From the Sea of Cortez
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 10:26 PM |
Hey all ... what a fun day! I was up about dawn, just couldn't sleep I guess with the anticipation of what lay ahead. Under a clear Arizona sky, we departed Tombstone just before 8:00 AM and took a scenic two lane road through country that reminded me a lot of the area between Chico and Red Bluff ... lots of greenery, farms, even some wineries. By 9:30 we were in Nogales, AZ, filled the tank with gas ($3.49 a gallon) and followed the signs through the genuinely quaint town ... signs that lead to "Mexico."
It was kind of hard to believe when we reached the actual border ... nothing like Tijuana or Mexicali where I've crossed before. There were no lines ... not even one car ahead of us. Since we needed to register, we parked, directly in front of the immigration office, went in, had our Visas stamped, and were out within one minute. Winding through Nogales, Mexico, we just followed the signs to Highway 15 and Hermosillo, and about 15 miles south of Nogales had to go through customs and the car importation line ... they waved us through after looking at our papers (which I had already secured at the Mexican consulate in Sacramento), and then drove through infamous red light/green light lane. If you get a red light, you're stopped by a customs inspector. A green light, go through without question. We got a green light were on our way (thankful since, again, we looked kind of like the Beverly Hillbillies including luggage tied to the top of the car).
The toll road, 15D which cost about $6 US, took us to Hermosillo (about 140 miles), and although it was a good four lane divided highway, travel was slow because of massive road construction. And no shoulders ... the road just drops off to the side so you've really got to pay attention. We didn't make it to Hermosillo until about 1:00, where we hit the ATM and got a few hundred dollars in pesos, grabbed a quick chicken sandwich at Burger King ("El pollo del rey"), stopped at Sorianna (Mexico's version of Safeway) for a couple of items, then continued on toward the Sea of Cortez.
A largely undiscovered fishing village called San Carlos was our stopping point. It's really a beautiful little town that is what you envision when you think of a Mexican seaside spot. We knew nothing about it before we arrived, nobody had told us anyhting about it , but we would come back.
We had seen ads online, in brochures, and billboards along the highway for a resort called Hotel Paradiso right on the beach which looked and sounded fantastic. I even called last week to see if they had rooms available, and they did, but I did not make a reservation ... fortunately. The place is a former Club Med resort, built in 1980, and is now a dump. The rooms looked like prison cells (and, get this, they were asking $150 US for a night). The "resort" empty and we didn't help rectify that ... we left, searched around, and found a beautiful hotel "San Carlos Resort." This is home tonight.
After watching the sun set over the water, we headed into town to a small bayside restaurant (Charly's Rock), had a fresh shrimp dinner and headed back to the room happy, sleep, ready to see what tomorrow brings.
Facts for Tuesday:
total mileage today: 334
highest gas price: $3.49 (Nogalez, AZ)
lowest gas price: $2.90 (San Carlos, Mx)
coolest temp: 62 as we left Tombstone
warmest temp: 92 in Hermosillo
on the car stereo today: Howard Stern (briefly), Jazz Cafe (Sirius), Los Lonely Boys, Hard Candy from Madonna, Sirius Hits One, Sirius Strobe (classic dance) ... yes, Sirius satellite radio still has a very strong signal where we are.
SORRY, NO VIDEO TODAY. IT IS EDITED AND READY TO UPLINK, BUT THE INTERNET SPEED IN THIS LITTLE TOWN IS ABOUT THE SAME AS DIAL-UP AND WON'T SUPPORT A VIDEO FEED. MAYBE I'LL HAVE A BETTER CONNECTION TOMORROW ... MAYBE NOT!!!
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By the time I get to Phoenix....
Monday, May 12, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 8:44 PM |
Actually, it is Tombstone, and by the time we got here it was 5:00. After eight hours on the road, we rode into this old west town. We left Palm Springs at 9:00, the car was so packed, we ended up having to tie three suitcases onto the roof. Wait until the customs officials in Mexico see that.
The day went well ... a brief stop in Blyth before crossing into Arizona. Lunch at a Red Robin in Phoenix, filled the tank at an adjacent Costo (where regular is only $3.39 a gallon compared to the $4.15 in Blyth and $3.79 in Palm Springs ... damn gas companies).
Weather was perfect, no hassles ... kind of a cool town but also really touristy. Anyway, we're at the lovely Holiday Inn tonight and tomorrow will trek toward and hopefully over the border at Nogales. Internet permitting, I'll keep you posted.
miles driven today: 453
Most expesive gas: $415.9 for regular at Blyth (didn't buy any)
Cheapest gas: $339.9 at Costco Phoenix (we willed up there)
coolest temp: 71 this morning leaving Palm Springs
warmest spot: Casa Grande, AZ (94)
on the car stereo today: Howard Stern followed by Madonna's new CD (Hard Candy), Amy Winehouse, Peter Yorn, and Lisa Lampanelli (comedian on Howard 101)
Video of Day One journey - Palm Springs to Tombstone
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And so it's about to begin ...
Friday, May 9, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 4:12 PM |
... the journey into Mexico that is. We've got confirmation that our furniture is set to arrive in Manzanillo sometime next week, then clear customs. So we'll be taking off in a few days, planning to reach Puerto Vallarta by next weekend.
To keep you updated on our journey (for those of you interested), I'm going to try to create a Vlog (video blog) each day ... just something short, about a minute or so, to share with you our experiences and adventures along the way.
