When you live together 24/7 in a small space, it’s incredibly difficult to surprise your spouse. How do you sneak out and make your way to a nondescript store without your absence being noticed? What do you answer when asked “Where have you been?” Or, how do you order a gift online without an address? When we were house sitting, there was an opportunity to intercept the mailman and hide the package, but now that we travel full-time in Zesty again, I was at a loss about what to get or do for Mark’s birthday on March 1st. Believe it or not, but it was stressing me out. It’s one of the few events we celebrate, so it has to be done in style, despite my husband saying he didn’t care.
Ever since we’ve owned our Mercedes Sprinter Westfalia camper van, Mark has wanted to change the Dodge grill with the Mercedes one. These two engines are exactly the same, but for some reason, the van was “branded” as a Dodge when imported from Germany in 2005. The little Dodge emblem on the hood was immediately replaced, only costing a few dollars. But the grill replacement was vetoed by me. $70 for something cosmetic? That money would be better spent elsewhere on the van. After 1.5 years in our possession, Zesty was still driving around as a half Dodge/half Mercedes. Mark was getting antsy. He found the Mercedes grill on sale, and I said: ”Great! That’ll be your birthday gift.” I have to agree, our van looks much better now.
Yet, a car part doesn’t constitute a good birthday gift. We decided to buy a pair of zip-off pants from Amazon for him (they are actually called “convertible pants”), but the order and delivery got totally messed up. We eventually found a solution to use a “real” address to receive them (thank you, Ingrid), but this wouldn’t happen until a week after the birthday. Then, after a grocery shopping spree, I encouraged Mark to stay in the van, while I went back inside to find some goodies for him, and a birthday card. Phew! The only task left was finding quiet and alone time on March 1st, to write the card and wrap the consumables.
Still, I wasn’t pleased with the solution for Mark’s special day and I wanted to take my husband out to dinner. But we were camped in the middle of nowhere in Southern Arizona. The answer came after reading the road sign “Puerto Peñasco: 65 miles”. Let’s go to Mexico for Mark’s birthday weekend! So, we bought four days of Mexican liability insurance for our camper (US$36), crossed the southern border, obtained tourist visas (free for up to one week in the free zone of Sonora state), and went out for lunch and dinner in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico.
A mariachi band entered the restaurant during dinner. Here is a video to capture the ambiance:
We explored this resort town (also called Rocky Point), popular with US spring breakers who – luckily – hadn’t shown up yet, stared out over the Sea of Cortez, went for a walk on the beach and in the estuary, biked around, and relaxed.
Not bad for a birthday break and a change of scenery. Only one time before, I opted for the “tourist for one day” b-day gift in the capital of Curacao when we were sailing in the Caribbean and it was a memorable and fun day as well. You can read about that experience here. I think we have figured out what works as the perfect gift for couples who live in close quarters and rarely splurge!
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