Since its debut in August of 2002, the Rocky Point Destination Guide CD-ROM has been featured in the Arizona Republic travel section, won an international communication award, distributed by major retail outlets across the Southwest, and is now available on Amazon.com.

Borders Bookstores locations in five states, including all the Arizona stores are selling the Rocky Point Travel Guide CD-ROM and feedback has been phenomenal.  “Our customers appreciate the extensive videos and photos and up-to-date detailed travel information on the CD.” says Jeremy Simmons, co-founder of the company that produces the CD-ROM.  Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic, recently showcased the CD in the Sunday travel section with an in-depth article about the product. Last month, an Award of Distinction in the internationally acclaimed Communicator Awards, was given to the Rocky Point Travel Guide CD-ROM. The award is reserved for production companies producing the highest standards of video communication.

The CD provides video presentations that deliver the sights and sounds of Puerto Peñasco, with music and graphics. No download time or plug in is needed. The videos are broadcast quality, providing a television commercial look for the hotels, rentals, real estate developments, restaurants, shops and attractions featured on the CD. The travel guide features 30 videos and hundreds of photographs of Rocky Point and its hotels, condos, beachfront vacation home rentals, real estate developments, restaurants, shops, activities and more. The high-end video production brings ‘virtual tours’ to the next level, and allows the customer to see the inside and out of hotel rooms, condos and beach front vacation rentals before making a reservation.

The CD-ROM guide also incorporates active weblinks, bringing all the good Rocky Point websites and information to one location, saving user’s time that they would’ve spent surfing through outdated or uninformative sites on the Internet. The interactive map section will locate area businesses. The CD also provides pages of tourism information about the weather, tides, area attractions, traveling in Mexico and border crossing information.

In a unique blend of the comprehensive information found in a travel guidebook, the interactivity of a website and the high-end video and graphics animation of CD-ROM technology, the Rocky Point Travel Guide CD-ROM is an excellent tool for planning a trip to Rocky Point or to take home as a vacation souvenir.

The Rocky Point Destination Guide CD ROM is available at Borders Books and independent retail outlets in Arizona. The CD is also available in Rocky Point at the Rocky Point Times office, Sun ‘N Fun dive shop and Max’s café as well as online at RockyPointCD.com or at Amazon.com. The CD is PC and Mac compatible. A similar travel guide for Coronado/San Diego is also available. For a complete listing of retail locations, or to buy a CD online, please visit www.RockyPointCD.com, or call Equator Creative Media at 602 667 9265.

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Cheesecake at Thrifty Ice Cream! It appears that Thrifty in Old Port has added homemade cheesecake to their ice cream goodies and a slice goes for $14.50 pesos. So far we have sampled the cappuccino, amaretto and chocolate chip: amaretto being our favorite.

    Bonnie is baking up a storm at Bonnie’s Bakery located out at Hacienda de Marcos RV Park. She makes goodies such as cookies, cakes, pies, cinnamon rolls and a bunch of other stuff. I swear that her pineapple upside down cake is the best. She usually brings samplings into our office that we sell for her during the week. You can phone her at (044-638) 385-1030.

    Chad and Elizabeth at Bocadillos, located across from Hotel Plaza Las Glorias are still doing a bang-up job making their submarine sandwiches and homemade soups. To phone in your order you can call them at 383-1300.

    On to Los Juanes. The buzz around town has been the beautiful new restaurant, Los Juanes, which is located off the Beach Road behind Don Julios and the Pink Cadillac. This one-time house has been converted into a two-story restaurant. Our Malecon “spies” report that the menu highlights steaks from Sr. Carranza, who has the largest cattle ranch in Sonora (and is a really nice fellow). Though I don’t each much steak I have heard good things about their steaks and all of their food in general. We ran into Tom and Jackie Young dining one evening and they said their Mexican combination was very good. I sampled the tortilla soup and cheese fondue – both very delicious.

