text:
Neli, Maya, Victoria And Jason
The Big Adventure
Treats?
Very Important People
Heading for the Hills
Me, taking in the view of Guanajuato
My Family and I had such a great time in Sayulita that I was wondering what we could do to top it. We had spent days with our friends, run on the beach, eaten delicious food and chased giant bugs and lizards. What could be better? Well, it was clearly going to take some time to find out. We got back on the road and started a long, long trip to our next destination, Lake Chapala. According to Victoria, Lake (or Lago, en espanol) Chapala is the largest natural lake in Mexico. That sounded pretty cool but we had a lot of ground to cover before I could check it out.
We spent the whole rest of the morning and into the afternoon on a big highway, going up and down huge hills. It was a pretty day and the road wasn't too bumpy, so I was more than content to snuggle up on Victoria's lap and let the miles roll by. There were an awful lot of tolls, though. Jason was grumbling about the expense, while Victoria argued that these roads were faster and safer. I dunno, I just really didn't like all the little bumps before each toll. One cool thing, however, was that one of the tolls had nice grassy spots for peeing on, good bathrooms for My Family, and even a taco stand with delicious food!
As we got closer to our destination, the sky got really cloudy. There were a few drips of rain, which made Victoria nervous. I guess the work Jason had done at Los Barilles to seal up the roof hadn't quite worked, and there was still a little leak inside. Well, things got worse in a hurry. The sky opened up, and it started pouring! Now, I don't know how things are where you live, but back in Venice we didn't see rain like that very often. It was coming down so hard that Jason almost couldn't see through the windshield. He noticed that the car in front of us decided to pull over under a bridge, but we were almost to the lake and Jason wanted to keep going. I think he felt a little differently once the hail started. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it! Huge chunks of ice bouncing off the windshield, hitting on the hood of the big truck and smashing into the ground all around us, while the rain continued to fall. This drive wasn't going so well.
We managed to find our turnoff and drove down a cobblestone road as the rain let up. Ahead were the gates for Roca Azul, which was right at the edge of Lake Chapala. This place was pretty neat. There were cool houses around the Park, which seemed more like a summer camp than any RV park I had seen so far. The grounds were huge, with several buildings, a soccer field, and even a huge playground for kids. There were tons of larger RVs, what Victoria calls "Big Rigs", but nothing like our little camper. We found a nice spot under some trees and parked.
Lago de Chapala. Pretty, no?
Lake Chapala was certainly pretty. But there were lots and lots of bugs and since I had scratched up the screen Jason ended up closing the door, which I know he wasn't happy about. Okay, I messed up! Sheesh! That night we were all pretty tired, so Victoria and Jason made a simple dinner and after the moon rose fat and orange over the lake, we tucked in for the night.
There were lots of beautiful trees in the campground, this is where we walked to get back and forth to the good internet.
Vic is afraid of heights so I had to stay on the ground to look after her.
The next day Jason had to work, but the internet wasn't working so well in our camper. So he took me over to the office while Victoria stayed behind to clean up. I didn't mind hanging out while Jason worked, as we got to sit on a cool stone bench in a really pretty field. When he took a break we got to run around on the soccer field, which was a lot of fun too. Victoria came over to hang out with us, and she and Jason started talking about us being behind schedule on the trip. Apparently they thought we were only going to spend six weeks in Mexico, and now it was looking like it was going to take a lot longer. I don't really know where we are on this adventure, but this sure is a big country. After the work day Victoria and Jason took me for a walk around the RV park. There was an awesome lighthouse out by the lake, which looked over a huge green field covered with birds. Jason went all the way up to the top of the lighthouse, but Victoria was too scared to go up that high so I stayed with her. We walked further and saw a beautiful swimming pool, but it was a little too cold to go in. We went through the playground, and Victoria made me get on all the rides with her. I don't know, I think I prefer keeping my feet on the ground. Jason said he thought it was a little bit creepy, all of these toys for kids and no kids around. In fact, the whole campground was very quiet. We saw almost no one, and as the sun disappeared I could tell it was making Jason a bit uncomfortable. I didn't mind so much; I like the quiet from time to time.
One of the rides My Family forced me to go on.
Can anyone tell me why this is supposed to be fun?
In the morning we got packed up and drove to a place that couldn't be more opposite of Lake Chapala: the city of Guanajuato. Guanajuato looked really old, with narrow stone streets and tall stone buildings. It was also REALLY confusing to drive. I could tell Victoria and Jason were getting a bit frustrated, and we had to pull over once to figure out where we were going. Finally they found the right street, and we reached the Morrill Trailer Park.
Guanajuato has LOTS of old buildings to look at, something My Family could do all day.
It was on a hill, looking out at another hill covered with colorful homes. There was no one around when we arrived, so Jason set up the camper and we waited to make sure it was okay to stay there. Guanajuato is very different from anywhere we've been since California. I could tell we were really high, as it was kind of cold and very dry. When we finally saw the woman who ran the RV park, it was almost nighttime. She was super nice and looked like an abuela (that's grandma, in Spanish), and treated us that way. She didn't speak any English at all, but My Family was still able to communicate with her. Now that we knew we could get set up, we faced another little problem: we hadn't stopped for groceries. I had plenty of food, so I was just fine. But it was slim pickings for Victoria and Jason. They ended up making weird egg salad sandwiches for dinner, and shared desserts of their jiggly, jelly-like things called flan that came out of the same kind of package as yogurts. I didn't get to try any of it, and for the first time this trip I was totally fine with that. After dinner Jason didn't feel really well, but it wasn't because of the food. He had a bad headache, which I guess happens to him a lot when he first goes to a high elevation. Did you know our campground in Guanajuato was about 6,800 feet up from sea level? Considering just a couple of days ago we were sleeping at sea level, that's a big change. I kept kissing Jason's face, but I don't think that was making him feel any better. Also, it was VERY LOUD there. Even though the houses were far away, you could hear at hundreds of dogs barking, and they just barked all night. Add on to that the dance music coming from places all over the city and the occasional earsplitting firework exploding in the air, and you knew this was very far from the silence of Lake Chapala!
So. Many. Hills.
One of the many plazas we visited. The restaurants here didn't let me in so I didn't think it was that great here.
Jason was feeling much better when we got up the next morning, so we decided to go explore the city. Guanajuato is made up of huge hills and cobblestone streets and alleyways that snake from place to place. Everything is built at an angle. I didn't particularly love the walk, but My Family really enjoyed looking at all the buildings. This was nothing like anywhere else we had ever been. We reached the bottom of our hill and entered the main part of the city to see that Guanajuato is covered with gardens, great restaurants and lots and lots of people. We saw cool street artists, musicians, and painters as well. Victoria and Jason found a piece of art they really liked, and they bought it for our camper. After walking around for quite a while we sat in one of the pretty squares for lunch. There was a dog that kept hanging around, hoping to get some of Jason and Victoria's food. I knew I was going to be the one to get those tasty treats, but he just kept hanging out. And then Jason gave him his steak! I only got a small piece, and this stranger dog got almost half of Jason's lunch! What's up with that?!
I sure hope he finds a Family of his own someday 🙁
Then I realized that this dog had no collar with his name on it, no leash to keep him safe, and no Family around either. I've never really thought about it, but apparently there are some dogs, and even some people, who don't have homes. This dog was like that. He didn't have anyone to snuggle with at night, no warm blankets, no fancy outfits, and clearly no delicious food. After the bite of steak Jason gave him , the dog started drooling a lot, like he had never eaten before! I realized it was a good thing that My Family shared with this dog, even if it meant I would have a little bit less. And the more I thought about it, the more I remembered all of the dogs we've seen on the adventure so far. Almost none of them had a Family. I can barely remember it now, because my life is so awesome, but I didn't have a family at one point. I wish all the dogs-with-no-homes could find good people to take them home, just like Victoria and Jason gave me one.
PS: If you want to see some of the photos My Family took while we were in Lago de Chapala and Guanajuato, they are on Facebook.
POSTED BY Neli
Mainland, Mexico
DISCUSSION 7 Comments
Guanajuato, Hail, Lago de Chapala, Mexico, Street Dogs
Finally, the Mainland!
Me and Olivia relaxing in Sayulita. I love when Olivia and her family shows up because Olivia always wants to play with me!
First of all, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write this blog post you guys! The trip to Mazatlan was pretty tough, and since then I've basically been recovering on the beach. It's really hard to tear myself away from the best sunny, sandy spots I've ever seen, and then when I do Jason is working so much that it's been hard to get anyone to help me write these posts. I've managed to sneak some time on the computer, so here it goes!
After we drove off the ferry we had to find the San Bartolo Trailer Park, where we were going to be spending the night. It was somewhere in Mazatlan, and unfortunately my Family didn't have a good map. The GPS wasn't working that well either, and since everyone was so exhausted from the ferry ride it made navigating a big city pretty tough! We did it somehow, and the RV park ended up being a lot of fun. Someone had trimmed all the hedges into funny animal shapes, which was pretty cool, but even better was the fact that our friends were there! When we arrived we saw the nice British couple we had met in Los Barriles, and parked right next to them was our German friends Doris and Torsten, who Victoria and Jason met in Venice way back before the adventure even began. We were lazy, tired and sweaty, but everyone was still happy to see us. After showering my Family had rum punches at the Germans' rig. Although I didn't get to taste any of that, I did get a lot of attention from our friends, and most especially from Torsten. He let me sit in his lap, and gave me all sorts of rubs and snuggles. I love Torsten! After that My family went out for dinner with our friends, but they left me at home in the camper. Although I was disappointed not to get any treats from the restaurant, I was more than happy to snooze while they were away. Victoria and Jason got home pretty early, filled with food and happy to be meeting other overlanders, even though we seem to keep meeting up with the same people!
Giant shady tree in Miramar.
The next day we meant to get up really early so we could make it to Sayulita before sunset, but my Family was really slow to crawl out of bed. That was perfectly fine with me, but as the time passed I could tell Jason was worried we wouldn't make it in time. Apparently we had a very long drive ahead. In the end we ended up leaving an hour late, but after saying goodbye to our friends Victoria was still pretty confident that we'd make our next destination.
Things changed in a hurry. My Family took a wrong turn, thinking they had to find one particular highway, and drove almost an hour in the wrong direction before they figured it out! A little bit of panic in the truck, but we were determined to get through it and keep going. We stopped for gas, and the nice man who filled the truck for us really liked our 'Perro Peligroso' sign. That means 'dangerous dog' in Spanish, and I guess if you know me you'd think that was pretty funny too. But hey, I can be tough when I need to be! We drove onto a big highway, and although it was helping us make up some time, Jason didn't particularly enjoy it. There were crazy drivers everyone, led by the nuttiest truck and bus drivers I've ever seen in my whole life. One bus driver even tried to pass us and a big truck in the other lane, and almost crashed into three cars coming the other way! People were making up their own lanes, and driving straight at us on the wrong side of the street, all while going really fast. We were fine, because Jason's a pretty good driver, but I could see that his hands were holding the steering wheel very tightly.
The beach in Miramar. We had the place to ourselves once the sun started to set.
We were making good time, but with our early morning detour Jason and Victoria started to think we wouldn't make it to Sayulita, their most favorite place in Mexico, that day as planned. Victoria opened up our guidebooks and found a nice looking RV park in a town called Miramar, so we pulled off the road and onto their cobblestone driveway just before the sunset. It was good timing, as I don't think Jason could have handled the small, windy roads packed with potholes for very much longer!
The Paraiso Miramar RV-Trailer Park was super nice. We found a place to park right in front of a huge, perfect lawn topped with one of the biggest, prettiest trees I've ever seen. Families were splashing in the pool and playing games on the grass. We got out and almost immediately a big dog named Archie came right up to me. He wanted to be really really good friends, but Victoria wasn't having any of it. I kind of just wanted to run around on the lawn anyway. We sat on a bench and watched a really pretty sunset, and then headed off to dinner. They had a nice restaurant with delicious food, and this time I got to try some. My Family also met a very nice older couple named Julie and Rusty, who split their time between a small town in California and an even smaller town in Mexico. They were traveling with two dogs and a cat! I didn't get to meet the cat, but the dogs were really nice.
After dinner we went back to our camper, and that's when we noticed the bugs. We didn't really see many of them when it was still daytime, but once the sun went down they came out in droves, looking to munch on us every chance they got! I don't mind quite as much, because I can chase them, and sometimes if I'm lucky I even manage to eat one or two. They're pretty delicious, but Victoria was absolutely fed up. My Family spent some time battling the bugs in the camper, before finally settling in to listen to the ocean waves and get some sleep.
One of Julie and Rusty's dogs. She was super friendly!
The next day we managed to wake up on time, to pack up and have a nice breakfast with Julie and Rusty. They suggested we check out a couple of small towns, and are especially proud of where they live. I don't think we're going to make it through all of them, but hopefully someday I'll get to meet those nice people and their dogs again! After breakfast Rusty showed us some of his art, which was pretty cool, while Archie tried to sniff me up and down again. We said our goodbyes and hit the road.
The drive to Sayulita was especially beautiful. We moved away from the beach a little bit, and the smells told me we were truly somewhere else now. Jason called it 'the jungle' and it sure looked and smelled different. Nothing but huge trees, packed in close together, and tons of birds and animals making a racket. The road was small and winding, moving us up and down mountains, but not too bumpy, and My Family was so excited to be heading back to Sayulita. We got there a couple hours later, drove through the beginning of what looked to me like a super cute town, and ended up at the Sayulita RV Park.
Sayulita sunset. We went to the beach every evening to watch this and so My Family could drink 'Sundowners.'
We ended up staying in Sayulita for nine days. Victoria and Jason had come here before, and they tell everyone that this is where they first had the idea for the Big Adventure. Sayulita is really beautiful, with cobblestone streets, lots of art and pretty shops, and some of the most delicious food I've had a chance to taste. Our days were very relaxed and pretty slow, which is just fine with me. Every morning started with Jason making coffee and my Family sipping it either on the beach or at our campsite. Jason would hop on the computer and do some work, either at home, at a local restaurant called Tropical which had yummy smoothies, or at the Yah Yah Coffee Shop in the town square. Meanwhile, Victoria and I would lay on the beach, go for walks to meet other dogs, or hang out with the old and new friends we made. When Jason came home for lunch we always went for delicious fish tacos or ceviche, and every time I got to have a taste. Then we'd go for more walks, hang out on the beach and read books (well, not me, but you get the idea) and just enjoy the beautiful weather. There was a little bit of rain, but it cooled things off and got rid of the bugs for a little while, so that was just fine with me. Each evening we would walk into town and try out a new restaurant or taco stand, listen to the street musicians, watch the kids and dogs running around or hang out with our friends. Marcia, Andre and Olivia spent two nights with us, and they made delicious barbecue one night. We met a German boy named Alex who is riding a Vespa scooter from Alaska all the way to the bottom of South America. I liked his accent. Jason, Alex and Andre spent a night talking over beer, but that seemed pretty boring.
Jason drinking his cappuccino in the Zocalo (that means main plaza or square in Spanish)
Over all, I can really see why Victoria and Jason like Sayulita so much. It's full of nice people, great beaches, better food and super colorful sunsets. Victoria commented that it seemed a lot more busy than the last time she and Jason went (when I was left behind, stuck hanging out at the vet's office in a tiny cage!), and full of tourists (what they call 'gringos' here), but we all still had a fantastic time. The only issue was the dirty bathrooms at the RV park, which I think Victoria complained about every single day.
Lots of things for sale in the Zocalo. Vic got a new bracelet, I didn't get anything…
Oh yeah, and there was one more thing I should probably tell you about. That nice German couple Doris and Torsten spent a couple of nights there as well. I love that Torsten guy so much! We had a lot of fun together, but one night My Family and our German friends went out for dinner together. They wanted to leave me at home in the camper. I don't know what got into me, but I wasn't happy about this arrangement, so I scratched and scratched at the door, hoping they would hear me, change their minds and let me come with them. But they never did. When they got home I almost jumped out of the camper into Jason's arms. I knew what was coming. Jason saw it almost immediately – I had scratched holes in the screen door! They told me I was a Very Bad Dog over and over, but I guess they felt bad about leaving me behind and didn't stay mad that long. No one's perfect, right?
Part of the Revolution Day Parade.
The day we left Sayulita, the was a big parade in town. All the girls were wearing really colorful dresses and the boys had funny pretend mustaches drawn on their faces. It was fun to watch but the parade was blocking all the streets so we had to sit around for a while in the Big Truck until we could leave. More delays, but Victoria said we have to get used to things taking longer than they did back in California. Anyway, we eventually could drive on the roads and headed out of town towards the 'Highlands,' where we are now. More on that later!
PS: If you want to see some of the pics My Family took, they are on Facebook!
PPS: My Family did an interview with an online magazine called SayulitaLife.com! I think that means I'm famous.
fish tacos, Mazatlan, Mexico, Sayulita, Very Bad Dog
Last Days on the Baja
Me, after being forced into the water once again. I'm starting to like the water, but don't tell anyone, okay?
Sorry it's taken so long for me to write to you guys, but boy has it been a crazy time! We started our last days on the Baja Peninsula in the East Cape Casas & RV Resort in Los Barriles. This place was really pretty, and everyone there was so nice. First things first: snow birds aren't actually birds at all! Apparently, this is what older people, people way older than My Family's parents, are called. Snow birds don't stay home like most people, instead they buy huge campers (way bigger than our home) and drive them somewhere warm to spend the winter. I don't know if there was some sort of commercial for Los Barriles or what, but there were an awful lot of snow birds! Luckily, they all really liked me. There were plenty of trees to pee on, other dogs weren't allowed to run off leash and get in trouble, there was a nice pool, and Victoria and Jason were pretty excited about the clean bathrooms and hot showers. Showers are terrible, so I don't know why they were so happy about this. But I guess that's one of the differences between dogs and humans.
Los Barriles was pretty quiet, apparently because most of the snow birds hadn't come down for the winter yet. There were a couple of restaurants that were open, and My Family took me with them every time. The weird thing was, everyone there spoke English, even the locals! My Family thought it was pretty odd that they were handed menus in English, and wondered if they would forget all of the Spanish they had learned while staying in this funny little town, or if we would get bored. Luckily, our Brazilian friends Marcia, Andre and Olivia happened to be staying in the very same park as us! It was great to see them, and I even got to taste the lunch that Marcia gave My Family. We all went out for dinner together, which was a lot of fun, but they ended up leaving the very next day. That's when things took a turn for the worse.
Our home parked at the RV Resort. Victoria said they have they best bathrooms in Baja, but I wasn't allowed in so I have no idea what was so great about them.
Jason started to feel pretty run down. He was sneezing almost every ten seconds, and sniffling into a pile of tissues. He thought that one of the Canadian surfers we met might have gotten him sick, and sure enough he spent the whole next week pretty miserable. That was tough, because he had to work almost the whole time. There's nothing fun about being sick, and because he was so run down I didn't get to do anything. It was SO BORING.
To make things even worse, we heard that rain was coming. There was a very nice couple staying right next to us, Pat and Don, and they came over to make sure we had heard that Tropical Storm Sonia was coming. Sonia's a very pretty name, but I guess this storm wasn't going to be nice at all. No one was sure how bad it was going to be, but Victoria was very nervous about the camper leaking. My Family had planned on going over all of the seals on the roof with something called caulk, this really sticky stuff that would keep the rain out, but with everything there was to do before we left the wee blue house, it hadn't made the list. Now Jason had to pull himself up onto the roof and do the work, even though he was sick. Victoria said she would never get tired of making 'caulk jokes'. I don't know what's so funny about that, and Jason sure wasn't laughing. He managed to get the caulk over all of the seams on the roof, as well as his clothes and hands. Then we waited for the Tropical Storm.
Grapefruit. They were growing right next to our house but I wasn't allowed to eat them because Vic said she wasn't sure if dogs should eat Citrus or not. Who's talking about Citrus, I just wanted to try the Grapefruit.
The rain didn't end up being that bad, but we still had a bit of a leak. Jason wasn't too thrilled to discover that he had missed a spot, especially after all of the hard work. And we couldn't do anything about it until everything dried off. That was probably a good thing, as Jason just started getting sicker. Even worse, Victoria started to feel sick too! I was surrounded by coughing and sneezing humans! Good thing I have such a strong immune system.
We ended up staying in Los Barriles for about a week. It was seriously boring. I got to go on a couple of walks, but only had one chance to run around the beach. Jason really liked the RV park even though he had felt so sick, but Victoria was more than ready to leave Los Barriles. Apparently, our days on Baja were numbered.
