Baja 2002 from caddie hastings on Vimeo.

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

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…

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…

This past February we spent a week in Baja California Sur with my Mom. It was a pretty great trip; from our first few days at the Cabo Surf Hotel, to the first of many whale sightings, snorkeling with sea lions in Cabo Pulmo (one of my favorite places in Baja), the carnival in La Paz, kayaking off Isla Espiritu Santo, heading out with the grey whales in Magdalena Bay (where I studied abroad), and capped off with a great couple of days in Todos Santos and an incredible room at the Hotel California.

Mmmm…ballenas.