Back in the Good Old USA after PP

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Lorraine’s Report

We are in Yuma, AZ at our friend’s, TJ and Sharon, lot on the east side of town, just beneath the mountains. We got here Thursday afternoon, after spending the night in Gila Bend, at the gas station RV park.

Monday was a day spent shopping and looking in Puerto Penasco, MX. We ate lunch in old town with Virgil, Sharon, Linda #1 and #2, Jeanette, Sue, Marcia, Chuck and me.

Everyone was looking for specific items to take home. We finished up in town and went to Shack’s for more looking around.

Tuesday was our last full day in PP, MX so the guys went into town at 8 am to get fresh shrimp and fish to take home. Patsy and Sue packaged up the shrimp in no time for all three of us. We went back to town, this time the shopping was finished in fifteen minutes. Mark and Sue wanted fresh oysters so we drove out of town to an oyster farm. Mark bought some to take home. We then went back to make our side dishes for the sunset dinner cruise.

The dinner cruise is how the group that started this trip to Puerto Penasco ended the last night of our week in Mexico. All 23 went out on a catamaran boat for fun, food and free margaritas. Mark barbequed all the assorted meat, shrimp, chicken and fish we all brought as main dishes. There was so much food, that when a young Mexican girl vendor, with three young children came on board at the end of the meal, selling her wares, we wrapped what was left up and sent her home with enough food for several days, hopefully. Then we went out for the sunset. The water was not too rough, about one and a half foot to two foot swells, but I found it hard to walk. They cranked up the music and everyone danced, some more than others. Sunset was extremely beautiful, with lots of clouds and color, it felt like God was talking to us. We returned to port one tired group of people.

Wednesday was moving day, back to the good old USA. We traveled with the Kings, the Didelots, and the Esparzas back the way we came. We had no problems at the border, but some of the group that went another way did.

We arrived in Gila Bend and went to the RV Park where we were before the trip. We spent the afternoon cleaning the inside of the coach. Then the gals threw together another potluck for dinner, hot dogs and hamburgers. Linda #1 and Mike came to the same park after us and joined the group for dinner. It would be our last night together as a group.

Thursday morning Chuck and I and Mike and Linda left to go to Yuma. Mike and Linda are at Yuma Lakes RV Park and we came here to TJ’s and Sharon’s. We spent a great afternoon with them, just relaxing, watching the shadows on the mountains, enjoying the warm sun, and then had a wonderful dinner that Sharon prepared for all of us. It is so nice and peaceful here.

Friday, Chuck had to go back to Ehrenberg to pick up a part for the broken blind that hadn’t arrived at the post office. I had a ton of laundry to do. I was fortunate enough to be able to use Sharon’s outdoor clothes line. Everything came out smelling so fresh and clean. Then Sharon took me to Dillard’s for my face cream. I picked up a gift for Susy’s, (our daughter) birthday on the 16^th. We stopped at a shoe store out here by the foothills and Sharon bought a pair, and I ordered a pair. They were both on sale.

We got back to the lot, and I brought in laundry and then it was time for dinner. We had invited TJ and Sharon to dinner, since they we so kind to let us store our car here. Dinner was at the Texas Roadhouse, a great place to eat and very busy. We enjoyed ourselves very much.

Saturday we met up with Mike and Linda and Bill and Jeanette at the Yuma Swap Meet and spent the rainy morning and afternoon looking and shopping. We went to Cracker Barrel for a late lunch and decided to play a new game for the evening. We went to Mike and Linda’s and brought TJ and Sharon with us for a game of Pegs and Jokers. Bill and Jeanette were there also, so we all learned the game from TJ and Sharon. It was a great way to spend a rainy evening.

