One of the pleasures of being back home in Chicago is that it has given us the chance to take joy rides on the bike around the suburbs, which we do almost on a daily basis. It's been wonderful to just feel the hot summer breezes whip through our jackets, and not have to worry that a cow might just stray into the road. Or that we'll randomly hit a hidden speed bump going at full speed. African roads are amazing in their own ways, but American roads have their advantages as well. So whether it's through twisty roads along fields of prairie grasses, or forests of buzzing cicadas, or along strip malls and residential blocks, we've been loving it all.

​But another thing we've been doing is making videos about our journey through Mexico and Central America, and chronologically following the book 2Up and Overloaded. As Tim finishes up his newest book on South America, it's been fun to relive all our experiences as we headed into Latin America for the first time. And one of the things I wanted to share with you is our exploration of Meso-American ruins.

Visiting ruins on the motorcycle was a real highlight of the region for us, and the Mayan ruins of Central America truly captured our hearts and imaginations. And so the following is a list of some of our favorite ruins that we rode to on our motorcycle (doesn't get more magical that that!). And I've tried to pick ones that are off the beaten track, and a little obscure - 

Update 2022* Some of the above videos are from our more, let's say primitive way of making YouTube Videos... Our latest and greatest video series about this time of the trip can be found here: Central America - 2Up and Overloaded

As our time in Mexico has come to a close, we've reflected on both the magic and the misfortune that we've encountered during our two and half months there (mostly it was magical).
 
Highlights (and a few not-so-nice adventures) in chronological order -
 
San Felipe, Baja California

• Waking up every morning to incredible sunrises over the Sea of Cortez while camping on the beach.
• Tim flying in a motorized hang-gliding thingy.
• Walking down the beach every day to eat shrimp tacos in San Felipe (for me this was great anyway, Tim doesn’t like seafood, his loss).

​As I sit comfortably in a house we are staying at for a couple weeks, at no cost, I am able to reflect on the last 3 months of travel. Our trip has already piled on more memories than I could have hoped for.
 
We rode through some of the most beautiful states in the U.S. We were able to fix the bike when things went astray, and I survived a bad case of poison oak that spread to my unmentionables.

The States had proved themselves to be as amazing and hospitable as we could have hoped. We met wonderful people, saw nature in all of its glory, and shook some excess bugs out of our gear, the bike’s load, and literally out of our jackets and helmets.

A big shout out to the people who assisted us and invited us into their homes along the way, Dana Dahl and her husband William (where we almost declared legal residency because we stayed for so long), Paul Sprague (who insisted on paying for our hotel room for a night), and Jim Piatt, along with his fellow riders of the Pokka Dots: Brian Small and Ron Hess. Jim provided us with a pair of passenger foot pegs that miraculously fit (with a little grinding). We have now dubbed the bike “Peg-asus” because now she has wings!

There are too many people to thank individually, but we are grateful to every individual who provided kindness and assistance, down to just good conversations.
 
But now we are in Mexico, having made it all the way to Cabo. Once past Tijuana, Baja opened its window to the wondrous views it has to offer. The nights were spent at a variety of playas, each seemingly more beautiful than the last. Eating at small family owned stands, constant swimming in the Sea of Cortez, and reading books while we lay in our hammock is how we spent the majority of our days. It was true relaxation mixed in with random bonus gifts, including our Texan neighbor, Captain Gunner, letting us use his kayak-a-maran in the Bay of Conception and having a whale shark swim directly underneath us. A truly once in a lifetime experience. In the same bay, bioluminescence sparkled in the water as we swam at 4am. Everything seemed magical. Almost magical, with a couple scratches to the flawless facade.