Season's Greetings

We arrived in Los Angeles December 23rd and it took 3 hours to get to where we were having dinner and then another hour to get to Megan (my God daughter) and her husband Reginald’s house. Not that the traffic was exceptionally bad – it’s just that LA is huge! It goes on and on in a maze of freeways leading to the many cities that LA is made up of. Megan lives in a very nice community called Mission Viejo. This was their darling little boy Ethan’s first Christmas. He is now 8 months old and such a sweetie! Megan's mom Sandy and Megan's sister Shannon are visiting from Victoria for the occasion. We feel very special to be invited to spend Christmas with them too. Check out Ethan's website – such a photogenic baby. He has been scouted already (only in LA) but they turned the offer down.

http://ethanlavender.blogspot.com

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at my good friend Sandy’s sister Donna’s house, fabulous food and a great way to spend Christmas Eve. Sandy’s two other sisters and their families were there too. Sandy’s other daughter Shannon flew in from Victoria with her cute little dog Lucy and arrived about 5:30 – just in time for dinner.

Christmas day we spent at Megan’s and had a fabulous brunch and met some of their friends and Reginald’s sister and her family. The girls ended the day with a great soak in the hot tub in the back yard. All in all I ate way too much over the past few days.

We are now at Miguel’s shop getting the coach attended to. It is very cold here – I’m wearing my down winter coat and my hands are freezing as I type this. There is nothing seriously wrong – it’s just an old vehicle (1976) and needs regular check-ups. Just like us…..

We are thinking about zipping over to Quartzite or seeking out some hot springs for a few days before meeting Dawne at Tecate.

A friend and unexpected activity

Just as we had settled in at the Crescent City RV Park, each on our own laptop, there was a tapping at the door, know it wasn't Santa – I said “I’ll bet its Dawne!” Sure enough it was! She has been here in Crescent Beach for a few days and was planning on pulling out in the morning! I thought we might run into her here, I remember that Dawne spent time here before with Ian and Debi and they liked it a lot. Well, we would like it too if it wasn’t raining sideways, foggy, lighthouse foghorn harmonizing with the tiedown straps for our kayaks… It really is a spectacular beautiful place, however, if we were seeking this kind of weather we would have stayed at home!

So, we will travel with Dawne in the morning to Vichy Hotsprings Resort just outside Ukiah. This about 200 miles south of Crescent Beach. Hmmm…. Driving a twisty turny narrow road in the pouring rain… fun.

December 21
Well, it was exactly that – twisty turny narrow and pouring! However, the good side was the amazing redwoods! These are incredible trees – massive, tall and straight – as high as 300 feet! Wow!

We planned on meeting Dawne at the Hotsprings – however, by the time we got to Ukiah it was 6:00. It was very slow going for us on those twisty roads. Dawne had checked into the Days Inn and was making her dinner so we agreed to meet at the hotsprings in the morning. Just as we pulled off the highway one of our back tires went flat – Lorne heard it – I opened the door and then I could hear it too - ssssss! And indeed within seconds and before my eyes it went from an inflated tire to sitting on the rim! Very fast! We are so lucky that it didn’t do that on the freeway. So – we had dinner, Good Sams came out and changed the tire for us and told us where to go to get the tire repaired in the morning.

In Search of a Tire
The store they told us about didn’t have the tire we needed and they said they wouldn’t repair ours as the piece of shrapnel that punctured it also ripped a belt – this thing was a piece of steel ¼ inch thick, an equilateral triangle with sides as long as my index finger – about 2.5 inches. So we cancelled the hot springs. Dawne went on to Calistoga Hot Springs, and off we went to Costco in Santa Rosa (who were supposed to have our tire). They didn’t have it either so now we are on our way to the Costco in Modesto who does. We will meet up with Dawn at Potrero on New Years and cross over at Tecate.

South Till the Butter Melts!

Friday, December 18

Well we managed to get all packed up on Wednesday and over to Mike and Kate’s as planned – around midnight as predicted. We had the bulk of our stuff put away and off to bed by 1 am. The grandkids were banging on the door by 8 am! Needless to say we were a wee bit tired, so tired that Lorne incorporated the knocking into his dream! He was very confused when I told him the kids were at the door. It was nice to see them and to say goodbye before leaving for 4 months. Four months is a very long time from now. I miss them already.

After getting some last minute errands done we were on the 1:00 ferry and to Tulalip Casino (near Seattle) to meet John and Sharon for dinner (see last years post about these folks and their tank and their . It was very great to see them. Nether they nor us went to Toquart this year so we haven’t seen them since our return trip from Mexico last April. After not a long enough visit and some serious video poker we rolled into bed by 10 and up and off south in the morning (after a quick trip to my new favourite clothing shop at the outlet mall nest door). We are spending tonight at the Columbia River RV Park in Portland.

We are spending Christmas with my God daughter Megan and her husband Reginald and their son Ethan. Megan’s mom Sandy(my younger than me old friend) will also be there. We plan on having Miguel look over the coach right after Christmas and before crossing over into Mexico.

With luck we will meet up with Dawn (one of my mandolin players) in Potrero State Park and we will cross at Tecate and travel into Baja with her. Actually we are hoping to run into her before that - perhaps at a hot springs somewhere along the way....

Saturday

Spent the night in Portland – a very nice city, we will come back to visit for sure. Drove to Seven Feathers Casino today for way too much dinner at the buffet. I remain puzzled that with a fridge and cupboards full of food and treats I never eat at home (or the motor home) the way I gorge myself at some of these buffets. Of course looking around we see that about 99% of the patrons do the same as I do. My tummy hurt! Lorne doesn’t seem to do the same….. he has learned from his experience of many sore tummies I guess.

On the recommendation of our friend Ian, we decided to go to Crescent City (on the Pacific) and continue south on 101. The weather is mostly cloudy but not to cold. We may return this way too, it’s a beautiful drive through a very mixed forest including arbutus and redwoods, if we do we should plan to stop at Cave Junction to visit some cool caves. There is also a rest area just after entering California where we can stay overnight (8 hours).

4:00 pm - We just arrived in Crescent City California - crossed through the redwood forest and over the Siskiyou mountains. Incredible trees, some 300 feet tall and straight, we had a bit of a wet walk in the forest with the mist and the rain. We are staying at The Shoreline RV Park right on the ocean and next to a light house. Its foggy...... the light house is haunting..... hope it clears soon..... especially before bedtime! And we had complaints about our roosters!!!

