Since it is only 51 more days till the gypsy family leave the frozen north, to the beautiful beaches of Asucnion, I have been making lists like crazy,
and daydreaming instead of working!
What is your favorite part of planning your trip to Baja? Mine, getting everything together, making lists, finding things in the shops here to take
to my friends down in Baja. Imagining, the food, drink, and good times we will have with friends.Bajahowodd - 11-3-2009 at 05:08 PM
No planning. Get Auto Insurance online. Print out the policy. Pack a bag, and go! Stop whenever, wherever.Bajagypsy - 11-3-2009 at 05:11 PM
Bajahowodd, that is how we use to travel, now that we have a place, it involves, bring things down, and a bit more planning! Also bring 2 or the kids
down with us this time, so have to plan on things for them as well.danaeb - 11-3-2009 at 05:27 PM
Pulling out the shorts, sandals, tank tops and sunscreen (especially in Jan-Feb)
Going on the scavenger hunt to find all the goodies that friends have asked me to bring down.
Sitting in the little bar at the Volaris gate, waiting to board the plane.Bajahowodd - 11-3-2009 at 05:28 PM
Figured as much. Just threw my two cents in. Worst thing that can happen is when folks have kids and stop travelling. Or just go to Disney World, or
Legoland. Kids need to see the world out there.Bajagypsy - 11-3-2009 at 05:48 PM
my kids love to travel, they have all their life, I think that they learn more travelling then they actualy do in school. I agree with you
Bajahowodd, their is more to life than Disney world.motoged - 11-3-2009 at 05:50 PM
Favourite part of planning?
Executing the planBajaGeoff - 11-3-2009 at 05:55 PM
My favorite part is packing the car.......at that point all of the planning has been worked out and the reality of the trip is setting in.
My next favorite part? Crossing the border into Mexico!DENNIS - 11-3-2009 at 06:00 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaGeoff
My next favorite part? Crossing the border into Mexico!
A green light only makes it better.lofty - 11-3-2009 at 06:15 PM
Waking up on a crisp morning, leaving San Diego in the dark only to watch the sunrise rise as you race towards San Felipe with the view in your rear
view mirror obstructed by your dirt bike in the back of your truck, knowing that a great adventure awaits in the not to distant future.DanO - 11-3-2009 at 06:15 PM
Saying this:
"Anybody's gotta pee, they'd better do it now."Diver - 11-3-2009 at 07:02 PM
Making the lists, packing the truck and camper, fixing and making parts and pieces, buying new toys for the trip, talking to friends about leaving and
coming.
God I wish we were in any of those stages !!!
No Christmas trip for us this year !
You guys have a blast and remember to visit our "plot".
Did I mention that we buried 2 cases of your favorite Canadian beer ?? Bajagypsy - 11-3-2009 at 07:08 PM
Diver, we shall go to your plot and have a drink for you!
DanO, I say that all the time, and then it is me that has to make the stop!grace59 - 11-3-2009 at 07:41 PM
Favorite parts for me: Packing those shorts and tank tops, tormenting all my friends with my plans, deciding the first place to stop for Chiliquiles!
I will head down again in 23 days! Whoo...Hoo, Here we come!
Planning & Baja
Baja Bernie - 11-3-2009 at 07:42 PM
The only thing I do for planning a trip to Baja is figure a rough date we will head down and another for when we start thinking about coming
back....Works everytimeSkipjack Joe - 11-3-2009 at 07:51 PM
I don't really enjoy the planning very much.
I often spend my time going over the pictures from previous trips. That's about all the planning. That and making the rounds at the tackle shops.DENNIS - 11-3-2009 at 08:02 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Baja Bernie
The only thing I do for planning a trip to Baja is figure a rough date we will head down and another for when we start thinking about coming
back....Works everytime
You're a seasoned Baja veteran, Bernie. It gets less complicated with time, doesn't it.Paulina - 11-3-2009 at 08:14 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
I don't really enjoy the planning very much.
I often spend my time going over the pictures from previous trips. That's about all the planning. That and making the rounds at the tackle shops.
