5C's Que Pasa

First off thanks ever so much for your great comments.  Peter & Shelagh, that is one of the reasons why we bought this particular RV.  It is perfect for dash – hounds  😆

Of course we had to start Tuesday off with a very long family walk, those dark low shadows on the left of Colin are the girls. It was cloudy and interesting to see the sun start to peak through. I do have to admit that we were very bad parents on Monday, we did not take the girls to the beach, just too much to do.

It was a fun walk and I was so grateful to be able to do it without any pain.

The last few days have been mostly overcast with temps about 85F and humidity at a horrid 80%.  Just too sticky to be comfortable.  However good setting up conditions, better than the blazing sun. Also good for turning super fine hair into a curly thick mass.  Things are supposed to change over the next 2 days.

Great news about ‘the road’  😮 The first 4 KM are supposed to be paved by Christmas and the final four by the end of February.  So Cheryl, come on down.  there is another single female American RVer already here and Rocmoc, no excuses now.  Good news for us, we will have a paved road when we leave early April.  Who knows if this is good or bad news for the Isla.  Obviously the paved road will lead to many more tourists, good for the economy but a huge change of atmosphere overall.

Even better news, El Velero restaurant has 2 for 1 drinks for the first hour you are there.  Just found out today that Carmelitas is offering us RVers 2 for 1 margaritas from 1 – 4 PM every Monday to Friday.

All we have been doing for the last 2.5 days is work, work, work. We would rather get it all done right away so then we can just relax for the rest of our stay.

Gosh I walked and moved around so much Tuesday that I racked up 9 points on my Weight Watcher pedometer.  That is worth 3 glasses of wine in addition to my daily points.  Not bad but my feet were beginning to hurt in my sandals with so much activity,  so I went to change into my super comfy walking shoes with orthopedic support.  Hmmm…..I looked and looked and then got Colin to search.  Could not find them.  Looked some more, no shoes.  Finally I called the lady who has our house key to go look and sure enough my shoes are right there on the floor near the front door.  I clearly remember seeing them and noting in my ditzy mind that I had to pack them.  My arms were full of sweaters and rain jackets and I got distracted and simply forgot.  Still working on a solution.  This is the year that I only brought 12 pair of shoes instead of 40.  I am ready to be all glitzed up and to go dancing but no walking shoes.  This really has been the most stressful packing of the RV that I have ever done.  But we are managing and I have a few options for the shoes….stay tuned on that.

Yes this is way late toady but better than nothing.  Have to go call Dad.  Talk to you all tomorrow.

We are used to being the 3rd to 5th arrival here in our park on the Isla.  This year we were the last.

This is being written at 9:00PM ish Monday night and is about our day today…..I somehow have to get my posts back to the right date.

This was Caeli relaxing at the Pemex last night in Culiacan. She is so sweet.

We actually has a good sleep last night, our best ever in a Pemex.  Likely due the fact that our bedroom window faced onto that grass area and we had no engines droning into our windows.  We were up at about 5:20AM and ready to hit the road at 6:00AM.  We just transfer the girls from the bed to the sofa and cover them up.

There was about 10% light as we started out but soon we had an erie sunrise through the fog. Gotta luv the bugs on the windshield.

It was an uneventful drive today and soon we were at the start of 'the road'. We only drove 142 miles total today but those last 8 miles seemed like 1000 miles. The road dipped and bounced and swayed from side to side. I still feel like I am in a blender. There were washboards within washboards. Lots of traffic at 9:30AM!

Hello, what is this is? We round a corner and we see a proper road being built. It really actually truly is happening. After years of promise the government has stepped in and a real paved road is in the works. To be finished ASAP. Too wonderful to comprehend. Is this good or bad? Up till now you really had to want to come to the Isla to drive here in either your car or RV. Soon we might have more folks here than we can imagine. Poco a poco. In fact this was just a tiny section of the road being worked on but enough to give us hope.

Eight miles and sixty minutes later we are on the last block to our destination.

There it is, the last spot, just for us. Home at last.

