The art of siesta

Napping has never been one of my strong points. If I nap too long (or what I thought was too long) I get a little cranky, or if I nap too short I get a little cranky (is there a theme here?) What I have discovered is that what I thought was too long is really not long enough. I propose that we institute the Mexican siesta and all go to our respective homes for the hours of 1400 to 1600 and nap.

The house officially became ours last week and we're thrilled. So thrilled I've sent off the furniture pieces we bought last November with a fellow I met in a gallery. I saw some of his art work, including painted furniture, and asked (I think) if he would consider painting my furniture...you know....faux rustic. Neither of us speaks the other's language proficiently and so as I watched my credenza leaving with the words roja, verde, ochre, rustico slipping from my mouth I was wondering if we understood anything the other had said and if I was ever going to see my credenza again. I think I understood that the piece would be done in four days or one week, but who can tell...possibly he was talking months?! We had a couple of windows put into our bedroom last November and yesterday the guy came with the screens so who knows.

It's been great having Tommy, Georgia and Dave here. The wonderful thing about old friends, the kind you share your history with,  is it takes but a moment to be caught up and comfortable with one another...kind of like comfy shoes...but different.

Take a siesta today!

I was anticipating change, but this..

I knew this would be a life-altering experience, after all, this is the beginning of the next phase of our life, and believe me, a doozy. But this?  Come on...a look rather beatific, don't you think?

Tom (El Biggo Wiggo), Georgia (Panchita) and Dave (Peligroso Dabeed [phoentic]) arrived on Friday night at about 8:30, tossing aside all those "don't ever drive at night" warnings  about Mexican roads.  Of course, it's better they drove at night...were it light they would have been frightened by all the little shrines along the road designating where various souls had perished while driving at night along Mexican roads. Oh well, they never did throw out their hippie manuals, even though they outwardly look very responsible.

It's Thursday...I don't know how many days...

We have arrived....in the physical and mental sense.  We got to Todos Santos yesterday around 3PM.  Although it's cooler than we would like (70) the sun is shining and it is glorious.  I woke in a panic last night and thought "what the hell are we doing?" but immediately fell back to sleep and realized this morning it was probably too much salsa from dinner last night because today....Friday Harbor?  Where's that?  :-)  All is well.  We got the phone to work....security clearance for cell phones wanting international service was needed...Big Brother..., our internet connection set up, and as soon as we get our propane hot water tank going, life will be a breeze!

More later.

Monday...second day in Mexico

We entered the country on Sunday.  There was no immigration staff when we crossed the border in Tijuana and we drove south to Encenada where we planned n getting our visa.  This gave us our first Mexican moment of the trip.  We found the immigration office with no hassle (thank you Billy) and found window #1, the window for those of us who entered the country by land.  There was a big sign telling us that we would be fined 53 pesos for each day, per person, we were in the country without a visa...ok...not a big deal.  We are then told that we have to go to a bank to pay our fine...the fellow across the way that takes the money for the visa could not take our fine money.  We are given a MAP! to go to the bank, go there, pay our fine and come back to the immigration office.  We now have to go to window #5 to pay for our visa and then told to go back to window #1 to actually get the stamp.  Why oh why is it all so .... never mind... it's their country and their rules.

The road is beautiful and narrow and so far, not as scary as we thought it would be.  Althought there is a new twist to things....apparently Lefty is a very good moniker for Steve...he loves to be in the left lane...even if it's a 2-lane road....and driving anywhere from 70-80 MPH.  When I commented about the speed he said he feels he is fulfilling a childhood fantasy of race car driving.  The problem is, CC "the car with no name" Rider is not a race car nor is he a child...or...never mind.  

We spent the night in Catavina, a small town in the middle of huge boulder fields....amazing!

More shall be revealed!

Sunday...first day in Mexico

So, remember I purchased an iPhone with AT&T service that was going to handle all of our communications?  The phone that did everything but cook dinner?  Well, I called AT&T right before leaving and asked for reassurance that everything was set to go...oh yes, it was.  We crossed the border into Tijuana and guess what?  No phone service!  Were not the lines going back into the States miles long, I would have gone back to the nearest AT&T office and committed an act of violence.  I know that my children will solve this if they can....won't you?

There were two incidents of the immigration problem that we were faced with.  The first was a highway sign along the 805S that said to watch for people running across the freeway....all 14 lanes (both directions) and apparently a favorite spot for illegals entering the country.  Our triptek from AAA gave a little notice that said should you be driving this stretch at night you should take special caution for the illegal aliens.  And THEN, we saw the fence!  Actually there are two fences...a Mesican fence that is probably 7' high (hard to discern because of all the bodies crawling over it) and rusted red in color.  About 15' further north and running perpendicular to the Mexican fence is the US fence....it's very chic.  I would like to make a suggestion to any government official that is reading this blog....use the money spent on building the fence to repair I-5...the fence just ain't doing it!

The coastline from Tijuana to Encenada is spectacular!  We weren't prepared for such gorgeous scenery.  Beautiful lush, high dramatic hills dropping down to the beaches....wow!  The road was great.  They actually have two roads...a toll road and a non-toll road.  We took the toll road and felt it was the best $7.75 we spent all day!  We're spending the night in Encenada...kind of like Tijuana only different.  Lefty is entranced with watching Mexican television.  It will be nice to get out of here.

