By Lannette Phipps

It is almost 7pm and I’m am sitting here on my back patio, with a fine glass of Malbec, watching yet another beautiful sun set into the Sea of Cortez. And it is a perfect 80 degrees. A tiny bit humid, and a few gnats drinking my wine, but I have to say life doesn’t get much better than this. You would never know “Crazy Town” is in full swing if you just came straight here to Laguna Shores Resort and avoided town entirely.

I am so very spoiled out here, in my little paradise, that I need to shake things up once in a while. So that is why I decided to do some importing on the last Friday of Spring Break. I only had to go to Ajo and back, but of course I could not leave too early – on account of sleeping and everything. The wait getting into the U.S. was only about 20 min., and wouldn’t you know, that as soon as I got up to the border they decided to open another 2 lanes. Well goodie for all of the people I passed.

Spring Break is an extremely busy traffic time of the year. We all want to arrive alive at our destination so that means that those of us who read the Rocky Point Times Newspaper have to be smart for those who don’t. One particular problem (and not just at SB) are motorhomes and vehicles pulling trailers. I totally understand the need to drive slower, but what do you do when you have 20 vehicles behind you and they are moving over the line seeing if it is clear to pass? And speeding up and slamming on their brakes when they realize they won’t make it around you. It seems to me that is would be far less dangerous if the people driving slow vehicles would either pull over to the right and wait for everyone to pass, or pull slightly over to the right so that passers can see around you and/or have the room to get around you to pass. I know that driving slow is not a crime and y’all want to get to your destination just as much as the next person, but during Spring Break and holiday times it may just be better to pull over. During other high traffic times such as Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend it is not as much of an issue because most drivers are older and have some driving experience behind them. I could be very wrong about this, but it just seems it would be a whole lot safer to get out of the way. I would love to hear from you slower folks and give me your point of view. Kudos to those of you who can read signs and those of you who actually leave room at intersections for cross traffic.

I have an amusing story about Karma and Spring Break traffic. On the trip I spoke of above, there was one young man who decided, or thought, that the right-hand turn lane in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was a passing lane. Either that or he just wanted to go fast and pass. He cut me off when the turn lane ended and he realized that, yes, there really is only one lane of traffic. Not only did he cut me off but he proceeded to pass the vehicles in front of me, in the asshat manner he was accustomed to. But what he did not realize was that the traffic was stopped at the border and all of the people he just pissed off would have a chance to punch him in the face. I love when you get to see Karma in action. Oh glory day!

Spring Break is just about over as I write this and now we look forward to an even busier Semana Santa. Can’t wait to go to Competition Hill and watch everyone race up and down. Don’t forget that our Zip Line is up and running so you don’t want to miss a ride down the mountain. Be aware that Old Port/Malecon may be closed to vehicle traffic during Semana Santa, and the big holiday weekends. It is definitely the hot spot this year and always a favorite during the Easter break. I would love it if the city or someone would build a parking structure, and offer parking and shuttle runs to/from Old Port during these times. I, for one, would gladly pay to park and ride.

April events begin on the 1st, OTL baseball will be at the BajaHotel & Cantina. CBSC (Cholla Bay Sportsmen’s Club) will hold their Cornhole / Horseshoes Tournament out in Cholla Bay, also on the first. And we round off the end of the month with Rocky Point Triathlon, on the beach at Las Palomas on Saturday 22nd, with Cholla Clean-Up the same day. We wish a Happy Birthday to Wayne C. on the 24th, then on the 28th we will have the Annual Santa Claus Club Charity 3 Day Cornhole Tournament which will move from the Baja Cantina, to Jj’s Cantina, to Duke’s. Then our Second Annual Charanga Derby will be on the 29th at Mirador Hill (Campeche). This will be a fun derby! Watch our Facebook page for more events and check out the Events Section in this issue.

Don’t forget that we have the FREE BOOK ROOM in our offices. It is an entire office filled to the brim with novels, paperback and hard cover, and books on health, travel, etc. To get to our offices, turn west off the main Blvd. Benito Juarez on to Calle 13 (Where the Sailfish Monument is located). Go to the second OXXO, which is on the south side, and turn left. We are on the right, park under the tall palms, across the street from Happy Face Massage. “Take’em, Read’em, Bring’em back”. The book room is open whenever we are in the office.

Just a couple more items, I want to mention…Marcia Diane, writer of Outside the Lines, in our paper each month, has become so popular that there are now a couple of “reading workshops”. One is at Kilombos, on the main Blvd. Benito Juarez, and the other out in Cholla Bay at Xochitl’s Cafe. See her column in this issue for info.

The Rocky Point Times Photo Contest is starting this month, and I think you have until the 21st to get your favorite photos. See Mark Paliscak’s “Marco & Amigos” article in this issue for information.

One last note…while I don’t think that any of our readers go around littering our beaches I do think that we all must put in the effort to keep them clean. I know on Sandy Beach many of the resorts use employees to keep the beach clean. And out here at Laguna Shores Resort, I walk the beach every day and am constantly picking up other people’s trash. And I can tell you that not much makes me more po’ed than having to pick up disgusting baby diapers or bottles that people have peed in. Unfortunately we have a long way to go educating everyone about how important it is to keep our ocean and beaches clean – not only for us, but for the many animals that live in the there. Rocky Point has gotten 100% better about this and I am sure it will keep getting better. But, in the meantime, instead of just complaining about the trash left behind or posting to social media, maybe you can take a bag with you when you walk and pick up what others leave behind. I know it is maddening, but it’s the best we can do for now. And I do thank each and every one of you who do pick up the trash, because it is ultimately less trash that finds its way out here to my bay. Really, how do fishermen loose so many gloves?

Here’s to hoping everyone has a spectacular Semana Santa!!