TravelStream™ news feed for member greg-adrienne on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/greg-adrienne en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:17:00 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1181525100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1181525100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1181525100/tpod.html Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:17:00 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Mexico City, Mexico

After leaving Guanajuato we spent 1 day/2 nights in Queretaro, another charming colonial city that gets favourable reviews but that, in our view, didn´t compare to Guanajuato. We then continued on towards Mexico City, arriving on May 15. We weren't keen on driving in the big city so we left the van at a campsite about 40 kms north of the city, and then made our way to the historic city centre by way of public bus, the metro and walking. Our first night there, we opted for the all-you-can-eat Chinese food buffet...Grandpa Stan would have been pleased with the selection. Although it was another "Let's Go Mexico " recommended budget number ($30 per night), our hotle - Hotel Isabel - was brilliant: the massive room had a double vaulted ceiling, reading lights beside the bed, a decent reading chair, and a balcony that provided great views of the bustling street life below. It was also only 4 or 5 blocks from the zocalo/main plaza (where the week before Spencer Turnick had set a personal record by convincing 18,000 Mexicans to doff their clothes for his photo shoot) and several of the other main attactions. The only downside was that this part of the city completely clears out at night, leaving us feeling a bit uneasy when we dared to venture out after dark. For the most part, Mexico City was cleaner, more attractive and less disordered than we had expected, and had far more attractions than we could ever see in a week (we managed to get to 11 galleries/museums).When the week was over, we retrieved the van and spent some 90 minutes (and $20 in tolls) circling the northern edge of the city so that we could reach the ruins at Teotihuacan. Those who study these things are not yet sure who the inhabitants of Teotihuacan were. However, before its demise in about 650 AD, it was occupied by some 125,000 people. We arrived at the ruins early in the morning, before the inevitable tourist buses, allowing us to climb the steep stairs to the top of the pyramids (the same stairs that thousands of unfortunate people climbed before being sacrificed) and quietly contemplate the amazing feat of construction that these people pulled off some 2000 years ago. Following our day at Teotihuacan, we headed east towards the city of Puebla. Highlights of Mexico City:- Temple Mayor, the partially restored Aztec ruins in the centre of Mexico City that were discovered in 1978. The Temple Mayor site, which was the Aztec place of worship, sits a stone's toss from the zocalo and from the Catedral Metropolitana, the largest church in Latin America. - Going to a soccer game between Mexico City's own America (the New York Yankees of Mexican soccer) versus Santos, a team from Brasil, in Mexico's soccer shrine, Azteca Stadium. Luckily, as we entered the stadium, the guy behind me in line told me to stuff my belt in my underwear so as to avoid having it confiscated by security, as a possible weapon. As we made our ways to our seats, we both were both breathless for a moment because of the assualt on our senses: 110,000 fans, a sea of yellow shirts, scarfs, capes, headbands, etc., beating drums, clapping and chanting. The only downside of the night is that after dishing out $30 bucks for scalper tickets, we found out that tickets to the game had been given away for free to those who bought tickets for the next night's league game. Adrienne thought that some better planning could have been in order.-In return for Adrienne having been such a good sport and attending the soccer game (probably one of only about 10 women), and enduring being sardined into a stiflingly hot subway car for an hour to get to the stadium, and having her butt grabbed by another passenger during the ride, I agreed to go a contemporary/interpretive dance performance in a small studio in Coyoacan, one of the city's nicer neighbourhoods. Still not sure what the message was, nor why the dancers threw hundreds of limes all over the stage during one piece, but it was far more enjoyable than I expected it to be.- The murals by the Big 3 of Mexican painting - Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros - that cover the hallways, interior roofs, and stairwells of several buildings throughout the city, and which depict Mexico's history including the terrible hardships suffered by the indigenous people. - the La Condesa neighbourhood: a mix of restaurants and bars that spilled our on the streets and were full of after-work drinkers. This is definitely where the cool kids hang out. - Starbucks: yes, it has found its way to Mexico City and, fully alive to the fact that we were selling out, we enjoyed drinking strong coffee and fraps in a vibrant "coffee bar" setting. - the Metro system - it was clean, fast and cheap (20 cents a ride). Lowlights:- we did the hop-on, hop-off, double decker bus tour on the same day that the city was virtually paralyzed by a (small) demonstration by some public sector workers upset over reforms to their social security system. Instead of seeing the highlights of the city we spent most of 3 hours driving through the barrios of Mexico City as the driver tried to find an appropriate detour. This "alternative" tour ended up including several stops so that we could ask for directions, being hit in the face by tree branches as we whizzed down side sreeets and almost being decapitated by low lying wires. - once the bus tour finally got back on track we came across a second, less disruptive, but far more interesting demonstration - a hundred or so people - the women naked,the men in their tightie whities (and bluies, redsies, etc.) - parading down the medians and sidewalks of Paseo De La Reforma, the city's main corridor.