San Felipe - Bahia Santa Maria

We received a note from our SIL, Aleida, that she was going to San Felipe with Fran’s brother Bobby for a couple months.  We decided to join them!

As has become the norm for us we cross the border at Tecate.  The gateway to Baja’s Wine Trail, but alas we’re going east not south :)

With the early sunsets we elect to take the MX-2D, the toll road, with it’s 3 booths, it's the fastest means of reaching MX-5 and it joins south of Mexicali, avoiding that traffic mess.

MX-5 is a highway in very good condition with speeds posted at 110km (~65 mph).  The road crosses Laguna Salada (Salty Lagoon) for much of the way.

Bar Miramar does not serve food, and as a result was again Covid-Closed.  We did not get our desired Strawberry Margarita, but did stop at Rosita next door for a regular Margarita.  We like to walk the Malecon to loosen our stiff legs and enjoy an adult beverage after the long drive.  OMG check out the size of their Margarita!!!

There are many fun, new to us, ceramic art along the Malecon break wall.

and my favorite, a shrimp

We walked the entire Malecon.  Fran and Bobby together in front of the San Felipe sign, now painted pink to honor Breast Cancer, and neither of us finished that Margarita!

We arrived at the Bahia Santa Maria beach house with just enough time to open it up and clear much of the sand from the rear porch.

In the process of opening things up we noticed a large crack across the front deck.

And the cover from the deck has separated from the house.

Neither Bobby nor I wanted to spend our day taking on the task tearing it down.  We ended up hiring a local laborer and split his cost.

He can’t fix that crack, but we can at least sit out on the deck for another day.

While the deck overhead was being removed we stayed out of the way with one of many golf outings on our Bahia Santa Maria North 8 (we’re still missing our 9th flag).

Fran is without question the best golfer, but this trip she showed off her slice … A LOT!  She spent quite a bit of time in the water hazard, even lost a ball there.

And she still kicked our butts!

Fran stayed behind to kayak, while Bobby and I ran into town, with a long list of supplies needed.  We also went back to Rosita to try their food.  Notice I ordered a Margarita Chica (small girl) this time!

We stopped to fill up the gas can for the generator at 20.99 pesos per liter.  I thought Yikes!, but then realized that is under $4/gallon ... much less than San Diego.

Aleida came down with friends and fresh Tilapia, which was a nice treat for dinner.

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Tilapia, avocado salad, salsa picante

Friends and family around the table.

Armando and Mayra, Bobby and Aleida, and Fran

Here’s a few picks from inside the casa.

The wood spiral staircase took a lot of work to figure out

Living room as seen from the kitchen

Dinning as seen from the entry, Fran likes the Greeter!

And from what remains of the porch.  Looking north and south.

North at mid tide

South at mid tide

We returned home with 6 kilos of San Felipe’s jumbo blue shrimp, a few packets of fresh hand made tortillas, and a couple bottles of wine.

One project I've been plugging away at for the past few years is to correct the wiring.  The house will fall into the ocean before I finish, but it is now down to a single AC point.  Either a single generator or inverter and battery pack.  That's down from three inverters!  And i may stop there, and enjoy what time is left.

It was a good trip, and we're looking forward to the next.

San Felipe - Race week

We arrived as the Baja 250 was just about to finish up.  Poor timing on our part and we were stuck in a massive traffic jam!  UGH!

Seems every time we come down, the San Felipe welcome sign has fresh paint and a new theme.  This time it clearly relates to race week.

Looking forward to a ‘World Famous’ Strawberry Margarita at Bar Miramar that would settle us down.  They really are good.  We like to get one and walk along the Malecon.

But, ALL bars are still shuttered under Covid restrictions.  Did I mention it’s race week?  That’s gotta hurt.

At least the restaurants serve Margaritas.  Although we did avoid the ‘DREADED’ Fish Fillet at Anisetos.  But did enjoy an icy cold Margarita.

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The Beach House has lost its last 20 yards of beach.  The Sea of Cortez is now undercutting the deck.  And overflowing the golf course at the Bahia Santa Maria North Nine.  Sad but we’ve enjoyed the last 20+ years there and leave with many great memories.

This massive 6x6 RV drove across the golf course for a peaceful night.  But the ruts it created left a new challenge for our three-some.

Bobby and Fran at the ruts near the 3rd tee.

The Full Pink ‘Super’ Moon rose under cloudy skies.  And it created some very high tides.

These kids were able to sail from the Back-Bay around to the Sea of Cortez and home again.

The high tide flooded the road faster than I could walk!  Check out my video, it shows how fast the tide came in.

We brought a 12 pack of Diet Pepsi with us.  This entire package added new meaning to the “Pepsi Challenge”.  All the cans had the bottom blown out and would not sit upright.  I think they must have been caught in the Texas Deep Freeze!

