Alaska Cruise

We've just returned from what has to be one of the most fantastic experiences of our lives - an Alaskan Cruise. We cruised with Norwegian Cruise Lines, and can't say enough good things about them. Their "Freestyle Cruising" offered so many choices that it made it all very enjoyable - you could eat whatever you want, where you want and as much as you want at one of the 13 restaurants. Or you could order free room service. Somewhere onboard there was food available 24 hours a day. In each port (Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria) there were new and more interesting things to see (not to mention at least 20 jewelry stores)! There were hundreds of activities available onboard, or you could just watch amazing Glacier Bay go by from the balcony. (We highly recommend getting a balcony stateroom.) Best yet was the entire crew, who were exceptionally friendly, ready to chat, and courteous. To get a small glimpse of what we experienced, we have a few pictures out of about 350 Walt took that you can look at. Anyone wanting to see the whole collection will just have to come down to Ajijic ;-). Remember, our doors are always open for you.

Our day in Disneyland

This retirement thing is pretty cool. Today we spent the day at Disneyland. Since our honeymoon, this is the first time just the two of us have been there. Not only was the traffic good getting there and back from San Diego, but we were able to walk right on every ride we wanted to immediately. A few pictures of our day there.

Kirstys Graduation

Kirsty's graduation from Point Loma Nazarene University was the highlight of our busy month of May, and a major milestone for our whole family.

The move

This has been an incredible experience for us. Downsizing after 30 years in the same house (with 6 pack rats) and then moving to an apartment and finally eliminating everything except what was going to go with us was an arduous process. The last month in the apartment (aka The Fort) was a real experience, as we had removed all the furniture and brought in the boxes from storage. Then we gave away our bedroom furniture and put everything from the dressers into laundry baskets and we slept on airbeds . Finally the movers arrived on 7 through 9 May to pack the lift vans. Every single item or box was numbered and listed on an inventory list. Anything with a serial number was listed seperately, as well as the number written on that box. Another list showed which boxes went in each lift van. International moving is not for the faint at heart. Then we were left with just our airbeds in an empty apartment. Here is a picture of the apartment we left. We brought what we thought we'd need for the month in our truck; who knows where the rest of our stuff is...we'll see it again in Mexico.

La Casa del Colibrì

Some of our readers may not have seen our house in Mexico. We have downloaded some pictures to an album accessible from here. Here is the photo album of la Casa del Colibrì, our home in Ajijic. Some of the furnishings will stay with the house, but it will look much different after we've been there a while.

God's call to Mexico

A year and a half ago it became clear God wanted us in Mexico. He has pointed us specifically to Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico (closest big city is Guadalajara, about 45 minutes away). Ajijic is a village about 450 years old, located on Lake Chapala. The weather is pleasantly temperate, because we are a mile high. The title of our blog relates to the beautiful view of Lake Chapala from the terraza of the house that God so wonderfully provided. When we finally get there and get a good picture of the sunset from the terraza, we will replace the current one. The picture here now is from a hot springs resort, Monte Coxala, that is a few miles from our home. I took this picture, and it does depict what we expect to see in the way of sunsets.

The purpose of this blog is to keep our family and friends posted on what God is doing in our lives. We know that God has plans for us that have nothing to do with retiring, and we are excited to find out what they are. When you start saying "yes" to God, you better buckle your seat belt.