South to Mexico

On Wednesday, Oct 29 we said goodbye to RJ's relatives in Sierra Vista and headed south to Nogales. I had planned the Mexico portion to be 4 days of driving, with 3 overnights. We could have done it in less time, but I wasn't sure about the road conditions, directions, Customs/Immigration, etc. It turned out to be much easier than I expected (mostly).

We used the commercial truck crossing at Nogales. It turned out to be no problem at all. We got a green light and we were just waved through Customs. It was our first experience with the ubiquitous speed bumps called "topes". They seem to have them wherever there could be pedestrians crossing the road, but they are seldom marked. If the car or truck in front of you suddenly slows down, you should expect speed bumps - often a series of several.

About 10 or 15 miles down the road, we pulled off the road at the area where you get your tourist visa and "temporary import permit" for your vehicle. This is very important if you expect to travel south of the Mexican state of Sonora, which we were. This is located in the center of the highway, like a rest stop might be in the U.S. Often, this is very busy, but we were fortunate to be traveling in the middle of the week and about a month before the busy tourist season. Even so, it took about an hour to get our visas and automobile permit, even though there were only a very few people in line in front of us.

We spent the first night in Hermosillo, Mexico in the state of Sonora. We could have driven further, but I allowed lots of time to get through customs and immigration, but it was not a problem. I had printed out maps and directions from the internet, so it was no problem getting to our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Bougainvillea, which is reasonably priced and is pet friendly. We had dinner on the restaurant patio, with Moe on a leash nearby the table. Quite often in Mexico, you are allowed to bring your dog to the restaurant or cafe if it is outside, or the table is near the outside.

The next day we drove south to Navajoa, Sonora. It was another short drive - about 5 hours. But I didn't want to take the chance of driving in the dark. We stayed overnight in a very nice Best Western Hotel del Rio. There was plenty of time to take a dip in the pool and take a walk down the main street.

The third day, Friday the 31st, was a bit longer. We drove 376 miles to Mazatlan in the state of Sinaloa. The roads up to this point were quite good. We took toll roads, which are similar to a well-maintained two-lane highway in the U.S. These are not limited access, though, and when they come to a town or city, there are no off-ramps - the highway just turns into a street that goes right through town. The total tolls for the entire trip, Nogales to the end of the tolls near Tepic, was 1040 pesos - about $82 USD - well worth it for safety and security.

We had been having such a good road trip up to now, so it was time for some problems. When we were trying to find our hotel in Mazatlan, we started hearing a grinding noise from the rear wheels. This began to get worse and worse each time we put on the brakes. Besides that, we drove around and around trying to find the hotel we had reserved, but without success. Well, a big part of the problem was that street addresses are not always strictly increasing or decreasing along a street - they might jump around!! Well, after driving around for about an hour, with increasing noise from our brakes, and several wrong directions, we finally found the hotel. One might describe it as a flea-bag hotel on one of the busiest roads, next to the ocean. They were pet-friendly and cheap, but the room was very basic, and the road traffic was very noisy all night long. There was no internet access, and we walked several blocks along the beach "highway" but still found no internet cafe. Fortunately we found a cafe with outdoor seating that allowed Moe, so we had our dinner there.

The next morning we looked up a Honda dealer in the telephone book and fortunately it was nearby. We explained that we had problems with "las frenas" (the brakes) - glad I had a Spanish dictionary handy. They promised that it could be fixed in 3 hours. Well, they came through!! That afternoon we were on our way again, and off to Puerto Vallarta - but not without getting lost temporarily trying to find the right road out of Mazatlan.

The rest of the trip was easy until we got to Tepic. This was the point at which we had to leave the nice straight toll road and drive the narrow twisty road to Puerto Vallarta. It was only about a hundred miles, but it was the most difficult part. Anyway, we finally arrived at our destination at about 10pm on November 1 and started to settle in. Except for the brakes, it was a good and memorable trip.

I'll start a separate blog to describe some of our experiences since we arrived. Life is simple and good here. We live in a lively family-oriented neighborhood next to a large soccer field that is used almost every night. Yes, everything gets dusty and the traffic is quite heavy. But we can live simply when we want, shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables 2 or 3 times a week, and we have fresh fruit for breakfast every day. Or we can spend a day at the beach and be like tourists and sip beer and margaritas. We have made friends with several other Americans and Canadians who are living here for several months, and some year-around. We each try to walk an hour or more most days of the week. The weather is normally sunny, with a low of 60 or 62 and a high of 80-84. I don't miss the snow and ice in the Wisconsin winters, but I do miss all of you.

Adios for now and best regards, my friends.

Arizona Revisited

On Monday the 27th we drove 483 miles from San Diego to Sierra Vista, AZ for a visit with RJ's uncle and his family. They are very friendly and interesting people - we enjoyed talking with them. We were especially interested in hearing about the Mexican border. Sierra Vista is about an hour's drive to the border in Nogales.

On Tuesday we drove to nearby Tombstone, AZ. The center of the main street has been preserved/restored to resemble how it may have appeared in the days of the Old West (except for all the souvenir shops). Moe liked to bark at the horses.

