- House rented

- Boat slip sublet

- Bank accounts drained preparing boat for trip

- Waterline lowered 3" by required wine, beer, & 2 pair of shorts

- Plane reservations made for Grandma's trips home to hug Declan

And with that we are off to Mexico and, in fact, we just caught a whiff of that burning trash "welcome to Mexico" aroma as we crossed the imaginary line off the Tijuana coast. Conditions are beautiful for a short 60 mile trip to Ensenada where we'll stay for a few days getting our check-in squared away. It's been 31/2 years since our last Mexico adventure and I've been daydreaming of this beginning a few months after returning from that last trip (that's about how long it takes to erase from one's soul the memory of that gawd-awful Baja Bash....). Replacing those thoughts are an insatiable desire to slowly slide up the San Jose Channel in a warm breeze while admiring the towering jagged mountains lining the Baja inside coast as we head for one of the beautiful coves surrounding the emerald water of the Sea of Cortez. For this trip we will stay in the Sea of Cortez and only be in Mexico for about 5 months. The other huge difference from our previous trips is that Victoria is a diesel sucking, smoke belching powerboat with a big horn and lights galore instead of our eco-friendly sailboat MissTeak (we do have 1500 watts of solar which should be considered a carbon offset.....)! Just to be clear, there are no white pants and blue blazers aboard - we are sailors at heart but, age and other issues luckily have brought us to Victoria which we just love (KT does have one of those snazzy white skipper hats.....). Let the adventure begin. GO NINERS!