19 January 2007
Chula Vista, California - population: 199,000
Chula Vista Marina and RV Park
Dear Friends of Barbara and Charlie (B/C) ...
Hello again, Humphrey is back. This email gives a little background to the organization of the caravan and summarizes mishaps.
We arrived in Chula Vista, south of San Diego almost on the Mexican border, a couple days early to handle last minute details and to deliver our car to a Thousand Trails RV park east of here for storage. B/C were surprised with the number of last minutes detail for the caravan, considering that they full-time. By the way, Charlie and Barbara bought a Thousand Trails membership (see internet) for idyllic nature park settings in which to stay and relax, to slow their pace. We’ve stayed in two and really enjoy their natural setting and peace and quiet.
The caravan began with an ice cream social before a briefing. Here we sat with, left to right, Ken and Ethel Cinders from Atlantic City, NJ (he retired from newspaper publishing); and Al Irvine (retired Seabee) and Teri Oelschlager from Santa Barbara, CA. Teri had a son, a NYC fire fighter who was killed in Tower 2 on 9/11. 
Getting the word from our “Wagon Master“, Jerry Barber and wife Claudia (both retired California State Patrol) and to their left our “Tail Gunner” Bill and wife Marita Mitchell. The Tail Gunner is an Adventure Caravan employee, the last vehicle in the caravan and is responsible for helping with the repair of Rvs along the way -- and running the DVD loan library. Before leaving Bill gave our 12 year old Lazy Daze a thorough inspection and described it as very chipper.
Our Lazy Daze outside the Chula Vista Marina and RV Park in the brutally cold Southern California winter -- notice the bare tree and Barbara all bundled up. Scout, in the drivers seat, has just said, “Let’s get going!” 
All lined up and ready to go. We were twenty rigs with 40 people. The runners in the foreground aren't running but are a "heal and toe" club if you have ever heard of speed walkers, an event in the Olympics. The rigs are all closely lined up but later we broke up in smaller groups which proceeded at their own pace. We traveled with Ken and Ethel Cinders and Bob and Jan Eldred. We were comfortable using our speed control set between 45 and 50 mph.
There were 20 rigs at the start, mostly large “Class A” motor homes that look like busses, the remainder large “Fifth Wheel” trailers such as the one in the center of the picture that are towed with a powerful pickup with a tractor trailer type connection on the floor of the pickup bed. Everything was 30-40’ long except for our 26.5’ Lazy Daze. Only a couple other couples are “full timing” as we have for the past 5 years.
MISHAPS. RV caravanning on the Baja is not for sissies. We are still happy we’ve gone on the trip, would recommend it, and we’ve had no problem but keep us in your prayers. The highway to Cabo San Lucas is 1150 miles on narrow Mexican #1 and our return will be the same.
To this half-way point we are down 2 rigs. One man died of a very fast heart attack, for which Barbara performed her nursing best but to no avail; one woman tore ligaments in her knee getting into a fishing boat and is now in a cast; and one couple, just new to RV’ing and driving a big Class A, returned home not feeling comfortable driving Mexican roads after smashing their driver side rear view mirror on the side of an oncoming 18 wheeler. Two rigs early on ran off the highway, which doesn’t have shoulders, but fortunately they went off where it was fairly level and they didn’t turn over or sustain damage. Another rig, a class A diesel, broke an engine fuel line when they hit an unexpected pot hole. They spent a week in a small Mexican village for installing a replacement fuel line flown down from San Diego; they have rejoined us.
Last night during our evening happy hour social we were queried how many of us have fallen on the trip; 5 reported fall with no serious injury. Even given the above, everyone remaining is still game and morale is high.
Next: Vincinte Guererro (our first stop in Mexico).
… Humphrey, for Charlie and Barbara
Next: Vincinte Guererro (our first stop in Mexico).
… Humphrey, for Charlie and Barbara