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1176001680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1176001680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1176001680/tpod.html Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:14:00 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

After leaving El Fuerte, we headed south down the coast, staying 2 nights at a little beach area - Playa Los Glorias - before arriving in Mazatlan. We had only planned to stay 1 night at Los Glorias but after I woke up Adrienne in the middle of night, complaining that I felt sick and was seeing a "white light", and then fainted, we decided that the next day shouldn`t be a driving day. Still not sure what the problem was but by the next morning I felt fine. My "Doctor" still seems to be stressed over the severe symptoms and lack of diagnosis, however. We opted for the expensive toll roads ($23 US in total) on the drive from El Fuerte to Mazatlan, which we were happy about when it allowed us to basically bypass Culiacan, which apparently is home to a drug cartel or cartels and known as Little Bogata. The toll roads are 4 lanes, have no one on them, and make for easy driving. Our campsite in Mazatlan was perfectly located in that it was a 1 minute walk from the main strip, the beach and the malecon (as well as the nightclub complex that Adrienne and Kelly frequented while on vacation when they were 18). It was a bit noisy at night but we were happy to be able to park the van, fully set up our camping gear, and walk or bus everywhere. (The location was actually so good that the campsite was shutting down at the end of March so that a Costco can be erected).We left Mazatlan on March 22, en route to Puerta Vallarta where we were scheduled to meet Kelly (the other princess from the Princess Palace) on March 30. About 2/3rds of the way between Mazatlan and PV we left the main highway, and headed west to San Blas. At this point the landscape became lush, green and tropical, a nice change after the desert and barren landscape of much of the Baja. We stayed in San Blas for 2 nights, and then made our way further south about 3 hours to La Penita de Jaltempa, another small coastal town that is still, for the most part, not on the tourist map, although it is on the RVers map. Most of the RVers have now headed home, however, and so we were able to have a perfect spot at a campsite that was on a bluff overlooking a never ending white sand beach with virtually no one on it. We ended up staying there 5 nights because the campsite was so beautiful, because it was Adrienne`s turn to feel sick for a few days (she was thrilled that another camper gave her both Glamour and Star magazines from last October), and because we are cheap and if we stayed 4 nights we got the 5th one free.Kelly arrived in PV as scheduled on March 30 and we headed an hour back up the coast to Sayulita where we had rented a casa for 5 nights. Sayulita was as advertised...a small little town right on the beach with dusty roads and authentic taco stands, but also with lots of higher-end restaurants and bars, and enough youngish tourists to make it interesting and very different from the fishing villages found further north. The casa was great, and Adrienne and I were in heaven to have Kelly's company, a blender, a pool and a bathroom that was connected to the room where we slept. We spent the last 2 nights of Kelly's trip in PV at a little hotel that was short on modern luxuries but long on charm and that had a rooftop patio bar that offered an absolutely unbeatable view of PV and the surrounding bay. Kelly, bless her heart, also motivated us to ditch the banana pancake/fish taco lifestyle for awhile and so we indulged in a couple of memorable meals at sexy, upscale eateries.The "high" of Kelly's visit was met with a thundering low as soon as we dropped her off at the airport, but after tossing around the idea of getting a hotel for a couple of hours, we dragged ourselves to a campsite fairly close to the old town, and stayed 3 more nights in PV, before heading south once again. We actually are happy to say that we have managed to adjust fairly quickly back to the camping lifestyle. Highlights of the last 3 weeks or so:~the liquado (fruit shake) stand across the street from our campsite in Mazatlan. For $2 we had massive fresh fruit smoothies, huge bowls of fresh fruit with yogurt and granola, etc.;~surfing lessons in San Blas (from Pompi, a former Mexican long board champion) and Sayulita, although there were so many novice surfers like us in Sayulita that we couldn't find any room on the "break" to "catch the wave". I ended up aborting the surf mission early on in fear of a collision occuring and the legal implications attached. The girls, however, were successful in dodging the