BBQ Turkey this Thanksgiving?

I'm a Connecticut Yankee when it comes to Thanksgiving. You have to do the bird and you have to prepare it the way your family always has. This was quickly embraced by my Mexican family- who love all things food and who really had
nothing to do on Thanksgiving day anyway. So we do the whole traditional feast every year, right down to the cream puffs. It's the only day they use a fork and knife because they want to, not just because "Gregorio" looks at you funny when you eat Stuffing and Gravy off your plate with a tortilla instead of a fork.

Last year I did two Turkeys. One traditional Woooosh: Oven Roasted with Sausage Stuffing, and the second I did with the same stuffing, but it was on cooked on the BBQ.

To BBQ a turkey you need to "butterfly" it so it lays flat. On a turkey that means using a meat cleaver or a serious pair of poultry shears.

Then you insert the stuffing between the skin and the meat with your hands. Even the legs and thighs get stuffed.

An 18 pound turkey, butterflied and stuffed, covered the complete surface of my gas grill. You leave the cover down and let it roast slowly. The smell was amazing (I used our own Rosemary as an aromatic).

I don't know if I would do it again, it was a messy process... but it was enjoyed by everyone. The stuffing keeps the meat very moist.

... and- we still had the "original style" bird for the purists.

Waterboarding and Abuse in Rosarito

Fulano du Tal writes a blog for the San Diego Reader. This entry is about my nephew Tavo (Gustavo) who was tortured by the Mexican Military here in Rosarito Beach.

Waterboarding and Abuse in Rosarito

By Fulano deTal | Posted July 1, 2011, 12:35 a.m.

Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning. Although a variety of specific techniques are used in waterboarding, the captive's face is usually covered with cloth or some other thin material, and the subject is immobilized on his back. Water is then poured onto the face over the breathing passages, causing an almost immediate gag reflex and creating the sensation that the captive is drowning.

An American expatriate who has been living in Rosarito for the last seven years in a mixed American/Mexican household tells this chilling story of what happened to his Mexican nephew in Rosarito on June 23, 2011. Here is his story.

I'm not sure how to write this without someone thinking I am pushing an agenda one way or the other. I just write what is going on around me and take the hits. Last month a cousin in Ciudad Juarez was kidnapped and beheaded for not paying extortion money on his restaurant. Last week my adult nephew here in Rosarito was actually water-boarded by the Mexican military. What is going on with this place? I know few tourists are impacted by this stuff- but most real Mexican families are.

My nephew came over to the house today and twice blurted out this story, in Spanish and English, so he and I could be sure I understood it. He has bruises on his body and his ribs are taped up. He was at a friend's house last Thursday night drinking beer outside with a fire. They heard a gunshot (no- it's not them). About five minutes later the Rosarito municipal police roll up, and seeing a small party figure it's they who fired the gunshot.

They opened the house door voluntarily to let the police in to look around and they didn't find any gun or drugs. Then the Mexican military rolls up and comes into the house while the Rosarito police are still there. Next the Rosarito tourist police showed up, but did not enter. The Mexican military were all wearing masks, as well as all but one Rosarito municipal police officer..

First my nephew was put up against the wall and kidney punched from behind by the military, who demanded to know where the guns were. The two other men with my nephew were also handcuffed and hit in the stomach with rifle butts. The military kept wanting to know where the gun was, and when no gun was found they then wanted to know where the drugs were.

The military were hitting my nephew and his friends on the face and chest, but not beating them too badly at that point. One of my nephew's friends was vomiting because he was hit so hard in the gut.

Then the military apparently decided my nephew was being "too quiet" and must have more information. They took off his handcuffs and laid him down outside on the patio. He is a big and powerful man and it took four of them to hold him down. By this time the Rosarito municipal police were shaking their heads at all the unnecessary abuse and said to each other, "they were just drinking beer- they don't have and gun or drugs- let's go".

All but one Rosarito municipal policeman left the house and went outside and didn't watch after that. The Mexican soldiers kept my nephew pinned down, pulled his T-shirt up over his head and then poured water from a pan over his nose and mouth. The soldiers took the pan from the sink. It held soapy water with food scraps used to wash dishes and poured that into his mouth through his T-shirt.

My nephew said he did OK at first, but then became very panicked with the second pan of water, and he tried to throw the soldiers off of him. That's when they broke his ribs with a rifle butt. He started screaming very loudly and he thinks the soldiers then became afraid all the neighbors would hear what was happening, so they just left.

Solar Heat Install

When the gas heater for the pool broke down I decided to look at the new solar options. Our veranda has the perfect southwest orientation to the sun but has Mexican clay tiles. The new solar systems are flexible to go over and down the humps in the tiles. We laid everything out on the ground and Emilio and my worker Alberto did the roof install.

I was in my "office" re-plumbing the pool PVC. The brain of the solar system connects to the water valves and a variable speed pump. When the tubes on roof get hot, the water valve turns to divert some waterfall water up to the solar tubes. Pool water has been 80-83 degrees since June and it wasn't a particularly hot or sunny summer. The variable speed pump saves energy over a single or two speed pump.

So, You think You've got Neighborhood Problems?

So, you think you've got neighborhood problems?

