Our Casita in San Carlos

We really found a sweet place to hang out for our first few nights in Mexico!  Great little casita in the marina area.  Easy to get to everything around San Carlos and perfect for Sweet Pea!  Our host, who lives in the main house, was great to talk with, though he stayed pretty scarce unless we needed him.

Obviously, where we sleep :)

Outdoor Living Area

The casita is a small studio and had a beautiful outdoor area with a living area and fireplace, outdoor bar/kitchen, and a pool (too cold to use, but provided great ambience).  Sweet Pea has free run of the gated property, which has lots of places to explore! 

Kitchenette

Pool Area

We'd be thrilled to stay here again and just might if we stop in San Carlos on our return.  So many cities in this country that we'll decide return stops much later in this journey!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Viva Mexico!

We took some time with our families in Arizona and a break from technology (okay, not total, but little Facebook and no blog posts), so it's time to start truly sharing our Mexican adventure!!

Mariposa Rd Crossing - Nogales, AZ/MX

We crossed the border in Nogales (Mariposa Road entry) around 6:30am on December 30th, having spent the night at the Candlewood Suites in Nogales, AZ the night before, making an early crossing was easy.  We made sure we had a full tank of gas, as Mexico is experiencing gas shortages throughout the country.  The border was pretty empty, no military checkpoints, and we had nothing to declare with customs, so that part was a breeze!

Immigration & Banjercito for our FMM & TIP

Since we are going beyond the "free zone", our next stop was immigration to get our FMM (Forma Migratoria Multiple, AKA tourist card).  It's the same thing you'd fill out if you're flying to Puerto Vallarta or other places in Mexico.   Also, since we're driving our car out of the "free zone" we needed to formally import it by obtaining a TIP (Temporary Importation Permit) from the Banjercito.  The key with the TIP is to turn it back in when you leave Mexico or they keep the deposit, which for our Jeep was $400.  We had the proper paperwork ready and were done with the whole process (FMM & TIP) in less than 90 minutes.  Not bad!

Is it Arizona or Mexico??

Then we were truly on the road to San Carlos.  Honestly, this part of the journey looked much like the Arizona desert.  The federal highway was very good (a few construction spots).  There were places to grab gas & eats along the way and the tolls were about what we had expected.

Bill is amazing, especially when driving on our road trips!  He's not a morning person, but he kicked into gear this morning and rolled us into San Carlos around 2pm where we'll relax for a few nights!






He and Sweet Pea were taking a much deserve nap on the outside couch within an hour of our arrival!!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

And We're Off.......

The  Bubblebee (our jeep) is loaded.  Sweet Pea's (gotta get used to calling her that!) bed, blankets, toys, and pillows are in the backseat. We're hitting the road!

We're staying over in California tonight and will be in AZ tomorrow afternoon!!  Can't wait to see everyone, especially our kids and grandson!  Unfortunately time is limited, so we won't be able to see everyone we'd like, but it'll be great seeing those we can!


The Bubblebee will have a few more miles on her by the time we return and most certainly will need an alignment after all the potholes & topes!

We left at exactly 10am and arrived in Lebec,CA around 11pm.  Lots of traffic, rain, & snow, but we're all in high spirits.  BTW, Cheba liked the Snow!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Today We Hit the Road!

Morning all!  It's been a l-o-o-o-n-g few days getting ready to leave for our winter adventure.  My energy and motivation level are high in the morning, Bill's are at night.  I got things packed up during the day and he loaded the jeep (along with other things on his ToDo list) late into the night so he's still zzzzz-ing.  I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been to Walgreen's & Rite-Aid the last few days, picking up last minute items.

I've packed more shit than I'm sure I'll need.  My yoga bag that my sweet Bill gave me is fully loaded with bolster, blanket, blocks, strap, mat, and my DIY yoga mat cleaner and probably takes up the most room, but Bill promised he'd fit it in!   FYI, my foam roller didn't fit in the bag, but it make it in the jeep :)!

