High altitude training

This is really a post about something other than running. This past weekend we finally made it to the snow, what little remains, and got in some very late season fun.

We left early and the day was already warm in Oakland. We drove east to the town of Davis in the central valley and stopped and had breakfast, then took in some of the farmers market across the road. Kelly rode the old merry-go-round which is powered my someone pedaling! We also watched some hula dancing. The pickings at the market are still slim but we did buy some cheese, bread rolls and slightly too early strawberries there before heading towards the mountains.

Up into the mountains we drove thinking it was too late. In fact there was so little snow that we ended up at Donner Summit, the highest point as I-80 crosses the Sierras, as it was the only area with snow at highway level. With so little snow up in the mountains people around here are now talking about water restrictions this summer. I remember last year people saying there was so much snow pack that there'd not be restrictions for years to come. Ah, easy come easy go.

It turns out, however, that the little snow we found was perfect for what we wanted: some snow play. Usually we head down back roads until we can find a plowed pullout or jeep road. We get out, climb the bank, and make our own fun away from the crowds. At this time of year, even along I-80, there wasn't any crowds. We parked in a snow play area just below Donner Summit and headed off to find a sled run.

Patty crossed the river first. I stood back uncertain her idea was sound. She prodded the middle of what was admittedly a small stream with a stick and then with hardly a hesitation leaped into ankle deep water and headed upstream along the middle to a place where she could cross the snow bank on the other side. Kelly and I followed, impressed.


The other side was sledding heaven. Someone had built a long chute which we could use. Here's Patty making a run...


And there were little hills that Kelly improvised her own 'butt slide' on...


We built a snow man, of course...



And later, Kelly also went down the main sled run by herself, a first...


We probably stayed for about an hour. The air was warm, there was nobody else there, the sled run was ideal and our snowman rocked. What could be better? So what if we were on the only snow patch in the Sierras!

3rd-4th January 2007 - San Diego, Anza Borrego and Palm Springs

We woke up early to a beautiful San Diego day and headed right away to Peet's for our first espresso in over a week, plus some of the delicious baked goods from the bakery next door (Bread and Cie). It was so nice we were able to sit outside around 7:30. We went back to the hotel and changed clothes and headed towards the beach (Mission) for a run. Peter took off down the path so Kelly and I braved the beach-I say "braved" not because it was anything less than a PERFECT day, but because there were several trucks going back and forth sifting the sand. Maybe there are nicer beaches around San Diego because there was next to nobody there but this was a really nice beach. The sand was completely clean and nice-Kelly had a great time. When Peter returned I asked how it went-it was our first run in over a week-and he reported that it was "like running in paradise". I reported that for us it was "like waiting for him in paradise". I ran down the pathway along the beach and many condos. It really was like running in paradise and when I returned all I could say to Peter was "so what is the downside to living in San Diego?".

Our checkout time was noon so we raced back to the hotel to shower and get out of our room around 12:03. We decided to fuel up ourselves and the car before the projected 90 minute drive to Anza Borrego. I had spotted a Chinese restaurant just down from Peet's so we went there and go broccoli beef and vegetables with tofu. I was having serious vegetable cravings and this did the trick. We fueled the car and hit the highway. The drive out of San Diego was strange-you hit a National Forrest right away and yet there are no trees. Eventually we did some climbing and driving through rolling foothills with large oaks, and then finally hit some dessert.

ANZA-BORREGO

We drove into Borrego Springs and found the visitor center. Behind the counter were a bunch of senior volunteers who didn't look like they were going to be very useful in helping us figure out where to camp. At some point though I hear this man telling Peter advice about off road driving, here is a great canyon to camp, etc. Apparently this man had been traveling around AB his whole life and had too many recommendations for us even to remember. He came up with once canyon that was just a few miles from the visitor center and since it was nearly 4 and therefore about to get dark, we headed for that.

The drive up to Glorietta canyon was really easy-sandy roads. As we got to the top there were already 2 cars there but on closer inspection, they didn't look like they were camping so we just looked around and waited. We found a very nice spot off of the road and Kelly started scampering around on the rocks. As it got dark I made some dehydrated stragonoff and we settled in to enjoy the spectacular rising of the full moon over the mountains.


