Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ouch
It actually doesn't hurt as bad as it looks........ and you can guess where its located....
WHINE
I have done a few stupid things in my life but really – these spds (clipless pedals) are a real drag in the sand AND my tires – good grief – they are not as narrow as a road bike as my Kona is a mountain bike but they are road tires none the less – definitely not ones that ride over sand with ease! Of course cycling in sand is not easy at the best of times but this is ridiculous! At this point my old Walmart special is looking pretty good and am wishing I’d opted for bringing it – or following my plan to change the tires and the pedals! Lorne is in the Lead! That will never do!
There are really not a preponderance of bike shops around so I guess I will just have to “suck it up”.
Of course the other option is an ATV. I went into town yesterday with the girls in the hood on the ATVs. Of course I don’t have one – yet – so I rode on the back of MaryAnn’s. Very fun. She is the fastest. We waited periodically for the other two on their ATVs. We cruised around the new developments that are happening, went for lunch, groceries, tortillas, and then home. Fun. Very nice ladies…Girlfriends are good.
Of course the other option is an ATV. I went into town yesterday with the girls in the hood on the ATVs. Of course I don’t have one – yet – so I rode on the back of MaryAnn’s. Very fun. She is the fastest. We waited periodically for the other two on their ATVs. We cruised around the new developments that are happening, went for lunch, groceries, tortillas, and then home. Fun. Very nice ladies…Girlfriends are good.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Feels Like Home!
This is pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrXow86hCEA
Spent one night at Todos Santos where I learned why it was that I really didn’t want to keep my spds (clipless pedals) on my bike in Baja! Had a nice tumble off my bike! Pretty bruises too. Well, I guess I was due for one, haven’t fallen for a very long time. These roads are really not bike friendly at all. Sure do wish I brought regular pedals with me….
Todos Santos is such a lovely Mexican town, it also has a large number of artists, Mexican and American. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer than overnight as we have to get to “work”. There is a festival of art at Todos Santos coming up, as well as a historic home tour, hope we can take both of those in while we are in Baja Sur.
Spent two nights at Vagabundos rv park in Cabo San Lucas. Such a bustling city! Fortunately there were no cruise ships in so it wasn’t packed with tourists. It looks like the hotels along the beach are not that busy right now, unless everyone was in taking a nap while we were there. Got stocked up on supplies and motored on to Los Barriles and over the high road to the “cat house”. The beach road has been reduced to a trail since the last hurricane and there has been no road work done on it. AND no road work done on the high road either. The huge chunk out of the road that scared me last year is still there….. I really don’t know how they would repair it anyway – the whole lane is just gone – down the hillside. I really don’t think we will be going into town anytime soon, sure don’t want to do that road again in a hurry.
As we pulled into town it really did feel like we were home somehow. Its all just so familiar and the town has such a nice feeling to it. It also helped that we met our friends and neighbours Bill and Gary on the road – I’m sure we provided some entertainment value as we crept along. They stopped to greet us and then zoomed on by. Of course in a car this road is much different. We are just a bit wider than a car..…
So, here we are at the “cat house”. The first time we came down the Baja we house and cat sat for these same people – T&T for short. We met them over the internet, introduced by Janet and John our Victoria friends who had house and cat sat for them before us. The house is looking very nice, they have done quite a bit of work on it and it is up for sale… let me know if you're interested! All four cats are well and present – Smokey, Venecia, Ginger Megs, and BT. Smokey is even lounging about in the house tonight! He doesn’t seem too stressed by our arrival – perhaps he has forgotten the trauma Lorne put him through in the basement a few years back…. Or perhaps he remembers all the camerone we bribed him with the last time we were here.
The beach has been rearranged yet again by the last hurricane and summer storms. It looks quite different, a real mix of rocks and then sand. Today was very cold – we were in our long pants, sox, and fleece all day and its going down to 45 F (7 or 8 C) tonight! It has apparently been a fairly cold winter here so far.
We hope to get some kayaking in of course – check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8KNtyPbsSI this is not us, yet anyway.
Spent one night at Todos Santos where I learned why it was that I really didn’t want to keep my spds (clipless pedals) on my bike in Baja! Had a nice tumble off my bike! Pretty bruises too. Well, I guess I was due for one, haven’t fallen for a very long time. These roads are really not bike friendly at all. Sure do wish I brought regular pedals with me….