    Los Juanes is beautifully decorated and has plenty of seating on the two levels and even some outdoor terrace seating. They took great care in details down to the logo’s on the plates, bowls and serving bowls – a very nice touch. And their piña coloadas are pretty good too.

    Their menu consists of Mexican food, steaks such as T-bones, New York’s and filets. They have a filet covered with chipolte sauce and served on nopale (cactus) pads. Our Malecon “spy” says she had this dish and it was two nice filets and two big nopale pads (a type of prickly pear cactus that is very good for your heart). Her other half had the filets with sautéed onions in a brown gravy sauce that had a slight herb flavor. Los Juanes also serves fish, soups, salads, chicken and mixed grill platters for 2 persons (and more). Most of the meals come with salad, perfectly cooked asparagus and a baked potato.
    Los Juanes is definitely worth a try – even if you just go for something small like the tortilla soup. It is a wonderfully decorated and comfortable restaurant with very good service. The Ladies Lunch will be held at Los Juanes on April 10^th at 1:00 PM. Phone Sandy at 383-6325 if you would like to make a reservation. I promise to do a full report on Los Juanes in the months to come but I can tell you they are open every day at 11:00 AM and the owner, Ana Bolena de Bellot, speaks perfect English and is a very gracious hostess. You can phone the restaurant at 383-6808.
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As you have probably read in the Editorial, Rocky Point has a new dry cleaning business, Biosfera. I never imagined that an interview for dry cleaning could be so interesting but when you get the chance to chat with Eugenio Arturo Villegas Romo (Arturo), his enthusiasm for his business rubs off on you.

    Arturo, as he is called and his wife, Ana Laura spent over 1½ years investigating the dry cleaning business before deciding to set up Biosfera. Born in Naco, Mexico, Arturo spent some time in Chihuahua working and studying but has spent most of his life in Caborca, where some of his family, and many friends reside. After the death of his father, he had an opportunity to start a new business. Having friends in the dry cleaning business and seeing a need for such a service in Puerto Peñasco, he and his wife spent the next 1½ years gathering information, calling on friends and going to shows and demonstrations all over Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico to try and decide if this would be the right business for them. Arturo had no previous experience in dry cleaning but his friends and business associates lent him their experience and knowledge of over 40 years. With information from friends, conventions, demonstrations and the first International Convention, “Lava Expo” in Mexico, Arturo and Ana Laura realized they were making the right decision.

    Next came finding a building and stocking it with the necessary equipment and employees to make it a success. When Arturo went looking for a building for Bisofera, he thought about renting but decided that they needed to buy a piece of land where they had enough room to expand and could make changes as necessary. Arturo took his neighbors into consideration when selecting a location. He wanted to be sure that the noise from the machines would not have ill effects on the neighbors and that the chemicals he was using would in no way effect the environment. He also wanted to make sure that his neighbors would not experience a decrease in water pressure due to the increased demand of Biosfera. (He gathers the water in the wee hours of the night and stores it in tanks so the neighbors see no difference.)

    Arturo told me that he is very concerned about the environment, not only the environment but the whole biosphere – hence the name Biosfera. He took great care in selecting his dry cleaning chemical. He said that most cleaners in the U.S. use a chemical called Perk and he was all ready to buy a big machine that used Perk but upon further investigation he felt that the chemical would put his family and employees in danger of getting cancer due to the aggressive nature of the chemical and them being exposed to it day after day, as well as it not being good for the environment. Perk is cheaper than what they currently use but Arturo feels the safety of his family, employees and the environment far out weight the cost-factor. EXXOL D-40, the chemical he currently uses, also allows him to work on more delicate items such as animal skins, appliqué, beaded gowns, hats, shoes and boots. He has also worked out a disposal system with his supplier: when an order for new chemical is placed, the old chemical is returned to the supplier and disposed of properly. (Arturo’s concerns are well founded since his wife had just given birth to a baby girl, Ana Victoria. The couple also has two boys, Guillermo who is 4 ½ years old and Eujano who is 2 ½ years old.)

