Border towns, Birthday beaches, and the Road to Sayulita

Well, hello Mexico! After a few lovely days leaving our dearest friends (sadness), a short stop with the Villarrubia Parents in Sacramento (sadness and inspiration), 3 lovely days in Desert Hot Springs soaking the stress out (nirvana) , and a lovely visit with Andrea's Grandma Stoops in Phoenix, Arizona - About a week ago, we made it over the border, and have now been in mexico for about 7 days. This is a big moment for us, since crossing the border held its share of mystery and worry (read: spanish cops, guns, a heavy dislike for many things we enjoy), but away we went, after a night in a Nogales, AZ RV park, if you call it that. It was more of a big dirty lot, in a big dirty town. The border crossing went easy, thanks to literally years of mental and documentary preparation, but without question, the night before was very nerve wracking, and let me tell you, border towns absolutely suck. They are dark, scary, and generally somewhere you dont want to be long at, and i speak of the US side! Once we crossed, it was generally smooth sailing, without trouble. Little things are always fun, like the first gas tank filling (getting ripped off and viewed as a strange visitor from another planet - kinda like going to Wyoming, but with nicer cowboys) but driving has us always with our eyes peeled, and nerves wide awake to whats going on. Luckily the main freeways are toll roads - fairly well maintained 4 lane highways, and most folks dont go on them to save money, so they are empty. We spent our first few days in a lovely little beach town named Bahio Kino, with SF like wind and weather that kept us bundled up most the time - odd being Mexico, but much more north than we are used to. Next we drove to a stop-over town called Los Mochis, for one night, and after getting good and lost in the city streets, parked at a basic RV site, just as the sun set. As rumor has it, we confirmed from a local that there are indeed Bandidtos in that area, and that its best to stay off the street at night, a habit we have always maintained in unknown Mexico. After an early morning rise, we then hit the road to Mazatlan. We arrived on Tuesday, and have been staying here till next Monday, the 27th. We spent Andrea's 32nd birthday on Wednesday relaxing all day, and finishing the evening in the best restaurant and an amazing steak dinner. Mazatlan is big and bustling, but still a nice, vacation-like town, with lovely beaches, and good folks. While we are enjoying the Mar Rosa RV park on the beach, we are without a doubt looking forward to getting to Sayulita on monday, and having a home, with all the things a van just doesnt offer (bed, kitchen, bed, bathroom, etc...you get it). Yesterday we took a boat trip out to Deer Island, to where our snorkeling was cut short due to reports of "stingrays as plentiful as cockroaches, who's stings will double you over in pain" - that is a direct quote, translated from spànish by me. We chose to Kayak instead, and drink a steady flow of beer and love. Today we head into Old Mazatlan, and are looking forward to heading out monday. Till our next report, we send our love to nuestros amigos.