That's the call that rang out as we left my sister's place in Tierrasanta (a neighborhood in San Diego). Thanks Todd!

While Freedom is relative, I would have to say we are pretty well on the way to that and hearing it hollered out was pretty cool.

So we are picking up the blogging again now that we are back at it.

We crossed the border at Tecate and with the vehicle we picked up for the trip, trading in the trusty Audi Avant (trading in isn't exactly what happened , but that's deserving of a post of its own) for the King of All SUV's, a Ford Excursion with the V-10 (maximum ugh power) loaded to the top and beyond with everything you could imagine, naturally we were picked for inspection. Lucky for us it went quickly and well and we were on our way in minutes.

We pushed hard for our first stop at El Rosario about 175 miles south of Ensenada and a night at the Baja Cactus Hotel. A little hint for those that follow us- unless you speak Spanish very well don't make your reservations in the morning, she will mess it up. We got the last room available and it happened to be the one closest to the road. That made for a really bad night's sleep as Freno con Motor is the mode of choice as the trucks roll by (Jake Brakes).

Exhaustedly we roll out the next morning for a great meal at Mama Espinoza's next door, a requisite stop for anyone doing this drive. The road called us out once more.

One of the highlights for us is the Catavina Desert area, this National Park is astounding- huge boulder fields , massive mountains, crazy Dr. Suess cacti and lush oasis'- what more could you ask for? Maybe a gas station, but the guy on the side of the road is there to help with his barrel of gasolina!

Guerrero Negro is the halfway point and we hit that right at lunchtime and a stop for some wonderful Pescado de Ajo. A big stop at the Pemex there and once more into the breach.

We made Santa Rosalia for a recommended stay at the Hotel Frances. This former "working girl" dormitory was built in the mid 1880's and the stairway doesn't seem to have been upgraded since. The beds have been replaced though- with the firmest mattress (it's a true stretch to call it a mattress) I have ever slept on- I always wondered if there was something firmer than granite, it was found here. We wandered into the centro area for a bite to eat and found the people to be really quite welcoming, a lot of waves and smiles, but we usually put that to how goofy I look.
Santa Rosalia is a copper mining town and it looks the part, rough and ready buildings that date back over a century, narrow roadways that once they leave the centro area become steep and deep, and cruise night that consist of cars and trucks negotiating the one lane streets in a continuous snake of overly driven stereo systems and a lot of bright lights.

After wishful dreams of a bed of nails, we get on the road after a laughable "continental breakfast" that consisted of white bread toast, orange juice and tan colored coffee. But they were very entertaining hostesses and all was forgiven!

The road south through this area is a reminder of the Pali Highway in Hawaii, a winding two lane road through a green and lush mountain range as wild as anywhere we have been. Yes, green and lush- this is the aftermath of the tropical storms that batter the area in the summer and fall. Another result of those storms is the road damage. You can pretty much expect a few bridges to be washed out and sections of road destroyed on a yearly basis.

Loreto is our next respite and after a meal than could be best described as "eh, it was OK" and another big drink of gas for the Excursion (earning the name BajaBlue) we make for the last very long leg into La Paz.

The road from Loreto to La Paz is a grind- mostly because we just want to get off of the road for a while, but also because the middle section of the drive is a lot of flat and straight very mind-numbing two lane. And after that is a section of road that finds so much up and down winding back and forth that there are no safe passing lanes. "Safe" is also one of those relative terms and I find my pucker factor rising to unheard of levels.

But we make it unscathed into La Paz in great time and settle down to a beer or two while we wait to meet with the agent responsible for our next housing adventure. That's the next post!