Todos Santos is such a lovely Mexican town, it also has a large number of artists, Mexican and American. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer than overnight as we have to get to “work”. There is a festival of art at Todos Santos coming up, as well as a historic home tour, hope we can take both of those in while we are in Baja Sur.
Spent two nights at Vagabundos rv park in Cabo San Lucas. Such a bustling city! Fortunately there were no cruise ships in so it wasn’t packed with tourists. It looks like the hotels along the beach are not that busy right now, unless everyone was in taking a nap while we were there. Got stocked up on supplies and motored on to Los Barriles and over the high road to the “cat house”. The beach road has been reduced to a trail since the last hurricane and there has been no road work done on it. AND no road work done on the high road either. The huge chunk out of the road that scared me last year is still there….. I really don’t know how they would repair it anyway – the whole lane is just gone – down the hillside. I really don’t think we will be going into town anytime soon, sure don’t want to do that road again in a hurry.
As we pulled into town it really did feel like we were home somehow. Its all just so familiar and the town has such a nice feeling to it. It also helped that we met our friends and neighbours Bill and Gary on the road – I’m sure we provided some entertainment value as we crept along. They stopped to greet us and then zoomed on by. Of course in a car this road is much different. We are just a bit wider than a car..…
So, here we are at the “cat house”. The first time we came down the Baja we house and cat sat for these same people – T&T for short. We met them over the internet, introduced by Janet and John our Victoria friends who had house and cat sat for them before us. The house is looking very nice, they have done quite a bit of work on it and it is up for sale… let me know if you're interested! All four cats are well and present – Smokey, Venecia, Ginger Megs, and BT. Smokey is even lounging about in the house tonight! He doesn’t seem too stressed by our arrival – perhaps he has forgotten the trauma Lorne put him through in the basement a few years back…. Or perhaps he remembers all the camerone we bribed him with the last time we were here.
The beach has been rearranged yet again by the last hurricane and summer storms. It looks quite different, a real mix of rocks and then sand. Today was very cold – we were in our long pants, sox, and fleece all day and its going down to 45 F (7 or 8 C) tonight! It has apparently been a fairly cold winter here so far.
We hope to get some kayaking in of course – check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8KNtyPbsSI this is not us, yet anyway.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
San Lucas Cove, El Coyote, Constitucion
As I opened the curtains our first morning at San Lucas Cove (South of Santa Rosalia; there was Janet walking towards our motor home! What a surprise! We had been emailing Janet and John (friends from Victoria who had headed south before Christmas) as we were hoping to find them on a beach in Baja; however, didn’t know where they had chosen to settle. For some obscure reason we were not connecting, Janet had not received our emails and though she emailed us too I had only received one email from her which didn’t tell me where they were! It was a complete coincidence that they should be at this beach the same time as us. They had arrived the same day only much earlier, and since it was dark when we arrived they didn’t see us and we didn’t see them. We had a great time with them and it was very nice to see another friend (also named John) too who has made this beach his winter home for many years. We enjoyed meals together and long chats over morning cappuccinos for the three sleeps we were there.
We had a wonderful campfire and sing along with a couple who live just down the beach permanently (he plays twelve string and she 6 string guitar) and Garland from Squim (just across the straight from Victoria in the US) who plays electric keyboard, fiddle, guitar, and who knows what else. He was there with his family; wife, young adult son, sister and her husband. They drove two Rialtas, a small pricey motor home with a “toy box” full of things like motor cycles, wind surfing boards and sails, bicycles, this electric keyboard with amp and speakers, a boat, and who know what else! He played beautifully and his wife had an amazing voice – such fun!
We spent two nights there and then headed south to kayak at El Coyote Beach, south of Mullege in Bahia Concepcion. Janet and John headed north towards home. We had one glorious day with no wind kayaking on crystal clear water watching all the fishes swimming below, some looked big enough for dinner, unfortunately I didn’t bring my rod out with us. While I have a fishing licence for Baja I didn’t get a license for the kayak and all boats regardless of size have to have a license if one is planning on fishing from them. We have never met anyone who has been checked for licenses or heard of anyone being checked but that is the law and I sure don’t want to break any laws down here if possible.
We met some nice people next to us on the beach, a couple from Nanaimo – Pearl and Stan. We also met a couple from New York (Betty and ?) this the 2nd year they have been down here, we met them last year. They travel in a 4 wheel drive van with a tent, kayak, fold-a- boat and two dogs. We also met another couple in a bus conversion, Chuck and Elsie from near 100 mile house. They did a wonderful job on this conversion and at one time they lived in it for 9 years. Everyone is very friendly here this year, last year it seemed clicky. One day here was all the time we had and it wasn’t hard to leave as the next day dawned with cloudy skies and a very cold and constant wind.
