Mexico!!

Yes, and here we are...Mexico. After way too many years (Covid be damned) we are back and loving it!

We left Why AZ (Sonoran Skies Campground - thanks Joyce!) at about 9 AM and it was an easy, straight shot to the Lukeville/Sonoyta crossing. There we had a brief inspection (where the young border agent picked up Doug's ukelele and strummed a few bars), got our FMM tourist Visa (about $647 Peso each-payable by VISA) and then we headed down to San Emeterio (about 20 kms away) for our TIP (about $1300 Pesos). It comes as a 10 Year permit for us as a motorhome. Other than the co-pilot (me) telling Doug to go in the wrong lane (and the nice border/customs agent telling us to burn a u-turn and he would see us on the other side) things were smooth as could be. Okay, to be fair, he thought it was pretty funny - not sure Doug did but we all managed a smile and got in the correct lane. Sorry, I will blame it on my contact lenses not focusing right...ha ha!

Welcome to Mexico!

We loved this border crossing. So quiet and so easy. There was never anyone in a line-up in front of us so it really sped things up. Everyone was lovely and VERY understanding of our broken (smattered really) Spanish. 

We arrived in Puerto Penasco about 2 PM. It isn't very far but we had to do some back-tracking due to the fact that we wanted to get our TIP out of the way so we double-back down the highway to get that paperwork done. If a person was only coming to Puerto Penasco, it is in the "hassle-free" zone and you don't need any type of vehicle permit but because we are heading much further south, we need one anyway. All good. 

I must say that for some reason I thought this was a small, quaint little fishing village, scattered with a few RV parks. I'm not even sure why I got this impression. Blame it on the wine I guess. Wow, was I ever wrong! It is a very large city, scattered with a few RV parks. Very thriving and very busy.

We are currently at Playa Bonita RV park. A rather "resort-ish" style RV park, RIGHT on the beach (although I must admit we are in the cheap seats a few rows back-hey, we drive a VW Westie, what do you expect?). Lovely bathrooms, laundry and parrots that are in a large cage and squawking happily. Seems a good spot for a few days....

Eurii, nestled amongst the giants. 

Still he stands tall with pride!

(Nice bathroom, laundry bldg behind us)

Beach, not fifty steps away.

Yes, foot shots are back everyone!!

One minute of beachcombing netted me these gems. 

I think I am in trouble since we have three months left. 

Where is that cargo trailer anyway? 

Restaurant three minute walk away

Follow the walkway home...

So, that's it friends. We will hang here for two days (maybe three?) and then continue further south if things have settled down, which I think and hope they will have.

We so appreciate anyone and everyone who checks out the blog. It means a lot if you comment and let us know what you think. We miss our family (Yes, especially August, Jasper, Rudy and Holden) and the big kids too and all our friends, both near, far and yet to meet.

Peace out friends!

Thought for the Day: "You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step"...Martin Luther King.

Thermal CA to Why AZ

We had a decent stop in Thermal CA. It was a good, needed rest stop. The park certainly isn't quite like it used to be and we hope that can change now that more people are out traveling. It must have been really hard to maintain the park with Covid.

The drive down to Why AZ was pretty uneventful, just as we like it. Doug (a.k.a. "Research & Development Department) had found this really nice, small park, close to Lukeville AZ/Sonoyta SN crossing. Sonoran Skies Campground.

https://sonoranskiescampground.com

It did not disappoint. It is a small, lovely campsite and just the right size for us. The owner, Joyce, cannot do enough to make you feel part of the family, she cannot do enough to make you feel welcome. I always know a place will be good when I am glad to get parked up and feel comfortable and happy right away. Happy hour around the firepit every night. Companiable conversation and some good laughs. You also know it's a great place when you don't want to leave.....but leave we must.

But, first a small tour:

One pet turkey amongst the chickens

She's the boss....

Last night's Lunar Halo...pretty cool!

Eurii is pretty comfy and happy to be on the road again.

