We stayed with Patience's brother-in-law and his wife in Brownsville.
On January 2nd, we drove to the Mexican border a ways west of Brownsville and parked the cars. We then walked to Nuevo Progreso, Estado de Tamaulipas, Mexico across a bridge over the Rio Grande - thought it would be wider. We were met by soldiers with automatic weapons. One was in a sandbag bunker with a mounted machine gun facing down the middle of the street. Solders were everywhere but I never felt unsafe. There were a lot of people selling small things on the street (like gum) but they usually took no for an answer. I have never seen so many dentists! People come because of the cheap gold and silver. I would never have anything done in such unsanitary conditions!
We ate lunch and dinner at Garcia's - I had Chateaubriand ($27 US for 2). Even tasted Lucas's frogs' legs. Surprised by how good they tasted but probably will never order them for myself. I bought a lot of silver jewellery - yes, me - and some Christmas presents in Angel's Store Restaurant and Bar. One of the best moments was sitting in a tiny bar with Pru & Patience drinking beer & tequila. The worst was getting lost. Luckily there were 7 of us so I found 2 others by wandering up and down the main street.
The next morning we drove to South Padre Island, TX, the longest Barrrier Island in the world and the largest stretch of undeveloped ocean beach in North America. It as truly spectacular. My feet were still swollen and I had developed a ring of red around the ankles the night before, so wading in the Gulf seemed like a good way to spend the morning. I even got photos of pelicans. We could have stayed lying in the sun all day but had to visit another town.
We parked the car on the U.S. side of the border and walked over another bridge to Matamoros. This town was quite different. There were a few police around but no soldiers. We took a local bus into the town and there were a lot of booths set up in the street. Didn't buy much as it the quality was pretty cheap. Tried buying T-shirts for the girls but everything was stupid or rude. We ate in Patience's favourite restaurant there so she could have goat. I tasted it but, like the frogs' legs, probably wouldn't order it. Can't get past the idea of it.
We took the bus back to the border and spent a couple of hours shopping in Garcia's. What a treat! They even let us into the "back room" where the really good stuff was since Patience knew the owner.
It was a long walk back over the border for me and by the time we drove home the bottoms of my feet were quite painful. The right ankle was also swollen.
The plan was to drive home to Houston in the morning. Our problem was we just fit into the car going down and we had SHOPPED! After talking about several possibilities, Lucas and Jesse agreed to take a bus to Houston. Patience, Pru and I set off ahead of them. I enjoyed the ride as the scenery was totally different from that I'd seen before. We went through 3 zones during the week - Gulf Coast, Prairies & Lakes and Hill Country. We unloaded the car and Patience & I went to the bus depot for the men. Their bus was late leaving so it was 8 before they arrived. We had eaten at Abe's Cajun Market & Cafe and had take-out ready for them.
By Monday Pru's cold was getting bad so she stayed in all day. Patience and I went to the NASA store so I could spend more money. We then left Pru sleeping and had dinner at Mike's. Packing our stuff was an adventure!
We were finally ready to leave at 8:30 in the morning. I left one box with some glasses behind for the next traveller to Vancouver to bring. Our flight was supposed to be 10:45 (Central) but the plane was used to replace a broken one and the new one was late. We had rushed breakfast at the airport for nothing. I had a biscuit and tea - a mistake! The plane left at 12:20 and so was late arriving in Oakland. Luckily the next plane was also late and we got to the boarding area shortly before the boarding began - no time for lunch. Southwest gives you cookies, crackers and nuts. Also free tea, coffee and pop. We nibbled and drank all day. The flight arrived in Seattle with enough time for us to gather all our bags and walk to the Quick Shuttle to Vancouver - I had booked the tickets in Houston. No time for dinner! The ride was perfect and we arrived at Granville & 41st at 10:00 (12 Central).
Maryka, John's caregiver, was there with his van and took us all home. Pru was sicker and slept most of the trip. We had asked someone to turn on her heat and stopped for milk so she wouldn't have to go out today. Lucas & Jesse carried all my stuff up to my apartment. I had a hot shower to get rid of the dust of the day. Then heated up a cinnamon bun and dug the bottle of Tequila out for my dinner.
My health was pretty good through the trip except for the swelling foot and eczema. My neck was sore for the first week but then seemed fine. It hurt last night after all the carrying I did but is fine today.
Today was a quiet day. I unpacked and caught up on the news. The snow we missed was awe inspiring. 37th was like a one-lane country lane with piles of snow on both sides. There wasn't as much around my apartment. The rain took care of most of it last night. Maybe I can drive tomorrow.
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