Crossing the Border & Loving It: Our Mexico Road Trip Recap

In this episode of Rollin with the Dolans, we’re sharing all the real talk about our very first trip to Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco), Mexico! After 27 years of living in Arizona, Patrick finally agreed to go—and spoiler alert: we’re already planning our next visit.

We talk about:

• How easy (and safe) it was to cross the border
• Why we picked Las Palomas Resort
• The truth about the beach, food, and prices (everything was way better than expected!)
• What it’s like driving in Mexico and avoiding those random windshield cleaners 😂
• Local spots we loved like Wrecked at the Reef and an amazing steakhouse with service that blew us away
• Why we feel confident taking the kids and grandkids next time

If you’ve been on the fence about visiting Rocky Point, or just want to hear what it’s really like from a blended family perspective, this episode is for you. We kept it honest, fun, and all the way real.

🎧 Subscribe, follow us, and check out more on TikTok and YouTube @RollinWithTheDolans!

Hashtags:
#RockyPoint #PuertoPenasco #MexicoRoadTrip #BlendedFamilyTravel #RollinWithTheDolans #InterracialMarriage #FamilyPodcast #LasPalomasResort #TravelWithKids #BorderCrossingTips #BeachVacation #RealTalk #FamilyAdventures

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Transcript

Welcome to Rollin with the Dolans.
I'm Patrick Dolan.
And I'm Tameka Dolan.

Our podcast focuses on the joys and challenges of blending families, our interracial marriage, parenting children of multiple ages, and the journey of entrepreneurship. We share our daily life experiences with a positive but real perspective.

Today's topic is focused in on our recent road trip to Mexico.

Specifically, Rocky Point.
 You forgot to say that part.

I was going to get into more detail—or Puerto Peñasco, which I think is the more trendy name of it these days versus Rocky Point.
 You think more people are saying Puerto Peñasco?

Yeah, because it sounds more Mexican.

Okay. All right, let’s get into it. We were sitting around end of February and Tameka's like, it's time for our monthly—or every six-to-eight-week—trip.
 Four-to-six weeks.

And so I’m like, where are we going to go this time? We were looking at our typical places—Cottonwood and Sedona, things like that.

And then I was like, okay, the rooms are crazy expensive—$250 or higher—because it’s prime time for… what do you call them?

Snowbirds.

Yeah, that was in Phoenix in particular where you were looking.

Yeah, so I was like, okay, we definitely need to explore other options. Let’s try Rocky Point because I’ve been trying to convince Mr. Dolan to go for a very long time because a lot of my clients go and they love it. So I wanted to experience it, and finally he was like—

Open to it. Yeah, I’ve lived in the Phoenix area for 27 years and never once took the trip there. So now we’re gonna talk a little bit more about the first-time experience.

First of all, 27 years without going to Rocky Point, to be near a beach?
 It’s crazy.

Yep. So what was your expectation? I’ll just talk a little about mine as well beforehand. Because a lot of my clients have been there, I knew that it would be exactly what I was looking for—a more laid-back environment. The beach was there, the stores were there so you could go pick up food if you needed to, if you just wanted to stay in. And if you wanted to go to a restaurant, that was another option that was inexpensive. So I was really just—

That was another option that was inexpensive, so I was really just looking for a more laid-back atmosphere.

What about you?

I guess I had a lot of—I was always thinking it was going to be, you’re going to get pulled over by the police, it’s rough once you cross the border. And then I just didn’t know what to expect of the beach. I had pretty low expectations of what it would look like and how nice the beaches would be.

I thought—we did choose Las Palomas to go to, and I’d heard good things about that, saw some nice pictures and things like that. So I did feel pretty confident that at least that resort would be nice. But going into it, I was like—I don’t know. But it’s time to make that three-and-a-half-hour trip.

So now, let’s just talk about the experience of getting there.

Yeah, I was just about to say—the only thing that I was a little bit concerned about was—I wasn’t concerned at all about crossing the border—but just more of being pulled over and saying that you have a ticket and then you pay a few dollars to get out of it. That was the only thing I was a little bit concerned about.

But thankfully, you drove under the speed limit.

