Ridersblock:
I'm always curious; what part of the bay area? I had my kids in Santa Cruz, raised them in Sonoma, they moved to Reno to raise their own kids and I moved to Central America 30 years ago.
Welcome aboard, you've found the right ride. Last year at this time, my wife & I departed Chiriqui, Panama and spent 88 days & 26,500 km on our Silver S10 up through Central America, Mexico, over to Miami, up to Atlanta, down to Mississippi, across to Texas,Tucson, Phoenix, San Diego, Monterey, Sonoma, Redding, Susanville, Reno, Carson City, Las Vegas, Big Bend Park Texas, over to Brownsville and into Mexico along the Gulf thru Tampico, Vera Cruz, then over to the Pacific side to follow the coast home to Chiriqui, thru Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Just do it! Motopan