We have to be at our cat sitting job on the 21st so we best be on our way. We don’t want to drive on Saturday or Sunday especially in the Cabo area. Our next stop, 279 km south and over the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains is Ciudad Constitucion, an agricultural community. We stay in a very nice RV park there with full hook-ups, a pool, bar, and restaurant and lots of beautiful vegetation including varieties of fruit trees, palms and cactus.
We arrived there with just enough time to pick up a few vegetables and to have a shower before dark. As I was on my way out the door to do so Lorne asks “are you buzzing?” “Huh? No I’m not buzzing – why would I be buzzing?” “Something’s buzzing” he replies. I listen carefully and hear nothing – sometimes he hears things I don’t and vice versa. I carry on to my shower, leaving him to his buzzing puzzle. While in the shower he calls over the wall to tell me the buzzing was his razor in the shower bag he was carrying… it seemed to be coming from down low and whenever he bent over it got louder….so, in his search around the motor home he thought it was a leak in a tire. A bit of entertainment for us; got me giggling for quite awhile, visualizing him stalking the illusive buzz. Small things…..
One night here and then on our way to Cabo San Lucas, a 275 km drive. Hopefully we will find a good spot to camp. Real estate having increased incredibly in this area may well result in the closure of many rv parks. We will visit Costco, and Home Depot in Cabo San Lucas and the Mega store in San Jose del Cabo (a Mexican supermarket) and head to Los Barriles and the cats on Monday.
Driving down the road this morning we are passed by many vehicles from the Baja 2000 – a huge annual race the length of the Baja. We were passed by (one of many) open pickups with a horse tethered in the back. The horses look quite happy, ears pricked forward and looking around. Not many horses I know would like to travel like that! Then we passed an oncoming car towing a pickup with a single rope – yes, only a rope. Oh yes, a gringo couple we met in San Lucas pushed their motor home with their tow car as it had stopped running. Up and then down the highway coming into Santa Rosalia – this highway is called, not for nothing Cuesta del Infierno (Hill of Hell). The level of risk taking here is amazing, mostly by Mexicans and often modeled by Gringos.
Pemex gas stations, are popping up all over. The government owns the gas and the distribution of the gas; while the stations themselves are independent but can only sell Pemex gas. When we first came down here there were few Pemex stations and we needed to fill up at pretty well every station we saw. Now gas is not a problem. We see even more under construction. We see much development in the villages along the way as well as more kids with cell phones, on bikes, skateboards and even some on ATVs. Even in very small villages. For example, for many years the town of San Lucas relied on our friend John to bring down soccer balls for the school children. It now has a skateboard park and kids with skateboards! 4 years ago there were no children here with bikes, now there are many, some with very nice bikes.
Back home Natasha sits at the bedside of her good friend Joan Yates – the 94 year old cougar lady from Metchosin. She is fading away, not without a fight that’s for sure; it’s a very difficult time for Natasha and she is spending hours by her bedside comforting her. Joan has always called Natasha the daughter she never had and over the years the love between them has been really lovely to see. Natasha and Chris have been caretakers on a 300 acre piece of her property for over 14 years. She is a legend, a character, and a crusty independent woman who will be greatly missed by many. Just got a text message, Joan has passed away. She is now out of pain and her suffering is over. She will be greatly missed by many and certainly by Natasha.
If you have read this far - I want to tell you that both Lorne and I have not been able to send email, we can receive but not send. We will figure this out.... well, Lorne will figure it out.
We had a wonderful campfire and sing along with a couple who live just down the beach permanently (he plays twelve string and she 6 string guitar) and Garland from Squim (just across the straight from Victoria in the US) who plays electric keyboard, fiddle, guitar, and who knows what else. He was there with his family; wife, young adult son, sister and her husband. They drove two Rialtas, a small pricey motor home with a “toy box” full of things like motor cycles, wind surfing boards and sails, bicycles, this electric keyboard with amp and speakers, a boat, and who know what else! He played beautifully and his wife had an amazing voice – such fun!