boaters, swimmers, and other boarders for at least a while;~ the extra 2 hours of light at night that we now have as a result of moving into the Central Time Zone (at PV) and the start (or is it end?) of daylight savings;~ surviving, for the most part, Semana Santa (Holy Week) when the entire Mexican population heads to the beach towns for a week of vacation, and the campsites, hotels and beaches are absolutely packed. It's a much closer, louder, and more garbage tolerant type of camping and beaching than we are used to: envision families of 16 with 4 cars in each campsite with competing mariachi music blasting from 6 am to midnight. We´re definitely over the 'cultural experience' of it all;~Kelly's visit and the re~hashing (including in "rap" form at one point) of memories from Seymour Heights elementary and Windsor's concert choir. Lowlights of the last 3 weeks or so:~having to convalesce from our respective illnesses in a van;~ not having it in us to go to the club complex in Mazatlan that Adrienne and Kelly went to when they were 18;~ the seemingly sudden turning up of the thermostat once we arrived in PV. While hot weather is not normally a low light, very hot, muggy weather and trying to sleep in a VW van tent can be a lethal combination;-attending a 90-minute time-share presentation at the Sheraton in PV that, in actuality, lasted 4 hours (lowlight). The strong sell, however, wasn´t enough to make these 2 Canucks buckle and we managed to decline all the sell jobs (and there were plenty of them) before leaving with our stomachs full from the buffet breakfast and the promised loot bag in hand, which included a future 3-night stay at the hotel for $100 that we hope to use on the way home (highlight).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195446300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195446300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195446300/tpod.html Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:29:51 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Napa, California, United States

We didn't need to do an 11 month road trip to the Panama Canal in order to visit Napa Valley. But it made the wine taste that much better.We had stopped in Sonoma on the way south in January, and had been taken with the charm of the Sonoma Plaza area, which was basking in hot sunshine at the time.But our Sonoma stop just couldn't compete with the breathtaking fall colours in the Napa Valley in November. The orange, red and yellow hues on the vines imbued the entire valley with a warm autumn glow.We started at the south end at the somewhat sterile town of Napa, which left us feeling a bit cold.We nonetheless bookmarked the close by Skyline Wilderness Park, which allows camping, as a possible overnight option before venturing up the east side of the valley on the Silverado Trail.Our first stop, fittingly, was Silverado Vineyards. And while its tasting room offered a great view, it felt a bit tightly wound for us (although not snooty).The VW van wine tour next touched down at the acclaimed V. Sattui winery, in St. Helana. They have differentiated themselves by not selling any of their wines in stores or restaurants, only in their large store.V. Sattui also has a delectable gourmet deli and cheese shop and we stocked up on supplies for what would be our last dinner in the van. Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Yountville, and its Michelin Three Stars, would have to wait for another trip.Bothe Napa Valley State Park, where we ended up, is a second camping option in Napa Valley. It is off Highway 29, north of St. Helena (not too far north from V. Sattui ) on the way to Calistoga.(There is also camping in at the Napa Country Fairgrounds in Calistoga and at the Lake Berryessa area, which is in eastern Napa County a 45 drive from Napa Valley).There were only a handful of other hardy souls in the forested campgrounds when we pulled in just after dark and we spent our second to last evening on the road, cozy in the van drinking rich wines and toasting our good fortune.Soon after breakfast the next morning we headed out again to sample from the cluster of wineries near the campgrounds.We were too early for Sterling Vineyards and its celebrated aerial tram tour, and so settled for a tasting at nearby Cuvaison.From there, we made a return visit to V. Sattui and although were tempted to spend the day eating aged cheeses and drinking deep wines at their lovely picnic area, we knew we better move on.And so, after a final stop at the hipster Plumpjack winery, which is owned by Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, we drove away from the Valley with a slight glow on our faces and box full of wine on our floor.But there was one final treat in store for us before the deadening drive up the I-5 Highway.The picturesque Highway 128 from Napa Valley, past Lake Berryessa, and out to Highway 505 was as interesting a drive as we had been on the entire trip. It rivals, in my mind, British Columbia's breathtaking Duffy Lake Road, which has long been one my favourites drives.<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1168657860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1168657860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1168657860/tpod.html Sun, 30 Nov 2008 23:28:17 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