I'm with you on that one. My favorite part of planning would also be visiting the tackle shop. Looking at photos gets us pumped up, feeds the jonesin'
feeling like having too many Tab sodas can do to me.
Then I pull out our journal.
Pulling the journal out is good feeling because that means we're going home. But... that feeling only lasts about 2 sec. until the $$$ signs start
flashing in my brain.
Planning then becomes going over the journal to make a copy of the "what we need in Baja" list, buying that stuff, paying off bills in advance,
finding someone to watch the turkeys, the horse, the parrot and the goldfish. Add a trip to Costco, listening to Dern fuss about all the extras I try
to sneak into the truck as he's trying to tuck some of his stuff away so we can make it past a red light inspection.
But after all that fuss and worry, it totally vanishes once we make it into Baja. That baja smell completely makes it all worth while.
I hope your 51 days passes quickly for you. We have 48 days ourselves.
P<*)))>{Fred - 11-3-2009 at 08:25 PM
Mine is planning when I can leave as my daughter has trouble paying the rent at my house and I travel on that $$$$$$$. I have made a checklist and
when I start to fill it my mind gets completely "laidback".Natalie Ann - 11-3-2009 at 08:51 PM
I, too, 'plan' by looking at pix and journal entries from earlier trips.... taking myself down memory lane.
I already know what to take and how to take it - by now that's ingrained in my dna. As for plans about where to go when... only plan is to get there,
relax, see what happens next.
Got myself grinnin' just thinking about it...
nenamulegemichael - 11-3-2009 at 09:01 PM
it's all about lists, folks...pages and pages of lists..so nothing is forgotten..makes us feel so organized like, "we've got everything we
need"...yeah...right..as soon as we get down here we start another list..Paulina - 11-3-2009 at 09:32 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by mulegemichael
...as soon as we get down here we start another list..
Very true. On every trip I make an entry in our journal that reads, "Have in Baja" and "Need in Baja".
The list starts right off the bat.
Then when it's time to start planning the next trip we go over that list to decide what we really need or what we'd really like to have.
Sometimes the like to have items get added to the next visit's list.
Like I said, it's all still worth it.
P<*)))>{Bajagypsy - 11-4-2009 at 05:23 AM
Todd makes fun of my list's, I to have a In Baja, needs to be in Baja list. I love every part of the planning stage! My favorite, is how my heart
starts thumping a bit harder as we come to the Mexican boarder!Mexitron - 11-4-2009 at 05:51 AM
We used to have a list of about 20 things in the old day---surfboard, fishing pole, stove, coffee, tortillas, beer, tequila, beans....something like
that---took us about 20 minutes to load up and be on the road. Only planning was a phone call to my buddies---hey, what're you doing?
Nothing...wanna go to Baja? Okay!
These days the trips are longer and I'm older so I usually try and take one or two days off before the trip starts to plan and pack--those are kind of
fun days---kind of like "pre-vacation". Shoot I think I'll start planning our next trip right now, that'd be a few months of pre-vacation....hey, I
like that!Mika - 11-4-2009 at 10:27 AM
Making a list of restaurants and things that I want to eat and drink.
That I like best when I plan a trip.Martyman - 11-4-2009 at 12:45 PM
I enjoy making the list (one page), checking off everything and loading the car the night before. That trip to the tackle shop is expensive though!Heather - 11-4-2009 at 12:47 PM
You guys made me get out the calendar and count the days till we go down...56 if we're lucky! We have a week after New Year's off this year, so will
make it down on NY's eve, or the 30th, depending on flights! We're not driving, so packing will be minimal! Ugh!
Luckily, we've got most of the basics stored in the bodega at the camper!
My planning will be to hit up the after-Christmas sales, so I can bring some presents for the in-laws!
Oh yea, gotta get on Facebook with the cousins in La Paz and see who's planning the New Year's Eve party. New Year's always seems to be a bigger
event than Christmas with our Baja family! Saludos, HeatherDENNIS - 11-4-2009 at 01:01 PM
I make a list every day. The first item on the list is:
[1] Find yesterday's listBajagypsy - 11-4-2009 at 06:41 PM
Dennis, that is somewhat like my everyday list. The first item on my list is
(1) Make a drink!Udo - 11-4-2009 at 07:14 PM
We never really do a day countdown, we just pack up the FJ and head down. Be it for 5 days or 14 days.