The drive to La Paz was pretty uneventful, and it ended with a long day of running errands. We drove up to the terminal where we were going to catch the boat, which My Family called a Ferry. It was so busy there, and Victoria was nervous about us having all the right paperwork and being able to get our Import Papers in time. Our truck was cleared to go, we found the right ferry ticket office and, after being told to come back the next day at one o'clock, we headed back into La Paz to do some shopping. We stopped at the supermarket (boring!), at Home Depot (Victoria set off the car alarm and everyone came out and stared at us), at WalMart (super duper boring!) and at Burger King for lunch (I didn't even get a bite). Hours later, we got back on the road towards the ferry terminal to find a place to stay for the night.
Sunset at Balandra, even I can tell it was beautiful.
Although My Family was talking about us going back to Tecolote, the great beach we had stayed at a couple weeks ago, they had heard there was another cool beach nearby called Balandra. It was just as close to the ferry terminal, so we'd have no problem making our boat on time. Balandra was really pretty, different from Tecolote in that there weren't any waves, but the sunset was pretty cool. We even hung out with a group of photographers who had come to the beach specifically to catch the sunset.
The best part was, when we drove out there, who did we see but our Brazilian friends again! As soon as we showed up and said hello they invited us in for dinner. My Family laughed, because it always seems like they're cooking for us every time we end up in the same place! But they wouldn't take no for an answer. We had a blast having a delicious dinner with them, and I even got to hang out for most of it. Jason was starting to feel better, but Victoria was pretty run down with the cold. Andre said the best cure for a cold was Vodka. I don't know what kind of medicine that is, but it sure made everyone laugh and smile a lot! Those guys are my favorite friends on the adventure yet! Happy and full of food, we settled in for the night.
Sometime after midnight, Victoria suddenly leapt up in bed and switched on the light! I could tell Jason was still asleep, and I was trying to sleep too, but Victoria said she could feel sand fleas biting her. This slowly got Jason's attention, because Andre and Marcia had just told us a terrible story about a sand flea infestation they ended up with after staying at another beach. Jason thought it might have been Victoria's imagination, but I saw them almost immediately. Sand fleas everywhere! They were on the bed, bouncing off the ceiling, and crawling over the walls. I tried to just go back to sleep, but My Family went into battle. Armed with nothing but paper towels, they set out to destroy any sand flea unlucky enough to get in their way. It was a bloodbath! I don't know how long they were at it, but when they were done the ceiling, the walls and the sheets were covered with dead sand flea bodies. It was the grossest thing I've ever seen. Victoria and Jason said they thought they'd never get to sleep again, but eventually they were satisfied that they had taken out the sand flea army, turned off the lights, and I was able to get back to bed.
Not a bad place to be forced to swim.
The next day we got up early so we could spend some time playing on the beach before we left for the boat and it was super fun. I ran around in the water while Olivia pretended to be a pelican. Victoria made me swim a little bit more, but the water was so calm that I didn't mind it that much. And Olivia likes to run around on the sand almost as much as I do! It was pretty awesome, but we couldn't stay very long as we had to go catch our boat. Today was the day we were going to take the Ferry over to a place called 'Mainland Mexico'. I don't know what was so different about this than Baja, but I could tell that My Family was both nervous and super excited about it.
We checked in at the ferry terminal and got our ticket just before one o'clock, and found a place to wait right by the boat. The Ferry was a HUGE boat, and it was going to carry us, our truck, and a bunch of even bigger trucks to the Mainland. We spent a very hot afternoon waiting for our turn to board the ferry, sweating (My Family) and panting (Me) while big trucks sprayed dust, dirt and exhaust all over us. It wasn't much fun. We did meet one very nice person, a guy named Chris who is riding his motorcycle all the way from Canada down to the tip of South America. He liked to talk and tell jokes, so that helped pass the time. When it was our turn to get on the ferry, Jason had to back our truck onto the boat, and then onto a huge elevator that brought us up to the top deck. It was pretty cool. We parked and then went up on another deck to watch the rest of the trucks load up.
That's our ride to the Mainland! It was a long, dirty, bumpy ride but we managed to have fun anyway!
There were lots of people on the ferry, all truck drivers also making the trip. The ferry was going to take us from La Paz to a place called Mazatlan, which apparently was going to take around sixteen hours! I wasn't sure I would survive that long a trip. Once the boat was loaded and we left La Paz behind it started rocking from side to side to side to side. And we were surrounded by water, much deeper water than I had ever swam in. I was not happy! We had fun talking with Chris and hearing all of his travel stories, but once it got dark it got a bit more scary. There was nothing but stars and water everywhere you looked. I didn't know any of the other people on this boat, and when I found out we were going to be sleeping right on the deck I went into high alert. I didn't want anyone to mess with My Family, especially Victoria. Once it got really dark Jason blew up a couple of air mattresses and we set them up right there on the deck under the stars. Victoria and I snuggled up and went to bed, but every once in a while I opened my eyes and Jason was awake each time. I don't think he was that comfortable on the little air mattress.
Jason woke us up right when the sun was rising. We were still in the middle of the ocean, but it was kind of pretty. Chris found us again, and we went in search for a way to get to the front of the ship. Victoria had heard that you could see dolphins playing around the boat if you caught them just at the right time, and My Family was determined to do just that. We tried to find a way to sneak around the big trucks and get to the front of the boat, but they were packed in so tight that My Family couldn't make it. I could have gotten there easily, but I would never have left them behind. Luckily, by the time we made our way back to the top deck and My Family got their morning coffee, one of the nice people we met told us that dolphins were right there on the side. We got there just in time to see them, leaping and playing in the waves!
Dolphins are not only super fast swimmers, but also really difficult to photograph.
Soon after watching the dolphins, we saw land and pulled into port! Mazatlan is a big city, maybe the biggest we had been in so far, and My Family was pretty exhausted. The port was beautiful, the water full of fish and even some sharks, and the air packed with birds. We waited for our turn to get off the boat and finally, Jason backed up the truck, we went down the elevator, and a few minutes later we were set free in Mazatlan, ready to continue our Adventure on the Mainland.
PS: To see some of the photos My Family took, head over to our Facebook page!
Baja, Balandra, Caulk, Los Barriles, Snow Birds
The Baja – Part 2
Me at Playa Tecolote after Victoria made me go swimming.
The night spent in Ciudad Constitucion was relaxing and pretty quiet. No barking dogs and clucking roosters to keep us up all night, although I think I might have dreamt about them! When we woke up in the morning it got hot in a hurry. We were far from the beach, and boy could you tell! My Family had planned on getting us up and out pretty early, so we could get to a beach they promised me was going to be a lot of fun. But the owner of Palapa 206 RV Park & Motel wanted to chat. He was a really nice man from England, which is where Victoria's family is from too. I bet they know each other. He wanted to talk about stuff Jason called 'politics', and from how quiet Jason was, I could tell he wasn't sure if this was going to be a fun conversation. There was a lot of talk about people named Margaret Thatcher and 'Di', who both sounded pretty nice. I was trying to figure out if we had met them back home at the Wee Blue House, but since I don't speak human I guess I'll never know. Anyway, after a long talk we finally wrapped up and hit the road.
It took quite a long time to get to our next destination, a big city called La Paz. There were a lot of long, straight stretches, and then big hills that seemed to just go up and down forever. It was pretty, but it was also really really hot. By the time we got to La Paz I was panting pretty hard. I was more than ready for the beach, but I didn't see one anywhere. We stopped at a supermarket, and then tried to find our way through town to a beach called Tecolote. It was supposed to be really pretty, but boy, was La Paz confusing! Victoria thought she had a map with a 'shortcut', but we kept getting turned around. All the while it just seemed to get hotter and hotter. I didn't mean to, but I pooped a little bit on Victoria's shorts. She was pretty upset, because someone named Lululemon gave them to her. I didn't mean it! It all worked out, though. Victoria forgave me for the little accident, the shortcut ended up working out, and after a fun drive on a trucker highway we ended up far outside of La Paz, past the big ferry station, on the amazing beach in Tecolote.
Playa Tecolote. I called it Dog Heaven.
The road there was pretty crazy, which seems to be normal for Baja. At one point we were following a big construction truck that was literally digging the road as we drove. I'm glad our big truck is so good at driving on roads like that. There was a lot of bounces and bumps, but finally the beach was in sight. My Family was right; it was amazing!
We pulled up right on the sand and parked. All around us were other families, parked and playing on the beach. There were boats and things called jet-skis in the water, and kids were splashing in the waves. Even though it was already late in the day, I got to go off leash and play with the waves. I'm not sure I would want to swim like these people do; the waves are so big! But they are fun to splash around in. I like to bite the foam as it trickles into shore, and then dig at the wet sand that squishes between my paws. It was so much fun to run on the sand again I didn't want to stop, even when it started to get dark. But we were all getting hungry, and luckily my Family took me with them to dinner. There was a string of restaurants on the beach, not far from where we parked, and we settled onto beach chairs. Jason had a margarita, and Victoria was super happy to 'finally' have something called a pina colada. I managed to steal a lick off the side of the glass before she moved it out of the way. While I wasn't allowed any more of that, I did get a big share of the chips and the fish tacos we ordered. Let me just tell you, they were delicious! I played in the sand all the way home, and then we settled in for the night.
Even when the sun goes down, it's still my favorite place we've visited in Mexico.
When I woke up it was still dark. My Family was asleep, but I just wanted to look out the windows. Since we were right on the beach the sound of the ocean was so loud, louder than any traffic or anything we used to hear back home. My Family woke up too, and laughed about me looking out the windows. Hey, I'm just making sure everything is okay! Jason was telling Victoria how it takes him at least a day to get used to the new sounds in each place. I don't know what the problem is, just go back to sleep! But they wanted to get up and go to the bathroom, and couldn't seem to fall back to sleep after that. Ah well, it gave me the chance to chow down on my food. I can't remember ever having breakfast that early before, but the ocean air seems to make me really hungry.
Although the day started really weird, it got a lot better from there. We went on a long walk down the beach, all the way to the rocks at the end. There were lots fish laying on the sand, with funny pointy bits all over them. Jason wouldn't let me get near enough to get a good sniff, but they're called puffer fish. Victoria was wondering why so many of them were laying around, but Jason didn't have any answers. They did let me play with some funny colored balls on strings hanging out in the water. They're called 'buoys', and later I saw that people used them to get in and out from the shore on their boats. I got to run around a lot off leash again, which always makes it feel like a holiday.
My Family kept saying how beautiful the sunset was here. This is what it looked like over the mountains behind us.
The rest of the day was filled with holiday fun. We played at the edge of the water a bit, but I guess Victoria is determined to teach me to swim, because she kept carrying me in with her. The water was nice and warm, but I don't think I like it very much yet. I was able to swim in to Jason on the shore a couple of times, and then I let My Family know I was pretty much done with that. So instead we sat in our chairs, played in the sand, and My Family read books. Jason and Victoria talked about how much they've been sleeping, and how beautiful and relaxing Mexico is. I have to say I agree!
That night it got really dark, and most everyone else on the beach started to leave. A big camper pulled in next to us, something Victoria called a 'Winnebago'. It had people from Canada in it, which means they drove even longer than we did to get here. As it got even later we noticed that one car down the beach was just sitting there with its lights on. A Mexican man and his two children passed us by, carrying a small can meant for gasoline. He spoke Spanish to us, and it took My Family a while to figure out what he was saying. But eventually they figured out that his family had run out of gas and needed help. Luckily, before we drove through that big desert in Baja California Jason had filled up his spare gas can. My Family managed to pull it off the truck and fill the Mexican man's can. He thanked us and was able to get his family off the beach. He asked Jason "Quanto?", which means "how much" in Spanish. But Jason and Victoria didn't want any money for it. The man was surprised, but happily went on his way. Jason said it was "good Karma". I don't really know what that means.
The next morning we woke with the sun, and it got hot in a hurry. We were ready to head south, and although we were leaving the beach, My Family promised me more fun ahead. We drove past La Paz a lot easier this time, into a town called Todos Santos. This place was really pretty. We had planned on stopping there, but it was Sunday and almost everything was closed. We still managed to find delicious lunch at a small restaurant called Tacos Barajas. They cut up the meat right there on the counter, and I was lucky enough to get a few bites. There were plenty of other dogs around that weren't nearly as lucky as me. I wonder where their owners are, and when they get treats?
We drove out of Todos Santos towards a town called Los Cerritos, which had a beach club My Family thought had a place to camp. There was a beautiful club there, with a huge pool and everything. But the campground left a lot to be desired. It was basically a dusty field, and there wasn't anyone else around to play with. My Family knew they didn't want to stay there, but they didn't really know where else to go. We stopped at a restaurant on the beach where My Family could get drinks. They were pretty grumpy, but a couple of pina coladas helped a lot. Those drinks seem pretty magical. The internet worked there, so Jason hopped online and they looked over their options. Apparently there was a place called Pescadoro Surf Camp that sounded pretty cool. We had passed it on the way down, so we quickly backtracked and pulled in.
Since Jason was working most of the time we were at PSC, Vic and I hung out out the pool.
The owner, an American from San Diego named Jaime, was really nice. He walked us past the pool and the cool outdoor kitchen and showed us where we could camp. There was good internet there, and showers for My Family to use. Victoria and Jason thought it seemed pretty nice, so we decided to stay there. Was that ever a good idea! The pool was pretty, and even though Victoria made me swim again I didn't mind too much. There was a dog in the camp that really liked me. He kept coming around trying to sniff at me, and even whined at our door when I was in the camper. Victoria and Jason started calling him "Romeo" and laughing. These people jokes really don't make much sense to me.
It was pretty quiet when we got to the surf camp, but within a couple of hours more and more people started to arrive. By the end of the day the camp was packed, and everyone was so nice! There were all these surfers there, most of them from Canada, and everyone loved me. I don't think I've ever had more people who wanted to hold me, kiss me and talk to me. A couple of them even took me in the pool, and debated with each other how I wanted to be held. Really, I would much rather have watched from a comfy chair, but I didn't mind too much.
These are lizards. Vic says I'm not allowed to eat them. As if!
The next few days passed slowly, and were a ton of fun. My Family shared meals and drinks with all of the surfers, and I got a ton of attention. A couple of the nights we stayed up late, as the surfer boys had bought several bottles of something called 'tequila'. This made them all pretty silly, but I still got a ton of attention. Jason spent some time working, Victoria read and hung out with me by the pool, and we had a lot of delicious food. We went for a walk into the town of Los Cerritos, where everyone was so nice. I got to stretch my legs a bit, and saw a bunch of other dogs and people. There was even a big blue box on one corner, which Victoria called a "taco stand", where a woman made huge burritos for Victoria and Jason. They were pretty excited about it. We had a lot of fun hanging out with all of our new friends, and relaxing on the comfy sand. The only real problem was getting the camper comfortable. When we pulled in Jason didn't realize how much of a slant we were on. The first night was pretty bad. My Family felt like they were going to slide right out of bed the whole time. The next morning Jason dug up a bunch of sand and set it under the wheels, finally getting us level. It seemed like sweaty work, and I was pretty happy that I didn't have to do it.
I could smell in the air that things were different down here. It was hotter than where we had been before, and there were tons of palm trees like we have at home. I saw all sorts of little creatures, too. There were stick bugs that spent all day trying to climb up the table leg in the kitchen, tiny lizards that scurried along the edge of the roof, and more bugs than I could even try to catch. Apparently we had passed something called "The Tropic of Cancer", which is an imaginary line humans have drawn on the planet. I don't understand this that well, but I guess it means we were in a really different part of the world now.
Even though we never made it back out to the beach, this might have been my favorite place ever. I could tell that Victoria and Jason really didn't want to leave. We even ran into our friends Andre, Marcia and Olivia again! They had spent a night at the terrible RV park on the beach, and they decided to join us at the surf camp. It seemed like they had fun there too. After four days My Family decided it was time to move on. We packed up really slowly, because it was seriously hot. I was panting pretty hard, so Victoria and Jason forced me under the shower a couple of times. I don't really like this that much, but I did feel much cooler afterwards.
This is Vincent. I'm pretty sure he lives at the coffee shop.
We drove for only a few minutes before pulling into a place called 'Baja Beans'. This was a coffee shop, which I guess My Family desperately needed at that point. Anyway, they were really happy with the food and drinks they got, and I even got a little taste myself. There were a couple of nice dogs there, and the space was beautiful so I was more than content to hang out while My Family enjoyed their coffee.
After that we drove right back to the surf camp. I didn't really know what was going on, until I saw Jason come back to the big truck with one of the surfer boys, a nice person named Steve. He had to get to a place called Cabo Pulmo, but I guess he didn't have a big truck of his own. Jason and Victoria wanted to help him out, so they moved some stuff around and we left again, this time with another passenger! I wanted to sit in his lap to welcome him to the adventure, but Victoria made me stay with her.
We passed back over the Tropic of Cancer when we were heading to Cabo Pulmo. Still not sure what that really means…
We drove on from there, quickly passing through two big beach towns. My Family called this place 'Cabo', and even though it was really pretty it seemed like we weren't going to stop there. Victoria said it was too expensive, and Jason said he didn't want to stay somewhere so 'touristy'. I don't know, the beach looked pretty cool. Anyway, we left those places behind and headed up a really pretty road, with mountains covered in mist in the distance. We stopped once to fill up on gas, but the whole station was empty. I've never heard of that before. I know, I'm a dog, and I don't know much about cars. But that seemed pretty odd to me. Anyway, we found gas at another place, then turned off on the road to Cabo Pulmo.
After a while the pavement stopped, and suddenly we were bouncing down a really rough gravel road. It kept going on and on, and I could tell Jason and Victoria had no idea that Cabo Pulmo was going to be so far away. Steve was really thankful for the ride, and I could tell My Family really didn't mind. It was 'part of the adventure', as they would put it. Once Cabo Pulmo came into view, no one talked about the road anymore.
Cabo Pulmo: Worth the drive down the long bumpy road!
This place had one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen. You couldn't force me into that water, though. It looked really rough. But it was so pretty, and there was almost no one there. Apparently Cabo Pulmo is within a national park, and most people come here to go diving. There's something called a live coral reef there, which I guess means there's all sorts of fish and animals you would get to see. I knew my family wouldn't be doing that, but they did really enjoy the tiny town set close to the beach.
It was already getting late when we got there, so My Family decided we wouldn't be heading to Los Barriles as planned, but would spend the night here. We dropped Steve off so he could set up his own camp, and My Family found a nice lady named Nancy, who owned a restaurant where we could stay. We set up in their driveway, went for a little walk, and then went inside for dinner. It was really pretty outside, with a fire and candles on the tables. Victoria loved all the decorations for Halloween, while I think Jason was happy to have a nice dinner. The food was super tasty, and My Family started chatting with a couple of people from a town called Mexico City, which is also in Mexico, but pretty far away. Victoria was excited to talk to them, because she wasn't sure if we should go there or not. That couple had traveled quite a bit, and after talking to them for a while they sounded pretty certain that we should skip Mexico City this time. Jason was more than happy to take their advice, especially after hearing about all of the other places they recommended. We thanked them and headed back to the camper for the night.
It was the end of a very long day, but it seemed the roosters wanted to stay up and chat. I was happily drifting off, but the roosters were crowing what seemed like every five seconds. My Family couldn't understand why this was happening. These guys are supposed to talk during the day? Anyway, a couple roosters around there didn't get that information, and kept chatting all night long. The next morning I could tell that My Family hadn't slept all that well. We packed up pretty quickly and found a place for breakfast. The food was pretty good, and Jason liked watching the dive instructors all drinking beer and watching something called 'football' first thing in the morning. After breakfast we got back in the big truck and headed up to Los Barriles. It was a short and pretty drive, and My Family is pretty excited to spend some time in a real town. We found a nice RV park to stay in, where I guess we're going to spend at least a few days. Victoria said the RV park is full of snow-birds but I haven't seen a lot of birds yet, just a lot of older people who like to talk to My Family a lot. I'm not sure what's to come, or if we'll see any of the snow birds, but if it's anything like the last week I'm sure I'm going to love it.
PS: If you want to see some of the photos My Family took last week, they are on Facebook.
Baja, canadians, pool, surfers, swimming
The true story of a small dog overlanding Mexico and Central America.
Getting back on the road in:
We are currently in: Topanga, CA, USA!
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© 2013 - current Neli's Big Adventure, website by kyle


