Rocky Point, Two

One thing I learned in the years after Sheldon left; being single would be a lot of fun if I was only rich.  I wasn't, of course.  It was great to be able to decorate my house the way I wanted, without having to please anyone else.  It was fantastic getting to plan our vacations all by myself, deciding where we would go, what we would do, and how long we would stay.  The only problem was figuring out how to pay for everything.  But I found inexpensive ways to have fun, like going to Rocky Point. 

Now, it was certainly possible to spend lots of money there, but at least in those days it was also easy to have a great time on a shoe string.  The last time I'd gone to Rocky Point I had been ten.  I never forgot how much I loved the ocean, how wonderful it smelled, and felt, and looked.  So one summer I talked mom and dad and some of my brothers and sisters into going again.

We found a great camping resort, right on the beach, where we could stay.   They closed for the summer the second week of June, so we made reservations to go right after Memorial Day.  We rounded up tents, tarps, and bar-b-Que grills, packed our swim suits and sunscreen, bought lots of junk food and pop, and headed down to Mexico.

It was so much fun!  It was kind of scary driving across the border and into Mexico.  Suddenly all the signs were in Spanish, and the speed limit was in kilometers instead of miles, but I did OK since I was following dad and my brothers. 

It was hot, but we were all so excited it didn't bother us.  We drove into the little town of Rocky Point and felt like we had stepped back in time.  Everything was quaint and colorful and exotic.  It only took us two or three wrong turns to find La Playa Elegante, the resort were we were staying.  It really was right on the beach, not terribly elegant, but clean.

We had reserved four camp sights, back to back and next to each other, so we had a huge block where we set up our tents, our Ramada, and our bar-b-ques.  The kids couldn't wait to get down to the beach, so I let the older kids take the little ones to the bathrooms to change while I finished setting up our camp.  Even Stephen, my youngest, was a good swimmer, so I didn't have to watch them too closely.  There were lots of cousins to play with, so mom and me and my sisters set our chairs up under our beach umbrellas, and we visited and read while the kids played.  It was so beautiful.

The only bad part about the whole trip was how short it had to be.  We only had three days, but they were three glorious days of relaxing in the sun.  And the whole trip cost less than a hundred dollars, including gas to and from Mexico and our camping fee.  That was the best part about Rocky Point back in those days.  If only we could find a deal like that today!