It was a relatively warm night but Kelly was excited to get into the tent (we had been promising her camping for nearly 2 weeks) so she and I retired somewhat early. I woke up early and went out to see the sunrise and watch the moon go down. Again it was warm and pleasant. We had coffee as we sat in our chairs and watched the sun light up the mountains and valley.

BORREGO PALM CANYON


We drove to the VC to wash up a bit and then drove to the Borrego Palm Canyon. There's a short hike (3 mile round trip) to an oasis up a canyon. It started out well with Kelly scrambling over the rocks as she went. A few hundred yards into it we realized we had forgotten sunscreen and it turned out to be really lucky that I went back to the car for it-the hike lasted a lot longer than we had thought. About halfway through we were having some trouble getting Kelly to keep moving. We had to bribe her with promises of treats, but by about a mile we hit some shade and could see the palm trees so she perked up. The last half mile is along water with some palm trees and she liked that. We had a short break and snack at the end and headed down. Kelly braved the hike down with nearly no complaining at all-in fact she and I ran the last part of it together when I mentioned that there was a Coke waiting for us in the car.



We certainly could have spent more time there-the park is beautiful and we only explored a small amount, but we decided to head to Palm Springs and come back another day. We had lunch in Borrego Springs at a kind of depressing cafe, and hit the road. Kelly napped as we headed to Palm Springs which we entered just as it was getting dark.

PALM SPRINGS

We were a little disoriented but spotted a nice looking Motel 6 and decided to see if they had a room. For $60 including tax we decided to take the bargain-most places in PS didn't look too cheap.

There was a pool and hot tub at our hotel so we decided to give Kelly a treat and go for a swim. Even the pool was heated to a comfortable warmth which I enjoyed, and a little time in the hot tub was very welcome for both of us. After a quick shower, we went to the Pizza Hut down the road and had pizza. While driving through town earlier, we had seen that there was some big event being set up so we drove up and went for a walk. One of the main roads was closed and full of hundreds of booths of art, food, etc. It was definitely a scene. Later we found out that every Thursday they have this Farmer's Market type of thing (without the farmers).

2nd January 2007 - Guerrero Negro to San Diego

We woke up and had a quick breakfast of yogurt and granola bars. There was a coffee maker in the room so I made some coffee (not so good) and we hit the road headed north. Our plan was to visit Catavina, lunch at Mama Espinosa's, and spend the night in San Quintin. Kelly fell asleep around 10, probably an indication that the New Year's Eve party two nights previous had affected her since the previous night in GN was gloriously quiet.

CATAVINA

Just before noon we hit Catavina and pulled down a dirt road north of town to get a closer look at the crazy plants and rocks. Kelly had a great time climbing on rocks while Peter and I finally got a close look at the "upside down carrot" trees-the cirio, and the cardon which look like seguaro cacti but are HUGE. There were actually close to a dozen different types of cacti within a few feet of our car-hopefully we can get back and camp here some time.




DRIVE NORTH

We got to El Rosario around 12:30 and eagerly headed to Mama Espinosa's. This time it was fish tacos for me and Peter and quesadillas for Kelly. Peter and I have agreed that we have never had a fish taco that we really liked before but these were great. We also tried once again for "Mexican coffee" and once again were served "regular" coffee with a pitcher of milk. All of the coffee we have been served has been good but not the special brewed-and-poured-with-steamed-milk "Mexican coffee" that we had read about. Sigh. While at lunch Peter suggested maybe we should just make a run for the border. The idea struck me as pretty appealing-we could be back in the USA that night and at Peet's SD again the next morning. We agreed to see how it went since we knew we had a few more military check points to go and the first part of the trip had been very slow. On the positive side, once we hit the outskirts of Ensenada we knew that driving at night wasn't going to be an issue like it was elsewhere in Baja due to the development (lights and the toll highway to Tijuana).