Now that we know some theories about digital negatives and how to manually create negatives, there follows here almost a bonus chapter, which describes how to use the free program or script Easy Digital Negatives, which does all that has been described almost automatically.
The script works in Adobe Photoshop starting from version CS3 upwards, and in Windows as well as on Macintosh computers. Since the program is free and is not part of this book, I ask you to forgive me for any errors in the program. In short, take it as my gift to you who have read this book almost to the end.
Note. All files and program Easy Digital Negative, which is designed to automatically produce corrections for digital negatives, can be found online at Download page.
The Easy Digital Negatives script was basically intended to verify my theory about the benefits of mapping versus the use of the custom curve (see Mapping the mid-tones). Later on, I reworked the program to automatically produce digital negatives and to calibrate the computer monitor.
Work in the program takes place step by step and is composed of three basic operations. In the first section, named Method (1), we decide between the two procedures of mapping or custom curves. The third method allows the automatic creation of the Gradient Map layer, which is used for the above-described automatic calibration of a computer monitor.
Once we choose one of above-described procedures, we must decide in the second section, named Grid size (2), which size of grayscale step wedge will we use, either a wedge with a small 10 x 10 grid or larger with a 16 x 16 grid.
In the third step is a group (3) of selected basic operations (Choose operation), where we choose which operation will be carried out over a selected grayscale step wedge. We can automatically produce a mapped correction (or custom curve if this was previously selected), we can calculate the average value of a different grayscale step wedge's correction result, or choose to combine basic adjustments with other, more precise correction in a mapping or custom curve layer.
All of the calculated corrections are saved by the program in separate files that can be loaded before printing negatives in Adobe Photoshop.
As the processes of mapping is the same as making curves, we present here only a mapping and just a brief description of the adjustments with custom curves.
Because the program is basically a script that is implemented in Adobe Photoshop, we must first load the script to the program Adobe Photoshop.
First we close the program Adobe Photoshop.
Then we copy the file EasyDigitalNegatives-v1.jsxbin to the folder of Photoshop scripts. This is most commonly located on the hard drive in the directory C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Presets\Scripts\.
The script is automatically installed when we run the Adobe Photoshop.
The script is started by selecting the Adobe Photoshop command File > Scripts > EasyDigitalNegatives-v1.
Note. The Easy Digital Negatives script is, of course, tested, but you use it at your own risk. You can get it for free from web site Download page.
a larger grayscale step wedge EasyDigitalNegatives-StepWedge-256-HSB.tif.
As most operations in the script Easy Digital Negative are done automatically, it is just necessary to crop the photo of the grayscale step wedge to the required dimensions.
In Adobe Photoshop, we open the selected photo of the grayscale step wedge.
We need to crop the photo to the correct size. The simplest way is to use the Crop Tool (1), in which we check the option Perspective (2).
With this tool, we first draw a square around the grayscale step wedge. Then we click on the first corner of sample and move the cropping square exactly to the corners shown on the sample (3). The same operation is performed over the remaining three corners.
Once we select an entire area to cut, the selection is cropped (4).
Now we check for errors in the image that could affect the mapping of tones. In our case of cyanotype, we see that in one square there is a rather bright area that, at the time of calculating the color in the cell, can significantly change its value. We darken this bright patch (5) with the help of the tool Clone Stamp Tool.
Now we can save the sample of the grayscale step wedge.
Note. In the case where the image of the sample is too large or too small, it can be changed with the Image > Image Size command or other commands of your choice.
Making adjustments to a sample with mapping (and, of course, with a curve, if you select that option) takes place completely automatically.
In Adobe Photoshop, we open a cropped grayscale step wedge (it is not necessary to convert the image to grayscale mode).
We run the script through the File > Scripts > EasyDigitalNegatives-v1 command.
In the first section, we choose the Mapping option (1).
In the second section, we select the dimension of the grayscale scale wedge. In our example, we have chosen a larger scale with 16 x 16 fields (2).
In the third section, we select the Make gradient map option (3) and then we click on the OK button.
After the program automatically performs normalization and linearization, it will open a dialog box in a few seconds. Here, we select the location to which we wish to save the Gradient Map adjustment.
When the sample with corrections is saved, the program Easy Digital Negatives closes automatically.
Creating curves is exactly the same as mapping, with the difference that in the first section (1) we select the Curves option, in the second we select the size of the grayscale step wedge, and in the third option we select the Make curve operation. Finally, the curve is stored in a folder.
At the bottom of the working space of EasyDigitalNegatives-v1, we can see an option called Apply correction. If this choice is checked, the script automatically adjusts (2) bigger errors of "posterization" that occur in a poorly made negative (1); this is done during the making of corrections. If you do not want to use the process of mapping, you will still need to manually correct minor errors on curves (see Manual correction of mid-tones ). The second type of correction, which the script executes automatically, is additional linearization of tonal values. Since the results with this option checked are slightly better, the option is selected by default.
For making corrections, three samples or three pictures of the grayscale step wedge are most commonly used, as the average value of the three corrections is much more accurate than the value of a single sample (see The average negative ).
Although we have learned how to manually calculate the average value in the chapter The average negative, we will leave this job in this chapter to the program Easy Digital Negatives.
We run Adobe Photoshop and then the File > Scripts > EasyDigitalNegatives-v1 command.
In the window of the script, we select Mapping (1) or Curve (if we wish to calculate an average value of custom curves), and then in the third section we mark the option Calculate map average (2) or Calculate curves average.
After that, the section Add files is shown, where we load at least two or three sample files (i.e. files of type Gradient Map or Adobe Curve) via the Browse button (3).
The average value is calculated in the blink of an eye, so it remains only to save the calculated average correction of the Gradient Map (or curve) through the appropriate dialog box.
The third operation that can be performed with the Easy Digital Negatives script is to combine the first and second, i.e. the overall and the precise correction into a single file (see Correction of corrections). The advantage of such a combination of layers is obvious. With a single file, we have less work and less chance of error, compared to the case of storing and working with two or more files with corrections.
We run Adobe Photoshop and then the script using the File > Scripts > EasyDigitalNegatives-v1 command.
In the window of the script, we select Mapping (4) or Curve, if we wish to combine two custom curves.
We select Combine 1st and 2nd correction option (5).
After the section Add files is shown, we load two sample files with the applied correction (i.e. files of type Gradient Map or Adobe Curve) via the Browse button (6). In doing so, the order of loading correction is not important because the program automatically detects in which file the second correction is located.
We click on the OK button and save the combined correction.
This method for producing a gradient map layer, with which we make an image on a monitor identical to the printed image, is also very easy.
We open a photo of the developed grayscale step wedge.
The photo must be cropped to the correct size (see Preparation for working with a script).
With the File > Scripts > EasyDigitalNegatives-v1 command, we run the script then we choose the Screen map option in the Method section.
Now we click on the OK button and save the Gradient Map, which will be used for calibration of the monitor (see Calibrating the monitor).
Note. I recommend that you do not perform manual adjustments of files generated by the EasyDigitalNegatives-v1 script, since they probably will not be recognized by the program.
Copyright © 2016 Peter Mrhar.


