Fresh Condo, New Friends: Another Month in Mexico

March 4, 2023March 5, 2023 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

We’ve just finished our second month in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico at the Playa Bonita RV park while waiting for our condo to be renovated. What a month it’s been!

February was punctuated by visits from dear friends. First we had a great weekend with Michelle and Owen May. The four of us have spent a lot of time together in Puerto Peñasco over the years, so we searched for new experiences this time, in honor of Owen’s birthday. We hit at least four new restaurants, Jessy’s, Grapes & Barley, La Negrita, and Ole Mole.

We played pickleball and visited Fernando at the Tequila Factory. Sunsets on the beach too!

One Saturday we met up two of Steve’s former colleagues. Cheryl and Janie are so much fun! They even invited me to join them at Sip and Paint the next evening.

Cheryl, Steve, and Janie at Diego’s Tiki Bar

We had a great visit with “The Toms,” our long-time friends and now Prescott neighbors. While we missed dear Nancy terribly, we honored her by visiting some of her favorite haunts and toasting her memory more than a few times.

Dave and Peggy Armstrong, our fun neighbors from Prescott, made a quick trip down. So far they’ve visited us three times while we’ve been RVing: Montana, Alaska, and Mexico. Despite a cool and windy weekend we had a great time showing them our favorite places. They hadn’t been to Rocky Point for 40 years so there was a lot to show off and, they even got to meet our long-time friend Betty at Regina’s Mexican Cocina.

Candy Cake for Breakfast with the Armstrongs

In between visitors, we enjoyed time with new friends we met at the RV park, including one more session of Sip and Paint. Even Bob got in on some action that night!

One of the downsides of RV travel is making friends only to move on down the road. We’ll miss Ian, Bev & McDuff; Ken, Caren & Lulu; and Karen, Mike & Bo; and so many others we hung out with. Dinners out, sunset happy hours, and a lot of time standing around swapping stories!

I’ll especially miss my “boyfriend” McDuff, the most fun poodle I’ve ever gotten to play with! Sorry, Bev, for destroying so many of McDuff’s toys!

From these photos, you’d think all we did was eat while we were in Puerto Peñasco. Well, that might have been true, but in the midst of all the fun, we spent time most days at the condo, following the renovation process.

While construction was to be done before we left, it wasn’t meant to be. When we departed the tile work and painting was mostly done and final details still needed to be taken care of. We are confident (fingers crossed) that it will be done and ready for renters by next weekend! Here are a few shots from the day we left.

We had to hit the road. We’re currently headed east to Austin for 10 days of music, comedy, and learning at SXSW. If you aren’t familiar with one of the largest tech/music and more festivals on Earth, you can learn more here. We promise to post updates when we get there.

And the fun continues…

Winter Camping in Mexico

January 28, 2023 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We’ve been offline for a few months, mostly staying stationery at home in Prescott to celebrate the holidays and enjoy the luxuries of “home.” But you can only stay put for so long before the itch returns to hit the road. Plus, the weather in Prescott has turned cold and icy, so it was time to head south!

We are spending the next few months at the Playa Bonita RV Park, on the beach in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. We’ve owned our condo here for 20 years, and it was time for some renovations. We’re staying in the fifth wheel while the condo is under construction and it’s been a fun new way to experience our little Mexican town.

Playa Bonita is one of about four RV parks here in Peñasco, and it’s been here forever. Many of our fellow campers are here for months, Americans and Canadians escaping the winters up north. It’s a super fun environment, and we’re really enjoying the group bike rides, weekly “shot” bingo, and happy hour at the beach at sunset. The water man delivers a bottle to our door for $1, propane man will refill our tanks without moving, and we had our rig washed and waxed for a fraction of the cost in the US. Even the dogs are enjoying the Mexican lifestyle, with $15 haircuts at the local dog spa.

One day Steve discovered a leak somewhere in the bowels of the trailer. He worked hard to find out where the leak originated and then we were able to hire a guy to come fix it. Problem solved!

