Sayulita JR SUP Team - Pacific Paddle Games 2018 - Part 1

Once again members the Sayulita JR SUP Team traveled north to the 2018 Pacific Paddle Games.  This is the second year the JR SUP Team has represented Sayulita at the biggest SUP racing competition of the year.  One year older, one year more experienced and one year stronger.  10 racers between the ages of 9 and 16 years old competed from our program from the Super Grom division up to the JR Pros division.  Last year, the team's participation was a last minute scramble to sign up and get to Dana Point California to compete.  This year the dates were on the calendar months ahead of time so the kids were focused, ready and determined to improve on last year's results.

Waiting with other Team parents, the Cawrses, for our flights in the PVR airport

We flew into LAX to stay the night before driving south to Dana Point.  We were also waiting for our friends, the Cawrses, to arrive who we were sharing a car and house with.  Just a few days prior to our departure we found out that the house that we reserved had actually been double booked and we had to scramble to find another house to rent.  That bump in the road averted we were ready to drive south on Thursday morning.  Well, not so fast. We had a large SUV rented through Turo that was big enough to haul the kid's borrowed 12'6" race boards and still carry two families and gear to and from the beach for four days.  The first car fell through so we tracked down another.  That one also fell through and we thought we might not even get to Dana Point to practice with the team later that day.  After securing a car with Turo on our 3rd attempt we had our minivan and made our way south to check into the 2nd rental house and meet up with the team in our 3rd car rental.  Whew! No worries, if there is one thing living in Mexico has taught us is to roll with the situation and make the best of it.  Ok.  Honestly, I was not all that calm about it but it all worked out in the end.  Hated to see the kids stress too.  They had more important things to be paying attention to than transportation and lodging logistics that were falling apart.

Thursday afternoon practice at Doheny Beach in small surf.

Having made it to the beach and meeting up with the team the kids were anxious to get on their borrowed boards from the local SUP race program, The Paddle Academy.  Our team trains on tired 11' race SUPs.  The boards accommodate a variety of ages and abilities.  During the race, however, the boards they would be using were 12' 6" which is a common race class size..  The kids handled the size increase very well last year but this year there was an unexpected twist.  Waves.  A storm that was well out to sea was pushing in massive surf into the California coast.  10'+ just days before we arrived.  So, the kids not only needed to paddle a much larger board they had little familiarity with but also be expected to navigate big wave conditions, surf these boards to and from the beach, around buoys and against competition.  No joke!

Coach Bicho and Trace discuss waves while Ashley and Coach Shelby talk about other things.

Practice was great with lots of energy and I think the kids and the parents finally relaxed a bit. Last year there was a bit of "smack talking" out in the water with the local Paddle Academy kids SUP race program protecting their turf but this year the kids were practicing at different points on the beach so our team moved about with few concerns like that and mixed in with some pros like Olivia Piana,  Sey Chelle and even cornered a few pros out of the water for a quick photo like Danny Ching and Candice Appleby.

Trace and his good buddies hanging out with one of SUPs best, Danny Ching.

The team with the legend, Candice Appleby.

After a busy day the practice wrapped up and kids were relaxed and stoked to have had a board on the water for an hour or so.  This particular group of kids gets along pretty well so it was great to see the oldest and youngest members of the group able to hang out and support each other.  

Coaches Bicho and Shelby and the Team.

Thursday evening was time for the pre-event parties.  The team was invited to two parties the first night.  One invite came from the coach of the local SUP race program, The Paddle Academy.  It was a cookout in the park just steps away from where the kids practiced.  The other a event was hosted by Brawner Boards, a local California custom surf board manufacturer who has taken an interest in talent from Mexico.  Damien, the owner, actually attended our practice on Thursday and visits Sayulita occasionally and is a familiar face.  He was also responsible for supplying us boards last year at the same event.

