Mike Humfreville
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For those of Us Left Behind
So, son Kevin, 25, and Carly and another couple have been planning a trip to Bahia de Los Angeles over the forth of July weekend foe some time. Our
children have grown up there under many living conditions and unusual situations and from beyond the northern reaches of the bay at Las Cuevitas and
La Gringa to Rincon, in the south, and beyond. They?re planning on a 4-day weekend and I?m thinking it?s a long trip for four days.
The kids have decided that the best way to deal with all the driving is to leave Ventura County before dark today, Friday, the 2nd of July, and drive
straight through. It?s around 12 hours from here to there and that means they?ll arrive in Bahia by Saturday morning about 7 A.M.
Kevin has made this trip a hundred times in his short life and we?ve run into problems, breakdowns, mordidas, bad gasoline, touristas in the old days,
accidents. But for the most part the kids have been with Mary Ann and me and had a level of experience that was never needed but always available.
We have always hoped that our two boys would continue the Baja connection after they were not so closely tied to us. Mary Ann and I knew that we
would retire part of our time at the bay. There was never any question. But we were never certain about the boys, who are still a very big part of
our lives. We assumed but how can you predict each others behavior as you grow up?
Friday afternoon arrives and the kids collect under our massive avocado trees and begin the process of packing. They have lists of stuff they have to
have and make trips to the store and the barn to gather food and chairs and camping goods and throw it all into the back of Kevin?s truck. I run into
the house to locate and print Googled pages about the bay and Gecko and side trips and the best places to eat and Kevin already knows it all but his
second couple have never been there or anywhere else in Mexico before and might benefit from this material.
I spend time just before they pull out of the drive reminding Kevin and the kids of the dangers of driving at night: free-range cattle and burros on
the roadway, getting sleepy in the late hours, warning him to make sure that at least two people are always awake, watching the traffic in the border
towns and the drinking that might be going on with other drivers, following closely the narrow road after San Quintin where the agricultural areas
have dwindled, gassing up at El Rosario (there?s a nice hotel there for just a few dollars a night which I know they will opt out), sticking to the
road as he?s climbing into the mountains as they enter the central desert (by then it will be 4 A.M) and to try and top off at Catavina although there
will not likely be anyone there at that hour, and to wake the gang up as the sun starts it?s swing over the early edges of the sea of Cortez when they
hit the turn off to Bahia at the Punta Prieta junction. If they are lucky they will be able to stop at the perch at about kilometer 54 from the
turnoff to allow his newbie pals to gasp at the magnificence and grandeur of the entire Bahia de Los Angeles and her off-islands, her flora and small
fauna, her simple village and the folks that live there.
So, Mary Ann?s and my dream is realized, they are off to Baja on their own.
So why am I crying?
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FrankO
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Registered: 11-10-2002
Location: Ocean Beach
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I hear ya' Mike. I have some fairly grown up kids. What else can you say. Especially when they are bonding to a place that seems to physically live in
your heart.
My two new rugrats will be weaned on that same place sooner than later.
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academicanarchist
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Driving at night
When I was 20, which was many years ago, I went with a group of friends to Baja California in an old van. We were driving in the Central Desert, and
almost ran into a bunch of burros running across Hwy 1.
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DanO
Super Nomad
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Location: Not far from the Pacific
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For me, the gravitational pull of Baja comes from trips down with my father in the late 60s and early 70s. Baja meant my father and his mania for
travelling hundreds of miles just to be where nobody else was. Or so I thought.
In the beginning, I couldn't figure out why the hell we were bouncing for hours on end over washboards in the middle of endless desert -- I was all
about the destination, the end point. But each place we stopped at left a crystalline impression, sometimes so perfect that it was hard to take it
all in.
I began to learn that being down there wasn't really all about the end point, but about each point along the way, no matter how brief or seemingly
insignificant. I started to understand what my father was looking for when he'd pull off to the side of the road, miles off the highway, to let us
grab a drink or take a leak, while he'd walk off a few yards and then stand still, gazing into the distance, savoring the smell of the dust, the
shimmering heat, the singing quiet of the desert.
