SAN QUINTIN BAY - BAJA MEXICO

PEDREGAL WITH THE BOYS

What I can say about this short trip was the boys were great but Nana and Safety Officer Dylan were not quite fast enough to keep Danger Boy Tucker out of trouble.  He was returned to the parents with a bump and scrape on the side of his head (jumping on the bed and falling off) and a little of the top of his finger pad missing.  That was a result of Safety Officer's Dylan's over-enthusiastic desire to do his job right - Danger Boy rolled down his window while we waited in the border line, and Dylan rolled it back up - with Tucker's finger in it.

Mommy says goodbye

It's four hours to Ensenada - the boys are angels.  Dylan did not put his baseball down the entire way.

We stop at our favorite lunch stop. 

We wait for lunch 

After lunch we go to the fish market

Lots to look at - we're there for awhile

Papa G gets us some fish for dinner

And the boys get some super hero capes.  Another two hours and we're home.

Papa G and Dylan arrive back from a kayak

Leticia the nanny plays hours of baseball with them.  I think Dylan is in love!

Papa G and the boys

Hose down time!

SAN ONOFRE - DADDY AND TUCKER SURF

Tuck's turn!  

He holds on - barely!

And they're off!

They brave the big waves too far out to take pics, and half an hour later, they're back, riding the last little ones in.

Tuck gets a turn on the board alone.

SAN ONOFRE - DADDY AND DYLAN SURF

Surf time!!

Somebody's EXCITED!!

And this is how it's done, folks!  I was mesmerized, thus all the photos...

Friend Yuri is in the background getting ready as well. The waves were not huge, but I was still impressed that they go all the way out where the surfer's line up.

Dylan grasps Trev's shoulders. He did fall off one time, but dad just grabbed the life vest straps and hauled him back up.  Dylan described the experience as "wet".  

And they're off!  I couldn't get any decent shots until they came back in.

Dylan can't wait to tell us about the waves.

SAN ONOFRE - CAMPING ON THE BEACH

Mommy and son.  

Such beauty.

Papa G and the boys.

Forget the store bought toys. Sticks and rocks kept him occupied all week.

Mom and Dad rest after some surfing.

Well, except for this store bought toy.  

Tucker's first marshmallow burnt and melted off the stick.  After holding his second one over the fire for about five seconds, he announced it was done and would not be convinced otherwise. He wasn't taking any chances the second time around.

PEDREGAL: To Brown Field, San Diego, California

San Quintin Bay, Baja Norte, Mexico

We've survived the ten days with no broken bones or major owies and are all strapped snuggly into N51895 awaiting takeoff.

For you instrument people.

45 minutes later and Ensednada is socked in.

Except for this itty bitty hole between mountains and marine layer.

Yup, it's a go.  And, down we go.

And we pop out over Maneodero farmland.  (Where we made our forced landing a few years ago after an engine failure, but that's a story for another day.)

And we're checked out of the country and passing the Ensedanda Harbor where the cruise ships dock, among other ships and boats.

And 50 minutes later it's brown TJ.  Not much to say except, well, it's TJ, ya know?

Crossed the border and do our steep turn-drop to enter final.

Hello Brown Field, so aptly named. (But not on purpose)

For those that like flying, a little final approach photography!

Here we are in the customs box awaiting a custom officer.  Both girls had chewed tiny holes in the bottom of their water bottles during the flight, amongst other wild child behavior.  Nothing that marred the interior of the plane, thankfully, and nothing that endangered the flight. Please note the horns growing out of the tops of their heads. They'd been slowly emerging over the previous ten days.

Poppy is a few minutes late picking them up so I allow them to eat the treats given to them by General Calis at the Ensenada airport.

First Flight is a favorite Fixed Base Operation of mine. Like many FBO's, it resides on the other side of a time warp, where the air smells of musty wood and everyone moves and talks slower.  Sounds seem muffled, and the remarkable gift of being completely present in a moment is mine as I watch a bi-plane take off and disappear into a blue, cloudless sky. 

Of course you understand that moment happened soon after poppy and the munchkins drove off for Arizona.  It could just as easily been delayed shock setting in.

This is great.  The Airframe and Powerplant mechanic's tool cart.  With his San Diego beach hat.  Those "in the know" could pinpoint the location of this photo at least to Southern coastal Cal, right?