There are always rooms available no matter where we go in Baja.estebanis - 11-4-2009 at 09:32 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Paulina
finding someone to watch the turkeys,P<*)))>{
I can help with the Turkeys! Paulina - 11-4-2009 at 11:18 PM
You can't mess with the Big Guy...all 40 lbs of him. He'd be too big to fit in your freezer camp. Girl is pushing 24 lbs. They are 6 mo. old on the
button.
Bajagypsy - 11-5-2009 at 06:20 AM
I love your turkey's Paulina! They are beautiful!schwlind - 11-5-2009 at 07:54 AM
Well, I'm comforted to know that I'm not the only one that has lists...
Lets see... "Provision lists" (food, booze... stuff like that)....
"Repair Lists"... parts and items we need for projects, replacements and/or repairs;
then there are the "To Do" lists: the first is the list of what I need to do before we leave and the second list is what I'd like to do (or need to
do) when I get there....
As soon as I start reviewing my "old lists" and making new lists... I get excited... then I have to go look at all the previous trips'pictures... then
I'm so pumped... I wanna go right then!
Patience, Linda..... 34 days and counting....
Interestingly... no matter how stressed I get... getting ready to go.... once I cross that border... it all melts away! It's magical!DENNIS - 11-5-2009 at 09:05 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Bajagypsy
Dennis, that is somewhat like my everyday list. The first item on my list is
(1) Make a drink!
That makes more sense. Thanks.
SALUDvandenberg - 11-5-2009 at 09:10 AM
Lugging all that stuff down every trip got so tiresome that we finally decided to stay put. In Loreto that is.estebanis - 11-5-2009 at 05:23 PM
I have started making a provisions list before I leave as I can never remember what we have and don't have by the time we are heading down again. Then
there are the bits and pieces list for repair, home improvement, gagets. Then the most important list "Mexico Checklist" We forgot our travel
documents once and had to turn around half way to the border. I have my wife Tia read it off as we pull out at O'dark Thirty for Baja...
Esteban24baja - 11-5-2009 at 10:50 PM
I too start making a list in BOLA and make more as the time for our return trip draws nearer. I also wash all our clothes the night we get home and
they are immediately repacked for our next trip, have 2 bags dedicated to nothing but fishing trips/baja. Then the most favorite part of the
journey.....cresting the hill into BOLA and getting the first glimpse of the bay, all the sapphire and aqua colors of the water surrounding the yellow
and white colors of the islands it is absolutely breathtaking and I live for that moment every day and yearn for the beauty of the Sea of Cortes. I
think I got the Bug!
[Edited on 11-6-2009 by 24baja]Woooosh - 11-6-2009 at 12:48 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by Martyman
I enjoy making the list (one page), checking off everything and loading the car the night before. That trip to the tackle shop is expensive though!
seconded. I'm a checklist man too. I also keep a list of things I fogot to put on the list.Skipjack Joe - 11-6-2009 at 07:09 AM
The fishing tackle list is our favorite list and the one we spend most time on.
There are two parts to it:
a. replenishing old tried and true lures (Krocs, etc)
b. purchasing never used lures which we have a hunch could be winners.
The 'funnest' part of planning is 'b'.
The second most enjoyable part of planning is the camping equipment. That involves walking down the aisles of REI and thinking about the usefulness of
all the gadgets.
Our least enjoyable part is getting the documents/signatures and purchasing provisions. In fact we dislike shopping for food so much that we put it
off until reaching the Poinsettia exit at Carlsbad, where we pull off the interstate and shop at Ralphs.bajabass - 11-6-2009 at 12:20 PM
Almost every Friday I jot down my food/drink list, hit Ralphs, throw some clothes in my bag, then wait an hour while my wife packs all her junk. I
could be over half way to the border before she is done. I am getting used to it though, it has been the same way every weekend for the 2 years we
have been married. Thankfully, the house in La Mision is pretty well stocked. So far I have only had to turn around once for forgotten Resident Alien
Cards for my wife and step-son. Ah, married life!!!
