San Pancho

We finally made it to San Pancho on the pacific coast a couple hours north of Puerta Vallarta. It is quite beautiful here and it has been fun hanging out with the family. Last year, we were here for Christmas as well. It is fun to return by way of car; it just doesn't feel as far away when you drive there. The beaches are beautiful and my family has a great place to stay. We are parked on the street next to the house so, we get all of the amenities but still sleep in the truck.

The other night we were sitting out on one of the patios, the living room is outside, and I noticed something slithering along the top of the wall. It was orangish and moving very slowly. Yes, it definitely was a snake. We all jumped up to get a better look. It slithered slowly up the tree that was next to the house. It was quite beautiful but a little disconcerting for those sleeping there. We concluded it to be some kind of boa and it was harmless as we later found out from one of the people who lives in San Pancho. Not to worry.

I also was able to go fishing with my parents with a local fisherman, Pondo. He takes my dad out every year and he is a great fisherman and guide. We had an amazing day out. The sea life we were able to see was incredible. It rivaled a National Geographic episode. The high lights were trolling through the swells amongst a group of about 60 or more dolphins. Colleen and I were on the front of the boat watching as the dolphins gracefully swam a few feet from us. Many times they would swim up and look at us and then dive down again. It was amazing.
Another sighting was of a humpback whale. It sort of snuck up on us as we were fishing. The motor was turned off and we were all looking the other way as we heard the whale surface and blow. As if that was not incredible enough, it surfaced again maybe 60 feet from the boat and dove down showing off its humongous tail. Wow!

The most exciting however was the pod of pilot whales we happened upon. We were right in the midst of them and soon they began to follow us. They are about 20 feet long and look kind of like an over sized dolphin with a similar dorsal fin. There were about a dozen of them maybe 10 feet from the boat and one even went under the boat. The best part was hearing them sing and talk to each other as they swam under us. We were in awe! Collen and I kept whispering, "Oh my God" as they got closer and closer. What a terrific day.

We are preparing for the New Year today and hope all is well back home. It is hard to believe that it is the beginning of 2009 tomorrow. How time passes by so quickly. Ozzie and I are going to head inland next and maybe try to find a nice town to hang out in for a while. We want to find something to do. We will see where we end up.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Lyndi

Here are a few more pictures from the Baja.

Would you like to follow our blog?

Thank you so much for those of you who have been following our blog. I am sorry that I have not been more diligent in my entries. I am definitely going to try to update it more frequently in the future. We are looking for a little help though. The more followers that we have posted on the blog, the better. There might be a possibility that we can get someone that wants to advertise on it, if enough people are looking at it. So, if you want to sign up as a follower, that would be great. All you have to do is click on "follow this blog" which is located by the other pictures of people following. You just follow the steps and enter an email address and password. Thanks so much and Happy New Year to all!

Lyndi

P.S. Send me your e-mail if you would also like me to add you to our e-mailing list. I send out an e-mail when I have updated the blog. My e-mail is lyndimay@yahoo.com and Ozzie's is oscargrove@yahoo.com

Adios to the Baja

Well, the last month or so that we have spent on the Baja has been spectacular. The people we met and the places we stayed really surpassed both of our expectations. From San Ignacio, we ended up at two of our favorite beaches Agua Verde and Los Frailes. Both of these are on the Sea of Cortez side and very remote, requiring some bouncing and winding down very rough roads to get there. Ozzie caught a few fish and I even snorkeled a bit. It is amazing how many fish are even in three to four feet of water. (I am still too chicken to go any deeper). Ozzie saw huge school of puffer fish and he was out in the deeper areas.

We also spent a couple of days in La Paz getting our vehicle permit, ferry ticket, and new health certificate for Bozeman. All took way longer then expected of course and the earliest we could reserve the ferry was not until the 23rd. So while we waited we spent more time on the beach. Not a bad place to wait. However, we had told my parents that we would try and meet them for Christmas in San Pancho and this put us a little behind schedule. Schedule, what’s that again?

