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Bajagypsy
Super Nomad
Posts: 1416
Registered: 8-31-2006
Location: BahÃa Asuncion BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Living the dream
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Honestly, make sure you have drinks and lots of snacks for your son, you said you have a dvd player and a PSP, make sure he has his favorite movies,
and pack some books, we also play an alphabet game with our kids in the car (we have four that are troopers at long travel Canada - Cabo long!!). To
play the alphabet game, you start with A and everyone has to look outside the vehicle with something that starts with the letter A. Once some says
they found something that starts with the letter A and says "A I saw an Apple Tree" that person gets a gummy bear or some such treat. Then they have
to spell it, if they get it correct another gummy bear, if they don't the next child gets a turn and so on.
Another great way for kids to be happy on a long trip, is if they get to be part of it, help look for turn offs, read the map, plot the next gas stop
etc.
Stop for pee breaks and after everyone has gone, have him run laps around the vehicle. Our kids know that even if it is 3:00 am and we have stopped
for gas, everyone gets out of the vehicle has a pee and runs around the parking lot. (We drive non stop from Canada to Mexico).
I drove for 18 hours straight in Northern Canada (very remote, didn't see another car for 5 hours, no cell service nothing) with our four kids and it
wasn't as bad as it sounds!!!! Stay calm, don't stress over the small stuff and it will be grand. The bonding you will have with your son, is
something that both of you will fondly remember forever.
[Edited on 5-23-2008 by Bajagypsy]
[Edited on 5-23-2008 by Bajagypsy]
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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Very well said, Gypsy, and I can testify that your ideas really work----------we traveled the same way for years, and still do, but not for as long as
we used to. 
Barry
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
Member Is Offline
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My kids also listened to books on tape. We'd visit the library before we left and borrowed a good sized stack. They were usually quiet while they
listened to their stories which helped me with the driving. They also tend to look out the windows instead of down at the gameboy. (not to take away
from the entertainment/quiet factor electronics provide, I just liked my kids to see Baja.)
Regarding those potty stops...my son was calling for them more frequently than I thought he should. Come to find out he was using the opportunity to
collect rocks. He'd come out from behind the bush with his pants loaded for bear.
I bought him a urinal. There was plenty of time for rock collecting once we arrived at our destination.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Bajafun777
Super Nomad
Posts: 1103
Registered: 9-13-2006
Location: Rosarito & California
Member Is Offline
Mood: Enjoying Life with Wife In Mexico, Easy on The Easy
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Look if you worry about the sky falling all the time then you will never enjoy life. Bad things happen everywhere and I agree bad things have been
happening in Mexico but using good "common sense" keeps you safe 99% of the time. Nothing is 100% and I have seen good people in safe communities
here in the States with all the security in the world and good police become victimized and hurt. Bad things happen we can not change that only try
to take reasonable care to avoid it, as much as is possible without closing ourselves into locked bricked homes. Not driving at night is the big one,
always travel with another couple or friends if the oppurtunity is present just makes for a better safer trip and improves friendships also. You need
to let your wife see the precautions you are taking and link-up with some nomads in the area your going to from this "board" so the little things you
may miss just might be experienced. Never to "old" to learn and never never too "old" to just smile and laugh with life as it is experienced.
Later-------------------------- bajafun777
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teadust
Junior Nomad
Posts: 31
Registered: 3-7-2008
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by The Gull
These are hard learned lessons which don't need repeating. |
That last sentence is the most diplomatic mastery of understatement I've seen in a long time! 
Great stories; yee Gods what a hassle they must have been!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8947
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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5 useful ideas:
1. Purchase street maps of Tecate, Ensenada, and Baja California in order that you can do all preparation and logistics before leaving for your trip.
Show your wife that you know exactly where you will be traveling, by using a highlighter, marking on your maps, exactly where you will be driving
ida y vuelta.
2. Make her in charge of logistics from the passenger seat of your vehicle while driving. This will help keep her mind off of these fears that she
has.
3. Drive during the day. This way, you will be less likely to get lost, and your family will feel more safe.
4. Get your Mexican Pesos from your local bank in the United States so that you do not have to use the ATM machines in Mexico.
5. Have her in charge of your travel documents (Passports, etc.). Know ahead of time about your visas for travel into Baja Sur - where to get the
documents, where to get them stamped, where the bank is located, etc. I believe if you show your wife that you are organized, she will feel more
confident and less likely to become upset by your idea to travel into Baja.
Hope all of this helps... 
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ears
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 5-9-2008
Member Is Offline
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Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I too love baja and having been visiting and surfing there for over 25years and just want to turn my children
onto what I love too. My wife, however, is from England and here experience of northern baja is what is in the news, which is sometimes inaccurate,
sensationalized, or is based on fact like the drug war in TJ but can be avoided using common sense. I live in LA feel safe but do not want to walk
around venice at night!!! Unfortuanately, there are lots of people out there that have differing opinions on Baja than we do and not based on
experience who influence other peoples opinions. This weekend a friend of hers (and her group that she had a discussion with) made the judgement that
Baja is not safe basing there facts on the State Dept. Travel Alert for Mexico (which basically urges extreme caution in TJ and not to drive at night
or visit areas of protitution) and the "4 Americans shot in Rosarito" which we all know the real story which is about drugs, but others do not and is
a perfect example of fearmongering. Hopefully, I'll be traveling down to Cabo the Aug 3 or 4th and might need a driving companion for the border,
part of the trip, or all of it (if traveling with someone else and not alone makes my wife feel safer about my well being while traveling across the
border.)
