I promised to identify the images at the top of our new website.

Image number 1 is:  ta – dah  – drum roll -

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

A monolith that juts 235 feet high above the long stretch of beach in Cannon Beach, Oregon, Haystack Rock seems to follow you in any direction wherever you are on the beach.  Birds and other creatures – especially humans – find it almost magnetic, but it is a protected site.  See our longer blog for more information – http://traveltipsandadventures.com/?p=1134

Return next week and we’ll identify our #2 image.

We hope you’ll visit our Hiking for the Couch Potato website – and maybe even consider buying a book!  Especially for those of you who know someone who really needs to get off the couch and get some activity in their life.

Have a great week, everyone!

Beach at sunrise

Although I stayed only one full day, it was a very full day with visits to shops, a nightclub (Rockadile), the beach, spacious condos, palatial houses, and well-landscaped common areas and golf course. They actually use shells as ground cover!  Also, roads in the new El Dorado Ranch housing are hard-tamped down caliche, not asphalt, which cuts down on heat retention and is more environmentally friendly.

The mercado

One strong memory is walking to the malecon (the boardwalk) and the aroma of vendor’s shrimp wafting tantalizingly in the air from a block away.

San Felipe International Airport

We also were shown the airport, the hospital (not large, but at least there is one with a 7-bed trauma center), shops to buy everyday items and seafood fresh from the sea that day.

San Felipe - the beach

And, the strongest memory was the beach.  It was sooo relaxing just walking on the shore.  That’s what I would have liked to pack up and take home with me.

If you are planning to stay more than 180 days, you’ll need a Mexican visa, but otherwise, you’re welcome to stay.

We stayed in a hotel that didn’t make us want to spend another night (not up to American standards of cleanliness and furnishings), but I understand that at least one new hotel has been built since our visit that is lovely and more modernized.

I would recommend checking into renting a home.  Every house we saw in El Dorado Ranch was gorgeous and had a great view!

Another great view

Some culture shocks

Don’t expect to get your mail in a big hurry.  It is delivered to Calexico and shuttled daily to San Felipe.  But that daily is not the daily you expect from the USPO.

Cash is the preferred method of payment.  The dollar is currently worth almost 13 pesos, a better exchange rate than we had during our visit.

Be prepared to spend time at the border when you head north to the USA.  We were on a bus. Everyone had to get off, walk through customs and wait to have passports reviewed.  It took a while for everyone to pass muster.  Kind of undoes the relaxation that had set in on the trip!  Now, we were tense at having to be scrutinized at the US border crossing.

Travel is always a broadening experience.  New people, sights and experiences!

And, hopefully, you don’t spend the post- travel time regretting your eating if the trip really was a “broadening experience.”

NOTE: Mexico is working hard to overcome some negative stereotypes.   Everyone we saw was friendly and some of the scenery was spectacular.  Ah, the beach!  Also, San Felipe gets very busy with students during traditional Spring Break.  If you want a peaceful experience, choose another time to visit San Felipe.

Travel with us later this week and for the next several blogs on a trip on the railroad – Verde Canyon Railroad, a cowboy dinner theater (Blazin’ M), and spooky Jerome.  A visit to Verde Valley  - Arizona.

By contrast, San Felipe has soft, sandy beaches that are a joy to stroll on or as a place to cast out a line for fishing. And, if you need a break from these arduous “efforts,” you can stroll over to the malecon (the boardwalk) if you are downtown or by the shore almost anywhere.  The Sea of Cortez that encircles San Felipe is calm and never seems to create rough waves – there is no undertow or rip tides.

El Dorado Ranch

Frida Kahlo presides over the 16th hole (a par 5 hole)

The largest ex-pat community in San Felipe is the development called El Dorado Ranch.  With a fabulous clubhouse with restaurant (Pavilion Restaurant) adjacent to their own 18-hole golf course, El Dorado Ranch is very attractive as a social center for those on vacation or the transplants who want to retire or visit seasonally.  There is also a casual restaurant, La Palapa, where people can sit by the pool and even enjoy a manicure.  Juanito’s Cantina is also casual, by the beach, in El Dorado Ranch.

Poolside at La Palapa

Rentals are available in El Dorado Ranch for a short or long-term stay – houses, condos, apartments, and hotels are all options.

Mexican law has changed so that it is possible for those who are not Mexican citizens to own property.  El Dorado Ranch has built upon that opportunity, allowing American and Canadian citizens to build reasonably priced homes, with some space and a view of the Sea of Cortez.  The development has every lot situated so that the homes are staggered and, with the slight incline as you travel further from the beach, everyone has a water view.

Everyone has a water view

The only drawback we saw when touring the area was that homes further from the beach would need to have water delivered to a tank at their property.  Homes on the oceanside of the highway were on a piped-in water supply, but they were the pricier lots.

The scenery and space are very enticing, but one of the best parts of the community is the friendliness of everyone we met!

A little knowledge of Spanish can be helpful in San Felipe, but at El Dorado Ranch, you can be easily understood: everyone knows English.

More later this week on a short visit to San Felipe and longer stays.