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Thursday's Daily Pulse
What you need to know about Florida today
Climate change expected to raise health risks in Florida
Some of the health impacts of climate change are obvious and already apparent in Florida, such as more cases of heat stress and mosquito-borne tropical diseases. But it may be surprising that as climate conditions intensify, health experts say it also will increase the risk of sickness and death for people with diabetes. That's significant for Florida, where a staggering 1 in 10 residents are part of the nationwide diabetes epidemic. [Source: Miami Herald]
Study finds glimmer of hope in Florida's battered housing market
Despite worries about the housing market slowing down, a new study shows that Florida ranks among the top states in the country for home building. According to data released by an Oregon real estate firm, 9.8 homes are being developed in Florida for every 1,000 residents. Florida ranked No. 3, behind Utah and Idaho. Utah has 11.7 homes under construction per 1,000 residents and Idaho has 11.43. [Source: Business Observer]
Florida Democrats, Republicans need new leaders but for opposite reasons
Both the Florida Republican and Democratic parties will be choosing new state chairs next month, but the reasons each is seeking new leadership could not be farther apart. GOP chair Joe Gruters is stepping aside after four years to run for a national party position as treasurer, having overseen two successful election cycles that saw former President Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio all winning decisively in Florida. Former Democratic chair Manny Diaz resigned on Jan. 9 after DeSantis' and Rubio's double-digit wins in an election that also swept in Republican supermajorities in the Legislature. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
Fixing Florida property insurance mess is a slow process
After the two bills aimed at fixing the property insurance crisis in Florida, experts are hopeful the new measures are a step in the right direction, but the effects will still take time. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed senate bill 4-A and senate bill 2-A from the special session in December. The first bill provides $750 million for disaster relief to Floridians affected by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole in the form of tax relief. The second bill is a property insurance reform that is aimed at stabilizing the market by increasing competition and strengthening consumer protections. [Source: Miami Today]
Record number of manatees spotted at Blue Spring State Park
Hundreds of manatees congregated in Blue Spring run for warmth on a particularly chilly morning this week, breaking the record for the number of sea cows tallied in one day within the Volusia County waterway. A total of 729 manatees were counted by park officials on Jan. 17, breaking the state park's previous record of 721 tallied on Jan. 29, 2022. Despite their large appearance and weight averaging 800 to 1,200 pounds, Florida's sea cows are susceptible to cold stress. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› Need gas or a hoagie? Wawa opening 12 more convenience stores in South Florida [Miami Herald]
Wawa fans are in luck. Twelve more of the Philadelphia-area chain's convenience stores serving hoagies, fountain drinks and snacks, with gas pumps outside, are soon opening across South Florida. That'll give the three-county region 37 Wawas. The privately owned retailer is adding stores by the end of March in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, as part of a national expansion. The Media, Pa.-based company operates about 1,000 stores in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
› Lawsuit challenges Jax mayoral candidate Daniel Davis' continued Jax Chamber employment [Florida Politics]
A member of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce has filed suit in the 4th Judicial Circuit to compel the organization not to pay its CEO while he runs for Mayor. Billie Tucker Volpe, a Republican of long standing who was instrumental in the Tea Party movement and a Chamber member of more recent vintage, is suing the Chamber and CEO Daniel Davis to stop Davis continuing to get paid while standing as an active candidate. Her membership with the Chamber grants her standing, the plaintiff argument contends.
› 'Project Comet' may bring $120 million complex to KSC's former Shuttle Landing Facility [Florida Today]
Space Florida officials are pursuing "Project Comet," a deal with a confidential company that proposes to invest up to $120 million and create at least 50 jobs by 2025 at a new complex near the former Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, meeting minutes show. A preliminary site plan depicts a 104,594-square-foot "payload processing facility" standing 133 feet high, flanked by a badging-security office, a 20,342-square-foot storage building, four office trailers, a parking lot with 71 spaces, and wet and dry retention ponds.
› Scenes from Tampa's 'dead mall,' alive with nostalgia [Tampa Bay Times]
To be clear, University Mall is alive. More than 80 tenants still operate here near the University of South Florida. But in the world of online mall fandom — documenting everything from malls' sparkling heyday to trespassing excursions in abandoned malls — the term "dead mall" simply means a once-great destination in decline. Think sparse customers, dwindling occupancy and signs of decay, like stained carpets under the benches near a hollowed-out anchor store. University Mall fits the bill.
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Meet the new mag, same as the old mag // A first look at GP International magazine
Published 13 October 2012 by Mr. C
I have no idea under what circumstances Hans Seeberg was replaced as editor of F1 Racing magazine back in May, but there's no question he is a man with unfinished business in Formula 1.
After the briefest of spells on the sidelines, Seeberg returns to the world of motorsport publishing this week as editor-in-chief of the brand new GP International - a magazine that is to all intents and purposes a carbon copy of the product he previously oversaw for publishers Haymarket.
From the opening salvo of twin-page photo spreads, to the upcoming race previews that close the product, every page turn leaves you questioning if you picked up entirely the wrong magazine from the newsstand.
Formula 1 has been slow to adapt to modern means of consuming content, but apathy towards change is most obvious in the area of F1 magazines.
The portable tablet revolution kicked off with the announcement of the iPad in January 2010 and since then audience consumption of written media has rapidly been migrating from print to digital. Traditional print houses - laden with decades of investment in ink technology - have been incredibly slow to adapt to the changing needs of consumers, but a brand new magazine, created from scratch over two years after the iPad hit the shelves has no such excuse.
In this regard GP International does at least offer a digital edition of its first issue, but the reading experience is beyond dreadful, repeating every classic mistake that made-for-print magazines make over and over again.
Download a copy of the £3.99 November edition and the problems are as plain as day, which makes you wonder if anyone producing these digital editions ever takes time to read them in this format.
Hold a tablet in landscape mode and the the massive two page spreads fit nicely across the screen, but the tiny text is entirely illegible. Rotate to portrait and entire paragraphs become perceptible but this layout means you're only ever reading either the left or right half of a twin page story. For example, when holding upright, page 38 features a lovely shot of half of Mark Webber's head with the insightful text:
"Aussie The rejuvenation After a lacklustre 2011, a revitalised Mark Webber is again proving a match for his"
Makes perfect sense, right? Swipe to the next page and you can read:
"Grit of Mark Webber teammate. Tony Dodgins examines the resilience of F1's greatest fighter"
The whole process requires a nausea inducing amount of device rotation, zooming and panning to fit sentences on screen in a readable manner. And that's before the creators present the cardinal digi-mag sin of including half-arsed interactive video elements. Back in the 90's this magazine would have come bundled with an 'interactive CD-ROM' on the cover, you can just tell.
If the sole purpose of any magazine is to impart information, every instance of print-to-digital conversions are an unmitigated failure. GP International isn't alone in this regard, Racecar Engineering and Autosport are two alternate motorsport titles that suffer exactly the same problem, but GP International is the first one to start with a clean sheet, a chance to avoid those pitfalls its predecessors fell into. No-one in their right mind should be launching a brand new magazine today where digital consumption is a secondary priority.
Children of the revolution
At a time when the sport is struggling to attract a younger audience, does F1 really need another "upmarket, glossy magazine for serious F1 fans"? We live in a world of instant gratification, a world where teams, drivers and journalists provide near real-time access to the sport direct from the pitlane and paddock, what use is a product that's released four weeks after events have occurred?
I cannot fathom why this magazine was created. It doesn't appear to bring anything new to the table, the reading experience is below par and it's competing with the established F1 Racing.
Presumably Seeberg knows what he's doing, but right now, if you're looking to read motorsport content on your tablet or mobile device, GP+ and Motor Sport magazine are the only two products worth considering. Both offer a decent experience to the mobile reader, you can take them with you wherever you go and together represent the future of F1 coverage.
If you do insist on buying something from a magazine rack in paper form, buy F1 Racing, it's just better.
Filed under F1 coverage
References Mark Webber
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Magazine review - GPWEEK
Magazine review - Autosport
Out with the old, in with the old
Video 1 - Autosport International 2007


