California Coast Highway Closed Due to Landslide: Detour 100 miles to the South

I could spend a lifetime on the California coast and still not see everything I'd like to. We went to Steinbeck's Cannery Row in Monterrey, watched sea otters playing in the surf from the restaurant at the Monterrey aquarium, visited Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, and then headed out to the coast on a windy, unmarked spur through the mountains which ended in Redwood forest as it spit us out onto Route 1 South of Punta Arena. After a lovely dinner at the Chowder House in Punta Arena, and an uncomfortable night in a rundown motel, we headed North in the morning. Thankfully while gassing up near Fort Bragg we learned that Route 101 had been completely blown out by a mudslide. As we detoured back to I5 we passed a huge herd of elk off route 20.

We're not yet home, but we're darn close.

Wonderful Brothers

What a great 2 days we had in Southern California: playing in the surf at Delmar Beach, and feeding and holding the twins. Thank you brothers!

We have made it to Paso Robles: wine country and Bob's old stomping grounds. Mom and I took turns going to the wine tasting at the hotel, while the boys swam in the outdoor heated pool. Home by Friday. Unbelievable. The boys say we should turn around and go the other way on the highway. I miss Bob and home.

Adios Mexico

We had a wonderful last evening in the desert of Catavina, about 300 miles from the border. A short scramble into the desert got us to a cave whose ceiling was completely covered by geometric cave paintings. Really a good stop!

We're now about to eat blueberry pancakes with Uncle Chris and his family. Then on to LA and the baby twins.

San Ignacio

We're back in beautiful San Ignacio, the jump off point for the grey whales in Ignacio Bay. Mom and Dad seem to be more interested in making time to the border than seeing the whales, so I think our plan is to push on tomorrow.

We had an eventful day in the small town of Mulege. Mom has developed a toothache, and over a long lunch, she and I went to the health center, had a visit with the doctor, Mom recieved some IV pain medication(?), and we got an RX for some antibiotics. She's thankfully feeling much better. The cost of the doctor's visit was a little more than $8. It took us probably less than 15 minutes.

Other good news; the check engine light has turned off again. Maybe Juanito was right, and it was just bad gas.

As we drive home I notice all the signs that point down dirt roads to unexplored cave paintings, and I dream about the time in my future, when Bob and I can come back to Baja with a 4 wheel drive car, and teen-agers.

A Trip to Coronado with Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad arrived yesturday. Boy was I happy to see them! We did a trip out to the island today. No dolphins, or whales, but the sea lion colony on the volcanic rock of the island is reason enough for a trip out there. The weather was windy, and the swells large. 5 hours later, i still feel as if I'm on a boat.

We start the trip North tomorrow. As I drove to the airport to pick up M and D yesturday, my "check engine" light came on! Gosh Darnit. We took it to Juanito's shop here, but he didn't have a computer compatible with our KIA. He seemed to think it was the gas here. I hope he is right. So, with fingers crossed we head into the desert tomorrow.

Sunday Market

Cuanto Cuesta? gets a big work out by the boys in the toy stall.

I managed to resist buying the goat for dinner tonight.

New Digs in Loreto

The boys are loving Casa 3. The house is a lovely thatched cottage with plenty of room, TV with 400 channels, 5 remotes and of course the pool. Personnally I feel very insulatd from Mexico. Although there is one Mexican family renting here, the majority of people in this cottage complex are American vacationers. We generally share the pool area with 2 other couples from Seattle!

Today Lourdes and the kids from our "old neighborhhod" are coming over for lunch and a swim. The boys are indeed speaking some Spanish these days, and most importantly are very interested in learning the language, and don't feel embarrased trying.

Tomorrow We Say Good-bye to Hugo House

Today the boys and I took some snorkeling gear down to the town beach. As usual, we were the only ones ON the beach. Both Ben and I had sting rays swim by our feet. The people who seem to know here, say swimmers should do the "sting ray shuffle" to get into the water. There is no coral close by here to attract tropical fish, but the Sea of Cortez does seem to have some very odd species which you can find close to the shore: tube worms, globby slug like things, a sort of sea urchin that I have never seen before, and of course sting rays.

Tomorrow we say good-bye to Hugo house and our wonderful neighbors, Dave and Irene. I will sorely miss our afternoon beer and conversation.

Fin Whales and Dolphins

The boys and I had an adventurous morning yesturday. We were heading out to see the sea lion colony around the back of Coronado Island right off of Loreto, and our boat driver noticed whales blowing off in the distance so we headed over to them. They were 2 fin whales moving quickly. These whales are big and sleek, And very beautiful to see swimming. We also saw 3 schools of dolphins and very playful sea lions. And, if that wasn't enough, the boys also successfully snorkeled at a white sand beach on the island. There is an English language bookstore in Loreto. I am going to look for a copy of Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez travel journal.

Cathy and Anne are out looking for Blue whales today. The boys and I are having a very quiet day hanging around Hugo House. Liam, especially, is in need of some down time. I will not go into the details of how I am so acutely aware of this!

Photos of Cave Painting and Reproductions

The marvelous painting above are reporoductions of paintings found about 100 miles North of here. The figures are all about 9 feet tall. They are located in a canyon which requires an overnight trip using pack mules to visit, and are reported to be in very good shape. On our way back I hope to visit some that look like this but are within driving distance from the highway.

The painting at the bottom are the ones we visited at the oasis.

