mOOners in Mexico

by Kris

Returning to Mexico and re-connecting with our favorite town, Jocotepec (Joco) and our snow-bird friends in Roca Azul RV Park is a treat and a blessing. We must be living right. Duh!

Our trip was fun and stress-free. Perhaps our "less is more" preparation of the camper contributed to this feeling. More likely it was the post-election euphoria (offset, sadly, by the buzzkill of Prop H8 passage) and the festive hasta luegos with our friends and family.

A gorgeous fall afternoon sail on full mOOn was a wonderful re-connecting experience with my favorite brother Rod and his fabulous wife, Phipps. Though Rod and Phipps live just over the hill in Genoa, Nevada, it had been way too long since we'd enjoyed each others' company. Next summer we'll do more sailing, rafting, and camping together. And, by the way, don't they look natural with a Westie?

The best part of prepping full mOOn for winter is knowing we have this amazing boat waiting for us at home.

Our last sunset of 2008 at beautiful, though severely drought-effected, Lake Camanche. Think Snow!

The six months north of the border were full of fun, fun, and more fun. From our welcome home surprise party in May to the last-for-awhile dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, La Placita Dos (LP2) in November, we enjoyed our kids, grandbabies, and friends. My special amiga at LP2, Veronica, is from a small town in Michoacán. Ella es muy especiál.

On the first leg of our trip we spent a weekend in Oceanside (norte de San Diego) with more of our favorite people (we have a bunch!). We more than enjoyed our time with Ken's brother Dewey, his sweetie-pie wife, Gayla, and their family. Ken and Dewey share a passion for solar power and the solar panels on our camper are similar to those Dewey has installed through his company Sun-up Solar. The hermanos played guitarras and sang - even entertained at a wine and cheese party at Kindred Journeys, the metaphysical bookstore where Gayla works with a group of genuinely gifted and sharing people.

The four of us re-connected (that amazing word again - possibly the theme for this time in our lives...) in a way that was physically and spiritually energizing. We couldn't have asked for a better send-off!

Ahhh Mexico. We crossed the border at Nogales, waltzed through customs at KM 21, and zipped down Mex 15 to San Carlos and a favorite (no dinero) beach camp. Though anxious to get to Jocotepec, we decided to put the F-350 into mosey gear and take our time heading south. An extra day here with the starkly contrasting beauty of the desert and the brilliantly blue Sea of Cortez is a mellow way to ease into Mexican time and culture.  A popular fishing and boating community, San Carlos is the winter home for many gringos. As boaters, we like a town where the living options include an active marina. Those opting for a more normal residential choice have an array of homes from simple to extravagant, condos, and some of Mexico's higher end RV parks.

Marinas attract us - the allure of seeing all kinds of boats and meeting the people who own them is high on our list of pleasures.

In the summer of '05 we traveled to Mexico. It was a blast of a trip that made us decide where we wanted to spend our winters when we retired. Not the least of the reasons to return was José of the village of Las Glorias on the coast between Mazatlán and San Carlos. Seeing José again was always in our thoughts but not necessarily on our itinerary. Las Glorias is an out of the way hour coming and going off Mex 15 but we agree that our friendship with José is worth the extra miles and time. Ken and José were best buddies the ten days we spent at Mr. Moro RV park in Las Glorias that summer. When not working, José was with Ken; not just speaking Spanish but explaining and showing Spanish. It was transformational for both men. When we arrived in Las Glorias this time, José was excited to see his amigo again. I know many gringos come into José's life through his work at the RV park, but Ken is obviously special to him. Their re-connection (aha!) was a joy to experience.

Ken y José looking at photos from '05 and making plans for next spring.

From Las Glorias we drove nine hours to Tepic and around 5:00 p.m. stopped for diesel ($2.40 gal) and dinner in the camper. Looking ahead we discovered (via our Garmin Nuvi 760 with Mexican Mapping) that only three more hours of driving would get us to Guadalajara and another hour would get us to Joco and Roca Azul. So much for mosey mode - we could almost feel the warm spring air of Lago de Chapala and hear the cohétes in the plaza de Joco. Vamos..

mOOners