Outside of Mexico, we haven’t been thrilled with the Mexican restaurants in our new area. There is one that is pretty good, but it’s a 45-minute drive away. In California, we had several favorites within walking distance. I think we get used to a certain flavor and anything else doesn’t satisfy the craving for Mexican food.
We tried a restaurant in Cave Creek for lunch Saturday called El Encanto and I was thrilled with the setting. It was built around a lake (man-made) that was teeming with ducklings, turtles and koi. They have indoor and outdoor seating with most of the tables with fabulous views. We had a window seat and I could have stayed there for hours!
Ducklings, a Mallard and a turtle resting on a rock outside our window.
The food was decent too. I wouldn’t say the best ever, but very good compared to other places we’ve tried. I found it a bit pricey, but the view made it worth it.
Is there anything cuter than these ducklings swimming with their mom?
When you go out to eat, what is your favorite type of cuisine?Is the setting or atmosphere as important as the food?
This is one of the towers at Bella Sirena. They also have single story villas and beach front houses.
Here are some of the photos I took from our beach getaway. The first two days were super windy, but Saturday and Sunday were perfect. We stayed at Bella Sirena, which has towers A through D. We’ve stayed there before and love the amenities of tucked away pools and hot tubs in addition to the central large pool with pool bar and live music. The only downside to Bella Sirena is that the rooms on the ground floor don’t have ocean views. We prefer the ground floor to be able to walk out our room and not wait for elevators. But I’m sure the rooms higher up have spectacular views. In any case, we took several beach walks each day and I sat and read where I had an ocean view.
This is Sandy Beach at low tide. The water is warm and there aren’t any waves if there’s no wind.
Where I liked to hang out and read this past weekend. The ocean view pool.
This was our private patio outside our room. Another amazing place to hang out and read.
Another beach walk. Notice the waves? This was on a windy day.
The hot tub below our deck. It was 102 degrees hot! There was a cold plunge pool nearby.
Where’s your favorite place to relax and read a good book?
Our favorite restaurant in Puerto Penasco, Mexico called Pollo Lucas.
We went south four and a half hours for a few days. We had planned this trip after I got back from Seattle to spread my mom’s ashes — but I tested positive for COVID the day before we were supposed to leave.
We had booked a condo through VRBO and we passed the refund date. Of course. The VRBO host told me he’d try to get at least a 50% refund. After a few hours of haggling, he got us 100% money back and we promised to come back and stay in his unit in the future.
I’ve got tons of resort and beach photos, but this post will focus on food. Why not?
The first night we wandered down to the pool and had nachos at the pool bar. Eh. Then we walked down Sandy Beach to Diego’s Tiki Bar and split a shrimp cocktail which was huge. (Puerto Penasco is a fishing village and the main catch is shrimp.) I didn’t get a photo but here’s one of the Tiki Bar.
Diego’s Tiki Bar. Beautiful views, amazing staff and decent food.
If you go by car, rather than beach, this is the sign.
Last time we were in Puerto Penasco we tried to have breakfast at a popular spot called Kaffee Haus. There was a 90-minute wait, so we passed. This time, we decided to go close to opening. We were in luck and got seated immediately.
My favorite Mexican breakfast huevos rancheros. It was delicious! Our entire married life, until we moved to Arizona, my husband and I would spend one weekend morning having huevos at our favorite Mexican restaurants in the Palm Springs area. He orders machaca and I like my huevos rancheros.
My husband’s machaca served with beans and potatoes.
One night we decided to go fancy and we went to Garufa Steak House. It’s in the middle of the condo resorts on Sandy Beach and was delicious but pricey. Still less than what we’d pay in California or Arizona. I ordered the grilled shrimp served with potatoes and veggies. My husband had the rib eye. We also had asparagus. It was all cooked to perfection and flavorful!
The day before we headed home, we had a late lunch at our favorite Pollo Lucas. I’ve never tasted better chicken in my life. We had to wait for 20 minutes for the chicken to finish charbroiling. They must have had a huge lunch rush. We were served one whole chicken hot off the grill, steaming bowls of rice and beans, fresh made salsa and homemade tortillas. All for $20 including the sugary real Cokes.
Chicken with fixings at Pollo Lucas.
Chicken hot off the grill. Juicy, moist with so much flavor. We have tons of leftovers, too!
Real Coca Cola in bottles with tons of sugar.
What is your favorite breakfast food? Do you like to go out to or make it at home?
We’ve had two days of rain and now have ponds in our yard.
Today we were supposed to drive to Mexico. We’d planned this trip for a couple months. My family was appalled when I told them. Our friends here said we shouldn’t go. It’s too dangerous.
