Baja Road Trip ~ Day 1 ~ Ventura, Alta California to Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur

Up early ~ in fact I was awake before 2:00...
Alarm was set for 2:30 ~ yes a.m. ~ yuk.
Put the rest of the crap in the car and Jim's truck was now officially a lowrider.
We left Ventura Harbor and got on the freeway at 3:45 am.
No traffic!
As we got into LA there was a tiny bit of traffic, certainly nothing to ever slow us down, just something to make us wonder where the hell are these people going at 4:30 on a Sunday morning.
It became clear when the traffic went back to nada after the airport...

Crossed the border after three hours and OH JOY, they changed the drive to the toll road ONCE AGAIN.
I hate Tiajuana.
I hate Tiajuana.
I hate Tiajuana.
Figured it out after 10 minutes and on our way to the toll road.
No problems whatsoever between the tiolet of Tiajuana and Ensenada for all of you that are "scared to death" of that section.

My suggestions on how to get thru the "dangerous TJ to Ensenada drive"?
Drive during the day ~ early morning is the best, as the thugs and drug lord employees are still sleeping off the night before's party.
Drive a normal vehicle that no one else would want ~ such as a lowrider blue Dodge Dakota, not a black Cadillac Escalade or a black Ford Excursion with blacked out windows.
Don't stop ~ keep driving and get South away from the sleazy border towns as soon as possible.
And don't let a few instances of violence keep you from living...

So drive, drive, drive.
Easy military checkpoints, as they seem to only be searching the North-bound vehicles.
YIPEE - means our beer, wine and boat part stash is safe...
Past San Quintin as it was still early.
Down into El Rosario to Mama Espinosa's, where we had an excellent breakfast and said hi to some of my Dad's ashes.
Still early, so drive, drive, I took a little nap, poor Jim as he has to continue to drive, drive, drive, through the beautiful boulder fields of Catavina where I woke up.
We kept seeing semi's heading North full of scrap metal and old car parts.
We have not seen ONE old beat up hunk of totalled car in the desert yet ~ they have cleaned them all up!
We used to see hundreds of totalled cars along the way ~ none, nada now.
So we are trying to figure out how we can make a living on picking up tire scraps and old tires and selling them... as they are still plentiful.

Drive across the desert to Guerrero Negro ~ 13 hours total and no traffic, no problems, no road construction ~ I think Sundays are the day to go.
Stayed at the same place we stayed with my Mom a couple years back - El Carocol or something.
Walking distance to Malarrimo, so dinner there ~ we each enjoyed grouper in a Mayan BBQ sauce.
Said hi to some more of my Dad's ashes at Malarrimo ~ the area we had scattered some was under a whale statue which is now a fountain, so he is being recycled.
Slept GREAT and for a long time...
Pictures to follow!

P.S. Had to cut the bottom of a water bottle off yesterday to make a wine glass... Don't tell Nancy or she will be insulted that I was drinking some of her nice wine out of the bottom 3" of a used water bottle...
I guess it is better than just slugging it out of the bottle - right?