The Week Before Christmas in San Carlos

Christmas week started out with many wonderful walks with Boo.  This picture is south of the Pilar Condos at the mouth of the Estero, where he would try in vain to catch one of the pelicans or gulls.  It is a wonderful place to walk and see the birds.  This week, the red tide came in which is a poisonous algae bloom that turns the water red.  It was really noticeable in the sea but not the estuary.  The waters there are so clear, you can see straight to the bottom.  We haven't kayaked here yet, but hope to when the waters warm up a bit.

Boo at the estuary

Aside from the red tide problem, we also had a water problem, which is not terribly unusual, but, this time, we had no water at all for 3 days.  And, of course, we had a housekeeper come on one of those days.  Luckily, she thought of using the swimming pool water for cleaning and that turned out to be the solution for toilets as well.

We got water back in time for showers before Margene and Joe's Build Your Own Taco and Charades party on Saturday night. They have a fabulous house overlooking the ocean, with a huge deck and outdoor kitchen.

Ruth (Margene's mom, aged 95!), Margene and Suzanne

The taco bar
  Charades was unbelievably hysterical with the addition of an
Australian family to the mix.  I think I laughed myself hoarse.

Sunday morning was brunch at Ruby's Wine
Bar.  I had the most incredible banana bread
pudding with caramel sauce and fresh fruit
which inspired me to begin a diet pronto!

Omar at the keyboard during brunch

Ruby's is on the malecon by the marina.  Behind
Jim is one of the entrances to the docks.

Beautiful marina and Tetakawis
Love the bougainvillea this time of year

Pat and Larry had a solstice party on Sunday at their beautiful home in Marina Vista.

Decked out for the holidays

This is Pat with her very fun neighbor and friend.
Pat is in charge of the Boat Parade on Christmas
Eve.  Hard to believe she had time to put on a party!

Pat and Larry live in the Amarillo House on
the hill behind the Marina Real.  They have
an incredible deck with views of the Algodones
Beach area and outside heaters which came in
handy tonight.

We had a great day on Monday.  Our friends, Bill and Cheryl, asked us over to their house for a traditional turkey dinner.  We had small gifts for each other and even had a fire on their deck in the Pyromid (Eco Que) grill like ours.  

Tuesday was computer club for Jim and birding for me.  We spent a little time at the Esterito before going to the Marina Real where there had been a huge fish kill from the red tide.  Birds were everywhere and we even saw a couple of sea lions gulping down many of the dead fish.  The smell here was (to put it mildly) not pleasant.  I have noticed alot of dead birds on the beaches, too.  By Christmas day, the red tide had moved out, thank heavens.

Marina Real

Can you see the dead fish between the docks?
Sad!

Sated pelicans

The birders

Later that morning, we met a few other people at Palapa Griega for a sandman build.  Let me tell you, this was alot more difficult than snowman building.

You start by filling a bucket with
sand and alot of water so it will
stick together.....

....then you add a couple more of those bucketfuls of sand and
water and fill in the outside with a plaster of wet sand to create
a base.  We had hoped for two more layers, but, alas, it was not
to be.

The second layer of two buckets of sand/water collapsed.
 Our sandman looks like a sand triangle.
We don't know what this character will turn out to be
but we start with two coconut shells.  

Teri had some red tights which Bill and Jim
immediately filled with sand for.....

...legs.

Then, along comes a bikini bra...and a starfish thong.....

The hardworking crew-it took two hours to create this!

The finished product-anyone's guess what
this creature is!  But she sure needs a serious
diet!

San Carlos does rock!  They are hoping to use this in a CD for
Castaway Kids, a local non-profit to help local kids.

As if we didn't already have a full day, we headed down to the marina once again for a Christmas carol sing-a-long with Susan King and Sam Rainwater.  This had its funny moments-carrying a tune

is a bit of a challenge for some of us!