Hola Amigos,
Yes, we are back in Mexico, and enjoying the warm breezes and sunshine. It was getting pretty cold and frosty in Oregon before we left there, and there was a lot of fresh snow in the mountains. It was time to leave!
A Barrel cactus in our garden.
We left Oregon October 3, after Ben's brother and sister-in-law, Ken and Bea, returned from their trip back east on the 2nd. We were packed up, hooked up to the car trailer, and ready to hit the road early Tuesday morning. We traveled to Reno that day, and the next day we left with our friend Mike B and his friend Frank, who traveled with us. It was another frosty morning in Reno! We had to wait for the ice to melt on our windshield! We made it all the way to Victorville that day, another long day, and the next day, we dealt with Los Angeles and San Diego commuter traffic on Highway 15. We made it to the border at Tecate at about 11:30AM, and that's when the excitement started!
Sitting at the border in Tecate, but not allowed to enter!
The 1930 Model A Roadster that we were towing, whose engine and running gear had all been rebuilt lovingly by Michael S., wasn't "run-able" (no gas in the gas tank, no water in the radiator, no oil in the engine; basically, nothing hooked up), Mexican customs insisted that we cross back into the US, park the rig, and find a Mexican mechanic who would give us a "legal" estimate of what it would cost to make it runable. Oh. Good. Grief. We argued this way and that for at least a 1/2 hour, but finally gave in to their demands. Mike and Frank went on their way, hoping to make it to San Quintin where we had reservations for the night. We went back across the border, (at least we didn't have to go through the long line...they took Ben's driver's license and our 2006 pickup registration so we wouldn't skip out on them...he gave it to us as we crossed back into the US.) Of course the US agents wondered what was going on, and we just said we're trying to get into Mexico with this old car, but they don't like the fact that it's not running. Bah! So, we got through US customs, found a parking lot, paid our parking fee, and hiked back across the Mexican border. We found a taxi cab, and the driver happened to be talking to the security guard who had done some translation for our situation, and they decided where we should go in Tecate for our estimate. We went there, showed them a few pictures on Harriet's cell phone of the car, and they graciously wrote up an estimate (with two copies and lots of "official looking" stamps, and we headed back to the border. We walked back through US customs, hiked back to our parking lot, and drove with our special papers through the Mexican border.....again!!!! We handed them our special paper, and they were much happier this time. It took us from 11:30am to 2pm to accomplish this task! Ugh. Harriet texted Frank and Mike, and found they had just got through Ensenada when we were leaving Tecate, so we were not too far behind them.
If only we had known (we've taken old cars across the border before with no problems), Ben could have hooked up all the necessary bits and pieces to make it run in about a day (while we were in Oregon), but we didn't know. He purposely left things at a bare minimum, because we have to take it all apart here in Baja to get the body work done. Oh well....another story to tell our grandkids, we guess!
We got through Ensenada, (that's were this huge flag is located) and to our hotel south of San Quintin by 7 pm. It was dark, and starting to get scary to drive with the Mexican cars with no tail lights or brake lights, so we were excited to get there in one piece! We love this hotel (El Jardines), but didn't have a chance to explore the gardens this time...just had time to check in, eat dinner at the next door restaurant, and crash!
We left the next morning in thick fog (Pacific coast influences), and it was extremely foggy until we got close to El Rosario, a bit further away from the coast. The drive that day (after the fog) was fine, other than too many potholes, and we made it to San Ignacio in Baja California Sur, to the hotel we missed on the way north, La Huerta (the Marketplace). Lovely place, lovely Margaritas, great food, and we'll stay here again! Of course, every military stop (4 this day) they wanted to check out the old car, so it took us a bit longer than normal. You could just see their eyes get bright as we pulled up and find a reason to stop us for a bit so they could study it!
The next day was a short one; we only went to Loreto, and stayed at our old standby hotel, Oasis. On the way there, we stopped for a light lunch at Buenaventura, a little restaurant and hotel on Bahia Concepcion. They are open for business (they got the hotel back from a Mexican / Tijuana shyster!)
