Baja Bound, Part 33. From California USA to Cortes Island BC, Canada

December 3rd 2013 From Ventura, CA to Cambria, CA to Cortes Island, BC Canada.

Last night we went for dinner at the Aloha Restaurant by the sea. It was very good, we ate too much. This morning we are taking it easy. We go for a stroll through Ventura. Ventura has a long history, it was officially San Buenaventure before 1891 or Shisholop in the native Chumash, meaning "in the mud". Good fertile soil to grow vegetables.

Ventura has a long history

After lunch we drove north on #1 Hwy passed Santa Barbara, Gaviota, Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Pismo Beach and Moro Bay all the way to Cambria. That was a wonderful drive along beaches, through mountains, over farm land and back along the beaches.

Around Gaviota

Drive through the coastal mountains

In Cambria we stayed on the beach, close to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. 
Next morning we went for a short walk to the beach, It was minus 2 degrees Celcius. Brrrr cold after all the warm weather on the Baja.

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Saying good bye to the California coast

It was time to leave the California coast. On Hwy 46 we drove over the coastal mountains, and close to Paso Robles through their wine region.

East of Cambria, CA

Hwy. 46 Drive through the Coastal  Mountains with Views back to the Pacific

Over Shandon to Hwy. 41, through the desert to the Interstate 5 close to Kettleman City. That stretch of the drive was true desert. Nothing grows, unless there is water. And water is the very scarce commodity here.

On Hwy. 41

Water is a Necessity

No Water - No Jobs - No Food

On the Interstate 5, full of semi trucks 

Once on I-5 North the drive was easy, but not as interesting. Still, we drove along many fruit and nut tree plantations. Some were ripped out, NO water! Further along we passed a huge cattle feed lot.

Cattle Feed Lot

 Somewhere passed Sacramento all the way in Corning, CA we found a motel. We went for Mexican Food for supper. It was so cold, we needed some warm memories.

Along the Interstate 5

On the 5th of December, now in our winter jackets, we drove toward the Shasta Trinity National Forests. The village of Mt. Shasta had some snow. They also have a wonderful Bakery Cafe where we bought freshly brewed organic coffee and a huge almond croissant.

Driving toward Mt. Shasta

On the high plateau there was heavy frost. Then passed Yreka, the valley opened up again with nice tended to farms toward the Oregon State border.

Past Mt. Sashta

Close to the Oregon State Border

The further north we came, the colder it got, and before Salem there was a snow advisory flashing on the side of the road. So we took another Best Western motel, this time the Millcreek one.

Everybody crawls along on the icy roads

Next morning we drove very gingerly through Portland. It took us more that 3 hours. There was just a little snow, but it was very icy. Cars were stalled, and in the ditches. Finally around Woodland along the Columbia River the roads were better.

Winter Conditions near Portland, OR

Because of the slow going through Portland, we arrived in the Seattle area during evening traffic. Slow driving here too, but no snow or ice. We were tired and stayed over night in Marysville, WA. We checked in at the Best Western Tulalip Inn.

Evening Traffic close to Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Marysville was another small town with mostly fast food places, so we decided to go and eat in the Casino across the street. The food was good, the server did not know how to open our wine bottle with a cork. Anders helped her. Then we went gambling. The $ 20.00 each, was gone in about 3.5 minutes. But it is an education in character studies in a casino. Everybody is there to win, few do.

Back in Canada

Next morning we drove in beautiful sunshine to the Canadian border. This time, we had even a longer list of all the things we bought in Mexico and in the USA. Again it took us almost an hours' wait to finally talk to the border agent. Even though we were a " little" much over our limit, the agent only wanted to know if we had weapons or drugs, and where we had stayed in San José del Cabo. He said welcome back, and we were on our way.

Driving into Vancouver, Canada

All smiles we drove into Vancouver December 7th 2013. There we stayed a couple of nights to see Amber and her parents. We also phoned all our kids and relatives that we are back in the country.

Calling Everybody - We are back!

Then in Victoria we stayed a few days at Lisa and Mark's place with Sarah and Ryan. We visited Linda and Mathew as well. We also needed haircuts and some grooming after all this time. Last, but not least -  Christmas shopping, including tons of food was on the list.

Back on Cortes Island

By the 12th of December 2013  we were finally back home on Cortes Island, after our two months Baja trip traveling all the way to San José del Cabo on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, and back to Cortes Island here in Canada, 12,000 km in total.

Back Home!

We loved our trip, and we will reminisce for a long time about all the wonderful experiences we had.

If you would like to see more pictures of the last part of our trip, please click here