Hugs,
Catherine

Just Testing

Yes we are getting ready to leave. Yes we have snow. Therefore we are leaving too late - AGAIN! Out of here on Thursday for dinner with Sharon and John at Tulalip. Then more southward on Friday. Hopefully we will find a hotspring in California somewhere. We are having Christmas with my Goddaughter Megan and her husband Reginald and their beautiful new son Ethan and Ethan's Nana, my good friend Sandra. Fun. Happy Holidays!

Mata Venados - Muy Grande Insectos

http://entomology.wsu.edu/courses/coursefiles/ENT102/21Ent102%20sorp&solpug%2007.pdf

While Lorne was in Hamilton and the kids had gone home I was on my own in Casa Metta – a very large house for one person to say the least. The whole time we have been there we have not had one scary bug, so of course when I’m on my own the expected occurred. I walked down the hall to go to bed and there in the middle of the hallway was one fierce scorpion, tail held high in the air in attack pose! My first ever scorpion that I have found in all the years we have come down here. Big breath, be still my heart… I retreated rapidly, thinking fast….. what to do? Found a jar and a piece of paper and yes I did, I trapped that scorpion in the jar! I was very proud of my self. I placed it on the counter to save for Lorne so he could see just how brave I was while he was away. That accomplished my heart calmed and I once again thought of bed although I must say I was a bit more wary now. So of course now I step into the bano and there on the floor in the corner is the biggest black and furry spider I have ever seen! My heart really begins pounding now – spiders are totally my phobia – and knowing that the spiders here in Baja are the very fastest spiders ever, knowing this I know that I will have one chance and only one chance to get it. I raced back into the kitchen to get our trusty electronic swatter, looks like a tennis racket – excellent for flies but not having tested the voltage personally I’m not too sure of its effect on huge spiders the size of a mouse. I stood poised at the bathroom doorway armed with my trusty bug slayer and, well, I simply could not do it. What if I missed? What if it started to run? Swallowing all pride I turned and fled to our neighbour Bill and Julie’s house for expert assistance. They are long time residents, Bill has battled rabid skunks before, he is a friend and he is a biologist so he has the appropriate credentials. I had just had dinner with them so I knew they were still up. Thankfully he was good humoured enough to come to my rescue and also thankfully the spider was still there when we returned. He successfully and with no problem dispatched the enemy. Bill, knowledgeable of the identity of much of the flora and fauna of the Baja, informed me it was a deer killer spider, the locals call it mata venados. They are desert scorpion spiders (not a true spider) also known as wind spiders or camel spiders. They don’t like the light and if you see one in the daytime it may appear to be chasing you as it wants to stay in your shadow. How scary is that?! They have been clocked at 20 km/hr! See, I knew it was dangerous! Check it out on the internet, quite a honey believe me.

Needless to say, sleep evaded me that night.

Mexico Medicine - Some good some bad

We were very impressed with the quality of the medical treatment here. Lorne was needed in Hamilton for his father and at the same time had a kidney stone. He had some real concerns about travelling before passing this stone so wanted to consult with a doctor. He went in to see the Los Barriles clinic doctor who was able to see him the same day. This doctor spoke excellent English, spent a great deal of time with him, prescribed medications for pain, which we could pick up right had the clinic. I saw the doctor too and was also very pleased with the treatment. Our total bill for exams and medications for both of us came to less than $100.

On our trip north I became very sick and was in a lot of pain, so we stopped into a hospital emergency we happened on in Loreto. The Emergency room was empty, and the English speaking doctor saw me within minutes. He prescribed a stronger antibiotic but said he couldn’t fill it at the hospital because it was a poor people’s hospital. He charged me $40 for the consult. We had to go to the pharmacy down town. I think if we were poor people we would have received our medication for free.

Reflections

Comprar una Cassa o No?

We almost bought a house – that is we put an offer in on a house. The picture on this entry is the view from the balcony. If it had been accepted we would have bought a house. As it is it wasn’t, so we didn’t, and the vendor didn’t even counter – guess our low ball offer was a tad too low. The house has spectacular views of the sea, has a very nice pool and hot tub, three bedrooms, and is one block off the beach.

The area we were looking in is very interesting. It’s called Spa Buena Vista and is just south of Los Barriles. The water for the community comes from hot springs which is drinkable once it cools down. It comes out of the ground so hot that it kills any bacteria and the locals drink it without problem. Everyone has to have a concrete cistern or pila in the ground for the water to cool in before it can come into the house. It is then pumped into a tanaco, if its on the roof water can then be gravity fed into the house for usage.

The area also has hot spring vents coming out in spots in the sea so when swimming its not an unusual experience to swim into an area with very warm water. We’ve been told the bay is also very good for snorkelling. There is a resort there that is very nice and the locals can buy a membership at a very reasonable price to use the facilities all year. These facilities include a very nice pool, weight room, restaurant and also a deduction in the rates to rent rooms/suites for visiting guests.

Homeward Bound

Los Barriles: Where to start?
Paul and Renota’s casa was delightful, we enjoyed everything about staying two weeks there and Paul and Renota are such incredibly nice people. They had a great camping trip too and are hoping to set up the same arrangement next year. So are we!

The carburetor
Well, it just wasn’t working – ask Lorne for the details. When we were in LA we borrowed a carburetor and distributor from Miguel that he had lying around. When Lorne started up the motor home to get things organized to pick up the kids at the airport, go to Costco, and move to Casa Metta – it was spitting gas all over the place. So we found Oscar the mechanico – he and his assistant came, removed the carburetor, tried to fix it, returned it later but it wasn’t fixed, removed it again and disappeared for a day. We found out later that he went to La Paz to find the parts he needed for it. Here’s where it gets complicated, you’ll need to pay attention (or not bother reading this): When we were in LA at Miguel’s we sent our carburetor and distributor back to the mechanic in Ontario who remanufactured and installed them in September as they were faulty. Miguel installed a carburetor and distributor that he had lying around so we could continue our trip and the Ontario mechanic was going to mail it back to LA all repaired. We were planning on picking it up in LA when we passed north. Back to Oscar - So not locating Oscar and not having faith that he would be able to accomplish what we needed, Lorne arranged for Mike to bring ours down – Miguel couriered it to the Mariott at the airport in Seattle. Mike had a 3 hour lay over on his way down here so he picked up the remanufactured carburetor. How’s that for coordination – sometimes the courier service actually works – maybe they should work it into an ad? Oh and yes, Oscar did return from La Paz with the necessary parts to fix the carburetor, didn’t want any money, but of course Lorne insisted.

