Mulligan's Island Fest - The Road Trip
Traveling to San Carlos is not bad at all. There's a divided highway most of the way through Mexico and, while the shoulders are nearly non-existent, you can pass slower moving traffic pretty easily. The only part of it that I wouldn't want to drive is through Hermosillo. Yikes! Very busy, very congested, little regard for traffic signals.
The Border crossing was easy, too. We just needed our driver to fill out a form and we were good to go. I didn't even need to show my birth certificate that I so carefully packed.
Having said all that, it was still an adventure.
We had 2 SUVs with 6 people in each in our caravan. I was riding with Louie, Donna, Tom, PJ and Connie in Louie and Donna's son-in-law's Excursion. Between our luggage, Louie's golf clubs and the stuff that Mom Mulligan asked us to take down to Mark, it was pretty crowded in the back. It was basically stacked to the roof of the car.
I sat in the third seat with some suitcases and snack bags and whatnot beside me. There was enough room for me to move around a bit and it was kinda like being in a fort. The kid in me was happy but the grown up in me was worried about potential concussions.
The thing is, the Excursion has a rather longer stop time than what Louie's used to. I lost track of how many times we all yelled at him as it looked like he was going to rear-end someone. And, each time he hit the breaks, stuff would shift forward behind my head. The golf clubs were the big worry and I threatened to break them if I got bashed (assuming I survived the head trauma). There was also the time he drove off the edge of the road but that was allegedly just to wake us all up.
The other vehicle had Bob, Sue, Steve, Sharon and their daughters (aged 19 and 21) Kristen and Tracy. They had so much stuff that they'd tied it to the roof and covered it all with a tarp. We suspected body parts were hanging out up there because, while we would sail through every checkpoint without a problem, they would get stopped every time. That became the running gag of the trip because it happened both going down and up.
Between the two cars, we had 4 smokers and 8 women. Every time someone suggested a pit stop, there was a clamor of agreement. Everyone would pile out, light up, line up for the bathroom...those were not quick stops as this was a group of dawdlers. Fortunately, our only goal was to get to the resort before dark and we'd hit the road around 7 AM so we had the time.
We made a gas stop out in the middle of nowhere around lunch time and everyone headed to the nearby bathrooms. PJ had packed stuff for sandwiches so we broke them out and picnicked out of the back of the car. Under searing sun, in close view of the bathrooms. We probably could have picked a more scenic spot...
The Border crossing was easy, too. We just needed our driver to fill out a form and we were good to go. I didn't even need to show my birth certificate that I so carefully packed.
Having said all that, it was still an adventure.
We had 2 SUVs with 6 people in each in our caravan. I was riding with Louie, Donna, Tom, PJ and Connie in Louie and Donna's son-in-law's Excursion. Between our luggage, Louie's golf clubs and the stuff that Mom Mulligan asked us to take down to Mark, it was pretty crowded in the back. It was basically stacked to the roof of the car.
I sat in the third seat with some suitcases and snack bags and whatnot beside me. There was enough room for me to move around a bit and it was kinda like being in a fort. The kid in me was happy but the grown up in me was worried about potential concussions.
The thing is, the Excursion has a rather longer stop time than what Louie's used to. I lost track of how many times we all yelled at him as it looked like he was going to rear-end someone. And, each time he hit the breaks, stuff would shift forward behind my head. The golf clubs were the big worry and I threatened to break them if I got bashed (assuming I survived the head trauma). There was also the time he drove off the edge of the road but that was allegedly just to wake us all up.
The other vehicle had Bob, Sue, Steve, Sharon and their daughters (aged 19 and 21) Kristen and Tracy. They had so much stuff that they'd tied it to the roof and covered it all with a tarp. We suspected body parts were hanging out up there because, while we would sail through every checkpoint without a problem, they would get stopped every time. That became the running gag of the trip because it happened both going down and up.
Between the two cars, we had 4 smokers and 8 women. Every time someone suggested a pit stop, there was a clamor of agreement. Everyone would pile out, light up, line up for the bathroom...those were not quick stops as this was a group of dawdlers. Fortunately, our only goal was to get to the resort before dark and we'd hit the road around 7 AM so we had the time.
We made a gas stop out in the middle of nowhere around lunch time and everyone headed to the nearby bathrooms. PJ had packed stuff for sandwiches so we broke them out and picnicked out of the back of the car. Under searing sun, in close view of the bathrooms. We probably could have picked a more scenic spot...
Picnic by the banos.
We got to San Carlos and drove through town to get to the resort. By this time, we'd learned the sign for speed bumps (the hard way) and there was one on the road. Unfortunately, Louie didn't see the sign. Even more unfortunately, it was more of a speed curb.
That thing was a killer! We all got jerked around, convinced that we blew a tire and everything in the back moved up and forward. I didn't get any clubs in my head but one of Louie's golf shoes came flying forward and hit me right in the back of the head. Fortunately, it wasn't the spike side though he told me they were soft spikes so I would have been OK.
We got to San Carlos and drove through town to get to the resort. By this time, we'd learned the sign for speed bumps (the hard way) and there was one on the road. Unfortunately, Louie didn't see the sign. Even more unfortunately, it was more of a speed curb.
That thing was a killer! We all got jerked around, convinced that we blew a tire and everything in the back moved up and forward. I didn't get any clubs in my head but one of Louie's golf shoes came flying forward and hit me right in the back of the head. Fortunately, it wasn't the spike side though he told me they were soft spikes so I would have been OK.
First drink at the resort.
Overall, it was a smooth trip and I kid Louie about his driving out of love. Carvaning is the way to go. We divided up the costs of the gas, Mexico insurance and tolls and it was only about $65 per person.