Took Cheba to the vet for her health certificate, which wound up taking two trips.  For those who aren't aware, most countries require some type of certificate of health for an animal to enter and in the US, there are USDA forms for the vet to fill out.  The requirements for the certificate vary depending on where the animal is going and the type of animal (livestock is a whole different ball game).  Now we crossed into Mexico with Reggae several times and we were only asked for paperwork once , but like I said in an earlier post, we weren't taking any chances.  So our vet, who is AMAZING (Dr. Rebecca at Pacific Veterinary Clinic), filled out the form she usually uses, but she was concerned about getting a USDA endorsement seal in time.  She also was puzzled why it was needed, so on the first visit she gave me the form (without the seal) and said she'd contact the the USDA.  She called me a couple hours later and told me, she was preparing a different form for Mexico travel.  Leave it to our government (and paper reduction acts) to have multiple forms to use, depending on this, that, or the other!!  Bottomline, we have Cheba's health cert, rabies certs, and current patient chart, should any groomer, boarder, or vet need it.  Now that we have everything, I bet no one will ask for a thing :)

For folks who don't live in a rural area, burning trash & brush, not garbage is a common practice (I'm not posting to debate the practice please).  You can't burn everyday and the last couple haven't been approved "burn days" for us.  We figured today would be, so Bill's plan was to do a burn before we hit the road.  Wouldn't you know it.....it's POURING RAIN!!!!

As soon as he gets up, I say, "let's hit the road"!!!


Happy Trails & Positive Vibes!

Sam (and Bill from dreamland :))

For the Love of Mexican Food

We love Mexican food!  One of our biggest concerns when we moved from Arizona to Oregon was finding really good Mexican food.  Surprisingly, Grants Pass Oregon is home to some very good Mexican restaurants.  You know the kind....small, family owned places with homemade salsa and fresh tortillas, not to mention great food!  For our Grants Pass friends, Casa Amiga, El Molcajete, and Lupita's are our favorites.  We also cook Mexican food.  Enchiladas, Chicken Tortilla soup, Chili Rellenos, asada.  See Sam's recipe for Chicken Tortilla soup!

So yes, we enjoy Mexican food, but let us say, since we decided to winter in Mexico, all we seem to want to eat is Mexican food!!  Whether it's tacos, tortilla soup, camerones, asada, enchiladas, burritos, or good 'ole Americanized nachos, we can't seem to get enough!!  It's gotten so bad that we commited to each other not to eat any more Mexican food until we get there, after all we're likely going to be primarily eating Mexican food for the next couple months!  So Sam made Chicken Marsala tonight instead of the Mexicano Chicken (basically chicken stuffed with chili rellenos) she really wanted!  Some kind of pork chop (TBD) is on the menu for tomorrow; hmmm, maybe cooked with chili peppers in salsa!

Ok, we did agree to have one more batch of tortilla soup and one more visit to El Molcajete before we go and that's it until Mexico!  Oops, we're staying  in Phoenix for a bit and we can't possibly go there without stopping at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants!  Watch we'll start craving pizza and pasta when we get to Mexico!!!  Lucky for us, Mexico does have more than just Mexican food, in fact we hear Lo De Marcos has a damn good pizzeria!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Cheba, aka Sweet Pea

We'll be sharing our Mexican adventure with our kooky, furry family member, Cheba....ahem, we mean Sweet Pea.  Let us tell you a bit about her before we tell you the story of her names (yes, we mean names plural).

On March 15th, 2016, we lost our beloved furry family member, Reggae, after a 6 week battle with oral melanoma.  She was rescued by Sam in 2008 and quite frankly, she was a beautiful (though some thought funny looking) bitch.  Those of you who knew Reggae, know that she could be mean (okay, aggressive).  She hated all animals and most people.  She could smile at you, wag her tail, and bite you in the ass the moment you turned your back.  Yes, she was a bitch, however she LOVED Sam from day one and welcomed Bill into her life with hardly a bark (a clear indicator to Sam just how special Bill must be).  Reggae truly did mellow with age and consistent love over the years made her trust others just a little bit.  She loved the beach, particularly Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico), where we'd stay at the Beachcomer and she'd chase seagulls up & down the beach.  We'll be stopping there on the way back to spread some of Reggae's ashes.

