December 9-19

HOLA FROM MEXICO!
First off, we are safe and sound and having an absolute BLAST :)

Our first night we spent just south of San Quintin at an Rv Park called El Pabellon. We were surrounded for miles by sand dunes and ocean. We left early the next morning headed for Guerrero Negro, while approaching the town we decided to push on to Santa Rosalia, searching for warmer weather the further south we went.

We arrived at the small RV Camacho which sat right next to the water just before dark. We introduced ourselves to our nieghbors, ate some dinner and then climbed into bed. The next day Chuck our new friend took us into town to see the sights, buy some produce at the local markets and treated us to lunch at a very quaint and delicious taco stand. We marveled at the beauty and uniqueness of the beautiful town of Santa Rosalia. The next day Chuck took Ben fishing all morning while Sadie and Em played on the beach and visited with our new friends Betty and Len. That evening we enjoyed conversation, listened to Betty play her guitar and sing, and laughed while observing the interesting method the local fishermen employed to get their boats into the water. Its a whole different way of life down here! Chuck cooked up a delicious meal of fresh fish that we caught that day. After picking up several great travel tips from our experienced neighbors, we said our goodbyes and hit the sack.

We set off at dawn the next morning, destination - Juncalito beach, just south of Loreto. After much confusion and several wrong dirt roads we found the entrance thanks to a helpful local.We found a beautiful campsite next to a little lighthouse with beautiful rugged mountains and palm trees for scenery. We immediatly struck up conversation with our neighbors from Illinois, Albert and Marga. While discussing motorhomes, Albert mentioned a solar panel for sale, which immediately caught our attention (just that day we were kickin ourselves for not getting a solar setup!) We happily purchased the 75 watt panel along with a deep cycle battery for an extremely reasonable price..What a blessing! We killed the afternoon visiting with them. A very friendly and fun couple :)

The next morning we woke early and went for a stroll down the beach. Along the way we got caught in conversation with a couple from Washington. Peter and Mary Kay have an organic orchard, and during the down season, spend their time travelling.We joined them and their dog, Sisco, for a hike through the beautiful desert mountains. We took a break overlooking the beautiful Puerto Escondido Bay. On our way back to camp, we came across a fishermen who had just brought his catch to shore. He offered us a healthy cut of Yellowtail (a delicacy here) and that evening we joined Peter and Mary Kay for a delicious mesquite barbeque. What a feast! It was the best meal we've had yet.

The next morning we enjoyed freshly baked rolls that Albert had given us the day before, such a special gift from our new friends. We were amazed at the provision, within hours we received fresh fish and fresh bread :) Again we spent time visiting with Albert and Marga, listening to funny travel stories and then headed a few miles south to Rattlesnake Beach. Just before finding a campsite, we turned toward the mountains to fill our water tanks with fresh spring water (yet another tip from our friends). While driving the winding narrow dirt road looking for a campsite, we came across a small wash that looked harmless. However, our back end was way too long! STUCK....After pulling a cactus out of the ground with our come-along, Peter and MaryKay pulled up right behind us! What timing!!! After jacking and digging, the boys successfully drug Homey free. YAY!! We obviously couldnt go any further, so we set off walking looking for another way in. While searching the beach for an entrance, we came across another couple from Washington. The friendly couple asked if we'd cooked dinner yet, and offered us (yet again!) fresh Yellowtail. What a treat! We could hardly believe it, 2 nights in a row! Again, we had a delicous mesquite bbq with our friends, visited well into the night, and also got many more tips for camping on the mainland.

We set out at dawn for Tecolote Beach, just north of La Paz. A beautiful sight. The water aquamarine and a long white sandy beach. We enjoyed a soda and beer at the open air bar and relaxed on the beach. Feeling anxious to get online and contact our family and friends, we headed into the town of La Paz the next day. We parked at Casa Blanca Rv Park, in town, and road the local bus into the center. We journeyed up and down the uniquely uneven side walks, then hopped back onto the bus headed for the large grocery store CCC. We loaded up on produce, rice and beans and a few other essentials (for an incredible price!) then headed back to Homey. That evening we met 3 travellers from Santa Cruz, exchanged stories and shared travel tips. We utilized the hot water showers Casa Blanca offered and also were able to wash the heap of laundry we'd accumulated thus far. Ahhh very refreshing!

We are now heading south for Todos Santos (we hear theres reggae every friday night!), and a hot spot for surfing in Los Cerrillos, just south of Todos Santos. We plan on spending a couple weeks here learning how to surf and enjoying the warm weather.