One weekend we fully participated in Roger Clyne’s January Jam, a three day music event that features one of our favorite bands. Good food, good drink, and great music right outside our door made for a fun few days.

Most days we head about a mile down the beach to the condo to check on the progress and to workout in the gym. It’s been good to be here to supervise the construction as it seems there is always something to decide or adjust. We’ve had to pick out countertops at the local shop, which allowed us to watch the craftsman at work.

Overall the remodel is coming along very well, appears to be on schedule, and is looking pretty good! Our crew has been very professional and appreciative of the daily goodies and Friday afternoon beers. Here are some pictures of the work being done and you can be sure we’ll post “after” pictures!

Of course there’s been lots of time for the beach, soaking in the sun, and enjoying the slow lifestyle that is Puerto Peñasco! We are grateful that Mitch made the trip down to visit for a few days and brought us some needed supplies from Costco. More visitors are expected in the next month and we’re looking forward to seeing our friends!

We probably won’t have much more to report for awhile as there’s not much variation day to day – sun, fun, relax, repeat. But rest assured, we are enjoying every minute!

Traveling Southward from Alaska

August 27, 2022 / marniesteve / 1 Comment

After a wonderful Alaskan summer filled with wildlife, hiking, and fishing with friends and family, we’ve begun our trek southward. It’s going to take us at least a month to get home, so there are more fun stops ahead!

We’ve been doing quite a few days of driving, though never more than 200 miles each segment. Along the way, again on the Alaskan Highway, we’ve stopped at mostly provincial parks, which are beautiful government-run campgrounds that often include free firewood and a view.

Twice while staying at these campgrounds, Steve has had encounters with grizzly bears while out running! He didn’t have any problems, but it sure increases the heart rate and gave us some good photos.

This guy followed Steve back to the trailer!

We took the side trip to Haines, AK from the Alaska highway in the Yukon Territory. We’re getting good at crossing international borders. Haines is a beautiful little town on Alaska’s Inside Passage. We had cruise ships visit town three days while we were there.

One of the attractions in the area is the Kroschel Wildlife Center, so we checked it out. Steve Kroschel, a documentary film maker who delighted Johnny Carson with his baby wolverines in 1990, opens his 60 acre wildlife reserve to small group tours. The wildlife park is a funky, entertaining collection of surprises.

In our two hours with Steve Kroschel, we got up close and personal with wolves, porcupines, ermines, caribou, baby moose, and of course a grizzly. Steve is a “personality” and the experience was certainly memorable.

Haines has some nice hiking trails, which we explored when it wasn’t raining. The coastal rainforest is lush and beautiful.

Twice while we were in Haines we visited Chilkoot State Park in the early evening to see the local bears. They hang out in the neighborhood where the Chilkoot River merges with the ocean. Mama bears and their babies were on the hunt for salmon and we enjoyed watching them do their thing.

We had planned to put our truck and trailer on the ferry to travel to nearby Skagway where we’d continue our journey. Well…best laid plans…the ferry was cancelled due to mechanical problems, so we headed back up to the Alaska Highway and spent the night in Whitehorse, YT where we’d visited on our way to Alaska. Our detour was a blessing in disguise as we were able to catch a glimpse of the northern lights! We really lucked out!

As we worked our way through British Columbia we took another detour to the twin towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. With our new friends that we met at a provincial campground, Ari and Dahlia, we drove the very rough road to the spectacular Salmon Glacier with views for miles.

We also made the stop at Fish Creek where bears are a frequent sight during the salmon run. We timed it just right and enjoyed watching a young grizzly playing with the fish for over 30 minutes.

To celebrate our good bear fortune we visited the only bar in Hyder to get “Hyderized.” Steve and Ari took the challenge, doing a shot of mystery liquor (Everclear) and receiving a certificate for their efforts.

We’re now continuing our daily 100-200 mile jaunts moving slowly southward. We’re traveling through native lands, where totem poles are plentiful and subsistence fishing is the norm. In Witset, BC we enjoyed watching a local dip-net for salmon in a narrow place in the river.