My Best Friend Cheryl

I met Cheryl when I was the new kid at my school in the sixth grade. Being the new kid is not easy. Cheryl was nice to me because I was in her mom’s Camp Fire Girls group. We were 11 when we met and we soon discovered that we share the same birthday, December 1st. From then on we had that special day together and at age 53 we have now had 42 shared birthdays – not always together, but it's even more special when we are able to celebrate together. But it doesn’t stop there.

When I came home from Bellingham, Washington, after a very trying quarter at Western Washington University, Cheryl was there for me.

When I came from South Florida, after a year of playing on the beach, Cheryl was there for me.

When I came home from Iceland, after a month of frolicking with the sheep, the small horses and a boyfriend named Olafur, Cheryl was there for me.

And yes, when I came home from Mexico, after 9 months of challenges beyond my imagination, Cheryl was there for me.

Yesterday Cheryl came to visit Mike and me in Salem. Her daughter goes to the University of Oregon in Eugene and Cheryl spent the weekend in Eugene before coming north to Salem. It was so good to see her. The last time we saw each other was May 14, 2008, the day before we left for Mexico.

We spent time at our apt looking at pictures of Mexico and catching up like only best friends can. We all went out to dinner at the Roadhouse last night (cool place – there are peanuts on every table and you can throw the shells on the floor!) And this morning Cheryl and I met for breakfast and a little more time to gab with just the two of us. Before I knew it, it was noon and Cheryl was hitting the road for Seattle – well, actually Mill Creek.


How lucky am I to have this great friend?

Dreamgirls at Keller Auditorium, Portland, Oregon

I had a “dreamgirls” weekend and I loved it!

Friday started off as another “furlough Friday” for me and most other Oregon state workers – no work, but no pay. I hate those days because 2 days' work awaits me on Monday morning.

On that same day, best friend Cheryl and oldest daughter Maggie (who begins law school at Seattle University in June) drove down from the Seattle area and checked into the Westin in downtown Portland. Coming from Eugene was Cheryl’s younger daughter, Abbie, who goes to the University of Oregon.

Meanwhile on Saturday morning I packed an overnight bag and zipped north to meet “my girls.” I got there around 10:00 and Cheryl and I walked the neighborhood until we found a nice place to have a late breakfast. I told Cheryl the details of Mike’s and my return to Seattle next month. It will be nice to have Cheryl close by again!

Before long the 4 of us walked the short distance to Keller Auditorium for the 2:00 performance of the Apollo Theater musical, Dreamgirls. As we waited in the lobby, observing other theater attendees, we got a kick out of the fashion “dos” and “do nots” – there was quite an eclectic mix of patrons. (Yeah, I know…I’m no fashionista myself, but I do ask Mike for feedback and I think everyone should take a good look in a mirror before heading out the door.) Abbie sat next to me and we had to hide our giggles more than once.

The show was pretty good. Maggie had some negative feedback about the dancing (having danced herself for many years), but the singing was loud and strong.

After the show we searched for a place for dinner and we decided on Brassier Montmarte, a lovely, little French restaurant that had some happy hour specials. I hadn’t had any in years, but I tried the French onion soup (when in France…) and it was very delish!

Cheryl, Maggie, Abbie, Yours Truly

We finished with an ice cream cone for Abbie at Baskin and Robbins before heading back to the Westin. The girls went to their room and Cheryl and I watched the end of the Mariners game in our room. (They beat Detroit, bringing their win/loss record to 6/6.)

We woke early this morning and laid in bed watching early Sunday morning news before hitting the shower. Cheryl, Maggie and Abbie had plans to meet relatives for breakfast before heading their separate ways. The valet parkers brought our 3 vehicles around, we said our goodbyes and I blazed home to Salem.

It was a dreamgirls weekend in more ways than one. I loved the vibrancy of downtown Portland and was happy to get a taste of our upcoming move back to Seattle. THANK YOU CHERYL!