The kids
Since the motor home wasn’t going anywhere we arranged for Octavio – who lives in El Cardonel and runs a fleet of 6 or 7 vans employing all his brothers and possibly some cousins too – to pick me up, take me to Mega Store in San Jose del Cabo to pick up groceries and then to the airport to pick up Mike, Kate and the grandkids. He had us back out to Casa Metta in record time. Lorne drove Paul and Renota’s quad out in time for dinner, then went back to install the rebuilt carburetor that Mike had brought down with him and drove the motor home out in the morning.

We had such fun with the kids! The first night in the pool Tristan wore his life vest but by the last night he was doing handstands and swimming around under water like a fish. They couldn’t use the pool in the day time as there were hundreds of bees interested in the water. There is a hive nearby that is very attracted to the water and we had to collect many dead ones by dusk.

The kids had lots of fun collecting shells and rocks, walking the beach, feeding the neighbors dog cookies and doing some crafts and a bit of school work. Lindsay had to keep a journal every day in French – just a few sentences. Sometimes a challenge when one is only in grade one. We rented quads and we drove out the Buenas Aires arroyo to the big pools and water falls, very fun. All of us kids had great fun on the quads and playing in the beautiful water. It feels like such a luxury to swim in fresh water in the desert.

The eagle rays were springing in the air doing their spring time dance, several pods of dolphins leapt past, we saw a mother and baby grey whale pass by and then we had some mating – it takes three of them to complete the task. It requires one mature male to do the deed and a juvenile to hold her. I guess it is a bit awkward in the water without assistance.

The ten days the kids were with us whipped by in a flash, I was very sad to see them leave – they are just so precious. Oh and Mike and Kate were fun too…. They brought a great game with them so the adults played at night too and of course Mike made his yummy adult slushies.

It was so nice to be at Casa Metta in Rancho Pescadero – we have such great friends there with the neighbours and the house is just perfect for the kids.

In the midst of their visit Lorne developed a kidney stone that refused to deliver so he was in tremendous pain for many days and nights – the poor guy really suffers with these stones, this was his fourth. “Four too many” says Lorne. In addition his dad took a turn and he had to get out of his sick bed to fly back to Hamilton to make arrangements for him. He went to the doctor in Los Barriles and flew off fortified with some very heavy duty pain killers, crossing his fingers and toes the usual nausea and vomiting wouldn’t occur on the plane. I guess, like delivering a baby, if you haven’t done it or even watched it being done one would have no appreciation for how much pain is involved. Some doctors say it is more painful than delivering a baby and then all you have to show is a little stone a matter of millimetres in diameter! Lorne’s pain tolerance is normally very high and he was quite incapacitated. Sometimes they have to do surgery to remove these stones; Lorne has fallen just short of having that happen.

Fortunately Art has three very capable adult grandsons who live in Hamilton, one of which is a doctor so he was in good hands and was hospitalized by the time Lorne was able to get there. Nonetheless, Lorne had forms to fill out so Art could go into long term care once he is stabilized. Art had become quite disoriented and delirious; however, all the tests they have given him have turned up nothing so we still don’t know what’s wrong with him besides being 96 years old and his old body is wearing out. Art had a few very brief periods when he knew who Lorne was. This is a very sad time of life for Art and very difficult and stressful for Lorne to be so far away from his dad.

We had 4 days stay at our friends Bill and Julies housesitting and dog sitting for them. It is a beautiful house, I think the most beautiful on this beach. We got to dog sit too - Vicki - a lovely dog who immediately accepted us as part of her pack. I enjoyed wonderful long walks with her. There is just nothing like walking with a dog. She also likes to ride on the quad - her normal walks are a run on the beach or the arroyo leading the quad along. When her run is over she likes to ride home.

Soooo…. We have left Los Barriles and are driving north as quickly as we can get home given that the roads in Mexico are not so great – one should not drive in the dark on these ever and it is a very long ways in a very old vehicle. Lorne will be flying back to Hamilton once we get home, or else we will drive straight to Hamilton, depending on what’s happening with Art.

Comments and Rating

I love getting comments on my blog. Thank you Selma.

I was also just awarded a 7.5 rating by Blogger for my blog (apparently based on writing style and relevance). That was cool. If you look at the very bottom of the page you will see Blogger's rating and also the opportunity for you, as a reader of my blog, to provide your rating (anonymously of course). To rate my blog OR to give comments (other than a personal email) you must have a g-mail account. That is a very simple thing to get - just fill in the blanks - and you don't have to actually use the account if you don't want to.

A g-mail account is a very good thing to have, particularly when traveling. I am now using my g-mail account for sending and receiving email and am changing over completely to g-mail because my xplornet account is not working to send email from Mexico.

Now - my comment on your comment Selma - this week we have Canadian TV so are quite appalled at the level of violence we see on the news. After the 3 shooting murders this week in
Vancouver, the armed home invasion with shots fired all over the neighborhood and the woman in Victoria who was pushed under a bus to her death in Victoria; the news here in Baja of a motor home that was stolen seems trivial. Of course the Monty Python experience the owners had of dealing with the various police forces to try to report the theft has kept all the Gringos here in stitches - although it really is not funny but tragic. The Gringos in Baja are quite connected via a few different newsgroups and noticeboards so we know where when and what the problems are.

Here is the story - as reported by the owner of the rv in our Baja Pony Express:

I would like to inform the community of a vehicle theft Sunday night from our locked boat storage lot in Santa Maria. It is a 1988 Born Free fully restored after being damaged in Hurricane John. The thieves broke a gate down, then broke the driver side window, cut away a full RV cover, deactivated the alarm and drove away without neighbors being aware.

In the morning we discovered it at about 8am and drove immediately to the police station in Los Barriles. Not to our surprise there was nobody there so we started driving around and found a patrol truck and we reported the loss to the officers. We gave them a complete description including pictures and registration. About 2 hours later the Minstrel Publico called up and we met him at the storage lot, which he inspected. We saw definite strange footprints, but he did not seem interested in them. He told us that we would have to fill out a report on Monday because nobody was on duty now to help us. We called our insurance carrier and within two hours an agent of the insurer was on site taking our data and requesting that we file a report with the police. We told him that they told us to come in on Monday at which point he said to report it to the Federal Police.

We then drove to San Jose to report the loss the the Federal Police and they said that they needed the Ministerial Publico to first file a report. We told him that they would not do a report until tomorrow and he said that we would have to come back tomorrow after we filed the report to the Ministerial Publico. So all this while our RV is travailing at about 50 mph somewhere while we deal with police organizations unable to work together.

