Jimena, Jimena, Texas, Texas.........

buenas tardes, everyone..................we have just returned from a wonderful family reunion in Texas, but first, I know alot of poeple are wondering about Alamos and if it was affected by Hurricane Jimena.

Alamos was untouched by the hurricane and received very little rain or wind. We were, of course not here, so my reports are based on accounts from neighbors, postings on the Alamos websites from people who were here and of course, how things looked when we returned.

Unfortunately, residents of Guaymus, Empalme and San Carlos, and many other towns along the Sea of Cortez and inland, were not so lucky. You can read some of those reports from several of the blogs we follow (listed on the right of the blog) and from residents of those towns at the Mexico My-Space website.

We started traveling south on Friday morning. We went through customs without any problems, as usual. I just closed my eyes when Senor stopped to wait for the light to turn red. This time, one of the new college educated border agents gestured for us to pull into the bay, which much to my chagrin, Senor did.

The agent asked us, in perfect English, where we had been and where we were going. Senor, who will not miss a chance to practice his Spanish, gave him all the answers and the agent asked if he could look inside the truck, which he did. He asked if we had anything to declare and we said no.

He asked why we were traveling on this day......the road is closed ahead.................closed?..................yes, because of Jimena, 15 is closed after Hermosillo...............you will stay the night in Hermosillo..................okay, we said, and he waved us through.


We got to Hermosillo, had lunch and decided the road looked pretty good to us, traffic was moving and surely, if the road was closed, someone here would be telling us so?

The picture below could have been taken one hundred times over the next three hours and it would look the same.......................the people might come and go, but the line lasted for miles ahead.

Senor has tired of walking and talking and is bug watching now in the photo below.

On one of his walks he is told by a group of mexican men that the road is washed out ahead. They say there is a dam up in the hills and before Jimena could make landfall, 'someone' decided to open the dam and release alot of water to minimize any flooding Jimena might cause. The plan has backfired or fired back, Senor is not sure which it is.

We discuss whether to turn around and go back to Hermosillo or stay in the line. We note there is no traffic coming north.

Suddenly, after almost three hours, we see everyone is running to their cars and trucks and buses and we all make a surge southward for about three miles and we stop, and we wait and we surge forward again two more times, only to stop and wait.




Finally we are in Guaymus and it is a terrible mess. Like last year's Julio, Jimena has covered Guaymus in mud and water, uprooted trees and downed stop signs, but we have arrived a day after the destruction and clean up has already begun in the city.

It is outside the city, in slow moving stop and go traffic, that we are guided to the north bound lanes. We continue south and begin to see some of the terrible damage that has yet to be accessed. Sometimes we are driving on what is left of the highway..........very narrow strips.

Sometimes, we are turned back slowly to a southbound lane while northbound traffic is pushed through.

Many of the small bridges are washed away completely or partially. There is alot of asphalt broken and laying across the roads and fields.

Standing water and rushing water are along the highway.

We think the photo below is the water mark; it was evident along the shrubs and trees nearby as well.

We saw many stranded semi trucks along the way and several long lines of chain reaction collisions.

Below, we are waiting to cross the narrow strip between Guaymus and Empalme. For most of the distance we traveled in the north bound lanes. The traffic stretched all the way across the narrow causeway and beyond.

Most of the road, on either side, looks like it does below.

It took us 8 hours to travel from Hermosillo to Empalme. That is normally an hour to an hour and a half drive.

We broke Rule #1 by driving late into the dark, to reach Obregon, where we stayed for the night, along with many other weary travelers. Watching the news in our hotel room last night, I thought of many, many people who probably spent the night in their cars and trucks, along the highway. We were lucky.

So, we are very glad to be home. We did hear that there was some pre storm preparation. Some of the barrios in Alamos were evacuated and shelters were set up at Cobash, the high school. Thankfully, our town, which was hit so hard last October by Norbert, is allright.

And we hope the clean up for the communities north of us will go quickly.

Now, briefly on to Texas!

We did have a great time and the weather was perfect for our visit!

My dad, the famous official loon carver for the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin and Michigan, is on the left, my mom, Hi MoM!!!! is in the middle and our daughter, KD..............by the way, my dad is already taking loon orders for the 2010 summer season and you can actually order through me, if you want, or wait and buy up in the midwest.................