Those voyages made such an impression on me that I've felt obligated to pass along to my two young sons at least the essence of what I got from them
-- a passion for a stark and beautiful place, an attention to the details and intangibles of its experience, and an admiration and respect for its
thoughtful and resourceful people. It seems to be working, despite the Gameboys, but I'll know they really got it when I watch them drive off for
their first trip down south alone.
Thanks, Mike, as always, for enabling these thoughts.
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surfer jim
Super Nomad
Posts: 1891
Registered: 8-29-2003
Location: high desert
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Just what I need to see ...photo of San Carlos...with waves.....
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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Mood: Happy!
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Nice one DanO.......you said it well....
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bajalera
Super Nomad
Posts: 1875
Registered: 10-15-2003
Location: Santa Maria CA
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Mike and DanO, you've given us all some insight into two different aspects of the love of Baja California--the appreciation of parents for the place,
on one hand, and the hope that somehow we'll be able to transfer this appreciation to our offspring, on the other.
Transferral to the upcoming generation is now way more difficult than it was when I had to think about it, because today's kids are subjected to so
many forms of entertainment that assume they have an attention span of at most three seconds.
Baja doesn't offer instant gratification. Loving it requires pacience, a commodity that isn't easily transmitted from one generation to the next. But
you two guys--and I'm sure many other Nomads as well--have apparently been successful at passing along appreciation of Baja to your children--who will
come to value this even more as they grow older.
Good job!
Lera
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
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Lera,
I used to get really bummed out when we?d start a trip and the boys, younger then, would whip out their game boys and pay no attention to the stuff
that was happening as we raced to our destination. Maybe they didn?t pay attention because they ?weren?t in charge.?
Once we were living in a remote place for a week or two the boys created their own reality of ?their time.? During ?their time? they were in charge
and they were moving at a pace where they controlled what was happening in their next few minutes. During this time they bonded with the place they
were. It happened to be Baja.
It?s somewhat like the bonding that goes on between parent, mother or father, and child. There are few people and places where we choose to bond, but
we do. The bottom line might be that there are so few ?other distractions.?
And patience?I?m not certain. I can see that a parent might need patience in observing with the way their child received Baja. We just let our boys
go until the So Cal environment didn?t fit in their current environment, on a lonely stone beach in Bahia. They found their way from there. Mary Ann
and I knew they would.
We?re all so unique, have our own expectations, individual needs. I wonder at times if I don?t now rely more on my children than they do on me, if
for different reasons. Perhaps that?s normal, but no excuse to burden them.
Thanks, Lera, for your supportive and provocative thoughts.
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
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Mike, great post. You and Mary Ann are not with Kevin, but just think how many times he will see things and places that will remind him of his
childhood. You guys will be there in his many memories and experiences of the past, forever.
Bob H
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Thanks guys,
From the looks of nomads we are the only folks in town. 2 posts all day long? Sure wish we could have headed out too! Hoping for October.
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Ken Bondy
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 12-13-2002
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Mood: Mellow
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Thanks to you Mike...
...once again for a beautiful post. One of the great joys of my life is the love of Baja that I instilled in my four kids. One of them, my oldest
daughter, is a professional writer and the log she kept of one of our recent trips makes me very proud. If anyone is interested it can be read at
http://coleenbondy.com/personal/travel/baja_escape/index.htm
Thanks again,
++Ken++
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
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Registered: 8-26-2003
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I've read many parts of Coleen's log, a while back, and I know you must be proud for her work. It is a great read, filled with tangible details. For
a while a few of us worry about our kids growing and moving on where they are no longer part of our lives. Fewer, even, are lucky enough to be able
to share the same small place together with our children as they grow and expand and continue to love. Thanks for kind words.
[edited part]: Ken. I forgot to mention that just before Kevin headed to Baja he had completed his initial SCUBA class at Sports Chalet. He e-mailed
today that he's used his equipment for the first time solo in Bahia de Los Angeles. Conservative and shallow dive (thank God).