Update on stolen RV - (Tuesday)

I wanted to update all on the ongoing story of the stolen RV in Santa Maria. We have now filled out the paperwork with the local Ministral Publico but the top guy was not there so we were not able to pick up the report until today, Tuesday, to take it to the Federal Police.
A friend suggested that we call the California Highway Patrol in that the RV would make a perfect drug running vehicle. So trying to the right thing, Barbara called the California Highway Patrol to make a stolen vehicle report. The CHP told her that she would have to come into the office to fill out the report. She replied that we were over 1000 miles away and that would be impossible. The CHP said that they then could not help her. Barbara said that she could fax the Mexican stolen Vehicle report to them but they said that they did not like the Mexican report. The CHP suggested that Barbara call the San Diego border patrol and gave her the number. So no report was taken with the CHP

Barbara then called the San Diego Border Patrol office and told then the story about the theft and that possibly a vehicle loaded with drugs was on it way to the border. She asked them to at least look for and detain a vehicle that had been reported stolen. They said they didn't usually do that and anyway they would have to have a US police report. The Border Patrol officer told Barbara that she would have to make a report with the CHP. Barbara explained that she was in Cabo San Lucas and that the CHP demanded that the report be in person. The San Diego Border Patrol then asked Barbara to come into the office to make a report. Barbara then said that she was in Cabo San Lucas and the San Diego Border Patrol officer asked where Cabo was. Once again no report was made and when Barbara asked the agent if they were not concerned that a truck load of drugs was on its way to the border in our stolen vehicle, there was only silence.

So I guess the moral of the story is that government agencies are trained to follow procedure even if that procedure will create harm and that this attitude has no international borders.

Salud, pesetas y amour y el tiempo para gustarlos!

Health, money, and love and the time to enjoy them! We do, we are, and we wish the same for all! Cheers!

We are in Los Barriles enjoying the beautiful home of our friends Paul and Renata. They have gone car camping with their two fairly large dogs. We are caring for their beautiful home, swimming pool, hot tub, tropical garden, and two cats. I think we got the better deal. They should have negotiated for the use of our motor home - they were packed to the roof and on the roof when they happily took off for their camping holiday in Baja. We are here for two weeks till Mike Kate and the kids arrive, then we are off to Ellen and Chris's beautiful beach house for another two weeks.

Speaking of cats - Heidi the indoor cat likes to be accompanied to her room to have her food - she will meow and meow until one of us goes with her - I don't know - maybe its scarey? She then likes to be patted and to have the burrs taken out very gently while she eats (she is fluffy so easily catches nasty burrs particularly in her tail). Following her meal she likes to go outside for a bit and then to come in and sleep on the back of the sofa. She repeats this at will. Squeaker - the outside cat, also likes to be accompanied while she eats - she likes you to dip your fingers in her bowl and stir her food around - I don't know - releasing the tantalizing aroma?. Neither cat like fish or shrimp. They are quite entertaining.

Not quite as entertaining as the kite boarders that we can see from the dining room table and very well from the roof patio. The whales are back and have been providing entertainment for those on the beach (aparently its mating season) we don't spend much time gazing at the sea at this house. Its been so windy that its just not that pleasant to be outside in the wind. There is a lovely deck at the other side of the house, a little more sheltered, and also where the pool is where we can enjoy the sun and the warmth. We have been here since Feb. 9th and have had only one day with light winds, all other days the wind has been howling.

We have two quads to use as well so as anticipated we have spent a fair bit of time looking at houses for sale, of which there are a huge number. The prices have come down although they are still very high, particularly for beach front. We have found a house tho - wow its just wonderful - we are both enamored. It requires us to first sell our house before we can buy it. We would then mostly live here full time, leaving only in the very hot months. Sounds good to me.

Charlie is camping at North Beach and is giving his free slide show this evening. We commissioned him to take a picture of this house and of Ellen and Chris's as a gift to them for letting us stay in their homes. I hope they like them. He does a wonderful job. (See his website on the sidebar)

We are so releived to be down here in the safety of Baja rather than at home what with the woman who was pushed in front of a bus and killed in Victoria and the three separate drive by shootings resulting in two women killed and a man seriously wounded in Vancouver. All these in the past week! Whew - Canada is not a safe place.

Tecolote Flyboy – an Amazing Man in His Flying Machine

We had a glorious week at Playa Tecolote – we could paddle and swim every day, had a great climb up one of the mountains, the water was beautiful, silky and warm (Lorne didn’t think it was very warm although he did get in the water, well, sort of) and the hospitality and entertainment were great!

Just after we arrived we were invited next door for happy hour with four Vancouver Islanders (from Nanaimo) and another neighbour – Charlie – brought out his paramotor and flew off.

We watched him soar around over the beach and up to fly with the frigate birds on top of one of the mountain tops. He had a movie camera attached to his helmet so he could take movies while he was flying. He then joined us for a drink and a chat. He is a very interesting man and very nice too. He has a truck canopy and a toy box about the same size that holds his huge bank of solar panels, bike, kite, licensed dune buggy, long board, and who know what other toys he has in there. Charlie surfs, board sails and kite boards as well, but the paramotor glider or motorized parasail is his latest passion. He sure knows how to play. He is obviously very fit and healthy. Saturday night he presented a slide show, complete with enchanting music, of his flights all over Baja – absolutely breathtaking. He has a full size projector and screen that he attaches to his toy box. Many people brought their chairs over to view.

You too can see his arial photos and have a look at this amazing man and his flying machine. Please check out his fantastic website!

http://www.charleschandlerphotography.com/index.html

The weekend was a Mexican holiday so beginning Friday night the Fiesta started! There were many people at the beach, all playing their own music at top volume. The one family near us was very fond of a style of Mexican music with the tuba being a dominant instrument along with a big bass drum. We fell asleep to this…… Saturday many more families arrived and by Sunday the beach was packed. We thought Monday was a holiday as well but apparently not, shortly after sunset Sunday night the vehicles all started leaving and suddenly all was still and quiet. Nothing but RVs on the beach under the full moon.

February 9
On the way to Los Barriles we stopped in at the Piano Museum in El Triunfo. At one time there was a very active silver mine as well as a gold mine here. Locals told us that the mine is starting up again. It is an interesting little town; all cobble stone streets and many old wooden houses. The museum is normally open from Wednesday to Saturday and there is a concert every morning by a very well known classical pianist who looks sort of like Liberace. I have no idea why it was open today as the hours are clearly posted Wednesday to Saturday, unfortunately there was no concert for us.

