La Fonda Hotel, Baja, Mexico

We love this little place.  Off the beaten path, relaxed and fun.  Many of the rooms have their own personality so it has been an adventure to try a new one each time and then compare and contrast which room we each like the best and why.

Here's our best guess so far:
21 if you have others there to entertain, it has a pretty big deck and front living area, plus a unique (and maybe scary in the middle of the night) fire place pit area.  Great spot to entertain.

20 has a lovely view from the bathroom and feels secluded.  The deck is smaller, but the best part of this room is the view of the ocean from the bed! (and the pirate's chest and antelope head?)

22 has a tree growing it it's deck, so that's unique, and the bar like table is fun to sit at in the window.  Plus the craziest part of this room is it's bathroom, which has an upstairs shower and a painting of a jaunty pirate looking man.
(All of the other rooms we have been in have had their own personal charm, a chiminea and the ocean to look at.  These are just our favorites because they are down further on the cliff, away
from other rooms, have fireplaces and are especially memerable.)

What do we love about LaFonda?

~The people are always nice and you get to know them.  There is a continuity to that which is nice (just like the jeweler in Breakfast at Tiffany's said about the cracker jacks ring...).

~The place is not touristy, but relaxed and special.

~You don't have to do anything, or you can go up to the bar and restaurant and enjoy.
~The music.  You will hear a great guy playing acustic guitar at brunch and in the afternoons.  My personal favorite is his version of Stairway.  When the night heats up, you can dance the night away or people watch while the house band covers some great hits.
~There are no telephones and television, so you really can get away and be together, read, and enjoy.
~Brunch!!!  The food is always great, but the Sunday brunch is something you HAVE to get to in your lifetime.  It the equivalent of two rooms of fabulous food.

~The ocean.  This hotel is situated on the cliff, overlooking it's own beach. You can walk it and feel like you are really away from the hustle and bustle of your life, or just sit on your deck and enjoy a sunset.

Word to the wise: If you want a vacation with lots of things to do in the day or air conditioning, this may not be for you.  This place has a rustic charm that we appreciate because when we go away, we don't ask for much and we bring our own "entertainment" in the form of lots of books, magazines, knitting projects, wine bottles and each other. 

There is a spa, which we keep meaning to try, but have not yet because we enjoy being lazy and having no schedule...  ;)  Maybe next time will be the time when we actually do the couples massage and jacuzzi champagne special! 

But for now, LaFonda remains close to our hearts as our number one weekend get away!

Caught from a Speeding Truck!

I just wanted to share some of the diverse images from our trip to Baja.  We stayed on the coast, and also went inland to a ranch near the tallest peak in Baja.  When we went to the top, there were snow and pine trees, which don't seem like what many people think of when they think of Baja.

Overall the trip was lovely.

I'll write more about each hotel separately, each having it's own charm and meeting different needs for different travelers. 

Mostly, I just wanted to share the diversity and a few fun shots I caught on the go from the truck, sometimes at 50 or 60 miles per hour!

There's so much to see if you are watching!

Maybe, Maybe not...

Jason and I just got back from a great trip to Mexico.  I will add more photos soon.

The trip was relaxing, interesting and beautiful.  We both got to visit new places we hadn't been to and were in the desert, a green ranch in a valley, in the snow on a pine tree filled mountain and at the beach.  Baja amazes me.

Since we spend so much time driving, and I love taking photos, I make it my mission to try to capture things along the way.  This is a challenge when we are moving at 50 miles per hour, but it's also part of the fun.  I like the fact that I have to be good at anticipating, but also I have to be open to what I catch.  It's like gambling I guess, you get the fun of feeling like you won if you caught something you wished for. 

I will share more photos I "caught" on this trip.  This is one that I didn't consider catching, but upon looking at it again, I think it shows the spirit of the chase.  Maybe you'll get an amazingly composed image, or maybe it's a fleeting memory.  Either way, I have way more memories from this trip than I have photos!

Enjoy catching memories in your day, Jennifer

Evolution?

Here's just a little something that I've recently noticed. One of my aftican violets is beginning to do something new and different. It usually has five simple petals and a yellow center. And now, it's beginning to bloom with petals coming out of the middle too. Things seems to evolve and change and if you don't take time to look, you may go on for a while without even knowing that life has moved on without you.

I don't know how long this african violet has been "doing it's own thing" but I'm happy I noticed.
(Crazy how things can often be related back to a sesame street song!)

Unique, no?

A Solemn Fellow

Today we took a walk along the slew in Mission Bay. The sky was full of billowy white clouds. The air was fresh and clean. We watched ducks and egrets.

Then we noticed this fellow. He made me think about priorities. He's just relaxing, and isn't in any hurry. Life is different when you are a Heron. We can get caught up in the hustle and bustle, but it's good to think, is it all that important?

Getting out was a good idea today. Enjoy your evening, Jennifer

Just Starting.

I'm new to this, but also love to communicate and share. So here goes.

I want to use this forum to share things that catch my sense of wonder as I travel through my day. I try to keep life from being so busy that I don't notice what's actually around me each day. That's not always easy, but here's to trying.

I have been collecting sunsets lately, and the title image is one of my recent ones. Somehow the ocean is important for me, like a fresh breath. So I make time to be there.

There's something cool about catching a moment. And when I'm taking photos of sunsets, there are so many. Much to my friends' amusement, I like to try to catch them all.

I have a full love of life and keep adding new hobbies and interests, so I hope to keep this blog wellrounded and fun.

Have a nice weekend, Jennifer