Halperin & Christ

we are slowly reentering…..hour by hour, day by day, week by week.

we did see a fabulous exhibit at the skirball museum that is worth blogging about. it is called the inflatable crown . two guys, a balloon artist and a photojournalist went around the world for 3 years making balloon crowns for people and then photographing them with the crowns on. there are photos of norweigan soldiers, a mongolian family on horse back, a thai baby, an african woman, a british policeman, etc. all wearing fantastic balloon crowns. it is really a brilliant show well worth seeing.

the skirball is a wonderful center with many great exhibits and also pleasant spots to sit and watch people, have lunch or just hang out.

we have been catching up with old friends, sleeping, reading, walking…..nothing quite as exciting as a road trip but all good.

hank is enjoying his rest, especially since he had a good bath.

the last of the mardi gras beads have found their home. the three young ladies next door are very happy about that.

we are both still suffering the reentry blues…..hopefully that will be over soon.

hank is sitting rather dejectedly in the front of fran’s mom’s house ready to take off.

we had a lovely dinner at toby and storm’s house last night.  storm is a true “hunter gatherer”, he made his own bread, including the starter, as well as the wine and the vinegar. he hunts, grows vegetables, cans and picks berries. michael pollen would be impressed.

more rest and relaxation for the next week in order to psyche ourselves up for the last stretch homeward.

hank came back to the u.s. filthy. it rained the day before we left mexico and all the red dirt from the unpaved streets splashed all over his body. everyone will be happy to know he has had a bath and is sparkling clean!

we are slowly reentering….back in the u.s…..back in california….and having a tough time. luckily we have landed gently in the home of our fabulous friends steph and jeff and their kids eric and rachel. we can’t think of a better place to start to come to terms with reality. steph and jeff have been taking great care of us and spoiling us rotten. we aren’t complaining. today eric and jeff played 36(!) holes of golf and fran and steph lounged about in mineral pools, mud baths, steam rooms and sun chairs at glen ivy hot springs.

our last few days in mexico were wonderful and remote. we were removed from internet, cell phones and sometimes even electricity and water.

we had our last fish tacos and participated in the carnivale in san ignacio which was fun but not too well attended. the next morning we took leave of our little paradise on the lagoon. we visited the lovely mission and zocolo for the last time.

once we got north of san ignacio the weather cooled down quite a bit but the scenery greened up a lot. we were fortunate to get a full wildflower exhibit in swatches of color that graced the hillsides and roads we drove through.

at ensenada we went to visit la bufadora a marine geyser or blowhole on the punta banda peninsula. the bufadora is quite impressive and groans as it spouts fountains of water sometimes 70 feet high. we visited on the first day of semana santa (easter week) so it was mostly mexican tourists on the viewing platform. we had a shrimp cocktail with a beautiful view of the bay below and spent the night yards from the beach listening to the waves lap the shore right below us. the next day we drove through enseneda, along the beaches between tijuana and rosario and spent about 2 hours crossing the border. we were so low on gas and the traffic was extended stop with little goes so we pushed hank along much to the delight of all the mexican vendors. many of them offered to help us.
 it is night and day crossing the border. you forget about the manicured highways, abundance of street signs and lights that adorn u.s. highways. we take it for granted that all our tiny side streets are paved, signals control major intersections and there are trash cans and rest areas everywhere. our tax dollars at work?