Thanksgiving in Seattle

We got up early on Thursday and put the Coconut Sweet Potatoes in the oven. They baked for about 45 minutes and by 7:30 am we were on the road to Seattle. It was rainy, hard to see while driving, and generally all-around yucky. We stopped for coffee and headed north on I-5.

But we made it to my brother, Tom’s, just after noon. Tom decided to stay home so Mike and I headed to Aunt Gloria’s where we had a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving feast, including the Coconut Sweet Potatoes!

Cousins Mike, Brian and Cathy relaxed while Aunt Gloria put away the food.

After savoring Aunt Gloria’s homemade pumpkin and chocolate pies we headed to downtown Seattle for the night.

We woke and it was sunny and clear! So Friday morning we had the perfect weather to drive north to Cheryl’s new house.

After the tour of the custom-built, timber-frame house we sat down and enjoyed Cheryl’s baked potato soup with all of the toppings. It was like liquid baked potatoes – nice job, Cheryl!


Mike with Cheryl's parents, Karl and Marlene.

And then Cheryl and I exchanged birthday gifts – we have shared December 1st birthdays since we were just 12 years old! And the book we're holding? It's about all about December 1st birthdays and we have given this back and forth to each other since 1993. Cheryl is the best.

Before long it was time for us to hit the road. We got home around 8:30 pm after stopping for dinner at The Brick in downtown Salem. That was just over 650 miles there, driving around and back. Whewww...

It was a whirlwind. And it was a little emotional. There were a lot of thoughts running through my head as we drove through the neighborhoods so familiar to us. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel coming "home" to Seattle, but knowing it’s not my actual home anymore. But it was beautiful – seeing the snow-topped Olympic Mountains while looking west and the Cascade Mountains looking east. And now we’re back home in Salem...thinkin’ getting’ a Christmas tree…

Cabbage Patch Restaurant, Snohomish, Washington

Saturday was “girls’ lunch out” – if you’re a regular reader you know that means a meet-up with my three childhood girlfriends. One of my girlfriends, Beth, lives a quite a bit north of the rest of us so we made a plan to meet in Snohomish for lunch so that Beth wouldn’t have to drive so far.

Well, as it turns out Beth couldn’t make it and the reason is wacky. Her birthday is Valentine’s Day and for years her family owned a floral shop. If you know anything about flowers and Valentine’s Day you know that the entire week leading up to Valentine’s Day is a frenzy of activity in any decent floral shop. And for years Beth was working Valentine’s Day week and on her birthday!

Beth’s dad is now working for another florist, delivering flowers. And this year he somehow roped other family members (including Beth) into delivering flowers this past weekend to help with the Valentine's Day crunch. And that’s why Beth couldn’t join us for lunch on Saturday. Nevertheless, we decided to celebrate her birthday without her!


So off to the Cabbage Patch Restaurant for lunch we went.

We arrived at the restaurant before noon and were seated in the front room (the restaurant is an old house converted into a restaurant). Our server, Mary, brought waters, scones and coffee for me. Soon enough we ordered. After Mary took our order I asked if she could please take our picture when our meals arrived. I told her that we were celebrating a birthday (Beth’s, of course!) and I wanted a special picture for the occasion.

I was never more surprised when she replied, “Yes, I can take your picture IF I’m not too busy…” and off she went. The three of us were aghast! Having worked many years in management in the hospitality industry I could not, and still cannot, believe that a server would make that sort of remark. We were the only customers in the front room – it’s not as if the restaurant was packed. I have no idea what other tables were in her section, but that really was not my concern.

It was, however, my concern that my coffee cup was completely empty before Mary brought more coffee. Again, I was shocked. And I probably would not even mention the coffee if it was not for the snide remark Mary made about taking the picture.

Our food was delivered by another young woman, not Mary. I had my camera on the table and she gladly agreed to take our picture. I said thank you very much and was appreciative. To Mary's defense, I must say that she did come by and offered to take our picture, but I advised her that it had already been taken.