The other dad we traveled with, John, and I took our kids to make a showing at both events while the moms, Ashley and Amy, decided to cocktail back at the house.  The Paddle Academy event was already winding down when we arrived so we thanked our host, Coach Mike Eishert, for the invitation and went down the beach a ways to a local restaurant to attend the Brawner Boards event.  Before we left Alex made introductions with a girl member of the The Paddle Academy who she met through Instagram.  The meeting was brief since she was on her way home but it was great for Alex to break the ice with another teen girl who had a similar interest who she would see on the starting line during the weekend.  

                                     

We arrived at the Brawner party and the place was packed with locals, pros and all kinds of folks stoked for the weekend competition.  There was a large buffet and Damien made sure we headed that way once he saw us arrive.  Part of the team was already there and to my surprise they were chatting it up with one of the most promising teen paddlers in the US. Local 16 year old SUP athlete, Jade Howson.  Jade represented the USA at the ISA SUP World Championships in 2017 and will again this year in China.  Pretty cool to see kids being kids just hanging out together.  I forget that some of these World Class athletes are really only a couple years older than our kids plus I think she found our team fun to hang out with.

Trace exchanging Instagram account information with Jade Howson. 

The next practice day was Friday and the big waves arrived.  Big enough to make some of the kids decide that practicing that day just was not going to happen.  Where some of our kids saw something scary, others saw some FUN to be had.  Some competitors do not or are not able to train in an ocean environment.  Our kids are ocean kids and their skills in the waves were apparent as soon as they paddled out to test the water that day.  A couple of kids stayed on the beach and a couple did not even get out past the break but Alex and Trace charged out determined to get out and ride one of these monsters back in.  I was very impressed with Alex.  She desired the challenge, went after it and did great.  Trace loves waves and surfing so him paddling out with his teammates to grab a wave was predictable.  Super tough conditions for everyone out there..

"Overhead" conditions at Doheny Beach

In the first video below you can see Trace who is the second kid to the beach.  The video below that shows Alex.  Keep in mind that the boards the kids are on and that you see flying around behind them from fallen riders are 12'6" to 14' long.  It can give you a bit more perspective on just how big the surf is.  Yes, they were practicing with helmets on since they were required for youth competitors for the technical race.  The kid's timing and wave selection was good so they did not get the biggest set waves to try and ride.

The day's practice was short since the coaches did not want the kids burned up in the challenging conditions.  Tomorrow was game time.  But first, another party.  Coach Shelby told us the team had been invited to a party given by one of the parents of The Paddle Academy.  The dad of this family also has some ties to the SIC surf brand.  When we walked in it was obvious that we WERE the party.  Were we early?  There was really no one else there so the team made itself at home in a strange but lovely(and we were sure expensive) house.  Slowly some people did filter in wondering who the pack of kids was on the back patio having a good time all by themselves.  During the party we met parents from a SUP JR race program from North Carolina that we knew a little bit about.  The Wrightsville Beach Jr Elite SUP Team.  They brought 2 or 3 racers with them this year. Friendly folks and it was nice to meet other parents who were also far from home.

A dinner buffet was set out with lots of pizza and pasta as more and more people arrived so we started to blend in a bit more.  The team met up again with their newly adopted member, Jade Howson.  She sat down and happily joined the group.  Our team get along well, likes to laugh, has positive energy and obviously likes to have a good time.  I honestly think she really liked having a different group to hang out with and was drawn to that.  She took some photos with the team, played whatever game the kids were playing and soon it was time to head home.  Again,  we thanked our hosts and went home for the night.  The next morning was registration and the long distance event.

Hurricane Willa Is Coming!

'Tis the season for hurricanes for us and Hurricane Willa is headed in our general direction.  Puerto Vallarta is in the "red zone" for potential landfall and Sayulita is even more north of the city.  So, we prepare and we wait to see just where this storm is really headed.  We have been in the cross hairs for landfall before and we only saw a bit of drizzle so we know things can change quickly...for better or worse.  The time is now to prepare.  Food, water, propane, money, gas for the car and close up the house as best as we can.