This was actually the emptiest we let the fuel go-getting bolder by the knowledge of where Pemex stations were located for our drive North. We filled up at the station adjacent to Mama Espinosa's and drove on. We stopped only to switch drivers in San Vicente and when we hit the turnoff for the Bahia San Quintin it was still early so we made the decision to press on. We reached the outskirts of Ensenada just as it was getting dark and drove through a see of shadowy dirt as we made our way into town. While leaving Ensenada the previous week, we had spotted a McDonald's so we decided to have a break, go to the bathroom, and give Kelly a break before making the final push to the border and whatever it was that we faced there (the "busiest border crossing in the world"). There was a huge new shopping mall with a brand new McD's, Walmart, Home Dept, etc. We got the Mexican version of a Happy Meal for Kelly (can't remember the name) and ice cream cones for me and Peter. Kelly finished her nuggets and headed for the climbing structure and made friends with a little Mexican girl there. It was with a little sadness that we got back into the car to exit Mexico. This time through Ensenada we drove past the port area so saw where the big cruise ships land-quite a bit fancier than the part of town we had seen on our first stop there. The toll road to Tijuana was just like driving an American highway-wide with lights, reflectors, etc. so we had not trouble with that night driving. Coming through Tijuana we felt a little nervous but it became obvious when we were getting close to the border-suddenly the cars stopped, nearly all had American (California) plates, and there were people walking on the freeway between cars trying to sell caftans (?) and snacks. After about half an hour we made it to the booth of our lane. The immigration official asked us a few questions and even he was impressed with how far we had come "Guerrero Negro, that's a long way away"-and he hears answers to that question all day. It was a little strange for me because he Mexican and even had an accent so I kept staring at his uniform to confirm to myself that he was an American immigration official. Once again there was NO sign of any Mexican government presence at all-we were told we needed to surrender our tourist cards when exiting the country but to whom?

We drove on to our previous hotel in San Diego and even though it was empty now it was more expensive than the previous week but in any case it was a welcome sight. We got a room two doors from our previous room and were able to transfer Kelly from the car to her bed without much disturbance (she reported the next day that she didn't remember it at all). I made a cup of noodles in the microwave and Peter ate a couple of granola bars as we sat in the near darkness and tried to readjust to our by now strange surroundings (i.e. the US).

1 January 2007 - Mulege to Guerrero Negro

We woke on the first day of the year in Mulege. The woman at the hotel restaurant was particularly grumpy but we figured that nobody in Mulege got any sleep the previous night. After coffee we loaded up the car and headed North. Our first stop was Santa Rosalia-the former French mining town. We had a major disappointment when we found the French bakery (yes-Mexican baguettes) closed, presumably due to the holiday. We did manage to get a look at the Eiffel-designed church in town and some other really cool, odd buildings. Kelly was too hot or tired or too something (I'm sure she didn't sleep so well either) so we got a quick snack.


SAN IGNACIO

The next town North was San Ignacio which we were also interested in seeing due to the interesting mission on the square. It was a nice afternoon with Mexican famililes hanging out on the square and visiting the mission. We had a picnic of tuna and crackers since nothing much was open.

The drive North was beautiful again-spectacular wildflowers in a desert full of seguarro cactus and Yucca/Joshua trees. We also experienced our first military checkpoint-so far so good-just took a quick look in the back and asked a few questions.

GUERRERO NEGRO AGAIN

We arrived in Guerrero Negro around 5 pm and stopped at the nice hotel which we had breakfasted at previously (La Marinella) and got a room. It was a little much ($50) but definitely the nicest room we have had in Mexico and there even seems to be hot (warm?) water. Unfortunately the pizza restaurant proved to be closed for the holiday so we decided to eat at the restaurant at our hotel. We had a very good meal of halibut and carne asada.

31 December 2006 - Bahia Concepcion

In the morning we headed to the restaurant in our hotel for the bottomless cup of coffee (and some eggs topped with slices of ham and possibly American cheese). It tasted slightly better than it looked. The coffee worked though.

Then we wanted to stay in our room for another night and confusion followed. There was some Spanish confusion, but mostly it was a procedural problem. It seemed that 2 other people needed to check out before we'd be allow to stay. They wouldn't be able to tell us for another hour or so.