That was our week, I hope this finds everyone well. Take care and we’ll see you down the road…..Lorraine

Chuck’s Report

We are back in Yuma after a good week in Mexico. We were had some concerns about going into Mexico, the US government even has warnings about driving down there. Mike and Richard assured us we wouldn’t have any problems so we agreed to go along. They were right, we were waved through the border into Mexico, didn’t have anyone stop us along the way. In fact, there are signs along the road saying “US Vehicle Hassel free Zone” or something like that. Once we got to the campground, we weren’t hassled by anyone (although the vendors could and did stop us along the beach). The trip back to the US was uneventful, we were asked a few questions at the border by the US Border Patrol and then home. In fact, it was so uneventful, I wouldn’t hesitate going again sometime. Now that doesn’t mean everyplace into or out of Mexico is the same, some of our group crossed at a different town and they were stopped by the Mexican Police along the way and had more problem crossing back home.

Last week we watched the Super Bowl at our place. It was a bit chilly, some of the guys were cold but the women were smart enough to watch it inside our coach. All the guys were hoping for Arizona to win, we got real excited when they scored late in the fourth quarter and got disappointed when Pittsburg came back to win. Oh well, at least it wasn’t a blowout like some previous Super Bowls.

Monday some of the folks went into town for some shopping and placed our order for shrimp and fish pickup the next day. We had found a fish vendor earlier, he had good shrimp and would have enough for all of our group.

Some of the gals at lunch.

This shop was three stories high and full of stuff. I don’t think anyone bought anything here, they didn’t want to dicker in the prices.

Tuesday was our last full day in Mexico and we ended it with a sunset cruise.

Sunset pictures. The whole gang. We missed Mike and Kathy, they weren’t feeling well so they didn’t go on the cruise with us.

Virgil leading everyone in doing the “Margarita”

Of course they had to do “YMCA”.

Lorraine didn’t feel too steady on board so she held on to the pole whenever she stood up.

Bob and Jim dancing.

Bob and Virgil dancing.

Bob asking Richard to come out and dance?

Bill and Jeanette from California.

Yep, we were there too.

Richard and Patsy.

Connie and Manuel.

Sue doing her version of pole dancing.

After dancing the night away, we headed back to port and then back to our campground. I don’t think anyone stayed up too late that evening, we were beat.

The next day, Wednesday, was our travel day. We weren’t ready to leave when the first group headed out but were in the second bunch. Although we enjoyed our time at Puerto Penasco, we were ready to head back home.

We made it back to Gila Bend and had a good time with Richard/Patsy, Manuel/Connie, Mark/Sue and Mike/Lynda. Once again, Mark was asked to do the honors at the Bar-B-Q and he did another fine job. Lorraine and I were leaving the next morning, I managed to get a couple of sunrise pictures for Richard, he said he hasn’t seen a sunrise in a while.

We left friends there and headed to Yuma. I called our friends, TJ and Sharon, who winter in Yuma on their RV lot. We had left our car with them while we were in Mexico and needed to pick it up. They have an extra RV hookup so I asked if we could stay with them. They allowed us to stay here until next week when they have another friend coming by. They are nice people, we wanted to visit with them, not just use their spot.

Here are Sharon and TJ, thanks for letting us stay at your place for awhile!

That’s us on the right, you can see their coach on the left.

Thought I would include a picture of our dog, Misty. She has turned into a good traveler. She seems to like go to new areas and seeing new things too.

Saturday, we went to the Yuma swap meet with Mike/Linda and Bob/Jeanette. Afterwards we had a good meal at Cracker Barrel. It had been raining off/on most of the day so we were to go to Mike/Linda’s place to play Pegs and Jokers. They are staying at Yuma Lakes and in the rain, they had quite a water puddle in front of their coach. With four couples playing and most of us new or inexperienced in the game, we played one round with everyone showing their cards. Maybe I can talk everyone into showing me their cards every time we play, it may be the only way I can win as I won this game.

So here is our week, once again. We are really enjoying ourselves, visiting with friends and meeting new people. Our plans have us staying here in Yuma for the couple of weeks, going to Mexico for some dental work and eyeglasses. There are a couple of casinos in the area which I’m sure we will have to visit sometime. And I hope to have a few days where we just sit around in the sun and do what I do best - - - NOTHING—.

So for now I’ll say bye and get this posted.

