Final stretch Home

A lot sooner than we expected. We spent the next day driving around chico breaking our “new” engine in.  Stop and go driving, highway driving, fast, slow, stopping, starting, idling…you name it- we did it.  We actually know our way around chico better than most towns we’ve visited, and we …

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E’s dead baby…E’s dead.

As our friends depart for the airport, we drive north on I-5.  Originally, we thought about going the other direction from napa and taking the coastal route through oregon home, but we’re really excited to get to portland and spending a few days with friends just made that decision easier.  …

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Napa and Sonoma

with great friends!   Healdsburg seemed tough to beat, but we knew are friends were arriving in sonoma before sundown and we woke up excited to get underway.  We managed to squeeze in a coffee and an early morning wine tasting before leaving the square…but otherwise we were in a …

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North of SanFran

we’re getting close!   After the 17 mile drive, we head north toward san francisco looking for Half Moon Bay.  We had a welcome invitation a while back from Christian and Persephone, who we haven’t connected with since the Maya Rally on our way south.  Christian was actually the one who …

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Pacific Coast Highway

definitely taco de ojo   Our next few days of driving were absolute bliss.  Our last month or so in mexico we stumbled upon the term “taco de ojo”.  Literally translated as “eye taco”, but used like “eye candy” north of the border.  We found ourselves using the phrase often as …

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Stateside again…

with a bit of difficulty. After over 2.5 months, 6600km, 7 countries (and surprisingly few breakdowns), we wake up and head for the U.S.of A. We arrive at the border, get in the back of a long line of traffic filing into a single lane stretching out along a steep …

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Mexican Wine Country

Yes… mexican. We are getting tediously close to the states and we’re aware our hours in baja mexico are numbered.  Jim has a flight to catch out of san diego and we know it’s time for our re-entry to the states if we plan to make it home by Jen’s …

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Bajia Los Angeles

Back on the Sea of Cortez We spent one more day in Ojo de Liebre coming down from our whale watching experience.  We stop among the dehydrating salt flats to search for fossils, shells and sharks teeth (a bit of indiana jones without the whip or being chased by natives), …

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Among the Whales in Ojo

We woke with the sun (as per normal) and awaited the whales. Shari was waiting on the perfect boat and captain for our trip out into the lagoon and we were all glowing with anticipation.  When it was finally our turn to go out we all but sprinted to the …

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Ojo de Liebre

We could have stayed on santispac for a month… and in the future may well do just that.  But for now, we move forward.  Ben has already left portland heading south and we have a few days to make it north to Guerro Negro where we plan to meet.  We …

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a precursor on driving in mexico

just in case you decide to drive a car in mexico. We currently have a friend in route to visit us in baja, and it dawned on me that when trying to describe safety on mexican roads, there was a bit too much to cover in a text. We certainly …

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La Paz

and a VW spa day. We have been telling E for the last few weeks that he just needs to get us as far as La Paz and we would book him a “spa day” with rojelio.  How else could we describe a day at the best vw mechanic in …

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onward to Baja!

its been too long.   We had heard from other travelers that you had to make a reservation 7-10 days before the ferry, way different than when we came across from baja on the same boat.  We emailed and asked for a reservation a week or so in advance just to be …

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Serendipity in Sayulita

and some new friends… In the morning we drive into sayuita. We figure we’re so close we might as well hit a few shops, grab a burrito and maybe check out the waves. But more than any of that, we wanted to say hello to Jose, the vet that saved …

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San Pancho

and… we’re back on the Pacific!! We leave tequila and follow the long winding road over the last set of mountains before we reach the pacific. As the road straightens out and we drive the last few km south into san pancho it feels almost as if we are pulling …

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for the love of Tequila

both the drink and the town. We made the quick trip from tonala to tequila and pulled in with giant smiles on our faces.  Our shortest road day in weeks, a town we know and have missed, and knowing that we are only one day away from the pacific… all’s …

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Arco Norte

Up and around mexico city We have been having great luck with the cities and parts of town we’ve been staying in, but we still are far from city people.  At this point were just dreaming of getting back to the beach. Images of sand and waves dance through our …

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Orizaba to Cholula

Traffic jams and shipping containers… We stop in Orizaba for the night and sleep at the Grand Hotel de France.  Makes sense in the middle of mexico, so we made sure to eat a few slices of the italian pizza in the courtyard.  The hotel is beautiful and was built …

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Villahermosa

from the gulf to villahermosa. After Merida our drive dips us momentarily along the gulf coast of mexico. We talk about how much closer it seems to us to simply continue around the gulf and pull into new orleans (where we’ll be in a few months for french quarter fest) than …

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The long drive across mexico

not our favorite part of the trip.  There were two parts of the drive back home that we were less than excited to endure.  The multiple border crossings of central america was the first.  That one is behind us, and was honestly better than we expected. The drive across mexico …

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