Pretty much just hung around. We went for a 5.5 mile bike ride today, most of it up a wash so it was pretty sandy. Really got a work-out.

Funny sign, right across the road from Border Protection building.

Were they talking about us???

We had some friends that we met in Mexico 10 years ago find us at the campground. They are staying just up the road in Ajo AZ for the winter. Great people and we had a great time visiting! Mike and Kathy, so glad you found us! It was truly the highlight of our day!! 

So, now on to the proverbial "elephant in the room", the problems in Sinaloa state. We are being very careful as to our planning and direction of travel. Those of you who know us well know that we don't take chances, thus the reason why we are still in Why (sorry, couldn't resist). We will not proceed into that area until we are certain that all is safe. 

It is our plan to head over to Puerto Penasco tomorrow, Sunday, Jan 8th and check that area out. We have never been before and Doug had already ear-marked this as a one night stop to check it out. We may go a bit further south to Bahia de Kino but we will take it one day at a time. At this point our "schedule", if you can call it that, is a few days behind due to the unrest in Sinaloa. It's really too bad and mostly we feel bad for the residents of that area. Hard working, kind-hearted people.

So, we will have to be transferring our phones and internet to Mexican cell and data once we are there so you won't hear from us for a few days until that happens. Thanks for all the kind messages and thoughtful concern you have all sent us and we promise to continue to be careful and not to take any chances.

Peace out friends!

Thought for the Day: Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you are worthy of the trip.

And we are off!

I know, I know. You thought it would never happen and quite frankly, neither did we!

We left on Thurs Dec 29th with our first stop being Coburg/Eugene OR. We had to stop at Camping World for a small item and the kind lady told us we could boondock in the parking lot. It's something we don't normally do and it certainly isn't pretty but it served it's purpose. It was POURING rain so it was nice to not go any further. Little did we know that we were on the edge of a huge weather system coming up to beat up California and Oregon was caught in it too.

We share the driving chores. Two to three hours each.

From there it was meandering down the Oregon and California coast, during and post storm. Man, we are from Vancouver so I feel like we KNOW rain but that was ridiculous. There were moments of clarity and blue sky but they were few and far between. We go to Florence OR which is on the coast and then start following Hwy 101 and then the famous Hwy 1. Hang on for that one!!

Welcome to a fantastic 2023 for everyone!

Trees of Mystery in Klamath CA. 

We were here on our honeymoon, 45 years ago!

A must stop for sea glass hunters (like myself and Jasper and August) is Fort Bragg for a visit to the Sea Glass Beach. You really have to see it to believe it. the above picture is one handful scooped randomly. completely crazy. the rule is DO NOT take any glass. Leave it for others to enjoy and, as hard as it was for me, I had to set a proper example for my grandsons! I never took a single tiny piece.

But just 100 feet around some rocks there is perfect sand 

and no sea glass. So interesting.

The waves were unbelievable. 

Onward we pushed and are now at Oasis Palms RV Park in Thermal CA. We needed a small pit stop for a few days to catch our breath and do some laundry, paperwork for Mexico insurance, etc. We have been to this park three previous times (2013, 2014 and 2016) and it is in a bit of a sad state of repair. Hopefully they can get things fixed up again. Looks good in pictures though.

Wed Jan 4th: So that's it for now. I will post as often as we have internet. I'll do my best. We think we are headed to Why AZ. It is close to Lukeville AZ. We will cross at the Lukeville/Sonoyta border crossing for a change and will head to Puerto Penasco (also new for us, just for a night to see what it is like).so friends, I will sign off and whip up a gourmet dinner.....ha ha.

Peace out friends!

Thought for the Day: "Someday comes one day at a time"...Zach Bryan

Christmas again

Well, that year flew by, didn't it? I hope everyone was able to make it through relatively unscathed. Our families are all well and for that we are extremely grateful. We hope all of yours are as well.

Just a few highlights:

Doug's Mom turned 100 on Oct 12th. Amazing feat! She is a remarkaable woman and we love her so much. She lives in Alberta so we don't get to see her as often as we would like. She is and always be a steady force in our lives.