<i>See more about our road trip, and others' road trips, at www.roadtrippin.com - - - Two years out, we began to dream about the road trip in colour.A year out, we started to save our cash.Four months before our departure date, we bought our road maps and guide books and started tying up loose ends. We also got serious about teaching Adrienne to drive a stick shift.The month before we left was a blur of activity: packing up and moving out of our respective apartments, getting the right insurance on our van, canceling it on our other car and finding a place to store it, renewing our passports, updating our wills, duplicating debit and credit cards, arranging for income taxes to be filed, cutting spare keys, filling prescriptions, putting gym memberships on hold, setting up a travel blog.The list went on and on and on.At the same time, we were frantically hunting down people - friends of friends, acquaintances, and their friends - who had gone on simailar road trips so that we could ask questions which the guide books and websites didn't satisfactorily answer: Did we need a lap-top? A cell-phone? An international drivers license? Should we do anything more to the van to ensure we would be safe?So much for my plan of quitting my job a bit early so that I could really savour the Christmas season.And this road trip preparation process was expensive; we were opening our wallets wide for things like travel-medical insurance, the full suite of vaccination shots and new camping gear. The maps alone came to well over a $100.But the money we spent on these items pales in comparison to the cash we dropped on the van: the pre-trip mega tune-up, the tinted windows, the small safe we installed, and replacing the rusted out propane tank that powers the van's two burner stove and mini-fridge.The route planning process for the road trip, in contrast, was relatively easy. Much to Adrienne's chagrin, we never really did it. Every time we opened up a guidebook or looked at a map to start pinpointing where we wanted to go, we became overwhelmed by the enormity of the task and quickly moved on to do doing something more tangible.So the loose plan for now is to head down the Baja, ferry to the Mexican mainland, and then figure out the rest from there.By the time we finally pulled out of Vancouver late in the afternoon on January 12, 2007, in the midst of record cold-snap in the Pacific Northwest, we were more tired than excited and running mainly on adrenalin.The immediate plan was to get the first border crossing under our belt before night fell.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1227212160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1227212160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1227212160/tpod.html Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:54:40 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Joshua Tree, California, United States

Camping at Joshua Tree National Park on a sunny Veteran's Day weekend in November was a "pinch me" moment of the trip.Along with the turquoise waters of Tulum, the Chiriqui rainforests in Panama and Costa Rica's Caribbean beaches, the park was easily one of the most stunning spots we had seen during our travels.According to the park's promotional materials, "Joshua Tree National Park provides a haven from everyday routines, space for self-discovery, a refuge for the human spirit, and a sense of place in the greater scheme of things".And this is true, even though it sits just off Highway 8, only 140 east of Los Angeles.Without question, the appeal of the park lies in the stunning plant life and surreal geological displays that mark this place, where the Mojave and Colorado Desert ecosystems meet.The Cholla Cactus Garden was fascinating, the Joshua trees mesmerizing. And the cartoonish-looking rock formations create a landscape that resembles Bedrock, the prehistoric town where Barney, Wilma and the other Flintstones lived.The camping vibe was different here as well. No longer were we close Semana Santa neighbors with extended Mexican families who listened to loud Norteano music.Or with grey-haired snowbirds who congregate like clockwork for happy hour under their oversized RV awnings.The crowd here was California cool, decked out in their MEC gear, many game on spending the long weekend rock climbing. Campfires and headlamps replaced tiki lamps and portable bars.It reminded us of what camping is like at home in British Columbia.And it marked another step in the transition back to our "regular" lives, that we knew was now just days away.<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195071360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195071360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1195071360/tpod.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:35:55 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Buckeye, Arizona, United States