Thanks Chuck

Puerto Penasco, Mexico

Sunday, February 1, 2009
Lorraine's Report

It’s that time again, time to write for the blog. We are here in Mexico at Playa Bonita RV Resort in Puerto Penasco. We are just a short distance away from the beach. It has been sunny, with the temperatures in the lower 70’s during the day and 50’s at night. Some days the wind blows a lot while other times its calm. The beach is just a short distance from our coach.

We were in Gila Bend, AZ on Sunday and Monday, to stock up, clean up and wash everything up for this trip.

Tuesday we went to Organ Pipe National Park with Richard and Patsy Kind, Mark and Sue Didelot and Connie and Manuel Esparza. What a beautiful park. We took the 20 something mile loop and toured it all. All the different cacti in that park are so majestic and beautiful. When we finished the tour, I cooked spaghetti dinner for all of us.

That was sure was a great national park, but I thought the time you could run your generators could be more conducive for the rv’ers. Generator times were 8-10 in the morning and 4-6 in the afternoon, not enough time if your batteries were really low to charge them. Now this park was dry camping, no hook ups or water and the sites were narrow, with lots of cacti on each side of the pad. We got several deep scratches from the hanging branches on the side of the coach that Chuck is having sanded down and painted here in Mexico.

Wednesday morning all thirteen motor coaches met up by the US/Mexican border and started our drive into Mexico. We were seventh in line and I felt very safe. The Mexican border town was very poor looking with bars on most windows. That is very common all over here in PP.

Thursday was go shopping and exploring day for everyone. We all met up for lunch at Mary’s, a local restaurant that Linda #1 said had good margaritas. They had very good shrimp cocktails and great shrimp tacos. We all wound up back at the rv park for 5:00 o’clock happy hour and shared all adventures with each other.

Friday, a group of eleven from our group went out on a local charter. They left at 8 am and were back around 1:30. The cost was about $50 if you fished and $25 if you went along for sightseeing. It turned out the guy that promoted the fishing trip sub-contracted this trip out. They ran out of the bait that was catching the fish after a half hour. The wind was blowing and I guess it was rough seas, so several got sea sick. They ended up catching around three and a half pounds of fish for the trip. Several of the guys that stayed behind went into town and bought ten pounds of fresh fish for the fish fry that evening.

The gals that stayed behind went shopping in the morning down town, then had a great lunch. After that Manuel, Connie, Sue and I went looking for a beauty salon. Manuel, Connie and Sue wanted hair cuts, Connie and I wanted a manicure, as did Manuel.

Well, we went into one here and hair cuts were as much as back in the states, so we left. We went back to one we saw while looking for the first one. We went in and they said they could do all of us. That was about 1:40. They took Connie first for her pedicure. Around 3 pm, none of the rest of us had anything done. About 3:20, several gals came in and one took Sue in for her hair cut. One gal was a good hair cutter. A short time later, they took Manuel for his pedicure, then they cut his hair. They brought Connie out from her pedicure and cut her hair. By then, it was close to 4:15 to 4:25 and I asked Connie to tell them I did not want my pedicure. They were so slow, and I felt they wouldn’t be done in time to get back for our five o’clock happy hour. I should have gone shopping or sightseeing instead of wasting my afternoon in a tiny non-air conditioned shop. You live and learn.

Saturday we went back to what is called “Shack’s Fifth Avenue”. It is a street with a bunch of small shacks that sell souvenirs to tourists. Patsy was looking for a metal wall hanging for her coaches’ bathroom wall. She saw one earlier in the week but had to measure to make sure it would fit and it did, so she bought it.

Saturday was Sue Didelot’s birthday. Patsy baked her a cake, Connie made up some green tea and Trader Joe’s cake, and I took the last of the ice cream and we had a little party for her in the afternoon. Then that evening we all (25 people) went to the Playa Bonita Hotel’s restaurant for Sue’s birthday dinner. They had Mexican buffet for $8.75 and $2.00 margaritas for happy hour. There was a band, people were dancing, the food was good, a fun time was had by all.