On our way to San Felipe and a tour of El Dorado Ranch community, a bus tour took us through Yuma, into Mexicali on the Mexican side of the border, and on down Highway 5 for a two-day tour of the picturesque community.

Customs heading south were a breeze – the tour guides told us to expect some Mexican officials to walk through the bus.  They did.  I guess we looked inoffensive,since no one was stopped or questioned more closely.

Then, we started driving.  Along the way in Mexicali and other well-populated parts of the area, we even saw a Costco – and wondered if they sold lots of hot dogs like back in the U.S.

On the road to San Felipe

And, then we drove for what seemed like forever.  For segments, the highway was two-lane and narrow, at that.  The bus driver, experienced on this drive, was not fazed by how narrow the road seemed.

Are we there yet?

Arriving in San Felipe

Finally, after about three hours of driving from Yuma, we found our destination, which was actually on both sides of the highway.  We were to be guests of the El Dorado Ranch community that was hoping we would be interested in spreading the word about their developing retirement community.

Just as in other real estate, location, location, location is the mantra of the day.

And, San Felipe has quite a location!

Located on the Sea of Cortez on the eastern Baja Peninsula, San Felipe is a juxtaposition of the old and modern.  A fishing village is at the center of the old town, with a boardwalk (the “malecon”), shops and even a couple of nightclubs.

Low tide on the beach

The fine, white sandy beaches are mesmerizing.  Anyone who loves the lure of the ocean could probably just walk the beaches or stare at the ocean for hours. The water is calm and, especially during low tide, the water’s edge leaves a long distance to travel to the shore.

Come back Monday as we explore more of San Felipe…

Lewis and Clark statue at "Prom" turnaround

The earliest resort of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (if wintering while they collected salt and provisions for their return east could be called a resort), Seaside is a fun, family beach town.

 
Characterized by its “Prom” – The Promenade – which is a long concrete walkway along the beach, families and conventioneers gather at this mecca for fun. While we were visiting, a convention of car enthusiasts (two hot rod events were in town) were gathered and their vehicles could be seen everywhere.

Seaside ocean view from the Promenade

 The beachfront hotels have the best views of the ocean, but anyone can walk up and down on the Prom or on the beach itself. The long, sandy beach stretches for miles, punctuated by swing sets where families or couples congregate.

Seaside Carousel Mall

 Set a block or two from the beach are the man-made amusements including numerous restaurants and places to play. A really gorgeous carousel is inside of the Seaside Carousel Mall, plus many shops. “Funland” has games and food.

Funland

There is also an aquarium, which we didn’t have the chance to visit. There are bumper cars and places to hang out when there is a rainy day – and in the fall that can happen.

Gorgeous carousel!

Tourist shops, restaurants, and antique shops are everywhere.

Streets can be crowded, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in Seaside.

During most of our stay the sky was gray and it was windy, so a lot of the tourists were sightseeing near the shops and lingering in the restaurants.

Norma’s Diner

Local restaurants, like Norma’s Ocean Diner, are proud to display where their seafood was caught. Local is very “in,” so being able to say that their seafood was caught nearby is a great thing for the customer and the restaurant’s reputation. Norma’s had Dungeness crab, salmon and petrale sole from local waters; steamer clams and oysters from nearby Willapa Bay and, the furthest source, was Alaska for their halibut. Norma’s was more upscale than the usual diner with copper-topped tables and pictures of lighthouses. The food was properly cooked and wait staff were very accommodating.

Best Western Ocean View Resort

We had a great, fifth floor room at the Best Western Ocean View Resort complete with fridge, microwave and hot tub. Our balcony gave us a great view of the ocean and Tillamook Head. All of the amenities were there except internet availability in the room. For us bloggers that was a bit of a hardship, so check whether they’ve finished their internet refitting if that is essential to you before you stay.

The ocean is a big lure, even on a windy day, for someone who lives inland. It was hard to move on.

http://www.seasideor.com/

Tomorrow: We visit Ecola State Park and some exceptional views

Jutting out of the Pacific Ocean on the beach at Cannon Beach, Oregon is the monolith called Haystack Rock. Like a magnet, it attracts birds, humans and the sea creatures that use it for shelter.

Haystack Rock and humans

Since Haystack Rock is protected, people are not supposed to climb on it. However, creatures – both human and animal – find it very hard to stay away. On a several-mile stretch of beach at any given time, most of those on the beach are near or heading toward Haystack Rock.

Haystack Rock in the mist

One of the ten largest monoliths in the world, Haystack Rock forms the beach centerpiece for Cannon Beach. At 235 feet tall, human beings become dwarfed easily by Haystack Rock’s immense, but graceful, massiveness. Formed from volcanic activity millions of years ago, the monolith was created from lava flows, which resulted in its basalt composition.

In a location where summer cottages are built in tiers to overlook the ocean, a view of Haystack Rock is even more prestigious – and costly.

Haystack Rock at high tide with neighboring beach homes

The coastline of Oregon is extremely photogenic, but Haystack Rock is one of the most photographed.

Tomorrow…Enjoy Cannon Beach