Ciudad Constitution

The Scampi Diablo, the Margaritas and the freshly squeezed Orange Juice at Patricia’s (Manfred’s) in Ciudad Constitution are absolutely fabulous! The camaron are sautéed in butter, sour cream, garlic, cheddar cheese and finished with a bit of Monterey Jack. (in Spanish queso cheddar and queso Monterey Jack) Very yum! We had a delightful visit with Patricia, her 12 year old daughter Aime, and her assistant (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten)... They all speak excellent English. So consequently I used the opportunity to practice my Spanish while they used the opportunity to practice their English.

Patricia learned English in school in La Paz. When she was 18 she went to Massachusetts for 8 months as an exchange student. Her English is incredibly good. Upon returning from the US Patricia went to college to become an English teacher, fell in love, got married and taught English in Constitution. Now, since she has been operating the RV park for the past 3 years, she and her husband are both able to be at home with the girls and to meet people from all over the world, predominately the US and Canada. Her family all now have many opportunities to speak English. Patricia has immersed her girls in English since they were babies as she believes learning another language is very important to having a greater world view and she wants her girls to have every opportunity in the world to be and to achieve whatever goals they want. Patricia would like her girls to become exchange students or to go to school somewhere else in the world in the future. Such insight and vision! How I wish my mother had had this kind of vision! How I wish I had been truly able to live this kind of vision as a mother!!

We talked about Pearson College of the Pacific in Metchosin for Aime and her sister. Her parents will explore this school for her – if she goes we promised to be Godparents for her in Canada. Very exciting. For such a young girl (12 years) she is very self assured, confident and clear in her goals for her future. She wants very much to learn English – she loves the language and already speaks very well so writing it will be her next challenge. She also wants to learn French. She is the second highest in her class at school. Soon to be the first she says – although the first in her class is her good friend so she is happy for her!

Constitution, a city of 660,000 people has had a university for the past 10 years. It is in the high desert, very hot, and is an agricultural area. Each year we pass through we see greater economic development and generally more prosperity. We have always felt very welcome here; the people on the street and in the stores are always very friendly and helpful and interested in talking. This is very nice for us as curious gringos we be.

They are very busy tearing up Main Street Constitution right now and replacing the traffic lights, none of which are working at the moment (nor for the past several years either). There is lots of big equipment and lots of men with shovels and wheelbarrows too. Once out of town we passed men cutting the grass by the side of the road with machetes – such a disparity is not uncommon in Baja. The men were all wearing safety vests (which they never did the first year we were down). Off to La Paz and Tecolote Beach.

Eight (8) Beach Days at Requeson

We spent a lovely time at this very picturesque beach; it’s a spit of white sand that at low tide joins an island to the peninsula. This is the first time we have stayed at this beach as always before it was full of rigs. This time there were only about 10 rigs on the beach, all of which were spending the winter here. Most had done so for many years so there were some strong friendships and much socializing, very nice people.

Our first day was perfect for paddling so as soon as we could get the yaks off the roof we were in the water, since the forecast was for gale force winds for the next few days. We actually had 5 days of brisk winds so we cycled and hiked around the area and the last two days were absolutely glorious for paddling.

The island is very interesting, it’s covered with rusty red volcanic boulders, all of fairly consistent size – about 1- 2 feet in diameter. There were a few paths between these rocks that we followed along which lead to several middens of shells fairly high up from a very rocky shoreline. There were also several fairly large piles of rock and a few circles of rock which perhaps at one time formed a shelter. I think these were formed by the ancient ones.

We also had a nice hike across the highway from the beach, you have to go under the barbed wire fence and there is a very well marked trail through the rusty red boulders and abundant cactus. It’s a very easy hike into the canyon and up the arroyo. And of course there are times when you come across pools of fresh water; today was not one of them. By the time we found the trail through the fence we had used up much of our hiking time so we didn’t get more than about 45 minutes in before it was time to turn back.

Our last two days we had spectacular paddling, the water just couldn’t have been flatter and the visibility in the water was amazing. We saw yellowtail zipping by and came across an area that was rich with large angel fish. Since today dawned with freshening winds we decided to pull out and move on south to Loreto.

Just before we pulled out we met an old guy named Bill Bunyan who stopped by to admire our motor home. He has been coming down Baja for the past 20 years and says this is his last year, he won’t be back. He will go to mainland Mexico instead. He says he doesn’t like being ripped off and this is what’s going on in Baja now. He has been staying at a free beach called Juncalito (south of Loreto) for years and suddenly they want you to have a park permit (this area is a park) and people are coming around to collect $20 per day. These people wear no identification and refuse to provide any. Nor do they provide any receipts. There was much dissent amongst the campers as for the most part they were regulars for the past many years and this is the first they have had to pay. So, they refused to pay. There are absolutely no services on this beach so $20 a night is a bit steep. It is also doubtful that the collectors have any authority to collect. A policeman arrived on several Mondays (his day off) demanding that they pay up; he also refused to provide his badge number or his name, the campers again refused to pay or to leave. When the original collector arrived with a gun ordering them to leave the others finally left, except for Bill, although in his own time he finally left and is now heading north. According to Bill this same man also worked at a hotel in Loreto and it was determined that his gun was merely a toy. He was consequently fired from the hotel for keeping this toy gun behind his desk. The other campers have since joined ranks at either Rattlesnake or Ligui (also in the park) and their plan is to again refuse to pay and to all leave together at the same time when asked to pay…. Bill has just decided to leave Baja altogether. Personally I think these folks have had it good for a very long time and if they now have to pay, well times are achanging.

We were just inspected at the checkpoint just north of Loreto, the very first time going south – they were inspecting everyone. This time they did not look in the fridge but it was the most extensive search we have had. He noticed Lorne’s pill case that was inadvertently left on the table – we thought for a moment this would warrant a full scale search…. Fortunately he was satisfied that they were mostly vitamins. He did want to purchase one of Lorne’s tools however and he did ask if we had any drugs or guns before he left. I think he was quite amazed at how many things we have crammed into this space – frankly so are we.

