Jack, Linda and the girls
The end of May the first of June is one of the greatest times to be in Rocky Point. The weather is usually great with warm days and cool nights. The water in the sea is warm but still refreshing. This June was no exception...but even better then most from my memory. If you have not noticed, this June (and still today and I write this blog) has been the coolest June since like 1913, and our trip down on June 4 took full advantage of this great weather.
For this trip we had along Chris and his girls, but also Jack and Linda his parents. It was wonderful getting a chance to take them down to see the house and enjoy the beach with us. Jack and Linda were a large influence on the way I viewed Mexico and this part of the world. As I have written before, I had been to Puerto Penasco back in my ASU days, but the beach was crowded and was limited.... as back then we loved driving fast on the beach. I was longing for a more remote place to see, live and taste the real Mexico. Jack and Linda and their son Chris invited me to a place called "El Golfo" and since that first trip my world view changed. I fell in love with that place, the beach , the tide, the challenge of camping 30 miles from town, and the aura of "Mexico" that still excites me today as soon as I cross that boarder. As time moved on camping on the beach was not as "cool" as when you are in your 20's and we rediscovered Puerto Penasco.....but I still thank Jack and Linda for stoking my love of Mexico with those trips we had over the years to El Golfo.
Speaking of El Golfo, as I had written in a prior blog entry, my dad had taken the new El Golfo highway back in late April. He had noted some access points down to the beach that Chris and I had to go take a look at. The highway basically follows the ocean, and as the road makes it big turn past the estuary and heads west, you can see the old salt flat and salt mining buildings off to your left. At this point there is a dirt road that leads down to the salt flat and works its way to the beach; right to our old stomping grounds. At this location, there is a big sand dune bowl. A place that Chris knows very well as his jeep was never the same after a jump he made at this same spot. Also, this zone of the beach has great shells. We picked up a bunch of sand dollars, and pink shells. He hung out there for about an hour and then headed back. On our way back to the access road while we were on the beach we could see two ATV's stopped in front of us. As we got closer we discovered that they were four federal officers. They stopped us and looked in the truck. No big deal; in fact we were glad to see them as this area had been a spot for drug drops in the past, and I am sure they are keeping a close eye on this area of the beach due to the road access to the new highway. We plan to go back soon and stay a little longer...but not overnight like we used to do.
Great road side signs on the highway
Chris's Truck (sand sled) on the beach
View North West toward the cliffs
The next day was another great day in Mexico. Chris and I took the sea kayaks out for about an hour and enjoyed the flat water and a little work out. We hung out on the beach until 2:30 and then hit town for shrimp and drinks. Chris went over to the fish market an picked up some shrimp for our dinner that night....Lourdes and I hit the Thirsty Parrot for a mango tango and a margarita. When Chris got there with his parents we drank two more and enjoyed the great view from the deck and the new palapa shade huts they added since our last stop at this establishment. The breeze was perfect. That night we cooked up the shrimp and enjoyed the evening.
View from the Thirsty Parrot Patio....very nice.
Sunday was a blur. Chris had to get back so they packed up early. We stayed until about 2:00. I got a chance to sit on the patio in the quiet and read and just decompress. I then did a couple of preventative maintenance jobs around the house, lubricating sliding doors, spraying for bugs......the normal stuff. We had talked to the neighbor about rust proofing as we have a number of things outside that are just a year old that look like they are five years old. He said he sprays WD40 on everything, so I thought I would try that on the air conditioner cabinets, light switches, etc. I also washed down the ATV and then sprayed WD40 on the exposed parts on the bike as well. I hope that this will slow down the inevitable.
The trip back was good. We had planned for a long wait at the boarder but that did not come to pass. In years past, a RCPM week end would have equaled a hour and half wait but with the economy the way it is that has not been the case at all this season. Good for us.....bad for the business owners. All in all a great trip. Thanks again to Jack, Linda, Chris and the girls for the good time. We hope you can come back often.
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