The Adventures of Familia Bajaboy

I recently had an epiphany that has greatly altered how I see myself.  I am going to do my best to put into words that realization and what it means for me moving forward. After teaching in public schools in San Diego for 15 years as a math teacher, we made the choice to submit our leave of absences and move to Bahia Asuncion, BCS, Mexico.  For many, the decision seemed abrupt and irrational but not for me.  After strugglng through Covid and watching politics invade public education, I knew the future was bleak, at least for me and my happiness.  People who know little about what happens in the classroom were on television making wild claims and accusations that were far from the truth.  It was too big of a battle for me and I knew I would be misearable moving forward.  While I am speaking for myself, my wife, Tracy, was sharing similar fears.  So our decision was very well vetted and thought out and our kids were also driving forces in the decision....

Pro-tips are a fun way for us to share little nuggets of information with each other.  I decided on this trip to Mexicali to share some of my tips for driving on Baja Mexico Highway 1 with Gabriel.  He is now 15 and will be driving soon.  In fact, Grandpa Gary spent a great deal of time on his recent visit teaching both kids to drive. Now in no way am I saying that I am an expert or that my knowledge is supreme.  But I've been driving in Baja for 38 plus years.  And over the past three years, I've been making the trip north almost once a month.  So I figured, it was time to share some of my wisdom nuggets with Gabriel.  We thought it might be fun to make a video and share it with others as well.   I recently bought a Go Pro 12 as I've wanted to tell our story with more than just words and pictures.  I started a YouTube channel  The Adventures of Famila Bajaboy  years ago mainly as a repository for our family videos.  But a...

Today I find myself looking out at the sailboats and thinking about where my dreams will take me this year.  I feel the need to challenge myself to move beyond my current ambitions and seek out new goals.  I feel the urge to continue on as a lifestyle entrepreneur.  I want to push beyond what is comfortable and create opportunities where I can grow, discover, and learn.  So today, my mind is a lot like the sail boats in the distance.  I am open to seeing where my dreams will take me just the currents and winds take the sailboats.  Time to raise anchor.  I hope you join me on my journey.  Cheers!

 Here we go!  Hurricane Kay is on the way.  After 15+ years, I think our village will finally get a taste of a hurricane.  In the past, most of severe weather has veered west or east of us due to the cold water currents.  But it looks like Kay will arrive in full force tomorrow during the day as a Cat. 1 Hurricane. I had to head north again to turn in paperwork for the kids' residency.  Our great friends Hector and Letty came to the rescue.  They spent about four hours helping Tracy and the kids secure the house by boarding up the windows and tying down the roof.  I defintely feel we're in a great shape now.  It's so rewarding living in a village where people look out for one another. I decided to take down our Starlink dish and secure it on the side yard with sand bags and rocks.  As long as we have electricity, we should be able to provide updates along the way.  As of 7 pm, it's lightly raining and a slight breeze.   We...

 About 20 years ago, I first heard of David Goggins.  He spoke at one of the San Diego Tri Club monthly meetings.  Back then, I was getting into Olympic distance triathlons and was amazed listening to Goggins talk about some of his adventures.  Little did I know where my journey would take me. Fast forward to today.  I am signed up to do the very difficult Baja 50K, Oriflamme 50K, and finally Angeles Crest 100 mile in August.  It's been over two years since I have taken on a big adventure.  Hard to believe my last official race was the San Diego 100 Endurance Race.  Some days, I wonder if I will ever finish another long race.  I've been training almost daily but can't seem to mentally cross back into beast mode.  Something has to give. About a month ago, I recalled the Goggin 4x4x48 Challenge ( Link to Goggins Challenge .)  It's exactly what I need to jump start my training.  So beginning tomorrow, Friday, March 4 at 9:00 am mo...

 This morning we ran one of my favorite routes nearby.  From our house, we head west towards the beach and run north about 3 miles.  Then we go up to Family Mountain.  Years ago, we found a natural pile of rocks on top of this mountain.  We started a tradition of placing a rock on the pile to commemorate a special person or memory.  Over the years the rock pile has grown.  From there we return south along the ridgeline and return along the Backbone trail behind our house and village.  The route is just under 7 miles with about 1600 ft. of elevation gain.  I hope you enjoy! Running along Long Beach Looking back towards Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur, Mexico San Roque is in the distance. Starting the climb up Family Mountain.  Boogie Board beach and the horse race track in the distance. The Family Mountain memorial.  So many great memories there! Running the ridgeline with Family Mountain in the distance. San Roque Island in the ...

 Come join us on our hike today.  One of the things we have always enjoyed about Bahia Asuncion is the variety of things to see and explore.  The coast line changes dramatically from north to south with the former resembling the coast of Central California while the later is very similar to Southern California.  The desert also changes from mile to mile as well.   Our hike this morning started about 5 miles east of town.  I hope you enjoy!

 Almost every day, we get out for a run, hike, bike ride and/or a swim.  Today, we opted to get an earlier start than normal.  We set the alarm for 6am and were out the door by 7am.  We drove 8 miles north to the small fishing village of San Roque.  We hiked north to San Pablo bay and then backtracked on the old and dilapidated vigilancia road and finally returned on the main .   Zeus was happy with the foggy conditions especially after yesterday's muggy and hot conditions. In addition we were treated to a wonderful show of powerful and strong waves thanks to Hurricane Olaf.  All in all, the hike was about 7.5 miles and almost 2,000 ft. of climbing.  Enjoy the trip with us!