Just as we pulled in to Rivera Del Mar Trailer Park in Loreto up walks Janet and Jim from Victoria! Well that was a pleasant surprise! So we have spent a few lovely hours chatting and catching up on all the latest Baja stories. Think we will spend another night here and just catch up on internet, whats the rush? Who knows, perhaps I will figure out how to post pictures again..... Since I have been unable to spend any time on the blog other than to cut and paste from word I just haven't got my pictures on properly yet..... Manana

Bahia de Los Angeles

http://picasaweb.google.ca/data/feed/base/user/camasmtn/albumid/5295452716920607393?alt=rss&kind=photo&hl=en_US




This really is a beautiful spot, some say the most beautiful of the whole of Baja, others say in the world. It has an outstanding approach to it. The bay just unfolds before you as you come over the desert and then you drive down into this ever expanding vista of turquoise blue water with numerous islands of various hues, heights and shapes. It does fairly take your breath away. Once down into the bay you are literally surrounded by mountains (well high hills) many of the islands are also very high. As the light changes constantly, so do the colors on the hills. It truly is amazing.

This is Lorne's favourite spot on the Baja. Today, shortly after a group of seals announced their presence we watched a very large pod of dolphins come into the bay, very close to shore. Apparently juvenile whale sharks arrive here in November and people come from all over the world to swim with them. Whale sharks are the second biggest animal on earth. This makes them very big indeed, some as long as 60 feet the biggest seen by the people we were talking to was only 30 feet. There is all manner of sea life here.

Once again we spend some time looking at places for sale. We found a few to look at that are beach front on leased land, which makes the price more affordable for us although fairly speculative. There is one that I like, quite small but I think has a lot of potential (work). Plus it comes with two boats, two kayaks, and a fairly new quad. For another 20 thou we cqn have the custom built rail that Zips over these desert roads at 60 mph. Now, if only we could figure out a way to fly in here easily so family and friends can visit..... nothing short of chartering a plane, which is entirely possible. There are a number of gringos here who are pilots and there is a runway nearby.

This is a fairly remote area as far as remote areas go in Baja, that we would consider living in. It is about a 10 hour drive south of the Mexican border (depending on who's driving, wouldn't be us in the motor home). It is a fair sized Mexican town with several small grocery stores, an internet and movie rental store, three mechanics, two Pemex stations, a hotel and two small but nice looking motels. There are several restaurants and rv parks on the water in town that have gone belly up. Maybe they open in the summer or maybe no one is staying there at the moment. There is lots of mining history here but no active mining now.

This has long been a major sports fishing destination for fishing fiends, particularly in the summer. There is plenty of bass, barracuda, triggerfish, yellowtail, sierra, grouper, ladyfish, cabrilla, and rooster fish. The temperatures in the summer can get up to 120 degrees, with the water at a cool 90 degrees. There is just no getting cool.

The fruit and vegetables look pretty sad in the stores, although if you know when the delivery date is for the stores you can get some better choices I understand. We see no gardens, water is a problem, although there is a spring where the water comes from, and it is delivered to everyone for a price; or you can fill up your water barrels yourself for a much cheaper price. The town got electricity just last year but there are lots of generators and solar panels around, particularly on the gringos homes which are outside the village where electricity has yet to come.

January 23, 2009
After 6 days of kayaking, cycling and meeting people we are on our way to San Lucas Cove if we make it that far. The road has some excellent spots and some not so good (terrible) spots. A quick stop there and then on to Conception Bay. We will try Playa Requison as we haven't been there before. Whenever we have driven by its been packed with people, this year there have been very few tourists all the way down so far, so perhaps there will be few at this beach as well. It may not be good for kayaking, in which case we will go a few km north to El Coyote again for about a week.

I will post pictures if we ever get any time with an internet connection that works......

Ahh Mexico at Last!! January 14, 2009

It was an uneventful crossing at Tecate, took us 10 minutes tops to walk across the border, get a stamp on our visa and walk back across. We parked at the little market/shoe store on the right hand side just before the border. No charge if we were under half an hour. We found some Ovaltine in the store for Paul and Renata, our friends we are house sitting for in Los Barriles..

We crossed right over without being stopped by the border guards who were armed to the teeth with shiny chrome plated M16s. No worries. It was a spectacular day, perfect temperature and very few people on the highway. There was very little sign in this area of the fires that happened last year. We did pass a group of black jumpsuited police with motor cycles, which they leaped on and tore off in the opposite direction as we drove by.

We stopped in Ensenada to go to the fish market. Picked up a couple of kiilos of medio camarones. Yum. We decided to stay at Esterro Beach resort, just south of Ensenada for the night. Its a beautiful resort with an rv park, we were only able to get wi fi in their office so we caught up a little bit and didn't leave till around 11:30. We planned on just driving to El Pabillon, not a long drive, about 3 hours for us.

We spent a peaceful night on the beach at El Pabellon. There were only two other campers there, such a shame, it is a lovely place and the lady who runs it is so very nice and does a wonderful Job maintaining the place. In the morning we waited for hours for the fishermen to come in with some crab and fish (pesca) for us but unfortunately had to leave before they returned. it was such a peaceful calm day on the water I guess they were staying out longer. We could see them with binoculars and kept thinking they were coming in so hung around till finally it was 11:00 and we wanted to get going.

The road past el Pabillon is very narrow – there is a white line though that lets you know that beyond the white line lies a steep bank that would result in a tip or a roll(s) if one was to cross it. Where there is no white line the steep bank has taken over.... half way to El Rosario and there is a wonderful stretch of a few miles with wide shoulders and shoulders for the shoulders! Heaven. Past the checkpoint and we are back into this extremely narrow stuff with white lines with bites of it all the way down the steep hill into El Rosario. I think it took us less than an hour to get to El Rosario from El Pabillon, good time.

Its a very hot day today. With this weather we really don't need to go any further south.

Unfortunately I couldn't get my camera working in time when we came upon a truck trailer laying on its side taking up the entire oncoming lane! The truck was getting hooked up to a real truck - tow truck, the first of these we have seen on the Baja. It was a very twisty part of the road. They had carefully marked the accident with a single small triangle on the edge of the road for the oncoming cars – well, better than the traditional pile of stones.

They have been dong some work, on this road and there are parts that are really quite nice,

We stopped for the night and a walk at Santa Ines by 3:00. In the morning Lorne found a nail in one of the rear tires so off we went back to Catavina in search of a llantera. This is a very small pueblo – 100 people, the usual gong show happened, we didn't see a llantera sign so stopped to ask at the store – he pointed back down the road and said the man selling gasoline could fix it. We drove back to him and he said no, he had to sell gasoline (plastic gallons of it off his cart – there was certainly no line up) and pointed back down the way we came saying there was a mechanic there who could fix it. Back we went and found his shop, however, no such luck, he was in Ensenada till the afternoon so Lorne changed the tire in his lot, His 12 year old son came to chat with us and to offer his advice so we brushed up on some Spanish.

