What a title for the latest trip, eh? And after I've been telling people about how wonderful it was down there. Well, it is, but as they say in Nawlins, dookey happens, don't you know.

Old buddy Louis-of-the-Road and I drove down on Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving. We beat the border crunch, so we got to San Felipe at about 4:30. The Army still had their established checkpoint for guns, drugs and explosives just south of Laguna Salada. They asked us if we had any. We said we didn't and we were on our way. We stocked up on block ice, bought a jug of Tequila, a couple cases of Corona, and gassed-up. The folks at Asadero el General had just got done barbying the first batch of carne, and the (new item!) roasted jalapenos were done. We wolfed down 5 carne asadas apiece, nearly cleaning out the condiment tray in the process. Naturally, no radishes or onions remained either.

We headed down the ol' lonesome highway toward Puertecitos. The road is still trashed and probably will be until someone's brother-in-law persuades his politician in-law to fund an expensive re-grade and re-pave project. Two bone-jarring hours later we were at the mini-tienda in Puertecitos. I got three avocados, 5 cans of salsa, and a dozen or so fresh jalapenos for roasting. Set me back almost 3 bucks! We aired down and headed down south. The road is still in moderately bad shape, which is actually moderately good. After a little more than an hour of shake, rattle and roll. A flashlight with bad batteries and a few FNs and M-16s signaled another Revision Militar. This one was just before the Cinco Islas Cafe. We hadn't picked-up any guns, drugs, or explosives, so we continued on to Camp.

We rolled in at around 9:30. The greeting committee informed us that we wouldn't need our keys to get in. We didn't have to worry about setting up a lot of our stuff either, because most of it was stolen. I was rather bummed, but not as much as Amigo Ed: they swiped his boat motor and fishing poles. They got Bruce's dive gear and little color TV. They tried to swipe his $1000 tool chest, but it was too heavy. Fortunately, they hadn't figured out how to get into my shed...yet. Hopefully, they won't. I've got the best hasp and lock money can buy, for whatever that's worth. We had a few snorts of tequila and went to bed. Thanksgiving Day, we went about doing damage control. I made a list of losses. Meanwhile, Ed found a whole lot of my stuff hidden in the bushes nearby. I really got back most of the stuff I cared about. They got stuff that was more valuable, i.e. my 12" bw TV, radio and speakers from the guest trailer, & 12 volt VCR. Much of the custom-made stuff that represented a large time investment was recovered, however, particularly, the Redi-Flo pump for filling the shower, fans and the like. I also recovered my dive knife, 3 sets of mask, fins, & snorkel, my Tekin Ni-Cad charger, Cathy's sun umbrellas, my tools, butane soldering iron, and many custom 12 volt polarized cords. In all the years we've been coming down here, very little had been stolen. When the Pangeros moved in last June, the thefts began.

The weather was uncharacteristically good for Thanksgiving. Schools of baitfish were off-shore and the birds and dolphins feasted on them. I was pretty bummed, and on top of that, I figured the weather would be bad so I'd planned to do some chores. The first order of business was replacing the window the thieves had broken. I did, and then eventually got both remaining pads poured for our veranda. Mexican concrete (rocks and cement slurry), you know.

Eddie caught some Corvina, so that was Thanksgiving dinner. Ed, Donna and Louis took my boat out on Friday and headed down to Pompano Point. They caught a few Bass. We merged them with the ones Bruce and Christine caught a couple days earlier. They made for a fine feast of fish tacos that night.

Friday night, Luis and Juan Pablo, Francesca's sons, got back from San Felipe. They had gone there with Tonia to summon the authorities. The predators may have really screwed-up when they stole Juan Pablo's $2000 generator from the well. Reportedly, the Federal Judicial Police (the Federales) were coming down from Mexicali on Tuesday or Wednesday. With a lot of luck, they'll beat the truth out of the scofflaws and get our stuff back. With a little less luck, and more realistically, they'll shake them down to such an extent that at least we won't get ripped-off any more. In the end though, the predatory pangeros, Chuy the dope fiend, and his druggie girlfriend all need to go away, hopefully, far away. I'd like to see them take Juanito with them, but that's even less likely. Poor Ciana.

Saturday, the wind and rain came, sort of. It was an offshore wind, so the sea was still fishable, sort of. Eddie and I caught about 40 Pompano in about 45 minutes right out in front of the camp after sunrise. Almost one strike on every cast. It rained like crazy over Cerro La Alguatosa (el. 4,462') in the Sierra la Asamblea. The clouds and rain made it about a mile over the peak, but rain never reached us. A couple cells blew over Isla Cholludo (Encantada), 7 miles to the northeast. That made for a beautiful rainbow and some interesting scenery.

Sunday, I poured the last footer for the veranda. Then, I went down to give a supplemental list of stolen goods to Luis or Juan Pablo. I made the wrong turn off the old Gonzaga Road and got stuck in sand. It was close to Ken & Dennis' place, so I went over there for a tow. The two of them and Brownie were watching the skins game on a big screen TV. What a place they have...beautiful. I had a beer and watched the game. When it was over, Brownie pulled me right out. We had a barbecued pork loin that night...it was yummy. It was also gone when we were done.

Well, that's about it for the Thanksgiving trip. I won't tell you about what I found in the wash...you'll have to ask the next time you see me. We headed back early Monday. I hauled my motors and dive gear back, and some other things that don't get used much. I put the rest of my stuff that was stolen in the shed. Hopefully, the parasites will have stripped the scallops from the area and realize the Federales are watching them, and by Christmas will have left.