The Adventures of Familia Bajaboy

One thing that is certain is that nothing is certain here.   I used to get so frustrated coming from a very structured life north of the border only to find everything is a moving target here.   It’s okay to make plans but do not get upset if things don’t go as planned because most times they won’t.   I learned early on, to take things as they come and keep my expectations low.   Yesterday was another great reminder…. We went to bed planning on going for an early morning hike.   I woke up early, made some coffee, and checked my email.   I decided to go out to the brew room and assemble my new electric Brewzilla and slowly prep for our first brew day.   I went back in the house to grab another cup of coffee and noticed the electricity was out.   I didn’t think much about it until later when I talked with our neighbor, Tarraya.   I asked him about the electricity and he said the power was on in the village.   The alarms in my head went off and I knew our plans for the day were change.

 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

 I love exploring YouTube videos.  Today I came across this great video of some of the beaches south of our village.  One of the great things about Bahia Asuncion is the variety of beaches.  To the north, the beaches remind me of the coast south of Monterey, California.  In town and to the south, the beaches are very similar to Southern California beaches with wide open sandy beaches.  I hope you enjoy the video!

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

My first trip to Elias Calles was in 1997.  I met a couple who were from the tiny little village about 40 miles north of Cabo San Lucas.  Very few people actually even know it exists but I had a connection.  Over the years, I have gotten to know it quite well.  In fact, my wife and I celebrated our wedding on the beach there in 2004. We now have a number of friends who live in the area including our good friends Jack and Harriet. We decided to take a vacation from our vacation and head down to visit them for a few days of fun. They have a beautiful house which sits right on the Pacific Ocean.  We always enjoy our time relaxing, story telling, and just hanging out with them. After a day of playing in the waves at Cerritos Beach, we decided to have a feast.  Abuela Rosemary made chile verde from scratch, hand made flour tortillas, and rice.  Lidia, whose family sold the land to Jack and Harriet, made some outrageously delicious frijoles.  We had the makings of a feast!

Gabriel Goes To Asuncion 10/25/2008 The truck was packed, we loaded up the cats, Tracy fed Gabriel, and off to Baja we went. It was about 5:15am when we finally left the house. My mom decided to follow us down as this would be her maiden voyage. We stopped at the border to pick up our FMT permits and were on the road by 6:08. Our plan was to drive all the way as we had done in the past but if we needed to we’d stay the night in Guerrero Negro. We left the door open as we weren’t certain as to how well Gabriel, Jack, or Cleo would travel. As it turned out, they all did fabulously. Gabriel was a dream and the cats were great, too. That is, after Jack peed all over himself and we let him out of his cage, he was fine. We arrived here about 7:30pm or so taking our time on the drive. It was great to be back. I unpacked the truck while Tracy introduced Gabriel to our neighbors (Angela, Luis). It didn’t take us long to settle in but the cats were full of