I've been surfing Rosarito Beach in Northern Baja Mexico since the early 1980's. It's only 20 miles south of San Diego. Back then the main street was dirt and there were more horses on it than cars. I had a '66 VW Transporter (Mr. Bus) I had driven to San Diego after the snow melted in Colorado. Mr. Bus loved Baja. Even then Rosarito was a spring break haven and "Papas and Beer" was a well known mega-club on the sand. We'd get chased off private surf spots by the police-have a few beers, and everything was good. One friend of a friend had a place at K38 we could crash at (38 kilometers from the US border) and anyone who knows surfing- knows that place is just pure funnnn. Home of the fish taco too. Really. They park commissary trucks outfitted as mobile taco shops alongside the free road, put out an awning and a roadside sign- and they were good to go. Amazing fried fish tacos and local lobster burritos. You were always scared the first time you ate at one of these places- when you find a good one you always stick with it. After a long surf session you were fried from the sun and dog tired and this food really hit the spot every time- and still does for me. Within 10 miles I have the origin of both the Caesar Salad and Fish Taco. Take that San Fran foodies.

Here we are today-some 30 years later, with a family house in Rosarito Beach. Crazy world huh? The house is on the same sandy beach we used to surf. Papas and Beer is just a little ways down the same beach. We have six labs (One chocolate, two white, three black) and four Kestrel falcons for the time being (just released one last week). We really love living here. Yeah- there are things you go through down here you just wouldn't put up with in the USA. Bu that's part of the adventure. Yeah- the country is run by narcos and drug money. Everything bad you hear is probably true, and you need to keep your head up all the time- but we'll never regret building the house here in Baja instead of in Argentina or Costa Rica even. Not that we didn't think about it.

A recent survey said 70% of Americans who live in Mexico give back to their local community. We're no different- but in hindsight I should have chosen a path with less resistance. We really weren't expecting any resistance when we took on the cause of protecting the beach out front. They have no zoning or coastal commission yet to regulate what happens along the coast. Many people get booted off land they thought they owned. Many others wake one day to see a building going up in front of them on the sand. That's pretty much what happened to us- the condo project location didn't even make sense- which made matters worse. It wasn't a smart project- far from it. So we decided to draw a line in the sand- before it got directly in front of us.

Protecting the beach became our cause and crusade. As we saw more beach land being gobbled, we wondered out loud what happens when nothing is left to walk on and how do you save some to use as, well- a "beach". The beach is one of those things people take for granted until they run into a barbed-wire fence one day. People will say "Oh yeah- that's federal zone you can't build on that", but when you point out anew condo tower- they just shrug. This is Mexico. Anything can be done if you have the connections and money.

It turns out there is a legal way to protect a piece of beach from development. Once the high-tide line moves inland with beach erosion- more and more beach becomes "Federal Maritime Zone". They measure it every couple years. When land is taken over by the Federal Zone it changes from private to public ownership and no previous land titles are valid- you have to get a Federal land title called a land Concession. These are only issued by Mexico City, they are good for 15 years, and every year you pay for it. There are different types of concessions with priorities for each type. Here we had a huge advantage. If you are a Mexican citizen (Alonzo) holding clear title to land impacted directly by the ocean (our house getting hit by wave water)- you are #1 in priority if you apply for the Concession in front of your property- ahead of any developers and speculators. Very few Mexicans have the money to do the surveys and hire the architects to apply for the concession. Our neighbors aren't all Mexican either, but we all wanted to protect the beach- so we pooled our money and applied for more and more beach area to protect. The federal agency who issues the land titles is called PROFEPA. IN 2006 they certified the beach for "recreational use with priority given to conservation" so that helped applications get approved and we have the titles in Alonzo's name.

So you get the titles protecting the beach and that should be the end of the story. But this is Mexico and some people see a building on every inch of beach if it means money for them. Oceanfront real estate is big money and not much else is selling these days. We never once approached this as an "American trying to save the beach for Mexicans" thing, we just wanted to keep the beach clean, safe accessible and free for everyone. The Rosaritenses (as the people of Rosarito are called) work hard when they can find jobs- but the tourism is way down and Baja is double the cost of living as mainland Mexico. Times are hard so the beach should be easy and free for them. Everyone is entitled to spend a day with their family for free and What is Rosarito Beach without the Beach? Right.

Well, things didn't go as planned, at least not yet anyways. We're dealing with professional squatters, illegal condo towers, and some simple violence. It all got a little messy, so we decided to document the struggle to protect the beach in a YouTube video. We did two videos with English subtitles and are still working on the final Spanish version. The narration on the short version is just a reading of the text boxes. The longer video is "private" because we don't want to embarrass the Rosarito Police or judicial system- we just want a solution.

I hope you enjoy the videos. Go to YouTube user: BajaLabs

An Oyster and Beer Monday

Yesterday was all about Oysters and Soft Shell Crab "Po'Boys".

A friend dropped off a case of oysters. Most of them are "doubles- you open and eat one oyster- then flip it over and do it again. Makes a nice little stand to make a photo easier too. The topping is my specialty: bacon, onion, sweet red peppers, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, red chiles, honey and garlic.

I made some baked stuffed clams and a tres leches cake. The Tres Leches cake will get it's own post... maybe manana.