Boutique Wine Distribution Business #1123 | Front Range Business, Inc.
This boutique wine distribution business sells a wonderfully curated selection of wines imported to Colorado exclusively for them. The wines range from high end fine vintages to outstanding value wines.
This young business has grown dramatically from $40K in its first year of sales to $350K in its second full year. Over 150 solid accounts have been secured in this time. The accounts range from family owned and operated bistros to nationally famous restaurants, and from small, neighborhood wine shops to mega liquor stores, all in the Front Range geography.
This business is perfect for a number of different buyers. These include an existing distributor who could benefit from the warehouse, customer base, and access to a carefully selected wine portfolio with vintages not available elsewhere in the state. Another likely new owner would be a wine-centric restaurant which would be able to obtain excellent margins internally, have access to inexpensive warehousing, and use the sales to existing accounts to cover their costs.
And naturally, this could be a dream business for a knowledgeable wine lover.
Please note that while significant upside exists with this company, it is a young business which has been growing rapidly, but just achieved break-even status.
Represented by Suzanne De Lucia. Tell me more about this business.


text:
D.C. Sports Bog
Tom Gorzelanny catches a Michael Morse home run with his hat
By Dan Steinberg
Editor and columnist focusing on Washington sports and its history, Washington sports media, sports blogging
Easy to do when you're winning, but the Nats have spent much of this season throwing bubble gum at each other, making funny faces at the camera, producing group t-shirts and giggling like little boys.
Thursday's moment of boyish good cheer came when Michael Morse hit a home run 9 million feet into the Nats' bullpen, and Tom Gorzelanny sprinted to the front of the pen and nabbed the ball out of the air with his ballcap, and all his bullpen mates celebrated to a greater degree than when the team clinched a playoff berth.
That's not an exaggeration, either. The Nats' on-field celebration after clinching the franchise's first playoff berth did not come close to producing as many raised-arm, ear-to-ear-grinning celebrations as Gorzelanny's grab.
Many screengrabs below, because they're all awesome.
Dan Steinberg Dan Steinberg is an editor and columnist for Sports and the founder of the D.C. Sports Bog. He joined The Washington post in 2001 and has covered high school and college sports, two Olympics, the Super Bowl, National Spelling Bee and New Zealand curling team. He became an editor in 2018. Follow
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Leaf Page Test - Fri Jul 19 15:00:02 EDT 2019
Had this been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune on your radio dial.