Dogs and Parks

We spent the next day, Sunday Oct 26, exploring Balboa Park. The San Diego Dachshund Club was having a picnic, so we showed Moe all the other kinds of dachshunds. There was an incredible variety - long hair, short hair, dappled, large, medium, and small. Many of them were dressed up in costumes for a parade later that day. We were amazed and amused.

We walked around the park grounds and gardens for hours. They have a beautiful cactus garden, lovely old buildings, an art fair, and even a dog park where Moe could run around with the other dogs without his leash. This is also the home of the famous San Diego Zoo, but we were afraid they would not allow dogs in the zoo. We had a great time walking around the park.

Green Trees

My daughter, Lizz, lives with her family in Palos Verdes Estates up in the bluffs just south of LA. We visited her briefly on Saturday October 25, and I met my two grandchildren for the first time. "Palos Verdes" is Spanish for "green trees".

Later that day we drove south to San Diego.

The Getty and the Pier

On Friday, we drove south to the Mar Vista area of LA for a leisurely breakfast with my cousin, Ruthie. Afterward, she showed us the way to the Getty Center.
The Getty is a large art museum and cultural center, built on the hills overlooking Los Angeles.



We got an interesting guided tour of the buildings and the architectural significance of each one. We also walked through the beautiful gardens.

That evening we all drove down to the Santa Monica Pier and had a seafood dinner and strolled around on the pier.

Hooray for Hollywood

More desert on the way from Las Vegas to LA...



The Motel 6 in Hollywood was just a block away from the famous Walk of Stars along Hollywood Boulevard, and just few blocks from the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater. We stayed there for two days to drive around the area exploring Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, etc. Traffic wasn't too bad - I think it's worse here in PV.

Wednesday and Thursday nights we drove north a few miles to visit my son and his girlfriend. He is a good cook and he loves to grill, so we all ate well both nights.

California or Bust

After visiting the Grand Canyon, we spent the night at Motel 6 in Williams, AZ. Williams is a small town located on the old Route 66. When I tried to check in, there was no reservation in my name. Then the desk clerk said that should go to the Motel 6 located down the street one block. It turns out that there are two Motel 6's located just a block apart! The one that we stayed at was quite nice - there was even a swimming pool and hot tub. I met a couple from LA who said they were on a motorcycle trip to Pennsylvania. We had dinner at a large Western-themed restaurant. We knew it must be good because there were benches in front to sit on while you wait for a table. The food was good, and their pies were excellent.



The next day, October 21, we drove to Las Vegas. On the way, we drove across Hoover Dam, which holds back Lake Mead. There are security checkpoints to ensure against acts of terrorism. Also, they are building a new elevated highway over the dam. It won't be finished for several more years.

We stayed at another Motel 6 in Las Vegas, across the highway from the Luxor. We didn't go to any of the casinos because we had just been there the previous year, and we were anxious to keep travelling. The next day, Wednesday the 22nd, we arrived in Hollywood, CA - just one week after leaving Wisconsin.

Wild West

We left the Boulder/Denver area the morning of Oct 18. We drove through canyons surrounded by the cliffs and mountains of the Colorado Rockies. We stopped for gas in a little town beside the highway. There was a short stretch of a main street that had been restored to what it looked like about a hundred years ago. The mountain looms up in the background at the end of the street. We stayed overnight in Grand Junction, CO at the western edge of Colorado.

On Sunday the 19th we headed west into Utah, and then south toward Arizona. Western Colorado, eastern Utah, and northern Arizona - deserts, mesas, mountains, more desert. We wondered why anybody lived there and how they could make a living. We stayed that night at Motel 6 in Flagstaff.

The next morning we drove a few miles north to the Grand Canyon and spent the day hiking around the South Rim. I was pleasantly surprised that I qualified for a lifetime Senior Pass for only $10 - it is good at all US National Parks. Too bad I won't be using it very much. Here are some pictures from the Grand Canyon...

The Rockies

We reached Boulder, CO on Thursday, Oct 16. The hotel was actually located in Longmont because the Motel 6 in Boulder was completely booked. It was a step above Motel 6, but still pet-friendly. Plus, it included a continental breakfast. RJ had never seen mountains up close, so we stayed two nights and spent Friday exploring Boulder and the nearby mountains.


Boulder is a beautiful city, with lovely homes and an interesting pedestrian mall in the center surrounded by upscale shops.

While driving around, we saw several does and a buck just standing around at the end of a short block. They weren't scared by the car, or even when Moe barked.

The Road Trip Starts

After we returned from the scouting trip on Saturday, Oct 11, we had just three more days to prepare for the big trip. This was spent reorganizing and emptying closets and draws and trying to figure out how to pack everything we could into the back of the CR-V. We gave away boxes and boxes of books and clothes. We were limited to just what would fit into the car.

Finally, on Wednesday morning, Oct 15, we finished packing and drove off, in the rain. Moe liked to lie on top of the bags behind the front seat, or on a pillow on the console between the front seats.

We drove through rain all day long, and reached Omaha by the evening. We stayed at Motel 6's mostly, because they are reasonably priced, and because they have a pet-friendly policy at all of their locations.

I had planned the entire trip in advance - deciding on how far to drive each day and where to stay overnight and making advance reservations, and getting maps from Mapquest and Google. Thank God for the internet - this kind of planning would be nearly impossible without it. We were able to keep in touch with family using our cell phones along the way - another technology that made the trip easier.