This will be the first storm like this since our house went up.  I am interested to see just how it handles something like this with the wind and heavy rain.  Fortunately, we sit a bit protected on all 4 sides.  Down and out of the high wind zone unlike where we were in the first place we lived here when we had 270 degree exposure to the storms over the ocean.  At this time the storm is expected to hit the coast sometime Tuesday or Tuesday night.  It is always changing.  We will be ready.

Then, just for kicks, Tropical Storm Vicente is right behind it.

Sale Pending!!

We have received and accepted an offer on the Park City house.  Now we wait, cross our fingers that nothing gets in the way or goes wrong and we close on schedule in November.  Needless to say we are VERY happy to have an offer come in!

Happy Anniversary To Us! 7 Years In The Jungle.

To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea where the last year went.  The never ending time, money and energy suck called "house construction" totally took over this last year.  I cannot say it has gone super smoothly but we feel that we will have a great home for our family once it is all over.  This time next year we hope to be looking back on the process and be able to say "remember when..." knowing that it is just a distant memory.

The other big event for us this last year is finally deciding to give up our house in Park City.  It is currently for sale though it has not sold yet.  We are hopeful that a buyer will come forward soon.  We decided that though Park City is great, it is just not "home" any longer and it is time to move on.

Casa Pōno Sayulita still under construction.

 Our immediate goal for the beginning of year 8 is to get everything in our world to get cleaned up with finishing a new house and selling an old one.  Once that is done we will be able to look ahead once again with wide eyes and maybe, yes maybe, be able to sit and just do nothing for a while and enjoy sitting still for a change.  Here is looking forward to year 8!

Aspen Lane House - Looking for a new owner.

Sayulita Scenes - Highway 200

Highway 200 is the two lane jungle road connects Sayulita to towns to the north and south along the coast.  Most importantly it connects us to Puerto Vallarta and the airport.  It could take you 10-12 minutes to emerge from the jungle or 2-3 hours depending traffic, accidents, construction, congestion, idiocy or just bad luck.  Beautiful though this time of year.

Highway 200.  Photo by others.

Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit Primed to Be the Next Big ‘It ’ Destination

This article found on Bloomberg.com gives a rundown on where the Riviera Nayarit has been and where it is heading in the next few years and some of the players involved.  The changes that are coming are significant capitalizing on the momentum this area has built the last decade.  It looks to be pretty spiffy and Sayulita is right in the middle of it.  We plan to be here to see what happens.

Read the article here.

A New Casa In 2018 - Construction Update - Early September

 We were away from Casa Pōno for 6 weeks and the contractor's pace slowed significantly as he pulled his crew off our job after a couple weeks to have them work elsewhere while we were gone.  Some things got done and lots of things did not. A few things that caused problems were the fact that we needed more electrical fixtures like recessed light, plugs and switches and the road construction on our street prevented any deliveries of materials for things like sand, gravel etc. Road construction also prevented an accurate finish level to be determined for the driveway so I guess it was good to hold off a bit.

Apartment bedroom minus air conditioning.  Lots of surfboards though.

Apartment kitchen minus some shelving and some lighting.

Apartment living area.  13 year old daughter not included in rental.

Apartment terrace.

Lots of finishes did get done like the finish surface for the front terrace and stairs.  The interior of the house looks like it got repainted and covered up all the grunge from finishing the floor and other construction items that happened before we left.  Our front door was installed as were the bodega doors, the floors got two coats of sealer, the exterior face of the house was painted and power got turned on in our living level.  The house was clean enough that we even began moving boxes upstairs!  This helped out our cramped living situation in the apartment and cleaned up the lower bodega a bunch so we could actually walk around in there.  The crew has mostly cleared up their gear and materials, it is quiet each morning.  We feel like the place is finally ours!!!

Standing at the front doorway.  Upstairs to living level.  Alex and Trace's bedrooms on this level.

Alex has been busy painting her room.  She has bee waiting so long to put this color on her walls.

Standing at top of stairs.

