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.

Getting excited about Isla...

It's been a tough past year. Between being laid off, looking for another job, starting a new job, and my son's accident the beginning of this year, it has taken its toll. In between it all, I booked a flight last November with VivaAerobus to Cancun for the end of next May. But with everything that has gone on, I really haven't been able to get psyched about the trip. Today I decided I have to change my mind set. I need to start doing things I did before my last trip...like buying $5 flip-flops from Old Navy that look like the shoreline on Isla.

So I started looking through my Isla pics and am finally getting excited about the trip. I remember the great feeling I have when I see the ferry going to Isla...

And what a different feeling it is when you're going the other way...

I remember how much I love the boats on Isla because they're old and colorful. All the new boats and yachts are boring...white and fiberglass and fancy. Isla boats have character...and a mesmorizing, soothing feeling as they're bobbing in the surf.

I remember why I love Picus so much...where you can sit right next to the water with your toes in the sand and watch those boats bob in the water.

I remember how nice it is at night during the low season when all the tourists have gone back to their hotels and you can just sit there and enjoy the lights and the sound of the surf...

...and their great Christmas swordfish decorations...

I remember the great breakfasts on Isla...especially at Alexia & Geovanny's where they work very hard...

...to make the best Huevos Motulenos I've ever had...

And even though they're not at this location anymore, I'll always remember M&Js, who had the best view to the east first thing in the morning.

A friend sent me this photo that he took years ago when there was still sand on the east side of the island...

This is what it looked like the first time I saw it back in September of 2006...

And here it is now...

Lots of changes. I still wish I could have seen it many years ago.

I remember Romi...who makes a great Margarita...

Not to mention his Mayan Sacrifices (oh, Lord)...

I remember sitting at Jax and writing on my blog. This was my view a few days before the President of Mexico arrived on Isla.

I remember favorite pictures I've taken...like Frida...a fascinating woman with an interesting past to say the least.

...and this one, which is hanging on my dining room wall. I took this on my second trip to Isla, but couldn't find it the last two times I was there. They must have repainted it...or I just didn't go down the right street.

According to the reports of all the changes going on on Hidalgo, I'm guessing this scene won't remain the same...

Of course, I have to include all the happy children of Isla...

Okay, so he's not so happy, but these two make up for him...

I remember when the lighthouse didn't have the monstrosity condo behind it.

I remember lots about Isla even in the short time I've become familiar with it...

And I'll be back for more in a few months...

Just a couple of pet peeves...

Kind of a different post for me tonight. Everyone has their pet peeves, and here are a couple of mine.

When I learned how to drive, I was taught that you should stay in the right lane unless you need to pass. I believe that's what most state motor vehicle booklets also state. So it really bugs me when people drive slowly in the far left lane. Yeah, I got pictures of a couple of those culprits today. (Don't tell my kids I was taking pictures while I was driving.) What is it with people who think they can just meander along in the left lane...obviously oblivious of being followed by a trail of impatient drivers who just want to get past them? I'm definitely not a "road rage" kind of person, but I think it should just be a kind of "road etiquette" to follow the rules of the road. But I've found that when you pass these people, they have kind of a clueless look about them...and will probably never change. Oh, well.

On another note, this is a more recent peeve. Maybe it's because I'm in Texas and there are more open fields, but I've been seeing more and more of this kind of thing...

I'm getting really sick of seeing these plastic bags being strewn all over the countryside. Yes, I know we went from paper bags to plastic because we're cutting down trees to make the paper bags. But the paper bags were biodegradable...and the plastic bags are not. So now we get to see all the plastic bags that people haphazardly disgard as lunch bags or whatever. Then they get stuck to a branch to be left dangling in the wind forever.

I think the St. Paul Lutheran Church Youth group needs to get together.

But I'm thinking these bags are going to be around until the cows come home.

Uh-oh...here they are.

Everyone should go to these things. Here's Nutter Butter telling everyone they should use re-usable bags. (I'm kidding. Actually, this is Nutter telling me I need to fill those bags up with cat food.)

What a fun day!!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, they built a new JCPenney in New Braunfels...it just opened yesterday. I got a coupon in the mail for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more. You can't beat that with a stick, so I'm getting ready to walk out the door just as my son comes by to do his laundry. He says, "Have you been out yet? The traffic is CRAZY today!"

Well, you can't put a little 'Sunday-driver' traffic between a woman and a ten dollar coupon, so off I went anyway. I live about a mile away from I-35 and when I got there, I saw that the northbound lane was at a standstill. So, either there was a whole shitload of Sunday drivers out today, or there must have been an accident. I stayed on the frontage road...Penney's is only about six miles from my house, so that was no big deal. Or so I thought. Now the traffic on the frontage road is at a standstill. So I cross under the overpass to the other side of the interstate, thinking I could go around the other way to Penney's. I get to I-35 again just about where the shopping center is and more standstill traffic. I turn around and think if I can go further north on one of the small rural highways, I can get just north of it and past the accident, then come back south. I think all of New Braunfels was thinking the same thing. (Maybe everyone had ten dollar coupons at Penney's.) So now I'm about 15 miles northwest of New Braunfels in stop-and-go traffic on this little 2-lane road. I called Jared and said, "Go check on the internet to see what's going on on I-35." He said, "I don't have to...my boss from JCPenney called and said I don't have to go to work today. There was a big chemical spill on the highway right where the shopping center is so all the stores are closed and the highway is shut down." Damn. And here I am stuck in the middle of nowhere thinking I wouldn't get home until about 10:00...with NO purchase from JCPenney.

So I continue going north until I reach the huge outlet mall just south of San Marcos. Northbound I-35 is open now, but the Southbound lane is at the familiar standstill. I decided to kill some time at this place from an earlier post...

...where I got a BLT and sat down to watch the traffic NOT go by. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me.

Traffic was still not moving much by the time I finished my BLT, so I decided to try another rural highway heading east...then south. This actually worked, and by the time I got back into New Braunfels, they had just re-opened I-35...but it was still very congested.

This little trip would have normally covered about 12 miles and taken 45 minutes...tops. Today it covered 45 miles and took me almost four hours. I probably used about $6.00 worth of gas and spent $8.00 on lunch. And no goods from JCPenney.

Damn good thing that coupon is valid through tomorrow.