It became apparent around noon today I wasn't going to get much done around the house. Our two-day-a-week painter Alberto- did one green wall outdoors and then saw the remaining oysters. My nephew Emilio started the day with a piece of the tres leches cake and then moved onto the oysters. Geeesh. So today it's Baja leftovers- Ice cold oysters and whatever beer is left in the house. Alonzo's still in bed (it's only 2:30 pm on a Monday after all) so we called another nephew over to finish off everything before the house smells like a Rhode Island clam bog and wakes Alonzo up. No point wasting fresh oysters. (They were killer fried yesterday too).

Enjoy your Monday! We are. (Thanks again for the case of oysters Andy-buddy!)

The Sunday BBQ turns to Baked Clams, Ceviche and Monsters.

I needed a break from making the Sunday BBQ about serving up the gringo Burgers and Ribs in Baja- so we are making a switch for a few weeks to enjoy the fruits of our local fishing village - Popotla. It's only five minutes southm the house. The fishing pangas are used as much for smuggling people across to San Diego as they are for fishing. People pay $5000 each to get a white-knuckle boat ride. There is isn't anyone in my family you could pay $5000 to take that death trip, let alone pay for it. Popotla is just behind the huge water tank they used for the movie Titanic at the Fox Baja Studios. It's a locals place- the tourists go to the Lobster Village next to it called Puerto Nuevo.

My nephew Emilio and I headed over there early last Sunday to greet the fishing boats as they returned. I was sure we could get the fresh Talapia for the ceviche and a few dozen "chocolate" clams I could stuff

and bake like my Dad used to.

What I wasn't sure about was this talk about the "monstros" as they call them. When my nephew described them to me- al lI could think of was Crab. SCORE! Most people only see crab legs a bright red because they are always cooked and frozen right on board the crab boats. These were alive and blue in color and most Mexicans are scared to death of them. Lucky for us. This day they only had two small ones... $5 for both. You gotta wonder why people pay $25 for a deep fried lobster tail in Puerto Nuevo when you can eat King Crab for $5. We aren't going to tell anyone... We do need to go back and get some big ones these little guys are not even 'prince crabs". They only get a few of the big ones on each boat.

We made two ceviches- the one on the left is the traditional fish, the one of the left is called Agua Chiles (raw shrimp marinated in lime juice blender with Habenero peppers). You start with a Tostada, spread a little Mayo on top (yes mayo) of the tostada and then add the Ceviche or Shrimp Agua Chile, some diced avocado and a bottled hot sauce salsa.

Tomorrows BBQ is all about Oysters and Soft Shell crab. We have friends bringing six dozen oysters over and I have the soft shell crabs in the freezer. We'll do them New Orleans style fried as PorBoy sandwiches, make some Oysters Rockefeller and maybe do some grilled ones.

I have a tres leches cake in the oven (takes a day to absorb all the milks) and made some Chocolate and Pistaccio topped English Toffee. Yes, It's all about food and family. (Dana- we are enjoying your birthday cake here! Happy 30th!)

Reviving The Long Stagnant Blog

(picture: "Marley" had nothing on our 9 month old Junior. A mix of menace and amazement. Wicked smart and does things our other dogs have never done- like just swim around and hang out on the pool edge.)

Yeah, I know. It's been almost a year since I posted. I really admire my blogger-friends who get to it every single day or at least twice a week even. I am pathetic when it comes to this. Truly. But I hate paying for something I don't use anymore. Don't we all. So I'm going to give it a shot again.

It's not going to be all fun and cheery- not that life anywhere these days is. I think I am safer here being focused on my surroundings from a security perspective than being complacent about my safety stateside. You have to keep your head up here. Throw in the bad economy and lack of tourists here and some people get desperate and property crimes are way up. Baja is almost twice as expensive than mainland Mexico- everything costs more. That's only fine when you are making more to offset it. No one is making it here right now and funny thing- it is much safer than two years ago. Much. It's really too bad for the people- but the people don't expect much from their government and Mexico doesn't disappoint.

You take a CT Yankee and stick him into third-world Mexico retirement and there's bound to be some value-based conflicts. Ya think? But life in Mexico is never about what happens to you outside of the home. No one talks about their jobs or even what they do down here. It's just not important. Families are very private down here. We lived here six years and never saw one neighbor until the 7.2 earthquake on easter shook and everyone went outside. Even still we didn't talk with them- just a wave. So life here is about what happens with your family and friends behind your locked doors and gates. The other stuff doesn't really matter much.

Like most Latin American countries, people keep their houses very plain on the outside with little hint of what lifestyle lays beyond the door. I remember walking around Amsterdam and everyone has their window curtains open so people on the street down below can enjoy the decorations. That's considered window-shopping down here. We don't even have any first floor windows- once you put bars on them you feel like the one in jail. No thanks. We made it a walled compound so we could relax inside- the labs, the birds, the nieces and nephews swimming with the labs in the pool. Our house is a lot like an Italian house on Weekends- everyone comes over for food and the beach- OK it's for the food. The beach is clean, safe and free, food down here is cheap enough and it's great to see my family relax and enjoy a day with us here. Alonzo has 13 brothers and sisters so there's no shortage of relatives who drop by and that's why the two of us built such a big house. I was raised in a small family and the huge family thing is great. We've been together 15 years and it's been great watching all the kids grow up and start their own families. Most of men in Alonzo's family work for the railroad in Torreon Mexico with the help of a family member in the head office. The ladies def do more of the travelling and visiting. Hopping on a bus to visit a relative here (18 hours) is no big deal to them at all and they do it all the time- loaded with kids clothing to exchange.

