Drove down to Mexico, turns out there are very few laws here! We slept on the beach with a fire and a bottle of cuervo! The food was spectacular. The drive down was quite desolate!

The sonoran sun condos are so beautiful. they are set on the beach and every room has an ocean view. you can get a condo with 1,2,3, or 4 bed rooms. all the condos have everything that you would have at home. they have a full kitchen, a big bathroom, closets, an amazing patio w/ a breath taking views, and a huge living space. they have a beautiful swimming pool with a swim up bar that have great shrimp tacos and amazing margaritas! i guess since you are in the place that invented margaritas it is to be expected. we ate breakfast at the restaurant on site and it was amazing. we also used the bbq, jacuzzi, bar (a lot), and grocery store and everything was very nice. The sonoran sun condos are not to far away from puerto penasco. we took a cab from town to the condos one night and it only cost us 5 bucks and about 10 min. this place is very nice and not to pricey at all. i will defiantly go back!

ok, sleeping in a tent on the beach sounds great and all but give it a few drunken nights and hot mornings and that will end quick. i don't think that it would have been so bad if i wouldn't have been so hung over every morning. i know that this is obviously my fault but come on...we are in Mexico, the alcohol is to cheap not to drink in excess.

we came to the decision, after hard consideration, to find somewhere with a bed and shower. we had some friends staying at a resort down the street called the sonoran sun. we didn't really think that we would want to spend that kinda of money but we though that we should just check it out. well like most everything else it was surprisingly cheap. we split a 2 bedroom condo with an ocean view with 2 other people and it only cost us 180 dollars for 2 nights. it was the best feeling after 3 nights not having a good shower to take a real shower. this place is seriously nice,  probably one of the nicest places i have ever stayed. it is just like having a condo on the beach. everything you want is at you fingertips. i don't know if it is because i had just spent the last few days living out of a tent but this place is was beautiful! after we cleaned up and relaxed a bit we headed out into town

 i had been seeing these contraptions flying around the beach for the last few days. it is like a hand glider with a seat and an engine attached. these guys are a bit nuts... they take this thing straight up in the air and then cut the engine and let it fall until the wheels hit the water. i didn't know about anyone else but i had to try it. so we follow one of these gliders until we see where they are landing. we find our way to this dirt field and there sits a guy in a lawn chair drinking a beer. i walk up to him with a bit of hesitation and ask how much. he replied 40 bucks for 30 min... well ok then. so i climb into this man made motorized hand glider and we are off. we took off on a road with cars driving in front and behind us. it was a bit bumpie at first but it eventually got very smooth and it was an amazing view. we flew up and down the coast, flying with birds and diving into the water. it was so amazing, the best 40 bucks i spent in a long time!

after we were done there we went down to were they rented jet ski's. we had got a free hour of jet ski riding while we where in town by listing to a presentation on a time share. it was kinda hard to find where they rented them from because we couldn't go to just anyone. we had to find the specific company that we had the voucher for. we eventually found them and used our free hour on the jet ski. It was really fun. We made asses out of ourselves by nathan showing off for big boat and us ending up getting thrown off in the water. The entire boat clapped, I was laughing so hard I had a hard time getting back up on the jet ski.

By this time is was already about 4ish, so we made it back to the resort to hang in the room and at the pool for the rest of the day. Today was an amazing day!

the day started off ok. it was hot in the tent once the sun came up and i was a little hung over. it was nice waking up to the sound of the ocean though. we really didn't do much, just hang out on the beach most of day. it was a really good and relaxing day! i didn't realize how strong the sun is, coming from az i am use to the sun being strong. i didn't think that it would make that much of a difference only 120 miles or so south... however it did!!  around 3ish we called it quits and went looking for food and shade. we ended up at a place in town called tequila jacks. it was really good food! we had a pretty big party but it was still cheap.

 the town is a lot like what I had pictured a Mexican town to be. it is a bit run down, it looks like they start things and then stop and never get back to finish. i was a little nervous at first because the federalis carry very big guns around with them all the time, but i got use to it eventually. the town has a lot of little shops along the streets selling almost anything you can want. the people here work very hard and they have a lot of talent. i watched a lady braid a girls entire head of hair in under 5 min. they also walk up and down the beach, fully dressed, carrying a ridiculous amount of stuff. it is amazing how much dedication they have! we found a street that is a sea food market. they have the best shrimp tacos i have ever had and they cook them in little huts right on the street. the fish are so fresh you can watch them fishing behind the shops and then cook them right on the street. they are a bit pushy but you can always just walk away. i have always heard not to drink the water and to stay away from anything that has been around water at all but i didn't listen and nothing bad happend. i don't know if that is an old wise tale or what but i didn't have any problems with ice tea or ice in general at all. i never drank just water becasue i always had water bottles so maybe that is what will make you sick. i am really not sure.

