Back to Paradise Village Marina from US with Garmin Drive A autopilot unit - 2013

Middle of May 2013 - Currently in Paradise Village Marina in Banderas Bay Mexico (by Puerto Vallarta)
 As you can see by the subject line, we made it back to Paradise Village Marina after our trip to the States! 

 The trek through the airport with our Garmin drive A unit (under deck autopilot unit) as a carry-on was something else!  We made it through the Volaris desk with it however were stopped at gate security and sent back to get it checked on as luggage.  This made us very nervous although since it was already broken, what more could they do to it?!  Then we realized since we checked it so late, it might not make it to Tijuana when we did so that was our next worry – we would hate to have to go all the way to TJ on Tuesday to pick that up.  Fortunately, our worries were unfounded because once we arrived, everything was there and in one piece.

San Diego, CA was cold and on some mornings, wet.  Luckily we looked at the forecast so we were prepared with a light jacket and long pants.  Toward the end of the week it started to clear up.  Then once we left, the temperatures soared into the high 80’s and 90’s – go figure!  As we expected, the Mexican Consulate took up a lot of our time.  We were there three consecutive mornings (Tues – Thurs), not to mention the time it took at Kinko’s, pulling documents off of the internet to bring back with us and in the end, we think we came away with what we went for.  We will know more once we check in here.  Despite our best efforts of organizing our shopping list, it still took a lot of time and really wore us out.  Our daughter and grandson often came along so we could see them as well as pick up what we needed.  The personnel at the chandleries were glad to see us and wanted to hear of our adventures.  A big change is that Sailing Supply lost their lease and is moving in with Downwind Marine – no one seemed very pleased about this.  It looks like a lot of work to begin with not to mention a change in everyone’s work life.  We hope the best for them!

We were able to drop off the autopilot drive unit on Tuesday afternoon to Shelter Island Marine Electronics.  Ed was able to test it on Wednesday and confirmed that the clutch went out so ordered a new one to be delivered by Friday.  We were a bit nervous about it however as promised, we did get a new drive unit Friday afternoon. I was able to pick up a diving regulator for my dive system – one I found on Craigslist and we were able to talk down the price a bit.  Our other major purchase was fabric – Pfifertex 90% for cockpit shade and Sunbrella canvas for dinghy chaps.  Of course there were A LOT of small things we had pre-ordered and had shipped to our daughter’s house.

About the only social time we had was having dinner with our friends Ann Marie and Ralph.   Ann Marie is a wonderful cook and their warm hospitality was greatly appreciated after all of the hustle-bustle of running errands and taking care of business.  We also had a nice family picnic on Saturday afternoon as Debbie’s sisters came to town to see us.  We were then able to have dinner together as well as lunch on Sunday for Mother’s Day.  Our grandson is a wonderful handful – crawling everywhere and wanting to get into everything.  We guess that’s what 9- month-old babies do!?  Another bittersweet goodbye.

For the last night, we had to change rooms at the hotel we were staying in to the first floor because the elevator was down the whole time we were there.  We went to Goodwill and picked up two LARGE suitcases (a good deal at $14.50 each) and there was no way we could haul everything to pack up to the fourth floor where we originally were, pack everything then haul everything back down.  We picked up the 6AM Volaris bus shuttle downtown at the train station.  Arriving at the Tijuana Airport, we got a “guy” with a cart to take our suitcases – something I think helped us get that beloved green light.  But what we didn’t expect was the added weight for the luggage.  Let’s just say it will be a lot of beans and rice for us this summer!!  Who knew so many supplies could weigh so much and cost so much to bring home?!?  In Puerto Vallarta.,we crossed the bridge as suggested and caught a taxi back to Paradise Village Marina – home sweet home.

Once here, we unpacked almost right away in order to get settled in because Tuesday we were moving slips – from E dock to B dock…for a better breeze.  But nature had another plan for us – Debbie came down with an awful stomach flu overnight.  We went to Urgent Care Tuesday morning because she was pretty bad.  They were very thorough and helpful – gave a shot for the nausea and vomiting along with a prescription for meds at home.  Needless to say, I ended up moving the boat by himself along with some help on B dock from the staff here.  Come to find out, our daughter had the same thing as did Debbie’s sister.  Then, I came down with it Wednesday night.  So, our homecoming has been pretty strange.