No—sometimes. But yeah, it was funny. I just put that thing on cruise control. If it said 50 kilometers an hour, I’d be going 50 kilometers an hour until I saw another one that said 80. That was pretty much the max.

Tameka would be like, you’re driving too slow. But I’m like, last time I saw it, it was 50 kilometers an hour, which is like 35 miles an hour. I’d wait for the next one before I go a single mile over that speed limit.

Yes, it was so annoying.

But the thing is, it was extremely easy. So this was just a couple weeks ago, and I know it’s still the same now. If you go on a weekday, if you go when there’s not a huge rush, it was simple crossing the border. We drove right through the United States side without any questions asked.

When we got to Mexico, they asked us to pull over into a parking spot and they looked in our trunk. That was the extent of it.

Didn’t they look in the back seat too, right?

That was the way back.

Oh.

The way back there was a little bit more. But on the way there, they just looked in the trunk from what I recall.

No, he did look in the back seat too.

And then once you get in there, it’s pretty—you definitely look like you’re in a third-world country, which you are in that immediate neighborhood. But you’re really going—what, 60 miles into Mexico? The majority of the trip is in Arizona.

I don’t remember how many miles it was. I was snacking too much.

It was easy to get there. No, we didn’t get pulled over. And we did buy the insurance—it was $70 for the three days of insurance.

Oh yeah, that’s good to know.

And we got there—wait, you gotta remember—we stopped to get gas.

Oh yeah.

We did stop one time to get gas like right before—

Maybe an hour before getting to Mexico?

Yeah, if that. And I did listen to Tameka for a change.

Yeah.

And she said, get it now, here. I was like, oh no, I’m sure there’ll be some at the border, because I was picturing a different border, closer to Tucson. But the Lukeville border—there was nothing.

There was nothing there. No town, no gas.

So we did get it. It wasn’t in—Whoville? What was the name of that town?

Why.

Why!

We didn’t get it in Why, but we got it shortly before there, on the U.S. side.

Okay, so we get through the border. Remember I got annoyed with you because the guy was trying to clean the windshield wipers?

Oh geez.

And you were slowing down. I’m like, just speed up and go so we don’t have to stop and give them a tip or anything.

Plus they made the windshield dirtier.

Oh, and their wipers did not work very well. They need to be replaced. So they were dirty.

Yeah. So once you get past that, then we were able to get to the resort with no issue.

And what did you think about the resort when we arrived?

The resort was beautiful. The check-in at Las Palomas was annoying.

It was slow.

Yeah, but that’s just because some people were in training, right?

Yeah, two of the three people. So there were two people watching and one person who knew what was going on. So it was rough. But that was the only bad part about Las Palomas.

So we got there. The drive took us—what, three hours and 45 minutes from Peoria, Arizona? Then we checked in and I was pleasantly surprised—not surprised—pleasantly… what word am I looking for?

Happy.

Happy with the room we had.

We had a one-bedroom condo that was ocean view. It had a balcony with the pool below and then the beach beyond that. Full kitchen, bedroom, nice-size bathroom. The resort had grills, a coffee shop, a couple restaurants.

Yeah, the coffee shop was really nice. The restaurant was good. Oh—and the gym.

The gym was really nice. And shout out to our new friend there—

Frank!

Yep.

From Chicago.

He spends a few hours a day there. He helped build the gym. It’s got everything. I was really pleased with how bright it was and the variety of equipment. You don’t really expect that from a resort gym.

And I think the thing you were most impressed about was the rehab equipment.

Yeah, there was a stretching thing I’d never seen before. Frank gave us background info, told us about how they picked the equipment, and shared history of the resort—ups and downs with travel and occupancy.

And I think it’s down right now. People are concerned about crossing the border.

But it wasn’t bad at all.

And what did we do once we got there, as far as where we went?
So, we got situated, relaxed for a few minutes. You walked around the resort to see how everything was, and then we jumped in the car, went to the local grocery store, got a few things that we knew we needed for breakfast and to snack on.

And beer.

Oh, beer and wine, that too. But we have to talk about how much we got, which I was impressed with compared to what we pay now for groceries.

