Baby Boomers Traveling: Return to Los Angeles
It may be because Los Angeles was the last place we lived in for any amount of time before adopting our vagabond lifestyle. It may be because we have so many friends and family here who welcome us with open arms whenever we return. Or maybe it’s just that we cannot get enough of the sunshine, palm trees, warm and dry climate, and the Mexican influence in almost everything. Whatever it is, arriving in Los Angeles always feels like coming home. This time we spent ten days visiting family members and friends as well as taking care of business. We spent our first weekend behind the Orange Curtain with cousins Audrey and Rich and son Matt and drove out to the Valley to see Aunt Rut

Baby Boomers Traveling … our Mexican Home
Guanajuato, Mexico truly is a second home to us – or first considering we vagabonds have no real home! On this, our fourth time back, we enjoyed seeing the familiar multi-colored buildings undulating with the hills and the former river tunnels which channel all main roads with their heavy traffic to pass under the city. We enjoyed seeing our many friends, eating at favorite restaurants, walking the cobbled streets and marveling at just how cold the weather was. Our love for the city hasn’t diminished in the three years since we started coming here and, as our friendships here have deepened, we always feel welcomed to return. Our facination with Mexico and Guanajuato le

Baby Boomers Traveling … Leaving Costa Rica
After five wonderful days at the beach in Samara, Costa Rica we picked up our backpacks for the long trip to Mexico. Our research showed that a plane ticket from San Jose, Costa Rica to Mexico City would cost us about $500 each – it’s actually cheaper to go from the Tico capital to Chicago ($263 each) even though the distance is greater. Going by bus, on the other hand, would only cost about $100 each and even when you throw in the cost of food, snacks and a couple of nights in hotels, you don’t spend anywhere near the cost of the air fare. So, we took the bus: actually, we took many buses. We were no less than amazed at how well every connection was made, every bus

Baby Boomers Traveling … Leaving Costa Rica
After five wonderful days at the beach in Samara, Costa Rica we picked up our backpacks for the long trip to Mexico. Our research showed that a plane ticket from San Jose, Costa Rica to Mexico City would cost us about $500 each – it’s actually cheaper to go from the Tico capital to Chicago ($263 each) even though the distance is greater. Going by bus, on the other hand, would only cost about $100 each and even when you throw in the cost of food, snacks and a couple of nights in hotels, you don’t spend anywhere near the cost of the air fare. So, we took the bus: actually, we took many buses. We were no less than amazed at how well every connection was made, every bus

Baby Boomers Traveling … Leaving Costa Rica
Can Costa Rica redeem itself in the eyes of two people who grew tired of the noise, pollution, crime and the crowded city? Even to the point that a bit of rain during their five-day beach vacation didn’t bother them? Apparently, there is another Costa Rica! We finally got to see the land of sun, sand, sea and sea-food that everyone raves about. Okay, so the ocean water was a bit polluted, garbage is dumped on the side of the road, the fish and lobster are expensive. But the beach is huge, sandy, clean and lined with palm trees. The mountains are covered with lush forests that resound with howler monkeys and birds. The people are friendly; not yet jaded by all of the tourists vis