Thursday, March 12, 2009

ROAD TRIP...Mexico 1960...

I was looking for some pictures the other day and came across these from 1960. My dad decided he wanted to go on a road trip to Mexico so we all piled into the station wagon and headed south from St. Louis. (Can you believe it???) This is me, my mom and two older brothers. I have another older brother who must have stayed at home for some reason.

This must have been our luxurious 5-star hotel we stayed at because there's the station wagon. I'm sorry, but it looks like something that could be from some horror film. But back in those days, who knows...it could have been a pretty darn nice place. Looks like we were the only guests that day...which makes it even scarier.

Here's my brother Doug and me in a scenic picture of some pipes and some pretty barren countryside. I'm the one with the Paula Abdul-look...and rightfully so with those kickin' tennies and showing off my underwear.

Here are some pictures of ruins. I don't even know where we went or which ruins they are. Maybe someone could help me out with these. I'm thinking wherever this is, it would be a tad more crowded today than it was back then. And talk about some vintage cars.



Again, I don't know where this is, but I think it's a really good photograph. My dad was very much into photography and had his own darkroom.



He really captured some beautiful cloud shots.


And I love this one...

We went to a bullfight while we were there...something every young child should experience in order to witness the slaughtering of an innocent animal. This was in Saltillo. I still have the playbill advertising the fight. And look at the Coca-Cola sign at the top...

I sympathize with the poor bull.


But I came home with a souvenir back then. Kind of sad when I look at this now.

Then we visited the local Mexican jail.

...and took the obligatory jail photos. Everyone looks happy, but I think I must have been taking this pretty seriously considering the sad look on my face. Between you and me, I think we were really incarcerated because of the ugly dress my mother was wearing.


I don't remember much from that trip to Mexico because I was so young. But I intend to make up for it in future trips.

11 comments:

Life's a Beach! said...

Oh Deb! That post is priceless and fantastic! And your parents were very adventurous! I LOVE those photos! I can see where you inherited your talent!

Ann said...

Deb, how great that you found all these wonderful photos! Hope you can figure our where the ruins are... Awesome that your father liked photography so you have this great record despite the awful clothes!

Anonymous said...

Those ruins look very similar to some we visited when I was a kid. I don't remember exactly where they were but we were vacationing in Mexico City (never again thank you!) and it was a short drive from there. I will have to dig out my old pictures and compare them.

Great post!

Isla Deb said...

Thanks, all! A friend saw my post and said the ruins looked like Pyramid of the Sun near Mexico City. I googled it and found a picture and he's right. So it's probably the same one you went to, as well, MD. I'd actually like to go to Mexico City some day, but only with someone who's familiar with it.

barry said...

What a great blog this is,Deb.. the sepia pics , your kickin shoes,,. thanks for sharing a family memory, ..Even after all these years, betcha you could find things that have remained the same...what a great deja vu road trip that would be.

Islagringo said...

All I can say is "WOW!"

Isla Deb said...

Thanks, Barry. I scanned all the pictures in their original color...didn't do any kind of sepia treatment on them...which shows how old they are! As for deju vu, like I said, I don't remember a whole lot of that trip...one of the things I would remember, however, is some serious car sickness. :-/

Thanks, Wayne...hope your water situation works out soon! :-(

Vee said...

Deb, these are fantastic, and your commentary is a hoot, especially about the hotel and the jail. I'm so glad you found these and shared them with us!

Isla Deb said...

Thanks, Vee. And I can't wait to see your Holga pictures. I'll probably take mine, too...but I better take some tape so that I can tape the back closed. Last year, it came open twice in the middle of a roll of film and I ended up throwing the film out because I thought it would have been ruined. After all...it IS a state of the art camera worth SOOO much money. lol I guess it IS worth a roll of tape. Wish we were going to be there the same time, too! Maybe one of these years...

Anonymous said...

The pyramid shots look similar to ones my mom and dad took on a trip to Mexico a couple of decades ago...somewhere around Chiche'n Itza'...go to www.crystalinks.com/pyramidmesoamerica.html I see some very similar to your childhood vacation shots.

Paul said...

Can you remember how far you drove into Mexico. Is that an Edsel Station Wagon? PM..SD