It was a Saturday night, and the Oasis hotel happened to have live music, and a special dinner with Chocolate clams cooked (and uncooked) many different ways, plus chicken and pork ribs. Very nice! The last day of travel was from Loreto to home. We stopped in La Paz for cash from an ATM, and to visit our friends Hector Manuel and Rosy Amarillas to show them the car in it's "original" state. He's our friend who puts on the car shows we attend in La Paz. On the way out of town, a cop car pulled us over (just what we need), said our old car was nice, but that we were driving too fast! Pffft!!!! I don't think so.... I told him we were traveling the same speed as everyone else. Ben pulled out his phone to call our police-woman friend, and the cop said "fine, you can go". Ben thinks the cop thought we were going to take his picture. Whatever....we were out of there in a Baja minute.
We made it home at a reasonable time, and we unloaded enough things to spend the night comfortably! The dogs were extremely happy to see us (but they've been watching our every move to see if we're going to leave again!) Sam and Zoey both need a diet (but don't we all!)
Ben finally finished unloading the pickup yesterday. He is organizing all his 1930 Model A parts so he can find them when he needs them in the rebuild. Mike and Frank helped unload the Roadster on Monday, and Ben has been pushing it in and out of the garage as he needs space during the day. Thank goodness, it doesn't weigh too much!
We've got company coming on Saturday, and we've still got a few hurricane shutters to remove from the guest rooms! The weather is warm, but we don't know how warm, because our new thermometer isn't working correctly (is it 185 degrees F, or is it -55 degrees F? Neither, me thinks!) Probably in the 90s, but the wind blew today, so we had some nice cooling breezes.
We're also gearing up for the "Feeding the Hungry" fashion show that Ben so graciously volunteered us to organize ... sigh.... That will be December 1.
We hope that some of you will get the Baja urge and come see us this year. We do have TWO guest rooms, as Ryan is still overseas for the foreseeable future.
October photos (and some from September) are uploaded to 2017-10 October. I might even get around to putting captions on them one of these days! Or you can just guess!
Hasta la proxima vez....
Tus amigos de Baja
Harriet & Ben, Sam & Zoey
Yes, we are back in Mexico, and enjoying the warm breezes and sunshine. It was getting pretty cold and frosty in Oregon before we left there, and there was a lot of fresh snow in the mountains. It was time to leave!
A Barrel cactus in our garden.
We left Oregon October 3, after Ben's brother and sister-in-law, Ken and Bea, returned from their trip back east on the 2nd. We were packed up, hooked up to the car trailer, and ready to hit the road early Tuesday morning. We traveled to Reno that day, and the next day we left with our friend Mike B and his friend Frank, who traveled with us. It was another frosty morning in Reno! We had to wait for the ice to melt on our windshield! We made it all the way to Victorville that day, another long day, and the next day, we dealt with Los Angeles and San Diego commuter traffic on Highway 15. We made it to the border at Tecate at about 11:30AM, and that's when the excitement started!
Sitting at the border in Tecate, but not allowed to enter!
The 1930 Model A Roadster that we were towing, whose engine and running gear had all been rebuilt lovingly by Michael S., wasn't "run-able" (no gas in the gas tank, no water in the radiator, no oil in the engine; basically, nothing hooked up), Mexican customs insisted that we cross back into the US, park the rig, and find a Mexican mechanic who would give us a "legal" estimate of what it would cost to make it runable. Oh. Good. Grief. We argued this way and that for at least a 1/2 hour, but finally gave in to their demands. Mike and Frank went on their way, hoping to make it to San Quintin where we had reservations for the night. We went back across the border, (at least we didn't have to go through the long line...they took Ben's driver's license and our 2006 pickup registration so we wouldn't skip out on them...he gave it to us as we crossed back into the US.) Of course the US agents wondered what was going on, and we just said we're trying to get into Mexico with this old car, but they don't like the fact that it's not running. Bah! So, we got through US customs, found a parking lot, paid our parking fee, and hiked back across the Mexican border. We found a taxi cab, and the driver happened to be talking to the security guard who had done some translation for our situation, and they decided where we should go in Tecate for our estimate. We went there, showed them a few pictures on Harriet's cell phone of the car, and they graciously wrote up an estimate (with two copies and lots of "official looking" stamps, and we headed back to the border. We walked back through US customs, hiked back to our parking lot, and drove with our special papers through the Mexican border.....again!!!! We handed them our special paper, and they were much happier this time. It took us from 11:30am to 2pm to accomplish this task! Ugh. Harriet texted Frank and Mike, and found they had just got through Ensenada when we were leaving Tecate, so we were not too far behind them.