The drive to the ferry proved to be exciting. We managed to find our spare tire dangling from the back, the metal ripped of the frame. Luckily, we stopped for a bathroom break and noticed it leaning off the back. Bad for the frame, but amazingly we didn’t lose the tire. Then we passed a guy who popped off his radiator cap and was sprayed with boiling water in the face as we drove by. We quickly turned around to see if he was ok. He was, only minor burns on his cheek. He needed water though, so we filled his car up and off he drove in his pretty blue mustang. Then right before the ferry terminal we drove by a wrecked semi who had seemingly ran into a bull-dozer. Crazy! We made it no worse for the ware and on time despite the drive. Just another day driving on the Baja...

The ferry was a logistical nightmare. People lined up to board three hours before departure and the ferry only had one loading and unloading side, unlike the Washington state ferries. The one hundred or so semi-trucks that loaded onto the ferry had to back on. Most cars ( around 200 or so) also backed into spots. There were four car decks and 3 passenger decks. It was more an ocean going ship than a ferry. Ozzie and Bozeman parked on the lowest deck in the hull. Poor Boze had to stay in the car for around 10 hours in the hull of the ship where it was very hot. Poor guy, he made it though. He is such a good dog. We slept in the ferry parking lot when we arrived at 10:30 at night, which we were told was the safest spot to stay.

Now, after a full day of driving we are in Mazatlan at an RV park right on the beach. It is Christmas day and so beautiful. We are taking a day to relax and recuperate from our two long days of traveling. Tomorrow we head to San Pancho to visit with my family.

The Beautiful Baja

Baja California has the most beautiful deserts I have ever seen. Huge saguaro cacti grow and form beautiful prickly forests. The dirt roads are very unforgiving but reward you with less traveled beaches and quiet towns. We have found some great beaches on the Sea of Cortez so far and are enjoying the rugged terrain. Where the desert meets the sea makes such a wonderful contradiction.

Ozzie has done some fishing and we lived off of fish tacos for about 3 days. I am enjoying the beach, looking for shells, and just drinking my coffee to the sounds of the sea. Bozeman of course loves the swimming and has finally figured out how not to drink the salt water.

We arrived in a small oasis town a few days ago called San Ignacio. There is a river that runs above ground for short distance here and is surrounded by date palms and lush green grasses. We are camping right on the river. It doesn't feel like we are in the desert anymore even though it is less than a 1/2 mile from our camp. The town square is beautiful and is located in front of a large mission that was built in the 1700's. It is still used to hold church services. People seem happy here in this town. Water is so scarce here on the Baja. It will be difficult for us to leave. We have already spent three nights here and plan on spending a couple more.

Yesterday, the owner of our campground took us on a tour to look at some hieroglyphics that were made about eight to ten thousand years ago. It was interested to see and imagine what the people were trying to communicate with their symbols and pictures. The desert was beautiful as well. However, being the klutz that I am, I was the only one who managed to get stuck by a cactus. I was much more careful walking after that. Our guide knew a lot about the plants and we tasted some different things.


I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It passed with no ceremony here. Just a chicken dinner at a local restaurant with a fellow traveler we met while we were there. We mentioned in passing, "Isn't it Thanksgiving today?" In which the response was,"I think so." That was the extent of it.

I posted a slide show below of some of the places we have been so far. I didn't include any pictures yet from San Ignacio.

We miss everyone,
Cheers,
Lyndi and Ozzie

Crossing the Border, Baja 1000, and San Felipe

Thursday was the big day. The day to cross into Mexico, finally. The truck was newly remodeled and ready for rough roads and we were ready to take on the Baja. On our 14 mile drive from San Diego to the boarder crossing, I organized any paperwork, passports, copies etc.. of what we would need to cross. Anticipation rose as we saw cars slowing. We drove and drove looking for the border patrol to stop us. Finally, we came to the realization that we did not have to stop. I was pretty much in shock of the anti-climatic crossing. We decided that mostly we could take care of paper work in Ensenada, so we kept going. Later we discovered that because of the free trade agreement, you are allowed to cross without stopping as long as you stay within 25 miles of the border. So on to Ensenada we went.

Driving to Ensenada was a breeze. The road was really nice because it is a toll road. After paying about 8 dollars total, we made it. We knew that the Baja 1000 (a famous off-road race) was going on but we had no idea how big of event it really is. There were people everywhere. As we drove down main street it was packed. Finally finding a place to park, we went to check out what all the excitement was about. We made our way down to the where the race officials were checking out the rigs. The trucks and cars are amazing that race the Baja. Mucho dinero is spent in preparation for this race. We met a team that had 80 people for their support crew.