Rest sweet Reggae girl, until we meet again

The house was so lonely without Reggae and within a few weeks we knew we had to open our hearts and our home to another furry family member.  A local shelter had an 18-month old, Doberman mix in need of a home.  Within minutes of meeting her, we knew she was our girl and we named her Cheba! We're Cheba's 3rd home, why we don't really know because she's a sweetheart!!  Smart as can be, aims to please, and looooves her peoples!  She was a bit skiddish when we first adopted her, but soon she began to trust in our love.  It's been awesome watching her become a happy and confident dog!

So what's with her name?  Why the "aka Sweet Pea"?  To bring your dog into Mexico you need to have a current rabies certificate and a certificate of health.  Though we were only asked for Reggae's papers once, we wouldn't risk traveling without them (we don't want our furry family member to wind up in Mexican doggy jail!).  Anyway, Cheba, is an urban slang term for marijuana.  Since it's not a widely recognized term, we weren't too concerned about it drawing attention to either Mexican or US officials.  But then we found out Cheba is WIDELY used in Mexico as slang for black tar heroin!!   That totally changed our level of concern about her name!!     Picture this.... Happy snowbirders crossing the border with our loaded up jeep, being asked for our dog's papers, which we gladly present, proud of our preparedness.  The officials eyebrows raise...we're told to pull over...we're delayed for HOURS while our jeep is torn apart from bumper to bumper.  NOT how we want to start (or end) this amazing adventure!  Here's another visual for ya....we're oh so happily playing on the beach with our beloved dog.  She gets away from us and we start yelling her name, "Cheba, come Cheba".  Can you imagine the looks we would get from locals on the beach, or worse the interrogation from law enforcement?!?  No way were we going to Mexico with a dog named Cheba!!  Her official name would have to change!

We thought of simply changing it to Sheba, but Sam was a bit concerned that it was still too close.  One of our pet names for Cheba is 'Sweet Pea', so her name will be temporarily changed to that for her official paperwork.  We'll work hard to call her Sweet Pea in public, but she will always be our Cheba girl!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Is It Safe???

When we tell friends & family that we're driving to Mexico for the winter, we're inevitably asked, "is it safe?"   We struggle with this question as we know everyone means well and has our best interests at heart, but do you really think we're going to put ourselves in a situation of imminent doom?  We fully understand that there are areas in Mexico where one should not venture, activities one should not engage.  Guess what, there are areas in the US where one should not venture and activities that could land you in deep shit.

Does that mean we won't be on alert, that we won't be vigilant?  That we'll be a couple of hippies touting peace, love, and rock & roll, without a care in the world?  Of course not, especially not in a country where we're guests and can barely get by with the language!  We're aware of areas and towns we should avoid and we will.  We have no intention of doing any drug deals, so that pretty much eliminates any cartel troubles.  We won't be walking alone in deserted areas.  We won't be driving at night.

We are aware of the potential for unscrupulous law enforcement officials (or those posing as such) to try to extort money (mordida) from us.  We have talked to many people on how to identify and deal with these issues and we'll heed their experienced advice.

We're very fortunate to have family members living in Mexico (Sam's brother and sister-in-law) who've provided invaluable guidance for the planning of our journey and our safety.  They'll be aware of our travels while we're in Mexico and will be our 'local' contact should we run into any issues.

The whole driving at night issue is interesting.  Is it because of bandidos?  Bad roads?   Bad lighting?  Yes, all of these and more!  Sam even asked her brother if this was true or just negative hype; his response, "don't drive at night."   Here are the reasons we've heard and will heed the warning, "don't drive in Mexico at night"....

