Our love of Mexico has deep roots. For me, it started as a teenager on frequent trips with my parents to resorts like Cancun, Cozumel, Mazatlan and Acapulco. Brian’s connection came later, but was even more meaningful. In 2002, he led his middle school science class on trip through the Baja Peninsula.

Later, Brian and I would become frequent visitors to Bahia Kino on the Sonoran Coast on the Sea of Cortez. Our first trip there was in winter 2006 with our dog Kubu. We drove 19 hours over three days from our home in Louisville, Colorado, crossing the border in Nogales, making our way down to Hermosillo and then heading straight west to Bahia Kino. We absolutely fell in love with this quiet little fishing village nestled along a long, lovely bay. We did the same trip another three times. Sometimes we’d take family, sometimes friends. But we’d always bring Kubu.

The last time was in 2013 when our daughter Maya was one and a half years old. It wasn’t her first trip to Mexico, however, and it wasn’t her last either. Maya’s roots in Mexico go much, much deeper than either Brian’s or mine, as you will discover on this blog site.

Every time we visited Mexico, we were impressed with the warmth, generosity and honesty of the people we met, the beautiful scenery, and of course the delicious food! We were also impressed with the number of North Americans who had made Mexico their second or permanent home. There is a strong and growing faction of retirees and young families that are giving it a go living in Mexico; and most of the folks we’ve met have no regrets about making the move.

On that first trip to Bahia Kino in 2006, we got a bee in our bonnets to give it a go too, at least on a temporary basis. It was a pipe dream at first, something we would talk about whenever life was getting too hectic. It helped us get through a few rough patches. Then, sometime between when we were struggling to start a family, and after our daughter Maya finally arrived, the dream started to become more real. During those 4 years, we started saving money, practicing Spanish, and exploring other parts of Mexico including Sayulita and other towns along the Nayarit Coast. Brian learned to surf. I tried too.

Lucky for us, we found out that the school Brian works for (he’s an 8th grade science teacher), allows tenured educators to take up to a year of unpaid sabbatical and return to their jobs. It was as if fate wanted this to happen for us.

So, here we are. Ready to take a year off starting Aug. 1 to explore the Baja Peninsula, Nayarit Coast, highlands of Guanajuato and San Miguel De Allende and other places I’m sure. We don’t really have a set plan, other than spending 6 months in Chacala on the Nayarit Coast from Nov. 1 to May 1.

It’s been a whirlwind to prepare for this adventure, but as our compatriots found, I don’t think we will have any regrets.