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The Chronicles of Gregor, Janice, and their VW Van 'Lucky'

North America

Three Awesome Conversations

We drove from the whale watching eco-camp in Laguna San Ignacio to the bustling city of La Paz in 7 days. Our goal was to take the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan and explore mainland Mexico.

As we traveled south down the Baja peninsula, we met other nomadic travellers that we kept running into over and over again along the way.

One couple that followed our same path was Annie and Jeff of Roads to Roots. Annie is a gardener and Jeff is a bike mechanic. These fun-loving bohemians from Colorado souped up their white VW van, ‘Delilah’, to explore Baja and western USA.

We first met Annie and Jeff at the Mexican border. By coincidence, we met them again at the whale watching site in Laguna San Ignacio and then two more times in Baja.

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Janice March 21, 2015 Mexico, North America, Pan-American Trail

The Great Migration: Baja Grey Whales

It was our second day at Don Eddie’s campground, near San Quintin, Baja California, Mexico. We were joined by another overlanding crew: Colin, Carrie, and their little dog, Sprite, from Wake the Dead Diaries. We met these fine folks a few days earlier at the San Diego KOA, just before we crossed the border into Tijuana. Like us, they are migrating southward to Ushuaia, Argentina. (more…)

Janice February 24, 2015 Mexico, North America, Pan-American Trail

Intro to Mexico

Roosters. It was the sound of roosters crowing. I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of the van in the darkness. “Funny,” I thought to myself, “I didn’t know there were roosters in Banff National Park.” And then I remembered…

We’re in Mexico.

Just the day before, we camped at the KOA in San Diego and crossed the border at Tijuana. This was our first morning on the Baja peninsula. We had camped at an RV park called Don Eddie’s, located just outside of San Quintin. It was all coming back to me.

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Janice February 17, 2015 Mexico, North America, Pan-American Trail

LA in a Day

The week following Lucky’s rehab was pretty hectic. We had scheduled visits with friends and family in the greater Los Angeles area, but with Lucky’s delay at GoWesty and Gregor having to work in between driving days, there wasn’t a lot of time for sightseeing.

Gregor and I were camped at Malibu Creek State Park, California, when we started planning the driving route for the next day. Our goal was to drive to Riverside for a 5 pm dinner with Gregor’s friend, Babak, and his family.

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Janice February 10, 2015 North America, Pan-American Trail, USA

Lucky Comes Out of Rehab

Today was the day. Our plan was to pick up Lucky from rehab at GoWesty, drop off the rental car, and spend a final night in Oceano before heading towards Mexico.

We paced anxiously at GoWesty’s reception area, waiting for the shop manager to deliver Lucky to us. Having been separated for two weeks, we could hardly wait to see her. (more…)

Janice February 7, 2015 North America, Pan-American Trail, USA, Van Life