Home At Last

There’s not much to say about the drive home from Bakersfield. Except that Jackie was taking care of Mikaela and Azusa this afternoon. So rather than driving directly to Santa Rosa, I stopped for the afternoon in Richmond. We took the girls shopping for new swim suits and coverups for their birthday; made dinner for everyone; then home at last!

P. S. For those of you eager for more photos, click here for some from the Baja and Back caravan:

Back to the U.S. of A.

We got an early start this morning, rolling out of camp before 9 am. The traffic through Ensenada was not to bad, and Hwy 3 to Tecaté provided a more scenic route than the toll road to Tiajuana, including views of the wine country northeast of Ensenada. There was no line at the border, just one car in front of me. While I waited a took a picture of the sign announcing the U.S. Border station. Then, when I got to the guard, his first question was to ask me for my camera – so he could erase the picture I took! A silly, to me, regulation about taking pictures of U.S. security facilites!
Other than that, and having to give up an apple to the customs inspector, the crossing was easy.
It was great to be able to drive wide spacious highways, but I could do without the L.A. traffic. I avoided the worst of the Los Angeles basin by following I-15 north through Riverside, then west across the Tehachapis to Bakersfield, spending the night in a shopping center parking lot with half a dozen other RVs.

North to Santa Tomás

It was cold this morning in Cataviña, so cold that I woke up at 4 am and put a knit cap on my head. When I got up at 7, it was 41 degrees outside and 44 inside. When I turned on the furnace and started making coffee, it started to warm up and by the time I went outside it was still cool, but very pleasant. I went for a long walk amid and cactus and granite boulders and when I returned the other two couples were ready to travel.
Today’s drive was an uneventful run up Mexico 1 to the Santa Tomás valley, just south of Ensenada. This leaves us in easy driving distance of the border crossing at Tecaté, which less busy than the one at Tiajuana.
The five of us had a enjoyable pot-luck dinner in Tom and Joanne’s rig – spaghetti and meatballs, green salad, garlic bread, wine, and a special dessert. Diane served flan (bought ready-made in individual servings), over which she poured a liqueur called Rompope – milky-colored, rum flavored – it made a delicious combination.
We’ll travel together tomorrow as far Spring Valley east of San Diego. Then I head north and they head for San Diego. (I took no photos today!)