Saturday July 25

Cardiff by the Sea to International Border (by the sea)

B watching for illegals, listening to the crowd at the Tijuana bullring, and resting at the U.S./Mexico border

For our consideration:

“Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free.”

H. D. Thoreau

 “(Jack Keruoac) hankered for the West, for Western health and openness of spirit, for the immemorial dream of freedom [and] joy.”

John Clellon Holmes

South we go through La Jolla and Coronado: our own tiny westward migration. Into Imperial Beach and finally pass into what seemed exactly what I would like to think was Spanish Alta California of the early 1800's: dusty ranches and a guy on horseback cantering along the way past gardens of banana trees and grape vines. It was a most unexpected place after the suburbs a half mile back.

On to the surreal border with its immense double wall of steel bars and some amplified Mexican DJ exhorting the crowd at the bull ring.
Roc and Josh arrived very soon after B and I did and after a few high fives and photos we got a bright red commuter train out of, presumably, Imperial Beach and rode more or less trouble free to downtown San Diego and hopped a bus to the North Park District and Josh's apartment with all day Sunday to relax and box bikes for a 5:00 am drive to the airport. The bikes had to be reduced to basic components as the boxes where those that the manufacturer had used to ship from Asia possibly without wheels. It was a hard project beginning and end (reassembly at Seattle airport) as was the whole ride. Hard but unforgettable.

Bull ring just inside Mexico beyond massive gate in the border fence.

A couple days after the border and almost home