And here is the coveted picture! Our food (crab & shrimp louie salad, crab and shrimp sandwich, and crab and shrimp omlette - we were feeling seafoodish...) was hot and good...doesn't it look yummy? So sorry you missed your lunch, Beth!

Call me crazy, but Mary provided very poor customer service. I sent an email to the restaurant owner and am waiting for her response.

On a brighter note, after lunch we walked over to see our friend Shelly (another girlfriend from junior high) that I mentioned in my last post. She works at Joyworks - the "girly stuff" store that is very cool. Check out her blog to see all the girly, crafty things Shelly creates!


Here's Julie and Cheryl at the entrance.

The four of us yakked and yakked and shared stories since the last high school reunion. Next time Shelly needs to join us for our girly outing.


Here's Shelly and Cheryl.

After that we went to Cheryl’s house and she dug out her high school yearbooks. What a hoot! We were so goofy back then (haha…not like now when we are so mature…haha). We read some of the “comments” Cheryl’s friends had written in her yearbooks and we were very surprised when reading something Julie wrote. You see, first we found my comment to Cheryl in one of the books…and we laughed and laughed…I even used some gibberish words (almost like Spanish) which I think I made up.

But the FUNNIEST part was that in the same yearbook we found Julie’s comment to Cheryl and it was EXACTLY THE SAME COMMENT I made! Even with the Spanish gibberish…HAHAHAHAHA…none of us remembered having done that or why we did that. Geez, I guess our memories are fading…but it was very funny.

All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETH! And Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!!

Things That Happened in 1955

In no particular order...

Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
President Eisenhower sent the first US advisors to South Vietnam.
The average wages were $4,130 per year, and the minimum wage was raised to $1.00 per hour.
The average cost of a new house was $10,950 and the average cost of a new car was $1,900; a gallon of gas was 23 cents!
Albert Einstein, developer of the relativity theory, died.
Congress ordered all US currency to say, “In God We Trust.”
The first cans of Coca-Cola are sold - up till then it had only been sold in bottles.
The Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series.
Ray Kroc started the fast food chain, McDonalds.
The theme park, Disneyland, first opened its gates.
Elvis Presley made his first TV appearance.
James Dean’s stars in the movie East of Eden; James Dean killed in car accident near Cholame, California.

And...it was the year of many great births:

Bill Gates
Steve Jobs
Whoopi Goldberg
Kevin Costner
Bruce Willis
Cheryl Stadler Ryan and Cynthia Johnson – yep, that’s us, same day, same year!

And if you do the math you’ll see that since Cheryl and I were born in ’55 this year we will be 55 years old on December 1st. Same with Disneyland (turning 55) and that’s where Cheryl will be partying on her birthday. So this year we had an early celebration with dinner at our place.



Here’s to us! Happy Birthday, Cheryl!

Seeds, Seeds, Seeds!

Saturday’s pancake breakfast fundraiser for the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association was a great success – and the food was good too!


Here are Cheryl and Kevin – doesn’t Cheryl look like a restaurant manager??



We saw a few friends and relatives also enjoying their pancake breakfast…here is Cheryl and Kevin’s mom, Marlene, and their dad, Karl. Thanks to everyone who supported the fundraiser. I understand there is a chicken dinner in the fall - I’ll have to get more info about that event…

After our breakfast Mike and I did some shopping. We’ve been thinking about our garden and what to plant this year. We’re going to get a jump-start on it and get our soil in shape before planting. I have so many ideas in my head about the garden even though I know Mike will be the master gardener this year since I’ll be at work.


These are the seeds I bought yesterday - except the Oregon wildflowers that were a gift from Cheryl. Now I have to think of where to plant them all.

One thing we are going to do is to supplement the soil with Starbucks coffee grounds. The Starbucks closest to us saves the spent grounds for gardeners and we’re hoping we can get in on that. If anyone has any hints about how coffee grounds have helped in your garden, let us know!

Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway

Wednesday evening Mike and I attended a Kenmore Heritage Society event. The event was called “Take a Ride on the Interurban” and it was most enjoyable.