Travel Alert
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7641
Registered: 3-12-2006
Location: on the bayou
Member Is Offline
Mood: undecided
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ears, Traveling alone isn't a bad way to go.
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eetdrt88
Senior Nomad
Posts: 986
Registered: 2-20-2005
Location: Az/Ca/Baja
Member Is Offline
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heres what u do...get a cooler,fill it with ice and beer then place it in the passenger seat of your car where your wife would usually be
sitting...then drive to your baja destination ocassionally stopping to enjoy a cold beverage on a sandy beach with no tourists....u will notice that
the cooler does not worry or argue with u about petty problems,it works out very well and if it helps u can tape a picture of your wife on the
cooler,so as not to forget why u have to drive back home
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by eetdrt88
heres what u do...get a cooler,fill it with ice and beer then place it in the passenger seat of your car where your wife would usually be
sitting...then drive to your baja destination ocassionally stopping to enjoy a cold beverage on a sandy beach with no tourists....u will notice that
the cooler does not worry or argue with u about petty problems,it works out very well and if it helps u can tape a picture of your wife on the
cooler,so as not to forget why u have to drive back home |
Excellent advice. One must have priorities and the cooler is mine as well. Thanks for your rendetion of Baja Logic.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
Member Is Offline
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You could paint a name on the cooler. How about "Wilson".
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ears
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 5-9-2008
Member Is Offline
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Yeah baby!!!! I like how you think and totally concur. Coolers don't argue and cold cans of beer can be usd for defense (as I saw on another post)
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Gadget
Senior Nomad
Posts: 851
Registered: 9-10-2006
Location: Point Loma CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Blessed with another day
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
5 useful ideas:
1. Purchase street maps of Tecate, Ensenada, and Baja California in order that you can do all preparation and logistics before leaving for your trip.
Show your wife that you know exactly where you will be traveling, by using a highlighter, marking on your maps, exactly where you will be driving
ida y vuelta.
2. Make her in charge of logistics from the passenger seat of your vehicle while driving. This will help keep her mind off of these fears that she
has.
3. Drive during the day. This way, you will be less likely to get lost, and your family will feel more safe.
4. Get your Mexican Pesos from your local bank in the United States so that you do not have to use the ATM machines in Mexico.
5. Have her in charge of your travel documents (Passports, etc.). Know ahead of time about your visas for travel into Baja Sur - where to get the
documents, where to get them stamped, where the bank is located, etc. I believe if you show your wife that you are organized, she will feel more
confident and less likely to become upset by your idea to travel into Baja.
Hope all of this helps... |
Although the cooler advise is comedic, this advise is seriously legit.
Good post Ken
"Mankind will not be judged by their faults, but by the direction of their lives." Leo Giovinetti
See you in Baja
http://www.LocosMocos.com
Gadget |
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toneart
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4901
Registered: 7-23-2006
Member Is Offline
Mood: Skeptical
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After all these years I just learned something that had never sunk in before now:
I asked a woman friend, "How can you think that way? It is not logical." She replied, "2 + 2 does not always = 4." 
God love 'em! Earlier enlightenment could have save me a lifetime of confusion and pain. 
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bajaboolie
Nomad
Posts: 277
Registered: 9-24-2007
Location: Aptos, CA/Mulege
Member Is Offline
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So ears, what's the verdict?? Have plans been made? Has your wife given you the thumbs up? I'm curious about the outcome of all this discussion...
Fill us in!
Bajaboolie
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3290
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tranquilo
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My wife has been going to Baja with me for 6 years now. We have camped at Malarimo beach, Tortugas, Bahia Asuncion, Abriojos, Campo Rene, Bahia
Conception, and Los Barilles. We will be leaving for another month long camping trip on the 13th. She can navigate, fish, cook over a fire, open beer
without a bottle opener, make margaritas and more and do it all enthusiastically. She claims that she stays with me because I make her laugh and I'm
an adventurous guy. She never complains (out loud) about the rustic conditions or the heat and if that's not enough, she is one beautiful woman.
I don't know what I did to deserve her but I'm glad I did it...No, she isn't for sale...or for rent but I'm sure she would be glad to talk to your
wife and put some of her fears to rest.
Have fun on your trip and remember to post a report.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64859
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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'Baja Spell Checker' wanted me to post the following... in the spirit of Baja education! 
MALARRIMO
ABREOJOS
CONCEPCION
BARRILES
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dtbushpilot
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3290
Registered: 1-11-2007
Location: Buena Vista BCS
Member Is Offline
Mood: Tranquilo
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dtbushpilot speil cheker was too lazy to look it up.....and can't figure out how to put one of those silly smiles on my post either....
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bajaboolie
Nomad
Posts: 277
Registered: 9-24-2007
Location: Aptos, CA/Mulege
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
'Baja Spell Checker' wanted me to post the following... in the spirit of Baja education!
MALARRIMO
ABREOJOS
CONCEPCION
BARRILES |
Oh my, David, the rumors are true!!
dtbushpilot, I hope my husband speaks as highly of me as you do of your wife!
Bajaboolie
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8947
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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I'm in Tijuana right now, and the only thing I have noticed that is different is there is much more security on the streets, and in all of the mini
malls than any other time I have visited.
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