Barbara J. Hamby

sign-up for our email list

February 2004 Trip

On our drive to Oceanside, California we took a side trip to Los Banos and found the old ice plant my dad managed 70 years ago, that is now a feed store. When I was five years old, we lived in a cottage next to the ice plant. I was quite excited to see that the old plant building was still standing. On our return, I learned that the nearby house was not the one we lived in. It is apparently gone.

We had a good visit with with my sister and brother-in-law, as well as their oldest daughter and a granddaughter on Friday February 20th, then took the Coaster train to San Diego on Saturday to board the Ms. Ryderdam. We left port about 5:00 p.m. to cruise around the Baja Peninsula, after two days at sea (most of which were spent eating). We never entered the dining room, so took most meals from the buffet, and skipped some entirely. The abundance and quality of most of the food was overwhelming. We had lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. I ate lots of seafood, a little chicken, and almost no red meat, which looked very fat and was probably choice grade.

Tuesday the ship anchored near Loreto and we took a tender into the dock. We rode a cab to the mission because we didn’t know how close it was. Even with my sore feet, we were able to walk back. The mission Nuestra Senora De Loreto was established in 1697, on a site first explored in February 1685. The tour of the mission itself didn’t take long, as it is quite small, but very ornate. However, the museum was another matter. We collected some printed matter and took some photos for a friend who is writing a book about an ancestor who lived in Loreto and was a scout for explorers who established many of the California missions. Al took some notes. I gave up that sort of thing when I retired, unless it’s for my own writing. While we were in a historical building next to the museum, a group of local high school students in brightly colored costumes danced to fiesta music out in front, which was all open, so we could watch. Tourists are welcomed warmly, even by those who are not vendors. The dancers did have a large tip basket, but I had no small bills or change, so I had to ignore it. There were a lot of dates and population figures on the walls of the building. The decimation of the Native American population in a short period of history was pretty horrifying. I think we all know about it, but tend not to think about it.

Wednesday we docked at Pichilingue (near La Paz). Al took a bus into LaPaz, but I stayed on the ship to swim. I have heard enough tales about Mexican buses to have an aversion to them. But Al said it was a short and not unpleasant ride. He didn’t stay long, however. Unless you are a dedicated bargainer and shopper, there isn’t much to see there, apparently. There were nice beaches, but he’d forgotten his swim trunks and couldn’t find any there. I prefer pools to oceans, so I swam twice that day and used the whirlpool tubs.

Thursday we anchored near Cabo San Lucas and took a tender into port there. It was fun to see the little town again. We had stayed there in January 2003 for a week or so, but had only been out on the water when Al went parasailing and I rode the boat to take pictures. We took a tour bus in Cabo San Lucas to see more of the town, then boarded a catamaran to tour the harbor. While we were out in the water, skirting the picturesque rocks, we saw a number of whales not far away. I got too excited to take good pictures, but have a couple that at least look like whales. There were much smaller boats than our three decker one, much closer to the whales which created some excitement. It was amazing how much that tourist town had grown in slightly over a year. There are lots of new resort buildings and other expansion. When we got back into town we walked around and shopped a little, then took a tender back to the ship.

There were dozens of things to do on the ship every hour, but we tried not to rush around madly doing too much. We saw a few movies and several live shows, walked on deck in the moonlight, enjoying the stars, and soaked up sun in the daytime when it was not too cool or windy. Al found only one chess partner who would not play him more than once. He had not taken a chess set because the cruise ships usually have at least one. It took the librarian (who is also in charge of puzzles and games) several days to cobble together a set from miscellaneous pieces here and there. After all his trouble, there was very little use for it. One of the movies we saw was Seabiscuit. I enjoyed the historical data of that era more than the horsy story, so I found the book in the library and managed to read it before we left the ship. I can recommend the book.

My sister and brother-in-law picked us up at Carlsbad Village when we returned on the Coaster from San Diego. We had thought we might have some time to kill in San Diego, but the ship was delayed two hours during the night by rough seas and engine repair, so we arrived later than scheduled. I was amazed at how well I slept, although there were weird noises during the night that I thought were waves slapping the boat bottom. Actually, I suppose they could have been dropping large wrenches. I was even more amazed that I only felt queasy a couple of times, very briefly, and managed to talk myself out of it. I took no Dramamine or other seasickness medicine.

We spent Saturday night with my sister and brother-in-law. He cooked us wonderful meals when we were there, that were enhanced by the good conversation. Sunday morning we all had brunch at a waterfront restaurant in Oceanside and we left for Yuma. After a slight detour through Mexicali/Calexico, we continued on our way and arrived in the evening.

The next day, in Yuma, we had a good visit with a cousin and her husband in semi-warm weather (a cool breeze blew). We drove around town some, where I discovered the park I had stayed in four years ago has turned into a slum. Yuma has mushroomed and the air quality is not the best. We planned to visit the Territorial prison before we left Monday, but rain discouraged that. We did drive around it a couple of times, then began our homeward trek.

We both picked up some sort of virus or bacteria along the way, but Al was lucky enough not to be affected by it until we got home.  Because I got suddenly sick in Los Banos, we didn’t go through Chico to see my aunt as we had planned, but drove to Brookings, and up the coast to Florence, then across to Eugene.

We saw a number of Roosevelt elk along the Oregon coast and I got a couple of pictures that I’m anxious to see. Al stopped next to a group of five or six of them who were lying practically on the shoulder of the road. I opened the window to take a picture, but chickened out when one stood up who looked close enough to touch.

Home again, we enjoyed our pictures and memories while we recovered from whatever bugs caught us on the run.