Yeah, for $42—we got a reusable bag, eggs, bacon—

Yeah, was it 18 eggs or a dozen?

Yeah, 12 eggs, bacon, cheese, tortillas, five bags of chips, three sodas—

A 12-pack of beer—

A bottle of wine.

Did I say three sodas already?

Yeah, I think so.

For $42.

Yep. So, the price was great. Then we had dinner at the Las Palomas restaurant, and we were a little intimidated by the prices, but then they had all these specials, and they gave you a discount for staying there.

Next thing you know, it was only like $50 to eat there.

Yeah, and that was two cocktails, two beers, two entrées, a dessert—

Yep, for less than $50, right?

Yeah, and it was nice—again, everything was really nice.

The only downfall was they were redoing some of the pools. But it really showed how much effort they put into maintaining everything.

What impressed me was they were constantly grooming the beach.

Yeah, so the beach was just beautiful.

One thing we were surprised by when we got there—just to set expectations—was the low and high tide.

Yeah, when we got there, we were like, "Ooh, that doesn’t look that good," because it was low tide.

And when it’s low—it is way out there.

And then the next day, the high tide—it was really right up to where you could see the line of the tide. It looked beautiful when it was high tide.

Yeah. And then what did you think about being able to run on the beach?

Yeah, it was safe. It was pleasant. It was nice. It was a nice beach. Like I mentioned before, it was nicer than I expected. The sand wasn’t as soft as some, but it was overall a soft, white sand beach.

Yeah. And then what did we do? So, we got to see a little bit of the downtown area.

It’s definitely a third-world country. You don’t see the same things we’re used to. But it was nice, it was friendly, and easy to get around.

And then the next day, we wanted to go over toward the other hotels.

Oh yeah, talk a little bit about where we went for dinner and snacks.

We went to this place called Wrecked at the Reef, and that was nice because you were able to sit outside and see the ocean while you had dinner.

The prices there were amazing, too.

We just went there to check out the atmosphere, and then we jumped in the car and went to the steakhouse.

Yeah, that steakhouse was super nice. Probably the best customer service—I don’t remember the last time we had that good of service.

I wish we knew the guy’s name. Do you remember his name?

No.

We’ll recognize him when we go back.

Yeah. But that was super nice, and that was also less than $50 for both of us to eat at a steakhouse, right?

Yeah. So, you had the soup.

I had a pasta, and I had a tortilla soup with all the toppings. I’m not used to tortilla soup with fresh cheese, fresh tortillas, avocado—all the toppings that were there.

So that was super good. I had a glass of wine.

And I had a beer.

And then we had the filet also.

Yeah, so all of that was less than $50.

Meanwhile, here we would pay—

It would’ve been $200.

You think $200?

Okay—at least $175 if we went to one of the steakhouses that we’d typically go to.

Yeah—that I won’t go to unless it’s happy hour.

Yeah.

All right, so overall—would you go back?

Yeah—we are already planning it.

Which is one of the reasons why we wanted to go. We did want to take the kids this summer, and we wanted to do a trial run just because we wanted to know what to expect.

So, we’re planning to go back this summer. Now we know how to pack if we need anything extra.

But yeah, I’m excited. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t do it sooner.

But now that we’ve done it, I feel safe to take the kids. I feel safe to take the grandkids. I would even feel safe investing in a condo at that resort.

Yeah, but I did look them up and they’re pretty pricey.

Oh, they are?

Yeah. The third phase they’re working on goes up to about $800,000–$900,000. But they’re really modern and beautiful. I think some of the older phases are around $500,000.

Okay, so we won’t be purchasing one of those soon—but we will definitely visit.

Yep, it’s definitely worth the trip and highly recommended.

Yes.

All right—anything else you want to say to wrap it up?

I do want to say that we’ll probably post some videos and things like that on our TikTok and YouTube. But in general, just thanks for listening today. And wherever you found this podcast, we invite you to jump into the discussions on our YouTube channel and things like that.

So make sure you subscribe, and you continue to listen in on these conversations—and participate as well.

All right. Until next time—

Have a tremendous day.
 Have a blessed week.
 Have a marvelous week.
 Have a sunshiny day.

All right. Until next time—bye!