Amazing Exchange Rates

It's a rainy day here in the Pacific Northwest.  And we really need the rain so it is a good thing.  We didn't leave the motorhome yesterday, just read and listened to the Seahawks pull out their first victory.

In my boredom I checked on the value of the peso to dollar exchange.  The US dollar has climbed to its' highest exchange rate in history.  We have always enjoyed the value of the exchange rate when we are in Mexico.  The dollar has always gone a long way and living there is an economic advantage.

Last year we were amazed when the exchange rate topped 15 to 1.  For us it was like getting a 25% increase in our retirement income.  This year it looks even more amazing.  The exchange rate has gone to over 17 to 1 for the first time in history.

The increase in the last five years is over 50%.  For an old retired person this means: more tacos per dollar, more shrimp per dollar and if I drank beer it would mean more Pacifico per dollar.  Life is good for us Americans living South of the border.

You should come visit us this year.  We have cheap beer waiting for you.

Admission to an Omission of a Bad Transmission

I usually only write about good things that happen to us.  I'm a devout optimist and I prefer to ignore the bad stuff that happens.  If ignorance is bliss, then optimism is even better.

So it's time to tell the sad story of the transmission in opposition to it's mission.  In order for the motorhome to be useful in travel it must go both forward and backwards.  It failed in its' reverse position.

Sad but true, a few days before we left on our Maui trip in July the RV stopped shifting into reverse.  The optimist in me said, "Perfect timing."  What better time to have a breakdown than just before we were not going to need our motorhome for two weeks.

It was perfect!

I drove the RV to the transmission shop in Tacoma and two weeks later it was ready to pick up.  It needed a complete transmission rebuild and the bill came back at a tidy $4,970.60.

Ouch.

But think how much worse it would have been if we were in the middle of nowhere and we didn't have a place to stay for those two weeks.  We were busy enjoying our time in Hawaii.

So the optimist in me is right.  Life is good.

It could only go forward. So I parked in the center of the campground in Gorst at Kitsap Square Dance Center.
Not a problem.  We were the only ones there.
Pick a spot, any spot.

Lazy Summer Days

Life has been going at a slower pace this last few weeks.  A little bit of work on projects, fun with the grandkids, some square dancing and a lot of laziness has been on our agenda.  We've got this retirement thing down to a science.

We spent a few days at Manchester State Park with Roseta and Jake.  They enjoyed the beach and the hikes around the park on Rich Passage between Bremerton and Seattle.  It is a nice chunk of old growth forest that was a military site at the turn of the century.  The campground is one of those jewels that was laid out with enough forest between campsites that you can't see your neighbors.

Blackberries.... pick em and eat em.

Nice pose grandma.

Beach walking at low tide.

Right now we plan on being in this area until the middle of September.  The Pacific Northwest is having an amazing Summer and we see no reason to leave perfect weather.

Life is very good.

Eva the wonderdog is enjoying her Summer
in a foreign country.

Back to the Simple Life

We're back stateside.  That is to say we are back in Washington state.  As soon as we got back I got started on finishing up the flooring projects in the motorhome.  The carpet had finally arrived while we were in Maui, but I had to wait a few days for it to be delivered to Tacoma.

I am down to a few final small pieces to install.  It's like building a jigsaw puzzle.

Eva tests the new carpeting and flooring.

Lilly our former greyhound came over for a short visit.  Eva looks like a mini Lilly.  Lilly is now 12 years old and is moving slowly.

I hopped on a Bremerton to Seattle ferry today.  Youngest daughter "Charity" met me at the pig in Pike Place Market.  We had a good visit.

We're now out in Gorst for a couple of days.  We have a few more projects to finish up.

Life is good.

Maui Good Times

It's been good the last few days with the exception of one small error.  I walked into the ocean with my digital camera in my pocket.  Electronics don't like to be submerged in salt water.  So we have a slight gap in the photos for the last few days.

Terri's iPhone is our camera for a few days.

I did buy a new Sony camera so I am back in business.  There are certain problems that come with being old, such as wet cameras.

We drove around the north end of Maui yesterday.  The guide book said that it was a challenging one lane road in many spots.  Dangerous and frightening could have been used in the description also.  For the first hour we did not meet anyone coming from the other way.  They recommend driving clockwise so that you can be on the inside lane when there are two lanes.

Looking over the edge of the road.

We stopped and walked down a peninsula to have a better view of a blow hole.  The waves roll in and the geyser goes up.  Cool stuff.

It was great scenery along the way followed by lunch at a food truck in the jungle.  El Drunken Taco was pretty good.  I had a torta, Terri and Jamie had tacos and Dave had a quesadilla.  Mexican in Maui.

Another fine day.... life is good.

Eva is doing fine at the dog sitters.

We Climb the Mountain

The truth is that the SUV climbed the mountain as we rode comfortably in the seats.  An easy climb to 10,000 feet.  As we left Kihei for Haleakala National Park it was 91 degrees.  As we gained altitude the temperature dropped about 3 degrees for every 1000  feet of elevation gained.  We went from 91 to 66 in an hour.

We traveled through the clouds until finally we could look down 3,000 feet to see the tops of the clouds.  From the top we could look out and see parts of the 7 other Hawaiian Islands.

At times there were clouds inside the crater.

Looking across the crater.

The strangest sight on the mountain was a plant that grows at the summit.  The Silver Sword grows for 50 years and than ends it's life by a final blossoming before it's death.  At least it goes out with a splash.

We ended the day by watching the sunset.

Beach seats for the sunset.

Life is good.

Old Man Remembers Life Lesson

This morning as we were preparing to snorkel I remembered a life lesson that I learned fifty years ago.  Not only did I remember that lesson but I showed the wisdom to apply it to my present situation.  It's remarkable that anything in my brain could be recalled after fifty years.

Here is my memory.

My brother and I had taken our ski boat to Lake Sammamish for the first time.  We were with my cousins Boyd and Danny.  Dave and I were both very good slalom skiers so I choose to go first.  As it turned out we did not know about a long sand spit that extended out into the lake.  As I was cutting a wide turn the rudder of my slalom ski caught into the sand spit.  It quickly dislodged the ski from my foot.

At this point I was running across the top of the water at 35 MPH.  As you might guess that only lasted for a few seconds.  It was then that I learned why they use sand to make sandpaper.  As I fell and tumbled the sand took off a good portion of my skin.

I spent the rest of the summer as one large scab.  It was not fun.

This mornings surf break.

As I stood on the beach watching the surf I remembered back to that summer.  After seeing what was happening I told Dave that the rocky beach with a small sand entry area might be fine for entry but the problem would come when we needed to get out.  If the surf break was wrong it would be a repeat of that summer fifty years ago.

Wisdom reigned and we decided not to chance it.  We've both gotten smarter with age.

Rocks on one side and rocks on the other side.

Thirty feet of sand to hit.... to small today.

Time to head to the mountains.  It will be 93 degrees today so it will be cooler at 10,000 feet.

Favorite wife.

Yesterday was Terri and my 19th wedding anniversary.  The biggest reason that "Life is Good" for me is her.  I am grateful for a good wife.