Random thoughts/ month 7

This month we:

+ drove in the madness that is LA. We made the mistake of going from Redondo Beach to Pasadena and back then to Burbank and back again. Highway after freeway and accidents and traffic. Hell. BUT it was worth it to see friends and Hani’s cousins.

+ babysat identical twin 2 year olds, changed a few poopy diapers, fed several bottles and discovered a new found love for p-juggie all thanks to the Goodstadt clan. My best friend from high school, Jana, settled in Redondo Beach and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to play with her twins and 2 month old baby for a few days. We had a great time with all of them and the boys loved chasing the dogs around their house. I was even included in their family Halloween costume as the Village People. Fab time.

+ were visited by my parents who traveled “with” us for a week. They stayed in hotels, rented a car and followed us on the highway going a steady 50mph from landmark to landmark. It was amazing spending time with them in Newport Beach, Del Mar, San Diego, Yucca Valley and Palm Springs. After being away from home for so many months, it was a nice change of pace to have home brought to us. We went to the San Diego zoo, had some great meals together, and celebrated our anniversary early with them. Round two in a few months?

+ hit another national park–Joshua Tree. This park was a different experience for us, as we camped outside the park at my parents hotel instead of staying inside. The park was quiet and simply a gorgeous barren desert. Completely the opposite of all other national parks we’ve been to.

+ spent an embarrassing number of nights parked in the San Diego zoo parking lot. It was safe, dark and no one bothered us. And we got 3 free passes for being the coolest vehicle in their lot.

+ are supporting Movember in honor of our good friend Kevin’s father, George, who passed away from prostate cancer 3 years ago. Hani is growing out a rad (ridiculous??) mustache that I’m sure is the envy of all Mexicans. You can donate to this wonderful cause at http://www.mobro.co/hanidemetrious. Last year, our Key West team, the Southernmost Sellecks, raised almost $10,000 and are well on their way to surpassing that this year. Thank you to all of you who have already donated!

+ had our friend Jaime meet us in San Diego for a weekend. After my parents left, we headed back to San Diego to catch up with Jaime and explore more of the city and surrounding areas. It was great to reconnect and decompress before crossing into Baja.

+ are hopelessly addicted to Breaking Bad. Though we never got into the show while it was on TV, we bought seasons 1 and 2 in a thrift store in Alaska. After getting hooked, I ended up buying 3 and 4 on amazon and had them shipped before we left the states. Last week, season 5 finally came out for purchase and I. Need. It. Now the question is, how the heck do we get it sent to us down here??!! Suggestions??? I’ve resorted to rewatching the previous seasons but can’t wait the 5 months until we’re back in the states to see the finale.

+ crossed into Baja California 11/13. Now that makes 3 countries we’ve visited so far.

+ have never seen so many stray dogs. I want to bring them all home with us and so does Olivia, Shae wants to eat them and Hani wants to feed them. Great.

+ spent a number of nights camped along the beach, a night camped in the desert, ate all kinds of tacos (beef, pork, fish, lobster) on the cheap and are finally staying on budget! Why didn’t we come to Baja sooner?

+ arrived at Jack’s other place a few days ago. Our camper twin Casa Azul’s owner Jack has a magnificent piece of land on the beach on the pacific side where north and south Baja meet. It’s off an obscure dirt road, extremely remote (no water, stores, fuel…nothing) but surprisingly home to a bunch of people and a surf camp. We spent 4 days walking the beach, shelling (there are tons of sand dollars and pearlescent giant conchs), exploring the sand dunes on the motorcycle and just taking in the breathtaking views.

+ met a Spanish speaking dog. There is just something hilarious about a dog obeying to “siéntate”.

+ bought tasty (and cheap) lobsters off a fisherman. Not the same as catching our own but since we missed the Key West mini season, this will have to do.

+ stopped at 2 military checkpoints. The guards did a very basic search of us, just the same as other vehicles. They were polite and curious about seeing the ins and outs of Skyhorse. They never asked to see our passports, vehicle info or any documents on the pups.