My little sister, Kax, who is always on the go and while we were there, was going too fast one night, and fell and broke her tail bone, and had to sit out the rest of the reunion on a dough-nut pillow.
My little brother, George, the famous bass player for Black Oak Arkansas, is tuning up my Gibson 12-string by the pool while his grandson, Eli, watches with a mouth full of candy.

And a quick hello to our little brother Paul, who was stuck in New York, filming the demolition and explosives scenes for a movie that will be out in the spring......................
And last, but not least...................KD and Ian in disguise below..................hoping I will not blog this photo...................

and again, below...................... adios, linda lou!!!

Off to Texas en la Manana

Hola!
We are going away for about ten days, to a family reunion in Texas. I am thrilled to get to see my parents and sister and one of my brothers. I am also very excited because our children, KD and Ian, are also going to be able to fly in from Denver and Seattle.

However, I must admit that each time we leave our new old town, I feel a little pang of emptiness. So, I usually take my camera and go for a walk. I know I will not forget what my new home looks like while I am gone, but getting photos just gives me a good feeling and makes it easier to leave.

The photo opportunity also gives me the chance to talk to the mail lady for awhile, to sit at the Plaza, to go in as many of the stores as possible, to get a limonada, or a latte in the Teracotta and to just simply soak it all in before we go.

So, yesterday I did that. Then I went and did it again today.
And these are some of the photos I took on yesterday's walk. The Oaxacans are having a street market around the Plaza. They have been here for a week now. On Sunday night we drove around part of the Plaza and it was very festive, alot of people walking around and the lights at the plaza were beautiful and bright. There was alot of promenading going on, although it is generally all in one direction now, and girls and boys hold hands.

I sat at the Plaza yesterday and since I had no mail, I just people watched.

I saw a tree growing out of the church tower.

I saw alot of Mexicanos I know. I saw a few foreigners that I don't know. There was a big bus parked on one side of the plaza and alot of college aged students walking around, buying ice cream and chips and taking pictures of each other in front of the church.

I went into one of my favorite stores, Bochoco.

The refrigerated and frozen food cases were bright and shiny. The bins on the floor contain chicken thighs, chicken breasts and pork products. To the right are all kinds of vegetables and fruits in bins on the floor.

I buy all my chicken this way. You insert your hand into a plastic baggie and search around in the bin for what you want, pull it out, put it into another baggie, get it weighed and you are good to go to the check out girl.

Eggs are not refrigerated in any Mexico stores I have been in, with the exception of Wal Mart in Obregon. Bochoco sells gigantic brown eggs and white eggs as well. I asked today to buy the brown ones, but they were already sold out.

More shiny food cases in the front of the store, where the room is only about twenty feet wide.

Today, I have chosen frozen chicken so I can take the long way home. The check out lady takes my 23 pesos for three frozen chicken breasts, bags it in pink plastic and I am on my way.

Next stop, the Alameda, where they have put some finishing touches on the walkway and added new benches and alot of cottonwood trees, (alamos means cottonwood), grass and bouganvilla. The fountain is full of rainwater, but one of these days I think it will be gurgling away.

On the way home, I stop and take a picture of this beautiful date palm and suddenly I am back at my own gate.

We will be gone a long time.

I can not wait to see my family, but I will most likely think about my home every day and wonder what is going on.....................does Alma have in the new orange and pink oilcloth I asked about..................she said it might come Friday.................the fabric store just got in a new batch of paints.................... some new colors this time...................new little shiny regalos boxes will come in over the weekend........................Rosie, a lady I worked with at DIF during Hurricane Norbert, wants to stop by week after next when we get back........................a friend and I are planning to put together a Christmas Bazaar in November at the Plaza and she wants to get together............she speaks not a word of English, but so far we are communicating anyway.......is it hot......is it raining......................how tall will the grass be..................adios, we are off to Texas en la manana.......see you when we return.................linda lou

Hand Carved Cedar Loons For Sale

Buenos Dias! Wow! Look at this full moon in the east last night............. absolutely gorgeous.....the photo barely shows the hint of pink in the lower left half.........it was mesmerizing and I easily took ten photos as it continued to change in size and color. Then Senor would yell........come, quick and see the sunset.............. and I would rush out the gate and look to the west...........then he would yell, hurry, look at the moon............it was all very pretty............the sunset never produced any vivid colors...........it was the clouds that became so dramatic.

I like to travel.