If only we had known (we've taken old cars across the border before with no problems), Ben could have hooked up all the necessary bits and pieces to make it run in about a day (while we were in Oregon), but we didn't know. He purposely left things at a bare minimum, because we have to take it all apart here in Baja to get the body work done. Oh well....another story to tell our grandkids, we guess!
We got through Ensenada, (that's were this huge flag is located) and to our hotel south of San Quintin by 7 pm. It was dark, and starting to get scary to drive with the Mexican cars with no tail lights or brake lights, so we were excited to get there in one piece! We love this hotel (El Jardines), but didn't have a chance to explore the gardens this time...just had time to check in, eat dinner at the next door restaurant, and crash!
We left the next morning in thick fog (Pacific coast influences), and it was extremely foggy until we got close to El Rosario, a bit further away from the coast. The drive that day (after the fog) was fine, other than too many potholes, and we made it to San Ignacio in Baja California Sur, to the hotel we missed on the way north, La Huerta (the Marketplace). Lovely place, lovely Margaritas, great food, and we'll stay here again! Of course, every military stop (4 this day) they wanted to check out the old car, so it took us a bit longer than normal. You could just see their eyes get bright as we pulled up and find a reason to stop us for a bit so they could study it!
The next day was a short one; we only went to Loreto, and stayed at our old standby hotel, Oasis. On the way there, we stopped for a light lunch at Buenaventura, a little restaurant and hotel on Bahia Concepcion. They are open for business (they got the hotel back from a Mexican / Tijuana shyster!)
It was a Saturday night, and the Oasis hotel happened to have live music, and a special dinner with Chocolate clams cooked (and uncooked) many different ways, plus chicken and pork ribs. Very nice! The last day of travel was from Loreto to home. We stopped in La Paz for cash from an ATM, and to visit our friends Hector Manuel and Rosy Amarillas to show them the car in it's "original" state. He's our friend who puts on the car shows we attend in La Paz. On the way out of town, a cop car pulled us over (just what we need), said our old car was nice, but that we were driving too fast! Pffft!!!! I don't think so.... I told him we were traveling the same speed as everyone else. Ben pulled out his phone to call our police-woman friend, and the cop said "fine, you can go". Ben thinks the cop thought we were going to take his picture. Whatever....we were out of there in a Baja minute.
We made it home at a reasonable time, and we unloaded enough things to spend the night comfortably! The dogs were extremely happy to see us (but they've been watching our every move to see if we're going to leave again!) Sam and Zoey both need a diet (but don't we all!)
Ben finally finished unloading the pickup yesterday. He is organizing all his 1930 Model A parts so he can find them when he needs them in the rebuild. Mike and Frank helped unload the Roadster on Monday, and Ben has been pushing it in and out of the garage as he needs space during the day. Thank goodness, it doesn't weigh too much!
We've got company coming on Saturday, and we've still got a few hurricane shutters to remove from the guest rooms! The weather is warm, but we don't know how warm, because our new thermometer isn't working correctly (is it 185 degrees F, or is it -55 degrees F? Neither, me thinks!) Probably in the 90s, but the wind blew today, so we had some nice cooling breezes.
We're also gearing up for the "Feeding the Hungry" fashion show that Ben so graciously volunteered us to organize ... sigh.... That will be December 1.
We hope that some of you will get the Baja urge and come see us this year. We do have TWO guest rooms, as Ryan is still overseas for the foreseeable future.
October photos (and some from September) are uploaded to 2017-10 October. I might even get around to putting captions on them one of these days! Or you can just guess!
Hasta la proxima vez....
Tus amigos de Baja
Harriet & Ben, Sam & Zoey
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