Life as we had known it for the last 10 months changed in Buckeye, Arizona.It is at Buckeye where the gentle north-south running Highway 85 intersects with Highway 10, an eight-lane super freeway that follows a straight line between LA and Phoenix.It was at Buckeye where we were thrust back into the frenetic North American way of life.It is the economy, stupid. Or at least it is on Highway 10, as every fourth truck barreling past us on the super energized transit route seemed to be either from Walmart/Sams Club or Fed-Ex.At the same time the pace of traffic increased 20-fold, the number of radio stations we could receive clearly exploded. Everyone wanted to sing or talk loudly to us. Or more to the point, sell us something we didn't need.But truth be told, while we were forced to press harder on the gas pedal, and to turn the radio down, the road tripping mode of travel inherently shielded us from experiencing unsettling culture shock.As we headed north we had had hours and days on the road to adjust to the gradual changes: there is a Starbucks in Puerto Vallarta but not in San Cristobal de das Casas. Many neighbourhoods in Hermosillo look like they belong in Tuscon, whereas Nicaragua looks like it belongs on a different planet.- - -We had crossed back into the US a day earlier, but the going ons in Lukeville, Arizona had hardly jarred our senses.Lukeville is in fact so small - a parking lot, a grocery store, an insurance office, a liquor store, a gas station, a hotel and the border post - that we missed it the first time.It wasn't until we had driven several kilometers down the road, reaching the entrance to the Oregon Pipe Cactus National Monument Park, that we had realized we had missed something, and turned around.And we only did turn around because the rates at the Gringo Pass Motel and RV Park were slightly cheaper than at the campsite at the national monument and the views of the stunning Sonoran Desert landscape were almost as good.Even with the Canadian dollar soaring at $1.08 US, we needed to keep an eye on our depleted bank accounts.<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194466560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194466560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194466560/tpod.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:35:14 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Lukeville, Arizona, United States

The road trip comptroller had spent most the morning unearthing receipts we had squirreled away in every recess of the van the last ten months and then crunching the numbers.Adrienne was worried that our VW van "profile" would lead to a full court press interrogation by the US border officials.But it turned out that it wasn't getting back into the US that we had to worry about. They have bigger fish to fry than two transiting Canadians and it took us about 30 seconds to be processed at the small Sonoyta/Lukeville border outpost.(The orderly border was such a welcome contrast to the general mayhem that prevails at the Central America borders).- - -No, it was getting out of Mexico with our paid for paperwork in tact that was the problem.The Nogales border crossing is far more popular, as it links directly with Highway 15, which extends south in Mexico to Tepic, which is about half way between Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta.We decided, however, to cut farther west to Sonoyta/Lukeville, the border used to access Rocky Point in Puerto Penasco.Advised by the gas station attendant that the libre (free) road from Santa Ana to the border was 70 kilometres longer than the cuota (toll), we opted for the latter.The Mexican immigration office, where we were required to turn in our vehicle permit and get our passports stamped, actually sits by itself in the middle of the desert about 30 kilometers south of Lukeville.Nine months earlier in La Paz on the Baja we had purchased a 10 year vehicle permit, which should have allowed us return in the van over the next decade and not pay anything.We had, however, mistakenly given the original copy of the permit to a Mexican official in Chetumal when we left the country and entered into Belize back in June.This mistake had taken us two hours to sort throughNot having the original paperwork had forced us to spend two hours fighting our way back into Mexico a few weeks earlier, at the Guatemala/Mexico border. It carried no weight that we had:1) given the paperwork to the Mexican official at his request;2) a photocopy; and3) a valid sticker on our windshield and we were still in the computer system.While we had ultimately been allowed to return to Mexico from Guatemala, the same bureaucratic black hole re-surfaced at this lonely Mexican immigration office.More based on principle than the likelihood that we would be taking the van back to Mexico anytime soon, we wanted pour ten year permit continued.But it was to no avail.And after 90 minutes of arguing in the Banjercito we gave up, signed the form stating we had "lost" the permit, and set out sights on Lukeville.<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1226895660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1226895660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1226895660/tpod.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:33:44 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Los Osos, California, United States

