Hello from Yakima

Well it's Thursday, May 22nd and we have been in Yakima for 1 week. We're working hard getting settled into our new home. We got internet service today which also gave us cable and our phone too. Sure feels good to be connected again. When we arrived in Yakima the weather was really hot for the first few days, even into the 100 temps. It has cooled down but still nice and sunny. So far we are really enjoying Yakima and we are looking forward to seeing the kids. We'll post more later but just want to let you know we made it.

Many of you have been wondering why we are leaving our dream here in Mazatlan. We will actually be coming back in January of next year. After two summers in Maz we have both felt it's just too hot and humid. The summers in Yakima will still be hot but without the humidity. For those of you who do not know Yakima, it is east of Seattle and the Cascade Mountains and has a much dryer climate. This year we do plan to stay through the holidays. We haven't yet decided how we will divide up the year but we will be returning to Maz. How we came to fall in love with Mazatlan goes like this. Back in the 80's Greg began to vacation in Maz and finally purchased a timeshare at Torres Mazatlan. He was falling in love with Mazatlan and dreaming of some day living here when I met him in the 90's. At that time I began to vacation with him and I, too, fell in love with the people, the weather - sunshine, the warm tropical breezes off the ocean, the music, the culture etc. We eventually, ...

It's just 1 week before we start our drive to Yakima, Washington. We leave Mazatlan on Sunday, May 11th (Mother's Day). Below is the route Greg has mapped out for us. Looks like it will be around 2,250 miles to Yakima. We're getting very busy with packing up and getting our condo here in Maz ready to set for approximately 8 months. It will be during the rainy, humid, hurricane season so lots of things to think about. This may be he last posting until we get to Yakima. We are looking forward to seeing many of you then. So Adios!! Sunday, May 11 - leave Mazatlan early morning Stay the night in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico (about 400 miles) Monday, May 12 - cross the Mexico/US border at Nogales Stay the night in Green Valley, Arizona (south of Tucson) (about 400 miles) Tuesday, May 13 - drive thru Tucson/Phoenix/Sedona Stay the night in Flagstaff, Arizona (about 260 miles) we plan to spend some time in Sedona Wednesday, May 14 - drive from Flagstaff to American Fork, Utah Stay t...

Sorry it has taken us so long to post the photos from our visit with Brian, Laura and the kids. Right after they left, we started working on our move to Yakima, so we have been spending alot of time packing up. We plan to leave Maz on Sunday, May 11. We had a wonderful week with the kids though and hope they will come to visit us again here in Maz next year. Here are a few photos and video clips of our time together. I was in a hurry to get these posted so I didn't include captions. I'll go back later and do that. Enjoy!