we ended the night off with a bang. literally... since fireworks are legal down here we didn't hesitate in buying some and setting them off on the beach. it was a lot of fun and kinda challenging because you never know how fast the fuse is going to burn. it adds an entire new element to setting off fireworks. no one got hurt and we all got a good show.

today is our last day in mexico and i am a little sad. i wish we could just pack up and keep heading south. i am not looking foward to going home and back to the same old monotony. but for now that is what we have to do. so we slept in again, i found myself laying in bed putting off the inevitable. however i did eventually have to get up and pack for the ride home. check out was at one and we pushed it as long as possible. after check out we were not quite ready to go so we decided to go to what had now become our favorite restaraunt for a final shrimp taco. like normal it was amazing but it ended to soon. we stayed around for a while to take a few pics of the ocean before heading back to the desert.

this was an amazing trip and i can not wait to come back!

 too often on vacations we don't give ourself any time to relax. so that is what we set out to do today. we slept in until around 10 and made our way down to breakfast. we had these amazing omelette's and mimosas that where made in front of us by chefs . we made our way out to the pool a little while later and spent most of the day down there. we met a couple down at the pool whom we hit it off with very quickly. they are from just down the street from where we live, small world! we ended up getting together with them for dinner in town and partying with them at the hotel all night. we had a blast!

today was like the last few days, spent mostly on the beach. we had planned on staying out of the sun but that is hard when you are living on the beach. so we kept the sun block on and relaxed on the beach.

yesterday we bought tickets for a booze cruise while we where in town. a booze cruise is a 3 story boat that sets off around 5ish and takes you and 200 or so of you best friends into the middle of the ocean. they provide all the alchole you can drink and let you jump off and slide down the side of the boat in the middle of the ocean. it is like a crazy club but on a boat and all the alchole is free. the consept blew my mind! i don't know how no one dies on these things but we made it the entire 3 hours with out any casualties.

on the booze cruise we met some really cool people. we ended up hanging out at a bar in town with them all night.

once we found the camp ground that our friends where camping at we set up camp and threw out some towels to soake up the sun. the water is clean and clear, and the sand is soft. i still can't believe that i have lived in Arizona for so long and never been down here. we where camping right on the beach with the waves right out side our tent. i am still in shock at how beautiful it is. day one ended with a few beers around the camp fire with a few good friends.

Yeah!  SO I went with a friend to Rocky Point.  That was awesome!  We got down to Ajo and got insurance then we passed through an Alcohol checkpoint.  That was quick and easy.  Then we went about a 100 yards to the nearest party store and bought alcohol.  Then we stopped at a taco stand just on the other side of the border and had "beef" tacos.  Looks like beef and tastes like chicken, it was dog.  We ate dog tacos.  (haha!) Then we got to Rocky Point aka: puerto penasco and went to the bar aka: Manny's immediately when the Suns and mav's game was about over.  That was sour when the Suns lost.  Then we went to the store and bought more alcohol and went to another store and bought fireworks.  That was cool so then we went down to the house, thats right we stayed in a cool brick house in R.P. and we were livin' it up!  but before we got to the house we decided to go fire off some works in the desert.  This Excursion pulls up next to us and people got out and started firing off their works!  So there was a mom and her two kids a girl and a guy Tati and Mike and Tati's friend Courtney.  So me and Luke meet these girls and go back to the house and we unpack.  Then we went down to the beach and went swimming in the Gulf of California with these girls and toward the end I picked up Courtney and carried her out of the surf.  Then they went home and got an ATV and drove it over to the place and we sat on the porch and drank Taquila and talked.  Luke made out with one girl and I acted like a complete nerd and missed all my chances with this other girl.  So the weekend is not over!!!

We then woke up the next morning and went down to the beach and swam in water that was clean and salty aka: Gulf of California and it was like swimming in bath water!  Then we went and hung out at the FIsh market and I bought a hat.  That was cool.  We then ate at a resturant that was on the edge of the water. 

Then on Sunday we hung out at the beach again which is awesome!  We got a banana boat ride which is this huge raft that looks like a banana and is towed by a boat with a motor.  So we all get going and I fell off about 10 seconds into the ride then we all fell off and my friend had a huge cut above her eye and had to go to the doctor and get stitches! Those things can be dangerous...Then we walked up and down the beach with these girls and then we go to Mannys that night for the basket ball game which blew because we lost, again and I hate it when my home team looses!  We went out on the town after that and went to the bar, this time we had a DD and that was cool.  Then we were going to the Pink Cadillac and Mannys and some other bars.  Then we woke up the next morning and went to the beach again!  Then sun was out every day and the weather is perfect, some nights it was windy and some nights it was not.  Then on the way out of Mexico we stopped in a resturant and had fish and shrimp tacos, because you can't fake the meat, say its beef and serve dog as food.  Anybody for tacos del gatos?  those are cat.  (haha!)  So the fish tacos were really tasty and I would go and do it again so many times!  We made it back in time for the sun to just go down, this was a memorable adventure.

