Need More Wind

The Ranting Wife and I honeymooned (many years ago) at Mazatlan, Mexico. We loved walking through the “gold zone”, exploring the old city and even taking side trips through the countryside. Most of all, though, we loved the beach and water. As it was the first week of the year, and it was snowy back home, we REALLY loved being at the beach.

One of the mornings we were walking along the beach and noticed a number of people parasailing out in the ocean. We watched as parasailers took off from the beach, circled around in the water and then landed again on the beach. We decided we would try it. I had never been parasailing before but my new wife had. Her experience was in the Bahamas where she was launched off the back of a moving boat and reeled in at the end to land back on the boat.

We approached one of the operators and let him know of our interest. He sized us up and pointed to my wife. “You” he said, “we can take now.” Pointing at me he said “We take you in the afternoon. Need more wind!”

We decided both to wait for the afternoon and when we arrived, they took my wife first. She was strapped into the harness and led to the edge of the water. The boat revved up and as the slack line became taught, she ran toward the water and after a few short steps she was flying. I watched as she went up, up and up. As she got higher up and further away, I started to think about if something happened to her. Here I was a newlywed and really didn’t want to come back from the honeymoon a widower. They came closer to shore and she swung around over the beach and lightly floated back down to earth.

They looked me over and decided that while there was more wind, they still needed additional help. They switched to a larger parachute, strapped me in and led me to the water’s edge. Like my wife, I ran toward the water and was almost instantly airborne.

As I floated up, I took in the view. It was fantastic with blue water, beautiful beaches and large resorts lining the beach. As the ride went on, we eventually headed for the beach. Like being at the end of a chain of kids, I was whipped over the beach as the boat turned to head up the coast. They had instructed me to pull on the ropes on the left side to keep me from ending up on a balcony of one of those resorts I had seen. (Less than a year later there was a pretty famous video of someone slamming into the side of a hotel in the exact same scenario) I pulled hard and centered over the beach and slowly drifted down. While I was in the air, I had absolutely no fear.

After talking with my wife, I found out that she had no fear in the air either, but like me, was a wreck when the other was in the air.

Easy Mexicali Chicken

 This easy dish is so full of flavor.

I decided to add a few jalapeños after I took this picture.

Using thin sliced chicken breasts really makes this a quick cooking dish.

The salsa verde is a perfect complement.

Easy Mexicali Chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp oil
4 ounces shredded cheese blend
1/2 cup salsa (mild, medium, hot–your call)

Directions:

Pound the chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thick and divide into portions, if needed. Place a large, heavy skillet over med-high heat, add the oil, and saute the chicken breasts for about 5 min, or till the bottom is golden. Turn, and saute for another 3-4 min. Top the chicken with the cheese, turn the heat down to med-low, cover the skillet, and let the whole thing cook for another 3-4 min, or till the cheese is melted.

While the cheese is melting, nuke the salsa in the microwave for a minute at half power.

Remove the chicken to serving plates, top with the salsa, and serve. Add sour cream if desired or maybe some fresh chopped cilantro.

Source: http://thebeverlybuzz.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html