Dalke's Encanto House: February 2009

We picked a great weekend to run down to Mexico and celebrate Jeff turning 40 and catching RCPM at the January Jam....but I am getting ahead of myself......

Jeff, Grant, and I departed Phoenix late on Wednesday January 28th. The truck was loaded with furniture (Grant says he has never gone down to the house when I have not had some type of house hold item loaded), food, beer, fishing stuff, and Jeff's crab traps. The trip down was uneventful except for the roll of wire that flew out of the back of the truck just outside of Gila Bend. It just so happened that right behind us was a Border Patrol truck who ran it over, then pulled us over. He was very cool and he just asked us if it was something important and to check our load. The border was easy and we arrived at the house around 11:00 pm and settle in. Thursday morning we had a great breakfast of elk sausage and eggs. Jeff had made up some crab traps that we wanted to try so we went to the estuary behind the house and placed the taps using a concrete block, some rope and a milk jug float to mark the location. Last May this area was full of crabs and little fish, but this time of year it did not have the same about of sea life, but we set the tarps and hoped we would catch a couple. We then ran into town to get some squid for bait and a couple of items we needed at the house. We tried a small fish market closer to the house for the squid. In our broken spanglish we learned we could get the squid at La Lei (spelling of that I do not know for sure) which was great as we could then get everything at one stop. We picked up the squid, some catchup,and a couple of telcell cards for my two Mexico cell phones and we were set. We wanted to bait fish on an incoming tide. Our first try was at the mouth of the estuary West of the house. The signs say that this area is for members only, but we talked to the caretaker and he said it was ok for us to fish there but that this was not the right time of the year (a common trend for the week end of fishing). We casted out into that area and spent the rest of the afternoon watching our line and drinking beer....but no fish. That evening back at the house Grant made up some elk corned beef and potatoes and we enjoyed the evening. We built a good fire in the fireplace and started to get the house warmed up.

Jeff setting one the crab traps.....and yes the water was a little cold.

A side line on owning a concrete house. As I stated in a prior blog, it takes some time to get a concrete house warm as the mass of the house stores energy (cold or hot). Once you do get the inside of the house to a comfortable temperature the house stays fairly constant, but still a little on the cool side.

The next day after another good breakfast we tried to fix the water pump. We had noticed the night before that the pump had stopped working, and agreed that we would tackle this job during the day. After a bunch of running around and checking voltages with a borrowed voltage tester, we were able to wire the pump motor with a cord to a wall outlet and we had water pressure. It was not a permanent solution, but one that could work. After we resolved that big issue at around 10:00 am we started off to another estuary spot we had scouted about 6 months prior. When we left the house we locked it all up and shut the damper on the fireplace to prevent a down draft into the house. This fishing spot was a lot more promising. At this location some locals launch their fishing boats and the bay appears to be a good crab fishing area as there were many old crab traps up on shore....but none in the water. We fished this spot for a few hours. Might of had some nibbles, but no real strikes. We did get to see a local land his two pongas and unload his catch. Flounder and rays were the majority of the fish he had caught. He cleaned the fish right there and the birds went crazy. No wonder this area had the crab traps if the fisherman cleaned there fish all the same way; leaving the fish parts in the water for the crabs and rays. We stayed in this area for another hour and then went back to the house.

As soon as we opened the garage door I knew I had problem. Smoke poured out of the house....the fire in the fireplace was not totally out when I closed the damper. The house filled with smoke as it had no place to go. He aired the house out but it took the remainder of our stay to get the smell of smoke out of the house. That night we fixed some carne asada and settled in awaiting the rest of the gang.

Darren and Chris arrived around 10:30 - 11:00 that Friday. We had a few gin and tonics and vodka and tonics, etc. Sometime that night Grant started to talk about palm trees and then vanished to his bedroom.....so we assumed the remainder of the week end that anyone who mentioned palm trees must be drunk.

Gin and Vodka Tonics are good around a nice fire on the patio.....Jeff had whiskey...

The next morning we took a ride out to the mouth of the estuary at low tide. I had never been to that part of the beach at the lowest tide and it was very cool. There are some rocks and reef out in the middle of that area with all kinds of sea creatures. It will be a great place to take the kids when the water is warmer to explore. We goofed around over there until around noon and then went back to the house to have lunch and get ready for the RCPM show that evening. We had been told that we needed to be over to JJ's around 4:00 to get a table so we left the house soon after 3:00 to make the run over there. It was a cool night, and a great show. Jeff had never been to a peacemakers show and he was impressed. We drank a few beers from 4:00 until we got out of there at 11:00 that night...good thing they sell beer by the case (but only 20 per case?) It was a great time had by all....we got to see a lady fall off the rock wall and hit her head. She bled all over, and on Chris as he tried to help her. We also got to see Grant get a girls phone number, which was worth the trip in it self. After the show we stopped by a place called Chango's over by Sandy Beach on the way home...nothing really going on there so we stopped by Manny's...which was even more dead. At that point it was time to get home.

Super Bowl Sunday: It was one of those picture perfect days in Mexico in the winter. Clear, very little wind, and the ocean was like glass for most of the day. We hung out around the house, enjoyed the warm weather, made up some bratwurst on the grill, got cleaned up and went to town to watch the big game. We picked the Boo Bar. We had been there a couple of other times and I had see the photos that Myn had taken there of the last playoff game and the place looked packed. With a game this big, we wanted to enjoy a place that would have some crowd atmosphere and we were not disappointed. The game was good (at least the the last quarter) and the half time part of the night was almost as memorable....the attached photo says it all. Needless to say, the Cardinals lost the game, but we have a very good time. After the game we strolled down to the Thirsty Parrot and had a beer but on the way we lost Grant. We hung out on the patio over looking the street and then we caught sight of him. He was wearing a new Mexican pull over jacket and a pair of yellow goggles that only "Hancock" would have on. He tried to explain what a great "deal" he got on the set. Needless to say we gave Grant hell on that purchase for the remainder of the night. Back at the house that night we packed up a few things as Jeff had to be back home very early.