If you follow us at all you probably know we love tequila so we were excited to attend a tasting at The Tequila Factory in Puerto Penasco.

Fernando conducted the tastings and was very entertaining and informative. Not to sound like tequila snobs, but we didn’t really think any of the tequilas we tasted were that great. But we did find a bottle of tequila liqueur that we know we like, so we added a bottle to our home bar!

Dinner that night was a group potluck that was a lot of fun and included some great dishes!

Escapees believes in giving back to the communities they travel to and many events include some type of service/volunteer project.

We spent several hours as a group helping spruce up at CEDO (the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans), a nonprofit group that develops conservation and environmental education programs. It was interesting learning about the natural history of the Sea of Cortez and the desert surrounding it. Plus, it’s fun to give back to an organization that works to preserve the environment while also helping the local residents to support themselves through the sea’s natural resources.

Of course, after all that work, we were hungry! The group met for happy hour and snacks at Grapes & Barley. We had reserved the rooftop area which has a beautiful view!

The Malecon is one of the main touristy shopping areas in Puerto Penasco. It’s only a few blocks long but has a lot of shops and restaurants. We spent an afternoon walking through the shops and had lunch at Pancho’s Mexican Seafood with a beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez!

Then our group met at the famous Penasco sign for a group picture.

After that we walked to the dock for a sunset cruise on Sol Chaser. Great first full day in Mexico!

Several months ago we signed up for an Escapees Hangout in Puerto Penasco, Mexico! We have to admit we were a little nervous about crossing the Mexican border in our RV. We have flown to Mexico and walked across the border a few times, but had never driven into Mexico. It was a little intimidating, especially with a big rig.

Fortunately, the couple that organized the Hangout did a great job of letting us know what to expect and how to prepare. They even did a Zoom call with a Powerpoint presentation about Mexican insurance and how to get the necessary FMM (Mexican Tourist Visa).

There were about 60 people and 30 RVs in the group. We stayed in Ajo, Arizona the night before at the Ajo Heights RV Park. That night we had an organizational meeting, and the next morning we all lined up to head down the road!

We definitely felt more comfortable being in the company of 30 other RVs to cross, but it was still a bit unnerving. The Mexican Border Security was fine, but they did a slightly more thorough inspection than we were expecting. They went through the bin we keep on the back seat of our truck, partially uncovered the generator we keep in the pickup bed, went into our fifth wheel, checked some bins and opened some drawers and cabinets. They also had a dog that we assume was for drug sniffing.

But we made it through with no issues and Candi went into the office to have our passports and FMMs checked, then our caravan lined up and headed down the road. We even had a police escort through Sonora!

From there it was an easy drive of about 50 miles to Puerto Penasco where we arrived at Playa Bonita RV Resort, a nice little park right off the beach. We got setup and saw our first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez!

That evening we had a relaxing dinner at the resort’s ocean front restaurant, Puesta del Sol.

We’ve been members of Escapees for many years. They are a great company that does a lot to support RVers, especially full timers. We established our Domicile in Florida through them and use their mail forwarding service (which is incredible!). They also have an organization called Escapees C.A.R.E. which allows RVers who can’t travel due to health issues to park their RV on a site and get the support they need to continue living in their RV.

They also support the RV community through events, including an annual five day rally that’s both educational and fun. We went to our first rally several years ago in Vermont, before we became full time RVers and learned alot about topics that concern full timers, from staying connected on the road to tips on organizing our RV.

When we found out the 2023 rally was going to be in Tuscon and coordinated with the end of our season in Mesa it only made sense to go! We had a great time and learned a few more things. One seminar Candi attended was on trip planning with RV Life Trip Wizard given by Tigner Adventures. We have been using this software for a couple of years and are pretty familiar with it, but she still picked up a few tips.

We also enjoyed some great entertainment including a country band and a Native American dance demonstration, and Candi got to take some line dance classes!

On the way out we used SmartWeigh to find out how much our rig weighs. This is a great service for RVers since in addition to giving you total weight, they look at the weight of the truck separately and also the weight of each axle, to make sure everything is distributed properly. Since we got a new fifth wheel 2 years ago and a truck a year ago we thought it was a good idea check our weight. Luckily we found out we are good, although a little light on our PIN weight (guess Candi just has to buy some more clothes!!).

The main reason we have spent the last few winters in Mesa, Arizona is the weather. It’s hard to beat the winters here! But there are a lot of other things to like here! It’s very urban and there is a lot to do, including shows, restaurants, and a variety of festivals and events.

We are familiar with a lot of the TSOs music and always wanted to see them. All we can say is WOW! We really didn’t know what to expect from their show, but it blew away any expectations we had!!! This is a ‘bucket list’ worthy show, you just have to see it live to truly experience it!

(click on an image below for full screen – it’s worth it!)

We took a beautiful drive east from Mesa on the Apache Trail. The road goes past Canyon Lake and has absolutely stunning views. About 40 miles from Mesa is a cute little town called Tortilla Flat, an authentic remnant of an old west town that started out as a stagecoach stop in 1904. The town has survived fires and floods and currently has neat little restaurants and shops, and apparently some residents – they claim to have a population of 6!

We liked it so much we went back again when Scott and Chris Saunders visited us in Mesa.

If you ever do visit, have lunch at the Superstition Saloon, the food is good, but it’s the decor that makes it fun!

After spending the summer in Tahoe and some time traveling through Southern California we landed back in Mesa, Arizona. We will be workamping here again and are staying in the same park (and at the same site!) as last year.

Before getting settled in we flew home to Baltimore for a couple of weeks to visit with family and friends. We had a great time watching the Ravens game with some other Ravens fans, but sadly, they lost!

Had to visit wine country while were in San Deigo!

We had lunch at Gaspars Restuarant at Altisima winery. We did a quick tasting first to find a wine we wanted to have with lunch. Then we each got a glass and sat at their patio restaurant. We had read an article in Wine Country that they had one of the best burgers they’d ever eaten, so we had to try it. We would say it was very good, but maybe not the best ever!!

Then we went to visit Wilson Creek, who occasionally makes our favorite wine. Unfortunately they didn’t currently have it, but we did find a Chardonnay we liked and bought a bottle to take home for later.