Part of the enjoyment was attributable to the fact that my friends Cheryl and Kevin (sister and brother) were the guest speakers!

You see, they wrote a book titled, Images of Rail: Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway, and it was published last May. The book is an historical tale about the construction, use, and eventual closing of the short-lived interurban electric railway system that operated in the first decade of the 1900s in the Seattle-Everett area. It is chock-full of vintage photographs of the electric trolleys with stories about not only the interurban railway, but also about the area itself.

Both Cheryl and Kevin are members of the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association and they have done extensive research of the locale. Plus, they grew up in the area and live nearby to this day. (You may remember them from my recent post about the Alderwood Heritage pancake breakfast.) Their research included numerous interviews with people that had knowledge about the railway and they gathered and digitized a multitude of era photographs.

The most famous trolley car is Interurban Trolley Car 55. The Alderwood Heritage web site states: Interurban Trolley Car 55 is one of six Interurban rail cars that provided commuter service from Alderwood Manor to Seattle and Everett from 1910 to 1939…After the demise of the Interurban in 1939, Car 55 was retired, serving as a restaurant diner for several years, and later as a ticket office for the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. The refurbished trolley now enjoys its respite at the Association’s Heritage Park in Lynnwood (what used to be called Alderwood Manor).

The presentation was very interesting and several people in the audience had questions for Cheryl and Kevin about different types of rail. It really got us thinking about how Seattle, and the surrounding communities, developed and the role that rail played in that development.

Before leaving we were able to purchase a book and even get it signed by the authors! Thank you, Cheryl and Kevin – great job – I can’t wait to curl up with your book.

December Festivities

December is always a good month for us.

It starts on the first. That’s the day I share my birthday with Cheryl. This year Cheryl came and met me at Nintendo for lunch on December first. That evening Mike and I went out for dinner to the Purple Café in Woodinville. I love that place! I had a three-course meal with a three-course wine flight – a chance to pair wine with food and try wine I would never think to order. It was wonderful.

Saturday morning Cheryl, with husband Pat, and I, met Cheryl's parents for breakfast in Bothell. Her parents are like second parents to me (heck they let me live in their motorhome for a spell way back in 1976 after my year living in Florida). It is good to spend time with them.

December fourth is our wedding anniversary. Last Sunday Mike and I celebrated 13 years together. We began with an early dinner at Prelude (inside McCall Hall at the Seattle Center) which was followed by a night at the Nutcracker Ballet. Everything was so festive and all the little girls wore their finest velvet holiday dresses!

Plus, this Saturday a new December tradition begins for us. It will be the evening of the Nintendo Holiday Party. They have already begun decorating the first floor of our building. It will be a gala affair with music, friends, and food prepared by local celebrity chef, Mr. Tom Douglas. I can’t wait!

And then winding up the month will be time out of the office. You see, Nintendo Headquarters closes early the afternoon of December 23 and doesn’t open up again until January 3. Yippee!! A winter vacation right here in Seattle!

Our apartment is adorned with our holiday décor and we even have stockings hanging over the fireplace this year. Rock keeps trying to get into the candy dish and Squeak is curious about all of the candles. All we need is a tree – which we’ll get sometime this week.

Life is good. And December is especially good…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Dinner at The Brick

It wasn’t too long ago – in fact, it was the day in late May that I interviewed for and accepted my job – when Cheryl was visiting from Seattle and we went out for a late breakfast. Neither Cheryl or Felipe liked the picture of Cheryl I posted.


So when Cheryl and husband Pat were in Salem last Friday they both HID THEIR MUGS when I got out my camera!

But we were soon joined by Betty and Ron and we all enjoyed a nice evening at The Brick on Liberty Street in downtown Salem. Mike and I love this place. It’s a sports bar/restaurant with good food and a casual atmosphere. It’s not too far from home and the price is right.


We had a good time with good friends!