We spent two nights there and then headed south to kayak at El Coyote Beach, south of Mullege in Bahia Concepcion. Janet and John headed north towards home. We had one glorious day with no wind kayaking on crystal clear water watching all the fishes swimming below, some looked big enough for dinner, unfortunately I didn’t bring my rod out with us. While I have a fishing licence for Baja I didn’t get a license for the kayak and all boats regardless of size have to have a license if one is planning on fishing from them. We have never met anyone who has been checked for licenses or heard of anyone being checked but that is the law and I sure don’t want to break any laws down here if possible.
We met some nice people next to us on the beach, a couple from Nanaimo – Pearl and Stan. We also met a couple from New York (Betty and ?) this the 2nd year they have been down here, we met them last year. They travel in a 4 wheel drive van with a tent, kayak, fold-a- boat and two dogs. We also met another couple in a bus conversion, Chuck and Elsie from near 100 mile house. They did a wonderful job on this conversion and at one time they lived in it for 9 years. Everyone is very friendly here this year, last year it seemed clicky. One day here was all the time we had and it wasn’t hard to leave as the next day dawned with cloudy skies and a very cold and constant wind.
We have to be at our cat sitting job on the 21st so we best be on our way. We don’t want to drive on Saturday or Sunday especially in the Cabo area. Our next stop, 279 km south and over the Sierra de la Giganta Mountains is Ciudad Constitucion, an agricultural community. We stay in a very nice RV park there with full hook-ups, a pool, bar, and restaurant and lots of beautiful vegetation including varieties of fruit trees, palms and cactus.
We arrived there with just enough time to pick up a few vegetables and to have a shower before dark. As I was on my way out the door to do so Lorne asks “are you buzzing?” “Huh? No I’m not buzzing – why would I be buzzing?” “Something’s buzzing” he replies. I listen carefully and hear nothing – sometimes he hears things I don’t and vice versa. I carry on to my shower, leaving him to his buzzing puzzle. While in the shower he calls over the wall to tell me the buzzing was his razor in the shower bag he was carrying… it seemed to be coming from down low and whenever he bent over it got louder….so, in his search around the motor home he thought it was a leak in a tire. A bit of entertainment for us; got me giggling for quite awhile, visualizing him stalking the illusive buzz. Small things…..
One night here and then on our way to Cabo San Lucas, a 275 km drive. Hopefully we will find a good spot to camp. Real estate having increased incredibly in this area may well result in the closure of many rv parks. We will visit Costco, and Home Depot in Cabo San Lucas and the Mega store in San Jose del Cabo (a Mexican supermarket) and head to Los Barriles and the cats on Monday.
Driving down the road this morning we are passed by many vehicles from the Baja 2000 – a huge annual race the length of the Baja. We were passed by (one of many) open pickups with a horse tethered in the back. The horses look quite happy, ears pricked forward and looking around. Not many horses I know would like to travel like that! Then we passed an oncoming car towing a pickup with a single rope – yes, only a rope. Oh yes, a gringo couple we met in San Lucas pushed their motor home with their tow car as it had stopped running. Up and then down the highway coming into Santa Rosalia – this highway is called, not for nothing Cuesta del Infierno (Hill of Hell). The level of risk taking here is amazing, mostly by Mexicans and often modeled by Gringos.
Pemex gas stations, are popping up all over. The government owns the gas and the distribution of the gas; while the stations themselves are independent but can only sell Pemex gas. When we first came down here there were few Pemex stations and we needed to fill up at pretty well every station we saw. Now gas is not a problem. We see even more under construction. We see much development in the villages along the way as well as more kids with cell phones, on bikes, skateboards and even some on ATVs. Even in very small villages. For example, for many years the town of San Lucas relied on our friend John to bring down soccer balls for the school children. It now has a skateboard park and kids with skateboards! 4 years ago there were no children here with bikes, now there are many, some with very nice bikes.
Back home Natasha sits at the bedside of her good friend Joan Yates – the 94 year old cougar lady from Metchosin. She is fading away, not without a fight that’s for sure; it’s a very difficult time for Natasha and she is spending hours by her bedside comforting her. Joan has always called Natasha the daughter she never had and over the years the love between them has been really lovely to see. Natasha and Chris have been caretakers on a 300 acre piece of her property for over 14 years. She is a legend, a character, and a crusty independent woman who will be greatly missed by many. Just got a text message, Joan has passed away. She is now out of pain and her suffering is over. She will be greatly missed by many and certainly by Natasha.
