Barbarosa
Nomad
Posts: 188
Registered: 1-12-2011
Location: Jackson, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: "On th' road again..."
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Baja Run 2011 – Day 0, February 3, Staging
Bob was starting in Vermont (in early February in a major snow storm). He departed nearly a week early and trailered his bike to South Carolina where
he met up with Len. As they rode west (on the southern route, of course), they connected with Danny from Florida. Their wives, Julie, Pauline, and
Cindy respectively, were flying directly into San Diego.
Brad was coming down from Washington, trailering his bike out of the Pacific Northwest. Kari would fly down to meet him in San Diego. Brad also
hauled bikes for Chuck and Barb who were coming in from Idaho. They were on the tightest schedule and flew down to meet their bikes in San Diego.
(They were the mavericks in the crowd, riding separate bikes, BMWs no less. All the rest of us were on big Harley touring bikes. Hey, we let them tag
along.)
Brad swung through our place in Jackson, California to pick up our designated driver for his chase truck, Connie.
Dennis and Vina headed south, down The Big Valley from Central California. And I did the same.
Finally, Michael (our esteemed photographer) and Carrie rolled “all the way in” from Santa Monica to San Diego.
The blizzards, esp. in the Northeast were having their way with air travel all around the country. I don’t think a single one of the “girls” who were
flying in were exempt from nasty cancellations and delays in getting across the country. Here we were with a schedule wound so tight and risking
major delays before we ever crossed the border. Fortunately, ultimately the weather gods were kind, and everyone was in by late evening on that
“night before.”
Needing a good staging spot near the border and with good airport access, I opted for The Ocean Beach Hotel. http://obhotel.com I’d been there before (more than once) and, indeed, it exactly filled the bill. In fact, since we wanted the truck but not
Brad’s trailer for the run south, they let us just park the trailer in the hotel lot for the duration.
Didn’t hurt a bit that Cheswick’s was half a block away. And then, a short walk to Hodad’s, “No shirt, no shoes, no problem.” http://www.hodadies.com/ One of the best burgers in the U.S. says CNN.
Well, we partied hearty. Copious quantities of brewskis were slaughtered in the process. We also had some nice, very welcome, local company. Some
of the local friends of this motley crew showed up for a send-off. And a new acquaintance from BajaNomad.com came by. (I’ve forgotten his name.)
It was particularly enjoyable to see my old and dear friend Gilbert Ochoa, aka El Jefe. Gilbert has dual citizenship, and is well known to many
Southern California riders, esp. those who venture south of the border. For many years “El Jefe,” led big rides into Baja, notably to Ensenada for
MardiGras. He also opened El Jefe’s Bar and Grill down in Calafia, Baja (now closed). Anyway, I used to see Gilbert on a kind of frequent basis but
had lost track. He’s always been a huge booster of Gringo tourism in Baja (including very generous offers of personal support), particularly for
those traveling by motorcycle. Through the wonders of the Internet, I tracked him down and then he tracked us down. Wonderful!
Through some miracle, everyone ultimately found their ways to their accommodations for the night. The trip awaits.
Barbarosa
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