Cave Paintings and Swimming in an Oasis

The cave paintings within easy reach of a KIA and 2 kids are not particularly interesting here. T hey are geometric repeating patterns, and have been mostly erased by time and weather. However, the setting has probably remained much the same for the thousands of years that have passed. Desert cactus grow right up to the native palms which populate the wetter canyons of Baja. Some of the boulders around the oasis have the same coating of black and red that the drawings are made with, and it is easy to imagine that at one time the area around the river was decorated with painted designs. I look for arrowheads and other artifacts whenever I take a walk, but no luck yet.

Lourdes' Casa

we made some new friends. their names were anna y victor. Anna's mother was Lordes.

Colonial Mexico

Loreto Mision and building around the town square.

San Javier, and San Ignacio missions. Most of these missions were settled in the late 1600's by some very tough priests.

We are having a very low key day today. Liam slept late, ate a pretty good breakfast, and then went back to sleep. He is definately under the weather. Hopefully just a one day thing, and nothing serious. Meanwhile Ben is staging a little revolution of his own, and has not done any math or written work today. Cathy is off to the museum in Loreto, and then she'll watch Liam for awhile, while Ben and I take the binoculars to the estuary near here to see what interesting birds we can find.

My friend Cathy has Arrived/Bad Brothers

My dear friend Cathy has arrived from Memphis. She and I worked on Russian fishing boats in the Bering sea together over 2 decades ago (!) and she later worked as an Orca whale naturalist out of Anacortes, WA. We are awaiting her friend, Anne, to arrive this Thursday. Then we will all be heading out to see the whales on the Sea of Cortez. There are Blue, Fin and Humpback off of the Loreto coast right now. The Blue whales are the LARGEST animal to ever inhabit our PLANET. It would be beyond awesome to see one.

The boys are visiting our neighbors for 2 hours every day now. They say it is OK. Apparently the Mom speaks some English and is talking to them in English. They were playing a video game in a dirt floor house today when I picked them up. We'll give it a few more days. They are very nice people. I have also met the family across the way; the Mother is European, and the Dad is Mexican. Although their houses are on the same street, thses two families represent very different classes in Mexico. They too have invited us over. A good mix of playmates for the boys!

The boys are becoming well known around town with their cowboy hats!

A Few Photos

The market was a busy dusty afair. i unfortunately didn't take my camera. We spent most of our time looking at cheap toys, and Liam bought a Lightning Mcqueen car that plays a Mexican rock tune over and over again. He calls it his radio. I'm about to throw it away! Ben bought this lovely cowbay hat which he now wears everywhere. He didn't want to go biking yesturday as he had to take his new hat off, and wear his helmet.

The other photo is of our lane. The sea is at the end of it. The weather has been quite windy, and, while not cool, not scorching either; not warm enough to encourage a swim in the ocean. There is a hotel around the corner that OK'ed us using their pool for a price. So, I've got that activity in my back pocket for when the boys need something really fun to do.

Dad, Loreto is definately not a small village. I think the population is 15,000. Tim, thanks for the link to the math site. I think I will have Ben look at the fraction lessons, though they are very short and basic.

Hugo House

We love the Hugo house here in Loreto. It is the last house on a sandy lane at the end of Loreto's seawall. Very close to the main town square, yet far enough away to be quiet. There is a Mexican family 2 houses down with kids the boys age, and Liam is down there now trying to make friends. Their mother has agreed to watch the boys for 2 hours every afternoon. I am hoping that the boys will pick up some Spanish over there. We'll see how it goes. Ben is a little shy, and since he learned of his fate has been studying a Spanish phraase book.

Loreto is lovely. I'll post some photos in the next few days. there is a large part of the colonial town that is closed off to cars where all of the kids meet in the evening with their roller blades (seems to be the thing here) and bikes. Bob and I got the boys some used bikes at a second hand place and they are very pleased with them. Prices are very high here. Like USA prices. I don't understand how the average Mexican can afford to live here.

Bob left about an hour ago and we feel quite deflated. But tomorrow is another day, and another adventure. Sundayis the day of the open market in Loreto. Should be interesting.

Whale Video

More Photos of Whales

There were whales everywhere we looked, most traveling in mother calf pairs. Absolutely amazing. We had a Mother go under our boat and lift it slightly out of the water; too close for my comfort. I was very worried the baby was going to get hit by the propellor. The boys kept getting sprayed by the whales spouting right under the bow of the boat. Nobody fed the whales to attract them. As 'Wild Bird Song' (one of our boat companions) said in her quiet, slow voice, "The whales choose to come to the boats."

The road out to the whales was about 50 nightmarish kilometers. Washerboard ruts interspersed with sand drifts that scraped the bottom of the car. Bob made me drive the return trip to town as I had so many ideas (very good ones I think) on how he should manage the road trip out there. I tried to reflect Wild Bird Song's inner peace. It worked until the boys started using their water bottles as machine guns in the back seat.

I'll try and upload a movie of the whales tonight. Bob has to edit it to a manageable size.

A Day with the Whales

whales are sensative in the blow hole, eyes, fins, and tail. There were over 300 gray whales in the lagoon. They come to the lagoon because it's there calfing ground. Sometimes i thoght that the whale would crash into the boat. when I was peting the whale I observed that it's body was soft and smooth.

San Ignacio/ An Oasis in the Desert

We are in the beautiful colonial town of San Ignacio settled by the Jesuits in the 1600's (I think) although it was a Cochimi Indian settlement long before that. The Jesuits planted dozens of date palms around the lagoon which have thrived over the centuries. It is our luck that it is date season now. Yummy.

Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to see the grey whales in their calving grounds, and then we'll spend another night in this lovely hotel.

Scenes From the Desert

We were amazingly lucky to see this coyote on the edge of the road. Bob had slowed so I could take a photo, when I noticed him/her resting there. We saw only one other coyote crossing the road on the trip through the desert, though we knew there must be scads of them around us.