Monthly Archives: January 2015

Rocky Point in January

I have to admit my heart was not in this trip. I would have liked to have stayed in Abilene longer and been there for Jenna closing the purchase of her house. And to share the celebratory bottle of her favorite wine…..(Prisoner, yum!) Plus this trip is me, Rick and our friend Bill. It would be so much better to have another woman along. These two old guys-yikes!

The beach is totally deserted and beautiful. It is amazing that it is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Tucson. Our first stop is always a Mexican grocery store to stock up on fresh vegetables and Margarita ingredients-duh! And god, those Margaritas are always so good! Thanks to the bartender at the old J-bar for sharing the recipe. The first night always seems to include way too many….. and then we taper off.

On our second evening we went to La Curva, which, while lacking in atmosphere and ocean views, has some of the best food I have had down here. I mean, this isn’t fine dining, but still…As I was perusing the menu, and silently lamenting the fact that there was no killer seafood combination plate, the waiter came over and told us about the special of the evening. A seafood combo that included shrimp prepared 6 different ways and fish prepared two ways with a drink, steamed veggies and Spanish rice for about $14 per person. Score! I am so upset with myself for not taking a picture of that work of art. I was too busy diving in and going for it. Wow. Just wow. One of the preparations of shrimp was the drunken shrimp, which I don’t think I ever would have ordered, but I sure will in the future.

We went in to town for a few odds and ends on Tuesday morning. Rick absolutely hates walking around being hounded by the shopkeepers. The only kind of shopping he is up for is of the grocery variety. Our third evening was a seafood and carb-free delight cooked at home, followed by the viewing of the State of the Union Address. God, I love this President. It feels so good to not only love what he is saying, but how he is saying it. No shame, only pride. I remember during the last Presidency, cringing with embarrassment every time that man opened his mouth. Feeling great hope at this point!

Wednesday morning found the beach obliterated by a thick fog, or probably more accurately, a marine layer. It was both eerie and beautiful. It was also much chillier than usual. It turned in to a pretty lazy day followed by an amazing dinner out at a place we have never tried before. It is called Chef Mickey’s and it was rated as the number one restaurant in Rocky Point on Tripadvisor. It certainly deserved that ranking. The atmosphere was stylish and immaculate, the service was excellent, and the food better than any food I have ever had anywhere in Mexico! I had a macadamia nut crusted fish and Rick had a dish called chicken New Mexico which was stuffed with some creamy chile laden concoction in a creamy sauce that also had mushrooms in it. It was all perfect. So happy to try it.
The way home was interesting. As we were coming in to Sonoyta, we got stopped by a Polizia who stopped us for speeding. We were going approximately 35 and the speed limit was apparently 25. No matter that it wasn’t posted anywhere. Details, details. Luckily for us the ticket cost $80. Cash. No paperwork. Payable to the same guy who stopped us……. Hmmmmm. Sounds fishy to me. Dinner on us A-hole! And you wonder why some people don’t want to go to Mexico. Sitting in the backseat of the car with the boys in the front seat. Way too much talking for my taste…..There is nothing wrong with peace and quiet! Every now and then, just shhhhh!  I’m ready to throw myself from the moving vehicle. Wish me luck.

Made it!

 

 

 

Back to Abilene

On January 8th, we headed back to Abilene to visit Jenna and Tyler Krager. The fact that we call him Tyler Krager still seems to drive Jenna nuts, but we have our own Tyler. That’s what you get when you have a boyfriend with the same name as your brother! Before leaving, our friend Andreas, who owns Athens on 4th, put together a gyro care package for Jenna, consisting of a huge container of sliced gyro, two packages of pita, a container of tzaziki, two tomatoes, a red onion, a handful of mints and a stack of napkins. It was a huge success and much appreciated! Abilene has some pretty great restaurants for a town of 120,000 people, but sadly, not terribly diverse. You can’t get a bowl of pho, or a gyro sandwich, although I hear a new Japanese restaurant came to town, and Sushi may be on the horizon for our daughter. If you want steak, barbecue, fried chicken or Mexican food, you are definitely in the right town.

Jenna is in the middle of buying her first house and we couldn’t be more excited for and proud of her! We were so happy to be there during a part of this process. She is buying the house she and Tyler have rented for the last few years. Closing is set for Tuesday and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly and with as little last minute stress as possible. Rick did neat dad stuff for Jenna, replacing light switches with dimmers and talking Tyler Krager through the mounting of a new crystal bathroom light fixture. I walked around with my little tub of spackle and a putty knife patching things and sanding. We made way too many trips to Home Depot and Ross. It was fun getting caught up in Jenna’s excitement for the house and decorating it.

Our friends, Buddy and Carol came to visit for a couple of days while we were there and we all went out to our favorite restaurant, The Beehive, for a wonderful steak dinner followed by a visit to a little winery in town, The Mill. A great time was had by all! While having dinner, of all things, a man both Rick and I noticed earlier, came up and said “Rick Rogers, what are you doing at The Beehive in Abilene?” You guessed it, a dentist from Tucson, who contracts with some chain practice, and goes to Abilene a few days a month. They are starting to follow him-lol!

It was fun as always and sad to leave, as always! The drive back was interesting-bad weather and a little traffic holdup outside of Odessa where a prison bus went off an icy overpass and hit a train. Yup, that happened…. We are planning to go back in a few weeks and help with painting and such, but first we are going to Mexico on Sunday for a few days at the beach. How did we ever fit full time work in to our schedules?