Where Are You Going and Why?

Everyone has a different idea of where I should spend my travel time. It's been great to hear all the suggestions. Travel across Europe. Rent a house in Spain or Italy. Mainland Mexico. Costa Rica. Panama. Brazil. Bali. Indonesia. Japan. China. Each person reveals a little of themselves and their own dreams as they tell me what I should do. It's been hard not to doubt myself on this - there are a lot of places to go and a lot of places I've always wanted to go. So why Baja California Sur, Mexico and why now? Most easily put, it's just what I know I'm supposed to do. It sounds a little too self-righteously zen, I admit. In all of its honest deepness, it even sounds ridiculous to me. So intellectually, I dug up some evidence to understand my motivation.
Traveling Baja is something I've dreamed about since I was a teenager. My first love was California. I don't even remember being sad that we left Indiana when I was 12. I just remember thinking I was going to meet Scott Baio and see a lot more of the ocean, which I already had a crush on from trips to New Jersey and Florida. My gut was right. I loved California. It was more than a crush. It was founded. And it loved me back. The year we moved to LaJolla, I went on trips down to Tijuana with my Uncle Stan. We stopped for tortillas and bolillos. (Most of my best lifetime memories include starch.) He helped me with my first year Spanish lessons as we ran errands across the border. Visiting Mexico was like meeting California's grandparents. I was in love with the language and Mexico right off the bat - and that was only Tijuana! Our neighbors and family friends Andrei and Olivia encouraged me through another 5 years of Spanish and made fun of me often enough to ensure my accent wasn't horrible. God forbid I sounded like some stupid gringo. Olivia relayed stories of her childhood trips to Mexico - which were wrought with indulgent riches. Olivia has always been quick to make sure I understand all the facets of Mexico, both rich and poor. Andrei helped school me in the positive qualities of margaritas. In highschool, I had a lot of friends who's families vacationed in Baja. I was intrigued by their stories - fishing for dinner; camping on the beach; taking two cars in case one broke down. Each family had their own secret spot and family traditions - from the time of year to the route they'd take to the same little cart where they'd get their fish tacos. As I got older the stories included big cheap 20 oz beers and lots of ocean time. It sounded like heaven. My family would have sooner vacationed, literally, on the moon. So needless to say, I have always wanted to explore the Baja. LI have always dreamed of driving the peninsula from top to bottom and living down here. It's been cool to put a face to all these places I've read and heard about - from Mulege to Loreto to La Paz and all the little hidden spots in between. Two years ago, I took my first trip to Todos Santos with Andrei with the prospect of buying some land. I have been wanting to come back ever since. Then, in late January, Jody and I took a long-planned vacation to the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula....basically everywhere but Cabo. After about 2 days in Todos Santos, I knew I needed to come back and live here.....soon.