Short trip to Rosarito- July21, 2012

My wife needed to drop off an artwork to donate to Make a Wish so we needed to go to San Diego anyways. Friends have a place in Rosarito that they invited us to use so off we went with the teen daughters in tow.

Had a nice visit there but it just isn't my kind of town. Breakfast was at the in-grounds restaurant by the sea in the Quinta Del Mar complex. Nice place but not unlike what we have here in CA. Late breakfast so we skipped lunch and made the short drive to Popotla. Was way too crowded to stop so we made the turn around and headed out. No wonder everyone parks outside and walk.... lol
We went to Puerto Nuevo to just shop and sightsee.... way too early to eat yet so we made our way back towards Rosarito. We did stop at Mercado del Mar and had the tour of the Tequilla room. Bought a couple bottles and headed back to Rosarito. Parked the car in the QDM complex and walked south a bit and ate Mariscos at a small restaurant just past the Smart and Final. That cuberta of DosXX was a killer and that was it for the evening.

Sunday, after breakfast and a nap, we decided to head back home. Well, after a stop at Popotla to shop for a cement turtle, we decided to take the Corredor 2000 and cross at Tecate. Seems like about an hours drive to Tecate from Popotla.... maybe more... but a long drive. I took the toll Tecate road but maybe I should have taken to free road??? Got into Tecate about 2:30 so it's time for some lunch. They have a nice little park there in town so we parked and looked around. This place is more like the parks that most Mexican towns seems to have and there was a restaurant with outdoor seating there so this is where we ate. This is the kind of place that was missing in Rosarito.... a kind of place that reminds me of Old Mexico.... that and a Malecon.... I missed .
Anyways, we found our way to the border.... It was 3:30 pm when we arrived and finally crossed at 5:30.... a whopping 2 hours in line. Well, it must be an extra 30 mins to Tecate and then another 30 mins from Tecate to SD. So, let's say three hours total. So what was the wait at Otay???? Did I save any time? Oh yeah, plus the gas and plus the 91 pesos toll So should I be or

You got to get out of Torrance for the weekend, so you should be

It has been a very long time since that border was easy

I thought it was just Me, Yes they do slow down the Process,I have in the past been asked by the person in the booth how long I waited in line.

Some photos

This is the front of Mercado del Mar in Popotla


This is a couple of photos of the inside of the Tequilla room. Did not count but more tequilla in one place than I have ever seen.



Mariscos Jacalito where we had lunch

Lunch the next day in Tecate in the Jardin

And lastly, the two hour wait at the Tecate border

The lines start with three lanes but the lane on the left is only for the ready lanes and many cars had to merge back to the center lane. The lane at the right side is where you should be as it was generally faster and not bothered with the traffic merging out of the ready lane. You can see the line of cars all the way to the bottom of the hill. At the bottom, there is a stop sign and you will be directed by the military guard when to make the right turn into the border inspection gates. Like I said, this is a two hour wait from the top of the hill.

I think this ready lane is a sunday only pilot program to help speed things up. doesnt sound like its working too well?