ettufee and Gumbo, tens of pounds of boiled crawfish as well as other delicacies from their menu. And Tuesday was my BBQ and chili cheese dog day. Now I’ve fulfilled my food bucket list for this trip to the states…
Tropical Storm Karl made my travel plans for me. Wednesday 9/15 was my flight to Cancun and also the day the storm came ashore near Chetumal MX, closing the roads to the north and south. So I stayed in the Kimbe Hotel Wednesday through Saturday. I figured that if there was flooding it may take a few days to subside and I didn’t want to hit the floods in some small village and not have a place to stay. Since I was familiar with Playa Del Carmen from my adventures with my brother Dave I thought it as good a place as any to ride out the storm. Playa did have some rain and thunder on Wednesday night and most of the day Thursday but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the city. Friday night I thought that I would treat myself and had a lobster and sirloin dinner with a nice salad, and a slice of strawberry cheese cake (and I’m not a dessert eater!) and an excellent bottle of Merlot. Yes…a bottle all to myself! And I felt it by the time I got back to the hotel too! Saturday 9/18 was my bus ride day. I wasn’t sure of the schedule so I didn’t know how far I’d make it. I caught a 1:20pm buss and 5 hours later found myself in Chetumal, another place Dave and I are familiar with. Since there were no buses to Belize City I checked into the Holiday Inn that we stayed in, and Dave checked into again when I was a guest to the Corozol jail for a night. I had a wonderful Chicken Mole’ dinner and hit the hay early to make up for the sleep that I missed Friday night. Yes, I don’t sleep well when I’ve been drinking…. My bus to Belize City leaves at 11:45am. Hopefully I will be sleeping in my own bed Sunday night.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Thanks again Pat, Reese, and family for making me feel so at home in Houston! Monday 9/13 was my Cajun food day and I had 2 very delicious dishes, 2 of my favorites too. Seafood Gumbo and Crawfish Ettufee. Sadly it was at my 2nd choice of restaurants, Boudreaux, because, after all the time I’ve spent in Houston since October of last year, I didn’t know that there was a Pappadeau’s right around the corner from Boudreaux. I LOVE Pappa’s! I was a constant diner when we lived in Alpharetta GA. I’ve eaten tens of dozens of oysters on the ½ shell, gallons of Ettufee and Gumbo, tens of pounds of boiled crawfish as well as other delicacies from their menu. And Tuesday was my BBQ and chili cheese dog day. Now I’ve fulfilled my food bucket list for this trip to the states…
Tropical Storm Karl made my travel plans for me. Wednesday 9/15 was my flight to Cancun and also the day the storm came ashore near Chetumal MX, closing the roads to the north and south. So I stayed in the Kimbe Hotel Wednesday through Saturday. I figured that if there was flooding it may take a few days to subside and I didn’t want to hit the floods in some small village and not have a place to stay. Since I was familiar with Playa Del Carmen from my adventures with my brother Dave I thought it as good a place as any to ride out the storm. Playa did have some rain and thunder on Wednesday night and most of the day Thursday but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the city. Friday night I thought that I would treat myself and had a lobster and sirloin dinner with a nice salad, and a slice of strawberry cheese cake (and I’m not a dessert eater!) and an excellent bottle of Merlot. Yes…a bottle all to myself! And I felt it by the time I got back to the hotel too! Saturday 9/18 was my bus ride day. I wasn’t sure of the schedule so I didn’t know how far I’d make it. I caught a 1:20pm buss and 5 hours later found myself in Chetumal, another place Dave and I are familiar with. Since there were no buses to Belize City I checked into the Holiday Inn that we stayed in, and Dave checked into again when I was a guest to the Corozol jail for a night. I had a wonderful Chicken Mole’ dinner and hit the hay early to make up for the sleep that I missed Friday night. Yes, I don’t sleep well when I’ve been drinking…. My bus to Belize City leaves at 11:45am. Hopefully I will be sleeping in my own bed Sunday night.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Stagecoach TX and the Coyles
Still no further word on Tricia’s whereabouts or what’s happening to her…
I reached the Coyle homestead around 7pm central on Friday 9/10. What a relief after so long a drive. It wouldn’t have been ½ bad if you didn’t have to be aware of the pothole, and in some cases the crater, danger every minute of the drive. Even on the best of roads they appeared. It made the drive mentally exhausting. Now that I’m in Stagecoach TX I can finally relax and get some rest, at least until Tuesday 9/14 when I’ll turn in my car and head for a hotel near the airport for my 5:45am flight on Wednesday. Until then I’m thoroughly enjoying the Coyle hospitality and I did a bit of shopping to fill my extra suitcase with goodies to bring back with me. A nice tender (unknown to Belizeans) steak, some buffalo wings, and Cajun food are on my “must have before I leave” menu too.
My living quarters at Pat’s house is their tour bus. It’s opulence I absolutely makes my trailer seem dismal! It’s very roomy (at least 2ce the size of my trailer), very nicely furnished, and very comfortable. And what I could do with all the storage onboard!!! But…I look at it as the more room you have the more you have to clean. And that would take away from my lazing about every day.
In the past 2 days I’ve taken 2 of my must have foods from my list. On Saturday night Pat, Reese and I went out for dinner and has an absolutely delicious porterhouse steak, salad and loaded baked potato and an appetizer of deep fried pickle spears. That was an unexpected treat! Today, Sunday, while watching Houston demolish the Indianapolis Colts we had chicken wings. In the next 2 days I’ll be looking for my Cajun food as well as my obligatory chili cheese dog.
Sunday is a day of rest and I’ve spent most of it napping. I was also treated to a thunder storm. I’ve always slept extra soundly whenever I hear the thunder roll. I don’t know why. It’s just soothing to me.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!
I reached the Coyle homestead around 7pm central on Friday 9/10. What a relief after so long a drive. It wouldn’t have been ½ bad if you didn’t have to be aware of the pothole, and in some cases the crater, danger every minute of the drive. Even on the best of roads they appeared. It made the drive mentally exhausting. Now that I’m in Stagecoach TX I can finally relax and get some rest, at least until Tuesday 9/14 when I’ll turn in my car and head for a hotel near the airport for my 5:45am flight on Wednesday. Until then I’m thoroughly enjoying the Coyle hospitality and I did a bit of shopping to fill my extra suitcase with goodies to bring back with me. A nice tender (unknown to Belizeans) steak, some buffalo wings, and Cajun food are on my “must have before I leave” menu too.
My living quarters at Pat’s house is their tour bus. It’s opulence I absolutely makes my trailer seem dismal! It’s very roomy (at least 2ce the size of my trailer), very nicely furnished, and very comfortable. And what I could do with all the storage onboard!!! But…I look at it as the more room you have the more you have to clean. And that would take away from my lazing about every day.
In the past 2 days I’ve taken 2 of my must have foods from my list. On Saturday night Pat, Reese and I went out for dinner and has an absolutely delicious porterhouse steak, salad and loaded baked potato and an appetizer of deep fried pickle spears. That was an unexpected treat! Today, Sunday, while watching Houston demolish the Indianapolis Colts we had chicken wings. In the next 2 days I’ll be looking for my Cajun food as well as my obligatory chili cheese dog.
Sunday is a day of rest and I’ve spent most of it napping. I was also treated to a thunder storm. I’ve always slept extra soundly whenever I hear the thunder roll. I don’t know why. It’s just soothing to me.
As always, stay well, keep happy, and practice peace. I am!!!