So that brings us to today. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, so I decided to put on a pot of chili for the entire group. There’s suppose to be happy hour, then chili at half time. We went for a ride with our little group this morning. Then some of them went back out sightseeing and bought more shrimp to take back to the states.

I miss having our car here, so we could come and go as we like.

Well, that has been our week here in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Till next time…we’ll see you down the road.

Lorraine




Sunday 2/1/09
Chuck's Report

Here we are in Mexico, having a good time. We are here with 12 rigs, most of whom were with us in Quartzsite for part of our time there. We are having a ball here, daytime temperature is in the 70s, nighttime in the high 40s, with a sea breeze almost all the time. We are having our regular 5:00 get-together with snacks enough for dinner. Sometimes we break out and play cards or something, pretty relaxing.

We left Gila Bend on Tuesday and headed towards Ajo, Az. to pick up our insurance papers. Everyone traveling to Mexico is required to have Mexican liability insurance and we had to purchase comprehensive to cover our rig too. There isn't much in the little town of Ajo but we managed to find a Dairy Queen for lunch. Not very fast service there, however, so would suggest next time you are in Ajo, don't stop at Dairy Queen.

We traveled a bit further and in Organ Pipe Catus National Park for one night as it's only about 20 miles from where we cross over into Mexico. While pulling into our site, I managed to put a new long scratch on the side of the coach, damn. And I wasn't even towing the car so can't blame it on that, just wasn't watching close enough. Another not so smart move on Chuck's part.

We got to Organ Pipe early enough so we took a car trip on a 20 mile scenic route with two cars. We rode with Mark and Sue, Manuel and Connie had Richard and Patsy ride with them. There are sure lots of catus in this area, different kinds too. It's pretty rough country with it's own style of beauty but don't think I would like to live here. The weather is nice this time of the year but it gets too hot 8 or 9 months of the year.

Next morning, we were to meet up with the rest of our group at the border in Lukeville, Az. We pulled into a large parking lot on US side and waited until everyone was ready. With some last minute instructions from Mike, we took off as a group for the border, just a few hundred feet South. I think only two people were even questioned at the border, they just waved the rest of us on through.

The 70 miles to Puerto Penasco (also called Rocky Point) was pretty un-eventfull. We are located at the Northeast portion of the Sea of Cortez. We passed through a couple of small towns and lots of desert and catus to get here. We traveled pretty much as a group, doing the speed limit but there still were lots of folks that had to pass us, once Mark had to almost pull off the road to avoid a car passing and one coming. All of the road is paved and in good condition, just like back home.

Once we got to town, we got spread out a bit more due to the stop lights and stop signs. As long as you could keep the rig in front in sight, we did fine. The roads in town had sand blown on them, a couple of places we had to travel dirt roads. Once we got to our campground (Playa Bonita Beach) and checked in we got to our spot and set up. Some of us had to go to the beach and check it out, Lorraine told us the water was cold, I believed her and didn't try to go in.

Since then, we have been to two sections of town for shopping. One area is affectingly called Shacks Fifth Ave. with lots of vendors (see picture below). The other are is called Old Town, this is on the East side of the harbor from where we are. Here is where the fish/shrimp vendors are located. You can buy fresh from them, we bought some shrimp and the ladies fixed them in different ways for a good feed.

On Friday a group of people were going fishing on a charter boat. I was going to go along with them but had the paint guys working on our rig so I elected to stay and supervise. There are a couple of other rigs getting work done. One of them is having the whole bottom section repaired and painted. These guys are doing a great job so far, can't tell where the damaged area was. Lorraine didn't want to go fishing either so she went into town to Shacks where she bought a gift for our daughter. Ha, ha, I know something you don't know, Susy.

They finished up with painting and buffing our rig on Saturday afternoon. I think they did a good job and the money was right too.

Three of the guys brought their four wheelers and invited some of us to go out riding with them. So we spent part of Saturday morning riding, what fun. I enjoyed this a bunch and wanted to have Lorraine try also. We set up a ride for her, Sue and Patsy for Sunday morning.

