22 weeks. Trucker is the size of a papaya and we’re in San Miguel de Allende.

Our tag cloud today…

Baja 2002 from caddie hastings on Vimeo.

Caddie, Steve, Dan and Ben in a 2002 road trip through Baja.

We just spent a week in Sayulita with Steve Selwood, Clea Karlstom, their son Tyler, and Dan Shivone. It was a reunion of sorts. Way back in 2002, Steve, Dan, Caddie and I spent a week driving around Baja. It was an amazing time, we’ve talked about getting back together somewhere ever since. Seven years later we finally did, and this time around Clea bagged work to join us. It was another great week; 2-3 surf sessions a day, movie nights with our DVD projector, and one tequila-fueled argument with a very vocal Mexican woman during the US-Mexico soccer game (for the record, I was right). Already looking forward to reunion trip #3, somewhere well inside of seven years from now.

Just back from a few days in Tulum, Mexico for Trip and Jesse’s wedding.

I was sorting through some old photos the other day and came across a few classics. This one I don’t remember even having seen before (though I must have). Taken on a 2002 road trip through Baja with Caddie, Steve Selwood, and Dan Shivone. We were a couple hours and about a case into our drive out to Laguna San Ignacio. The whale-watching outfitters wanted to charge over $100/each to cart us from the town of San Ignacio to the lagoon. Instead we elected to drive ourselves out in our rented Dodge Stratus on the sometimes-awful road. We were generally moving slowly enough that if you needed a bathroom break you’d just open the door and get out. Somewhere Caddie has classic video footage of the whole trip…

Cad and I just spent a few days in Sayulita, nailing down details and surfing as much as possible. Joining us were Cad’s sister Liz and her two boys, Barret and Owen. While in town we took one for the team and tried as many restaurants and bars as we could. Favorites included margaritas at Lupe (and dinner too!), fish sandwich at Don Pedro’s, and the huevos rancheros at El Espresso. Buddha Bar has a great thing going at night, at least those nights they skip the live music. I’d say the overall favorite was Bar Playa…hard to beat a bar on the beach that looks like something out of Gilligan’s Island, but with great margaritas and a better soundtrack.

A left ending at a bar. It’s as if we just removed the leprechaun from the equation entirely. Who needs a middle man anyway?

Flickr: Bar Playa Slideshow

I just realized that it’s been ten years almost to the day since I gave my final presentation and walked out of a college classroom for the last time. That particular classroom was in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur.

After taking a semester off my junior year to travel in Mexico and Central America I had a few credits to make up. My major requirements were completed and my closest friends were graduating, so I decided to spend my final semester (Fall, 1997) abroad with The School for Field Studies.

It’s hard to believe ten years have gone by…