text:
Gov. DeSantis tours utility truck processing site in Lake City
DeSantis discusses storm preparation in Lake City
By Ryan Wyatt Turbeville
Published: Sep. 28, 2022 at 1:16 PM EDT
LAKE CITY, Fla. (WCJB) - Gov. Ron DeSantis' most recent Hurricane Ian address came from a North Central Florida city.
DeSantis stood at the podium with leaders from Florida Power and Light and the state Department of Economic Opportunity. There are thousands of restoration personnel including linemen, tree trimmers, contractors and more from over 30 states at the fairgrounds.
RELATED: FPL processing thousands of out of state crews in Lake City to respond to Hurricane Ian
DeSantis says the storm will interrupt underlying infrastructure which will require rebuilding and structural fixes but he says the more widespread issue will be power outages.
He addressed the importance of the power restoration effort on the state's southwest coast.
Gov. Ron DeSantis gives an update on Hurricane Ian at the fairgrounds in Lake City
"This morning Kevin Guthrie, director of Department of Emergency Management has asked for additional airlift hoist and high water vehicles from the Department of Defense in coordination with FEMA," said DeSantis. "The SECDEF has approved Florida's request for the dual status of our national guard forces under title tend to provide additional resources and additional forces and we're really thankful for the fulfillment of that request we've got about 1200 personnel for our Florida Department of transportation that are on standby to perform cut and toss operations these guys can't work if they can't get to where they're going"
DeSantis says the power is already going out in certain areas but will see many more outages over the next 48 hours.
The fairgrounds are busy right now as restoration crews are gathering food, water and preparing their equipment to move out across the state.