Girls’ and First Time Ever BOYS’ Night Out

Usually when we have a girls’ night out, it’s GIRLS only! But Saturday night we changed tradition when we invited our boys to come out with us. Well, actually Cheryl changed things because she invited us all over to her house for a dinner party. How exciting – a chance for the guys to see what a girls’ night out is all about and an opportunity for the guys to hang out together. I had just got a new camera (again - my other new one could not be repaired for a rea$onable price) and tried out the timer feature. It worked at home just fine except I don't know what that bright strip is on my arm! Mike and I were the first to get to Cheryl and Pat’s and I had to take a picture of her lovely table. Isn’t her dining room gorgeous?? We gathered around the kitchen table to enjoy drinks and a spinach artichoke dip with chips and relax before dinner. That’s Julie, Beth, Pat, Bob and Mike. Soon enough we sat down to enjoy a Caesar salad, lasagna and French bread, followed by pistachio ice cream. Yum! And after all that Cheryl brought out some photo albums. From many, many years ago with pictures of most of us in them. We laughed and laughed. And I made a short video – but everyone looks very grumpy watching me make a video. If you want a giggle, check it out!

Seattle Mariners v. Cleveland Indians

Today is Cheryl and Pat’s 28th wedding anniversary! And last night they treated us to another Mariner’s game at Safeco Field.


Cheryl had told me that they didn’t have any plans for their anniversary and she didn’t know what they would be doing. Sooo…we surprised them with a bag of puzzles to keep them busy tonight. HA! Then we headed into Seattle to Safeco Field.

The ballpark has a unique retractable roof that covers, but does not close up, the ballpark so that even when it is closed there is still an open-air feel. From the Mariners’ website:

The ballpark's one-of-a-kind retractable roof is designed to cover but not enclose the ballpark, thus preserving an open-air environment. The structure covers nearly 9 acres, weighs 22 million pounds, and contains enough steel to build a skyscraper 55 stories tall. The three movable panels glide on 128 steel wheels powered by 96 ten horsepower electric motors. A push of a button closes or opens the roof in an average of 10-20 minutes (depending on wind and other weather conditions). The roof is self-grounded (in the event of lightning strikes) and is designed to withstand 6-7 ft. of snow and sustained winds of up to 70 mph.


Crazy, huh? This is a picture of the underside of the roof with the machinery that allows it to open and close.




Our seats were in the Hit It Here Café which is located above right field and has a great view and full-service dining. Dining! Not hot dogs and peanuts, but actual food from a menu. The middle pic is a view of the Hit It Here Café from across the stadium. We sat just above the yellow UW Medicine banner around the letter “M”.



A waiter took our orders and we started with a bucket of spicy peel-and-eat shrimp, midget corn dogs with cheese and some nice, cold beers. Our entrees included a Philly Cheese Steak, Chicken Caesar Salad, Bleu Cheese & Bacon Burger and Smoked Chicken Nachos. The Mariners took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning as we enjoyed our dinners.



These are views of the ballpark from our seats. Nice and comfortable...no tripping over your “row-mates” when you need to get up. Feeling hot and thirsty and don’t want to spend almost $5 for a bottle of water? “Waiter, could I please have some more water?” Plus, it was easier to have a conversation without everyone around you listening in.


Who is this Major League Baseball right fielder you might ask? ICHIRO! One of the best hitters in MLB history.





To finish off the night, we enjoyed dessert – a Warm Double Dark Chocolate Brownie and Granny Smith Apple Pie Ala Mode.


We went into the 9th inning with the Indians struggling to get a hit...but they didn’t and the Mariners won, 1-0! Ta-da Mike’s happy!

Happy anniversary Cheryl and Pat and thank you for a wonderful evening!


p.s. Kenmore Air sighting!

1974-2009 35th High School Reunion

It was the “dawning of the age of Aquarius” – well, a few years later...Lynnwood High in Lynnwood, Washington was about 20 miles north of Seattle. It was the latest edition to Edmonds School District and the campus was completed in 1971. Just recently the school was demolished and a new Lynnwood High will arise.

