LOCATION: Loreto, Baja California, Mexico

WEATHER: Perfect! Mid 70s

We awoke to a beautifull sight — bougainvillea flowers floating in the swimming pool in front of our house…..

Due to an unstocked refrigerator, we headed out to find breakfast. On the town square, we found a cute place and ordered “huevos divorciados” which we were curious about. Translated as “divorced eggs” on the menu, we were still puzzled. The plate arrived with 2 eggs, each “over easy” and placed separately on the dish, one with green sauce and one with red sauce. Now we know! The downtown square is quaint and pretty, with lovely trimmed trees forming pedestrian avenues around the square.

We strolled along the waterfront, occasionally greeted by fishermen asking us if they could take us out on a boat ride around the island. We may do that one day. Then, we happily got lost wandering around interesting neighborhoods.

We found a darling little restaurant for lunch on a side street. The owner was so glad to see us. Alexis ordered an “aqua chile” which is raw shrimp, butterflied and marinated like ceviche, served in a bath of cilantro/chile water. Really good and beautifully served. Margaritas accompanied this lunch – one regular and one with cucumber. Interesting and refreshing

George and I split an order of shrimp tacos, probably the best we have ever had.

We found a grocery store to stock up. Across the street, a lady was selling fresh shrimp, which we couldn’t resist. We bought a kilo for dinner tonight.

Our last stop was a tortilleria where we bought a dozen for about $.50.

A lovely day! We relaxed in the afternoon, then George grilled the shrimp on the barbecue. He made some homemade pico de gallo which we ate with the shrimp on our fresh tortillas. Yum! We have a lot of shrimp left for future meals.

LOCATION: Loreto, Baja California, Mexico

WEATHER: -20 in Calgary; 80 in Loreto

Last night, we had dinner with my cousin Jan in a beautifully restored house within a provincial park outside of Calgary.

After a 4-hour direct flight, over snowy Alberta, Idaho, Montana and majestic Arizona, we landed in sunny Loreto. What a contrast!

We found our “casa” that we have rented for a week.

We are only a few blocks from the downtown square and the malecon (seawall boardwalk). We stopped at a brewpub — this little town has all we need!

Then, on to the malecon.

We found a bar overlooking the malecon. What great luck! Today is Carnaval and a parade passed right in front of us….

LOCATION: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

WEATHER: COLD! -20 C; -9 F

We have had a great stay in Minnesota. We presented “Reids on the Road – How Two Retirees Are Traveling the World on a Shoestring Budget” to the library, and then to four civic groups. Everyone seemed to enjoy the presentations, and we had fun doing them. We did our Mayo Clinic appointments, an annual dentist exam, and the all-important beauty shop appointment. We had some nice get-together with friends and former neighbors, and some delicious dinners at the home of our daughter Alexis’s partner’s parents.

We are now in Calgary, overnighting here to take a flight tomorrow to Loreto in Baja California, Mexico. We had visited Loreto a few years ago while camping in our Airstream. We really liked the town – not too big and touristy. We discovered that it is very popular among Canadians, so much so that in the winter there is a weekly direct flight from Calgary to Loreto. So, we are making this journey….

Calgary is experiencing an unusual amount of snowfall. On the 3-hour flight, we flew over never-ending miles of snowy fields between Minneapolis and Calgary, landing in this winter wonderland.

We will get together with my cousin Janice who lives here. Then, early tomorrow to warm Mexico !

LOCATION: Rochester, Minnesota

WEATHER: Cold again. High about 5. More light snow

After a leisurely morning of coffee and “CBS Sunday Morning”, we checked out a new Rochester restaurant called Porch and Cellar. It is a renovated train station. Super cute

But first, we had to brush the snow off the car….

Then, we bought our purchases to take to a Super Bowl party – smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers.

We watched our friend’s renter smoke ribs on the backyard BBQ. Only in Minnesota – in 0 temps!

Super Bowl day has almost become another American holiday. We did the American thing and went to a party. It was actually pretty fun. I feel a bit un-American as the only thing I’m really interested in is the commercials and half-time show. I’ve never liked or really understand the game of football. The house where we went for the party has a downstairs bar – a perfect set-up for a party

It was bitter cold outside. The host had to go outside and bring in the coolers of beer so they wouldn’t freeze. But, in typical Minnesota manner, one guy came dressed in shorts.

A tradition is to gamble on different scores for the game. We played, but didn’t win anything…

Monday morning – we just heard on the radio that 69,000 people are in line waiting to go through Minneapolis airport’s TSA! Glad we don’t fly out until later this week.

LOCATION: Rochester, MN

WEATHER: C-O=L=D! Lows below zero. Highs around 15F

As I write this, huge snowflakes are lazily dropping from the sky. So pretty!

We visited our daughter here in town and did computer work. (She is our IT support!).

Then, in the evening, we had another happy hour “drop-in”, this time at our old hangout Whistle Binkies, located just a few blocks from the house where we lived.

We had a nice turn-out, including a couple whom we had never met, but who faithfully read the blog. Thanks for coming, all!

Afterwards, we checked out Rochester’s newest restaurant, Hot Chip Burger Bar. It is an upscale burger joint.

All the burgers come with ‘Tator tots” – a Minnesota favorite. It is fun to try new places.

LOCATION: Rochester, Minnesota

WEATHER: Cold! Right now it is -4 degrees F

Our days are quite busy here. We have had several appointments at Mayo Clinic, our former employer. Just check-ups, needed shots, lab work.

This is the Gonda building, where most of my appointments were.

View from inside Gonda….

We were at the downtown Marriott hotel but have now moved to a friend’s house.

We took our daughter grocery shopping. She stocked up, compliments of Mom and Dad! It is cold here, but the worse thing is the ice. I am so afraid that I will slip on it.

We had lunch in a cute little vegan restaurant.

I had written an open invitation in this blog for folks to drop in at a downtown pub. Lots of folks stopped by – so nice!