If you have read this far - I want to tell you that both Lorne and I have not been able to send email, we can receive but not send. We will figure this out.... well, Lorne will figure it out.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Baja at last, January 8, 2008
Baja California, Mexico
After two nights in the pouring rain at Potrero San Diego County Park we crossed over into Mexico at Tecate. The previous day we had walked across the border to get our visas stamped. This cut off quite a bit of time for our travel day as there is little parking on the Tecate side close to the border, requiring us to park and walk through a questionable neighbourhood.
We met a nice couple who have a house in San Jose del Cabo; Sharon and Stan, they drive down in their 4 wheel drive truck camper from Grande Cache, a town north of Jasper Alberta. We paired up with them and while we didn’t drive with them, we kept a look out for each other on the road and agreed to meet at the Pacific beach campground in El Pabellon just south of San Quintin.
We fortunately did not meet our motorcycle cop who wiped us out of all our American money in Tecate last year. (Having practiced his art for the past year on other unsuspecting gringos he was probably lounging by his pool drinking margaritas) We carried on, having lunch at our usual first gas stop in Valle de Guadelupe. Our next stop was the fish market in Ensenada. We love that fish market! So many different kinds of fresh fish at such excellent prices – tuna, dorado, marlin, swordfish, many sizes of prawns (camaron) shark, pargo, oysters, muscles, goey duck, smoked marlin and tuna but no lobster. There were probably many more fish that I can’t remember right now. We stocked up on jumbo camaron at $10.20 a kilogram, swordfish at $5 a kilo and smoked tuna and marlin $3 a kilo. Yum! We really like to rough it when we camp!
Our destination was the Pacific beach campground at El Pabellon south of San Quintin. We arrived there after dark, about 6:00 at night. It was a bit nerve wracking finding the road in the dark, everything looks so different. Following our splendid dinner of swordfish and camerons we visited with Sharon and Stan, receiving an invitation to visit them in San Jose! Stan says he literally turned the lights on in the new town of Grande Cache when they were transferred there with the Alberta electric company years ago. Sharon was a nurse and delivered the first baby in the new town. They still live there and love it.
We parted ways from our new found friends in the morning; while we headed to Bahia de Los Angeles for a few days of kayaking, they carried on their way to their home in San Jose.
I drove – yes I did! From the junction of Mex. 1 and the road into Bahia de Los Angeles – 63 km. AND I drove back out as well! There are no big trucks on this route, in fact, hardly any traffic at all. No, we didn’t get a picture of it – should have as it will be the only driving I do on this highway. There have been lots of improvements to Mex. 1 but not enough for me.
We had two beautiful mornings of kayaking – we made it almost to the closest island – about 4 km from our campsite before the wind picked up. By the time we got to shore there were some good whitecaps. It is a very windy place, the afternoons we spent inside reading till about 3:30 then went for a bike ride. What could be a more pleasant way to spend the day, kayaking, cycling, playing guitar/Lorne went to the local internet spot down the beach, reading! Wonderful!
The road south of the Bahia de Los Angeles junction is very poor, lots of pot holes and between Rosarito and Guerro Negro it is really terrible, full of even deeper potholes for about 20 km!
Arrived at our destination – San Lucas Cove at about 7:30. Quite dark and late for us. (We received a bit of a scolding from our friend John who spends much of the year at this beach – driving on a Saturday night is not a good idea)
Filled the water tank, and our hot water tank has sprung a leak. I am so glad I brought Lorne with me. Not only does he drive Mex. 1 he knows how to fix things and he is at the moment ripping the bathroom apart to fix this leak so we can have hot water. I cook. Also a useful skill.
After two nights in the pouring rain at Potrero San Diego County Park we crossed over into Mexico at Tecate. The previous day we had walked across the border to get our visas stamped. This cut off quite a bit of time for our travel day as there is little parking on the Tecate side close to the border, requiring us to park and walk through a questionable neighbourhood.
We met a nice couple who have a house in San Jose del Cabo; Sharon and Stan, they drive down in their 4 wheel drive truck camper from Grande Cache, a town north of Jasper Alberta. We paired up with them and while we didn’t drive with them, we kept a look out for each other on the road and agreed to meet at the Pacific beach campground in El Pabellon just south of San Quintin.
