Los Barriles

We're here!  What a great feeling to know we made it down the Baja once again!

Our drive down from San Lucas Cove was great - there's a lot more scenery to look at on the 2nd half of the journey including the mountain passes we drive through!  But 9 hours later we pulled into Los Barriles to a different rental this year!

After living in a 450 sq ft casita last year, this year we opted to rent a larger home - still on the beach - to the tune of 1200 sq ft!!  WOW - I can't believe how big the house STILL feels compared to last year!

We only had the truck about 1/2 way unloaded ( I think we brought everything but the kitchen sink!) when our friends Eric and Hilary stopped by to chat!  Hard to believe it's been a year since we've seen them!

There was sure a LOT more space to put everything this year and I enjoyed unpacking and finding places for it all!

You have to get up EARLY to see the sunrise here - to the tune of about 5:30!!  I could see it was going to be pretty and then Glenn yelled at me that there were wild horses on the beach and I caught them just as they were going by the side of our house!

See that white van/camper in the above picture!  It was a younger couple and when Glenn was starting to unload the boat, he came over to help as he was tall and strong!!  He had seen our CO license plates and wanted to know where we were from - they were Cripple Creek, about 15 miles away from us!!  Small world!

Later, the horses went by one more time and I caught the little one!

Back to the sunrise - just can't stop snapping when they're this pretty!

I finished finding places for everything and Glenn got the tv and DVD player hooked up - we had brought a smaller TV down since there wasn't one here and movies to watch in the evening!  I went to hook up my IPOD and realized I had forgotten to bring the charger for it - DARN!!  So talked to Jaime and she said she could find it in our house and mail it to Patty who is coming down in 2 weeks!

I no sooner hung up then happened to look at the radio/speaker set up on the tall stand and lo and behold you just set your IPOD right on it - I was thrilled!!!

It was beautiful out and by early afternoon Glenn decided to take the boat out!  He had fun and caught enough fish for dinner last evening and more for tonight!

We have internet!!  There wasn't internet last fall and I asked the owner if he was going to put it in and he DID so I was thrilled!!  He also put on screens on the sliding doors which was wonderful!

The master bedroom is to the left of the picture and it has an en suite bathroom.

The door that is open leads to the guest bedroom which also has an attached bathroom and the other door is a 1/2 bath off the dining room.

So the house is awesome and we are so happy we were able to rent it!

I spent my afternoon under the covered porch on my lounger just enjoying the ocean!

The Sunrise That Didn't Disappoint!

The sunrises the last 2 days were nothing to brag about!  So I was hoping this morning would be better!  Luckily I woke up around 6:30 and lifted the shade to look out and WOW!  I KNEW this was the morning!

I hopped out of bed and threw on some clothes and raced outside to start snapping pictures!  The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous!!

It went from orange to pink in just a few seconds!

WOW - and then it was gone...............  so I went in and cooked breakfast and then looked back out at all of the clouds and grabbed my camera once again!

Later on, the clouds moved out so I decided to take the kayak out for a little while - the water was like glass!

It stayed cloudy most of the day - but a great day for reading and blogging before we had to start packing up to head south the next morning!  We had happy hour with the neighbors once again before we bid our goodbyes to them!  Los Barriles - here we come!

San Lucas Cove

Gosh did we sleep great after that stressful day of driving!  We headed into Santa Rosalia for breakfast and groceries and basically only found one restaurant open on a Sunday morning - I'm sure there were more but the one we chose was perfect!

Before we headed up the hill for groceries, I snapped this picture!

By the time we returned, Oscar and his sister had thoroughly cleaned the place, brought us lots and lots of water, and not only brought beer for Glenn but left this on the table! 

Yes, there are wonderful people here in Mexico!!  Below is a picture of the structure built right outside the trailer!  We chose to sleep in the trailer though because it still gets pretty cool in the evening and of course this structure is not air tight!

I LOVE having my morning coffee in this spot which faces the ocean!

And here's a picture looking at the trailer from the ocean.

It's a typical old trailer and even though there is no heat, a/c, or hot water, it is working out just fine!  I have no problem heating water to do the dishes and there is a shower house in the campground we can use!

Yesterday Glenn took the kayak out and caught enough small fish for fish tacos at lunchtime!  He decided it was just too much of a hassle to get the boat off for 2 days and I agreed!  There is a LOT of stuff packed into the back of the truck around the ATV and it will be easier just to unload it all one time!

Last evening the neighbors came over for Happy Hour (yes, Glenn has already met 1/2 the campers here I think!!).  They are from California and have the place beside us - have been coming down for almost 40 years to this spot!  Now that they're retired, they come down for about 6 months out of the year!