Land Banditos try land grab for our FMZ Concession.

Mexico is a curious country when it comes to real estate transactions. Non-Mexicans can't hold clear title to property within 12 miles of the border or within twelve miles of the coast- so Gringos must use "bank trusts" and pay middle people every year. Shuffling paperwork is an artform here. Documents are often altered- so you can't always be sure you bought the land from the actual owner.

Hundreds of Americans and Canadians have lost their homes in coastal Mexico because another person showed up a decade later claiming to be the true owner of the land-and they now want it back. People's retirement homes were stripped of everything valuable or sellable overnight while police kept the owners at bay. True story and not good. And just like stateside in New Orleans- there is no shame in Mexico for being a good crook. Alonzo is a Mexican national- so we were able to get clear title to our land with no problem. Once we had the clear "escritu" title in hand- we built, not before.

At the same time Mexico seriously encourages real estate investment by Americans. 12,000 Americans live in Rosarito Beach- a half hour drive south of San Diego.

Yet the Trump Baja investors lost $30 Million in advaace deposits on his Rosarito Beach Condotel project last year. In Mexico you put 30% down at purchase of your home or condo and the balance at delivery. There are no completion bonds- so the money you put downis building the unit for the last guy who bought. I should think The Donald would have a pretty good legal team and he got scalped. . Mortgages are few (weak foreclosure laws so few banks lend) and most transactions are cash.

Smoke, Fires and Hurricanes... oh my

The smoke from the LA and Ensenada fires has been thick in the air- becoming part of the heavy "marine layer" that's hangs over the coast in the morning. The LA fire smells like a nice wood fire- the Mexican fire smells like burning trash. Both have made for some pretty dramatic sunsets the past few days. Thuosands of firemen are fighting the CA wildfires- no one fights the rural fires in Mexico- they just let them burn out on their own.



We don't get much "weather" here in Baja norte- so anything besides 70 degrees and sunny is a welcomed change. It rained a quarter inch all last year. Yup, ALL year. My rain guage is filled with dust. All that will change the next few days as Hurricane Jimena works its way up the baja peninsula from Los Cabos to here starting tonight.

We don't expect any more than 30 MPH winds and some light rain up here from Hurrican Jimena. Nothing we can't handle in stride. The rain is our biggest concern- more out of public health than safety. There are no storm drains here and all the storm run off goes right down the streets to the ocean- a whole years worth of road oil, dirt, trash and small dead animals.

We live in the lowest area of Rosarito- so all the water comes here and then out to sea. The runoff water will pool on the beach and make for a caustic mix of chemicals for a few days until it all flushes out with the tides. Emilio and his Friends will need to stay out of the water for a few days- standard procedure after any rainfall in southern California too.

It will be much worse closer to Los Cabos and thousands of poor Mexicans will be homeless or worse. Mexico is still a third world country and no one dares leave any possessions behind because someone will likely steal them. There is an evacutation order for the 10,000 who live in the most flimsy of housing- but they are all staying put in their cardboard, plastic and blanket "houses" and just hope for the best. No one evacuates- it's a sign of weakness and they really don't have any place to go or the car or money to get there with anyways- the bravado is their cover. The foot plus of rain that is expected will literally wash them away- but at least they won't be crime victims. In 1973 hundreds of Mexicans were swept out to sea by hurricane Lisa and were eaten by sharks. Mainland Mexico has already sent 300 electricians over to baja to restore the power that will likely go out tonight.

Mexico Legalizes Drugs... 5 grams of pot OK

Well- they went overboard, but at least it's a new approach to the violent drug war. Legal now in Mexico is possession for personal use of up to 5 grams of marijuana, half a gram of coke, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams methamphetamine and 0.015 Milligrams of LSD. You can't fix stupid I guess.

All together it's quite a weekend pharma-party with plenty of ups, downs and surprises. You can bet some spring break hotel will offer a package deal: a Pot and Coke Weekend, Baja desert full moon tour on LSD, The Tweeker Ball. Actually there are very strict rules about where and what you can do outside your home. If you go beyond the law three times, you get to move into a third-world rehab center. The stated purpose of the law is to free-up the local cops to chase bigger fish and to steer drug addicts into rehab. Nothing else has worked- so it's worth an open mind for a while I guess. I'm far from convinced another generation of drug users is a good thing.

In their defense, they do have affordable live-in drug rehab centers here and I passed one just yesterday on the drive out to Rincon Tropical on the dirtbike. The "brotherhood" as they are called, comes into town and collect money at intersections and sell newspapers to support the facility. I always see the same guys at every intersection for years- so they must not graduate and move on too often.

The street price of 5 grams is $12.50. Photos: AFN Network

Below: The retail sale and on site consumption of soft drugs in the Coffeeshops of Amsterdam.

Geezer on Geezer: Woooosh and the vintage dirtbike

A Baja dirt bike ride with Art and Emilio from Rosarito Beach to Rincon Tropical.

With all the negative you hear about Mexico in the press, it's easy to think nothing is safe, simple and beautiful in Baja any more. But while the narcos fight it out with everyone else- the rest of us go about our lives and still enjoy the beauty of Baja we moved here for. Baja Norte is very beautiful, mostly undeveloped and full of surprises. One nice and affordable surprise is Rincon Tropical-a locals hangout with swimming pool, bar, overnight cabanas, midget race cars and a petting zoo. The dirt road to Rincon winds through a canyon 8 miles inland from the beach. Once away from the coast it gets hot and dusty fast- a true Mediterranean climate. Lot's of agriculture- corn, cilantro, green onions and of course cows.

