Lazy in La Paz

Long drive from Loreto, the group took about 5 and a half hours. We are staying at a very nice RV park north of town called Campestre Marantha, right on hiway 1. Plenty of room to park, well kept, a pool and an outdoor kitchen, excellent. Run by an American ex-patriate. The group enjoyed a margarita and snacks on arrival. The next day, most had a relaxing morning exploring town or at the park, while we set up restaurant arrangements and pre-ran the exit to Cabo. In the evening, we carpooled to a nice restaurant right on the water, and watched the sunset while we enjoyed dinner together. 

At 9 this morning, January 28, we all boarded a tour bus with guide and driver for a city tour of La Paz. We started at a weaving factory which makes and sells hand woven sarapes, tablecloths, and rugs. They use cotton and wool, and their equipment looks like something you would see at the re-enactment at Jamestown. 

Next stop, the mission. La Paz is the capitol of Baja California Sur, and a city of nearly 300,000. If you can't find it here, you can't find it in Baja. Walmart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, etc. A nice street on the waterfront is the place to be at night. The mission here took 83 years to complete, as you can see from the various colors of stone and different masonry on the tower.

Our tour continued to the Ibarra Pottery Shop. Mr Ibarra opened it some 50 years ago, and still works there, along with his daughters and grandkids. All pottery is hand-made, hand-painted, and double fired. Glaze and paint are lead-free. We couldn't resist picking up a few pieces. Virtually all his wares are sold from his shop here in La Paz.

                                      below is Ibarra's 11 year old grand-daughter, working with the moulds.

Off to the market, where we walked through the fish shop, butcher shop, and vegetable stands. Bill bought some fresh cheese to share at happy hour.

Now to the whale museum, where we learned that 80 per cent of the marine animal life on the planet spends time in the Gulf of California at some time or other. We saw the skeleton of a blue whale, grey whale, and a killer whale. Blues are BIG!

At a waterfront restaurant for lunch, we enjoyed tacos (of course!) including marlin, shrimp, lobster, yellowtail, squid, and so on. Yum. Jim and Bill made a new friend!

Tomorrow, we head toward Cabo, and camp on the beach for 4 days, so probably no internet for a while. Hope you are all enjoying this as much as we are!

Our second day in Loreto

Everyone really enjoyed having a down day today in Loreto. We started off with a pancake breakfast, sausage, fruit, and coffee. There is a nice covered patio where we ate and socialized. Nancy and Mary, our wagonmaster's wife, headed out to make restaurant arrangements, and Jim and I scouted out a route to exit on our way to La Paz. We had the propane truck in to top off our tanks, cost is about $2.50 per gallon here :-). Half a dozen of our group chartered a boat for a trip out to the island offshore, where there is an abandoned salt mine. Jim and I and Nancy headed a group of a dozen or so to go to the mission south of Loreto up in the mountains. A scenic drive up the mountain on a new road which sustained some damage from the hurricane this fall.

The mission was established in 1699, and the present church built in the mid 1700's. It is one of the prettiest missions in Baja. After a tour of the mission, we sat outside at a cafe, and enjoyed a soda or a beer.

While we were there, we met a man who is running from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana, 50km at a time. Today was a rest day, so he was cycling. They are making a film of his  adventure! 

We ended the day with an informal social, BYOB, and went to bed early for a 7 hour drive to La Paz tomorrow!

Loreto, Mexico

Loreto is a nice sized town with an excellent Plaza shopping area and a good selection of restaurants. 

There are boats to charter for fishing or sightseeing. The campground is very pretty though a bit cozy for the big rigs! This is a nice area to visit, and we will be here for two days. Whew! 

We went to a great little street taco stand and had fish tacos for lunch. Had an impromptu happy hour at 4, then we all went out to explore and find a place to have dinner. The next morning, we cooked a pancake breakfast for everyone on the patio, with fruit, sausage, and coffee. Perfect spot for it. Nancy and Mary went out to scout the restaurant we'll be using on the return trip, and Jim and I planned the exit route and topped off the propane tanks on our rigs.

Mulege and the Bahia de Concepcion

Another long run today, 183 miles to Mulege, about 4 hours. There is a really long steep grade coming out of the mountains and down to the seashore near the end, we all shifted down to first gear. It will be a hard climb on the way home! There was a hurricane thru here a few months ago, but they've done a good job getting the roads back in shape, only a couple of spots we had to go slow through a wash. Great Mexican dinner upstairs in a local restaurant, with Margaritas, of course!

Through the Sonoran Desert to Guerrero Negro

Up again at 6:30 to thump tires while Nancy made breakfast and closed the coach. Travel briefing at 7:30, then off again from Catavina to Guerrero Negro, a dusty little town on the Pacific Coast just on the edge of the bay where the whales gather.

 We are just here for the night, as we will be seeing the whales on the way back. 146 miles today, but took 5 hours. We are ready for our margaritas!

One long day at the wheel!

