The Adventures of Familia Bajaboy

 Zac and I both value education, and in particular, the value of public education.  We believe there is so much to learn from teachers, but additionally, from the interaction with other students in a school setting.  We anticpate our children continuing their education here at school in Bahia Asuncion, when the time is right.  However, we also firmly believe there is so much learning that can happen each and every day, wherever you are!  As for now, we've switched our role to homeschool teachers and are super proud of the learning we are seeing. For those of you who know Gabriel well, he's really a self starter.  He's very meticulous, task oriented, and wants to finish his work to move on to the next thing.  Mikayla is a great student as well, but at times, a little less organized.  However, we were so proud of how she took to this week of school.  First, she woke up earlier than normal.  She had a "first day of school outfit" ready to go, and instisted on the fir

Just a quick tour through the garden this morning.  Everything is so happy!  To date, we have the following items growing:  ·          Multiple varieties of tomatoes ·          Potatoes ·          Strawberries ·          Cucumbers ·          Orange and red butternut squash ·          Peruvian peppers ·          Bell peppers ·          Spaghetti squash ·          Brussel sprouts ·          Cantaloupe ·          Lemon drop melons ·          Beets ·          Pumpkin ·          Grapes           Dragon fruit           Chard As for trees, we have ·          Lime ·          Sapote ·          Mango ·          Blood orange           Peach ·          Mandarin ·          Pomegranate We are in the early stages of building a new planter box.   We intend to plant ·          Broccoli ·          Cauliflower ·          Banana peppers ·          Basil ·          Kale Tracy and I are having fun repurposing scraps from our neighbor's building proje

 Yesterday we went to a neighbor’s birthday party.  It was a fun afternoon of laughter, food, and of course lots of cold beer.  My neighbor, Tarraya, was busy cleaning a crate of radishes, or rábanos in Spanish.  I asked him where he got them and why would anyone want a crate of them.  He began to tell me a story that only seems normal for here. He said he got a call from a ship’s captain.   The ship was headed for Hawaii but was sidelined due to a hurricane or poor weather, I don’t exactly recall which.   The ship was full of produce that was spoiling and the captain asked Tarraya if they wanted to make a trade.   I’m not exactly sure of the details but it involved cases of beer in exchange for the produce and diesel fuel.   I guess late at night the exchange was made.   I noticed about five crates of produce in the back of Tarraya’s truck.   It was spoiled and he was going to take it to the dump.   I suggested I would take it off his hands.   He agreed in disbelief.   This morni

 We have been pretty consistent with our daily workouts.  Most days we hike, run, or mountain bike.  And now, most afternoons we boogie board and get in some swimming, too.  Today we drove out to the mostly abandoned fishing village of San Roque for our hike.  The loop starts with a climb of about a mile before the trail heads west to a small house used by the vigilancia.  Our town has two fishing cooperatives.   Each one has people who patrol the coast looking for potential poachers and to keep an eye on their fishing grounds.   There are fishing cooperatives up and down the coast of Baja and Baja Sur.   It’s reassuring knowing someone is around especially when in the middle of nowhere.   If you come across one of the vigilancia, I recommend saying hola and maybe offering up something cold to drink.   I have been rewarded more than once over the years with a bit of kindness. Once at the house, the trail loops back to the village.   The coast here is so beautiful and reminds me a l

We recently went to one of our favorite little markets in town, Escondido.   They have a great selection of meat so we decided to pick up some hamburger on a friend’s suggestion.   The young man went back to a freezer and pulled out some cardboard patties.   We were dumbfounded.                 We reached out to our friend to confirm we were at the correct market.   She said yes but the meat we wanted is called carne molido.   We  went back and this time asked for a kilo of carne molido.   The young man pulled out some lean meat and threw it into a meat grinder.   The meat came out very fine and had no fat.   It definitely was not what I was expecting.  It also did not have the expensive price tag of a US meat market.                 After a few days of contemplation, I came up with a game plan for the meat.   I cut up an Italian sausage to add some fat to the meat.   I also added bread crumbs along with my standard seasonings.    The meat now had a consistency a bit closer to wh

 Someone recently asked me this question and here is my response. My grandfather used to take my dad down to Baja. I fondly recall my dad telling me stories of them camping in Ensenada as a kid. Then my dad eventually started exploring Baja as a young man. He drove to Cabo San Lucas before the road was completed. He spent a month or so there before returning. As far as I know, my first time in Baja I was only months old. We camped all over Baja as a kid. I can remember many birthday parties sitting around campfires. My grandparents bought a place next to the old Fox Studios. I used to collect mussels at low tide and fish the rocky areas around there. My first drink was at the Rosarito Hotel...I think I was about 14. I always thought I would inherit my grandparents' place. Sadly my grandfather died of a massive stroke when I was 17 or 18. I went on my pilgrimage to Baja when I was 27 or so. My buddy and I drove my 1993 Tacoma down to Cabo and back fishing, camping, and living the li

My amigo Daniel Powell had a great piece about Bahia Asuncion published in the San Diego Reader a few years ago.  It's a great read.   Link to the story

After many years of dreaming about making a move, we have finally decided to commit.  We are selling our beautiful house in Spring Valley and moving to our place in Bahia Asuncion to live full time beginning in July, 2021. Our kids will be attending the local schools here and we will supplement their education as well.  As for Tracy and myself, we have started a new business venture, Johnston Family Tutoring .  Our goal is to tutor and teach small groups of students remotely.  We should be open for business in fall of 2021. We have started construction on a garage/fun room where we can play ping pong, watch movies, brew beer, do arts and crafts, sing karaoke, BBQ, and store the surf boards and mountain bikes.  Above will be a new master bedroom and office space for our tutoring business.  This will allow us to double the size of our kitchen space as well.   We are super excited with this addition! We are also excited to pursue another long term goal of starting a big garden here.  Sinc