On 29 May 2017, Arntzen de Besche hosted a seminar focusing on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) within the offshore and maritime industries, and the new NOMA initiative (Nordic Offshore & Maritime Arbitration Association).
A short introduction to each topic were given by Karl Erik Navestad, Stian Fagervold, Knud Jacob Knudsen and Eivind Tandrevold, all lawyers in Arntzen de Besche, followed by panel discussions with panellists representing a variety of experiences within the offshore and maritime industries. The panel discussions were moderated by Erlend Haaskjold, lawyer in Arntzen de Besche.
Arntzen de Besche regularly represents Norwegian and foreign clients in complex disputes in the Norwegian offshore and shipping industries, and several of our lawyers have vast experienced with ADR both as external counsels and in-house counsels.
We thank the participants for their enthusiasm and questions during the event and look forward to seeing you all at our oil, offshore and seminars in the Autumn.


text:
Q: Calling class method as part of initialization Current Status
I have an abstract base class that, which hosts data in the form of a numpy array, knows how to work this data, and which can explain matplotlib how to draw it. To accomodate different types of data, it has a number of subclasses, like this:
class PlotData():
    """Base Class"""
    subclasslist = []

    @classmethod
    def register(cls):
        super().subclasslist.append(cls)

    def __new__(self, initdata, *args, **kwargs):
        for subclass in subclasslist:
            try:
                subclass.__test__(initdata)
            except AssertionError:
                continue
            else:
                break
        else:
            raise TypeError("Initdata does not fit any known subclass")
        return subclass(initdata, *args, **kwargs)

class Plot3D(PlotData):
    """Subclass for 3d-plotting data"""
    def __test__(initdata):
        assert Data_is_the_right_kind

class Plot_XY(PlotData):
    """Subclass for for plotting X-Y relations of data"""
    def __test__(initdata):
        assert Data_is_the_right_kind

The Issue
now, the issue is how to get the class references into the subclasslist. At first I wanted to call super().register() in the class body, but im unable to get a reference to the class itself, which is what I want to store in the list. A small search has yielded two possible solutions, and I was wondering what the best one was.
Solution 1
Adding a call after each class definition, like this:
class Plot_XY(PlotData):
    """Subclass for for plotting X-Y relations of data"""
    def __test__(initdata):
        assert Data_is_the_right_kind
Plot_XY.register()

This works, but seems like a very dirty solution to me - a very important part of the class structure is located outside of the body.
Solution 2
Another possibility could be class decorators. However, I've never used them before, and the examples I've found are generally used to override/add functionality to methods. (here and here, for example). I am familiar with function decorators though, and the following should roughly make clear what I'm aiming for (and a dumbed down version works in the interpreter):
def some_creative_decorator_name(cls):
    cls.register()
    return cls

or at least, something that functions like Solution 1 but looks like:
@some_creative_decorator_name
class Plot_XY(PlotData):
    """Subclass for for plotting X-Y relations of data"""
    def __test__(initdata):
        assert Data_is_the_right_kind

It seems to work just as well, but will this screw up stuff like inheritance? That was one of the concerns noted in the linked pages, and I don't really dare count to much on it. (I am not expecting people to subclass it further, but I don't really want to make it impossible if it's desired.)
(Of course other solutions are welcome as well.)

