Shifting Gears

After two long days of driving we couldn’t get motivated to start early. We learned the Arctic Fox has an unexpected advantage over the Chalet (our RV last year). Bob woke at 6am and sat on the loveseat to read for 45 minutes, and doing so didn’t wake or disturb Cathryn – not something that could have happened in the Chalet. Amazing what a bit more space and “room separation” produces! We left Oceanside at 10am, arrived at Mexican customs at noon, and cleared quickly after they examined the inside of our RV. We parked on the street and returned to Immigration to get our Tourist visas stamped (always a more lengthy, bureaucratic process than seems necessary). By 12:30 we were on our way south in Baja Mexico having felt the whole border crossing process went much more smoothly than last year. Traveling through the wine region, we passed our first military checkpoint, though they weren’t stopping southbound vehicles. The weather was warm and sunny, about 70 degrees, when we reached Ensenada. Since we’d gotten a slow start we decided not to continue to San Quintin as planned, so stopped at Centro Recretivo Mi Refugio, 10 miles south of Ensenada, a repeat from last winter. This is the place where a family has an unusual crenellated castle with adjacent RV parking for about 15 vehicles, overlooking a lovely estuary connected to the Pacific Ocean. We arrived by 4pm, so sat in the sun looking at the water and mountains beyond, drinking a beer, reading books and doing a couple small projects.

We’re finding, so far, that returning for a second winter is more relaxed and easier – we recognize where we are, know the routines, and have fewer questions about customs and conventions.