Our class was joined by the Class of 1973 and together we “broke in” Lynnwood High and our class graduated in June, 1974. Wow. That sounds like a long time ago.

Our 35th high school reunion will be held this weekend. The main “party” will be Saturday evening at Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville, Washington (close to Chateau St. Michelle winery.) Mike and I planned to go, but we have decided to stay home. It just seems so scary to think Mike could have another seizure. If that’s his fate I’d rather be in Salem. For now anyway.

So if anyone from LHS is lurking around, leave a comment! And have a great reunion.

p.s. My best friend, Cheryl, facilitated the organization of this event and I know it will be FAB!!!
p.p.s.s. Felipe – I am tempted to post a pic of Cheryl flopping around on a “bouncy house” thingy (those big inflatable things for kids’ parties), but then I remembered your comment about her wanting to throttle me…

What a Week!

Mike and I spent the week answering Craigslist ads, shopping consignment/thrift stores (as well as a regular furniture store), perusing garage sales, and $pending dough.

Because we sold all of our furniture 2 years ago when we moved to Mexico, we had a lot to replace. My best friend, Cheryl, came through with 2 end tables, a Weber grill, a glider (outdoor chair for 2), and matching table. THANK YOU CHERYL! Plus, today we scored a lawnmower and desk chair for FREE from 2 different garage sales. It has been challenging and rewarding all at the same time.

Also today our landlords finished the kitchen revamp and we now have a stove and oven that we can use! We purchased a microwave this week and between microwaved food and eating out, it was getting old. I can’t wait to cook a full meal this weekend.

On another front, Sitka is experiencing a high level of anxiety. She is not yet comfortable inside the apartment and she follows us around from room to room which is somewhat annoying because she is so BIG. She does better outside where we have made a bed for her on the patio. She likes eating the grass and has “talked” to a few different neighbor doggies when their owners walk them on the other side of our fence. As with most German shepherds, her hips are failing and she trips and slips a lot. It breaks my heart. I remember when she was younger/stronger and she ran and ran and ran…those days are behind her.

This weekend we hope to catch up with family and friends. And get an oil change for the truck. She’s been strong and dependable and she deserves some fresh “blood.”

Dat’s it. For now anyway.

Girls' Night Out

Beth, me, Cheryl & Julie. Last night was Girls’ Night Out. We’ve know each other since grade school. And about 9 years ago (after our 25 year high school reunion) we began a tradition of getting together once a month or so. No husbands, no boyfriends, no kids – well, except one time when Cheryl brought her brother!

We go out to lunch or dinner, or to a movie, or to play BINGO, or to race bumper cars or go-carts, or play putt putt golf, or bowling, or anything to just get together and yak, yak, yak. Every time we go out I have a BLAST!!! We talk about our current lives and reminisce about our past, we complain about work, we share stores about family, we gossip about friends, we describe our latest vacations , we brag about our successes, and we whine about our disappointments.

But most of all we talk to each other and we listen to what we each have to say. I usually cry on the way home because I have had such a good time. I am going to miss Girls’ Night Out.

The Weekend

Friday after work I headed to south and east to Snoqualmie. For a party. An annual tradition. A gathering of women who used to work in the Legal Department at AT&T Wireless – a company that was acquired by Cingular Wireless, whose parent company acquired AT&T, and now goes by the name AT&T Mobility. Confused? The telecommunications mergers & acquisitions era was busy...many, many changes.

And from the change mentioned above developed a small group of powerful women that get together now and then. Due to the merge of AT&T Wireless with Cingular most of the women at the party were either laid off (like me) or made the wise decision to find a new job before getting their proverbial pink slip. I missed the last two Annual AT&T Wireless Reunion and Holiday Gift Exchange parties because I wasn’t living in Seattle, but I wasn’t about to miss this one.

