Once we arrive in Potrero Park, the fun begins. You simply follow the Mexican Connection—Chapter 8 signs to Potrero Park Campground and will be directed by our dedicated Parking Team to your campsite in beautiful Potrero Park. This is a lovely park, and you will really enjoy it.
Once settled in, you will proceed directly to the Hexagon-shaped Pavilion and be greeted by Phylana or me. Then, you will go through what we affectionately call the “Gauntlet,” consisting of about 12 stations manned by Board Members and other volunteers to provide all the information you need for this rally.
Here, your name will be checked against a list of registered attendees, and we will verify your Membership Status. First-timers will get a special ribbon, and you will then be given a bag full of goodies and proceed to each station.
You will check in with the Treasurer to ensure you are paid up and receive a refund of $115 if you choose Dry Camping. You will be given a Name Badge; your paperwork will be checked to ensure you have the proper documentation to enter Mexico. We will verify your Jacket size, and then you can sign up for Optional Tours. Next, you can choose if you want to volunteer to help the Community Service Team or other duties we always need help with. Again, we are all volunteers.
You will then get your appropriate placard for Solar, Light Generator, and Max Generator Use for your RV. We will verify your food choice to ensure we order you the correct dinner type at each of our three Welcome Dinners and verify you have a working CB radio.
Then you will turn in your Medical Form (we will email this to you ahead of time) to ensure we have any vital medical information and contact names and numbers. God, forbid you need assistance in Mexico, which, since I have been on these trips, we have never needed to access this information. We will provide you with a map and show you the detailed route we will be taking once we cross the border.
After that, you can enjoy the park and mingle with new friends. At approximately 4:27 sharp, we will meet back at the Pavilion for our Happy Hour and a Pot Luck Dinner.
The next day, we will offer an extensive three-hour orientation program that will teach you everything you need to know to travel in Mexico in an RV, which people find very detailed and invaluable as we show you how to enjoy Mexico best and learn about its culture.
We will then break into small travel groups of 5-7 rigs, which are more intimate groups. Your group leader will discuss your place in the line, depending on your experience level, when traveling in their small group of RVs and cover more information about how our groups travel and communicate between RVs in Mexico.
The following day, we will all carpool to the border and spend a half-day on a Walkabout in Tecate. It is about a 30-minute drive to the border. Our smaller groups will be separated by 30-minute intervals to make it easier for the Border Patrol and the locals to cross into Mexico in between our groups. We will park on this side of the border and walk across. Your Group Leader will help everyone get their FMM cards.
From there your Group Leader will lead your group on a leisurely walk around Tecate, Mexico, to show you some of the highlights, such as the town common, where we take photos of each group at the large TECATE sign, we visit a wonderful bakery, a favorite of everyone, we visit the Tecate Brewery where everyone who wants one, can enjoy a free beer and a clean restroom, we visit a very old church, and we will enjoy shopping and enjoy authentic Mexican lunch at one of the local restaurants, or for those of you who prefer McDonald’s, there is one there for you to whet your palate.
Your Group Leader will also show you the vehicle border crossing and the route we will be driving through town after crossing the border in our RVs the following day so you will know ahead of time what to expect. You will see there is plenty of room for a 45-foot-long RV to get through town if that is what you have. I drive a 40-foot bus with a Toad and have never had any issues crossing the border and getting through Tecate.
After that, we will return to Potrero Park Campground, test our CB Radios, and prepare for our trip south of the border the following day to travel to the Zoo.
That evening, everyone will enjoy a Happy Hour in the Pavilion at 4:27 PM, and we will end the day by packing away our Mexican decorations, pitching in to help clean the Pavilion, and preparing to head south the following morning