We fortunately did not meet our motorcycle cop who wiped us out of all our American money in Tecate last year. (Having practiced his art for the past year on other unsuspecting gringos he was probably lounging by his pool drinking margaritas) We carried on, having lunch at our usual first gas stop in Valle de Guadelupe. Our next stop was the fish market in Ensenada. We love that fish market! So many different kinds of fresh fish at such excellent prices – tuna, dorado, marlin, swordfish, many sizes of prawns (camaron) shark, pargo, oysters, muscles, goey duck, smoked marlin and tuna but no lobster. There were probably many more fish that I can’t remember right now. We stocked up on jumbo camaron at $10.20 a kilogram, swordfish at $5 a kilo and smoked tuna and marlin $3 a kilo. Yum! We really like to rough it when we camp!
Our destination was the Pacific beach campground at El Pabellon south of San Quintin. We arrived there after dark, about 6:00 at night. It was a bit nerve wracking finding the road in the dark, everything looks so different. Following our splendid dinner of swordfish and camerons we visited with Sharon and Stan, receiving an invitation to visit them in San Jose! Stan says he literally turned the lights on in the new town of Grande Cache when they were transferred there with the Alberta electric company years ago. Sharon was a nurse and delivered the first baby in the new town. They still live there and love it.
We parted ways from our new found friends in the morning; while we headed to Bahia de Los Angeles for a few days of kayaking, they carried on their way to their home in San Jose.
I drove – yes I did! From the junction of Mex. 1 and the road into Bahia de Los Angeles – 63 km. AND I drove back out as well! There are no big trucks on this route, in fact, hardly any traffic at all. No, we didn’t get a picture of it – should have as it will be the only driving I do on this highway. There have been lots of improvements to Mex. 1 but not enough for me.
We had two beautiful mornings of kayaking – we made it almost to the closest island – about 4 km from our campsite before the wind picked up. By the time we got to shore there were some good whitecaps. It is a very windy place, the afternoons we spent inside reading till about 3:30 then went for a bike ride. What could be a more pleasant way to spend the day, kayaking, cycling, playing guitar/Lorne went to the local internet spot down the beach, reading! Wonderful!
The road south of the Bahia de Los Angeles junction is very poor, lots of pot holes and between Rosarito and Guerro Negro it is really terrible, full of even deeper potholes for about 20 km!
Arrived at our destination – San Lucas Cove at about 7:30. Quite dark and late for us. (We received a bit of a scolding from our friend John who spends much of the year at this beach – driving on a Saturday night is not a good idea)
Filled the water tank, and our hot water tank has sprung a leak. I am so glad I brought Lorne with me. Not only does he drive Mex. 1 he knows how to fix things and he is at the moment ripping the bathroom apart to fix this leak so we can have hot water. I cook. Also a useful skill.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
January 4, 2008 Onward
We were in Los Angeles for a few days having our coach tinkered with before crossing into Mexico. Our friend Miguel who lives here is a champion GMC mechanic who always works on the coach before we go and when we come back. We met him the first year we had our GMC at the GMC International Rally in Las Vegas. He saved us when we had a breakdown and had to replace a ball joint, part of the front end suspension.
Miguel lives in LA (Rancho Cucamonga) and has a lot full of GMCs. We have been here for 3 sleeps, or should I say nights of little sleep. There is a train near by that toots and whistles - a lot - and there is a freeway nearby that makes continuous dull whrrring noise. Is this white noise? We are used to silence with the occasional hoot owl outside the bedroom window.
There has been/'is a rain warning for the past 2 days.... no rain yet but it finally looks like it will come today. There are warnings of heavy rain, flash flooding and mud slides, particularly in the area where the fires were last summer, which is of course right where we are heading. We will be safe, we are going to hole up at a very nice RV park at a Casino in Temecula until the rain danger passes before heading into Mexico.
On the other hand is this one of those weird panicky warnings like the one on the “s” hooks that I just bought to attach my panniers to my bike? – “Wear safety glasses when using a hammer…. Do not use where personal safety or valuable property could be endangered…. Misuse can result in serious injury or death”…. Seriously. I am quoting right from the package. Are they inciting panic strictly to get you glued to the news to hear what’s going to happen next? To sell papers? Or because they think people are just stupid and will go walking in the arroyos in the rain or will use a tiny “s” hook on their bungee jumping harness unless pumped into a panic state? I don’t know.
We went for a bike ride after arriving at the Pechanga Resort/Casino/Hotel/RV Park. When we stopped at a little store for a paper the merchant warned us to be very careful; when the rain comes down in sheets it can be very dangerous here. He recommended that we should head for shelter right away and not to ride in the rain.