Our realtor who frequents the beach resort with his family said he had just been and it’s fine. The insurance guy who I called for the Mexico car insurance said it’s “Rubbish” to say it’s not safe.
Mexico is in the news a lot lately for two dead Americans, a kidnapped mother, missing Americans and drug cartels. I was a little nervous.
But then I got sick. My daughter asked me to test for Covid because my cough that’s keeping me up at night sounded exactly like hers when she had it. The test was most definitely positive.
My son sent me a link to Medical One and told me to get a zoom call appointment with a doctor. I did and I’ve been prescribed a few things to help with my cough and Covid. The doctor told me what to look for in the next few days and to call if I’m feeling worse. She also said to get an oximeter to test the oxygen in my bloodstream and what acceptable numbers were.
So, it’s a no go on Mexico.
Have you or family members had COVID? What were your symptoms like and how long did it last?
There are three little towns we pass through on our way from Scottsdale to the Mexico border. This is the stretch that I usually drive. I wonder what it would be like to grow up in a small town like those? What are the people like? What do they do? There’s poverty, graffiti in some and EBT stickers on store and restaurant windows. But these town are very much alive. You can see pride in neat yards with most homes and businesses well taken care of.
Here are the three towns we drive through, starting at the border heading north.
WHY
The population in Why at the 2010 census was approximately 167.
Why is the smallest of the three towns. There is a sign pointing down a dirt for a Rock Shop that we npass by. I wonder if they get any business? There’s also a combination busy gas station, store, and cafe called the Why Not Travel Store. I learned Why has it’s own radio station! I almost hit a large dog running across the road.
I thought the town was called Why because WHY WOULD ANYONE LIVE HERE?
From Wiki:
The town derives its name from the fact that two major highways, State Routes 85 and 86, originally intersected in a Y-intersection.[ At the time of its naming, state law required all city names to have at least three letters, so the town’s founders named the town “Why” as opposed to simply calling it “Y.”
I saw this mural in Ajo when we stopped at a gas station. This is a sign for an adjacent “resort.”
Ajo (pronounced AH-hoh) is a much bigger town than Why. On the drive, the speed limit slows to 25 mph as you wind through the residential and business streets. At one turn you pass two beautiful white churches. One is Catholic and the other a Federated Church. This is a very scenic part of town with Spanish style plazas and buildings.
Ajo is the Spanish word for garlic (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈaxo]). The Spanish may have named the place using the familiar word in place of the similar-sounding O’odham word for paint (oʼoho). The Tohono O’odham people obtained red paint pigments from the area.
We stopped yesterday so I could get the photo of the Space Age Lodge (above). I’ve been fascinated with it since we first drove through. It’s funky space age relic from the 1960s that thankfully somebody let survive.
It has small Mexican restaurants, deserted mom and pop motels as well as name brand fast food restaurants and grocery stores. Interstate 8 runs through it west to San Diego and east to Tuscan.
From Wiki:
Gila Bend founded in 1872, is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The town is named for an approximately 90-degree bend in the Gila River, which is near the community’s current location.[4] As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 1,892.[3]
Stovall’s Space Age Lodge opened in 1965, according to a brief history on the back of the Lodge’s restaurant menu. A local wheeler-dealer named Al Stovall was its visionary. He had friends in the military and government, and his connections got him autographed photos of astronauts, which he hung on the walls of the Lodge’s restaurant. He also owned a plastics factory, which produced the custom space-age decorations that made his motel the closet thing to the Jetsons this side of the 23rd century.
We headed south of the border yesterday for a weekend of beach walks, seafood, and enjoying the Sea of Cortez. What a joy to arrive in time for a beach walk at sunset. I was stunned this morning to wake up and see this magnificent sunrise from our room.
Have a great weekend!
What highlights do you have planned for this weekend?
Last week I sought the shade. Now I seek the sun on my walks.
When we left for Mexico last week, the afternoons at home were topping 90 degrees. That is if it wasn’t “monsooning” with thunder, lightening and major rains.
We arrived home Sunday afternoon. I checked my phone the following morning before our walk for the temperature. I did a double take. 46 degrees. Yikes!
I got out my leggings and fleece jacket and bundled up.
What happened to Fall? We went from too hot to too cold in a snap. I used to complain in Palm Springs that we had lousy weather. It was either too hot or too cold. There were only a few days that were just right. It seems that Arizona weather is much the same. But I missed the “just right” days. There were none in September or October. Certainly none in the summer.
My next challenge is getting into my swimsuit and jumping into the YMCA pool. They had been cooling the pool. I sure hope they’re heating it now!
What is your favorite season and temperature range?