    Arturo says the clothes that are brought to Biosfera for cleaning go through a multiple-check system to ensure the customer complete satisfaction. As I approach the counter, Esmeralda takes my clothes and checks them for stains, rips, tears, loose buttons, etc. She asks me if there are any stains or anything they should be aware of. I point out a grease stain on a sweater and she takes a look and then writes me a receipt listing all of the items I brought in along with the prices and tells me when to come back to retrieve my clothes. Esmeralda then takes my clothes over to a table behind the counter where they are again checked for stains I may have not reported or missed or a number of other things she has been taught to look for. At this table the items are tagged with color coded tags to ensure that my order stays together and I get all of my pieces back. If anything is noticed at this stage, such a loose button or stain, they phone the customer to let them know they found something. At that point they may suggest a manner of treatment or they may be able to repair whatever the problem is such as a loose button. During these checks they also look for ornate buttons, appliqué or anything that may require special attention. They don’t just accept clothes and hope for the best. Arturo says he wants the customer to be completely satisfied and if it means working on an item over and over again, they’ll do it.

    The clothes are then bagged and taken to the back where they are separated by colors, stains are treated and given one last look under flourscent light before they are put in the dry cleaning machine. If anything at this stage is found, the customer would be called whereupon Arturo may suggest a manner of treatment and/or ask the customer what they wish. An example was an oil-splattered blue leather skirt on the table. The methods of dry cleaning currently used may not have gotten the oil stains out but Arturo said that they had just returned from an expo in Mexicali where they discovered a new process which allowed them to work longer on leathers without damaging the leather or color. With this new process they could treat the stains over and over again until they were finally removed.

   After the clothes have been approved for cleaning, they then go into the dry cleaning machine which uses a mixture of solvent and steam to clean the clothes. In their back room there is a large machine that produces steam for the washers and dryers: One line makes the steam and sends it to the machines and a return line brings the water back and reproduces the steam. Also in this back room are large washers and dryers and they have a 50,000 water storage tank in the event that there is a problem with the Rocky Point water supply. (The stored water is put through a filtration system to remove sand, minerals and impurities.) After the clothes are washed they are dried in steam or gas dryers, ironed and wrapped in plastic. If a stain is found at any of these latter stages, the clothes are sent back for reprocessing or the customer is called, depending on the severity of the problem.

    Arturo takes great pride in his work as do all of his employees in fact he considers them more as family than as employees. He knew starting out, not having any experience in dry cleaning, he would need to find experienced personnel. Efrain, who is considered their “Magic Man” and is the heart of the operation has 15 years experience in dry cleaning. He and Martin worked together in Caborca for 7 years and all were friends before they came to work together. Arturo says that the success of Biosfera is 75% personnel and 25% machine. He said the machines will clean the clothes but it takes the team players and the combined experience they have to produce the final product. The Biosfera team includes Arturo and his wife Ana Laura, Efrain, Rosa, who is Efrain’s wife, Martin and Esmeralda who has been studying business administration. Arturo hired Esmeralda to help with the business end of it but Rosa has been teaching her the ropes to help out at the counter since Ana Laura has taken time off for their new baby. Arturo says that he is getting a great response from his Mexican and American customers and has found it necessary to spend a lot more time behind the counter at Biosfera to help his increasing American clientele.

    Biosfera is in the process of setting up service for all hotels and motels in the Rocky Point area. Anyone that is a guest will be able to get same day washing and dry cleaning service from the comfort of their hotel room. This, of course, applies to residents as well. Biosfera is able to clean a wide variety of items such as comforters, blankets, down jackets, leathers, suedes, animal furs, hats, boots, shoes, purses, beaded gowns, baseball caps and just about anything else you can think of. They also offer regular laundry service and perform magic on removing stains from every day clothes. The sooner you bring a stain to be removed, the greater the success is. Arturo asks that you report all stains and problems with articles brought in so that they can better serve you.