Saturday was also Sue's birthday. In the afternoon we went to Richard and Patsy's where we had cake and gave Sue some presents. That evening, everyone in our group got together and walked or rode to a restaurant just up the beach for dinner. I think everyone had the Mexican Buffet, it was ok. After dinner, Lorraine played cards, I learned a new game called Pegs and Jokers. After a couple of games, Lorraine and I decided to head back to our rig and call it a day.

So today is Superbowl Sunday. Lorraine, Sue and Patsy got their chance to ride the four wheeler this morning. Lorraine was riding for just a little bit (with Richard driving) before she decided it wasn't for her. Even with a much more sane driver (me) she still wanted to return to the rig so we came back. The game starts at 4:00 our time and we plan on watching it on our outside TV with anyone who cares to come over. Lorraine has been busy making chili for half time.

We also made a trip into an small town to the West of us after the four wheeler ride. There are lots of unfinished houses here, don't know if they are still working on them or if our economy is so bad they just left them unfinished for awhile. Also, there isn't any water system in town, all the building have tanks on their roofs and get water delivered to them. Some of these house look like they could be million dollar house and they don't have running water. I don't think I would like to live like that, having to be aware of all of your water usage at all times. Nice looking places but not for me.

So that was our week. Once again I have added lots of pictures, we were busy with our friends again. We will be here until Wednesday then head back to Gila Bend and Yuma for next week. Not sure where we will be parked in Yuma, have a couple of ideas and we will work that out before we get there.

So until next time, here are some pictures.

Chuck

Sue is surprised at her birthday party with a kiss from the waiter.


Sue being fed a shot of Tequila. She didn't know this was coming either.

Here we are after Lorraine agreed to dance with me, I don't think I stepped on her toes one time!

Nice sunset while we were eating at the restaurant.

A picture of the group at dinner.

Mike giving Sue a birthday present, wooden flowers he bought from a vendor on the beach.

Bet Sue wishes she had a real bottle that big, the band is singing Happy Birthday to her in Spanish and English.

The whole gang before we headed over the restaurant for dinner on Sue's Birthday. What a group and what fun.

Just to prove Sue did have a birthday cake. Happy Birthday, Sue!

A picture of our side of the loop we are parked, we are the second rig.

I put another scratch on the side last week. They do repairs plus painting for a very reasonable price right in the campground. Here is where they are working our our rig. Turned out real nice plus they buffed out all the tree scratches on that side too.

A picture of the harbor in town.

Lunch in town, no I wasn't drinking.

A picture from where we were eating lunch across the harbor to our campground.

Some of the stuff in a vendor's site.

More stuff. One of the shop owner said he had all the junk we didn't need for sale, know what, he was right.

More boats in the harbor.

Lorraine getting her feet wet in the water on the first day here. I took her word that it was too cold. Nice beach with very fine sand however. I was surprised at the tidal action, it looks like about 10' of water level change.

Here is the beach and a shrimp boat, view from our coach.

We drove through town to get to the resort, I think there were nine stop lights or signs so we got a bit staggered.

We waited just across the boarder for everyone to get through.

I wish I could remember what I was saying, everyone was paying lots of attention.

Some of the catus in Organ Pipe Catus National Park. We took a 20 mile drive through here.

A dying Organ Pipe Catus.

This catus seems to want to hug someone. Lots of different shapes on these catus.

Closeup of needles on a catus. I had one attach itself to my shoe, hard to pull the needles out.

One of them had some flowers. After the wet winter they had, they say there will be lots of flowers this spring.

A view of the desert. This is where the illegals travel, pretty rough area to travel though on foot. They really must want to be in the USA badly to go through this stuff.

R to L Lorraine, Connie, Sue, Patsy and Richard in the background.

Another Organ Pipe Catus.

Lorraine and Sue at a roadside catus.

One of the tallest ones we saw, over 50'. They grow about 1 - 1 1/2" per year and don't develop arms until they are about 50 years old, I'm told.