We had a campfire in the fire pit and it was so relaxing to sit by the fire and listen to the ocean!  Ah..........life is good!

Crossing The Border/Breaking A Rule

It was an early morning to grab a bite of breakfast at the hotel and head to the border!  Glenn had decided to cross at the other border in Calexico instead of the other one after reading reports online and it was a good choice!  We didn't have to go through all the downtown traffic as this border is just a few miles out of town and easier to navigate!

Inspection on the vehicle was a breeze - except for the fact the guy wanted to see the original title to the truck and the ATV which I didn't have - everything I have EVER read says to NEVER take the original, just a copy!  And Glenn had brought 2 motors - which meant he had to pay a duty import on one of them to the tune of $65.00!  He will know better in the future now!

We did have to park the truck and go to the correct office (went to the wrong one first and stood in the wrong line) to get our paperwork done for entering Mexico - then walk over to the bank to pay the fee - and then walk back to the original office to hand in the receipt!  Luckily they weren't that far apart and soon we were on our way!

It seems to take forever to get out of Mexicali but once we were out in the country, it was good driving for a while!  There were beautiful purple flowers growing on both sides of the road for many, many miles - the Baja had gotten a lot of rain and we enjoyed seeing the flowers!

But as we got a little further down, we had about a 10 mile stretch of horrible gravel where the road had washed out!  We knew some bridges were out due to a tropical storm last spring but we had no idea it was this bad!!  The detours were worse than ATV trails that we ride on!!  And it sure slowed us way down!!  Here are a few pictures of the bridges - some places there was no road at all!!

There's one more picture at the bottom of the blog that wouldn't properly place!!  Anyway, it was extremely slow going and we knew we were losing time!!  And we also had the 21 mile stretch of gravel that we knew about from last year - luckily there is a small portion that did get paved but it still took us about an hour and 1/2!

We didn't stop for lunch - just ate snacks in the car and only stopped for diesel as we knew it was getting later and later!  And we also know the rule in Mexico - NEVER DRIVE AT NIGHT!!  But soon that sun dropped behind the mountain and before we knew it, it was pitch dark out!  And we're out in the middle of nowhere!!

There was no place to stop for the night, even if we wanted to!  So we trudged ahead, only driving 30 to 40 mph because the reason you don't drive at night is because it's all open grazing and the cows tend to come to the highway to sleep on the warm pavement!

It was a harrowing experience - poor Glenn drove it well though and I was on the lookout for cows - we came across 7 sets of cows right by the highway!!  And of course once in a while you would meet a car and the blinding lights were awful!

After almost 2 1/2 hours of driving in the dark, we FINALLY reached Santa Rosalia and we knew the campground we were staying at was only about 6 miles out of that town!  Of course we missed the turn off because there are no street lights out this way but we found it and breathed a sigh of relief!

Luckily we had good directions to the trailer we were staying in (VRBO) but when we got there, it was all locked up - we figured the property manager had given up on us coming in!  We knew there was a small restaurant in the campground so found it - they were just getting ready to close!!   By this time we were starving so asked if there was any way she could fix us something to eat - we didn't care what!!!  And this is what she brought us!

It was bacon shrimp with cheese on top, mixed in with mangos - delicious!!!  And check out those garlic potatoes served in a shell!! We devoured it!!!  In the meantime, they were trying to get ahold of Oscar who is the property manager but to no avail............I finally texted and called the owner who lives in CA but no answer!  But apparently she got my text as soon Oscar called and said there was a misunderstanding on the date we were coming  in and he felt SO BAD - he was frantically cleaning the trailer along with his sister and asked us to wait 15 more min before we came back over!

He was very apologetic when we got there and we assured him it was no problem - we just needed to get to bed as we were exhausted.  Oscar said they would be back in the morning to finish cleaning and that was fine with us!!  That bed felt SO GOOD!!!  What a day!!!

Baja Bound

I think it's time to take the snowflakes off my blog background and put on some palm trees or something!!  We are Baja Bound!

Thursday morning we headed out bright and early with this pretty sunrise to start the day!

Were we loaded heavy?  You bet!!  Glenn decided to borrow the neighbor's boat this time instead of using a rubber raft in the ocean!!

Our first day was plenty long driving through Colorado, New Mexico and spending the night in Winslow, AZ!   I was excited to go downtown for dinner and check out the "corner" - cute as can be!

This is all due to a song by the Eagles, Take It Easy, which has the words in it below!

