Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico

Monday | 12 February 2007 | Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico:  Hello from sunny Mexico! Yep, we met up with my folks in Yuma last night. We camped next to them last night - they also have a motorhome. We all made it to Mexico today and all is well after a few adventures.

DT and I just returned from a great dinner with my parents. Sit yourself, pour yourself a refreshing beverage and read about our day.

First of all, I forgot to mention a little trouble with our refrigerator. After being parked for a month in Palm Springs, our fridge would not switch to propane power for our drive to Yuma on Sunday. (For My Readers not up on RV refrigerators: the units operate on electricity when you are plugged-in to electricity at a campsite, and on propane when you are not. While driving down the road, our fridge runs on propane.) I messed with it for quite a while (the fridge is My Domain - inside and out) but could not get it to fire. It tried. It clicked, but the pilot light would not ignite. (I even looked through the manual.) No problem. Our fridge could certainly go the few hours to Yuma where 1) we would plug-in at a campsite and 2) my Dad would fix it. Well, the food is fine... but Dad thought it needed a replacement part and he would get it tomorrow on our way out of Yuma. No worries.

So, this morning we all head out of the campground in Yuma on our way to Mexico. Dad left first, in their motorhome, to drive to the RV parts store, where we would all gather later. DT hooks-up our Honda behind our motorhome and I ride with my Mom in her car - of course I have to go to the post office. DT takes off, only to find he has turned down a one-way, dead-end road in the confusing campground. Ugg. For only the second time EVER (the other time was in Burlington, Vermont) we have to unhitch the car, back both vehicles up, re-attach and start again. All systems go. Mom and I head out to the post office and in a few moments we all meet up again at the designated meeting spot. The needed refrigerator part was out of stock. Our day was not starting well.

I have visions of being stopped at the border and having my organic, grass-fed New York steaks confiscated. My seven pound chicken carted off. My wine impounded. Someone pawing through my underwear. (Laughing, no doubt.) Every cupboard being opened. Belgian-chocolate-sniffing dogs. Federalis On Board. Our luck was just that bad today.

Insurance: Ajo style

But things were looking up. I had prearranged Mexican auto insurance from Sanborns in Ajo, Arizona. All we had to do was stop-in to the Sanborn office before crossing the border and pick up the paperwork. Magically, there it was... in a slot with our name on the policy. Mom and Dad crossed the border immediately in front of us. Mexican officials waved them through. No inspection. Our turn: we were waved through too.

Welcome to Mexico. Have a nice day.

After only making one wrong turn to the campground (which was pretty pathetic, since we had spent two weeks here two years ago and my folks were here a year ago) we checked into our campsites. They did not have our previously arranged side-by-side sites, but did have an ocean front site for Mom and Dad. They park, face-in, looking out over the Sea of Cortez. DT and I are in amongst the masses, but our site is big and we can still see the ocean - so it isn't that bad.

Our sandy home in Puerto Penasco

So, we set about with the business of settling-in. Somehow (it is a long story) Dad sliced his power cord open with his leveling jacks. I swear if someone tried to cut their power cord with their leveling jacks, they could never do it, but since this was one of those days... But, as good luck would have it, DT had picked up a flyer for a mobile RV repairman in the RV park office, thinking about our fridge. I called the guy - an American - and he actually said (and I am quoting), "I will take my dinner out of the oven, put it back in the fridge, go to my shop, pick up the part and be right over."

Unbelievable. Larry turned out to be very nice guy, very knowledgeable, had the part in stock, repaired the cord and charged a very reasonable price. By the time he was finished, it was dark, so he will be back tomorrow for our fridge.

Due to the late hour and our exhaustion, it was decided to go to the new restaurant at our campground, The Reef RV Park. The words restaurant and RV park in the same sentence would usually send shivers down my spine, but we had heard this place was top-notch. Holy Guacamole, was I impressed. Can you imagine a continental restaurant with fancy linens, uniformed waiters and an inspiring wine list at a RV park? (As I am proof-reading this, I recall we just came from the Motor Coach Country Club in Indio - they also have a fabulous restaurant - so maybe this is a new trend?) This place was unreal. To be fair, The Reef RV Park is in a huge complex of homes, apartments, condos, hotels and even a (in-progress) marina. It is a tourist destination and most of the hotel guests are from the Phoenix area. (A huge portion of the RV guests are Canadian.) The photo (below) is flounder in a sweet and sour broth - sitting on a ring of fresh pineapple. It was too pretty to eat - but somehow Mom managed the chore. Everyone had good food, our servers were excellent and the presentation was outstanding. Our fellow campers said the daily breakfast buffet is THE place to eat along the beach. At ten dollars per person, it is a great deal too.

Dinner at The Reef RV Park in Puerto Penasco

RV Park: The Reef RV Park at Sandy Beach