The Road to Begone - Port Costa, CA to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexcio

We said we were leaving Port Costa, CA at 8:30 AM on Saturday, February 7th...and so we did.
Our PT Cruiser was loaded with just enough room in the back seat for the easily compacted crew and master boat everything, Vicky Oswald.

We had an planned a long 11 hour drive to the reservations Suzanne made (a luxurious King Suite in Tonopah, Arizona).  First stop was 4 hours later for gas and our first taste of Mexico in Lost Hills (I-5) at the El Dollar Taco Truck (everyone should stop and eat there).

No trip to a boat is complete without a last minute stop at West Marine...but thanks to our smart phone, we found out that there is not a West Marine in Tucson and the Tempe/Phoenix store was closed on Sunday -- so our search for Epifanes varnish was looking grim.  Until, Vicky found just 20 minutes off the of the I-10 was a West Marine in Riverside (LA area) who were open and had just 2 cans left!  We programmed the GPS and off we went on a little side adventure!  Success!!!

On the road again for our dinner stop at the Quartzsite Yacht Club (Really?  A Yacht Club in the middle of the desert? Yep!  And we're "members")  The restaurant had a country swing band playing, great little dinner and the "motel" consists of converted mobile homes!

And finally at 10:30 PM we arrived at our motel -- the Sagauro Hot Mineral Wells Motel, Tonopah, AZ.  The clean luxury suite consisted of  king bed, a twin bed, a bathroom, a lamp/night stand and a Gideon Bible -- all for $65.00 on a Saturday night including tax!

 A couple things about Tonopah.  1). The best coffee is at the Shell Station.  2) There's nothing luxurious anywhere in Tonopah.  3)  If you see some amazing plums of steam on the horizon, it's NOT Hot Springs...it's the steam from the Tonopah Nuclear Power Station!

The Chicken Plant

We did find time to uncover the major Chicken Controversy...We saw these signs to stop the Poultry Plant.  Found out this huge Chicken coupe  just west of town.  The smell and flies were driving the price of real estate into the ground.  We had to leave before we could decide what we thought.

We were sure having some fun on the road to Begone.  Sunday night we were staying with Dorothy Kiesling in Naco, AZ, but not before a little gun slinging in Tombstone, AZ....

We had lunch at the Four Deuces, stopped into Big Nose Kate's and headed down the road a bit to visit with our friend, Dorothy Kiesling.  John and Dorothy had restored and sailed "Begone" and we had bought her from them when they decided to design and build their home in Naco.  Sadly, cancer took John from us last year ... but his spirit lives on in our fond memories, in Begone and the house he and Dorothy built in Naco.  What a great evening with our wonderful friend, Dorothy!

Vicky and Dorothy for cocktail hour on the roof overlooking the golf course

Enjoyed a walk around the golf course before heading off to San Carlos.  I love the long shadows in these pics!

We all enjoyed a wonderful evening by the fire pit at the house

 The next day, we left Naco, AZ to cross the boarder to Naco, Mexico (after purchasing our 6 month MX visa, shutting off the data service on our phones, and starting the Mexico automobile liability insurance)...we were ready for the 7 hour drive to San Carlos, MX.

!