The statue I'm standing beside is Jackson Browne - he started to write the song and then gave it to Glenn Frey of the Eagles to finish it and they recorded it!  Glenn Frey's statue is also here!

And this huge mural on the side of the building depicts more words of the song - "it's a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me".

We had an awesome meal almost right across the street from all of this at Bojo's - yummy Mexican food!

Our journey continued the next day as we went by Flagstaff (always fun to drive by as it reminds me of Colorado) and the turn off to Sedona!!  We stopped in Camp Verde at a favorite coffee place!

And then it was on to the cactus around Phoenix...................

and to the sand dunes past Yuma!!  84 degrees!!  Time to get out the sandals and shorts!!

We arrived in Calexico about 3:30 so exchanged our money and ate some dinner - it will be an early day tomorrow as we want to cross the border around 6:00am and then a LONGER day as we drive 1/2 way down the Baja coast!

We Pack A Lot In One Denver Weekend!

The snow came as expected!!  We woke up to bright sunshine but also 7" of snow that needed to be plowed before we headed out Saturday morning!  Kylan had spent the night with us so he could spend time with Evan so by mid morning Glenn had the driveway plowed and we headed into W. Pk for breakfast at The Hungry Bear.

Kylan loved his hot chocolate!

It was fun to see the Keppy's again and Gwyn was extra excited to see us!  I owed the kids Valentine's day ice cream so we all piled in the car!

Despite the wind and the cold, we STILL enjoyed the ice cream!

Not long after we got back to the house, the guys decided they wanted to head to the state wrestling meet being held at the Pepsi Center!  So they took off and had an enjoyable evening!

Meanwhile, Jessi and I relaxed over a glass of wine and she fixed us an amazing dinner!  We watched Bohemian Rhapsody that evening and enjoyed it!

The next morning Jessi and I headed out to coffee - CARIBOU!!  What a great way to spend a couple of hours!!  Then we finished decorating a couple of walls in her house, had our adjustments (which need to hold us over for 6 weeks while we're gone), measured Evan and I to see if he was taller, (he was and somehow the picture didn't get downloaded) and then did a mini celebration for his 12th birthday!!
 

Since Evan and Jessi had plans at noon, we decided to just head out (with 4 butter braids in hand!!) and said our goodbyes!  Thanks for an awesome time!!

North To Fort Collins

Time to head north and see the Savages' before we head to Mexico!  Since Glenn had a final checkup with his shoulder surgeon on Friday morning, it was a perfect time to head on up!  He got a clean bill of health from the surgeon and doesn't have to go back unless there's a problem.

After coffee and bagels, we headed up the interstate and the traffic wasn't 1/2 bad - even with 4 accidents in Denver!!  Robby and Jill were still working and Aleah had basketball practice so I put dinner in the crock pot and we were there to welcome Parker home from school.

Saturday morning the guys headed out to ice fish - way too early for me but they made enough noise in the kitchen (right above the guest bed in the lower level) to keep me awake so I was darn irritable when I woke up!  But Jill and I had the morning to ourselves as Aleah went next door to play and we went shopping!!!  So I HAD to get in a better mood!

First stop was Kohl's which is always a great place to shop - Jill found some jeans and I found 2 cute sweaters (on a great clearance sale I might add!!)  Next was a stop at their new coffee place - the coffee was great and it's on our way out of town and fairly close to Jill's so that's a bonus!  We stopped a couple more places before we raced home to get ready for Aleah's basketball game.

The guys were just getting back - no luck fishing but Parker was a real trooper and he looked so cute in his warm clothes!

Parker turns 8 on the 13th so was excited to open his card from us - we told him as long as we ALL got ready early for Aleah's game, that he could open it!

We gave him a coupon for either going to the North Pole this summer or the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with a stop at the gift shop afterwards!!

Then we headed to Aleah's game - it was a tough battle as several of the girls were gone so there were only 6 players to play the whole game!  She played well and has improved since last year but they lost the game!

Parker brought all of his penguins down so they could watch us play games and cards - they're all so cute!

It was a fun stop at Dairy Queen to treat the kids for Valentine's Day! I loved their blizzard of the month which was strawberry with Ghiradelli chocolate bits - yum!!!

Saturday night we watched A Star Is Born - I was so excited to see it but was really disappointed in it - ONLY because I loved the original one with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson and I thought the music would be the same!!   The story line was the same - but the music was different and just not my style I guess!  Oh well............

After church on Sunday, Jill and I taught the kids how to play Phase 10 and they loved it!!  Now we have a new game to play when we get together!!  We headed out mid-afternoon and made good time getting back home!   Thanks Robby and Jill for a great weekend!!