    Biosfera is located on the corner of Adolfo Ruiz Cortinex and Cuauhtemoc #20. The easiest way to get there is to take the main blvd., Benito Juarez, north and make a left on Constitucion. Go to the street past the Hotel Paraiso del Desierto, make a right and go 2 blocks. Biosfera will be there on the corner – big blue building painted with bubbles – can’t miss it. They are open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and offer one day laundry service (in by 10:00 AM) and also one-hour express service.

    It was a pleasure to interview Arturo and meet his crew. I will never look at dry cleaning the same way. If you have something that needs laundering or dry cleaning, don’t hesitate to go to Biosfera – Arturo speaks great English and goes the extra distance to make his customers feel welcome and produce an outstanding end result. You can reach them by phoning (011-52-638) 383-3929.

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By Tom & Jackie Young

    It’s hard to believe that we’re half way through spring break and it’s almost time to head back up to high country. We’ve had a great winter with the best weather we can recall ever having here in Rocky Point. We’ve enjoyed many good meals at many places and tried to report on the ones that we feel deserve a return visit: sadly we’ve also eaten at some real bummers.

    Thanks to all the people that made Playa Elegante RV Parks’ Valentine’s Day parade the great success it was. Let’s try to do it even bigger again next year.

    Thanks to all the troopers that worked so hard to put on the great fund raising breakfast on the beach at Playa Elegante. Over $1,100.00 USD was raised to help Amor Children’s Home. Also, while we’re on the subject of Amor Children’s Home, there are now a dozen children at the home and still growing. They have moved to a new facility due to the high costs of trying to operate on a budget that is mainly donated. We spent a couple of days helping to make the new facility ready and, feel again, that we should make another appeal for support. Many good people support Amor Children’s Home as well as Esperanza para los Niños Children’s Home but there are always needs that are not so visible. Children’s clothing, food and monies are always appreciated; however, other needs include cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, bar soap, hygienic needs, furniture, bedding, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. The list is endless. And, yes, there is one more thing that is needed – You – yes, you – a simple visit. A few moments of your time, a bag of candy, a couple of hours work. Rent a kid – take a few out for a hot dog or some ice cream or get your group together and put on a cookout at the orphanage. It’s real easy to find. Amor Children’s Home is located one block east of the old Margaritavilla Restaurant. Turn east at the intersection of Campeche and Manuel Quintana Roo, go one block and turn right, the children’s home is on the left. Look for the signs.

    We keep checking on the construction progress of the new Ley’s supermarket. Looks like it’s coming right along and we’re sure it will open by the time we return this coming fall. Even though we shop at the little Mercados and the vegetable truck on the side of the street, it will be nice to have a full-up supermarket to shop at. You won’t need to run to Ajo quite as often.

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June Schillinger, better known as the “Doll Lady” along with her husband, Austin, have been making new toys and dolls and reconditioning old ones for the children of Rocky Point since 1982. On Christmas morning Austin Schillinger and Agustin Leon would distribute these toys to the underprivileged children in the outskirts of Puerto Peñasco. In the earlier years, when donations were few and far between, Austin would spend his time making toys from scratch out of used and household items and June would hand crochet balls and dolls to be handed out. Austin also spent his time repairing the donated toys they received and June would make clothes for the naked dolls they received and repair torn clothes.

    In 1988, June and Austin joined the newly formed Santa Claus Club and have continued this work throughout the years. Although now the majority are new toys, but a significant portion are still “gently used toys”. Some of these toys, especially the dolls and stuffed animals must be repaired and dressed. June and Austin work at this task all year long and over the years have enlisted the help of their many friends, often taking over their houses to accommodate the toys. This is such an enormous task and June and Austin need help and are looking for someone as dedicated as they are to eventually take this over and help ensure that there is a toy or doll for every child in Rocky Point and Cholla Bay come Christmas time.

    If you can help them out, or may be interested in taking this on full-time, or in your spare time, please call John Fowler at (602) 840-1528 or email santaclausclub@hotmail.com. You may also donate toys and dolls to the Santa Claus Club by contacting John Fowler above or you may drop them off at the office of the Rocky Point Times. If you have extra doll clothes, June always welcomes them as many dolls come to her undressed.