We drove out to the Mission. The Mission was closed but cool looking. It was up on a hill too and looked out over the palm trees and the river. We spent some time on a small lookout nearby looking at the vista.


Back at the hotel we were told staying another day was 'no problem'. So we headed for the beach.

We drove south to the Bahia Concepcion. The road wound along a coast with beautiful coves along the way. The concept of beach camping started to become clear with many of the beach fronts filled with RVs and 4WDs. The beach was then turned to a parking lot. It wasn't particularly appealing.


Hungry ("100 times hungry" said Kelly) we stopped at a restaurant built right on the beach called Bertha's. We were the only people there but it took about 30 minutes to get quesadillas. I tried quesotacos which, at least at this establishment could be described either as quesadillas with meat, or tacos with cheese. The food was easily the worst we've had but at least it allowed us to proceed to the beaches. We finally made it to El Requeson beach, described as "one of the 10 best beaches in Mexico", which must mean that there aren't very nice beaches in Mexico. It was pretty but full of campers and the wind really had picked up. We walked out to the islands which were attached to the beach via a sand bridge and Kelly was able to do some sand play while Peter and I relaxed. On our way back North we stopped at Coyote Beach which was recommended by some Americans at the restaurant. We got a nice spot on the beach to ourselves and Kelly played in the waves until the sun disappeared.

Back at the hotel we were able to get Kelly to nap and Peter and I were able to enjoy a beer on the patio outside our room while we worked on this journal. It was nice to be able to get Kelly a nap and not have to be hanging out with her. Peter and I also took turns taking little walks around town. When he came back he had news that there was a big party being set up at the gymnasium a block away (it was New Year's Eve). This would prove to be a problem.

When Kelly woke up we took a walk around town and finally decided to eat dinner at our hotel. When we went into dinner around 7 there was one group ordering and the rest of the restaurant was empty. By the time we had ordered, the whole restaurant was full of Americans out for a nice New Year's Eve dinner. We ate steak and some kind of fish we'd never heard of in front of a fire, and finally had a couple of margaritas (good). When our bills came, we got celebratory crowns and horns-it was actually a fun, festive atmosphere.

The very LOUD music of the party started around 10 pm, just after we got Kelly to sleep. We managed to fall asleep for awhile but woke up just before midnight and heard them playing a Mexican version of Auld Lang Syne. The loud music went on and we finally slept again for awhile. I woke up some time later and the music was still going on-I checked my watch and it was 5:20. It finally ended around 6:00! Now that's a party. We had it pretty bad but there was a hotel adjacent to the party which must have been unbearable.

29 December 2006 - San Vicente to Guerrero Negro

Yes, there was no hot shower, even after letting the water run a LONG time as suggested by the hotel keeper. We ran into him outside while packing up and asked "Is there anywhere around here to get a cup of coffee?" He directed us inside and we had a very pleasant cup of coffee (probably called something like "cafe americano" with him and his family. He showed us pictures of a recent road trip he had taken "down" Baja, and we made simple conversation with his wife (who spoke no English) and daughters (who spoke some). We headed out feeling renewed by a night's sleep and the warm feelings from a very sweet family.

We stopped at a Baja institution, Mama Espinosa's in El Rosario, for lunch. The lobster burritos and fish tacos were really quite good. Leaving ER is supposedly leaving "civilized" Baja for the wild south.


We finally started to make some time on our drive, even though it was much hillier than expected. It was a landscape filled with rocks and cactus. There were no gas stations. No ATMs.


We weren't sure we were going to do it but we pulled into Guerrero Negro just before dark (now about 6 since due to the time change as we entered Baja California Sur). GN is a bustling place, or at least it was Friday night of the New Year's weekend. The town itself was hard to deal with-a busy divided road and it seemed like we were always on the wrong side. We selected a hotel to try and secured a room which was kind of natty Spanish but clean enough. Of course a group of rowdy young men checked in next door but they left around 9 and we had ear plugs to help when they returned very late. On our way to the bank we spotted a pizza place so decided to try pizza in order to break up the relentless "Mexican food". The Hawaiian pizza we got was actually quite good, though we still went to sleep feeling a little sad-GN is not a very picturesque place.

