Road Trip Through the Americas

Jason and I made it home. After Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was pretty uneventful. We made our way up to Topolobampo to get on the ferry over to Baja. Of course it wouldn't be a trip through Mexico without being pulled over by the crooked cops, so we had to pay a bribe on our way out to the ferry. Frustrating, but not unexpected. We only spent about two weeks in Baja, visiting many places we had already seen on the way down. There was not much surf, but we enjoyed our last couple of weeks camping in the warm weather and taking in the ocean. We stopped at Todos Santos, San Ignacio, Laguna Manuela, Santa Rosalillita, and Cuatro Casas before crossing back into the U.S. The border was a nightmare.  We waited in line three hours before we realized we weren't crossing through any Mexican customs stations and we had to come back into Mexico to cancel our car permit. We were told we could do it at the consulate in LA, so we happily made our way up there. After calling the consulate the next day, we were told we had to go back to the border. Luckily we tried a crossing a little to the east so we only had to wait an hour and a half after taking 30 seconds back in Mexico to cancel our permit. We have learned throughout our trip that things rarely go as planned, so in the end we weren't too bothered by it. We stayed in LA a couple of nights to spend some time with Jason's grandmother, then went up to the San Francisco area to see his great uncle Dave and his wife Joan. On the way to San Francisco our alternator went out and we paid American prices to have it replaced. Once we got to Dave's house we noticed the the frame of the truck was almost broken in half. Thanks to Dave and Joan we were able to have it welded back together so we could make it back up to Washington. We stayed with and visited family friends in the San Francisco area after that and were treated to so many meals that we must have gained five pounds each in 3 days. Our last night before getting to Washington was spent in Ashland, Oregon with Kathy and her son Alex, friends of ours since I was born. After a brief stop in Portland to visit another friend and spend some time at Powell's Books, the largest used bookstore in the world, we drove two more hours before arriving back in Olympia. Jason's mother and my parents are overjoyed to have us home, and now begins the process of re-entering the real world. Before I finish this last post, I have to thank everyone we met along the way. You should expect to see us showing up at your house, especially if you live in a particularly interesting place. Also, thanks to everyone who supported us over the past two years, whether it was moral support or financial support, we literally would not have been able to do it without you.