Mazatlan Dream Part 2: Sayonara Stuff!

“As I looked around my room, arms folded tightly, I contemplated what to do with my possessions. Did they define me, each one a piece of my past, or were they a burden, anchoring me to a life I was ready to leave behind? The answer was becoming clearer…”

Personal Possessions

What am I going to do with all my stuff?! I had two options: sell the lot and add the proceeds to the gas tank, or put it in storage to collect dust on the off chance I might eventually want to move back to that exact town where my life, as I knew it, metaphorically imploded and pick up right where I left off to try again. After weighing these two options, I decided to sell my possessions. Having the kind of childhood that I did, my propensity to form attachments to people—let alone personal property—was greatly minimized. Between midnight moves and fleeing domestic situations, I got used to letting things go.

That’s not to say there wasn’t a little bit of pain associated with leaving everything behind. Some dresses I bought when I went on a trip to Italy gave me pause. Dresses that I thought were so beautiful at the time, but they just sat in the closet year in and year out collecting dust. My furniture was fairly new, and I had spent hours on Wayfair carefully choosing the perfect furniture that I didn’t really need other than to keep up with the Joneses. When I expressed this small tidbit of regret to my friend, she reminded me that they were just “Possessions,” and it was a small price to pay for the life long dream I was about to embark on.

Any important documents were scanned and put on USBs, and anything else of sentimental value was small enough to fit in the glove compartment of my beloved black 2015 Jeep Cherokee, which only five years prior had so dutifully hauled my belongings in a U-Haul trailer across Canada from Ontario to Vancouver Island. So, with those sentimental items, the clothes I would need for the trip, my cat, and my dog, that was all I would be taking.

“Coming to that conclusion was like a weight off my shoulders. I felt liberated. Now I could do the fun stuff: Planning my trip!”

Logistics-Planning My Route

Now, I know that I said my heart was telling me “go to Mazatlán,” but when I opened up Google Maps to start planning my route and saw all the possibilities available to me, my brain was like a kid in a candy store. So many choices.

For about a week, I bounced a few ideas around, like going straight to Mexico City with its rich history and Frida’s homeland. I could see her blue house. Or Puerto Vallarta, with its beautiful mountains and beach. Every time I tried to make a case for another destination, nothing stuck. All roads were leading me to Mazatlán. I think my mind needed reassurance that I had vetted all my options and that Mazatlán, without question, was where I needed to be.

Good, now how do I get there? It was never a question that I would be driving there. I loved my Jeep, I loved driving, and I loved my independence. Then I had to choose whether I would drive down California, cross the border in Tijuana, go down the Baja Peninsula, and take the 16-hour ferry ride to Mazatlán while my pets sweltered in the Jeep (pets are not allowed on the passenger deck of the ferry) or if I would drive through Nevada and cross into Mexico at the Nogales, Arizona border.

“From Maple Ridge to Mazatlán—one wild, winding ride through deserts, neon lights, and border crossings. Let the road trip adventure begin!”

Ultimately, I decided to take the Nevada route. I would depart from Maple Ridge, BC, on June 28th to my first stop in Portland, Oregon, and I would keep on going. Portland to Sparks, Nevada; Sparks to Las Vegas; Las Vegas to Tucson, Arizona; and I would cross into Mexico through Nogales, Arizona, into Nogales, Mexico, and keep driving until I reached my first stop for the night in Mexico: Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. After that, a straight shot right to Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

“I was thrilled to be able to see parts of the USA I had never seen before. I had never been to Washington, Oregon, or Nevada. But they weren’t the main attraction. Finally being in the place that had sparked my wanderlust all those 30+ years ago was my focus. Sightseeing along the way was just an excellent bonus, and I would see way more than I was expecting.”

After figuring out all the logistics, it was just a waiting game for my departure. My plan was four months in the making, which gave me plenty of time to solder a few loose wires before I hit the road. Those wires being a pesky legal matter, to say the least, and the end of my lease on the house I was renting, which wasn’t up until July 1st, so I had a good few months to stew in the anticipation of my trip.

I decided on June 28th as my departure date because July 1st is Canada Day, and I didn’t want to go through the move-out process, and cross the border on the same day. On a national holiday, no less. Plus, I wanted to go to Mazatlán as soon as possible. As it so happens, things unfolded just the way they were supposed to

“With everything in place and my heart and mind set, I was finally ready to drive away from the ordinary and toward the extraordinary! What lies ahead on the road to Mazatlán? Join me in part 3 find out!”