When I got my passport last year, Jake and I had planned to drive to Mexico right away so I could get to use my brand new American passport. As things turned out, we never got to go. This weekend, looking for something to do, we decided to drive to Ensenada, The drive from San Diego is around an hour and a half. We got on the road as soon as David woke up (5am!) and got there early enough to get some fantastic weather before it came pouring down.

I loved Ensenada. In so many ways, it reminded me of being home. The dirt, the poverty, the small streets, the sweet, kind people, the tiny candy stores. I felt completely at ease and loved every moment of being there. I felt more at ease there then I do here in San Diego. The one thing Ensenada had that Istanbul doesn't was color. The magnificent color in all the buildings delighted me and is something we don't really have in most of Turkey (except Bodrum, which is all white and blue - not so colorful as Ensenada but still gives me the same sense of loveliness). I couldn't get enough of the color.

Since I haven't taken any photos (that aren't portraits of some kind) in such a long time, I didn't even know where to begin. I took a whole bunch of photos before rain came pouring down. I am not sure I am thrilled with any of them but I still like them because theu are my memories of the wonderful trip. I'll post some of them over the next few weeks.

Of course, on the way back, they didn't ask me for anything but my driver's license so I didn't get to use my spankin' new passport. Oh well.