Chris Mays
01/18/2008, San Diego, California

We arrived in San Diego and tied up to the police dock. Customs and Border Protection just finished checking us in. We had to throw away our fruit and eggs but that was it. They did not even ask about the gallons of Madagascar rum, Brazilian cachacas, and South Africa bubbly. I guess they have more important things to worry about like terrorists and drugs. Fortunately we do not have either of those aboard.

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Chris Mays
01/17/2008, United States/Mexico Border

We made it! Just crossed the border in to US waters for the first time in 3 years. It feels good to be back! We are headed in to San Diego harbor where we will tie up to the police dock to wait for customs and immigration. Barring any unforeseen eventualities and if we can find it we should be on the dock before midnight. I guess it is time to hang the "Q" flag from our starboard spreader for the last time during this cruise.

The 65 miles sail up from Ensenada was uneventful. We had strong north easterlies initially which had us beam reaching at over 9 knots. Then the wind backed to the north west and we were beating again. Finally it died all together so now we are motoring.

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Julie Mays
01/17/2008, Ensenada, Mexico

It's hard to believe that our next port of call is the United States. For three years now, there has always been that allure about the next port - a big unknown. We read about it and have pre-conceived notions of what it will be like, but getting there and discovering things has been one of the most fun parts for me.

Arriving back to the United States has a whole different appeal. I look forward to dealing with American authorities, who of course are strict, but at least we know what the procedure will be and the law is applied evenly, no matter who you happen to get or their mood that day. But beaucracy aside, after sailing into foreign countries for three years, there is just something so comforting about coming back into the US. It's home. We know what to expect, where to go and know how to get things done efficiently.

So, it's with very mixed emotions that I leave Mexico this morning. I've been looking forward to this day for quite some time, but now that it's come, I'm more than sad to see it come to an end. Fortunately, I suspect that our lives will never be too boring, comfortable or ordinary, and before long, probably just as our lives are getting to be "normal", something will come along to change that.

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