There are certainly some things to finish but they will be on hold until we can put some additional money together or hopefully sell the Park City house.  At the moment we are altering the kid's old bunk beds to build new bed frames to use in their new rooms.  Alex cannot wait!  Appliances are on the correct floors and await install.  Some exterior painting that was not included in the contract is happening as is figuring out the kitchen countertop and sink situation.  Not a dull moment especially after working on the house in Park City non-stop for 6 weeks.

Master bedroom on main living level.

Ocean view from master bedroom.

Standing at master bedroom door looking toward back of house and living/kitchen area. Yes mother, there will be a railing.

Standing in kitchen amongst the boxes, bags etc.  Interior courtyard lit up.

Standing in dining area.  Kitchen on left.

Standing at top of stairs looking at front entry.

I have a three page list of items that the contractor needs to come back and discuss.  Having worked in construction I am picky about details.  I do not need the details to be perfect but not ignored either.  The contractor had 6 weeks to come in and inspect and make his own observations, work through the list I generated for him before I left and obviously did not do that.  It feels as if that if I don't bring up short comings in his workmanship or other problems then it must be ok and he will not have to deal with it.  This is in contrast to making sure his client's house is up to higher standards treating as if it were his own house or better.  I know certain things he has ignored here would not be acceptable in his own house. A much different mentality and experience...in our situation at least.

The empty rooftop terrace.  Going to be a great spot.

Interior courtyard looking down to 3rd level.

Interior courtyard looking out rooftop terrace door and laundry door to left.

Our beautiful Papelillo tree canopy to the courtyard.

We have some front yard items to address at some point when we are able but the timing is good. The street is under construction so holding off on a finished driveway or painting garden wall can hold off for a bit as can any kind of landscaping or finishing of the grey water system.

The currently empty garden that will treat the house grey water.

Front stairs and front garden.

Unfinished driveway and Ozzy's shade shelter.

Well, we hope that things move quicker with the PC house and things loosen up a bit with funds so we can think about finishing some things as we move into early fall.  It would be nice to live upstairs and not on top of each other in the apartment.  I walk around upstairs and it is hard to conceive even living up there but we will get there eventually.

School Year 2018-2019 Begins!

It was a blur.  Just like that the summer is over.  School has begun and the kids are back at it.  Alex is now in 8th grade, Trace is in 6th and they will attend Costa Verde International School again.  We can't believe we started this adventure when they were in 1st grade and preschool age.  Big kids now. Looking forward to another good year!

WAAAAAAAAY Overdue Improvements For Calle Libertad Begin!

The week before we headed north to Park City we were asked to attend a meeting concerning road improvements to our new street, Calle Libertad.  Calle Libertad is a cut through street from the main road through town to the main road around town.  It isn't an exaggeration to say that half the town either walks or drives up or down Calle Libertad daily.

Why does the street need improvements?  Well, during the rainy season the street becomes a muddy mess.  With the water run off from the rain,  erosion gets so bad that the street becomes barely passable when a deep ditch is carved down the street each summer.  The mud and whatever material the road is constructed with that week of the summer flows down the street to the intersection and then becomes a source of slurpy muddiness for months and then dust for months after.

Mud is only the beginning of the problems.

I left that meeting with the impression that the improvements plan was still in development and that any progress may actually be a while off just yet.  The rainy season had just about begun and is not a time to begin a project.  Well, when my phone rang during a hike in Park City I realized I was wrong about the scheduling of improvements.  The call was from our contractor and our car needed to be moved off the street immediately or risk having it towed as a new sewer line was being inspected and installed.  A first step to begin the regrading and resurfacing of the street!  This, I found out, meant that we received our sewer line hook up without continued permit hassle since they made sure every house on the street and project in progress was hooked up properly to avoid busting up a new road when our permit was issued. No more sharing with the church next door.  We got our own "poop pipe"!

We arrived from the airport and found the street blocked off at the top and bottom, large trucks at work and no cars parked anywhere.  So strange since there are always cars and trucks using Calle Libertad to get to where they need to go.  It was quiet other than the dump trucks and other machines leveling and compacting the street from adding road base.

