For nearly two weeks, we were living on the boat in Ensenada, part of it in the water, tied up at the dock; part of it on board while the boat was on the hard. Part of it in San Diego (yes!) where Philip, Liz, and Miles hosted us again, we did some last minute shopping, and then took a bus back to Ensenada.
We have a new bottom paint job, a buffed and shiny hull, a new propeller cutless bearing, a new through-hull fitting in the forward head, and a new engine exhaust hose to replace the one that leaked coming down from San Diego (That was exciting! Nothing like going down to check the engine and finding seawater spraying out of an old hose! Marv was up to the repair task, however, as we shut down the motor, cracked off into the wind to sail [slowly] and let the engine cool enough so he could crawl over it. He securely taped the leak with "Rescue Tape" and we were able to continue on).
Ensenada was a windy, dusty city, with an excellent new art museum, some good restaurants off the beaten track, and friendly, helpful people. But it was good to move on.
Babies change so fast. When we got here six weeks ago, Miles was still a (slightly) wobbly-headed four-month-old. Just this last week he has become proficient at rolling front-to-back and back-to-front and has even made some forward progress (if the toys laid out are enticing enough). He’s a very noticing kind of guy, especially attuned to his parents. The other day I was taking care of him while Liz was at work and Philip was training. We went for a walk, took a nap, had a snack, got in some “tummy time” on the floor, explored the cacti and hummingbirds in the back yard, and were having a very sociable chat with lots of smiles and pats and coos…when Mom showed up. It’s an awesome experience to see a baby (who really was enjoying your company! honest!) realize that his mother has just come back into his life. The wattage went from 50 to 200 instantly and the whole-body action—an affirmation of affection and attachment—was a wonder to behold!