At high tide, the beach is very pretty and quite blue. There is a little pollution throughout the sand with pieces of glass from bottles being scattered a little in places. With low tide, there are some smaller sea-shells upon the rocks for the collector. When I was there, there was a scattered population throughout which included families (I went at the end of September though).

So I took a quick trip to Puerto Panasco, Mexico aka Rocky Point, from Phoenix, AZ, a 3.5 hour trip. As soon as we got into Mexico, we got pulled over. After the cop took the driver's license of my friend's, he was gone for ten minutes. What's he going to do with an American license?! He comes back and asks the year of the car, so that he can write it on the ticket he is issuing for running a stop sign. To his credit, there really was a stop sign we both missed. After convincing him to not confiscate the drivers license that he was going to drop off at some unknown location for us to pick up later, we handed him a $20 bill and off we went. We stayed in a $171/nite condo called Marina Pinacate. Super nice pool, although we didn't have time to check it out up close. I'd advise everyone to not pay too much less than what we did, although I haven't seen any other hotel rooms. I just can't imagine a $65/nite hotel there is going to be clean, with basic amenities working. Went to the ocean, which was warm like bath water. There are lots of locals selling everything from hammocks (I got a long one for $25), turtle statues made of wood (seems like they love turtles there), cheap jewelry (got a necklace for $1), and food (ice cream, papaya, etc.) We ate at two restaurants, both good, and reasonably priced. We ate fillet mignon, which wasn't really fillet, but good steak nonetheless. Of course, you can't drink the water there. Lots and lots and lots of stores around the fish market for you to pick up souvenirs. Let's talk about the nite scene for a moment...ummmm looks like something out of COPS. Pretty trashy, and not really my crowd. I'm 27, and I'd say the median age is probably more like 20. Lots of people out on the street, tons of cars blaring music, lots of drunk yelling. The bars are pretty dirty inside, nothing spectacular to see for sure. I've been to bars in other third world countries and they blow these away. I guess because it is a spring break destination, it's supposed to be run down. One of the highlights of the trip was watching this man at the pharmacy nonchalantly order his viagra along with the morning paper. Too funny. Lots of places to buy drugs of your choice. Getting over the border was no problem, since both of us were U.S. citizens I think. I'm sure we'll go again one day, but just don't have too high of expectations when you go. And I wouldn't recommend going anywhere near spring break time!! Sorry, no photos. I forgot to bring my camera:(

Ended up on the Sea of Cortez at Puerto Penasco as an act of compromise. I wanted spring break in the Arizona desert but the wife wanted sun and sea with a little beach time. We took three days out of our tour of Arizona in March '07 and made the journey south of the border. Puerto Penasco is also known as Rocky Point and is becoming popular as a beach resort for vacationers from Tucson and Phoenix. We stayed a mile from town on the resort shore where tourists have a choice of newly constructed high rise condo type accommodations. We chose the Sonoran Sea Resort and it served our needs. Fairly typical one bedroom ocean front unit with a kitchenette and nice balcony for around $200 USD/night. There were three highlights of the trip worth a mention. We took a boat trip to Bird Island an hours ride south where we did some snorkeling and as we did we were joined by quite a few sea lions that satisfied their curiosity by swimming around us and surfacing very close so they could check us out. They were close. I was hesitant to touch them and did not, but they were that close. The young Mexican tour operators seemed disinterested in the safety of the tourist group who had to be very careful because of the powerful tidal current that swept swimmers away from the boat. I am certain they would have left me in Davy Jones Locker given half a chance. The wife and the half dozen bikini clad co-eds may have fared better, but were strong enough swimmers that we didn't find out. The second interesting thing about Rocky Point was the extreme tidal change. At low tide the ocean retreated a hundred to a hundred and fifty yards and exposed an interesting array of marine life. A very good beach combing opportunity. I was holding a small octopus in my hands until Jody mentioned their ability to bite. I stuck to starfish after that. We also enjoyed dining and shopping in the Old Town although if you go there expecting a Cancun sized experience you may be disappointed. We very much enjoyed our visit but I doubt we will ever return as my wife fears someone may recognize her, and the antics of her fun loving, sombrero wearing, mezcal soaked husband, embracing the spring break mentality at the hotel pool bar.