Well, we made it back home safely before the rain hit. It hasn’t been too bad, there is water in the arroyos, but not much. We will not venture into Mexico until this storm passes however, as we road winds along mountain ridges with steep valleys on both sides and now there are severe wind warnings for the mountains (90 mph winds which are 135 km/h for metric people) as well as snow warnings. They have warned against driving the mountain passes in a motor home or trailer as we provide a fairly large sail.
So - tomorrow we move on to Tecate (border town) we will walk across the border, get our visas, walk back and then go camp at Potrero County Park - right in the middle of last summers burn zone and cross over the border Monday morning. This will put as far south of the border as we can drive in a day to where there is a safe campground.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
January, 2008 New Years Day
Had an early start today – on the road by 8:30! Stopped for breakfast a ways down the road at a rest stop. Pretty uneventful drive, it is cold, but lots warmer than in Washington and Oregon! By Sacramento there is a noticeable greenness emerging. Very little traffic on the road, even through Sacramento it was quite peaceful.
Such interesting countryside, we would love to take it slower and spend some time here. Apparently there is a beautiful camping area along the river with great bike paths, we haven’t located it yet! Perhaps on the way back.
This is definitely a huge farming area. Miles and miles of almond trees, oranges, grape vines. AND the most revolting feed lot spewing out the most putrid aroma! It certainly puts me off beef.
The closer to Los Angeles the more traffic on the highway, even 150 miles away there is a ribbon of headlights coming and one of red tail lights going miles ahead of us weaving through the valley and up the other side.
Oh Oh – big sign ahead – gusty winds, trailers and campers not recommended…. We are about 35 miles from the Grapevine. Lorne says the winds do get so high here that they will actually block off the road even for cars! Hopefully we will be able to get through, we plan on spending the night in Santa Clarita at Campers World as we have a bit of shopping to do. They have free camping on their lot (plus a dump station) a very nice courtesy for their customers.
December 31, 2007 New Years Eve
We slept at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, south of Roseburg, Oregon last night, rolled in very late, about 11:30. We fell into bed and were up and on the road by 11. It is a nice place to stay. They have nice showers, pool, sauna, and of course all the rest of the casino stuff. The buffet is pretty good, but we didn’t have it this time since we got in so late. Its secure and free unless we use the facilities.
A beautiful sunny day, blues skies with a few fluffy white clouds. It is quite cold tho. Stopped in Medford to pick up groceries and have lunch. We had our usual fun grocery shopping and marvelling at the good prices. I saved us $40 on wine alone! Have to stock up before Mexico as its difficult to get good wine there.
As we reached the top of the Siskiyou Mountains the Momas and Poppas sang us “California Dreamin” (on such a winter’s day) – and yes there is snow in the Siskiyous. The pass is at 4,000+ feet . Very pretty, especially since the road is bare and dry (ice on the shoulders). So we hope to be down and out of them before nightfall.
Made it to Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, California for New Years Eve. We had a delicious meal of king crab legs steamed in white wine, rice and mushroom fried rice, and green beans; with a lovely bottle of Willamette Valley Chardonnay. Beautiful meal cooked right in the motor home.
We walked through the casino – uneventful, packed with people wearing New Years hats plugged into the many slot machines. We left before they started the kissing. We brought the New Years in by enjoying a wonderful shower in their spotless bath-house. They also have washers and dryers. Camping free, showers $7 for one or $10 to shower together. We took the bargain rate.
A beautiful sunny day, blues skies with a few fluffy white clouds. It is quite cold tho. Stopped in Medford to pick up groceries and have lunch. We had our usual fun grocery shopping and marvelling at the good prices. I saved us $40 on wine alone! Have to stock up before Mexico as its difficult to get good wine there.
As we reached the top of the Siskiyou Mountains the Momas and Poppas sang us “California Dreamin” (on such a winter’s day) – and yes there is snow in the Siskiyous. The pass is at 4,000+ feet . Very pretty, especially since the road is bare and dry (ice on the shoulders). So we hope to be down and out of them before nightfall.
Made it to Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, California for New Years Eve. We had a delicious meal of king crab legs steamed in white wine, rice and mushroom fried rice, and green beans; with a lovely bottle of Willamette Valley Chardonnay. Beautiful meal cooked right in the motor home.
We walked through the casino – uneventful, packed with people wearing New Years hats plugged into the many slot machines. We left before they started the kissing. We brought the New Years in by enjoying a wonderful shower in their spotless bath-house. They also have washers and dryers. Camping free, showers $7 for one or $10 to shower together. We took the bargain rate.
