On the Road Again

We’ve been on the road now for three days on our way to Baja, Mexico. Monday, we spent the night in Roseburg, Oregon, Tuesday, in Stockton California and Wednesday in Palm Springs. There was lots of rain on Monday with somewhat less rain Tuesday. We approached the dreaded Siskiyou section of I-5 with trepidation, because we were unable to get any advance information about road conditions there. We have heard so many horror stories about winter travel in the Siskiyou’s – cars and trucks sliding off the freeway into canyons two or three miles deep, and motorists stranded in huge snowdrifts for long periods of time, sometimes for several months in any given two day period. Fortunately, the snow dragons were all otherwise occupied and we “slipped” through without being buried in snow.

Wednesday was a beautiful sunny day - the kind made for driving, and drive we did. The elevation above sea level of the freeway surface between Stockton and Grapevine varies about a foot or two and I believe there was also a curve, but mostly flat and straight. We were delayed for about 45 minutes for an accident near San Bernadino, but otherwise it's been clear sailing. The picture with this posting is from the motel website where we are staying. It's approximately the view we have from our second floor room, where we are now ensconced for the evening. Deanne has provisioned well for us. She made and froze dinners before we left and we have yet to visit a restaurant for dinner. Breakfasts are provided by the motels where we've stayed and Deanne has made sandwiches from the breakfast fixin's. Tomorrow (wind permitting) we may ride the aerial tram to get a good look at the area. Also we plan to check out the possibility of renting a place to live during future winters. I am blogged out for today!

Deanne's P.S.

It's the end of a long day of driving (we've travelled almost 1300 miles so far) and we're ready to do our crosswords, diary and hop into bed. Wonderful how a good night's sleep can refresh us! Also wonderful is the warmth and sunshine here. The mountains around Palm Springs are snow-topped however. One of them, San Jacinto is 10,834 feet high! That's the one we may take the tram up....NOT hike!

Bill and I have been reviewing seminar notes on Bible principals for being a servant ( from Bible Study

Fellowship). We have so much to learn in this area. Jesus set the ultimate example for us.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for us. We have not had any problem with drowsiness...amazing!

Getting Ready to Go

We are still at home preparing to leave for Vicente Guerrero on Monday, February 1, 2010. Since we plan to drive our van all the way, there has been the "fix it, patch it, make it work somehow" type of preparation, as well as the new tires, oil change and the purchase of Mexican auto insurance. Believe it or not, it is less expensive to buy an entire year of auto coverage than it is to buy coverage for 60 days! I was told that for any policy less than a year, a daily rate is charged, which is (obviously) much higher than the rate per day on an annual policy.
As far as security south of the border, we have received dire warnings, with added urging to make sure our estate is in order, and wills up to date. We have also received rosy assurances that the trip is at least as safe as walking to the mail box. Time will tell. Keep us in your prayers - it's the most you can do for us.