Mendoza Sighting: New Hampshire Edition!

Well, well, well. It sure seems like the Mendozas get around the country.

Here we see the Mendoza van, in of all places, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is parked across the street from the Old North Church, where George Washington once worshipped in 1789.

So let's see the evidence.

It certainly looks like our van. It is blue, missing a hubcap, and on the left side, it even seems to have had a slight ender-bender in the past. It is even parked in front of an historic church.

Believability Rating: 50%. Although it looks pretty good, there is the possibility that this is not our van. For one, it looked a little too clean. This van had a roof rack, which strangely, seems to be missing on our van. We don't need to carry skis. Its not like we ever go skiing, or snowboarding.

I mean, come on.

The windows are tinted, which also seems to be missing now.

Also, I saw the driver come out of the van, and it could not have been me. How could I see myself come out of a van? It's not like I was watching myself six months into the future. Besides, this guy didn't look ANYTHING like me. Sure he was better looking, but he had that pasty skin that I saw on all New Englanders after a long winter that makes them look like drowning victims. The van also looked way too clean when I got closer to it. It also seems to have been registered in the state of New Hampshire.

Besides, this was a Thursday, and the family would have needed the van to get to Violin Lessons.

This was pretty close, but no cigar.

Oh well. Tune in again later for another edition of...

MENDOZA SIGHTING!

Top Secret Florida Trip!

Well, I finally made it out to Florida to visit most of the Kramers, minus Eddie. So how was the first day? It rained the entire first day, so all we did was just hang around and talk. Oh, and one of the children beat me at the game of Clue. Morning came and night came, the first day.

Here are loading up the Huge white Van with all the kids, and heading off to the beach.

Their nice, big, beautiful house in Florida.

Nothing says, "You're in the South!" like a Waffle and Omelet House. I tried to convince my hostess to go to one, but was advised against it. I did get treated to Chick-fil-et (or however you spell it) twice, however.

Finally on the beach. Calm, clear water all around, no crashing waves. A good deal warmer than California beaches.

The best thing about going to the beach? Chips!

Kids at play on the beach. Insert your own Neville Shutte joke here.

Lots of big cargo ships passing by.

The infamous Potty Skittles.

Club La Vela. You can't see it very well, but there is a sign that is cut off on the right that said, "PARTY WITH THOUSANDS!." Why was it cut off? I got to go on a tour of the Bay in Panama City on what was called a Sea Screamer, a really fast boat. Ostensibly it was to see Dolphins in the bay, and there were quite a few of them. However, they were pretty fast, and was not able to get pictures of them. Panama City is known as a Spring Break destination, although it was starting to wind down by the time I got there.

Juan wants to come here next year and party with thousands.

Here is a picture of someone else doing something exciting.

New Pier being built in Panama City.

So of course every one has to wave at the construction workers. Neat thing about the boat tour, the driver let all the kids on board have a turn at driving the boat.

Margaret pulling a towel over her head. She looks like a cute little Russian Babushka.

Cupcakes! We had a Tea Party after Mass on Sunday, so some food was prepared.

The table was arranged with care, in hopes that Saint Ni.... Oops.

Here are some of the kids enjoying the Tea Party.

The next day we went out to this State Park that used to be the summer recreation spot of an Alabama Textile Company. and it was gorgeous, with clear blue water, charming little cottages, swooping dunes, and a big lagoon. And if my camera had not died, you would be seeing pictures of Camp Helen State Park. Hey, Kramers, do you have any pictures?

And so after a yummy pot roast dinner, my last day with the Kramers ended. The next day it was back home to California, where my family and huge piles of laundry awaited me. Hey, at least they were able to feed themselves. Barely.