Our goal today is Bahia de Los Angeles, about 170 km, a 3 hour drive, maybe. We plan on staying a few days, doing some kayaking and will look at a few casas on the beach for sale. This is Lorne's favourite spot and is rapidly becoming mine.

Its been awhile since we have had a connection.......

January 9, 2009

Miguel found a few things to do on the motor home, apparently our new rebuilt motor was not all it was supposed to be…. So, the person in Ontario who rebuilt it is sending a remanufactured distributor and a remanufactured carburetor to Miguel while we are in Mexico, and we will get them installed upon our return. (we sent him the old ones) Miguel has fixed us up in the meantime so that we are safe to go to Mexico.

Speaking of Mexico, we have decided to go to the Fountain of Youth, hot springs at the base of the Chocolate Mountains at the Salton Sea. According to friends Debi and Ian; if you have your birthday there you actually turn a year younger instead of older. Sounds good to me. We will only be there for the night and then we will carry on to Quartzsite where there are two GMC motor home rallies, one this weekend and one next. We will stay there for this weekend and then head on to Tecate and into Baja.

We left Miguels and went to Temecula to stay at the nice Pechanga Casino RV Park and then on across some very high, windy, and windy two lane State roads 79 to 391 and then down very steep switchbacks on 74 in the darkness and into Palm Dessert and Indio. The series of switchbacks on 74 were reminiscent of lookout tower roads, only with many people driving swiftly up and down. Of course there was no one in front of us (except when we found a spot to pull over to let vehicles by) and we weren’t driving swiftly …. I don’t think the coach would have made it up those switchbacks they were so steep. Note to self: do NOT take that road west under any circumstances, east was bad enough!

We are at -276 below sea level at the Salton Sea according to the altimeter on our streets and maps program. The Fountain of Youth was ok, the park has room for about 1000 rigs and there is a huge Canadian snowbird contingent there. Many people have permanent places and have built on to their units to make some very large homes. There is a woman there who just celebrated her 101st birthday and she is still quite active, so there must be some truth to the healing powers of the mineral springs. There were so may organized and unorganized activities for the retired set that one would not be bored for awhile. The pools and the water however was nothing like what we experienced at Thermopolis which was so abundant it just flowed through massive pools and off to the river with a complete water exchange every 24 hours. The pools at the FOY were hot tubs similar to what you would find at a hotel pool, of which there were several, and there was only one that had the pure mineral water (plus some chlorine). Your other option was to fill up one of two bathtubs with pure fresh mineral water for your own public bath. There were also 2 very nice steam rooms and excellent showers.

January 10
We are now driving across the high desert to Quartzsite. Don’t know what it is about us, we have another 50 miles to go and it is almost dark. Sure is a lot of country with nobody in it. However, there are lots of people driving through it. This desert doesn’t have much going for it except for the beauty of the mountains in the distance. The vegetation is very scrubby and unattractive.

It was a spectacular sunset on the Chocolate Mountains and as the sunset faded and the mountains turned from pink back to chocolate, the full moon rose up and over the mountains, balancing on a peak for moments before lifting into the sky. It was truly spectacular. How I wish I had a really good camera to have captured those moments better. I did get some nice panoramas; we shall see how they turn out.

It gets chilly on the desert at night. After an 85 degree day we have now had to put on the heater.


Quartzsite
We rolled in well after dark and although we looked, we didn’t find any other GMCs so we found a piece of desert and settled in. The desert all around this area is BLM lands (Bureau of Land Management) so for a very nominal fee you can dry camp (boondock) for the whole season. In the morning we went into Quartzite to check out all the venders – wow – I have never seen so many rocks and beads. There were people from all over the world selling rocks from all over the world. They were cutting and polishing them and teaching you how to make jewellery. I want to learn how to do the wire work, however the teacher couldn’t fit me in before we left. We will have to come back in April – she recommends coming back for the whole month of January as it is very exciting then. Perhaps we will. It was very difficult to avoid becoming very inspired about making jewellery!

We found our GMC group (The 49ers) and joined up with them for dinner. They are all such nice people and it was very easy to join in the fun. Faye and Bert were the main organizers of this event, plus Faye was the cook extraordinaire! She made amazing breakfasts and dinners right out of her coach – with very minimal help. They both race Lotus’s and being too young to retire they rebuild the frame and suspension of racing Lotus’s. They also manufacture fibreglass components for GMCs. There were 5 GMCs: Faye and Burt, Doug and Irene, Jack and Mary, Betty and…. his name escapes me for now. Another couple towing their toy box behind their GMC carrying their two Harley’s, his brother and his wife came along in their SOB) some other brand). An older couple were there for one night in a huge SOB complete with slide outs, I think it was as big as our house! So it was a small group which made it very fun. We had a nice sing a long round the campfire the first night. With a few scout leaders in the group (and help from my Rise Up Singing book) we came up with lots of good old campfire songs. Everyone comes from quite different backgrounds and the commonality is the GMC so we all became instant friends. Cool.

January 13
We are on our way today to Potrero State Park and hopefully to get our visas stamped at Tecate. Over the border tomorrow and into Mexico at last.
After paying Costco and Vons a final visit for supplies at El Centro we were off for dinner and the final leg. There is a very steep climb coming out of El Centro with radiator water signs every 1000 feet and lots of telephones by the side of the road. It was a very good road though and since we were traveling after dark it was cool enough and we didn’t need any extra water for our radiator. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see this terrain, I think it was probably very pretty. Pulled into Potrero by 9 pm, glad to stop driving. Price has gone up since last year, now $24, no wi-fi, and only partial hookups. Their shower is rustic and freezing, so it will be a motor home shower.

"Don't Text While Driving - It's the Law"

This has to be my favourite road sign for the year.

January 3, 2009

We made a few necessary purchases at Woodburn mall …. I got some very cool Pearl Izumi bike clothes … and just a few other things. Lorne found some great deals on running shoes and t-shirts. We found open Wi-Fi outside the Super 8 Motel nearby, apparently they all provide this, wonderful!

We drove only as far as Seven Feathers Casino just north of Medford (about 4 hours). We wanted to go over the Siskiyou pass mid-day to avoid ice and snow as chance of ice and snow were predicted for late in the day.