• The roads aren't well lit (if lit at all), so you won't see the potential obstacles listed below until it's too late.
• Large animals (e.g. big, black cows) will wander the roads.  You don't want one of these babies in your windshield, or your lap!
• Big ass potholes are invisible until you're in them.  We're talking potholes that make the ones in Michigan seem like little dips in the road.
• Topes...they're these wicked speed bumps, infamous throughout Mexico.  And we mean wicked!!!!  They are bad enough when you see them during the day, hitting them full speed at night can only lead to trouble.
• If you simply breakdown, help may be harder to come by.  There is a wonderful service on the federal roads called the Green Angels.  Apparently if you run into any trouble, you can call them anytime between sunrise and sunset and they'll send a bi-lingual angel to your rescue. 
• Drunks walking in the road.
• And yes, there could be bandidos, unscrupulous law enforcement, or other unsavory characters who could do you wrong.  Sure they're out there in the day too, but let's face it, you're much more vulnerable on a deserted, dark road than in traffic during the middle of the day.

So yes, we'll be aware, on heightened alert, vigilant of our security and surroundings, but we will not let fear impact experiencing this beautiful country and its wonderful people!  !!Viva Mexico!!


Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Packing for 3 Months Away

Packing is easy for some, more difficult for others.  We're generally pretty light travelers and packing is quite easy for us.  That is until we realized we're packing for 3 months and multiple climates!  There are some things you can go without when you're vacationing, but giving up those things for 3 months can start to give some of us heart palpitations!

There's the clothes of course, two large, two small suitcases should do it for us (maybe even less), but that's the easy part!

Sam, who normally travels very light for a woman, isn't going anywhere for 3 months without her yoga gear (mat, blanket, bolsters, blocks, straps, etc.).  She's also bringing her notebooks for aromatherapy school, sketchpads, pens.  Not to mention the wax warmer to keep those eyebrows under control and the magnifying mirror to ensure wax hits eyebrows and not eyes!  So much for being a light traveler!!

Bill wants to resume his interest in diving and will be bringing his scuba gear.  He decided to leave the golf clubs behind.  Looks like Bill will be the lightest traveler on this trip!

We both come lugging our electronics.... laptops, tablets, nooks, VOIP phone, coffee grinder (yes, we're bringing Jamaican Blue Mountain beans with us!), bringing a coffee pot is still up in the air.

Cheba comes with her crate, her big container of food, treats, bowls, toys, blankets, pillows (this dog is CRAZY for pillows!).

Food stuff that we may not be able to easily get in Mexico.....stevia, organic cereal, our favorite peanut butter, tuna, tea, coffee.

Our travel medicine cabinet, filled with homeopathic remedies, herbal supplements and essential oils for any cold, flu, ache, pain, or traveler's tummy trouble that may threaten to invade us.  On the list of things to check out in Mexico is the availability of alternative medicine modalities!

Beach chairs, coolers, pillows, backpacks, dufflebags, and.....

Did I mention we're traveling in a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, not a moving van???

FYI....the jeep is affectionately called "the Bubblebee"; no, not bumblebee, it is bubble for Sam's love of making soap :)  And no, she will not be bringing her soap making supplies :(

Sam immediately started fretting....."how are we going to bring everything?  I'm not leaving my yoga gear behind!!"  Just like when we moved to Oregon, Bill took on the role of transportation coordinator.  Bill, my hero <batting eyelashes>, found a basket-like carrier for the back of the jeep, but damn, we needed a hitch (yes, we bought a jeep without the tow package).  No problem, he found a hitch and realized it's no big deal to install.  Hitch is installed and he's damn glad we didn't pay the dealer or any other place to install it!  This basket will give us lots of room to store stuff and Bill is confident our stuff will be secure...we won't be driving with our stuff falling off behind us!