Some days it is no farther than from the back yard to see the moon, to the front to see the sunset. Somedays, it is in the truck. I really like to go by plane...... a bus is okay, if it is my only choice, I will go. I will go on foot and now, of course, I have the bike. I do not travel real well by train or boat, but no problem, I will still go.

I always have maps of different places hidden among our books and journals, and I am always secretly planning our next trip, even if it is to the market.

Currently I am planning a big Mexico trip for us around January. But I can't divulge anything because I have not told Senor we are even going.

I just like to go. My mother told me my grandmother was like that. She would get on the city bus in Hot Springs just to go somewhere.

My parents are like that as well. When we kids were growing up, my parents introduced us to long, lazy days of summer travel.

They were both teachers and back then, summer vacations could go from May to September. We would spend days loading the VW bus with food, clothes, and most importantly, as many guitars as we could fit in among ourselves, and then, in the dark of the morning, the six of us would load in and go.

Favorite destinations for my siblings and I were Galveston, Destin, Myrtle Beach, the ocean and the beach scene. Each campsite we blazed a fire regardless of the weather, pulled out the guitars and sang into the night.

As we got older, our father, being a history professor, set his sights on every battlefield we could find in a summer, every historical point on the highway needed to be read, and while we traveled he would have us learn the names of all the presidents, in order, and would give us 'question boxes' to answer about what we had seen that day.

Then, came the monumental sights of Pennsylvania and the east. Eventually, we included the exciting scenes of New York City, climbing the Empire State Building, walking through the musical sounds of Greenwich Village.

And then, one summer we began to explore the mountainous terrain of Colorado, camping in Durango, Cripple Creek, Silverton, Colorado Springs......

You know, I cannot begin to tell you what fantastic, rewarding and exciting summers my sister and two brothers and I had. They were dream vacations and our family was, and still is, very close. When there are six of you traveling in a VW bus (not the pop up model) for up to four months, well, you have no choice but to be close. You just can't get mad at your little brother who wants to string up the hammock and sway in it, over your head, while you are laying on the vinyl covered pull out bed trying to read a magazine. We went with the flow.

These adventures just made us even closer.

But see, this caused me to be on the go. I absolutely love to be on the go. Senor likes to remind me that once on the beautiful island of St. Croix, I began telling him where we were going to go next. I deny that. I don't remember it, but ahh, he is probably telling the truth.

Around thirty years ago, my parents sold their home and set off across the country in an old airstream trailer. They went everywhere and often, wherever any of the four of us grown children lived might be included in the traveling at some point.

They have since given up the airstream and settled again in a home in their favorite state of Texas. But, they still go.

They continue to travel, to load the car, leave as early as possible and if the road looks good to the right, that's where they go. If it looks good to the left, they might go there. They still set up the tent and still light the fire. I imagine my dad still might have his old KAY guitar, or maybe a different one now.

I grew up listening to my dad singing the old tunes of Guthrie, Seeger, and Cash, Waylon and Willie, Patsy and Loretta. I also grew up listening to my mother's hands flying across the piano keys, her favorites being Bach and Beethoven.

My father is also a very talented wood carver. And my mother, a very accomplished watercolorist. They are both very talented musicians and artists.

As I write this, my parents are traveling to Minnesota and Wisconsin, where my mother will sketch and paint and my father will sell over eight-hundred of his hand carved cedar loons.

Each year, for about ten years, they have been making this trip north. He carves throughout the winter and in the summer they add the loons to the rest of the gear in the car and travel north and sell them. Sometimes he has orders for them, other times he doesn't.

He will almost always sell them all.

But if you happen to be in a campground somewhere between Texas and the north woods of Minnesota, look for the man selling the hand carved cedar loons. He will probably just give you one that he will be carrying in his pocket.

hola, mom and dad, you may be in Clubhouse or Loon Lake, who knows? Love you.

linda lee

Back Home from Colorado

Hola!

We returned home last Thursday........to mucho calor (heat). I had to fire some custom glass orders Saturday and Sunday, both at midnight, to avoid adding 1,550 degrees of calor to the calor.




Yesterday we packed up and went to the beach, where it was very windy and twenty degrees cooler. Maybe I will adjust by Wednesday or Thursday.





Colorado weather was cool and cloudy.
By Friday afternoon, graduating students began receiving emails telling them and their families to dress warmly, prepare for thunder and lightning and that while there was not an inside facility large enough to accommodate the expected crowd, graduation would proceed. KD said last year's weather was so bad, the university cancelled graduation and there were some very unhappy parents. So, they were not about to cancel this year just because the forecast called for a huge storm and 57 degree temperatures.





