La Paz

    After the long drive through the seemingly endless deserts of Baja, lots of small towns, and several days camping on the beach, we really enjoyed our time in La Paz. It's a city of about 200,000, not too touristy but with an active expat community, beautifully situated, lots of art and culture, and with more of a mainland Mexico feel to it than other places we visited. We stayed at Campestre Maranatha, a nice RV park on the outskirts of the city. It had a great swimming pool with a kids' pool too, two playgrounds, teepees, and a friendly and helpful owner. It was a great place to spend some time catching up on laundry, email, shopping, etc. It was a city where I could definitely envision spending more time. We stayed there three or four nights on the way south and then a few more on the way back up north. These pictures cover both visit. 

We were boon docking at the beach when Thanksgiving rolled around, so we decided to wait until we had electricity to enjoy out Thanksgiving dinner. It makes the culinary magic just a wee bit easier. I made a pumpkin pie from a calabaza regional, as well as stuffing, chicken, a green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes.  Oh, and we actually found a can of cranberry sauce in a little grocery store in Mulege, which Peregrine was very excited about! It wasn't the yummiest meal I've eaten, but it was very special, and we were all thankful to squish around our little table and count our blessings.

La Paz has a really nice malecon, and we enjoyed walking it a couple of times. The kids always seem to gravitate to the sand! 

Water bottle art. Of course my kids were compelled to climb inside it, knocking out about forty water bottles in the process. What followed was probably humorous to watch, as we desperately tried putting them back, only to pop out more with each one we put in. A security officer came over and told the kids to get out and put the water bottles back, which was easier said than done. Lesson learned: please don't climb inside the art, children! Oh, and for pete's sake, carry your own water bottle and don't contribute to the trash problem!

La Paz seemed to have a big arts community and this was a cultural center of sorts. We walked around for a while, enjoying the art and the air conditioning. 

Saint Nicholas day came around so we celebrated by opening our stockings and eating freshly baked gingerbread muffins. I bought a few little things for the kids and Erik, and they tucked lots of little paper crafts and tiny gifts in each other's stockings as well. It always blesses me how they want to get in on the giving each year! 

Yummy! Where on earth did Erik find Trader Joe's chocolate in Mexico?

Daddy checking out the comic Peregrine drew and gave him.

The malecon, like the one in Puerto Vallarta, is lined with large and interesting sculptures. I really liked this one.

I was happy to see a small peregrinacíon as we sat eating ice cream one evening. 

Of course we had to stop at La Fuente, a little ice cream shop along the malecon. They make their own ice cream and it comes in so many flavors. We had some serious indecision going on with a couple people. (That would be Peregrine and myself.) So many choices! 

The tree and brightly colored benches out front seem entirely fitting for an ice cream shop! 

Sunset over the bay.

We enjoyed going out in the evening a few times. There were some night markets and the kids enjoyed a little browsing and shopping before we finally tracked down a taco place we wanted to try. Octopus tacos? Check. Manta Ray tacos? Check. Exciting times for our adventurous eaters!

Poppy took this picture of Erik and I one night while we were out for dinner. On a date, just the two of us, you know, with our four kids. 

Just another evening out!