A Visit With John, Ellyn and Milan in Mexico

The other day I decided to venture out to meet John and Ellyn in Mexico. I "met" John a few years ago on my space and we became pen pals. I was instantly taken by his writing and after seeing a few videos he posted, I figured he was the real life "dude" from the Big Lebowsky, even though I know he gets that a lot. I meet a lot of nice folks on the internet and it's always fun to meet them in person after talking for a while to see how they are in real life. John and Ellyn are exactly how I imagined...about as real as you can get.

They live on a house right on the water about 35 minutes from the border. They don't have electricity, but do have propane and water. They refer to their housing community as the "camp" and everyone knows each other very well. John and Ellyn are entertainers with a traveling show so you might have seen them at your local fair or at the San Diego zoo where Ellen is "Dr. Zoolittle."

I didn't bring Max along for the ride, but I brought my cousin, Wendy. I love it when I throw out a crazy idea and people say yes. I told Wendy that I wanted to go to Mexico to meet an online friend that I've never met and she said "ok" without question.

What I like most about them is that they are energetic about everything. You can talk about all subjects and they will have a story and will give their opinion without hesitation. I felt right at home with them and love the life they both lead. They follow their passion and do what they love.

I told a few people about going to Mexico to meet a stranger and most people worried that I would be ok. I didn't think twice about it. Of course there are many reasons to be afraid to meet strangers or travel to another country to do so, but that's the exciting part about it. I didn't stay long on this trip, but I plan to go back again to soak up the experience of living at their "camp." Wendy and I were treated like family and Ellyn cooked the best meals!

It was also interesting to see that we were about the only tourists in town. I will blog about that in another post but for now, here are some photographs to give you an idea of what life is like for Ellyn, John and their dog Milan. I look forward to catching one of their performances soon.