28 December 2006 - First day in Mexico

We drove into Mexico with plenty of expectations of what it would be like. Only 20 miles south of the Peets we sat drinking coffee earlier in the morning we entered Mexico (without having to stop for anyone) and most of those ideas proved wrong. I thought that being so close to San Diego -- to the US border -- at least the first part of Mexico would be more American than it was. Perhaps more american, in reality, translates to more crappy. But things around it were instantly Mexican. The cinderblock constructions of half completed buildings, the roadway with fast moving trucks and woman with grubby children running across it.

But initially, or at least for the first hour or so, we were isolated in our car and its sealed windows. Tijuana passed by on the left, the multiple walls and fences of the border to the right. Our first contact with anyone was the toll collectors as we took the 1D motor way south to Ensenada. We paid for the tolls in US dollars.

ENSENADA

At Ensenada we swung hard right and pulled up down the road from Immigration office to get our tourist card for travel south. It turns out that either every piece of information we had about what we needed to do for our card was wrong, or there was a good local scam going here. We had to pay a fine ($5 each, but not Kelly) for not getting our card at the border, and pay another $5 each for the forms needed to pay our fine! In addition we had to pay for our cards ($25 each). The worst part was the 2 hours it took to get the forms, pay our fine at the bank (of course the fine needed to be paid in cash) and get the authorities to stamp it. And there were only about 5 others trying to do the same thing.

We drove around Ensenada looking for a bank for a while until finally finding some place to park. The scene was pretty crazy. Out of the car we walked down the street to find a restaurant but soon entered the touristy zone (you could tell: it was labeled with a sign, it was full of bars with thumping music, and people started to beg or try to sell us necklaces) so we beat a retreat to what looked like a nice enough little restaurant a few blocks back.

We ordered and Patty and Kelly headed to the bathroom. I sipped my bottle of coke. Then suddenly I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. A rat, a big fury one, came flying by and headed towards the back of the restaurant. Right then Patty and Kelly came out of the bathroom and stepped into its path. It stopped. They stopped. Patty considered whether she was going to have to kick it. Kelly looked it straight in the eye then leapt up into Patty's arms. The rat spotted an opening and headed left (with the restaurant staff in hot pursuit), Patty and Kelly headed right.

SAN VINCENTE

We drove south, no longer with a toll road, and the progress slowed. One town after another brought the speed limit down and suspension busting speed bumps made sure you kept to them. It seemed we'd never get anywhere.

With the sun setting low we decided we'd had enough for the day so decided to find some place to stay. It happened to be San Vincente. The hotel owner was really nice and had three little girls. We checked into a pretty bare room which seemed to not have hot water, but was basically clean and cheap. We walked across to the local park. The frontage roads to the highway were dirt filled with activity, children, stray dogs, pickup trucks coming and going.

We picked up some yogurt at a market, Kelly ate a hotdog from a roadside stand, and I had one of the best tacos I've ever had a taco sta

27 December 2006 - San Diego

We woke up in San Diego to pouring rain as a fast moving Pacific storm blasted through the area. Once the rain finished the wind remained. The beach seemed unlikely. As did getting a run in.

PEETS

We often seek out the local Peets when traveling. If there is one. This has worked out pretty well as it both gets us our coffee and has often led us to a more interesting area of a new city. Today's excursion took us to the Hillcrest area of San Diego which is an area which actually has a little soul: filled with interesting shops and appealing restaurants. Plus, we found a secret route between the back of our motel and the area, so we've hardly had to acknowledge the fact that our motel is on some horrible hotel circle alongside a freeway. We just duck out the back, head up the hill past some UCSD parking lots, and we're in a different world. Fun.

REI

Our other favorite place is REI. After Peets we drove out to one of the REI's in San Diego to grab a few things before heading into Mexico tomorrow.