We limped back into the Go Westy garage with a series of injuries and battle scars that had accumulated over the last ten months in Mexico and Central America:A front door lock latch that had broken at Tikal and could be fixed without the part, thus requiring us, for the last six months, to wiggle our finger in it before shutting the door.A passenger-side mirror that was being held on only duck tape, courtesy of an encounter with a streetlight in Acapulco.A rear end bumper that was mangled in several places from reversing into palm trees, bricks walls and telephone polls.Add on a few other odds and sods in need of repair, and an upgrade to the High Power Headlight Kit, and our wallets were, just like that, over $1,000 lighter.Nobody ever said that roadtripping came cheap.But when you have your VW van in Southern California, a resource like Go Westy is just too good to pass up.Our day in Los Osos had been deju vu all over again, in that the same mechanic - Dustin - worked on our van, we had passed the time waiting at the same delicious breakfast joint a few blocks from the garage, and after all was said and done then had returned to the Morro Dunes Travel Trailer & Resort Campground to spend the frigid night.- - -Prior to meandering through the California foothills to Ventura and then up the coast on Highway 101 to Los Osos, we had spent five days decompressing/acclimatizing at my brother's house in Valencia, a bedroom community 70 miles north LA and home to Six Flags Magic Mountain.Chris and his family had moved their in June for work reasons, after spending the last several years in the Toronto area.They were greeted their first month by an angry forest fire a valley over and had even been forced to evacuate their house for a few days.But the fire had missed their house, meaning we could now bask beside the pool in 25 C plus late November weather and enjoy the company of family.Do we really have to go home?<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194332100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194332100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1194332100/tpod.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:30:59 -0500 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Magdalena de Kino, Mexico

If you find yourself with 5 hours to kill in Puerta Vallarta, have the internal fortitude to endure an ultra-aggressive sales-pitch, and enough flexibility that you can return to PV on just a few weeks notice, we recommend signing up for the time-share presentation at the Sheraton Bouganvilias Resort. We did on our way south (back in April) and it led to us having one of the nicest - and cheapest - sun "vacations" either of us could remember. Given that we had spent most of 2007 not working and in hot, exotic locales, it may not make sense at first why we would enjoy a week at the Sheraton so much. But traveling generally (as opposed to vacationing), and living in a VW van in particular, can make for trying times; just about every facet of day-to-day living - from how we prepared our meals, to how we went the bathroom in the middle of the night, to how we stored our clothes - was a lot more challenging than it is in the condo back at home.We knew from walking around the hotel on the way down that it was fairly high end, but as we hurried up the Pacific Coast we tried to keep our expectations in check to avoid being disappointed. It was, after all, a time-share presentation freebie. Or at least close to it, at $265/7 nights. Thus, when we opened the door to a fully stocked kitchen - the kitchen was an extra deftly negotiated by Ades - a balcony overlooking the pool, and a view of the ocean - we were pretty excited. Throw in the A/C, a comfy bed, and a clean shower that had hot water and lots of pressure, and we felt like we had been given court-side tickets to Game 7 of a LA Lakers playoff series. Given this luxury, it should come as no surprise that, other than a few brief outings to the nearby Commercial Mexicana grocery store and the internet lab, we didn't leave the hotel for the first 4 days. We were content to lounge by the pool, read the USA Today, take advantage of the fitness facilities and use the blender to prepare frozen boozy tropical drinks. Towards the end of the week - after Ades recovered from the 24-hour flu and I had finished my phone interview with West Coast Environmental Law - we ventured into town, about a 15 minute walk away, to do some shopping (Ades never really tires of shopping for silver jewelry) and to take in El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) festivities. El Dia de los Muertos is a national holiday in Mexico and as we had discovered over the course of our trip, the Mexicans have a different perspective on death than we do. As Mexican Nobel prize winner Octavio Paz states in his famous book The Labyrinth of Solitude: "The Mexican is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. It is one of his favorite toys and his most steadfast love." (Note: This fatalistic attitude was most evident to us when large semi-trucks would pass us on blind s-curves).The day itself, which is thought by some to have started with the Aztecs, is a time to remember, celebrate and communicate with loved ones who have died. It is a happy occasion and outside the gates of the cemetery we visited, there was a carnival atmosphere with the the roads blocked off and vendors gathered to sell their Day of Dead wares - including tiny skulls made of sugar. Inside the gates, the cemetery was a beehive of activity, as family members streamed in and covered their loved ones' tombstones with flowers, photos, candles, incense, toys, favourite food and drinks. Families were picnicking and listening to music, the kids laughing and playing tag. Our week of blissful, easy hotel living ended far too quickly, though, and on November 3 we re-packed the van and started north once again. We spent the first night in San Blas and the next in Mazatlan, retracing the route we had taken south several months earlier. After seeing most of Mexico, it's clear to us that Mazatlan - full of tacky souvenir stores, boozing college students and 2nd tier hotels - occupies the lowest rung on the Mexican resort town ladder. However, it is without a doubt