The Breakfast
Club
An Affiliate of the Arizona Pilots' Assn.
The Knife & Fork
Breakfast Club Visits Calexico, Catalina
Flamed-Out
12 May 07
by Warren McIlvoy
The May Breakfast Club event
to Calexico and Catalina Island,
sparked considerable interest in the Breakfast
Club group. And it apparently also sparked
a fire on Catalina that scuttled the second half of our flying weekend.
The original plans were to fly to Calexico and have breakfast at Rosa's Plane Food Café and then the folks that were not planning on the Catalina
portion of the weekend, could return to the valley, and the rest of us would
continue on to the island. But on Wednesday, a grass fire got out of control
and soon grew to major proportions. By Thursday, word was out that the locals
along with the tourists, would be preparing for evacuation to the mainland. At
2000 Thursday night I called the Hotel Mac Rae to get first hand
information about the fire conditions. He said that they were preparing to
evacuate but that the hotel manager may be in on Friday to field phone calls.
The person added "I don't know just when he would be in or for how long
that he might stay". On Friday afternoon at about 1500, I got through
to the hotel and was informed that the fire was halted at the very edge of the
town of Avalon
but obviously, there would be no weekend visitors to the island. Full refunds
would be the order of the day. Nuts!!!!!
It has been about 20-years since I last visited Catalina and was truly
looking forward to rekindling those fond memories. On Friday morning I sent-out
a "Notam" to the Breakfast Club group that the Catalina portion of our weekend
flying event had been scrubbed but that we were still planning on going to Calexico
since it would be a new fly-in destination.
Our route to Calexico is almost a mirror image of the route to Yuma. I
went around the north end of the White Tank Mountains at 6500' and
turned on a southwesterly course to JUDTH intersection (keeps us out of
the restricted areas) and then direct to the BARD (BZA) VOR and then
direct to Calexico. Until reaching JUDTH, the "lay of the
land" is dominated by nondescript desert with a smattering of agricultural
operations. However, after making the turn to the west from JUDTH, and
nearing Yuma, the scene is total
agriculture along the Mohak/Welton Project
all the way to Yuma.
This is one of the most productive cotton and lettuce areas in the southwest.
Upon crossing what's left of the Colorado River,
the scene abruptly changes to a stark, sand dune-laden desert that is the
playground for "sand buggy" enthusiasts.
In just a few minutes, the scene suddenly changes back into a vast agricultural
panorama that is known as the Imperial Valley.
It is on the southern boarder of this broad valley that Calexico had
made its mark. Here's a little more on Calexico.
"Founded in 1900 and
incorporated in 1908, Calexico began as a tent city of the Imperial Land
Company and has grown into a larger thriving city on the US-Mexico border.
Before the repeal
of prohibition, Calexico was primarily a week-end town visited by workers in
the Imperial Valley in pursuit of fun and games, dance halls and saloons, in
adjacent Mexicali, which was outside the United States and unaffected by the
Volstead Act.
Although it gained
a reputation for a while as a typical U.S.-Mexico border town with all the
tawdry aspects usually associated with such places, the modern city of Calexico is a far cry
from what it was back in those early days. Hundreds of acres are now being
devoted to industrial park's use and commercial and retail incentives are being
offered to encourage industrial development.
Since Calexico
represents the mixing of two cultures and areas and because of its proximity to
the Mexican border, the name Calexico was coined for a combination of Mexico and California. The estimated population as of
March 2006, is just under 38,000".
Where Calexico could be considered by some
to be a sleepy border town, Mexicali,
on the other hand, is the "800# gorilla" of boarder towns.
"Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja
California, México as well as the capital of the municipality of Mexicali. Situated along the state's
northern border with the U.S.
state of California, Mexicali
is the northernmost city in Latin América,
located at 32°40'0?N, 115°28'0?W. The city
itself had a 2005 census population of 653,046, whereas the municipality's
population was 895,962. The population is constantly growing due to the number
of Maquiladoras in the area and migrational
aspects. It is the 13th largest municipality in Mexico as of the Census 2005.
Founded on March 14,
1903, Mexicali is adjacent to the city of Caléxico, California, which lies directly across the US border. The
link is emphasized by the way each city's name combines the words "California" and "Mexico."
The airport is only about 100 or
so yards north of the border and after landing on the east/west runway, I
taxied to the ramp to meet with the other
Breakfast Club folks. There is not much to
see on the airport other than the small terminal building that houses and
office for purchasing fuel and a US Customs Office. About 50-yards west of the
terminal is Rosa's Plane Food Café.
Upon entering Rosa's, you have
absolutely no doubts that you have entered a Mexican restaurant. The burnt
amber color of the walls was a stark contrast to the dark colored wood floors.
The large booths along the north wall could easily seat 6-people with 3 on a
side. In the far corner was a ceiling hung TV that was blaring some program in
Spanish that had the undivided attention of some folks that were seated right
in front of it. We seated ourselves a few tables away so that we could have our
own conversation that would be slightly better understood. The menu selections
were traditional but with a Mexican flare. The only glaring item of note was
the higher than normal prices that I am used to seeing for, say, ham and eggs
at about $10.50. The service was prompt as was the delivery of the requisite
"rocket fuel"(coffee). When our entrees arrived, we quickly realized
why the prices were higher than normal. The portions were huge. The bacon and
eggs had about a half pound of bacon along with the traditional refried beans,
diced lettuce, potatoes, and somewhere in that pile, were the eggs. The same
was true for the ham and eggs with the ham slice being a half inch thick. I
believe that two people could have shared and entree and both could come away
happy. I will remember that the next time.
After our hardy breakfast meal, we staggered out to the ramp to get some photos
of the group as well as some shots of the many aircraft in attendance. Our
departure on runway 26 required a right downwind departure to avoid overflying
the border. Our return route was the same except I chose to make a stop in Yuma and top-off
with some-less expensive gas from Sun Western Flyers.
This Breakfast
Club fly-in had one very special guest in
attendance. Julie Katzin is a "newly minted" private pilot who
has been flying with us since she was 7 or 8-years old. Now at the ripe old age
of 18, Julie is attending the Arizona
State Universities
School of Aeronautics
at the Willie Gateway campus. When Julie accompanied Richard
Spiegel on our fly-ins, her call sign was "BC-3.5 since
Richard's was BC-3. Now Julie would like her very own call sign of
BC-75. I would like to congratulate Julie on her well-earned
accomplishments and I am looking forward to hearing a lot more from BC-75 in
the air at future Breakfast Club events.
The Calexico Gang
- Warren & Jeri-Ann
McIlvoy in 93MB, BC-1
- Ken Calman in 5023J,
BC-6
- Lance Thomas in
3180R, BC-80
- Glen & Judy Yoder
in 31TC, BC-007
- Julie Katzin in
4185Q, BC-75 (nee BC-3.5)
- Austin Goodwin and
Tim Yoder in 4351X, BC-317
- Larry Jensen in 14LJ,
BC-65
- Jerry & Diane
Kapp, Roy Coulliette and Ruth Wallace in 5658K
- "Peaches"
the dog accompanied the folks in 5658K
What's Next?
Since the temperatures are turning
to the "broil" setting, the
Breakfast Club will be taking shorter
trips during the summer to minimize the discomfort of "summertime
flying in Arizona".
The June event will be to Prescott, Arizona (PRC) and Nancy's Skyway Café. Our
July event will be to a long time favorite of Sedona, Arizona
(SEZ). That's all for now but remember, fly safe.
Click on the Calexico
link to view our photos of this fly-in event. Some photos have been contributed by Ken
Calman and Lance Thomas.