A: What you are doing is useless because it's already provided:
>>> class A(object):pass
...
>>> class B(A):pass
...
>>> class C(A): pass
...
>>> A.__subclasses__()
[<class '__main__.B'>, <class '__main__.C'>]
>>>

There is no need to keep your own subclasslist when python already provides one for you.
Note that this doesn't include subclasses of subclasses:
>>> class D(B):pass
...
>>> A.__subclasses__()
[<class '__main__.B'>, <class '__main__.C'>]

However it is easy enough to find all the subclasses:
>>> def all_subclasses(klass):
...     for sub in klass.__subclasses__():
...         yield sub
...         yield from all_subclasses(sub)
...
>>> list(all_subclasses(A))
[<class '__main__.B'>, <class '__main__.D'>, <class '__main__.C'>]

This said, if you want to replicate this functionality it is easier to look at how the default method works. And you'd discover that:
>>> '__subclasses__' in dir(object)
False
>>> '__subclasses__' in dir(type)
True

So here you can see that it is a method of type which is the metaclass of object. The way to properly replicate this is to write your custom metaclass.
Basically a metaclass is similar to the decorator approach however:

*

*It is more general because you can do stuff before the class is created, control how it is created and do something afterwards. A decorator receives the class object when it is completed and can only do post-creation stuff

*They are inherited, so you don't have to add anything explicit for each class, but only to the base class.

I'm not going into details here. Check out What is a metaclass in Python?  for more information on metaclasses.

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A lightweight and economical counter, Abacus is packed with features making it a really hard-working piece of equipment. The counter comes flat-packed for easy transportation in its own carry cases, and is easy to assemble using a simple hook and loop system to attach the semi rigid graphics panel.
The header panel is attached using twin poles and butterfly screws to add height and visual presence to the design. The open back offers a handy space to store promotional materials.


text:
from django.forms import widgets
from django.forms.utils import flatatt
from django.utils.html import format_html

class TextInputWithAddon(widgets.TextInput):
    PLACEMENT_APPEND = 'append'
    PLACEMENT_PREPEND = 'prepend'

    addon = None
    placement = 'append'
    size = None

    def __init__(self, attrs=None, addon=None, placement=None, size=None):
        self.addon = addon
        self.placement = placement
        self.size = size

        if self.placement not in [self.PLACEMENT_APPEND, self.PLACEMENT_PREPEND]:
            self.placement = self.PLACEMENT_APPEND
        super(TextInputWithAddon, self).__init__(attrs)

    def render(self, name, value, attrs=None):
        if self.placement == 'append':
            template = """

                {1}
                {2}

            """
        else:
            template = """

                {2}
                {1}

            """

        return format_html(template,
            (self.size and ' %s' % self.size) or '',
            super(TextInputWithAddon, self).render(name, value, attrs),
            self.addon,
        )

class TextInputWithButton(widgets.TextInput):
    PLACEMENT_APPEND = 'append'
    PLACEMENT_PREPEND = 'prepend'

    btn_label = 'Go!'
    btn_type = 'submit'
    btn_placement = 'append'
    btn_attrs = None

    def __init__(self, attrs=None, btn_attrs=None):
        if btn_attrs is not None:
            self.btn_label = btn_attrs.pop('label', self.btn_label)
            self.btn_type = btn_attrs.pop('type', self.btn_type)
            self.btn_placement = btn_attrs.pop('placement', self.btn_placement)
            if self.btn_placement not in [self.PLACEMENT_APPEND, self.PLACEMENT_PREPEND]:
                self.btn_placement = self.PLACEMENT_APPEND

            self.btn_attrs = btn_attrs.copy()
        else:
            self.btn_attrs = {}

        super(TextInputWithButton, self).__init__(attrs)

    def build_btn_attrs(self, extra_attrs=None, **kwargs):
        attrs = dict(self.btn_attrs, **kwargs)
        if extra_attrs:
            attrs.update(extra_attrs)
        return attrs

    def render(self, name, value, attrs=None, btn_attrs=None):
        final_btn_attrs = self.build_btn_attrs(btn_attrs, type=self.btn_type)
        if 'class' not in final_btn_attrs:
            final_btn_attrs['class'] = 'btn btn-default'

        if self.btn_placement == self.PLACEMENT_APPEND:
            template = """

                {0}

                    <button{1}>{2}</button>

            """
        else:
            template = """

                    <button{1}>{2}</button>

                {0}

            """

        return format_html(template,
            super(TextInputWithButton, self).render(name, value, attrs),
            flatatt(final_btn_attrs),
            self.btn_label,
        )

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Music Acoustics
The acoustics of musical instruments and the voice. The "Basics" directory introduces and explains general concepts. There are "Introduction to the Acoustics of [instrument name]״, data bases, technical material, web services (including a hearing test) and a FAQ.
557 GG Double Dactyl Poetry
Write a double dactyl poem in honor of National Grammar Day. FOLLOW ALONG ON THE WEBSITE Double Dactyl Poetry: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/node/9136 FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/thatgrammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl GET GRAMMAR GIRL BOOK
Study another free course
There are more than 800 courses on OpenLearn for you to
3.4 The development of the European Convention on Human Rights
The aftermath of the Second World War was a time of great activity in the realms of human rights throughout the world, and the United Nations Charter itself, signed on 26 June 1945, included an obligation on states to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms. The development of an International Bill of Rights was significantly influenced by the commencement of the Cold War. However, that did not prevent the signing of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
3.5 Bats
There are two more activities in this section that give you more practice in writing. You will see that you are again given an approximate number of words to aim for in your answer. This number is a guide to the level of detail required - you will often find the same thing done in course assessment questions. W
Clemson Social Media Listening Center Gearing up for State of the Union Address
By Alex Neal CLEMSON—Clemson University students and faculty from the department of communication studies are planning a full night of team coverage during President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, Tuesday, Jan. 28. Clemson is partnering with CBS affiliate WSPA TV, Illinois State University (ISU), and the American Democracy Project (ADP) to monitor online chatter from its Social Media Listening Center (SMLC) in Daniel Hall. WSPA TV 7 On Your Side news anchor Amy Wood will use Spr
Distance/ Rate/ Time
This PowerPoint video introduces the formula D=RT and how to apply it to distance/ rate/ time problems. Examples are modeled and with emphasis placed on matching units of measurement.
Season 3 – Lesson 07 – Coffee Break Spanish
Coming up in this lesson:
In this week's episode, Mark and Alba talk about the different seasons of the year and about their own favourite times of year. This episode provides an opportunity for learners to learn to use the Spanish phrase o sea, and the combination of object pronouns is also covered. José's intermedio introduces two ways to express surprise.
Please note that lesson 07 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 307 of Coffee Break Spanish. We have re
In episode 5 of Show Time Spanish we launch our very own Spanish soap opera, Verano Español, which tells the story of Spanish dad, Antonio, Scottish mum Iona, and bilingual daughter Laura and their adventures one summer in Spain. Each episode will provide you with listening practice, language study and information about the Spanish-speaking world.
Please note that lesson 05 of Season 3 was originally known as lesson 305 of Coffee Break Spanish. We hav
apply the principles of training to aerobic fitness development
consider the appropriate frequency, intensity, time/duration and type of exercise to develop aerobic fitness.
2.3 Towards a critical framework
Is it possible to construct an alternative framework for understanding young people's health, and if so, what resources might we need to draw on to do so?
A cultural perspective can help us to see constructions of adolescent mental health as interwoven with histories of 'youth concern'. Recent debates about young people's wellbeing can be seen as an extension of more general anxieties about the state of contemporary childhood (James and Prout, 1997). A Foucauldian analysis wo
There are more than 800 courses on OpenLearn for you to choose from on a range of subjects.
A list of further readings.
Vanderbilt professors on the new president's first 100 days
Vanderbilt experts in political science, sociology, history and law are available to discuss the all-important first 100 days of the new presidency.
Author(s): Jim Patterson
Microelectronic Devices and Circuits, Fall 2005
Modeling of microelectronic devices, and basic microelectronic circuit analysis and design. Physical electronics of semiconductor junction and MOS devices. Relation of electrical behavior to internal physical processes; development of circuit models; and understanding the uses and limitations of various models. Use of incremental and large-signal techniques to analyze and design bipolar and field effect transistor circuits, with examples chosen from digital circuits, single-ended and differentia
Author(s): Creator not set
This free course provided an introduction to studying Languages. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance, and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.
TWC9: Windows 8 Launch Spectacular | This Week On Channel 9
This week on Channel 9, Dan and Duncan discuss the week's top developer news, including;
[0:28] Windows 8 Launch!
[1:47] Join us at BUILD 2012!<
Author(s): Dan Fernandez, Duncan Mackenzie, Greg Duncan
Les énergies renouvelables - Antoine Moreau (audio)
Une conférence de l'UTLS au Lycée
Les énergies renouvelables par Antoine Moreau (Physicien)
Lycée Turgot (59 Roubaix)
HILD 2A - Lecture 16 - 10/30/2009
HILD 2A - Lecture 16
The new face of bling in China -- bikes
Jan. 14 - Ultra high-end models are challenging the bicycle's working-class image in China, and giving posh cars a run for their money as the latest status symbol for the country's nouveau riche.


text:
Шиносуке Хатанака (; 25. август 1995) јапански је фудбалер.

Репрезентација
За репрезентацију Јапана дебитовао је 2019. године. За национални тим одиграо је 7 утакмица.

Статистика

Референце

Спољашње везе

Рођени 1995.
Јапански фудбалери
Фудбалери ФК Јокохама Ф. маринос
Одбрамбени играчи у фудбалу

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