No Internet! Man the lifeboats, scan the horizon for some WiFi

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - The day dawned kind of gray and bleak, with a long list of things that needed to be done - nearly all on the computer and sent via the Internet to their appointed destinations in New York, Southern California and even parts of the great white north - Canada.

But the faithful ATT WiFi box at the house had died during the night. Quietly and with dignity probably, but even when prodded, poked and banged gently, refused to reanimate this morning as the heater in the house was slowly getting the temperature up to normal.

Calling Dr. Frankenstein. We have an emergency.

The immediate crisis passed by calling into action Adm. Fox's new IPad which has its own 3G internet connection. Some expected emails hadn't shown up yet for me, so there was some breathing room for the day.

But the emails that needed to go out right away couldn't because the IPad and Gmail are not on the best of terms.

That's a little glitch that needs fixing before I head to the Apple Store to buy one.

So instead of a leisurely, tea-sipping morning at our casa, Adm. Fox and a I barreled out of the house to the nearby Crepe Escape restaurant  (a favorite breakfast spot near the university) where we had a great breakfast and luxuriated in the free (and very fast) WiFi signal. All emails got handled nicely, other Internet matters taken care of, too. And Adm. Fox went online (where else?) to look for a replacement modem for the late ATT WiFi box at the house.

It was an interesting (if momentarily uncomfortable) reminder of how dependent we are on the Internet for, well, practically everything but cooking the western scramble breakfast I ate this morning.

But a new modem for the house will be installed today.

How could we have the Thanksgiving holiday without it?

Surfers enjoy the huge waves, but with skimboards

ARROYO SECO, Jalisco, Mexico - On our way to Tenacatita, for a lunch with the Lamonts, we came upon a group of surfers who had gotten out their skimboards to tackle the huge surf that was pounding the shore near a house called, appropriately, Shangri-La.

They were having a wild time in water that would crush a person on a regular surfboard.

We left early because with the high tides and huge waves, we were a little afraid that the ocean might have breached the two rivers, which have been silted-in (or, technically, sanded-in) for months. If they were, it would have been a quick trip back to the Pink Flamingo for the Toyota Tundra.

The rivers were silted in and passable, but we got to Tenacatita covered with salt spray.


Skimboarders head out

We had our usual great lunch at the Fiesta Mexicana restaurant, which was relatively empty, while others were jammed with diners. Capt. Lamont and I surmised that one reason is the the tour buses - and there were about 15 of them - brought their passengers to particular restaurants.

And Fiesta Mexicana is not one of them.

The waves in the protected bay were excellent for boogie-boarding. I have the sunburn to prove that I stayed out too long and enjoyed the big rollers too much.

But afterwards we took a hike to the end of the beach to the area known as the Aquarium, a reef and inlet that is known for having great marine life. I left my fins and mask in car after being told by several people that the water would be murky because of the swell.

I should have carried them. The water looked great.


Admiral checks out the tide pools at the west end of the beach


Sanders and Pat on the rocks

Earlier Saturday, the Admiral spent an hour tapping out a blog about her adventures as the 'dog lady,' of Arroyo Seco. Because we zoom about on the quad several times a day with food to feed various ill dogs around the village, every dog in the rancho perks up when they hear the sound of our Honda.

The Dog Lady of Arroyo Seco

But, que lastima, we had to replace our internet connection/wireless modem earlier this week when the old one simply crapped out. (Crapped out: That's a technical term, which covers a lot of territory and the only description I have for what occurred.)

When I installed the new modem from Tel-Mex, my computer - and our two ITouch units - worked great. They might be processing data even faster, in fact.

But the Admiral's computer won't hook up to the wireless system. Instead, she has to use a cable and hook directly to the modem. And, unfortunately, that modem is out in the Communications Tent.

I may be moving that whole enterprise to a new location pretty soon.


Admiral works on her blog in the Communications Tent

The 'dog lady' will get a different kind of workout tomorrow - outside the tent - when our amiga and veterinarian Rocio is scheduled to perform surgery right here in our palapa at noon. Rocio had wanted us to bring Leona in the car to Manzanillo (about two hours away), but I begged her to come to the Pink Flamingo instead.

I am sure the Admiral will be right in the mix of things during the surgery.

My job tomorrow will likely be to hold Leona down on the surgery table while we wait for the anesthetic takes hold.

And Leona does not have much of a sense of humor when someone tries to restrain her.