It was a foggy and then mostly overcast day which was perfect for us to pull in and start what needed to be done.  Thanks to certain special friends, all of our things in storage were ready at our site for us to do what needed to be done.  As you know there was a hurricane a few months ago that hit Cabo San Lucas very hard. That same storm created much devastation here in Mazatlan and especially the Isla.  We have been told that we had between 15 -24 inches of sand covering our patio. Following that there was a severe tropical depression ( just missed being rated as a hurricane ) that affected this area.  You can image the mess we have had to deal with today.  Many of my plants have been killed by the salt water.  I will deal with that next week.  First things first.  We had to get rid of a lot of sand first off.

I asked the park management for some pea gravel to replace all we had lost and could not believe that we actually got two loads just before sunset. Perfect. We worked very hard today. It is so worth it because once it is done than we can totally relax. We got the dog fence built ( as you can see in the photo ) and secured which Caeli is upset about as she can't figure out how to breach it. I got all our furniture from storage and the RV power washed, plus, plus, plus.

I have to admit that we were bad parents today and did not take the girls to the beach.  We had every intention to do so but things just kept piling up and we ran out of daylight.  I didn’t get my computer hooked up until about 5:15PM and already had a message/call from Dad  (via my sister ) wanting to talk.  We were just minutes apart and we did have a good but short call.  All is well.

Our first sunset here on the Isla this season.

What a day!  From sunrise to sunset.  I still can’t believe that we are actually here.  Happy to be here but my head is still spinning.  A beach walk in the morning will get me grounded.  Hasta manana!

The sun was shining and it was 64F as we drove off at 7:30 Sunday morning.  We cannot believe what an easy trip it has been, not once were we questioned about anything nor stopped.  Today will be the same as there are no stops between here and the Isla.

As we went thru Vicam ( which is were we bought our second parrot a few years ago ) we had to do a bit of a detour as the town is stopping the transport trucks  from  passing on through.  The town is having an issue with water and a dam and this is their way of trying to get the powers that be to pay attention. All in all a very civilized process I must say.

Trucks held hostage in Viacam 🙂

Sadly I have to say that about 30 km before and again after Vicam the roads are very very bad, many potholes and bumps.

Sorry no photo as it happened too fast but just after the Los Mochis toll I spied three men mounted on their horses at the take out counter for some Tecate ceveza.  It was quite funny but also so very appropriate.

About 2PM I was becoming rather warm and asked Colin to turn on the A/C.  Hot air even after 10 minutes, finally we got just some air circulating.  For the second year in a row our dash RV A/C is not working.  We paid close to $900.00 to have it repaired this past April ( yes Croft at the Front End shop ) .  They said it was a Freon leak, repaired it, took our money and four hours later we were on our way back home to Kelowna.  As you know it gets colder as you head North so in all honesty this newly repaired system has not been turned on even 5 times.  Yesterday was the first day since 2 or 3 days after the repair, many months ago and it did not work!!!!  So by the time it was 90.5F at the front of the RV where we were sitting ( and this was with my passenger window covered with a black out blind keeping the heat out ) we decided to take some more serious measures.  As  we drove Colin turned on the generator and then I got up and turned on the overhead A/C.  Thirty minutes later both the girls and I stopped panting.  Dang, now we have to deal with this all the way back home next April.  Last year it was 104F in the shade in Yuma while we were there but at that time neither the overhead A/C nor the dash A/C were working.

Not long after that, Carmeh advised us that she needed to stop for some urgent business.  That was when Colin discovered that our steps have packed it in.  They will only stay in the down position, which is not exactly safe to drive that way.  We were almost to our stop for the night, which was the Pemex just before the Culiacan – Mazatlan Maxi Autopista.  So we drove with the steps down.  Wow this Pemex is FULL, yikes.  After fueling up we just pulled alongside 3 other truck trailers.  Colin went for a walkabout and found us a spot for the night.  Just as I was about ( yes I ) to drive there, a huge car transport rig pulled in.  What to do?  I told Colin to just go ask the dude how long he was staying as we wanted that spot for the night. The driver was very obliging and moved, as he was there for only a few moments so that we could move there.  So under Colin’s direction ( and not a symphony this time but just lil ol me ) I pulled in under a palm with our wheels mere inches from the curb.  We were unable to put out any slides out as our bedroom which is usually on the curb was street side and our LR was curbside.   No worries, we just climbed over each other and the wine cases.

