Looking Forward to Our 2020 Travels

It’s now time to look forward to our travel plans for the coming year. We will go to ten new destinations, return to ten old-time favorites, and visit family and friends. On the road for five months on three separate road trips, we will have seven months of rest at home. I think it is a good way to cruise past 70.

Part 1 Mexico, Season 2

We all read about the recent massacres in Mexico. Indeed, the conditions for safety have deteriorated. But, as we had concluded before, the danger towns of Mexico are no different from the crime-infested towns of America. In fact, they all share spots in the listing of the most dangerous cities in the world. So Bill has decided to drive again to and from Mazatlan. We have found it so convenient to bring as much as we need and to bring home as much as we want. We leave Viewpoint on January 1 and drive down to Mexico going through the towns of Tubac, Arizona, Hermosillo, Sonora (only five and a half hours from a massacre site), and Los Mochis, Sinaloa. 

Concordia, Mexico

On January 4, we reach Mazatlan. For two months, we will have our annual all-inclusive vacation at El Cid Resorts composed of four hotels and a country club complex. Season 1 featured day trips to the towns of El Quelite and El Rosario. During Season 2, we plan to go to the towns of Villa Union and Concordia, famous for their artisanal wooden furniture. We also plan to climb the 325 steps up to the highest lighthouse in America, El Faro Mazatlan. Of the islands around the city, we sailed to Deer Island in Season 1. During Season 2, we intend to go to Stone Island.

Marietas Islands, Mexico

At the end of February, we drive farther down south and spend two weeks (and Bill’s birthday) in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. This is my first time to visit this famous Mexican destination. Aside from its Mercado and Malecon, we hope not only to experience the city’s renowned nightlife scene but also to take a boat tour to the spectacular hidden beach in the Marietas Islands. 

Guaymas, Mexico

Two weeks later, we go back to Mazatlan for a reunion of friends from the Philippines, colleagues from the Institute of Advanced Computer Technology. In our last week, we will shop for what we want to bring back home. Our long drive home will be broken with a short rest at the resort town of Guaymas, Sonora. It’s an upcoming Mexican destination that is close to the border. Our final stop will be the border town of Nogales, Sonora. We get home on April 1.

Part 2 Road Trip, Season 2

We are also continuing the tradition we started last year of escaping from the summer sizzle in the Phoenix desert. We will do another road trip of four to five weeks through Americans states and Canadian provinces, visiting family and friends. We will break the long drives with one-week stops at great resort towns.

Cliff Lodge and Spa

From July 7-12, we will be in St. George, Utah. It is the nearest city to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Thus, we will have plenty of opportunities to have outdoor fun with Bill’s son and daughter and their families in our annual reunion with them. Just a four and a half hours north is Salt Lake City. We have often passed through and so we have seen the city in bits and pieces. The week after St. George, we will explore it fully and explore the Great Salt Lake and Temple Square. We will definitely luxuriate at Cliff Lodge & Spa in Snowbird, Utah where our unit has a large hot tub inside.

Lands End, San Francisco

Afterward, we spend a week in Calgary, Alberta, the home of my second daughter and her family. And then we visit our Arizona friends’ mountain cabin for a round of ATV riding in the hills around Essex, Montana. On the way down to my other daughter’s California home, we will pass through Richland, Washington and Klamath Falls, Oregon waiting to be surprised!  Then, from July 29-August 4, we spend a week at the home of my eldest daughter and her family in Livermore, California. The day trips we hope to make while there are to San Francisco’s Land’s End, Point Bonita Lighthouse, and the Cliffside Ruins.

Big Bear Lake, California

Before going home, we will spend our 12^th Wedding Anniversary with a week in Big Bear Lake, California. Summer recreation at the lake includes water fun at the Alpine Slide and a visit to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, a large rehabilitation place for animals. Hopefully, my eldest grandchild who lives two hours away can join us for a couple of days. We should be glad to be home on Aug. 10.

Part 3 A Short Getaway with Neighbors

Puerto Penasco, Mexico

After these two trips, we will still have two weeks of studio or one week of two bedrooms of timeshare vacations available for the balance of next year. We plan to use this at Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point, Mexico which is just three and a half hours by car from our Viewpoint Home. We have never been there and would like to see if it is a good place to visit regularly, being the nearest Mexican resort town. For a week in September, we plan to party there with our neighbors from Viewpoint Golf Resort.

2020 will take us to ten new destinations, make room for revisiting ten places we have come to love, and allow for visits to family and friends. What's great is that we will even have seven months at home, giving me time to finish my second book. It is the kind of cruising that’s ideal for travelers past 70.


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