Countdown from the Dock and La Paz - 4

This is a pic of a big box of  FAUX PAS... or "photo-pas":

These are only a third of the photos, newspaper articles and family recipes!

A large plastic bin of family photos - the ones I intended to scan last year? Well, I never got around to it and on Jim's last trip to the USA he accidentally left them behind. He didn't mean to - he actually carried them out to the truck - but they sat forgotten in the marina parking lot overnight until I discovered them. There was no option then - I had to scan them because they were hogging up valuable space and they would likely not survive the increasing humid-tropical-terrarium weather further south. The project took HOURS and countless HOURS to complete. Thank GOD I only brought the small box down here and not the 2 larger ones!!

My 2nd cousin, Jack

My mother and Mini Me at Nagshead saving the sea turtle

Our oldest, Sweet Tim, and his cousin, Baby Gabe

Great-Great Grandparents - Annie Belle WITHAM & Frank ROSS

Three Sisters

Carolyne - 3 months

Great uncles

The family photos are a hodge-podge... our children as babies, my parent's wedding day, my father and his sister as children, my great grandparents, 2nd uncles, some cousins, old family friends...
even one high school photo of Jim...
squeezed into a very tight black Speedo...
which had Carolyne howling (and then shuddering) for hours...
Yep, I scanned it! (And no - you can not see it!)

And now all of those valuable family memories are safely backed up on a hard drive - easily accessible and no longer hogging up almost 1/2 of one berth because after successfully scanning them all...
photos post-1960 were tossed (with some difficulty and guilt) in the trash  - and pre-1960 were sent to my sister in the mail - where they will probably get stuffed in some closet or dusty garage for the next generation to have to deal with. In reality - all I did was to move my treasures from a BIG plastic storage box
to a very small plastic storage box.

The belly of the beast  forward

Bilge - simply nasty and needed some serious scrubbing. That chore is never on the priority list - but since we have fresh water I think it is a sin not to do it. I sopped up some oily goop pooled at the bottom of the belly and found swimming in the abyss: a hairpin, shards of wood, a rusty screw, a AAA battery (I think), and (Sshh! - don't tell the Captain)... a couple of runaway beads from a jewelry making day that would have clogged the bilge pump for sure! And something blue... wasn't sure I wanted to touch it (and I got rid of the rubber gloves since they kept catching and snapping on wires and bronze fittings). It was gooey and thick - and I couldn't help it... I sniffed it.
Liquid Laundry Detergent!!!
That means my extra bottle of soap in the forward head leaked... and since the forward head is stuffed full of extra sails and the ditch kit and sun covers and shades... and since the laundry detergent smells GOOD instead of stinky and is barricaded inside a cabinet and probably NOT leaking on sails...
that newly discovered mess has been added... to the end of the list.
Not. A. Priority.
At least the bilge is clean.

Carolyne and her wonderful orthodontist, Doctora Rocio

Last minute doctor's appointments are also rushed to the front of the line. Now that acquiring antibiotics means getting a prescription in Mexico, we ask the doctor for a fresh supply. Never have we been turned away. We carry Cipro, Keflex and Amoxicillin. When Jason on Third Day had to get stitches it was a good thing Lori had her first aid kit ready and antibiotics on hand. And even a dentist, orthodontist, eye specialist, etc... can write you a prescription.

So, for any of you travelers out there that might have an annual exam coming up with your doctors, be sure to remember and ask for your fresh supply of antibiotics. No one in our family has ever had to use them, but it might be the difference between life and death not to have them on board when you are days away from reaching help.

Clean, modern and comfortable waiting room

Professional - gloves, mask and modern equipment

Does this look Third World to you?? 

She went with the peppermint candy red and white bands for Valentine's Day

To date, we have paid $770 US on Carolyne's orthodontia. And even though that sounds like a lot, that is a staggering smidgen of what my family and friends have told me they have paid in the States...
$5,000 on the average!!!
She has been in braces since September and she should be ready to have them removed very soon. Her teeth were growing higgledy-piggledy and some front perms were kicking out so severely that she refused to smile anymore. We shopped around and chose Dra. Rocio (who was not the cheapest and who did not speak English) but who understood we needed fast service and I liked her demeanor and facilities. We are thrilled with the progress and the quality of her expertise. We will miss Dra. Rocio and will have to locate other orthodontists in the various places along the way to have Carolyne's braces adjusted. We'll keep you posted how that works out.