It will be posted on YouTube, and I will provide a link for each update here on my News10 blog. Hope you dig it! The first Vlog (more like a test) is now posted ... check it out.
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Yes! He's Gone!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 9:38 PM |
Read my previous blog. Adios, Jason.
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Get Him Outa Here! Now! NOW!!!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 10:17 PM |
So here's the deal ... now that I don't have to cover some of the more pressing issues that impact our everyday lives, I have time to watch some of the things that don't matter that much (and I'm not talking about what Channel 13 does). I do regularly check the SacBee.com 21Q blogs (BTW, really missing Sam McManus' entries), and I notice they do a lot on "American Idol." Before I was retired, I honestly didn't have time to watch Idol. But now I do! And here's my take on tonight's show (we'll see if it aligns with Leigh Grogan's from 21Q on SacBee.com ... mine won't be as in depth or as politically correct ... oh well, it's only a blog about a reality TV show ... get a life).
David Cook ... first song was OK, second song Baba O'Riley was really good ... a totally fresh approach to a The Who song (from "Who's Next"). He should move on to the next round.
David Archuleta .. what can you say ... if he was on eBay he'd get an AA++++ rating ... both songs tonight were far and above the competition. But his rendition of Elvis' "Love Me Tender" was nothing shot of amazing (causing the acerbic Simon to proclaim Archuleta "crushed the competition." I agree).
Syesha Mercado ... "Proud Mary" was just OK (she ain't no Tina ... don't know who she was), but her second performance, Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gunna Come," was inspirational (to the point of tears for Syesha after Randy dissed her and Paula and Simon embraced her). She should move on.
So that leaves us with Jason Castro. This guy totally sucks. A waste of TV time. How he made it this far is beyond comprehension. Makes you wonder what the hell is wrong with this show when a no-talent like Castro is still around and much more accomplished performers like Michael Johns and Carly Smithson were booted earlier. Sheesh! Get this guy outa here. Get him out of her now. NOW!!! Whew!
Some of you may be thinking, you can't criticize unless you vote. Well, tonight I voted ... and I voted a lot (as much as I could since the circuits were busy ... the phone company must hate voting night on Idol). And who did I vote for? Contestant #4. If you watched, you know who it is. We'll see what happens Wednesday.
Oh, and uh, I really don't watch THAT much TV ... except for Idol, Housewives, Dancing, Charlie Gibson, local news, Wheel, Jeopardy, Back to You, Betty ... ah, yeah, I guess I do.
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"You're going to be so bored"
Thursday, May 1, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 9:53 AM |
You wouldn't believe how many times I heard that from people I know when I disclosed to them I had planned on retiring ... "What are you going to do? You are going to be so bored!"
Well, one month into this thing where I don't have to get up every morning and head off to the same job I had done for more than 30 years and I must admit ... I'M NOT ONE BIT BORED ... NOT EVEN FOR ONE MINUTE.
To suddenly have freedom ... true freedom ... to do pretty much what you want to do when you want to do it is an exhilarating experience that I have never before had the pleasure of enjoying. And each day is so filled with activities, some laborious, some relaxing, some fulfilling, some mundane that before you know it, it's dinner time.
I still get up about 7:00 (no alarm clock) ... but instead of jamming to get reading for work (which included reading about 20 newspapers online in preparation for a 20 minute daily assignment meeting) now I spend a couple of hours having some breakfast, reading emails, surfing the web, listening to Howard Stern (great entertainment), reading news online. My favorite news websites now: CNN, MyDesert, News10, SFGate, SacBee, KESQ, Banderas News.
After my morning news/Howard/email/coffee fix, the day can take any number of turns ... maybe a mid-day run to Costco (nice not having to go on weekends) ... yesterday it was planning a gourmet dinner from Bon Appetit which I've never had the time to do before ... sometimes the day is spent reading (I've finished two books so far ... I would highly recommend "On Mexican Time" by Tony Cohan) ... everyday the gym gets worked in somewhere ... and there's usually some time left over for hobbies (I'm getting into You Tube postings of historic TV moments). There's also been a couple of trips back to Northern California, including for a great party at Deb Hoffman's house (see attached pic with Jen Smith).
No golfing, no daytime TV, no problems. For now, we're still in Palm Springs ... the trip to Mexico delayed slightly because the furniture won't get there until mid-May (that's a whole other story).
So, the reality is, I'm too busy doing stuff I've not had time to do before to be bored ... It's 10 AM ... time for, hmmm, maybe a bike ride and some pool time today!
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Help me Move to Mexico
Monday, April 14, 2008
posted by Dan Adams at 8:31 AM |
As I have mentioned here on previous blogs and as was detailed on the air on March 28, my last day at News10, I am moving soon to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ... probably leaving around the first week of May.
Yesterday, I sat down with a AAA map and tour book and my laptop and started planning the 1200 mile car trip from Nogales, AZ to Puerto Vallarta. We'll be taking Highway 15D until we get to Tepic, then plan on taking Highway 200 into PV. Some of the Mexican towns & villages we're looking to stay in are: San Carlos, Los Mochis, Mazatlan.
I would love to hear from anyone who has made the trip in the past between Nogales and PV. Are there any cool towns to visit? Any recommendations on accommodations, restaurants, hot spots to see? We're good with getting off the highway and going into towns nearby. Anyway, any input is appreciated. My personal email address is DanAdams10@gmail.com.
I'll keep you posted as the trip proceeds.
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