December 29, 2007 On the Road at Last
It never fails to amaze me how long it takes to get ready to leave – there always seems to be one more thing to do which generates 5 more things, which generates even more. There are “pink” things to do and “blue” things to do (as one of our friends says). Lorne’s list always seems to dribble into mine so I try to get myself organized well in advance….. This year we had to add antifreeze to the water that heats the floor in the house so it wouldn’t freeze. Who would have thought of that? It was my idea of course – ha ha! Lorne’s idea of course. It was quite an involved process, bleeding out the right amount of water and getting 38 litres of antifreeze into the system. A good idea, but time consuming.
We stopped to see the grandkids on our way to the ferry. We will sure miss them, they are just so enthusiastic about everything – absolutely delightful.
We actually made the 5:00 ferry and drove to our friends Sharon and John Kenner’s in Bothell (near Seattle). These are the couple we met in Torquart Bay many years ago. They are such lovely people and so interesting. Sharon has been compiling her family genealogy and is part of the Geneographic Project which traces your same sex parent back through history to Africa, where humans began. Quite amazing!
John no longer has his huge tank but still has his rapid attack vehicle and a new Segway – a very cool machine that you stand on with a wheel on each side of your feet and you hold on to a handle in the middle which you also use to steer with. You make it go by just ever so slightly leaning forward, in fact you really merely think about going forward and you will, same for reverse, you think about going faster and it takes off! You can put it in turtle mode for beginners. Very cool and looks very futuristic.
John’s current project is restoring an old Morris Cooper, in a very unusual fashion – he bought a fairly new GEO Metro and is putting the whole Morris Cooper body on the frame of the GEO (utilizing the engine and all the inside stuff that makes the GEO work). He has the body of the Morris held above the GEO on a pulley system which he raises and lowers so he can make incremental changes to the body enabling it to all fit together with the least amount of body filler. We’re looking forward to seeing the end result! Why is he doing this you might ask? Well, he wants to be sure he has a reliable vehicle when he takes it along camping. He currently carries his Boston Whaler (boat) inside his converted Bluebird bus. Alternatively, he would like to carry the Morris inside the bus instead of the boat depending on where he is planning on going camping. He had visions of the original old Morris breaking down and then he wouldn’t be able to get it out of the bus easily. Which would mean they would have no place to sleep as their bed folds up when the boat or car is on board. Slightly inconvenient on a road trip when they’re counting on sleeping in the bus! So, they will have a much more reliable car when this project is completed.
We stopped to see the grandkids on our way to the ferry. We will sure miss them, they are just so enthusiastic about everything – absolutely delightful.
We actually made the 5:00 ferry and drove to our friends Sharon and John Kenner’s in Bothell (near Seattle). These are the couple we met in Torquart Bay many years ago. They are such lovely people and so interesting. Sharon has been compiling her family genealogy and is part of the Geneographic Project which traces your same sex parent back through history to Africa, where humans began. Quite amazing!
John no longer has his huge tank but still has his rapid attack vehicle and a new Segway – a very cool machine that you stand on with a wheel on each side of your feet and you hold on to a handle in the middle which you also use to steer with. You make it go by just ever so slightly leaning forward, in fact you really merely think about going forward and you will, same for reverse, you think about going faster and it takes off! You can put it in turtle mode for beginners. Very cool and looks very futuristic.
John’s current project is restoring an old Morris Cooper, in a very unusual fashion – he bought a fairly new GEO Metro and is putting the whole Morris Cooper body on the frame of the GEO (utilizing the engine and all the inside stuff that makes the GEO work). He has the body of the Morris held above the GEO on a pulley system which he raises and lowers so he can make incremental changes to the body enabling it to all fit together with the least amount of body filler. We’re looking forward to seeing the end result! Why is he doing this you might ask? Well, he wants to be sure he has a reliable vehicle when he takes it along camping. He currently carries his Boston Whaler (boat) inside his converted Bluebird bus. Alternatively, he would like to carry the Morris inside the bus instead of the boat depending on where he is planning on going camping. He had visions of the original old Morris breaking down and then he wouldn’t be able to get it out of the bus easily. Which would mean they would have no place to sleep as their bed folds up when the boat or car is on board. Slightly inconvenient on a road trip when they’re counting on sleeping in the bus! So, they will have a much more reliable car when this project is completed.
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