It's always great when my buddy Arturito (just Art- to you gringos) is in town for one of his visits. He's part of our family and a professional travelling house guest- we really should pitch him a reality show. He is the perfect house guest though and our 13 year old lab Duke is especially perked up by his visits- lifelong friends. CostCo must text him when we stock the fridge (we buy most all our food stateside) because he always hits us when the dinner menu is long.

g.

Art's an alpha male that motivates you. Art arrived today all hyped up after a hike in the desert with his brother- so I wasn't about to try to keep up with him on a bike. Emilio loves a bike challenge so I left the mountain bike race from the house to the Rincon Tropical to Art and my nephew Emilio.

I gassed up the 1976 Harley-Aermacchi SX250. It kicked right over- so I took that as a good sign for the day. I've restored it back to original condition- but I'm not afraid to ride it and get it dusty. (I had the exact same bike while in college in Colorado and drive it pretty much the same as I did then). It's been many months since I've ridden it and Emilio has been giving me grief about that. They left first and we all met down the canyon at Rincon Tropical. They took the single track trail that drops into Rincon Tropical- I took the winding dirt road through the canyon. We enjoyed a few Pacifico's (2 pacifico's and a soda- $4) and a swim. I headed back first- I've walked this bike home more than a few times... so I liked having a chase team behind me on bikes. :) Nice relaxing afternoon- no pedaling involved. A perfect day in Baja. Thanks Art!

Donated Lifeguard towers get their legs- But it's no Baywatch.

The lifeguard tower bases got their "casitas" today. It seems strange a tourist destination city like Rosarito Beach, with over 5000 people in the water every weekend- doesn't have a lifeguard culture (think Baywatch). The Lifeguards are a division of the Rosarito Beach Fire Department and they pass the lifeguard jobs out to friends and relatives. Same thing as with any institutional job in Mexico really. Not even a swim test.

Q: Why did San Diego donate five old lifeguard towers to Rosarito Beach when the city has one certified lifeguard? A: It was going to cost $20K to legally dispose of them stateside and $17K to strip the bases off and ship them to Mexico (read "donate"). What was supposed to be good press- got ugly when the "paperwork" wasn't ready and they were stuck at the border for a while. By "paperwork", they meant the dollar bill variety. You pay everyone for everything for every service twice- even to "donate" something.

Not many tourists (18-21 college aged kids mostly) drown here. If it's not a publicity problem, it's not a problem. But many Mexicans do drown here without it hitting the San Diego news- at the northern residential end of the beach though (mine). Mexicans mostly swim or wade fully clothed and that's a problem if a big set comes in and people lose their footing. We had an 18 year old friend of the family drown here while we were out of town two years ago. The "lifeguards" told the family the body would wash back up in two or three days (it did- they camped there are waited). They puttered around on a jet ski for 20 minutes but no one went in or under the water to look for him. Stateside that wouldn't happen- anywhere, ever.

I've never seen one guard here swim distances, run or even train in the six years we've been here. Living in California we saw them training every day-they would all run in a pack carrying their rescue buoys and then swim all the way back. I'm sure that was just their warm-up drill too.

There are no tryouts and competitive contests here for the coveted job of Lifeguard. In the states hundreds try out. It's not the money- because the job doesn't pay anything- anywhere really. It's about the passion to do it. The job here basically involves driving up and down the beach on a quad or a jetski, yelling at people to get out of the water, and giving your friends rides on the back. There are no junior lifeguard development programs or even adult lifeguard training programs.

In a generous offer extended every year, the California Lifeguard Academy offers Rosarito Beach as many training spots as they want for free. This year they sent one person for the first time. Just one. Next year they hope to send more. I can actually tell which guard he is by watching how slowly he patrols onhis ATV, how he watches the water surface and how he tracks the people in the water. No one becomes a master-trainer to train others from attending a seven day Academy program- but I hope the others learn from him for now a least.

Life Guarding is taken seriously everywhere but here and tower guards need to be specifically trained and focused (no distactions, no girlies n the casita, no smoking weed with your surfer freinds all day- for a start). People will now think their kids are safer because someone is manning the tower. If they take their eyes off their kids- they could wind up being camped out waiting for their return- just like what our friends suffered through.

6.9 Quakes all around us, and we got nothing...

You'd think we would have felt something. One 6.9 and a swarm of others less strong all happening around us. Buildings swayed 20 miles north in San Diego and throughout most of Baja but we didn't feel a thing. Nothing. Not even a wave in the pool.

If not for the automated Tsunami warnings we get from NOAA by e-mail, we wouldn't have known about it until we watched the news. So what do you do once you get a tsunami warning? You watch for the water to retreat exposing the ocean floor and if that starts to happen you head for the hills quick. Maybe. This house would probably be the only one left- and even then the garage and first floor would be cleaned out. We designed the house to handle three feet of water with minimal impact but who knows what 20 feet would do? The building has six concrete caissons going down to bedrock. The wall of water that would hit us would be free of debris- which is what causes most of the damage.