The next day, we headed to San Felipe. The race had already begun and so as we drove we could see about 5-6 helicopters flying over the desert following the race. Huge plumes of dust could also be seen from the road to mark where the racers were. Once we arrived in San Felipe we found a good place to sleep for the night and then went out to the desert to watch the race.

People lined the track and cheered as racers came through. Mostly we watched some motorcycles stop at the pit. These guys had already been riding for about 7-8 hours and had 5-6 more to go. Crazy! Then the trucks and cars started flying by. They would cruise through at about 70-80 miles per hour. It was quite a site and a bit scary. People were only a few feet off the track, us included, and one of the trucks, if they lost control, would have the potential of taking out 20 or more people. Even more crazy! Ozzie was in heaven of couse and so we stayed for a couple of hours. It was pretty cool to watch.

Today, we walked on the beach and read our books while watching fish jump out of the Sea of Cortez. Very relaxing. Boze had fun too and dug a huge hole and then layed in it. He swam and chased the birds, he was pretty much in dog heaven.
Onward south tomorrow to Puertocitos. We heard it is nice and quiet there with some beautiful beaches.
Hasta luego,
Lyndi

Entramos Mexico!

For the past month, as our excitement grew, we have talked to what seems like hundreds of people about our trip. And in response they have come up with what seems like thousands of ways we will die within just miles of the Mexican border. My response to all of them is hah! We have made it at least 200 miles, as I originally expected, still alive. What a huge build up for nothing, minutes before crossing the boarder (which was unmanned) i realized, What if all these people are wrong?, I haven't made any plans for the rest of my life:) Now I am stuck here in this awful, crook riddled country soaking up rays on one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen with my two best friends with no plans! Looks like aside from possible pulling the fishing gear out for some fresh pesca, we may need a little more leisure to figure out what to do.

One of the fun suprises for me upon arriving in S.D. was our trip accidentally coincided with the baja 1000. For those who are mentally chanllenged about these things like me, this happens to be a huge dirt race with bikes, trucks, and buggies.
Yesterday after noon, in the desert outside of San Felipe, we pulled dopey up trackside to get a first hand look at the action. It turns out this ain't no pleasue cruise. These machines were flying past us on a straight with woops at maybe 60-80 mph! The awsome noise and excitement was stamped in your memory, nose and eyes with a constant lingering cloud of dust. Seeing something like this on tv will never do again.

Looks like tomorrow we will search for even more beutiful beaches on this placid sea, and try to forget all that plagues us, though that's not too much.

Sorry to disappoint all those pessimists so far.
Sure hope The old USA can cope without us.

ozzie

The Remodel

We have been driving around San Diego for the past few days looking for what we need for the truck. After driving 1300 miles, we have decided to make a few adjustments. We moved our bed to the cab-over to adjust the weight of our stuff to the floor. Ozzie also added and extra leaf spring to our suspension to help with the tippiness. A great guy named Steve, legthened our driveline, and let us camp out out in front of his business and he let us use his shower! It was a great place to be and he even printed out maps and gave advice of where to find things. We were very lucky to find his place. Thanks Steve!
Tomorrow, Ozzie is going to add lights and get our fan working. We just need to pick up a few more things and then we plan on crossing the border early Thursday morning. Our first stop will be in Ensenada. This is where the Baja 1000 race begins on Thursday. We are interested in watching part of this crazy off-road race. Mostly, we just want to take a few days to relax after we cross the boder and plan our route from there. Here are a few more pictures of the camper remodel.

The Redwoods to San Fran

Winding through the Redwoods on the coast of California was an amazing drive. There were so many little towns and beaches tucked away all along the coast. We took our time and explored any spot or beach that interested us.




This beach was in Shelter Cove. A beautiful spot where the King Mountains come straight out of the ocean. We found tons of tidepools and sea creatures. Bozeman played with the crabs until he got pinched on his lip.

Next, we stopped in San Fransisco to visit our friends, Brad and Mary. They have a great place right down town. Parking was a bit sketchy with the big rig. However, people were fairly forgiving of the truck because I think they were trying to figure out what it was we were driving. We had a great time and a taste of the city life.