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We played a lot of golf when the tide was out.  And Fran managed to get in a few nice kayak rides when the tide was in.

Her route took her out to check on the resident pelican population, who are also losing their sandbar.

The NORRA 1000 (National Off-Road Racing Association) passed behind the Beach House.  This race originally started with ‘classic’ off-road vehicles.  However it now has categories for all racers.

I still like the classic Ford Broncos that a good Shade Tree mechanic might enter.

Our local McNeil Racing is running their 6-door pickup truck.

There were a lot of buggies in different configurations.  COPS Racing Team had a couple entries.

There was only one Volkswagen.

And of course more then a few Trophy Trucks, being shadowed by helicopter film crews.

Alas it is time for us to return home.  A final sunset over the Peninsular Range toward Sierra San Pedro Matir.

And a final sunrise over the Sea of Cortez.

As we make the climb to cross the border at Tecate, we can see we are leaving the Fun Side of Trump’s Wall.  I think it is an ugly scar on the desert landscape.

Oh - forgot to mention the shrimp!  Not only did get the best rate of exchange ever!  19.82 pesos to the dollar, we also came home with 4 kilos (8.8 lbs) of shrimp at the best price ever (less than $10/lb.).

San Felipe - a couple weeks on the beach

To avoid the madness and congestion of Mexicali for the past few years we’ve been crossing the border in the little pueblo of Tecate.

I’d not recommend this route for larger rigs, but it’s just fine for us.

From Tecate we drove the rural free road (Mexico  2) to La Rumarosa.  It’s always interesting what traffic we see along this route.

We could have picked up the federal toll road (Mexico 2D) in Tecate, it is a much faster route, but not as scenic.  We do have to pick up Mexico 2D in La Rumarosa.  From La Rumarosa there is a nearly 3000 meter elevation drop in the 30 km to La Cuesta.  There are rest areas along the way to enjoy the view.

The view from the top of the little lookout gives an idea of the workout the brakes will get on the way down ... and the transmission on the way back up!

At each of the rest stops are baskets for graffiti.  The spray can artists are encouraged to decorate rocks and leave them for others to enjoy.  It seems to be working as there is a minimal of graffiti elsewhere. 

As is our custom we stopped for lunch and fuel at La Cuesta, before continuing on to San Felipe.  It has clean restrooms, fuel and a beautiful modern restaurant.

Fran’s brother, Bobby, is in town at his wife’s house, Aleida enjoys her house in town a few months out of the year and helps take care of her mother.  We stopped to pick him up, only to discover he fell a few days earlier and broke his clavicle in 2 places.

He’s in good spirits and is anxious to join us at the Beach House to see if the sand berm we put up in November is holding.  I too would rather be sitting in a beach chair, than cooped up in town.

Good news that the berm and sandbags have held!  

Although we have been through a few high tides, we have not yet weathered it through the storm season.

We take advantage of the opportunity to add to the berm, when the front loader was moving sand on another section of the beach.

For Aleida’s birthday, she decided to host her own party at the Beach House. 
Preparations take one day, Fran does the cleaning, I do windows and Aleida cooks.  Lucky Bobby gets to watch and read his book.

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The party starts at lunchtime and lasts another TWO days!  Lots of Karaoke, music, dancing, food and beer.  These folks know how to party!

I think only Bobby appreciated Paradise by the Dashboard Lights as Fran and I tried our hand at the duet.  I did better at Rave On ...

Despite the singing and dancing going on below, I headed out on the roof to my customary spot to call it a night.

The morning dawns over the Sea of Cortez.

And the sunset over the Back Bay, easy to see why I usually sleep on the roof.

We buttoned the Beach House up for the summer, or until travel returns to more normal.  The work on the Puertocitos Road, I mentioned in my last post HERE,  is mostly completed.  Even the Oh Shit Dip has been repaved.  It still deserves lots of respect.

We only stopped in town to see if Popeye’s had shrimp – nope.  We did pick up some fresh tortillas and a bottle of Monte Xanic, my favorite Mexican wine.

After dropping Bobby back a Aleida’s house we retraced our route back to Tecate.  After being off-the-grid for over a week, (no electricity, no TV, no radio, no cell) we were totally surprised by the nearly 3 hour wait to return to the US.

That's Trump's new wall on the right, with the old border fence at the top of the hill.  

The Border Guard only wanted to know what cleaning and paper products we were bringing back.  I replied “None, just a bottle of wine and a couple packets of tortillas”.

This is the first we heard that America’s panic buying had spread to Mexico.

In hindsight we could have purchased anything we’d need for the next couple months in San Felipe, and wait for the border to close before returning.   So far all returning US and Canadian citizens are allowed to cross the border on their way home.