We miss you all this holiday season and send all of our love :) We'll make sure to post another blog after the new year to share our holiday experiences. Feliz Navidad :)

Ben and Emily

November 16 - December 8

We'd like to begin this post with an apology to you all for not keeping up with our travels. Because we are so far behind, we're going to briefly summarize these last couple weeks. We want to thank every one of you who have helped us along this adventure, all of the family and friends we've visited along the way, your love and support we are so grateful for, THANK YOU :)

After our visit in Santa Rosa with the Moosman family, we headed for Vacaville, Ca to see our good friend Dena. Our first evening there we spent painting a huge canvas with Dena and our new friend Joanna. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and let our creative juices flow, while listening to "mood" music, we had SO much fun doing this :) Here, you can see the product of our collaborative creativity. The next day Dena gave us the tour of the arts school she's working at, it was incredible to see, and so inspiring! Ben and I visited the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, Ca. At the end of the tour there was a section of discount candies and things, and we found a 25pound box of beans for 5 dollars!! We couldnt pass up such a good deal and plan on handing out little baggies of goodies along our trip. Just before heading out Dena took us to a huge farmer's market where Ben and I loaded up on extremely affordable produce, yum! We also snagged a few fresh lemons from the tree just in front of Dena's home.

We were on the road again, this time headed for Mountain View, Ca just south of San Francisco to visit our good friend Parker. We crossed over the bay into San Fran and found ourselves in loads of traffic, but it was moving pretty steadily, just an experience! We spent the evening with Parker and his girlfriend Megan, who so kindly cooked us a delicious dinner. We also enjoyed a soak in their hot tub. It was a short visit, but was great seeing our friend. The next day we were on the road to Martinez, Ca to visit Emily's Uncle David and Sandy. David works as the equipment manager of the Cal Berkley football team, and it just so happened there was a game that weekend. David was able to get Ben and I tickets to the rival game against Stanford. We decided to take the Bart (rapid transit system) to downtown Berkley, and what an experience! The cars were packed with fans heading to the game. Once we arrived in Berkley we wandered down the famous Telegraph Ave people watching and window shopping, many interesting sights to see! Not to mention the crazy parties going on down fraternity and sorority row. The stadium was packed, 70,000 people attending the game. Neither of us had been to such a large spoting event, it was a blast, and we had a great view of the field from our bleacher seats. That evening David, Sandy, and Em's cousin Lindsay treated us to Thai cuisine (our favorite!) We had an enjoyable meal chatting and catching up.

The next morning, on the road again toward Santa Clarita, Ca. This is where Ben spent about 2 years after highschool. First things first, we visited the old Starbucks he worked at while living there, he even recognized many of the old standby regular customers, after all these years! :) That evening we spent with Bens friend Ryan. His family offered us a yummy dinner upon arrival, and with our bellies full the three of us went out to enjoy a beer or two. The next morning Ryan was busy with his commitments so we headed on down the I-5 through the heart of LA. Passed through Hollywood, Anaheim (right by Disneyland) then took a trip to Huntington Beach. We played with Sadie on the beach for a while, then hopped on our bikes and cruised the boardwalk which stretched right along the beach.

That evening we arrived in Irvine, CA where Ben's friends Ricky and Clint live. Ricky so kindly opened his home to us and provided so much for us during our 10 day stay. We cooked many meals together, buzzed around town, went to a HUGE local market where we purchased Sham Wows for our trip, and ventured to the beach. We also spent an evening with Clint and his fiance Jules, had a delicious meal and watched the Matrix for the first time (very cool) Ricky let us borrow his car and we braved downtown LA looking to finish up Sadie's health certificate requirements for crossing through so many countries.

At the consulate of El Salvador we discovered there were several more necessary stamps that we had not planned for. At the Guatemalan consulate we ran into complications as well. Without getting too detailed, we ended up having to take Sadie into another vet, have another (very specific) certificate filled out, then took it to be notarized, approved by the county clerk, then to the secretary of state for an apostille. We also needed the USDA verification of her health certificate as well as rabies document. Then finally the stamps for Guatemala then Nicaragua. This unexpectedly extended our stay and delayed our plans of crossing the border. (we like to believe theres a reason for this :)

We are now the proud owners of two new surf boards. One we found for a great price at Costco and the other was given to us by our good buddy Clint for an incredible price. Now Homey is stylin with surfboards strapped to the top. Surfs up dude!

Special thanks to Ricky for all he has done for us, we couldnt have done it without you man! We are so lucky to be blessed with such good friends.

Now in San Diego, CA we are tying together all loose ends and preparing completely for crossing the border. We are heading for a campsite about 5 miles from Tecate, where we will be crossing tomorrow morning. We arent sure what kind of internet access we'll have the next week or so, but we'll post an update as soon as possible. We love you all, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Next time you hear from us, we'll be on the beautiful beaches of Mexico!!!! Happy holidays :)