Today was really a full one. Started at 6:30AM with one of my duties as a tailgunner: taking a baseball bat and "thumping" all the tires on all 14 rigs and tow cars to make sure nobody has a flat tire. Next, a travel briefing at 7:30AM, where Jim tells us of our drive today. I start off the day with a low tire on my inside dual, which required removing both wheels to get to a failed valve extension. The green angels gave me a hand, and we left about 30 minutes behind the rest of the caravan, and had to play catch-up. We are to cover 225 miles, mostly 2 lane blacktop, in motorhomes and fifth wheels. 

It will take us about 7 hours of drive time. Roads are narrow, and although the pavement in most areas is good, there are usually no shoulders, so it requires lots of concentration. Last time we drove this, with Nancy's sister Anne and hubby Keith, it was in a small SUV. In a motorhome with tow car, it's an entirely different deal. Passing oncoming 18 wheelers can be very exciting when the lanes are 9' wide with no shoulder, and a dropoff on both sides. By the time we get to our destination, a remote ranch in the high desert where we will dry camp overnight, we are really tired. The staff (read us and the wagonmasters) prepared chili and salad for all, which was gratefully received, and after a lovely sunset, we all hit the sack.

Ensenada, our first night in Mexico

On our way to Ensenada we took the toll road, which is four lanes and runs along the coast south from Tijuana. It cost us 270 pesos (about $22 US) in tolls, but worth it to save time and traffic. At the end of the toll road we stopped on the beach for a stretch and a soda. There were souvenir stands, snacks, and horses for rent to ride along the sand. Next, a drive through Ensenada to our overnight destination.

Estero Beach is an elegant hotel, restaurant and RV Park on the bay in Ensenada. Our campsites lined the bay, and we watched the sun set over the water as we went to our welcome to Mexico dinner in the restaurant. We started off with a Margarita (what else?) then graduated to entrees of carne asada, grilled fish, or Nancy’s pick, the Estero Beach combination platter. Great to sit down in a relaxed atmosphere with our Fantasy fellow travelers and get better acquainted. 

 What a great spot for a walk along the beach at sunset, listening to the surf and watching the birds.

We're off for Mexico!

We had our first travel meeting today, after our social at the Santee Lakes RV Resort. Mary and Jim, our wagonmasters, introduced Goofy to the group. He gets to travel in the front window of a coach who had a "goof" the previous day. Example: Jim left his fuel cap off after filling his tank, so he got Goofy!

We took off at 7:45AM and headed for the border at San Ysidro. There, after a cursory inspection of our rigs, we proceeded into immigration and had our visas stamped. There we were met by two Green Angels, special government employees who will accompany us for our entire trip! They have been invaluable in helping us to get through the traffic and keep us all going!

A week in San Clemente

As San Clemente was our home for 17 years, we spent time re-connecting with friends and places that we enjoyed in the old days, such as Pedro's Tacos,

the San Clemente Pier, restaurant, and bar,

and Dana Point Marina for breakfast, of course!

Yes, our favorite Chai tea vendor, and the Bagel Shop, are still there. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, read the paper, and checked out the shops. Nancy had a nice walk with April while Fran and I looked at the boats. Six days here, then on to our tailgunner job at Santee Lakes, where we met with Jim and Mary, our wagonmasters for the 36 day Baja Mexico Caravan! Woo Hoo!

Christmas in the high desert

Doing this in red in honor of the season! We rolled into Lake Elsinore, CA for a few days, staying at the Lake Elsinore Marina. Had dinner with old friends from the Lake Elsinore Unified School District and from 

Withrow Elementary, where Nancy taught for many years. Great to see old friends and renew connections with comrades from days gone by. Kudos to the staff, who won an award as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2010!

Now back on the road, this time to Lancaster, CA where we squeezed into the RV spot next to Bill's sister Nikki's house. Bill and Nikki hosted us for a few days, and we enjoyed spending Christmas with them as well as grandson Brian Yount, our niece Jean, nephew Sam, and grand-niece Marisa. Lots of football on the TV, and way too much food! 

On Dec 26, we took off for Pasadena, and our staff position at the Fantasy RV Tours Pasadena Rose rally, this link takes you to the blog for the rally where you can view some of our activities. :-) I won't bore you with all my pix, 'cause you saw it all on TV anyway!
We camped at the parking lot of Santa Anita Raceway, a 15 min bus ride from our parade seats. There were over 100 RVs. We had 30 amp power via a generator, but no water or sewer. Had a honey wagon dump everyone half way thru the rally, and a water truck to top off everyone who needed some. Our guests lived in their rigs, but Fantasy provided all the meals, either catered at a circus tent on site or dining out at Santa Anita Racetrack, San Antonio Winery, or wherever. Had a New Years Eve party, open bar, decorations, and band, and celebrated with NY so we could hit the bed at 9PM in preparation for a 6AM wakeup to get the buses to the parade seats before pandemonium. It was a great experience for us, and many many guests told us it was a terrific rally, super way to see the parade. The best part is nobody (but the poor bus drivers) had to brave the traffic! After the rally and cleanup, we were pooped. Headed for Jojoba Hills campground for some down time and a visit with Travelin' Fran!