I had decided to try to get a little exercise before it got too hot. I walked the dogs around the RV park then closed them inside. I took off walking at a brisk pace towards the west. Can’t really power walk with the dogs because they want to stop and sniff everything. There are a lot of nice homes right on the water. Lots of AZ plates. Makes sense since a guy from Tucson can make it down here in half a day and have his little beach getaway. Beach access is few and far between. I found a passage between a couple of buildings and walked out on the rocks. A pair of oyster men were preparing to go diving off of the rocks. I spoke briefly to one of them then started back towards Totonaka. Who was I kidding about beating the heat. I had worked up a good sweat by the time I made it back. A forty-five minute stroll.

I had thought about staying another day but I’m itching to make some tracks, so I packed it all up and dumped all my juices then hit the highway a little before noon. Same story as yesterday. Lots of road work, detours and rough patches of pavement. Slow going. I don’t even want to tell you how long it took me to go 184 miles.

A couple of quick breaks for the dogs but that was it. That and a thorough searching at the big federal checkpoint before reaching Santa Ana. The highway into Santa Ana is being worked on and I had to back track to get into Punta Vista. I had read about Edgar & Anna’s on a number of blogs and people seemed to enjoy the homey atmosphere of the mom and pop RV lot. I pulled in and knocked on the door, but no answer. I was walking around the yard when Edgar came walking up from the house. We introduced ourselves and I backed Lexi up under the ironwood tree and we sat around on old metal chairs talking.

His wife, Anna had passed away last year and he is struggling to keep things going. The fact that the road is all jacked up out front making it difficult for bigger RVs to get in hasn’t helped. He clearly misses his wife terribly and his sadness is palpable. Edgar crashed his motorcycle when he was 23, that’s 51 years ago and he is partially paralyzed on his left side. He gets around pretty good, but some things give him a hard time. He is open and friendly and doesn’t hesitate to share these things. I asked him where to get tacos and he pointed out a few taquerias in the nearby neighborhood, but, he said the best place is the 10 peso burrito joint downtown. I wasn’t up for any more traveling about.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe a little more out in the country or a bigger chunk of land. Punta Vista is more like sleeping in your car in your bro’s backyard. It is right on the 15 and the side street has people going by as well. There are hose bibs I hooked up to and a few 15 amp outlets. I plugged in and they had enough juice to cool the dogs, but barely. The meter was reading 105 volts. Edgar said just don’t run the microwave at the same time. I switched the fridge to propane and things went alright.

I was stepping out of the RV to go shower and nearly tripped over Edgar’s car. He said ‘are you ready to go get some burritos?’. Oh yeah. I was game so I hopped in and we pulled out going against traffic on the shoulder. I had read another person’s blog about his driving so I was ready for the ride. We pulled across into traffic and just kind of encouraged people to make a spot for us. We cruised downtown and had a seat at the 10 peso burrito stand. 

I followed his lead and got a carne con chile burrito and a chicharone burrito. The lady knows him well and comes to the table to put all the fixin’s on his burritos and she rolls them up for him. Things that would be decidedly difficult using only one hand. I put a healthy filling of cilantro, onions and lettuce on mine and we sat under the awning and chowed on the spicy treats. He wasn’t lying about them being the best burritos in town.

After dinner, he took me on a tour of Santa Ana. He showed me where he went to Catholic school, where they spied on the nuns and the big church downtown. We went up and down the blocks and soon popped out right next to his house. He dropped me at the RV and went back to the house. Super cool guy. Speaks good English so we switched back and forth and conversing was easy.

I took a quick, cold shower and then sat on a folding metal chair and watched the sun go down in the valley behind Punta Vista.