the best resort town to camp in given the quality, number and location of the campsites. Add in the perfect climate - hot during the day, but not too hot, cool enough at night to sleep well - and it made it pretty hard to leave. The 796-kilometre, one-day push from Mazatlan up Highway 15 to San Carlos (on the Sea of Cortez) tested our endurance, not to mention the van's engine. But, given that I started my new job on November 23, and that we still had a lot of ground to cover before then, we were left with little choice but to bite off these big travel days. As we motored north it became clear that the winter exodus of retirees from Canada and the US had begun: I stopped counting after 20 how many RVs passed us going south - usually traveling in packs of twos and threes, many with BC license plates. It was all somehow comforting to us, as we didn't feel alone on the road anymore as we had for so much of the trip. The RV traffic also provided a useful diversion while driving, as the scenery was less attractive than on the way down, the fields beside the highway now harvested and laying brown and bare. (Mexico's northern frontier is the Mexico that is often depicted in movies (like Babel) and novels: Low-lying desert hills dotted with scrub grass and cactus. Dry and dusty towns full of Tex-Mex restaurants (in most of Mexico, tacos don't come topped with cheese and sour cream). Streets full of beat-up 1970s American sedans stuffed full of Mexican families. Gringos everywhere - be it bikers, hippies, or college kids - looking to "drop out" for a while. In hindsight, I think this was the Mexico I had envisioned in my mind before the trip, the Mexico I had in fact romanticized. While it too is "authentic" Mexico, it turns out it is only one sliver of the country). We spent our final night in Mexico, November 6, camped in the parking lot of Motel Kino in the non-descript town of Magdalena de Kino, shivering despite wearing our long-johns and long-sleeved shirts. Given that we had almost froze to death at night during our first few weeks on the Baja, we felt like our 10-month odyssey had come full circle. <i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com <i>Highlights-Licuado Stand, Mazatlan: Just like returning to the cake lady in Barra de Navidad had been a mission, so was getting our hands on the oversized-licuados (fruit shakes) at the stand across from our old campsite - La Posta RV Park - on Avenue Rafael Buelna. (La Posta, which closed down the week after we left, was now about 1/3 of the way to being a mega grocery store). We made the licuado stand our first stop on arriving back in Mazatlan and our last stop before leaving. -La Pilarica rest-stop, Los Mochis: La Pilarica was the only North American style rest-stop we saw in all of Mexico and Central America. With picnic tables, clean washrooms, a food court and a gas station, it could compete with rest stop complexes that we have seen in the Eastern US. In a pinch, it might even be an okay place to camp for the night. -Inspection stops, Sinaloa/Sonora state border: Just before the Sinaloa/Sonora state line (Sonora borders Arizona; Sinaloa is the state immediately below Sonora), we came upon a row of semis that were parked on the highway and blocking all traffic. Without exaggerating, it probably stretched for 2 kilometers. We quickly decided that if we didn't follow the car in front of us that had cut across the median and was driving the wrong-way down one of the oncoming lanes of traffic, we would be stuck in the line-up for days. The cause of the hold-up turned out to be a large military checkpoint where it looked like every truck was required to have its trailer searched (presumably for drugs and/or illegal immigrants). This kind of inspection must be an enormous inefficiency for business, as the transportation of goods literally comes to a stand still. Later that afternoon, closer to Guaymas, we went through a second similarly congested checkpoint, and one that also marked the spot where the road trip almost came to a premature end. In short, it wasn't as easy to bypass this line of semis at the one; this one involved reversing down the sandy side of a steep gully that served as the highway shoulder. After watching a successful attempt by a pick-up and a minivan, we got up the confidence to reverse our top-heavy van sideways down the shaky slope. It was our only shot at reaching our campsite by dark. Half way down the van wavered and we thought we were going to tip. but luckily gravity was on our side and we got down unscathed. After 4x4ing through the 'Dukes of Hazard' gully crash course for a kilometer or so, we arrived at the military checkpoint and we were waved on. Lowlights-Starbucks, Puerta Vallarta: In the five month interval between our two stops, PV acquired its first Starbucks, just off the malecon in Peninsula Plaza. PV has now started down the mono-culture coffee course that we know all too well about in Vancouver.-Toll Roads: Given the distance between Mazatlan and San Carlos, we opted to take the faster toll roads the entire way. In total, we passed through 9 (!) toll booths and paid out a whopping $55 in tolls.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1169781780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1169781780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greg-adrienne/mexico_et_al./1169781780/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:31:43 -0400 Roadtrippin´ Adventures in a VW Van.