We found our way out of the city after a couple of days and headed for San Diego. Driving through Monterey, Malibu, Santa Cruz, Laguna Beach and Los Angeles proved to be a tour of mansions, BMW's, Bentleys, Mercedes, and Porches along the highway. We felt a little out of place, but we did still get some thumbs up and smiles along the way.

Next we head to San Diego and then the Baja!
Adios,
Lyndi and Ozzie

Not So Dopey or Tippy Canoe?

We made it to the north coast of California today! We have been driving on some very curvy, bumpy, sunken grade, off camber roads and the truck is super tippy. (Tippy Canoe?) Well I guess we wanted an adventure. Who knew we would find it so soon?
Once we finally swerved our way to the coast, all three of us took a nice long walk on the beach and enjoyed the moment of actually being there. Bozeman had fun on the beach for the first time tasting salt water, playing in the surf, and rolling in some very fine dead animal perfume. He was very tired after and snuggled in for a nap. (after a bath of course)
Last night was our first night camping in the camper. We slept in a church parking lot in Selma, Oregon (see the picture above). I enjoyed cooking on our camp stove for the first time too. Our menu was corkscrew pasta with marinara sauce and chicken tomato sausage with a semi-fresh salad. It was all prepared by the dim light of a headlamp because, we have no working lights in the camper yet.
Next, we will head to San Fransisco to visit some friends. Afterward, we plan on stopping in San Diego before we cross the border to make some modifications and adjustments.:) We want to have everything ready before we hit the Baja.
We are having a great time and will let you know how the rest of the drive goes.
Adios,
Lyndi and Ozzie

Pura Vida

After months of hard work and planning, we are finally ready to begin our adventure! It is a bittersweet moment as we are sad to be leaving our family, friends, and co-workers but; the anticipation of lounging on the beach on the Sea of Cortez is enough to keep us going.
Many people have expressed some concern for our safety on our trip through Mexico and Central America. We are aware of the risks and these things have also been a concern of ours as well. However, Ozzie has put alot of thought in the design of our camper, as it is pretty much indestructible and very safe. We have bars on the windows, a very sturdy metal door, and a "mean" sounding dog.(He's not really, but he sounds mean and growls at stangers who approach us:)
I once read that an adventure was something you enjoyed after the fact. In the moment it sometimes can be scarey, exciting, and dangerous. However, what else is there in life if you don't take risks? What stories would we tell?

My good friend Kim gave this quote to me that I think speaks well to this.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole exprierence it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." ~Helen Keller


Off we go to expose ourselves to the elements of living! Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. You can e-mail Ozzie and I through lyndimay@yahoo.com We will be hopefully checking it weekly and updating our blog as much as possible as well.

Hasta luego,
Lyndi and Ozzie

Every drive a parade; Every stop a car show

Yes, we do feel this way sometimes driving around town. The truck attracts quite a bit of attention, especially from Landcruiser enthusiasts. We get alot of inquiries, compliments, thumbs up, and at least a gathering of one or two people wherever we stop. The truck is beautiful and it is nice for Ozzie's hard work to be appreciated.
Today was also an exciting day! We finally finished the outside of the camper and put it on the back of Dopey. It looks so cool and I included some pics from the building of the camper below. Even though we are still not quite finished, we are planning to depart on November 3rd if possible. We shall see.

The Cruiser

It has been a long process planning our adventure. This trip has been a dream of ours for about five years and we are getting anxious to begin our adventure.Our plan is to drive our 1966 Landcruiser pick-up to Costa Rica and back and we hope to take about 5 months doing it. Ozzie has been working very hard on the truck since March and it will soon be ready. We think about 2 more weeks and we will be off!
Our '66 Landcruiser pick up truck has been transformed from a jalopy old rig to a sparkling "new" cruiser. I can even drive it now that it has power steering and a manual stick shift. Our official name for the truck was Dopey and now that it is looking a lot newer, we now refer to it as Not So Dopey. It is a conglomerate of many Landcruisers, I think around 6, and many different years. (kind of like the Johnny Cash song.) We are now working on the camper part, which is homemade of course. It is a frame at this point and we hope to be finishing the outside of it by the end of the week. Then, we will have a week to outfit it with everything we need and then we are off.I have included some pictures of the restoration. It is really cool to look back at all of the hard work Ozzie has put into it so far. Enjoy! We will keep you updated and hopefully have a departure date soon.