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by ANON from Phoenix
 

    This is a story about a happening that took place in Cholla Bay many years before the area was endowed with electricity and telephones. The citizen band (C.B.) radios were our only form of communication. One day I received a call from a very excited friend, Paul, who proceeded to tell me to get to their house right away because he and his wife, Jean had something very special to show me. My first reaction was to an emergency, but as he rattled on I could tell this was not the case and he went on to tell me he and Jean had been sitting on their porch having their evening cocktail when along comes this vendor carrying a cage overloaded with little birds of every color of the rainbow plus colors they had never seen before so get here and share this spectacular scene with us. I begged for ten minutes and then I’d be there. While collecting my car keys, etc. I recalled how Jean had had Paul screen in a section of the porch on the ocean side of the house and put in a few tree branches so they could make it an aviary for little birds they had hoped to acquire and felt certain this is where they had put their precious purchase.
    Just as I was getting in my car I heard my neighbor calling for me to wait. This neighbor, Terry, was the bird watcher of the community so I figured she had heard the call. As she got to the car she confessed she had been ‘rubber necking’ on the C.B. and wanted to join in. She got in the car and we were on our way.
    What a sight we walked into. All these colorful lil’ finches (about 2 dozen of them Paul said) jumping from branch to branch enjoying their new found freedom. Paul was right, of the twenty-four finches no two seemed to be exactly the same color. We all sat there for the remainder of the cocktail hour admiring the sight until darkness forced the closure of the fun hour.
    Jean’s house was the center for the ladies, almost-daily, card games. For the next few weeks the aviary and colorful birds were the center of attraction for everyone who entered the premises and passer-bys walking the beach.
    Horror of horrors!! This colorful array came to a surprise ending. Everyone living in this area knows it ‘almost’ never rains in Cholla. They claim the average rainfall is 1½ inches per year, but this night I think we got the years supply plus a little extra. Paul and Jean got up that morning to an aviary full of lil’ drab brown finches fluttering branch to branch trying to dry out their feathers. They took the whole situation in good spirits while Paul did express a desire to see that vendor again. No, not to bawl him out or to complain, but just to find out where he found all the colors and how did he apply them to the bird without making them sick. After a couple days Paul and Jean decided the lil’ birds had returned to their natural color so why not let them return to their natural environment and they opened up the screens and let the lil’ finches fly off onto another new adventure.
    The birds certainly were the talk and attraction of the community for a few weeks. However, since that happening I have never heard of anyone who has purchased an over-crowded cage full of colorful lil’ birds and that incident took place over thirty years ago right here in Cholla Bay.
 

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    You want to get up close and personal with all the spiny type things that inhabit our ocean around Rocky Point?
    Welcome to Cet-Mar Aquarium, easily accessible on the right as you drive to the entrance of Las Conchas.
    For two-bucks per adult and one-buck for kids you will see all types of sea dwelling whatchamacallits.
    Included are horned sharks, brown shrimp (yes, they do have heads), yellow snapper, lobsters, moray eels, sting rays, sea stars, sea cucumbers and every kind of crab known to man.

    Sea turtles? One of the two residing in a large tank swam up and accepted a pat on the shell.
    One tank featured a redsaddled sand stargazer, with the accompanying sign: “This fish is buried in the sand, Can you find him?”
    Answer: Nope.
    There were two small petting pools where observers (especially kids) can probe around with such critters as starfish, octopuses (octopi?), clams, sea urchins, snails and oysters.
    Outside the Aquarium is a sign in Spanish which, translated, says: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
    Go and enjoy.
 

    “There are only a few original jokes, and most of them are in Congress.” – Will Rogers
 

    So these three senior citizen ladies from Green Valley, AZ, are in Rocky Point. They admit they are hooked on “S-M’s.”
    At the Friendly Dolphin…S-M’s. A night later at The Lighthouse…S-M’s. Yet another night later at Lily’s…more S-M’s.
    They return to Green Valley to dry out. They openly admit they must have their S-M’s when in Rocky Point.
    The ladies are Dodie Bowler, Sonia Flowers and Lorraine Vonk.
    S-M’s? That would be “strawberry margaritas.” And I’m here to tell you when they order, they always add three words at the end.
    “Grandes, por favor.”
 

