We are so happy to have our beaches open, and so excited to see so many of you return to Rocky Point. I would say September is our least desirable month, but the Phoenix area has been a furnace, and we have an ocean, so Rocky Point looks pretty good to me. As of late August, social-distancing was being practiced at the public beaches in town, and public access was being controlled via sanitary entry points. If you’re familiar with Rocky Point, you know that we have many beaches along our shores, all the way from Bahia San Jorge to Laguna Shores and beyond, so there is lots of open space to enjoy the Sea of Cortez. If you are at a resort, hotel or public beach, please obey the rules so that we all can continue to enjoy Rocky Point’s beaches and ocean.
Speaking of the ocean, I was watching a TV show about Gallapagos wildlife and they were commenting on how you can never get “this close to wildlife in their natural habitat”. This had me thinking to myself that these people are crazy and they need to come to Rocky Point where we can see dolphins pretty much any day of the week as well as swim with sealions (at Bird Island) and come up close and personal to whales during their migration. People go out in their kayaks and on their paddleboards all the time and have interactions with sea life – for free! And just 4 hours from Phoenix and Tucson. What are those TV people talking about? Granted, we don’t have the giant iguanas that the Gallapagos does, but I have seen them all around Mexico in my travels. And giving a shout-out to Mexico tourism, the beginning of this year started off fantastic with our first cruise out of Rocky Point, where I got to not only see a lot of Mexico up and down the Sea of Cortez, but I got to swim with whale sharks in La Paz. Crazy great experience I have yet to tell you about. And not long after the cruise, I was lucky enough to go over to the Baja side to Guerro Negro with Tony Ballesteros, “The Whale Whisperer”, and have a week of watching and petting mama and baby grey whales in their natural habitat. WOW! Probably one of the single most exciting experiences of my life – and my life has been pretty exciting! I’ll write about that as well in an upcoming issue. You can go whale watching in Rocky Point as well starting in December, you just won’t get to pet them, but it is super inexpensive and pretty awesome. Mexico is so full of fantastic travel experiences and a lot of them are available right here in Rocky Point.
Okay, back to business…
I’ve lived in Rocky Point since 1995 and one thing I have always loved about the community is our sense of “community”. Since our town is so big now it might not be as noticeable to you if you are not here all the time, but it is still here, and really came to light during COVID – and not only speaking on an individual basis, but also businesses helping one another. And there is no better example than Ricky and Krissy Nichols, former owners of The Satisfied Frog, and new owners of Margarita Mermaids. They had no sooner opened their new bar/restaurant in July when it burned down. Who came to help them? Local bar and restaurant owners – their competition in other words. Read Rick’s article in this issue and visit them, at their Grand Opening in October, at their newly, newly re-remodeled Margarita Mermaids at the south end of the Malecon. Great story! Also, in this issue look at what’s going on at Encantame Sales Office and what you can win at Laguna Shores Resort. And you might want to take a good long look at all of the real estate ads because, if we have to quarantine again, you will definitely want to be here staring at the Sea of Cortez from your patio! Just sayin’.
I would like to say, “THANK YOU” to everyone who visits (and lives in) Rocky Point. These times have been very, very, exhausting, and trying, to say the least: Trying to interpret and get you the latest info on COVID protocols and what to expect during these past months has not been easy – very confusing on the best days. So, thank you, to everyone who was patient and understanding. And it’s not over yet, so thank you for your continued patience, tolerance and understanding. I feel like those of you who love and visit Rocky Point a lot, and those of us who live here, are already pros at “going with the flow” – so let’s just all keep it going. While The Rocky Point Times Newspaper continues to bring you the latest and most accurate information we have, I would like to thank a couple people who have been in this fight…FOR YOU, with us personally. So much has gone on behind the scenes – even so much the RPTimes doesn’t know about – so I wanted to give lots of thanks and kudos to our aptly named “COVID TEAM” (named by Jose of Boo Bar I believe); Shandra Keesecker of Rocky Point 360°; Mary Snyder of Encantame Towers and Puerta Privada; Steve Schwab of Casago; and RPTimes Mario and Alicia, of course. You’ll never know the days and nights spent trying to interpret, sort through, and deliver to you, the latest and CORRECT information when it was literally changing by the hour on some days.
A lot of you have been asking whether or not the Annual Motorcycle Rally will be happening in November, and we just don’t know yet. Same goes for Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers returning to their live shows as well as all other events we all look forward to throughout the year. As with the rest of the Universe, we are watching and waiting. We’ll definitely let you know the minute we know. So, keep checking our Facebook Page and, if you don’t have social medial, shoot us an email or give us a call.
Welcome to September – as humid as it may be, we’re gonna enjoy the heck out of our ocean and beaches! Woohoo! We hope you all have a relaxing and fun Labor Day Weekend and thanks to everyone who is following Rocky Point’s safety protocols. Oh, and don’t forget about Head Out to Rocky Point Shuttle, a great way to get to Rocky Point without driving yourself – call Lynelle and Mike at (602) 971-0166. See you around town – with your mask on!