Page 14 - SanFelipe

F inding S an F elip e
Finding San Felipe

Les & Rob’s Un expected Road Trip
by Julie Juselle Jansen
missed turn changed the lives of Les and Rob Donley
in a way they never expected. They had traveled
A
extensively over the years, and having been to over thirteen
different countries with no intention of ever settling in one
place. This was the lifestyle they enjoyed and had planned for
their future. In the winter of 2014 Les was 55 and retired, and
Rob, at age 57, took a 3 month leave of absence from his job.
They planned to take their first trip ever in a motor van from
Saskatchewan, Canada thru the Western United States and
then experience all of Baja Mexico. They would drive to Cabo
and spend their last Baja night in Ensenada, returning to their home in Canada 3 months later.
Les and Rob had a great experience during their 3-month Baja trip and met several down-to-
earth people who they found to be amazingly friendly. Some had mentioned that they should
include a stop in San Felipe, a town they knew nothing about. This was not in their plans.
They took to the road the next day and an hour later, Rob pulled over in the small area of
Heroes de la Indepencia, and admitted that he was going the wrong way. As he turned the
motor van around, they both said “wait” at the same time. They decided to continue heading
east and add a stop in San Felipe to the end of their Baja journey. Upon their arrival in San
Felipe, they stayed at Kiki’s campground. They wandered the malecon and enjoyed the many
Mexican restaurants. They both loved golf, and were
happy to discover that San
Felipe had a golf course.
They made the drive out
to El Dorado Ranch, took
a tour, ate lunch, and drank
margaritas. After 5 days,
they left San Felipe know-
ing that it was their kind of
place. As soon as they got home, they booked a condo on the
golf course for 3 months of the next winter. Les and Rob’s life plan
was to travel the world. However, after their first 3 months in San
Felipe, they changed their minds because of the activities avail-
able and the wonderful people they met. They bought a house on
the ranch after realizing that traveling was overrated compared to
the community of San Felipe. The Donleys still live in Canada and spend 6 months every year
in San Felipe. They call their San Felipe home Casa Destino, Destiny House, because one
wrong turn brought them to the place they were destined to be.
If you have an interesting story about how you found San Felipe that you would like to
14 14 share, send an email to 1julietravels@gmail.com