Bienvenidos a Mexico...2 long days

February 24th

Traveling from Victoria, Texas to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico was about 385 miles. Texas to me was just flat, dry, not terribly scenic and well, boring. Of course we only saw a small sample of the state. I personally love to see mountains, foliage, water etc.

Before crossing the border we spotted a WalMart and made our last stop in the US for some "no ad" sunscreen, thinking it would be cheaper to stock up here before we cross. You never know what you may not find or find at great expense when traveling abroad.

Hola Mexico! Around 5:30pm and just before dark, we got to the border and had NO problems clearing customs and immigration.

Our friends from sailing yacht "Cabaret", who we just visited in Florida several days before, had told us exactly where to go through, to check in, and to stay once we crossed the border. The Holiday Inn Express in Nuevo Laredo, which is located about 5 miles from the border, was fabulous and a super value!! It was clean, colorful, full of marble and granite, had wireless Internet, an indoor/outdoor pool, a gym and a full breakfast was included - all for $60. Frankly, I think it was nicer than the Hyatt that we stayed at in Savannah, Georgia! I highly recommend it to anyone planning a car trip across the border.

February 25th - THE NEVER ENDING DAY!

531 miles ending with great rewards...

Well, I promised to give you the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY. Well, so far you've had the good. Here's a little bad and some ugly. On February 25th around 10am we left our wonderful stay at the Holiday Inn Express well rested and ready for our adventure through Mexico. After breakfast we packed up and headed out. First thing we did was turn on our guide, the GPS, that we have successfully used this whole trip. Randall had tested it back home to make sure it would work providing us with "Mexican" maps . Well darn if it wouldn't turn on? Just when we really need it! So, we winged it with the maps I brought along for "just in case the GPS fails"! Being a mechanic, Randall really doesn't like it when equipment fails. So, finally he took it apart and, VOILA, it worked! However we found out that the maps don't list all the roads, neither does the GPS and the roads themselves are not clearly labeled. This all made navigation quite challenging! With the glare of the bright sun, I had to wear my sunglasses and my cheaters at the same time, one below the other, in order to compare maps! Later, we discovered that we ended up on some of the "non paying roads" in stead of the toll roads which may have been faster and easier to travel at times.

Does that eagle look like he's on "a road" to you?
Randall was feeling energetic so he did ALL of the driving. Thank goodness! I was the go to person for maps, food, drinks, etc. The children did school as they could. Now and then we were humored by what we might not expect too see if up in the US.
The roads were long stretches with arid flat land and lots of BLINDING sunshine! At moments you'd feel like your one side was on fire while the other side was frozen from the blast of the air conditioner?

We never really found a restaurant at the right time to stop, relax and have a quick lunch. Instead, we munched on the bags of trail mix I made for the journey.

Yes, going 70 plus miles an hour we found several of these "buses". Just the frame with a man strapped in(?) flying down the road !

We'll we decided to skip San Luis Potosi and keep moving onto San Miguel de Allende which wasn't the original plan of the day. Randall felt energetic so we continued onward to San Miguel. Some how it seemed that I was the only one really exhausted? Oh well, it was just a little nail biting when the sunset and we weren't quite sure we were on the right "back road" into San Miguel. For a while the GPS didn't show the road we were traveling. There was no full moon along with no street lights and not many other cars traveling down this long twining road to hopefully, San Miguel.

Yea! We arrived in the quaint lively town around 8:30pm! However, our next quest was to find the right hotel. As we searched driving, walking and trudging through the town, we were in awe of the glamorous cathedral which was luminous from top to bottom and flooded with patrons there for lent. The town was in full bloom. Perfect timing!

We discovered a gold mine of a hotel with dreamy views every where you looked. The day was well worth it's ending. Dinner was finally an option at 11pm. By midnight our journey was at an end with so much to look forward too the next day.

On the road...

Okay, we finally got our act together and left in the "wee" hours(3am) on Saturday the 14th of February! Can't believe it "ALL FIT" in the car. Thousands of beads, jewelry, an electric guitar with amplifier, viola, pillows, cooler, clothes, jackets, reading books, travel books/maps, lots of school books, 3 laptop computers, not to mention the 4 of us too!

First stop, we arrived in Greensboro Saturday February 14th, North Carolina to see Uncle Scott and Meagan. Spicy food at an Indian restaurant and lulling entertainment as Randi learned a new song taught by Meagan and Uncle Scott were the highlights of our visit!

Second stop February 16th, Havana Georgia just to break up the trip! Beautiful stay at the Hyatt Hotel on the water front and a stroll down the cobble stone water front. Oops I forgot the camera. Incredible candy store to see if you ever get to Savannah.

Third stop, on Tuesday February 17th, around 5 pm we arrived in Palm City, Florida at Aunt Trudy's for a brief but wonderful visit with the whole family!

Fourth stop on Thursday the 19th we traveled to Pensacola FL just in time for the MARDI GRAS celebrations! We stayed with former cruising friends, Nancy and Bill from the boat Cabaret. Cabaret is currently in New Zealand where Nancy and Bill will return in March.

Here's a snap shot out the back door of their home in Pensacola Florida over looking the sound.

We took a stroll on a near by beach.

Mardi Gras in Pensacola....

Austin with Bill and Nancy from Sailing Yacht Cabaret. A perfect name for their boat too, they were great entertainers! I'll explain that when I get a blog done on our Sailing adventures in the Caribbean.

Bill and Nancy took us to a well known fish market knowing how much Randall LOVES them. We've seen more than our fair share during our travels in the Caribbean, Argentina, Venezuela and Columbia. This one however was HUGE and CLEAN! Just about every kind of ocean critter you can imagine along with side dishes, seasonings, homemade bread etc. Yum.

One way you tell a "fresh" fish is by the clarity of the eyes.

February 23rd we traveled from Pensacola Florida to Avery Island in Louisiana to see the Tabasco plant. We weren't tired so we just kept going all the way to Victoria, Texas where we spent the night. I think we were on the road for around 12 hours! I know we traveled 727 miles. We need to buy our car insurance for Mexico on line today and head to the local Office Depot to get it printed. By doing this, it will say us money and time at the border.

Here's a shot of the sunset as we made our way through Houston Texas.

The kids have been able to keep up with school doing things in the car, hotel or at the homes we visited. We purchased an inverter for the laptops so when traveling in the car, Austin or any of us can use our computers. Most of Austins work with Keystone National High school is done on line. He can't be on line while traveling so what he does is take pictures of the work he needs to complete, down loads it on the lap top, and then he can do it in the car while we travel.

That's it for now. We are getting ready for the trip across the border. Stay tuned...