Newsletter July 2006

"A funny thing happened on the way to the airport! "

The zany crew of Pipe Dream has been a little lax in their checking in. In the last newsletter we had entered the United States through Cape Canaveral and found a marina for Pipe Dream in Savannah, Georgia. It took about two weeks to put Pipe Dream to bed (remove sails, dinghy, bimini, etc.) and prepare her for several months during hurricane season.Jutta and I headed out of Savannah in mid June and flew to Phoenix to visit my two grown children, Jody and Ryan. Jutta thought she had died and gone to hell. It was only 113 degrees for eight of our ten days in Phoenix. What a sissy! Since I sold my truck four years ago we decided it was time to reward ourselves and buy a fancy foreign touring car that was up to our high standards. The Humvee was too big, we didn’t like the stereo in the Lexus, and the Ferrari was too small. What's a sailor to do? Well, we bought a used 2004 Hyundai Accent, better known as "The Rocket". We were preparing for our next adventure, a land trip driving through Mexico and possibly all the way to Panama.Before taking off for Mexico, Jutta and I drove "The Rocket" to Yuma, Arizona, to visit my brother, and then on to Long Beach for our yearly slumber party (which we missed last year) with cruising friends Sue and Jake of the sailing vessel “Sipapu.” On the way back to San Diego to see Jutta's daughter, Kat, we stopped in Del Mar for a quick visit with cruising friends Doug and Lisa who had sold their boat “Mamouna” and were getting ready to move to their new house in Todos Santos, Mexico. Jutta’s daughter, Katryn, had just been hired by a medical company and she was moving to San Francisco. Naturally, we volunteered to move her to the "City by the Bay." It goes to show you, there is a fool born every day! Jutta and Kat packed up the apartment, loaded it into the moving van, and we were ready. Jutta drove "The Rocket", Kat drove her Jetta, and I was lucky enough to get picked to drive the U-Haul eight hours to San Francisco. We got a very early start and arrived in San Francisco in the mid afternoon. I pulled the truck up to the apartment building and we started to unload. Kat neglected to tell us she was renting on the fourth floor and there was no elevator. She owes me big time! Next time she moves, I'm leaving the country. After we finished unloading, the crew of Pipe Dream returned the truck and headed out of the City and south to Hollister, California, to visit our cruising friends Duey and Nan. Duey and Nan, former owners of the sailing yacht "The Great Escape", had recently sold their boat and are now doing the “land lubber thing.” We had a wonderful visit with them and got to spend time with their good friends Fernando and Nancy. They are fun people if you overlook their one flaw, they own a power boat (stink pot). Well, nobody's perfect. Nan and Duey were wonderful hosts and gave us an intimate tour of the road between Monterrey and Hollister. After a week we said Adios, (for those of you reading this in Boston that's Good Bye in espanglish). We fired up "The Rocket" and headed to Los Angeles to spend a few days with Brandon, Jutta's oldest son, to witness his room mate plus girlfriend and two yappy dogs move out. While in LA, we enjoyed a great breakfast with Julie, movie director of the film “Must love Dogs” (we’ve already booked our seats for her first Oscar Celebration.) Contrary to past experience, Brandon drove his Audi in a most civilized manner. I didn’t have to wear my “Depends” while riding in his car. Jutta and I helped Brandon arrange his kitchen, and mop and clean his cabinets, etc. I know I’m half Hispanic but moving furniture and cleaning houses looks like a pattern I don’t like developing????? Again, we fired up "The Rocket" and drove to Phoenix to pick up our good friend Gail Philo, then finally started our trip to Mexico. We crossed the border at El Paso and drove to Chihuahua. After a couple of days there, several days in Zacatecas, mucho tempo in Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, we braved the road into Mexico City. I won't bore you with details but we saw many beautiful places, took a lot of pictures, sampled varios tacos, and drank muchas cervezas! After several hours of fighting traffic on Mexico City’s ring road (the “Periferico”) we arrived at Jutta's uncle’s home on Friday, August 4. Gail stayed over the weekend and together with Jutta’s uncle and her cousin Trixi we enjoyed a boat trip on the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco. It seems something always happens to the zany crew of Pipe Dream. Monday early morning we loaded Gail into a cab and the three of us headed to the Metro (subway) for our trip to the airport. When we entered the subway, morning rush hour was just starting. As I was stepping onto the train, someone stumbled in front of me to create a commotion while his compadre slid his hand into my front pocket and lifted my wallet. Of course, I never noticed my wallet gone until the train was under way. A classic case of pick-pocketing you read about in tour guides!! There goes my money, two credit cards, ATM card, driver license, and my AARP card. Darn it, with it went my AARP discounts! We got everything canceled Monday morning, Gail made her flight and I was just out the cash. Things could be worse or so we thought. Jutta's uncle told us if I got caught driving in Mexico without a valid drivers license they could impound the car and I would need to grease a lot of palms to get the car out of Mexico. I first called the Mexican Tourist Protection Agency listed in our AAA tour book. After several calls no one answered. That didn't bother me, I can fix that, I'm an American and I’m going to the United States Embassy for help. The Embassy referred me to the Mexican International Drivers License Bureau. They told me if I brought in my US drivers license they would issue an international license. Well, that sounded like a “Catch 22.” Back to the Embassy. The next person at the Embassy told me they couldn't help but he was sure the State of Arizona would FEDX a copy of my records to me in Mexico City. Sure, I bet that would happen, my tourist visa in Mexico is only good for six months! I finally asked the embassy staff if they could come up with a very official looking letter with a big stamp saying I was robbed, lost my drivers license and this was a temporary permit to drive until I returned to the United States. Judging by their puzzled looks, it was clear that nobody ever suggested anything as unofficial as that before. They reluctantly agreed and had me write a statement and for ONLY $30 they put a very large and important looking US Embassy stamp on it. Remember there is only two things you can count on in this life, Death and Taxes. Don’t rely on your embassy in foreign countries. I guess I’m just going to have to wing it myself on the Mexican highways. Once a salesman always a salesman! I am counting on all my rich friends back in the USA to bail me out of a Mexican jail in case my 30 Dollar US Embassy stamp won’t work. Well, that’s about it, we’re still in Mexico City and will be leaving in a few days. “The Rocket” is full of gas and Jutta is at the Metro station trying to raise money in a tin cup. I’ve about sold all the pencils and these dark glasses are killing me. Remember to send your much needed dollars to the “Help Ferdy Cruising Fund”. Adios! From the Decks of Pipe Dream (or “The Rocket”) Ferdy and Jutta













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