A day or so after our arrival we saw a gathering of neighbors speaking with some of the road crew.  We could see guys were hastily putting away tables, chairs, plants and any other items that may be located on the front porch or stoops of the homes up the street.  Apparently they were being torn down to make way for part of the improvements to the street.  Our only guess is that over time these personal spaces encroached into the street right of way and were being removed.  These places were extensions of the local neighbor's homes.  A place where they sat and socialized, where they began and ended the day and escaped the hotter interiors of their concrete block homes.

Sidewalks being removed next to Alchemista.

  There was a look of some concern but not a lot of emotion about it.  Almost as if the neighbors knew they had grown too far out of their own properties and finally someone took notice.  Or, they figured the improvements were going to be better than what they had currently and did not complain much.

The front steps of our neighbor's house.

The twist happened when they started demolishing the church's front sidewalk.  We built our property wall on the same line as the front of the church and our neighbor on the other side.  All three properties line up but I suppose the church sidewalk was in the right of way and they made quick work of taking that out as well.

Early morning demolition of the church steps next door.

I do not even know the final plan for the street as of yet.  I have heard sidewalks similar to the ones that have been installed along other roads and around town.  Terra cotta stamped concrete.  Possibly changed to a "one-way" street and even no parking.  The designers made a big mistake with no parking on the street, Calle Pelicanos, that was "improved" last year.  They provided sidewalks, changed the street to a single direction and eliminated parking altogether.  Well, this pueblo developed around walking and every residence does not have off street parking like a driveway.  Many houses just do not have them. So people need to park their cars on someone else's street, in front of someone else's house or just park where ever they can like on the brand new sidewalks provided.  Our street is no different.  Most of the houses do not have parking so being able to park on the street is necessary.

This is what can happen when parking is not considered when improving the street.

Today, they even started taking out trees that have been part of the street as long as anyone can remember.  This one actually had a root system that likes to grow and cause problems for sidewalks, streets, plumbing and foundations.  A crew arrived with chainsaws in the late morning and by afternoon the tree was no more and the houses across the street were bathed in mid-day summer sunlight for the first time in decades I would guess.

A few more months of this but at the end we will have a brand new house and a brand new street all at the same time.  It will, unfortunately, delay some final work on the house but we will get there and Calle Libertad will look as good as it ever has.  The question will be "Will Calle Libertad "work" as well as it ever has?".

It's Official! Our House In Park City, Utah Is For Sale!

We are selling our house in Park City!  The house we bought before we got married. The house we brought both kids home to after being born.  The decision seemed to come out of no where.  We never intended to sell and told everyone as much.  But as we drove away and headed to the airport our discussion in the car changed from "no way" to "let's ask some questions and crunch some numbers".

The house will be listed by our amiga, Jennifer Johnson, with Equity Real Estate Luxury Group.  Jennifer was also our Realtor when we bought the house back in 2003.  Her # is 435-901-1704.

We spent 6 full weeks putting the house back together and spent lots of $ doing so. Looking at the money that will continue to go out each month to pay for the improvements is steep.  Add that to the money out to pay for and finish the Sayulita house and the financial benefits of selling significantly outweigh the argument for keeping it.

These are some photos that our realtor had taken of the property by Kellie Hatcher Photography. We think they are great.  Makes me even sadder to see how good the house looks after working on the place for six weeks.  We still enjoy the mountains, are close to many people there and love our neighbors on the street but it just isn't the place we want to come back to when there are so many great places to go visit in the world.

The market is up, inventory is low and the rental market is saturated with similar properties to rent.  The house looks good and is empty to allow our Realtor to do her thing and see if she can find a buyer.  We are sad but at the same time we feel relief at the idea that selling the house off may pave the way to bigger experiences rather than putting more money and time into something we may never have the means to really fix up properly.  Our kids are unfazed by the idea since they were very young when they lived there and feel Sayulita is home too.  Hopefully, another family can pick it up and love it as much as we did.  Crossing fingers we can find a buyer soon.