Spring Break: Rocky Point Then and Now

Waiting at the Border, the line was a long one to get into Mexico. I hopped out to take a picture. We were all itching to get to the beach. 


Unasian Daddy Long Legs and I left with her kids Saturday morning to go to the beach. We couldn't wait and counted down the days to get there. My head was swimming with all sorts of information and to do lists for break. This is a key sign for me that I need to STOP. COLLABORATE AND LISTEN. To my body that is, it means I desperately needed a vacation and there is not a better spot for me to unwind than Rocky Point. 

Rocky Point is a short 4 to 4.5 hour drive from my lovely home in Gilbert. A lot of people are very nervous to travel across the border because of the drug wars. I never let drug cartels scare me. Ok, the truth of the matter is this is the 20th year I have ventured down to Rocky Point and I have NEVER had any trouble with anyone. Just wonderful encounters with humble, hardworking men, women and their children trying to make a living. 

Rocky Point 1994 with Aunts and Cousins

Well. Maybe that is not exactly true. 

There was one time when this boy asked me if I wanted to go get a taco with him. I was about 16. I said sure. I actually had a crush on his older brother. In an effort to look really cool and impress me in his parents suburban he peeled out around the corner of the trailer park. Unfortunately, there was a policia sitting right there who pulled him over. 

Rocky Point 1996 Aubree and I

Rocky Point 1997 Cousins: Meghan, Aubree, ( love LOVE the doc's and Socks!! ) Dior a friend of Meggies, Jessica

He was freaking out. I was too. 

Luckily, we were in a big caravan of God and teenage loving Mormons and one of the Mormon Dads saw us promptly ran over, talked to the policia and paid him 20 bucks. Off went the policia, happy with his payoff. The boy, got a short lecture about safety and then we drove off to get our taco's at a taco stand that was about a quarter mile from the RV park soooo.....we could have walked. Oh well. It is a fond memory, It could have turned out differently I guess, but I learned a good lesson. When boys ask you to get a taco say yes. AND as an adult ALWAYS, ALWAYS rescue the troubled teenager. The man that saved this boy and I has passed on but I have this very fond memory of him. 

In fact, this is M&M, ME and the man's daughter who saved us from our terrible plight that taco date afternoon. Her name is Natalie and she is my dear friend. We later served together in Relief Society, I was in the presidency and she was my Enrichment Night leader. What a wonderful woman she is! She was camping with her family in Rocky Point too it is always fun to see her cute family. 

 Here we are detained at the border. Two tired single moms, and 5 KIDS! The picture below is of us at the border fence. That you can see it wind across the mountain and desert terrain separating Mexico and the USA as you drive towards the border.

So, yes there can be some trouble in Rocky Point. There was also the time that Unasian Daddy Long Legs and I got caught at the border for HOURS, HOURS I tell you! But that was at the American Border. It is also a very long story that ended well. 

The bottom line is I love sandy beach. It is where my mind goes to when I picture a calm place. When I was rushed into an emergency c section with a not very understanding husband I endured that surgery by lying on sandy beach in my mind's eye. When I was in the depths of despair in my marriage and went a week without sleep, the only rest I had was when I pictured myself lying on the beach in Rocky Point. The sun warm on my skin, the sound of the waves lulling my anxiety away. The many nights that followed, the fear and sadness, the pain, and now the triumph of sludging through all of that and coming out the other end a better version of me. I wasn't alone though, I always had sandy beach. ( Along with the savior, friends, and family) But, in those quiet times when you don't have anything to fill the silence but your anxiety, despair, and fear I found calm because I could go to the beach. That is why I love Rocky Point. It is the place my spirit has chosen for rest, the place where my heart feels safe, and I can truly enjoy the quiet.