+ entered Baja Sur yesterday and ran errands in Guerrero Negro. While filling up our water tanks, we saw Toby and Chloe of Carpe Viem! It’s always such a treat to randomly run into people you’ve only known online. We had an awesome (fancy) dinner with them and are off together for the beach then continuing south toward La Paz. Hopefully we’ll be meeting up with some other travelers who are a few days ahead of us.

Random thoughts/ month 6

I can’t believe we’ve been on the road for 6 months!! That’s (potentially) half of our travel time. And we’re STILL in the US! This month we:

+ had a blast in Seattle. It’s easily one of our favorite cities. In the 5 days spent there, we visited with the Friedmans, Laura and her beau Jeremy, my Miami friend Brian and Hani’s Boston buddy Mermer and her husband Akram. We ate, drank, walked the Saturday market, and ate and drank some more, with the obligatory stop at Pikes Place. A deliciously fattening food extravaganza!

+ toured “famous” landmarks from some fab movies in Astoria, OR. I made Hani stop so I could snap pictures at the elementary school from Kindergarden Cop and historic house from The Goonies. He did not do the truffle shuffle.

+ discovered Cannon Beach, OR, a beautiful little town right on the water with pristine beaches that are dog friendly. The girls had a great time chasing seagulls and playing in the sand.

+ ate out way through Portland. We stayed with an old high school friend, Yair and his wife Christine, who have both been in the food industry out there for years. Our favorite Portland food by far was Yair’s food truck: ChickpeaDX. The falafel was to die for! A must eat if you’re in the area.

+ had a random connection via Instagram. While parked in downtown Portland, someone had snapped a picture of Skyhorse and posted it on Instagram. Someone recognized the truck as ours and tagged us in the post. Convos/emails/texts ensued and we met Antonio, a creative designer who captured the picture. We had a wonderful time with him and his brother, and were gifted some fab hats from his newest collection. Hani is obsessed with them!

+ drove the PCH from Washington through Cali. We had some gorgeous weather as we saw sea lions, jaw dropping cliffs and enormous rock formations in the ocean.

+ spent 7 days in SF bouncing from our parking area in Daly City, outside Hani’s brother Amad’s place, to my sister Estee’s apartment in SF. Thankfully, we were able to borrow her car so Skyhorse was not actually taken into the city. We walked downtown SF, had a spa day, ate at some delicious places, did a day trip to Tiburon and Sausalito and had much needed down time.

+ celebrated Hani’s 35th birthday on October 12 with friends and family. We went to the farmers market and walked the piers during the day and had a big birthday dinner that night. It was awesome!

It was also the first time since our wedding in December that all of the siblings were together.

+ drank and lot of wine and some bubbles. With all the breweries we’ve been hitting, I was craving some good wines so off to Sonoma/ Kenwood we went!

+ spent quality time with one of our favorite old co-workers John. He came out to San Fran with his daughter on Hani’s birthday and then we spent a day with him in Vacaville and Old Sacramento. We ended up doing what we would have done with John had we been hanging with him in Key West–a movie at the independent theater.

+ “did” Yosemite. I can’t really say we saw the park because we didn’t really give it a fair shot. At that point, we were cold and not in the mood to explore. Plus, we’ve been spoiled by seeing animals right under our noses at other parks and the breathtaking views of Alaska and Canada. Yosemite just didn’t compare.

+ finally met Jack and Casa Azul in person! Jack was featured on RV Crazy with his homemade camper a few years back and Hani contacted him. From that began a long distance relationship planning and brainstorming our camper build. We stayed on his property for 3 days working on the truck, getting feedback and spending time with him. We left with some great tips for our upcoming border crossing and a detailed map of Baja. Thanks again Jack!!

+ are now in LA to see some friends for the week before my parents arrive to travel with us for a bit. And then onward to Baja!