Well here we are sitting on the deck of our Casita (which I’ve decided means very small castle with good view) overlooking the Sea of Cortez. We had a great day yesterday getting here. It was very interesting traveling down from San Diego. We also had a good time in San Diego. We went on the 2 hour harbor cruise, and saw all kinds of stuff. (The nuclear carrier Nimitz, dozens of other naval ships and submarines, the shipyard where the Exxon Valdez was built, then rebuilt after the big oil spill, one of the new largest oil tankers under construction, a nuclear fast attack sub in dry-dock, and all manner of other sights) Then we drove north along the coast, ate lunch at this cool place called The Shack, and returned down through Coronado and Imperial Beach. We got going yesterday (Sunday) pretty early, and took route 94 out of San Diego, which drops south toward the Mexican border through the mountains. The scenery was unbelievable, sort of what I’d picture seeing on an alien planet. Most of the time we were driving through literally nowhere, and hadn’t had breakfast yet. We finally came to a little crossroads that had a sign on the fence that said “Potero Diner Now Open. We turned off and went about 2 miles down the road and found the Twin Lakes Campground Diner, once again, literally in the middle of nowhere. It had an A sanitation rating, so we stopped. Food was great, friendly folks, and an owner with what Vickie called “a good shape”. She was part Indian and part Hispanic, and I’d have paid money to watch her put her jeans on. We then continued on toward our intended border crossing at Calexico CA. We had to get off 94 and onto I-8 for about 15 miles, but then we got back off onto 92 to finish our trip to Calexico. The whole route turned out to be one of the more scenic drives we have been on. We passed a fruit stand that said 10 Haas avocados for $1.50 and at home it’s a $1.69 for 1 avocado. We gassed up in Calexico (a good thing, cause there was literally nothing on our trip south) and the little Toyota got about 28 mpg which was including 85 miles of stop and go city driving the day before. (The car we have is a little 4 door 06 Corolla, with only 750 miles on it when we picked it up. Drives well, is relatively quick, speedometer only goes to 110 and will bury that, and is pretty comfortable.) We then proceeded to the border crossing with all our documentation in hand only to have the Mexican border guards cheerfully wave us through. I guess they don’t care much about Americans coming to Mexico, as long as they are bringing plenty of US Dollars. The character of the traffic changed immediately after we crossed the border. What I’d read was true—the Mexican drivers are quite aggressive, and seem to have interesting new uses for stuff we have not heard about. The horn is actually a driving tool having secret codes that I’m not yet privy to. Also to them the accelerator is used in alternation with the brake, with either one used only in a range of 90 to 100%. As we drove South through Mexicali, which is the Capital city of Baja, we were amazed at the poverty and devastation. Often it looked like pictures I have seen of a war, but there wasn’t one going on. Falling down abandoned buildings were everywhere and the trash lying around, almost universally, was unbelievable. As we left the city, abruptly we were on a road through the desert with nothing, as far as the eye could see. The scenery here was quite different than we had seen earlier that day. Most of the route travels in and out of a dry lake bed that is dead flat for miles. Also here were very jagged black mountains which looked quite young. (as mountains go) As I said before, there was nothing between leaving Mexicali and San Felipe. The side of the road was heavily littered with trash the whole way, and often the abandoned car, usually upside down and stripped. Along the way we discovered an unusual Mexican truck driver custom. The truck would move over into the left lane (two lane road) which is the indication for you to pass him on the right. Thinking about it, it is a quite practical process much safer than me trying to see around them then flying by. When we got to Eldorado Ranch, we were pleasantly surprised. It is a cool place. We were a little early for check in so we asked for directions to the closest bar. After an hour or so of “attitude adjustment” we were ready to check in. Once again we were pleasantly surprised. Our little Casita was the best of the lot, and has everything we need. We have a deck overlooking the beach, and facing the sunrise. We watched it this morning, and it was really great. Don’t know when I’ll be able to send this—not sure about where there might be Internet service here. But, got it down and will send it when I can.
Wes and Vickie (or Bickie as the Mexicans call her)
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