My wife and I have been full time residents of Puerto Peñasco since April 2011,and plan never to leave. We moved here from Denver, Colorado where it snows and gets cold in the winter. My wife Nancy asked me to find us a place where it is warm and we can see the water. I searched the internet checking out different countries and really had no luck finding anyplace that would allow us to live moderately on our social security. I had been to Mexicoin my past life, while in the Navy, and it seemed likely that we might accomplish it here.

I checked out the Baja town of Rosarito. We visited it in December of 2010 and found it to be kind of uncomfortable for us. When we got home, Nancy asked me to find someplace else. I had overheard a conversation in the VFW, someone saying something about Rocky Point. I looked on the internet, found a real estate company, and called Gretchen at Sun Country. My wife and I spent a three-day weekend in Rocky Point. Gretchen showed us around and we found a home to rent. We went home to Denver and then, two months later, we moved here.

I grew up in Montana, so when I found out they have horse races here in Peñasco at the end of Cemetery Road, it brought back some memories I would like to share with you. You might find it funny and entertaining, and that is my purpose. So sit back and enjoy and don’t forget to grab a Corona or six. Sitting around having a couple of Coronas with friends, telling stories of the past, I am always being told, “ You should write a book “. With the hustle and bustle of todays life, i believe that there should be a little humor so we can remain  “sane”, or as sane as can be.

I am 68 years old, and I am retired. Recently my wife, Nancy, and I became year round residents of Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco, Mexico). Having been here for a few months now and meeting so many nice people, native and expats, I started to think about “writing a book”. I began to make a list of some of the funny, strange things that have happened to me so I could write, short, to-be-continued stories to share with you.

Nancy and I have each been married previously and, as with a lot of other people, it took us a few times to get it right. When we first met, I slipped a few times and misspoke. I called her by my last wife’s name, so we agreed to refer to my ex as “Old What’s Her Name”. I will refer to her as OWHN in this article. OWHN grew up around horses. I didn’t. About all I knew about horses was that the hay went in one end and came out the other. Put a saddle on it and maybe you could get on and ride, if the horse decided to let you. OWHN had a couple mares (females) and wanted to find them a boyfriend, a stallion (male with equipment in tact ) and pay hundreds of dollars to send them on a date. Eleven months and nine days later you get a baby horse. ‘Money on the hoof’.  Hundreds of dollars, right? Whoa, wait a minute or more like a year. Then you try to sell the babies who now weigh several hundred pounds, but low and behold, the market is down and nobody is buying. You have heard this before I know. We continue to feed, tend to them and winter the babies.

Now the babies are two years old,  they’ve already cost several hundred dollars to get built, and had some repairs. Oh, and several pairs of shoes, four each, which you can’t buy at Wal-Mart. Doctors visit are an every day occurrence and are not cheap. Then there are the frequent visits to the hay farm to buy and load hay. Ever try to get baled hay out of the field in mid July? One hundred pound bales on the ground that need to be loaded and stacked on a truck bed in one hundred degree weather. This hay has to be good enough for our expensive horses (which are for sale) so they look good. Then there is the trainer because the young horses don’t come out already trained. They need to be broke (gentled) so the new owners can ride them safely. That will make them more sellable and we will get more money for them. Ads in the newspaper and horse journals all cost money.

Well, no calls. Seems the boyfriend has been down-graded because they come and go out of fashion like shoes at JC Penneys.  No one wants to buy his babies because he is old hat.

Wait, that wasn’t the deal. Buy mare, mate her, have babies and sell them to make money. That was what I was told……….

 

Continued next issue.