    Golf is not a game of perfection. It is a game of surviving imperfection. – Dick Eitel
 

    Near JJ’s Cantina in Cholla Bay there’s a newly constructed, fine-looking house overlooking the bay.
    Next to it is an equally large house, but obviously one of the originals, showing considerable signs of wear and tear.
    Painted across the eves is a large sign which reads, “Buy me. I could be as pretty as my neighbor.” And a large arrow points from the old to the new.
 

    Nutritional tip of the day. Eat lots of ice cream.
    Now I know there are those who will frown on that advice, but listen me out (out, listen me in?).
    We were at Guillermo’s (the Caliente Sports Book) in Rocky Point, and who should be sitting at the next table but Beto Malone, internationally known nutritionist from Searchlight, NV (a former pearl diver from Yuma).
    So I asked him point blank: “If you eat a lot of ice cream, will you get stalactites?”
    Beto: “No.”
    Moon: “If you eat lots of ice cream will you get stalagmites?”
    Beto: “No.”
    There you have it! There is no need to say anything more, except the cherry-amaretto at any of the Thrifty’s is to die for (for is to die?).
 

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The last yard sale to benefit the animal adoption center in Rocky Point drew hundreds and hundreds of people and was a huge success. The demand for another sale has prompted Nancy Phelan to enlist the help of her volunteers and have another on April 20^th, 2002.
     This community yard sale effort is set up so everyone can participate. You can set up your own space and sell your wares, baked goods, crafts, used items, etc. (with a portion of your proceeds going to the adoption center) or you can donate items to be sold. At the last sale there were many donated items as well as vendors selling their wares and used goods. The stream of people started at 8:00 AM and kept coming all day long. As well as items for sale there were many cats and dogs up for adoption.
    For those of you who don’t know, Nancy Phelan, has created an animal adoption center, which has been running out of her home. She has turned her yard and home into a haven for stray cats and dogs needing medical care, a loving home and attention. Many volunteers have donated their time building dog houses, fences and pens and others have donated cleaning supplies, cat food and litter, medicine, dog food and pet supplies in general. Nancy is now working on expanding her operation to be able to help more stray animals in the city. Her plans include a larger adoption center, educating the youth of Puerto Peñasco and eventually to rid the city streets of homeless animals.
    The money raised from the last yard sale went for medicine, food and the general care and upkeep of the 50+ animals she houses. The proceeds from this yard sale will also go for the care and feeding of the animals. Come out to the yard sale and see your donations at work!
    The animal adoption center is located on Leon de la Barra (Calle 15). Take the main blvd. north from the overpass and make a right at the electric company. Go up 3 blocks and it will be on your left hand side (I block behind the Hotel Villa Granda).
    The sale will start at 8:00 PM and will probably go on until 2:00 or 3:00 PM. Start cleaning out those closets or making those crafts and come on out – it is surely going to be another beautiful day in Rocky Point.
 

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by Byron B. Jones
 

    Victor Aleman, internationally recognized spray paint artist, recently opened his new gallery in the fish market area just beyond Lily’s Restaurant. A beautiful view of the ocean now comes as a backdrop to his display of gorgeous “fine art.” Aleman will also do a scene of your choice while you wait.

    Aleman could be called the dean of spray paint artists. His work could hang in the finest galleries.
    The technique first appeared in the streets of Mexico City in a more primitive form using geometric patterns. Stumbled on by Aleman, he worked and practiced weeks developing it into true “fine art.”
    To watch him work is an amazing experience; hard to believe unless seen with your own eyes, not to be missed while visiting Puerto Peñasco. His artwork is something to be treasured, a painting just for you, while you wait, and a scene of your choice. For an appointment you may phone Victor at (044-638) 385-0669.
 

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