There are no posted "evacuation route" signs like stateside so people would know where to go (up). It would take us traveling five miles inland before we climbed any kind of hill for safety. Most locals wouldn't have a clue of what is going on or what to do. We all watched when the people in Phuket walked out on the dry ocean bottom- not knowing all that water is coming back at once.

So- faced with a Tsunami warning do you stay or do you go? We watch and stay. We would just worry too much about the house and the animals we left behind. So we would stay until we see the ocean floor and then make the decision to evacuate or ride it out. Won't know until it happens some day.

I don't hate Mondays. Especially in summer.

Mondays Rock! You can't imagine how little sleep we get on weekends here in summer between friends, family, fireworks and parked cars with really loud sound systems. The beach is the beach- anywhere. People go there to unwind and cool off- 24/7. It's hot in the interior of Mexico so Alonzos family is used to staying indoors (and taking siestas) during the hottest hours and then everyone moves outside to cool off and relax after dark. So that schedule took some getting used to. Even the youngest are up and active until midnight.

For most people Mondays suck- for me it's a day of peace and quiet. Well, as much quiet as you can have with the five labs, falcons and squawking birds. But there's no music blaring from bad car speakers, no kids screaming and yelling. No families trying to pitch their porta-potty tents (no Mexican family beach outing is completed without a tent, shovel and rolls of TP). Ah- the good life in the third world.

The high surf it still going strong and the tractors towing the beach rake machines are out cleaning the weekends trash from the sand. Every morning I put a pot of coffee on and head out the door to walk the dog pack on the beach. I feed the falcons, read the on-line versions of the newspaper, check my e-mail, take care of business. By 10am and a pot of Dunkin Donuts coffee later- I'm ready for breakfast and to move on with the day. Men and their rituals- but it's those true little luxuries we all work hard for.

You'd think this picture was a winter shot of a long deserted beach. But this is what a hot summer morning looks like here in Baja Norte. The previous nights high tide washes everything clean and a gray marine layer hangs over the coast until noon or so. Perfect for the sun-challenged like me. The marine layer gets pulled in towards the coast to replace all the hot air rising inland. It's 115 degrees just twenty miles inland today so all this cool moist air is rushing across the beach and through our house- ahhhhh . In SoCal (and Baja Norte) people head inland for hot sun and tanning. At the coast we call it May gray and June Gloom- but now it seems to last through July too. The sun generally burns through around noon will be going strong the rest of the day and directly inside at sunset. Who needs all that UV? :) It's all about mornings....

Surf's up, new front door's not.

I can't believe it's been a week already since I lasted posted. Busy week. We had a great lunch with Michael and Luis last week up in San Diego and I kind of got lazy about the Blog. I did some Facebook catching up though- which took time.

We are having some huge surf- but my board is still in the shop (thankfully). 8 foot waves are scary when you're looking down the face of one to stand up and ride it. No thanks- not for my first (planned) venture out surfing in a few years. 3-4 feet will be just fine next week. Emilio wants to advance from body boarding to surfboard- so I can still get out there and teach him the basics. That will be interesting. The wave in the photo is about 7 feet- the speck of a guy you can barely see to the left of the center wave is on a jet ski- towing the surfers out. You can see him bettter if clickonthe pic to enlarge it. Lot's of people rescued from the strong current- and most Mexicans swim clothed, which doesn't help.

Although pretty from five feet, the current front door on the house is pathetic and actually has a mushroom growing on it. It's always wet on the inside from the pool and and dogs- and baking hot in the sun all afternoon on the outside. It was a wood stained door- but when the salt wore it away (finish, stain and wood) you could see through parts of it. My buddy Art and I installed a piece of plywood on the inside to reinforce it- and then I painted it using the house paints to make it look better. I got another three years out of it. People actually pose for photos in front of it..

The new door is here (not done) and I have some prep and paint work to do. I just wood-filled all the cracks on holes. Alonzo's cousin makes rustic wood Mexican doors and had a catalog. He made the wrong door (one picture over in the catalog) and I really really hate it. When he started routing it he sent a pic and I went- "oh no, too late already". We tried to sell it on craigslist, but had no takers. If I paint it- I can live with it. He still needs to complete the "speakeasy" metal cage, the black nail head "clavos" and was going to stain and varnish it. That would lasted about six months here in the salt he air- even being 2.25" alder wood. He dropped off the door unfinished- so I kind of took over the exterior of it on my own. I patched the holes and gaps with wood filler and will sand, paint and Spar vanish it. That should seal the exterior and give it some Mexi-color for the people to enjoy... lipstick on a pig so to speak. When it's done it will look like my old door- but stronger and without mushrooms.

I'll be happy with it when it's done. We'll still let the cousin stain and spar varnish the inside of the door though. I think it needs to breathe with it getting wet, hot, dry every day. There's no way to stop salt air- you just try to design materials around it. I use RustBullet paint on most everything metal outside. House maintenance is never ending here.

I also decided to rotate all the bedroom furniture in the house. There are three stacked master suites- so there's more than you would think. We don't really don't shuffle furniture enough- mostly because we had our 125 pound blind lab "Oso"who liked things left where they were. We moved a small bed (built on site with huge headboard though) from the guest suite up to the third floor and the Bowflex down to the guest suite. We switched out all the sofas, chairs and end tables from all the bedroom and the veranda. The furniture was the easy part. Took four of us a half hour to get it through the guest room door. Cleaned the pool, worked with two of the falcons, Pool time with all the dogs. It was hot and fairly dry so I didn't have to towel them off.