Colin bungeed up the steps so now I was confined to the RV until we get to the Isla and someone brings me a ladder or our wooden stairs so I can climb out.  Colin can jump down and back up into the RV but not me with my hip replacements.  Yes long time readers, that is hips in the plural.  Soon I will be able to share that story with you all.  Meanwhile I was starting to feel very confined and getting ansty but a glass of vino ( well two ) took care of that concern.  Just another incident in the long line of things that happens when one RVs.  The trip down has been non eventful except for the RV problems which can all be repaired.

Thank goodness for Mr. Fix It.

Next Colin went into the store to pick up some cervezas for friends on the Isla.  Oh oh , it is Sunday in Sinaloa and no alcohol is sold after noon  till 9AM the following day.  We have heard that this is to encourage families to have a day together without the influence.  So sorry Bob and Gerry, nada cerveza.

Are those lug nut covers or what? This fellow was hired by the driver of the truck ( ? owner ) to polish them while he had a meal.

Long time readers will know that this is the evening that our Culiacan family ( Heriberto and Isela  and various other family members ) come to the RV here in the Pemex for dinner.  Last year we were 8 for dinner.  Don’t ask, somehow I just manage.  We just found out the night before last, that they were unable to make it due to a family reunion on the Sunday evening.  It was Isela’s birthday Saturday so we suspect that the family was planning something special last night.  This is the first time in at least 7 years or more that they have not come  to see us in Culiacan at the Pemex as we pass through.  So instead of playing with or for Heriberto and me singing with Isela, Colin played on his own and I wrote this post.

Forgot to mention that the mirror needed to be fastened.. Yet another something to be repaired.

Great site methinks. Bonus grass for girls. At least they get to get out and we have some space between us and the next generator.

We drove 370 miles today.

Have to say I am proud of being able to have my own internet connection tonight thanks to my ATT hot spot.  Thanks so much Bob for all of your technical help this past year.

We are ecstatic to be back here in Mexico.

Thanks for all of your comments and hola to all my new blog readers. I promise to get back to you re your questions once we get settled.  Mexico is wonderful, come on down.

Dawn's beautiful colors greeted us as we rolled out of the RV park Saturday at 7:00AM.

We breezed through the US border with nary a border agent in sight and a few miles down the road at the Mexican ‘official’ border we were waved through.  The highway seemed deserted to us and remained so for most of the day.  Just a side note here, we always cross into Mexico via Nogales as we have never been stopped and checked, once asked to see our passports but that is it.  We are aware of many fellow RVers and bloggers who enter via Lukeville and are very often stopped and searched.  Conversely we always leave via Lukeville where we have never been searched but the once in all our years of travel here in Mexico and that was re the contents of our fridge.  However the few times we have left via Nogales we were stopped and searched. Now you know why we always enter via Nogales and leave via Lukeville.

We got to KM 21 and were somewhat surprised at the number of folks traveling home to Mexico for Christmas. It is only Dec. 6th.

These are Mexicans now living in the US who take all their holidays at either Christmas or Easter to travel home to be with family.  Usually they are loaded to the gills bringing in anything and everything.  We spoke to one fellow who worked Friday till 5PM and started driving at 5:30PM from Fresno, California with his family.  He says he won’t sleep until he arrives Sunday night. I can’t remember where he was headed but I did meet another lady whose family was doing the long drive to Guanajuato.  It was fun chatting as we waited in line.  We actually were out of there in a record 50 minutes this year despite the number of people.

Mid afternoon, Carmeh's nose comes up and starts sniffing and turning her head here and there and sniffing.

She knows that smell, salt water. Yes we were just coming into San Carlos and she knew that meant a beach.

We managed to get here by 2:50PM, another record for us ( likely due to the light traffic ) and were parked and on the beach within a short period of time. It made my heart so happy to see the girls enjoying the sand and the various sniffs.

It was one of those perfect days.

