The time I went to Mexico

One of the things I like about living in Los Angeles is how easy it is to get every/any-where else. During the space of this blog I have been to Zion, San Francisco twice, Hearst Castle, out to the desert, but I have never been further south than San Diego. It was time for that to change. How could I be so close to Mexico and have never gone?

In April a group of friends and I packed into a passenger van and headed down Mexico way to celebrate a friends birthday. We drove down the 405, traffic blissfully non-existent for a Friday. Our last stop in the US was the surf themed Pizza Port in Carlsbad for pizza and beer. (They have an okay gluten free pizza, but are a little afraid to cook it)

Then it was through San Diego and National City and then on to colorful Tiajuana which is filled with graffiti style murals, drove too quickly to snap any of them, and smells a bit like sulfur.  Shacks hang on to sides of hills. It is a striking change from just 20 minutes north. From there it was through Rosarito and Primo Tapia further south to the house on the ocean that we rented for the weekend.

When I say on the ocean, I really mean it. A small strip of sand separated the house from the Pacific and when I sat on the couch, all I could see is ocean it was like the house was an island in the middle of it. (Just kidding, that is not the house) We passed this house every time we drove into town and wondered how it was holding on. (I'll post pictures of the house in my next post of photos, but this was just funny....

An hour into our stay we were greeted by a pod of dolphins escorting a whale north, I was henceforth called the whale whisperer for my ability to look out into the gray ocean and find animals in it. We say whales just about every day. I even snapped some pictures of body surfing dolphins which will also be in my next post.

There are two Rosaritos in Mexico the one where it was supposed to be 90 degrees the entire weekend, the other 60 degrees. I chose the wrong, optimistic Rosarito. I packed sundresses, a swimsuit for every day. What helped was my ability to set a fire in the fire place and my deciding on a whim to bring my fuzzy brown at work poncho.  We spent a lot of time around the fire playing games and singing into the night. When we were out we ate some of the best food I have ever had. The seafood was fresh, the vegetables were brighter, the margarita's were stronger. In Rosarito at La Estancia, where I have had one of the better steaks of my life, we were treated to a free drag race show.

The highlight of our trip was the two times we went into Primo Tapia and had the best fish taco I have ever eaten in my life and I still dream about. We talked about how easy it would be to drive there just for lunch.  The tortillas in Mexico are unlike anything you have had here, they are thick and a little chewy. Almost like a tortilla and Indian naan had a baby.

For a first trip to the drivable south it was pretty great. My next post will be a good selection of the  hundreds of photos I took of my time there. Including capturing surfing dolphins which is much harder than it looks.