Though we're not expecting any problems, we can't be ignorant of the fact that we may be in areas where criminal elements might find our Jeep intriguing (Sinaloa, Nogales, Phoenix).  Many friends and family are concerned for our safety on this journey and we'll talk more about that in another post, but as for the safety of our jeep & stuff....

• We'll make sure the stuff in the basket are things we can handle losing.
• Bill bought a couple different sets of locking lugs for the tires & spare.  He also got one of those Clubs for the steering wheel.
• While we're traveling, Cheba will be in the jeep when we take breaks.  Can't imagine too many people that would try to break into a vehicle with a barking Doberman and her pearly white, large teeth!
• And of course we'll have our Mexican auto insurance that covers theft and vandalism.  More about that later too!

So at this point we're confident that we can take everything we want, but we really won't know until we load the Bubblebee up!

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam

Enough Winter!!

UPDATE:  We found a place to stay in Chapala

We're Outta Here.....

The winters in the Rouge Valley of southern Oregon aren't like Michigan's or Wisconsin's (we left there in 2005, sick of the winters), but they're a far cry from Arizona!  The temperatures aren't horrible (although it was 35 degrees this morning), but the fog & rain are just unrelenting!  Mountains that we can normally see from our porch disappear in the thick fog.  Slugs and worms take shelter on our covered porches.  Everything is wet, whether it rains or not.  Okay, once in awhile the sun peeks out, but for the most part it's a foggy, damp, dreary winter in Oregon.

It was sometime around February 2016, in the throws of nicotine withdrawal and dealing with our terminally ill family dog,  that I proclaimed (ok, wailed), "I will not spend another winter in Oregon!"  How we were going to do it and where we were going to go, we didn't know, but we were going to figure it out!

Since that proclamation, our resolve to winter elsewhere only increased!  It wasn't just the mad rantings of a woman suffering from seasonal affect disorder while in the throws of nicotine withdrawal, or the frustrations of the man dealing with her....we both wanted a warm sunny winter!

Where To Go???

The options of where to go quickly narrowed when we considered our wants & needs:

• Sunshine and warm weather
• We wanted to explore a place we might consider for a future home, which translated to outside of the US
• We had to be able to drive there, as our furry family member wasn't going to fit under any airplane seat and for some crazy reason the airlines won't let you buy a seat for your dog!. 
• Meet Cheba (aka Sweet Pea, but that's for another post).  After we lost our Reggae girl in March to oral melanoma, our home felt empty, so we adopted this sweet Doberman-mix, who quickly found her way into our heart (and our bed)!

Mexico it would be!  Sunny, warm, we can drive there, and it's high on the list of potential retirement places.  We decided to check out the Pacific side and venture inland toward Lake Chapala too, where Sam's brother Dave and sister-in-law Paula have lived for the last 9 years.

Damn, we need an itinerary....

We really wanted to be free on this trip, figuring out where to stay as we went along.  Sounds great, but when you're traveling during high season, with a 55 lb dog, and are told over and over "don't drive at night in Mexico", some planning turned out to be in order.  So here's our itinerary, at least as of this first post....

• We'll be leaving Oregon around 12/23, spending the holidays with the kids in Arizona.  
• Then the morning of 12/30 we'll cross the border at Nogales and head to San Carlos for the next several nights.  We have a little casita rented that looks like a nice place to ring in the new year!
• Off to Mazatlan for a couple nights and some warmer weather!  A little bungalow outside of town is where we'll rest for a couple days.
• Lo De Marcos (about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta) will be home until 2/4.   Bill worked with a realtor out there to find us a rental house about 5 blocks from the beach and 3 blocks from the town square. Seems like the town has quite a bit to offer from little markets, beach activities, restaurants, even a doggie daycare!
• The rest of February we'll be staying at a sweet house in the Lake Chapala area, not too far from my brother.
• After that, we'll just have to see where the universe takes us.....

Now to get everything ready to go.....

Happy trails and positive vibes!

Bill & Sam