Last night we heard all the strange noises of sleeping somewhere new but it seems an odd combination – windows and doors creaking, a few dogs yapping, trucks jake-braking … and roosters crowing.

Actually, the move went well. The trouble is, “everyone” does not speak English, contrary to popular opinion. I managed to order lunch in broken Spanish, but all I could understand from the guard at the gate was that his English was worse than my Spanish. (Even with that, Jim did have a 5 minute conversation with him.)

During the move we discovered we have a gecko living in our master bedroom closet. We tried to trap him, but he was way too clever and fast for Nancy, and Jim was right behind her. On the other hand, Gecko’s have been known to make it into more secure environments, so we’re in good company. He eventually made his way to a window, where Nancy trapped him and sent him out to play in the yard.

We have not been able to update the blog from our new home since leaving the Marriott because we do not have internet at the house. Without the residency permit, I would not be able to get it. Fortunately, our landlord was good enough to go to the “ICE” office this morning at 7:30 am (which included a 2 ½ hours) with me to make the arrangements in his name. Now we just have to wait 10-15 days for the installation. They will call ahead – but in Spanish. Nancy was thrilled with this tidbit. She sees now that her “sliding” by with no Espanol will not do.

We encountered our first earthquake. It was 6.2 out in the Pacific somewhere. We were in our hotel room Monday night when the floor started vibrating up and down like someone really heavy was doing jumping jacks. It did not last long, but it was a strange sensation. We didn’t really realize what it was until the next day when Nancy was shopping with Catalina and she asked if we had felt the earthquake.

Aerosmith was apparently staying at the Marriott too, but that darned Steven Tyler always forgets to call me. I mean come on – I own one of his records after all.

The weather has been great, but I was wrong about the sunrise timing – it comes up around 4:30 or 5. It gets dark at 6 though. We have a fantastic view of the neighborhood lights across the valley from our back balconey. The sunrise was also quite spectacular.

So far so good on the driving front – I have managed to drive to work three tims without getting lost or worse. Today I took the "back" way in. It was like driving to my parents farm in southern Indiana (I know all of you won't get the reference -- just think rural, narrow, winding roads), except there were people walking on both sides of the road.