The day was made even better by the fact that long time blog reader Janet and her husband Ron and their doxie Millie ( we enjoyed her so much that we never got her photo ) were parked just next to us.  Janet emailed last week to let us know they were here for a few weeks.  We visited for a short time before the beach walk and   again later once we got the RV set up.  I also got to meet another blogger, Carol who with her husband Bill winter in Las Jaibas RV Park in Mazatlan.  They are currently ‘stuck’ here dealing with some RV issues.

After speaking to my Dad who is managing so so despite having yet another roommate foisted on him the other day, I had some free time to visit with Janet and Ron over a glass of Pinot Grigio.  Once Colin fed our girls the four of us headed next door for dinner.  So much to talk about and so little time.  I was touched to tears when Janet told me that they only came to Mexico last year because of me and my blog.  It makes all the long hours at the computer so worth it.  I am happy to see them meeting others and the locals and branching out.  We hope to see them on the Isla sometime later this winter.  It will be nice to spend more time with them when we are not rushing to leave so early in the morning.

We were once again treated to a lovely dinner. Thank you so much Janet & Ron, it was our pleasure to meet you.

I am glad we are nearing the end of our journey.  Getting up at 6:00AM and putting in long days makes one weary.  Fortunately Colin is managing to get in a bit of guitar time and I am managing a quick blog post every day.  No time to just sit and read a book or spend more time visiting with my new found friends along the way.  One just has to make the best of each day and enjoy it to the fullest for who knows what tomorrow will bring.  I sit here listening to Christmas music as I put this together which makes me happy. I am so thankful for the technology that allows me to share this with you as well as allows me to have a crystal clear conversation with my father way back home.  Life is good.

Amado, Arizona to San Carlos, Sonora...289 miles.

We certainly enjoyed our quiet sleep in Gila Bend.  It was nice to wake up to more sun than cloud.  We took our time getting going and finally were on the road by 8:15AM.

...yet another unusual RV.

This single fellow has turned his truck and trailer into a home made RV. Great creativity.

Very little traffic on I8 as we headed towards Nogales.  We have seen very few RV’s on the road.  I guess that most folks are where they intend to be at this time of year.  We made yet another quick ( well actually not so quick ) final shop stop.  We pulled into our site at Mountain View RV Park in Amado, a Passport America Park, $15.70 including tax. about 1:45PM. Not the best of parks but it has changed management recently and is in much better shape that it was last year.  We were happy to have the extra daylight hours to get ready for the border crossing Saturday morning.  We even managed to get in a short family walk.

This European RV belongs to a couple from Slovania who have been touring the States and are heading into Mexico in the morning. They seem to think that having GPS is all they need to get by. However they did ask if we thought it was safe to go into Mexico. They were not too chatty and we were rather pressed for time so we left it at that. The neighbors right next to us were very interested in the fact that we were heading south and took note of the Church's book on Mexican Camping.

We were happy to have arrived early enough to be able to hook up with Michael  ( aka rocmoc on rv.net ) and his lovely wife Rochelle.  They live in the area and came to the RV for drinks and then took us out to a local restaurant for dinner.  It is always so neat to meet someone who has been reading your blog for years and knows your entire life history.  It is like meeting a friend you have known forever and the conversation just flows here and there and back and forth.  Of course we shared stories about various RVers we all know and travel plans for the future. Sure is nice to actually get to meet a face behind the written words online.  We hope to be able to meet up with them on the Isla sometime in February.  Pick  your travel dates wisely Michael as it is Carnival time mid February.

Dinner at the Cow Palace which just recently came under new ownership with some great chefs.

Now doesn't that cow brand look somewhat familiar?

After dinner we were taken on a tour of the Tubac Luminaria Night Festival. This is an annual celebration of the holiday season where the streets are lined with glowing luminarias, usually held the first weekend in December.  Click here for a very brief history of Tubac which is believed to have been inhabited for at least 11,000 years.

Lucky us to be delayed a month this year. That is a real car underneath those lights. This and the next two photos by Colin. Gracias.

Some lovely art work metal flowers in the glow of the candles.

A very special way to spend our last night in the US this year. Thank you Michael and Rochelle.

Today is a very big day indeed.  I honestly never ever thought that I would be crossing into Mexico this year.  I am so looking forward to it.