We got an extra 10% off our fee at the Seven Feathers RV park if we registered with the Players Club at the casino. Of course we did that and then received $5 free if we put our Players Club card into a slot machine along with one dollar to activate it. Of course we did that too. We lost the first dollar as we didn’t know what we were doing. Asked for help 3 times, and still couldn’t figure it out so we finally had to have an attendant come directly to the machine to help us! We then sort of played the slot machine. Neither of us really have any idea how to play the slots – do you just push the button? That’s it? Any sort of strategy involved? I really don’t see the attraction, we couldn’t figure out if we were winning anything until we had lost all $5, of course that was really $7 as we had to put in 2 of our own…. Well, so much for slots. I much prefer Black Jack but didn’t play. We watched craps for awhile – still can’t figure out what’s going on either except for a lot of money flying around and everyone getting very excited.

January 4, 2009
It was incredibly cold with what they call frozen fog here when we left in the morning. It was a bit foggy and the trees were covered with frost, quite spectacular. Frozen fog – an interesting weather feature for this area. According to Google:

When the humidity approaches 100% and the temperature and conditions are just right, the sky begins to snow without the presence of clouds. Frozen fog doesn't really fall; it just appears and then gently settles on
things. You can literally watch it form before your eyes. Like magic, it
just comes out of nowhere. It has a very sticky nature, so it tends to stick
to everything it touches; trees, bushes, houses, hats, gloves...

I think frozen fog is what we called hoar frost on the prairies.

As we crossed the Siskiyous there was snow all around us. Mount Shasta was quite spectacular. The water in Lake Shasta was incredibly low, it looked very strange with very steep banks of red soil all around it and its many arms. The dam is not ready to release any melt from the winter snow.

In the Sacramento area, the snow is gone and the sun is going down, up above are literally thousands of Canada geese – going home I guess. We could see flocks of them flying in formation all over the sky. Don’t they know its still pretty cold up Canada way??

Making our way to Rio Vista along State Highway 12 in the pitch dark, we passed through/by an Air Force base. The road was very narrow with many potholes and much uneven pavement, sorely in need of repair. There was also lots of traffic wanting to go much much faster than us. All around us and about 30 – 40 feet in the air, were red lights, all flashing in unison and we were driving towards even more of these lights. It was a very uncanny sensation driving along like that, not knowing what the heck these red lights were all about while having to focus on this terrible road. Suddenly, looming out of the dark, was a huge windmill, standing completely still, then another and another, as we moved by them I could see that each one had a red light blinking on the back of it. We were in the middle of a massive wind farm! We have driven by them on the freeway before but this was entirely different, we were right in the middle of them and so close beside us. If it was windy and the blades were whipping around it would be very noisy I think, but tonight it was absolutely still and eerie.

Vagabundos is located in Rio Vista and we needed to pick up our fishing licenses. Since our arrival was a Sunday; Kathy from Vagabundos had left our licenses for us at the bakery down the street. By the time we rolled in around 6 pm the bakery was closed for the day. We found a lovely little RV park on 2nd avenue right on the river just a few blocks from the office, complete with a tiny fishing pier.

January 5
On and on thru rather desolate country, up and over the grapevine, then a search for the Sizzlers identified on our mapping program only to find both closed. Apparently Sizzlers are going out of business around here. Too bad, as this is one of Lorne’s few places where he can eat a wide variety of foods.

There is an annoying and dangerous driving behaviour that seems to be quite popular when driving here: don’t let the motor home change lanes, even when there is plenty of room. Speed up and come shooting by, this scares the ….. out of the driver and passenger – great fun! Or, if the motor home is successful at changing lanes before you can accelerate to shoot by, then dart over to the other lane, speed up, cut the motor home off and slow done – this also scares them. This is even more effective when you can combine cutting them off with shooting off an exit immediately in front of the motor home at the very same time… quite aggressive. Every one is in quite a hurry here. City streets that look like Blanshard have a speed limit of 50 mph (80 km).

Unsuccessful at finding a Sizzler we picked up some groceries and whipped up a very late dinner in the motor home. We bedded down for the night at Camping World in Santa Clarita, a very rv friendly place. This allowed for a very early shopping experience.


January 6
Ahh at last, warm sun and blue skies, this is the California we have been looking for; unfortunately my arthritis in my hands is suddenly very bad this am. I gave myself a liberal coating of Therapain and an anti-inflammatory. Last year my arthritis was like this for a few months before we left and didn’t subside till we were in Baja. I’ve been lucky this year and been relatively pain-free till today. Here’s hoping it will pass with the warm weather.

Our destination today is Miguel’s, our friend and favourite GMC mechanic. He will give our motor home its annual pre-Baja check-up and fix the few things that need fixing. I will spend the time cleaning and tuning up the bikes after their mucky trip south.

MEXICO 2009

January 1, 2009
At last we’re on the road! With snow warnings for Friday we want to head south pronto! Our departure plans were delayed by 5 days due to snow. We were almost snowed in for Christmas but our neighbour Paul Chandler borrowed a blade cat from a friend of his and ploughed out the whole road on Christmas Eve; including all the way up to our place. Another 4 cm dropped that night but it was drivable on Christmas Day with steel chains on all four wheels of the jeep. We ferried everyone up and down and we had a great day! Miranda (from Salmon Arm) and Andrea (my friend Laura’s daughter) joined us this year. Jo and Brian spend the month in December so we missed them.

We were finally able to get the chains off and get the motor home packed up on New Years Eve. We spent a wonderful evening with good friends David and Elle and Elle’s sister Enya and brother in law Terry. We had great food and lots of laughs, a very nice way to bring in the New Year. We slept on the street in front of their house, visited the grandkids in the morning and my old friend Don and his wife Lorraine before catching the 1:00 ferry. Don gave us a very cool internet antenna so we should have more success picking up a connection while on some remote beach in Baja.

We had a 90 minute wait at the border to have them tell us that yes they wanted Agriculture to look inside the motor home. Following comprehensive questioning and finding no contraband fruit or vegetables they sent us on our way. We spent the night at Tulalip at the Casino, had a great meal, and went dancing to 80’s disco music – great fun – memories of dancing the night away at the after hours clubs when I was at university.

January 2, 2009
Cool, Vancouver Washington has open wi-fi!! We were in traffic long enough for me to download my mail but not Lorne’s or to send anything. Will have to remember that on our way north.

We stopped at Frys, a huge electronic supermarket, to pick up a few things and we will spend the night at Woodburn RV park.