Out and about in Rosarito... well running errands at least

Yesterday Emilio and I washed the trucks and loaded my 9'6" long board into his Rodeo. It needs a "ding" repair before I venture back out into the surf. You need to fix the "dings" so water doesn't soak into the foam of the board and ruin it. We slid it through the back hatch all the way up to the windshield, and it still hung out the back. He drove and we headed over to the K38 Surf Shop- but they were closed. This repair job is easy so I took it to the next best place the surf shop at the Rosarito Beach Hotel. . The main streets in the tourist zone were deserted. This is 3pm on a peak summer afternoon in a tourist town- and no one. It was a Wednesday though. A few Mexicans doing their normal business is all. We did see more police cars than I expected and stayed away from them. The narcos don't aim their weapons- they "spray" them. They already killed their five cops for the week though, but I'm not sure when their work week starts. The police chief has not resigned.

We only encountered one military checkpoint at the normal location. Nothing additional. The soldiers were friendly and Emilio peeling all the dark window tint off them helps them stay calm. They can see what we are from their rubber tire fortress. Emilio's Isuzu is a white beater '93 with Mexican plates. Very low profile an the long board allowed us to be waved right through. I didn't take any pics but may try next time from a distance.

The house is filling up a bit- perfect for summer. It's very hot in Alonzo's hometown of Torreon so the ones that can get here do. Alonzo's sister Kika, 15 year olds son Luis and his cousin Caesar joined Alonzo's mom in the guest suite. Their timing is good- the water is warm and the Rosarito Fair is set to open and run for the next month. Good rides, junk food, concerts- they love it all and it's priced right for normal Mexicans to afford. They all need to laugh and cast their worries aside. Even the narcos will take their kids.

Kika is the reason I added a kitchen to the downstairs guest suite. That should tell you how the next few weeks will go. She's tough. Her husband electrocuted himself many years ago trying to wire his house to the pole himself- when the practice was common. Now they just run the extension cords on the street. That's what you get for being neat.

Alonzo and I are hoping to join my nephew Mike and Luis in San Diego this weekend. Maybe the violence will drive the wait times down. Yeah right. It'll be hours. With all the family here I won't need to worry about the house or the animals. We have our fingers crossed.

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Yona is doing great... Puka is held hostage... More local police killed.

Yona is recovering fine from her beach-dog attack. Emilio said he and Javier went back with a taser for the the owner but didn't find him or the dog. I don't know which one he would have tased- but I don't think they work on animals. Puka has been totally active and is leaving the stitches alone. She swam with me in the pool yesterday. I have to swim circles instead of laps in this small pool- but she stayed right next to me. So she is keeping it clean and we haven't had to use the "Elizabethan collar", that plastic neck cone thing. Guero got bit twice by beach dogs as a puppy and had the same type wound but a lot less stitches. Emilio must have felt bad that Yona was attacked on his watch. I came back from RI to find a freshly epoxied garage floor and the "Pool Angel" refinished.

(Left: The Puka Bloom Suffers)

Poor Juan and Puka. Bad enough Puka ate a rock and died (see archives), but now I think he's getting hosed by my vet. After the first surgery we gave Juan the vet's number so they could talk directly with each other. When she made a turn for the worse we let the two of them handle things and just offerred to care for her and do whatever we could to help on this side of the border. When we took her back to the vet for observation after the first surgery failed to get the results- Alonzo and I thought it would be considered the "after care" that was included in the surgery cost. I guess not. Now our vet wants another $800 from Juan for the second surgery too. IMHO if they had inspected her well during the first surgery they would have seen the dead bowel behind the rock further down the line. Maybe they could fix it or not- but they would have seen it. I think they just stopped exploring after finding the rock and closed her back up too soon. Their fault IMHO. When Puka died- we asked our pet cremation service to pick her up. Now they won't release Puka's cremains to Juan until he pays the second $800 too. I don't know if Juan approved the cost of the second surgery- we weren't in the loop then. Juan looks at it like the $1600 total was still less than the US vet wanted for the first surgery alone. I'm witholding judgement for now until I learn more. "Puka the flower bloom" wilted and parts of it died before blooming fully while we were in Rhode Island- so maybe Puka is reaching out to Juan again. Alonzo needs to swing by the vet today to take care of the bill for Yona- so he will see what's going on.

I have always worried about cremations- whether or not you really get back the right "ashes". When the cremains came back from our blind Oso- Guero was a puppy and knocked them off the memorial table Alonzo had set up. The Urn crashed and broke on the slate floor. A stainless steel screw rolled across the floor and I knew it was really our Oso. As a puppy he blew his knee out at the dog park and had a cadaver ligament transplanted to repair it (never play frisbee on hard ground with labs- it's not good if they jump up and come down on their back leg wrong and hyperextend it. Save the air for the dogs designed for it). Once we saw the mangled screw and we knew we had a reputable cremation service.

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(Below: The cremains of Oso, Guero1, My Dad & Mom, and Dutch)

I feel comfort having a loved ones remains back in the house with me. I know it creeps some people out, but it helps me mourn and I feel their presence. We have a bookshelf we keep them all together on- Oso, Guero, Dad. Mom and my first lab Dutch. We take them down on birthdays and holidays- like Mothers and Fathers Day and light candles for them. The dog collars are wrapped around the dog urns with a treat placed on top. No, I don't think my Mom and Dad would at all mind being surrounded by our labs and they all have a great ocean view.