Notes from the road...

• The only political signs I have seen along the road have been "Ron Paul for President."  Wes, I thought of you and wondered if on your great adventure you had placed them?  :-)
• Susea told me to buy a curtain for the passenger side window (I've always wanted to have one of those "Baby's Onboard" things) and I thought maybe she was not aware of all the road-weary miles on me, but now I realize...it's the north/south thing...traveling east/west they aren't such a necessity.  Sorry Susea for ever doubting the wisdom of your words...mia culpa, mia culpa.
• Our grandson, Cassidy, is an avid "Myth Busters" watcher and Adam and Jamie, the show hosts, did a piece on the myth of a truck tire coming apart, flying into a windshield of vehicles coming in contact with the flying debris and the front seat passengers being decapitated.   They discovered this is not a myth.  Makes you do a lot of thinking when you pass those big chunks of tire lying on the side of the road.  Maybe I'll ride in the back and let Lefty do all the driving?!?
  

Cal-i-for-nia, here we are.

Well, we made it half way!  The socks are in the dirty clothes bag along with the long pants. Lefty (alias Steve) did a great job at the helm with me as backup.  I drove faster than I have ever driven ....how does that make all of you feel? Happy I'm down here instead of where you are? The trip has been great.  CC Rider, the-car-with-no-name, has been doing a fabulous job!  She loves cruising between 75 and 80 and is giving us 35 mpg.  We have hit-and-miss luck with hooking up to the internet, hence no blogging.  We are in Santa Monica tonight.  We had dinner tonight with an old Minnesota friend,  Prometheus B. (Jim) Patient and his wife Ann and son Ben, and are staying at the Doubletree....believe me...internet access abounds, even from the jacuzzi. We have a cruising medley that I have put together to start the day....Canned Heat/On the Road Again, Two of Us/Aimee Mann and Michael Penn (thanks Andrea), Flying Burrito Brothers/White Line Fever.  Lefty has request Southbound by John Hiatt be added to this so a little downloading will be required before hitting the very lovely bed....very different from our first night at the Chehalis Best Western but that story is for another time and space.

More tomorrow....

Love to all....Lefty and Juanita (Louisa) 

(Nancy Richardson thought we should use these aliases for our trip and I kind of like them....hmmmm.

Whew!

When is the last time we've been on a respite for a month?  Let's see....1973?....oh, no, that wasn't a respite, that was life!  

Yesterday I fulfilled my deathbed (literally) promise to my mother-in-law, Irene, to vote for Hillary.  Of course, because of our weird primary voting system here in WA it doesn't count for squat, I nevertheless did it and I can now move forward.  This is another one of those "when is the last time" things...when is the last time you've seen such civic response?  I find it so refreshing and hopeful.

The name game has begun

We have a nomination for the Chevy name...we actually have two nominations.  Anonymous (we have an idea who anonymous is) has offered "CC Rider."  Very clever and Steve is excited about calling it CC.  Since the car was previously owned by our friend Agi, who has passed on, Louisa thought we should call the car "Agnes."  Steve has just said we could call it "A Car With No Name"....I rather like it. We could write a song entitled "We Went To The Desert In The Car With No Name." 

Oh My Gawd....I'm truly losing it!

It worked ... pretty much

We managed to get everything into the car (no, Tommy, StevieK has still not come through with a name...I'm sure many of those reading this could come up with at least 2 names he has given you through the years) with nothing residing in the front seat other than Steve and I (of course the suitcase wasn't packed and the coffee pot wasn't really put into place in the back seat.)  I wonder how long that will last?

Speaking of Tommy...he and his lovely, but tall wife, Georgia will be joining us in Mexico for a couple of weeks.  Joining them will be Dave Cushing, (formerly known as cave-dave) drummer extraordinaire as well as #1 fan of Rachel Ray. That sounds like some great, rhythmic meals, don't you think? They have rented a house next door to ours.  

More shall be revealed.....

 

12 days to lift off ... Will it fit? Will it go?

Today we try to pack it all in and see if it fits. The "pile" in the living room is growing by leaps and bounds. Every day a new box arrives with some item that either I, or someone else, feel is necessary for life and each time I look out the window at the Chevy (as yet unnamed), it appears to have lost some girth.

There are certain things I KNOW FOR SURE....first is that my body will no longer "share" the passenger seat with all those last minute things that my legs and feet would wrap around for the long road trips of the past....and second is that none of it is truly necessary and the only things that REALLY have to fit in is us and the clothes needed to make the trip down....perhaps a toothbrush and some deodorant....but that's it....other than my hair products....and oh yes, the guitar and amp...oh, and our new croc flip-flops (fasten your seatbelt Celia)....and my books as well as the Bose? Somehow it will work.

And as I said before....more shall be revealed...

Yes, gone are the days of hitting the road with $50, a cooler full of "refreshments", a case of "road trip tapes" and a change of duds. Now we have a box of maps and guide books from AAA that is sizeable and will probably not make the cut (see paragraph above) in its full form, a bag of all the medications...prilosec (double prescription now, since we BOTH are taking it), a plethora of puffers as well as a backup of antibiotics (should my asthma turn ugly), all that stuff that keeps you regular or from being too regular and, of course, lots of Tylenol to maintain the pain level caused from sitting/standing/lying/whatever for any length of time over 20 minutes.