I finally did something really stupid....

Sure did. The other day I got on a scale at the Walmart Store. Now you know how I train for life so you know I lost 10 pounds before jumping the jet to Mazatlan. Well I found it at Walmart. I could kinda tell that I had a little tortilla tummy going on and when it registered 91 kilo I let out a gasp and MP went to giggling, Mmmmmm so I said "it's your turn baby" she said  " pound salt ". Oh well, it's the cost of a good life. To all my friends @ The River City Wellness Center....you'll be seeing a lot of me ( in several different ways ) real soon. Here's the speed-o shot for 2017.

If there's a such thing as a good Dental experience I've found it. I've been going to Francisco Bouttier for years and we're friends. MP and I both needed Crowns , hers was a new one and mine was replacing a failed one. So if you are like us and don't have insurance for your chompers do yourself a favor and pay for your Mexico vacation by having the work done here. Have faith brother it's fantastic . Here's me and Kayole after she finished my crown, I guarantee she's got a big ol smile under that surgical mask. We listen to rock and roll, we talk politics, we talk family, it's just fantastic 😏.

When I write that book about guiding / fishing and the secrets of struggling feet first into a happy life I'm going to allocate one entire chapter to gill nets. I've been haunted by them my entire life. Right now the beach fishing here is so slow people who have less stamina than me are giving up. There's just very few fish around so why not just stretch 1/4 mile of net from my house to Cerritos and catch the rest of them. This was it this morning, you can see the high flyer and the net was just at our casting range. It was so long that they were still pulling it after I fished for two hours.

But when you see this next pic I think you'll agree...I might not catch a lot of fish lately but when I do they have personality. This guy here was the knarliest, toothiest, hard fighting critter I've ever caught. He had that long beak with sharp long teeth and he was trying to bend in half like an eel and get me. If he hadn't had a 200 peso Mirro Lure in his mouth I'd have cut the line and forgotten the surgery part....and did I mention he stunk ? , no kidding his slime smelled like something that came out of my refrigerator when I lived on 5th Ave with Rick Sewell.  I looked him up and he's a ' Snake Mackerel' and a huge one at that according to the book.....maybe I let my first world record go ???/

Team X's point man my friend Slah Sahli has been building a restaurant . I've learned so much about surf fishing and Muslim life and Mazatlan from him and now I've learned that you need to save room if you eat at Ara Mex.  We went on the first day he was open and he still was waiting for ingredients for the Arab part of his menu but the Mexican was fantastic. Here's his sign with the address and all, tell him you're a Team Xer.

Here's a pic of the interior with Slah doing something or other. He and Maria renovated a derelict building right next door to Topolo one of Mazatlan's nicest places. Ara Mex is sterile like clean and has a courtyard although we ate inside.

MP and I both had Mexican plates. Mine was Carne Asada and MP's was Pollo. Here's a pic of our new friend Chef Jesse with our food and me and her sharing some love over the flowers we brought.

It was just perfect for me. Here's a close up . I've been on an avocado rich diet so genuine Guacamole was a nice surprise to go with my meat and enchilada....that sauce is to die for as they say in the paper's food section. Fresh tortilla's of course and Jesse followed up with a rice pudding desert when I thought we were done.  Congratulations Slah, Maria and Jesse....we wish you the best and we're in your corner buddy.

The other morning as I fished at 6:30 a.m. it was crazy still out , All I could hear was the motion of the ocean. The fog was thick enough that I  couldn't see where my lure landed....guess the fish couldn't either....but...it was just magic . The tide was building and each wave would just barely wash to the flat that the last tide had left. Then it would run parallel with the beach looking for a low area to return with. It was really just another moment on the beach but I just felt so good I took a short video.....please watch and pretend you're there....and I wish you were.

Don't think just because I'm writing about sun up that I don't like the sunsets. But I must admit a bias for the morning when there's always new hope and freshness. A couple nights back I almost got a perfect ' naval assist' so I figured I'd better share it. It's not sunset on Mazatlan 2017 yet but we're just a couple weeks out from returning to the frozen north....which is just fine with us. MP says I could stay longer as she has work to do and my fishing season is still a few months off....But nope, I ain't doing that and miss my friend Mike Sweeney's St. Patrick Day Parade....See ya soon Slowdotna.