[Edited on 7-6-2004 by Mike Humfreville]
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academicanarchist
Senior Nomad
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Registered: 9-7-2003
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Baja Fever
My first experience with Baja California was in 1975, and was also an example of Baja Fever. My parents, who both passed on earlier this year,
supported my mission mania. I nagged them for months to go on the road so I could visit and photograph mission sites in the southwest and northern
Mexico. My Dad had done flight training in Pensacola in 1941, just before WW ll, and was enrolled in a long term study called the 1000 aviators study.
Doctors at Pensacola examined the health of former pilots over decades to see the effects, if any, of flying. My Mom, Dad, and me loaded into a war
wagon, and hit the road. We drove to Pensacola via a circuitous route that took us first through New Mexico and later Texas, where we visited many
mission sites.Then on to Pensacola. One the return to California, was passed through Texas again, southern Arizona, northern Sonora to visit the Kino
missions, and then to Baja California via the Guaymas Ferry. We then drove through the entire Peninsula, visiting most of the mission sites, and then
back to California. The trip took several weeks. Although my parents are gone, and I miss them terribly, I do have the satisfaction of knowing that
they were able to see the fruition of my early obsession with missions, with my obtaining my doctorate from U.C. Berkeley, the university both of my
parents attended and that my paternal grandfather also attended, and the publication of many of my books and articles on the missions. They took a
great deal of pride in my academic accomplishments. Back in the late 1990s, before it was completed and opened to the public, my Mom bought several
copies of my books, and donated them to the Bush Library in College Station. I took the books up to College Station, and at that time the temporary
lodgings for the library was an old bowling alley. The director of the library took me on a tour, and the one thing that really caught my attention
was a replica of a medieval fort in Saudi Arabia donated by the Saudi govt. It was made of 120 kilos of pure gold. It was one of a number of gifts
that George Sr. received during his presidency. If you have not seen my earlier posts, my Dad and George Bush, sr. served in VF 51 during WW ll, on
the carrier San Jacinto. A few years ago I flew out to meet my Mom, and took her to visit several of her sisters in different parts of California. At
this time my Dad was institutionalized with advanced Alzheimers. DUring the trip I took her to Alameda, and she donated copies of several of my books
that I had sent her over the years to Alameda High School, the school both my Mom and Dad graduated from.
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Mike Humfreville
Super Nomad
Posts: 1148
Registered: 8-26-2003
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Case Closed
They're home now. Arrived a couple hours ago. We never heard the truck as they pulled in.
But soon we were all in the living room and listening to the excited voices, worn only slightly from the long drive, telling us how perfect the
weather was and the water was cool at first but quickly warmed and how they got the best of La Gringa and Kev's pal had burned his feet on the smooth
round stones there and how they had visited the site of our old hut at Las Cuevitas and they had gotten two meals daily at Las Hamacas and the room at
Gecko was perfect with the loft and their friends had wanted that and Kev and Carly were happy with the lower bunks and the showers and toilets were
OK.
They had two flats caused perhaps by not lowering tire pressures on dirt but they are young and energetic and nothing is a problem like an old man
dealing with unyielding knees and an aching back as youngsters are made of rubber and can still bend and twist and torque is still in their
vocabulary.
They caught a few crabs, visited sites known to us as a family, the old mining town of Las Flores, the turtle sanctuary where there were a few babies
for a change (how sad and yet hopeful) and hung at Gecko, socializing with others.
They survived.
It wasn't Kevin's first trip without us. But Mary ann and I had always been on the receiving end of their sojourn if they needed us. Hell, they
don't need us now; We've reached a status of shared responsibilities.
I'll pass on the old way of Baja. That's my responsibility as an aging dude that's seen old stuff.
I don't need much in return. Just a few simple things that come naturally to both Kevin and Michael. Like for Michael, the satellite dish, the
receiver and TV, and this damned solar charging crap, how does it all work? I want to know and unerstand all those wires and connections.
And for Kevin: fix the internet connex, the computer networking problem and all my software reload garbage that has my hands tied 'til you guys can
get here.
It's only a twenty-four drive, round trip drive guys, come on, get with the program!
Dad
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