I walked in and it felt so comfortable to see all of the familiar faces. I learned we are working at power companies like Microsoft, Amazon.com, Nintendo, Premera Blue Cross, and Motricity. We all brought either an appetizer or dessert and a gift to exchange. We ate and chatted and caught up with each other. It was a delight to see everyone and I really enjoyed the evening.


“I am woman, hear me roar!”

Our Saturday morning began with a drive north to Lake Stevens. More specifically, to a middle school in Lake Stevens that was holding a holiday bazaar. A holiday bazaar that included my friend and blog commenter, Teresa from Lake Stevens.



We spied Teresa from a walkway above her tables. We knew she’d be easy to spot because we’d heard about all the plants she had been nurturing over the past few months – and there she was! She had her tables nicely organized and she was ready to sell and make some money for her fundraiser. We bought a plant that was cleverly dropped into a holiday gift bag - it was already “wrapped”!

From there we went out to lunch to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Twelve years! Maybe next year we’ll celebrate BIG…like with a trip to the tropics...

Sunday morning Mike was off to his volunteer gig at the Center for Wooden Boats (CWB). He and another guy are in charge of the sailing of the model sailboats on the pond that is next to CWB. Check it out some Sunday morning, 10:30-1:30.

So while Mike was downtown Cheryl and I met for our belated birthday lunch. And Cheryl gave me a Box of Fun. I'll have to tell you about that in my next post...

The weekend was busy and fun. Here's to more busy and fun weekends!

Housing in Guaymas

We feel so lucky that we have the opportunity to live here in el Centro in a really great apt - thank you Lolita!

And as we drive around Guaymas we see many different types of housing so we thought it might be interesting to show some pics of what we have seen...




This first pic is on the street that leads down to Hotel Ana and our apt - and see the sea in the distance. I love driving down this street!

And following is a closer shot of the houses on the left side of the street. See how they are bulit right next to each other, sharing common walls? These homes face west and I'm sure they get quite warm from the sun all day...at night the families in these homes sit outside with the kids playing close to the street.














A lot of houses are built right into the hillside - and there are numerous hillsides in Guaymas. Not only do the house colors vary, but the style and condition of the homes vary as well. We're not sure which ones are occupied and which are not. This was also taken at the top of the road that leads to our house - looking the opposite direction from the water.













This is an apt building close to the Immigration office. It was one of the first apt buildings I remember seeing. I can't help but wonder about the heat - considering this shot is facing west. But I do see some air conditioners and maybe the apts run lengthwise with an eastern exposure that allows for some breeze through the apts.














Here is an interesting shot of a house that stands alone and looks very sturdy. I think it was the "sturdiness" factor that caught my eye when I took the pic. Funny enough I had not even thought about all the concrete buildings in Guaymas until my best friend, Cheryl, pointed it out to me. A good percentage of the homes in the Seattle area are built from wood so now that I think about it the construction material here is very different. I wonder how old it is?? And I also wonder how you might be able to research a property. Just today Lolita told me that her house sits where her husband's family's original home stood for TWO HUNDRED YEARS!












This is a neat looking house - or is it a hacienda - that overlooks the roadway leading to the beach in Guaymas. And here is another house that is in the colonia close to the beach...I don't know that colonia's name, but there are many stand alone homes here...many of which are new.













The school I will teach at (Colegio Navarrete/St. Mary's Preschool) is located in a nice part of town with many houses. See this pic of a large house that sits solo on a lot above the schoolgrounds, hugging the mountainside.



Below is a neighborhood of houses that we can see on the way to the beach. They remind me of the many bucolic neighborhoods on the Eastside in the Seattle area. My presumption is that they are fairly new and maybe fairly expensive. I have yet to check out real estate info since we've been here.













Lastly, this is a brand new neighborhood in Norte Guaymas. We stopped to get out and look inside the little houses. And then we noticed what appeared to be a real estate agent showing a couple one of the houses. They flagged us down and provided us info about the houses (in Spanish so we only understood a portion of what they were saying) and told us where to go to inquire further about purchasing one. We explained that we're happy in el Centro!