Those are my feet. I'm at a pool in the East Cape town of Los Barilles. At this point the pool was pretty much all mine that is until the rest of the Americanos got back from fishing. It was a relaxing day in Los Cabos far from the action of San Lucas. We took a narrow winding road through the desert past skinny cows eating brush. It was hot. The pool was cooler and the margaritas de fresa were the coolest. I was taken on many missions to the East Cape this trip. One was through the desert on a dusty bumpy road in intense heat. We made it to the coast in the dustiest little town I had ever seen. There was a guy with a trailer out there just sitting under the palapa that he created over his trailer into a little patio. If you wanted isolation, It was there. The problem with this location was the surf was a little rough. I didn't want to get swept away in the rip. I was scared, but I have fond memories of this trip which is good since the breaks on the car worked significantly less well on the way back to San Jose. There are all kinds of places to live in the East Cape. There are palaces and there are just four walls and a roof. I remember this one palace by the beach in Ribera, East Cape. It was pink and huge.

Well, I made my 5 trip to the end of the world. I stayed this time in San Jose del Cabo down the street from the governor of Baja California Sur. C's accomodations were great this time. They were far above those of the cave last year. I had bathroom, AC, Internet, laundry, plants, hose, car washing responsibilities, trash take out responsibilities and cooking detail. Lets break into the highlights of the fabulous trip. There are lots of dogs in Mexico on the streets. I'm guessing not all of them are stray they just hang out and not get fed a lot by there owners. They seem to have no fear of cars. Also, there are speed bumps everywhere, including on the highway. They slow people down, but they are annoying after awhile. I was a passenger going over a speed bump in San Jose when on the side walk was a cow eating out of a trash can. We just don't get scenes like that in the joco. I went to a party and had the best black beans ever served in the history of the word. I love black beans and these were the best ever. I didn't the moonwalk at another party I attended. I attended another party at a guys house with a stone henge replica that would have been crushed by a dwarf. I ate a hot dog and parts of two hamburgers very late at night in downtown San Jose. I saw a rehearsal of Jesus Cristo Superstar in beautiful downtown San Jose. I won a Sol cooler bad from the Beer girl at the Mega Supermarket in San Jose. I went on a lovely night out with C to San Lucas dining at Senor Sweets and hitting Rips, Squid Roe and Cabo Wabo, The Nowhere Bar was absent, but C looked very nice.

I rode a plane from San Jose to Mexico City and was served modelo in lata the best ever on the plane and no additional charge. I rode in a taxi fast through the streets of Mexico City to the bus station with no seat belt. It was scary and awesome at the same time as 6 cars commanded only 4 lanes on the street. Lanes don't really exist in most of Mexico. I took the bus from Mexico City to Poza Rica and then to Tuxpan, Vera Cruz. I went to a very nice party that allowed me to say some very profound words and eat some green salsa that literary burned my touncils out. I road a small boat across the river to the to view the Cuba Mexico Friendship Museum. It was very small, but there were lots of pictures of Fidel Castro looking young. I toured the market in Tuxpan and drank a fruit drink in the plaza. I dined on eggs and black beans several times. This seams to be an excellent comination. I ate the best fish ever on a dock restaurant by the lagoon in Tuxpan. The grouper fish was awesome buried in garlic. I felt great after eating that. Eating good food really makes a different in the way I feel as I get older. I rode fast from Tuxpan up the highway 3 hours to Tampico. There were lots of sights to see and passing other cars was always exciting. J my driver was great. When we got to Tampico, we headed straight for the beach were his friends were. He pulled up and 5 chicas came over immediately to give him a hug. That was amazing. I got to talk to some Tampico Cable Guys as they installed the cable into J's house. I rode another small boat acrosst the river fromt he Pemex oil plant to eat some fine shellfish and other types fish with J and his buddies. We ate like kings and more beer choices were discovered in Mexico. Victoria, Indio, and Bohemia are very good choices that I had never experiencd before.

In June 2009, I did some East Bay living on Montgomery Street. Every morning, I bucked the Starbuck's trend and hit Gaylord's across the street for some coffee. Gaylord's is were the cool people hang on Piedmont Avenue. I went for the egg bagel at the Posh Bagel. It was good every time. I felt like a real East Bayer. We headed up the coast. Brentwood, Oswego and I first did some time in Ukiah. Then, we spent one glorious week at the Bite My Hook Lodge on the Smith River in Gasquette, California down the road from Crescent City. The lodge had a huge deck with a grill. I cooked everynight on the grill. I cooked things like fish, shrimp, corn, zuchinni, potatoes, veggie dogs, etc. We did some hiking up and around the big trees. Oswego drives a stick shift now. He drives well. I only get scared sometimes like high in the mountains on a gravel road when I look out the window and it is straight down.