Happy 100th Birthday Mom - We LOVE you!

My Mom turned 89 years old on August 15th. She is a fighting spirit for sure. We are blessed to have her living only an hour away so we can see her often.

Happy 89th Birthday Mom - We LOVE you!

Otherwise, it just seemed that the year went by way to fast but we did have lots of fun, lots of challenges, like everyone else.

Time we love, spent with Rudy in the Kootenays

More time we love with the 3 Musketeers

August, Holden and Jasper

So, that brings us to Christmas shenanigans:

Teagan, Shawn & Rudy

August,, Jasper, Holden, Kathy & Josh

Now, for the exciting departure for Mexico on Thursday,  Dec 29th. We can hardly wait. We are all of five minutes to the border but the journey and fun will begin on the road again.

Stay tuned everyone!

Peace out!

Thought for the Day: "If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives."

And that was a year

 Our littlest "new to the crew" is now one year old. How did that happen? Last year.....these boys were SO excited to meet their little bro....

What will Holden be like? It is interesting to wonder what these little people will grow to be. One thing for sure, he will always have the love and protection of these two amazing big brothers.

Then the year just rolled along, way too fast!

One year old....Holden December 21, 2022

And this is what you have older brothers for!!

Holden, we L-O-V-E you SO much. You are quite a character!! 

Peace out!

Thought for the Day: "How do you spell love Pooh" asked Piglet. "You don't spell it Piglet, you feel it" said Pooh.

A decade

 August turned 10 years old. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but then I say that every year, don't I?

He is a kind, considerate little human. We are infinitely proud of him. He is the first to offer you a hand, a cookie, a kind word. He is just the most delightful person and we love spending time with him. He is the best big brother to Jasper and Holden. His interests are still (thankfully) dinosaurs, camping, reading and family. He still dreams of becoming a palentologist. 

 

Happy 10th Birthday August, 

We L-O-V-E you SO much!!!

The world is yours to conquer, however you wish!!

That's it friends. Hard to beat this post......

Peace out.

Thought for the Day: "How do you spell love" asked Piglet? "You don't spell it, you feel it" said Pooh.

Where to begin?

Somehow life just gets in the way....catch up time. I have been terrible with the blog. When I started it, it was to record all our fun times traveling. It was a way for everyone to keep track of what we were up to (crazy hippies in the VW van). I guess since we went back to work, then Covid, it just seemed that it sucked the life out of doing it. Let's try again (if there is still anyone who cares....)

We ended the year on a high note with the arrival of grandson number 4 in the form of Holden Isaac, right here in White Rock (that was the last blog entry). August and Jasper, the big brothers, are so pumped. I have lovingly deemed them the Three Musketeers. August will be turning 10 in December, Jasper is 7-1/2, Holden is 10 months. Rudy is in Nelson and he is 6-1/2. We love those boys SO much.

Best brothers ever. January 2022

Three Musketeers, August, Holden & Jasper

Rudy

Our beautiful little dude, Rudy

After having some really fun times in our small-ish trailer we decided to sell it (along with the Pathfinder that we bought to tow it). Yes, I know we only had it for a year. It just somehow never seemed right. 

And just what the heck did we do now you ask?

Introducing EURII (yes, named after our trusty original steed, EURI). If you have ever owned a VW Westie you will get it. If not, well, there's no explaining it to you. Somehow we just never felt at home with anything else so we came full circle. We love it. It is currently getting a few upgrades done so Eurii has been in and out of the shop.

First upgrade was new wheel, tires, lift kit.

I'm pretty happy (so is Doug)

So there we are. almost a whole year has gone by since you heard from me. But I hope "I'm back". Maybe some of you can hold me accountable and bug me if you don't hear from me!

Future plans......Scheduled to leave for Mexico on December 27th. YES, that is correct. Heading to Mexico again. Can't wait!!

Peace out friends.

Thought for the day: The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.