And the narco war continues on here today. Another cop was killed here yesterday and one more nearby in TJ. "El Teo" has said his cartel will kill five cops a week until the new police chief resigns. He's an over achiever and reached his goal a few days early apparently. On to next weeks body count. There are no photos of "El Teo"- even on his wanted posters- he said he will kill whoever prints it- so no one has. When the police here are hiding for their lives there is no protection for anyone or any business- especially us ex-pats. We're not in lockdown mode- but we are keeping a watchful eye on things.

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Working the Flight home... a 30 year blast from the past.

Delta Connection: We didn't have as much excitement on our flight as the people on the SouthWest flight when a football sized hole opened up in the cabin roof and they could see the blue sky. Nor did our O2 masks didn't drop down- but we were packed in like sardines and in the air at the same time.

Shortly after takeoff, I got blocked in the lavatory by the Beverage Cart on one of those three-seat-across Delta Connection Embracer commuter jets (PVD-CVG). The door opens in and when I opened it- there the cart was. Right at the door. My seat was about 4 rows up, the plane was full, and there was no way to get past. You can barely stand up in those planes let alone pass someone. The flight attendant gave me a look that I understood to mean she wasn't pulling the cart back 5 rows with the plane still climbing just for me to get back to my seat. It could have been a look that said if I wanted to go back to my seat that badly- I'd have to push it uphill all by myself. We'll never know. I stepped out of the lav and said "Well, I was a flight attendant 30 years ago. How's about I work this end of cart back up to my seat." She smiled and told me to ice some glasses and pass out the peanuts. I did serve some beverages actually, but sadly the booze and precious boxed snacks were on her end of the cart. We talked and worked our way up the aisle and the passengers in the rear of the plane got a kick out of it. What airline did I work for..?.. what it was like to have a choice of three entrees in coach..?... They had smoking zones... ? When we got th ecart past my row, I politely opted out of working all the way up the aisle. I sat down and drank my bottled water, five years was fun- but enough. Alonzo was sleeping and when I sat down- he didn't even stir. It wasn't until the Flight Attendant thanked me for my help as we were deplaning that Alonzo asked what that was all about. Would have been a nice photo for the blog too.

I'll do a Flight Attendant flashback post soon. It was a very different experience back then. Did you know Lucille Ball taught me how to play backgammon in the upper lounge of a 747? She had a leather set with a solid gold doubling cube. I was the UL (Upper Lounge) flight attendant that flight (JFK-LAX) and I had her to myself for over an hour while Jaws played downstairs. Bourbon Manhattans, backgammon, fun conversation and I got to watch her put on that famous exagerated red lipstick from two feet away. That'll be a fun post to create. Could be a book.

Westbrook yesterday, Back to Baja today

Balducci Beach- well it may as well be named that since all the cousins have summer "cottages" there and their beach is private (the public beach is just next door). This is where and how the family spends every summer weekend. What they accept casually as their "cottage" would go for a $million or more in San Diego. They think nothing of it- well, except for the high property taxes. It's about a half hours drive from their year-round homes. They don't all go down every weekend- but usually someone from each family is there. They wheel out their carts of umbrellas and beach chairs every morning and make a day of it. These people are serious sun worshipers. They slather on the sunscreen and camp out- going back and forth from the beach to home- and house to house as well- all day long. The kids swim and play in absolute safety. There is always a watchful aunt or uncle. No need to lock or even close the cottage doors. Totally safe. How lucky and cool is that? It is so nice there are still places like this in the world, it certainly isn't like this in our world.

The itsy bitsy spider... Gavin and Chase are energetic, curious two and three year olds. Their personalities are distinct and very different. No cookie cutter kids here. They watch educational children's' programs have learned words in Spanish and Chinese. They even asked great uncle Alonzo for"help" in Spanish. It's the way children learn now- and it's very cool. They don't give it a second though.

The water in Long Island sound was a little rough- so Alonzo and I bowed out of fishing with Fred and Mike to spend more time with my sisters Linda and Lou and the boys. We didn't bow out of eating the Blue they caught though. A friend had hauled in a 250 pound Mako shark the night before and we enjoyed a grilled piece of that as well. Lou made our visit very special by having more lobsters than anyone could eat- along with some dessert "leftovers" from the wedding and "crazy corn" (corn on the cob slathered in mayonnaise and then rolled in Parmesan cheese).

(Great aunt Linda celebrating her 29th birthday with Nolan on the deck. You're welcome Lin!)

The boys are curious about lobster- but wouldn't try it. There's plenty of years left for that. Hot dogs, fresh fruit and Dunkin Donuts were the major food groups for the boys. They didn't miss the opportunity to play with the lobsters though- boys will be boys...

We made our way back to the NYLO and slept in late today. Yeah! With the three hour time change we have been sleep-deprived. It'll still take me a few days to recover. We got a late check-out from the NYLO and have one more lunch reservation before catching our plane back to San Diego late this afternoon. Yes, it has been seafood every single meal for five days and we won't miss this last opportunity.


It is so hard to leave the safety and love here. So hard that this "ice man" is weepy and melting.