Leaving Tucson
Night before heading out for a 'travel day' we eat out. Found a great sushi place (Sushi Garden).
They opened last Nov and have two locations - one in Foothills and this one on Broadway & Country Club. Every night they have all you can eat (off the menu) for $20.00; a great looking lunch buffet for $8.00 which we never tried and we just ordered off the menu.
The Diamond J golf practise and the giraffe mascot. The owner of the RV Park does African & Asian tours each year.
One last romp on the trails - this photo shows most of the types of cactus - Barrel, Chain fruit cholla, prickly pear and saguaro and creosote bushes.
Two nights in Yuma
A short travel day - 4 1/2 hours south to Yuma, staying at Arizona Sands. The stop over here is primarily so Marc can pop into Algodones, Mexico (like hundreds of other snowbirds) to pick up a few prescription type drugs and prescription sunglasses. Seven miles south of Yuma, we cross over the California border (Algodones is located in the Mexican state of Baja California). We park the car in the fenced area ($5.00 for the day) with the hundreds of others that showed up at 9:30 and headed to the eyeglass and pharmacy stores & walk a block into Algodones. No other place in the world has so many doctors, dentists, opticians, & pharmacies in such a small area (approx four blocks).

Algodones Optical has five stores in the small area. First thing you are called to come buy some drugs or see a dentist . . . vendors have people standing on the streets, calling out & trying to temp you.

Within 3-4 hours some prescriptions can be completed from eye exam to completion. Marc purchased two pairs for $200 (one pair had to be polarized in order to make them dark enough so both pairs polarized was another $60) . . . one pair ready in 2 1/2 hours, the other pair needs more technical support and will be shipped to us tomorrow to Hemet (this is how they do the majority of their business - mailing).

Went for brunch (our first Mexican dinner since coming south)....can see why - look at those calories! Chili Relleno and huevos rancheros. ($6.00 each). Throughout the time we were there, vendors were bringing wares to the tables, trying to get you to buy. Here's Marc (
Gracias --'already have sunglasses.' ). Looks like he is shaking his finger at the poor guy! The same people come around to your table with totally different stuff each time they come around.
Drive by speaker announcements - another way to get your attention. The crowded alleyways are lined with people trying to talk you in...some of them are very comical; "come in, so we can rip you off" "come--best dentist in town. Tells Marc his mouth is a mess" "come look - come buy something you don't need."

A super popular shrimp & taco stand.
The street with all the bars/lounges and girls - attached to this one is the dental office.
Police presence is frequent.
Innovative - if you don't want to wait in line to go back through the border check (there are no ID checks coming in), you can pay $5.00 and get cycled out to the parking lot (after security checks of course).
And while leaving (slowly ... the line goes what looks like forever but took only half an hour) they still try to get you to purchase.

That was a busy, tiring but interesting day. Off to Hemet tomorrow (3 hrs driving).
Then we are busy transferring from our PC to the Mac World. Apple here we come.
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