The Adventures of Familia Bajaboy

Well my love for the trails is getting more intense as the miles unfold. I've always enjoyed getting off the beaten track whether I'm on my bike, in my truck, hiking, camping, or running. This year, I've spent a great deal of time trail running and it's quickly becoming habit-forming. As many of you may recall, Tracy and I ran a 30K trail run at Sycamore Canyon last November. Turns out, Tracy got pregnant that weekend so trail running must be a good thing. Since that race and the news of a baby boy on the way, I've decided to dig a bit deeper and longer with my runs. I'm signed up do race a 50K later this year. The race is the inaugural Skyline to the Sea 50K Trail run put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs ( http://www.pctrailruns.com/Skyline_to_the_Sea.htm ). As part of my training for that race, I've been running on Thursday nights with a group from Tri Club of San Diego headed by Florian Hedwig. He's a great guy with a positive attitude...but don&

Wow-hard to believe we're already into April. It's been a busy and good year so far. The year started out with Tracy and I in Bahia Asuncion. With the help of some friends, we've done a major face-lift on the casita. Some of the major improvements so far this year include: a new roof new electrical outlets, lights, switches, and wiring new stove and refrigerator new windows drywall in one bedroom hot water heater tinaco (water tank) and a horse shoe pit On the next trip, I plan on installing a new vanity and sink in the bathroom and also new saltillo tile. I'm also debating on digging a new septic tank as well. And finally, we'd like to plaster the outside of the bathroom. Otherwise, I think most of the improvements will be cosmetic. While it's easy for me to get caught up in all the improvements I have planned for the casita, the reality of having a baby in August are starting to set in. We had a few scares recently but the doctor has promised that all

Tracy and I have been enjoying the beautiful weather San Diego has offered recently. With a busy work schedule, a baby on the way, and planning for our upcoming trip to Baja, we've been on the go. But we're also making the time to get outside. We're both committed to living a happy, healthy lifestyle and today was no different. This weekend, we went for a 5.5 mile hike at Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego. Our hike started on the Tierrasanta side of the park climbing a little over 920 ft of total elevation. The weather was perfect with temps in the mid to upper 70s. The best part of the hike was smelling all the wildflowers along the trails and taking in the wildlife. We have enjoyed the park for many years and this year is no different. Enjoy the pictures and get outside to smell the flowers.

I've been raving to Tracy for many years now the benefits of trail running. Up until recently, Tracy had primarily run on pavement. She has even completed The San Diego Rock and Roll marathon. But trail running was a new adventure and with a bit of coercion, she agreed to sign up for the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Run put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs. There were 4 different distances but we set our sites on the 30K distance which translates to 18.6 miles with about 3,200ft of climbing. While visiting my mother, Zoe, in Sebastopol over the summer we opted to volunteer at the Salt Point trail run put on by PCTR. As a result, we each received a free entry. But more impor tantly Tracy got to see first-hand the laid-back nature of trail runners and the sport itself. The runners talked with each other, joked around, and were more concerned with the scenery than with race splits. I think this helped ease both of our nerves. At the suggestion of the race directors, we reserved

In an effort to maintain our fitness gains from this year's training, Tracy and I decided to sign up for some longer events. We signed up to do a 30k trail run in November as well as a challenging bike ride, the Grizzly Challenge. We coerced some friends to sign up and join us. Here's a brief report from the ride. The plan was to camp with friends at Bass Lake, California about 10 miles from the start of the ride in North Fork. Chuck and his wife Laura along with her parents reserved a large spot for us and we were excited to hang out before and after the ride. Our other friends Cheryl, Eric, and Kim stayed in North Fork at a friend's house. A storm was clearing out as Tracy and I arrived late on Friday night. We heard that snow had fallen at 5,000 feet and thus we might find some the following day on the ride. We decided to sleep in a bit as it would not warm until the sun had risen above the trees. After all, it was in the low 30s when we woke up at 6:30am. The r

Tracy and I were re-energized and ready to roll now that the "ToyotaHome" was secure again. The prior day was long and stressful taking a toll on the two of us. But today was a new day and we were fresh with enthusiasm for the upcoming adventure. The plan today was to head south from our beach campsite south towards Loreto. We would top off on gas and then head west across the mountains and camp on the Pacific. While I have traveled most parts of Baja, today's route was completely new for me. I have heard incredible things about these mountains and had marveled at their beauty driving south. Today we would see them up close. There are two primary roads that head towards the Pacific. We chose the road to Mision San Javier. The first few miles are paved but I knew that would end quickly and it did. The road was in great shape but had a number of steep grades. We were driving slowly anyways as the views were incredible. We stopped a number of times to get out of

Google Earth is one of the coolest products to come out in a long time. I have explored and re-explored so many areas with it. Today I spent some time and plotted a map of our place in Bahia Asuncion and other important landmarks. I also realized that our place is 3/10ths of a mile from the ocean and sits at 26 ft. above sea level. Good to know....just in case. Down the road I'll include my favorite hot dog stand (Chimo's) and the big Modellorama across from the Police station. I'm also working on plans for the future. I'd like to get a patio built for the front with a shade canopy that will also act as a second floor patio. Here's a sketch: