Route 1 to Tijuana via various towns

Route 1 was taken again to Tijuana.  We drove through various towns on the way to our destination, like the infamous Laguna Beach and Newport Beach (from the equally infamous and dry "reality" shows) , as well as San Diego and Encinitas amongst other smaller towns. Laguna and Newport have large homes built along the coast, they seemed massive and there were a lot of gated communities. Though to be fair, if one lives near the coast, one must be LLOOOOOAAAADDDDDDDEEEEED. 

Our goal was to see the Self-Realization Fellowship along the way.  The Self-Realization Fellowship in Encinitas is one of the rebirthplaces of Kriya yoga in North America. Only the gardens were open to the public on Sunday, and it was free to enter. The gardens were obviously built in such a way so as to encourage meditation and deep thought. There were waterfalls and lots of ponds to along with seats for the general population to meditate. Well worth the time and stop. Christopher was excited to have seen this place and as a non-yoga person, as was I.  

We didn't stop at any other place along the way until we got to Tijuana. We dropped the car off at the border for 10 dollars at the parking spot. 

To enter Tijuana was scarily simple, there was just a mere rotating metal pronged door. That's it. No customs....nothing. There were some police looking guys around. There were lots of fellows in yellow shirts, but they were cab drivers. 

After 100 m, you can easily see the contrast between Tijuana and the United States. The emergency room in Tijuana was a dilapidated building with spray paint, while state-of-the-art facilities (with some exceptions and even those do not diminish this place). The shopping was done on Revolucion Street which compared to Morocco was clean. The shopping was decent, the vendors were all friendly. We spent less than 2 hours in Tijuana, because of the debilitating heat.

The cross back was a tad more difficult, but not exactly daunting. The drive back to Anaheim was nice and windy (thank goodness).  There were signs along the highway about being careful of people running across??????? Desperation knows no bounds. 

Restaurants: 

- Cafe Francais in Dana Point (near Newport Beach) 

The food was great. I had crepes that made me nostalgic for my Oma's. 

- Jack in the Box

Great smoothies. 

Sites:

-Self-Realization Fellowship 

GORGEOUS! 

-Tijuana 

Great shopping and cheap goods. 

That's What She Said 

Christina