Tres Dias en Paradisio!

Finally!  Time to siesta!....we were so busy stateside wrapping up projects, graduating UCLA, packing up the house, saying ump-teen goodbyes to our friends and family, heading from Ventura to Hermosa to El Centro, navigating the border and riding to San Felipe...beating the devil himself on the Road of Bones, and finally,  it's time for some relaxation!  Whatta you think??....three days sounds pretty good to us!

Our rustic palace Villa Bahia

Coming down the grade into the Bay of LA, we stopped to fill up at the PEMEX station and ran into Freddy, the local "stylish guy" who should be in West Hollywood but he's busy in Mexico helping sojourners like Malin and me.  He turned us onto "Villa Bahia", a little ranchito north of town run by Roger, a USC doctorate holder, who waited until he was about 70 years old to make the smartest decision of his life...moving to Baja and running a seaside rustic resort.  For 60 bucks a night, we were sold...and Roger almost didn't want the money...or at least he didn't like the idea of being a capitalist...he just wanted to see his guests smile...and that we did!

Our view of Vulcan Coronado

But hold on...there was an invasion coming...we were blindsided by Team San Diego!  And they had a keg in tow...this could get really bad (or really good)...time would tell...in fact it took about a good 5 minutes before we were officially introduced to the Allen Family!  Probably the sweetest bunch of folks we have met in a long time...there was Grandpa Nate and his wife, daughter Sharlene and her son Shawn, as well as son Joe and wife Molly, their kids, and their friends from Torrance, Fabian and Elizabeth, and their kids.  It was like Swiss Family Robinson for three days! 

Fabian was the master chef, I believe he is a computer guy by trade, but has a lot of restaurant (and sport-fishing) experience, and being from Argentina, he had lustful way of preparing all of the fresh fish they caught every day...we're talking Yellowtail sashimi, all  you can eat!  Malin and I were kind of like the moto-backpackers...we didn't have a lot to offer anyone else, but we smiled and enjoyed the company, and Fabian and the Allen Family wouldn't let us go hungry...it's just the Baja way...and to refuse is a non-starter, so it was time to imbibe!  We ate, drank and had a merry time with these guys.

Our cuarto Papagayo

Joe Allen is a doctor (as well as a guitar player, artist, diver, fisherman, etc) and he administered tetanus shots to  me and his sister Sharlene.  The latter had been bitten by a cat, and I had just had a little tequila and thought it would be good idea:)   This is where we had our first internet access (as long as there was diesel in the generator that is), so this where we were when we sent our first blog entries.  This place was paradise, but you need to remember that Baja is rustic - you don't have 24-7 electricity, you can't flush your toilet paper, and anything cold needs to be drunk before it gets hot!

Malin and I had an unforgettable time...just the togetherness and the camaraderie of our new friends was so heartwarming.  Our host Roger was uber-gracious, and seeing him walk around with his perpetual smile and liter of Tecate in hand was worth the price of admission.  It was really hard to say goodbye to these guys...you almost contemplate the "Old Irish" goodbye, where you just leave quietly to avoid any emotion, but not in this case...these guys were special...maybe one day we'll tow Petey and Josh's boat down here and go fishing for the big stuff with Fabian and the Allen Family....I could totally see that happening. 

Fabian the sashimi chef!

So Sharlene and family and friends, if you're reading this....we miss you guys!

Dr. Allen with harmonica backup

Shawn with the Yellowtail

Bloging is hard work

The Unstoppables!

Just another day...