The closer we got, the more suburban it got until I would officially describe it as suburban hell. Giant single family homes popping up in clusters of monopoly houses. The REI itself is across the road from the Walmart in the 'town square'. The town square was in fact a mall with one of those pretend streets and a bunch of stores you'd never need.

Is it just me, or has REI sunk to new levels?

Inside the REI itself was fine and the man working the trail running shoes really knew what he was talking about. The two of us talked motion control.
We got what we needed and a few extra 'Life is good' hats and got out of there.

CORONADO

We drove from REI to Coronado Island, taking a freeway within fleeing distance of Mexico. We saw out first watch out of illegal immigrants running across the road sign. We drove by the amphibious base, home of the Navy SEALs including a rather fun looking obstacle course. Its a pity they don't have demonstrations, because that would be worth turning up for. Perhaps one lucky member of the audience could get their throat slit. Seems, though, that San Diego is a pretty cushy place. Do you want to reward the best by stationing them in paradise, or send them somewhere more brutal to toughen them up?

We parked by the Coronado Hotel and walked around. Kelly played gamely on the beach for a while in 50 mph winds wiping sand at her as she tried to use her little plastic shovel and bucket.

FISH

For lunch we hit the main San Diego waterfront for the major tourist spot: Anthony's Fish Shack. With the waves and gale force winds, plus it being the holidays, the tourists were down and it was actually pretty fun. The seagulls still lined up the beg, and the fish and chips were still pretty good.

26 December 2006 - Lost Hills to San Diego

We woke up at a place called Lost Hills, which is basically a few motels and fast food restaurants on one side of I-5, in the middle of nowhere. The view was unremarkable.

LA

We got back in the car and headed south and didn't stop until LA. We took the Santa Monica freeway and headed into Venice to hit the Rose Cafe. Pulling up into a parking spot we realized we were parked in front of Digital Domain. Now that is strange, since I didn't even know where it was! Is the universe telling me something.

We got some much needed coffee and food there. It was too late, a headache had already set in thanks to a morning without coffee and driving right across LA.

LA JOLLA

We returned to the 405 and rolled south to San Diego. We walked around La Jolla to check that out. It was sort of like Pasadena, only on the beach. I'm not sure we exactly liked it. It was also swarming in tourists. Fat ones. Ones that smoke and say "I don't think I can go in there" "Why?" "Because it's California". It was true, the mall walkway was too narrow to get the required distance away from the doorways.

We ate at a diner called "Harry's". When we walked in we felt like we'd been in many places like it before. That we'd sit down and some haggard old waitress named "Angel" would call us "Honey" a lot before taking our order. Most of all the food would be horrible. But it wasn't like that at all. The food was good and I wasn't called "Honey" once.

Once back in the car Kelly fell asleep. She was toasted. We drove around looking for the Salk Institute to see the Louis Kahn building. Patty and I took turns looking around it while Kelly slept. I would have liked to have taken the tour, it was truly an impressive masterpiece.

From there we followed to coast down to Mission Beach and watched the sunset. It was so spectacular that it seemed the whole town had stopped what they were doing to watch it. Every access point to look out over the ocean had people, standing still and silent, looking out to the sea and sky filled with color. Finally we parked and watched it too.

GAS LAMP DISTRICT

Later we found our hotel and had dinner at a pizza place in the Gas Light district. Tourist central, but not too crazy being the holidays. The brick sidewalks and gas lamps are a new addition, but the buildings themselves are old and some are not like anything we'd seen before. Our restaurant was basically ordinary in every way, except the service, which sucked when it filled up with large groups of college basketball girls. (Patty and I had pizza with weird artichoke hearts and cheese on it. Kelly has angle hair pasta with butter.)

Bed couldn't come too soon.

Heading down south

"What are you doing for Christmas?" asks my co-worker.
"Heading south."

Truth is, we plan to drive south until the water temperature is over 80 degrees, or we run out of time, or land. We're headed to Baja California, leaving Christmas day. We have two weeks total, including 10 days of Mexican car insurance to play with, a 2001 Toyota 4Runner to get us down there, plus an almost four year old to entertain the whole way.

And we're not stopping at no Lego Land.