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Santa Barbara, California, United States

<i>See more about our roadtrip, and others' roadtrips, at www.roadtrippin.com January 19, 2007The yurt cabins in South Beach State Park on Oregon's famed coast were advertised as being heated. They were anything but. We hunkered down in one the second night of our trip, somehow managing to survive the sub-zero temperatures. It soon became apparent, however, that we were not the only objects that had froze over night. Just after we pulled out the state park, a few kilometres south of Newport, the van's stick shift froze. It was only the third day of the road trip and were off to an inauspicious start. The first two garages we had the van towed to didn't have a clue about working on a VW van. The mechanic at the third garage winced as he gave us the diagnosis: we needed a new transmission and clutch, it would take five days for the parts to be shipped and installed, and none of it would come cheap.Newport is not the jewel of the Oregon coast. Busy Highway 101 - lined with big box stores, fast food restaurants and car dealerships - is its main street. To make matters worse, the Pacific Northwest was being ravaged by a record cold spell.The only saving grace was that it is still possible to find "motor inn" motels next to the highway for $30 per night. The decently appointed and conveniently located Newport Motor Inn motel came with a TV and a microwave, allowing us to dull the pain by drinking Widmer hefeweizen and watching 10 hours back-to-back-to-back of "Top Chef" episodes (we are devasted that Sam didn't make it to the final two); The fact that Adrienne called 911 the second night to report a domestic dispute in the room above us should be overlooked. Days were spent at McDonalds, Fred Meyer and Wal-Mart. I liked McDonalds the best as they offer free small coffees between 6 and 8 am. Before leaving home, we had managed to put $25,000 in our war chest to fund the trip. But by the time we pulled out of Newport five days later, our wallets were $3,000 lighter and I was worried that our year-long adventure would in fact turn out be three months heading down the Baja and back up again. At least we had declined the offer of having a big good-bye party. - - - January 20, 2007The woman pouring vino at Hanna Winery & Vineyard in Sonoma had driven down the Baja a handful of times and we were as eager to gulp down her stories as we were her red wine. The sun had finally greeted us when we crossed from Oregon into California but we had still been forced to tough out another freezing night of camping at Dean Creek Resort in Redway, California. Redway, we were later told, is known for pot growers and low-flying police helicopters. By the time we reached downtown Sonoma, the weather was a balmy 18 degrees and the town square was swollen with families out for a stroll. We could smell fresh cut grass and meat grilling on the barbeques. Our stop at Hanna Winery & Vineyard was followed by a second stop at Ravenswood and a third at Cline Cellers and by end of the day, our spirits had lifted and the glow had retuned to our faces, if not our view of the trip. We concluded that would be able recover from the "Newport Experience" after all. - - - January 21, 2007We spent an early morning on a low bluff watching transfixed as hundreds and hundreds of elephant seals jostled and tusseled, snorted and bellowed, primped and preened on the Piedras Blancas Rookery. The Rookery is near San Simeon, not far from the start of the long driveway into Hearst Castle.According to the Friends of the Elephant Seal website, up to 15,000 of the seals occupy these tiny strips of beach twice each year, coming out of the water in the summer to molt and then again in the winter to give birth and rest. We had cut out to the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) at Monterey the day before our elephant seal encounter so that we could meander on the 17 Mile Drive through historic Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Forest. The Pacific Coast Highway, which snakes high around central California's jagged coastline, is one of the most spectucular, but also exhausting, stretches of the road anywhere in North America. As late afternoon turned to evening, it became clear that we would not be able to reach Los Osos, our destination, until after dark. The decision to stop at the scenically located Mill Creek Campsite - just off the highway, about 100 miles south of Carmel and 80 miles north of Los Osis - turned out to be the right one if for no other reason than we had one of the most spectacular sunsets we were to witness in the entire trip.
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