Into Mexico

     So I made it out of town.  Everything took much longer to get done then expected but eventually it got done.  The entire house was packed into boxes and everything was put into a storage shed for the foreseeable future.  Initially the storage shed was neatly stacked and packed but I will admit by the end I was just throwing things into it to get it done.  If there is an earthquake there will be major problems trying to get the door open.  While I was piling stuff in there I did have some moments where I was convinced I was about to be buried in a crap-a-lanche of my own belongings.  I managed to get everything done with only a few scrapes and cuts on my hands and shins. 
     I have now spent the last 5 days taking my time visiting friends as I made my way to Juli's house in LA out of which I am staging the Baja trip. I spent a night in Portland and then 3 nights in Northern California visiting friends from High School, undergrad, vet school, and former coworkers.  It was a relaxing few days to catch up with old friends and to slowly get my head wrapped around the upcoming weeks.  Good food, a few drinks, and chatting it up with friends I hadn't seen in way too many years was the perfect way to immerse myself into the trip.  It also allowed me to catch up on some neglected sleep. I picked up a friend Toby at LAX who is going to come to Mexico with me and then drive my truck back to LA where it will stay while I paddle.  The clouds chased me down then entire way.  I did get some sun yesterday afternoon but even today in LA it is completely overcast.  Meanwhile I hear that Seattle is gorgeous.  Soon after a few weeks of burning under the sun I will probably be praying for clouds.   
     Now that I am dropping into Mexico the amount of communication I will have and internet access will be very intermittent at best.  My cellular service will be disconnected so from now on the only way to contact me will be through email (solsoul@aol.com) or through Facebook. I will only be able to check this when I can get a WiFi signal so it may be 2 months before I can get a solid update posted about my trip.  My SPOT tracker is supposed to update my position on Facebook  but it has not seemed to be working.  At least it has been sending a text message/email to my Mom and Kathleen which is the important thing it needs to do so they don't worry as much.  However on the front page of this blog there is a link for "My current position" which should show my camping spots for the last 7 days. Once I get back and have my own computer I can post pictures again
    The plan is to take a day or two to hang out in San Felipe, get a lay of the land, enjoy being in Baja and set off when the wind allows.  700 miles and 7 weeks later I hope to pull into La Paz.  My Mom has now decided that she is going to go to La Paz so she will meet me there and watch my stuff while I go get my truck and Kathleen to come back down to La Paz and get my boat and gear.  As a result I will have a much nicer hotel room then I would otherwise once I get to La Paz.  I will update as soon as I can.  Thanks to everyone for the support and help, especially Kathleen, my Mom, Juli and Morgan for being home base LA,  Nicole, Nick, and Heather for feeding me and giving me shelter on the drive down, Toby for helping with the launch, and GU for the support on this expedition.