At 10:30pm on Friday, Bill and I were scrambling around town, looking for a couple of travel size blankets and umbrellas. I found some ugly, but heavy, black tights at the supermarket.



At 8am on Saturday, we were at the stadium, which was already half filled for the 10am ceremony.



We had on our fleece jackets, and our blankets were wrapped around us. Most of the parents looked just like us. But as I watched the stands fill up, I saw alot of young ladies wearing sleeveless sundresses and young guys in polo shirts and shorts..........it was freezing.
Bill went and bought a cup of coffee at the concession stand, he hates coffee.



Graduation lasted four hours.....four really long hours because by 10am, the clouds went away.
The sun came out.
The wind died.
It was mucho calor.
I wanted to rip those ugly heavy black tights off and about 11am I went to the restroom, did that and threw them in the garbage....................

Above, Hour One, a sea of blue, about 2,000 graduates.

Below, Hour Two, our daughter stands, facing right in the lower right of the photo, with her college, to line up for the podium.
Below, Hour Three, our daughter and two of her friends have had enough of the gown, off with it, they say!Finally, Hour Four, some can no longer tolerate the heat and the stands empty a little and the tassles are turned and the caps are tossed. We are done.

Proud father and daughter..............

Let the parties begin.



At 10pm, we have made it through all the parties and events we have the energy for and beg to go back to the hotel so we can watch the food channel.

KD continues through the night and we pick her up at her apartment at 9am for our Mothers' Day trip to Estes Park. She sleeps in the back seat of the car as we drive through the steep canyons and along the rushing Big Thompson. Slowly, on the twisting, winding road we ascend to a cool weather elevation, and when we get out of the car at the Stanley Hotel, I think for a second about those ugly, heavy black tights.

Below, proud mother and daughter.............

After brunch, we take a very scenic drive through Estes Park.................
The following day we fit in a last round of frisbee golf on campus, taking KD's dog, Tulo, and her roommate's dog, Brodie, along to chase lost frisbees and squirrels.

below, frisbees make great water dishes for tired dogs..............

we had a great trip...........tomorrow i want to tell you about our border crossing and our fm3 renewal.....adios..............linda lou

Week Two in Mexico

The morning photo from Tolt Hill. Lots of snow overnight and look, we do get sun up here!!!!!


That's two days of sun in a week! This is very exciting stuff here.
This is Lake Chapala, or Lago de Chapala, as it is in Spanish. It is about 45 minutes south of Guadalajara. In the past the lake has been very low, but it was beautiful when we there. These boats and their guides will take you out to Scorpion Island, or just around the lake. They are also still used for fishing and the fishermen use the old graceful butterfly nets.
This is the church in the town of Chapala. The towns of Chapala and Ajijic are beautiful, with cobblestone streets and many brightly painted buildings line the streets. Flowers are everywhere. Over 100,000 people live on the north side of the lake. The foreign population is very large in these towns and while we loved the towns and the atmosphere, living 'lakeside', as the expats call it, would not be right for us. We want something a little quieter, but we still aren't sure it's Alamos either. There are alot of water hyacinth on the shores of Lake Chapala. You can see how the mountains surround the towns, all the 'lakeside' towns have alot of charm, they are really pretty towns....




Kd and Ian sitting in the glass cactus outside a shop in Tlaquepaque
surf''s up for Ian in Sayulita
everyone in Sayulita has a surf board and if they aren't on it in the water, they are laying on it on the beach or walking around with it......

Hola!!

We are in week two in Mexico. We have picked up KD and Ian at the Guadalajara airport and are in Tlaquepaque (which I keep misspelling).
Everyone is napping, and I have the internet to myself, so I am going to just reflect for a few moments.We flew into Guadalajara at early dusk, when the city lights were just beginning to jump out at the sky. Guadalajara is a beautiful, sparkling city at night. It is over 5,000 feet in elevation and the temperature drops a little at night. Even in the dusk, from the air, we could see a long grayish, yellow cloud over much of the city. Yep, that is their pollution. I had read that there was a lot of pollution and we saw it from the air, but I will say, there is so much to do once you land and get your feet on the ground, that you don't look up and if it's there, you don't see it.
As I mentioned in week one in Mexico, we drove to Lake Chapala. I am finally able to post those photos. All of the towns along the north side of the Lake are architecturally beautiful, with quaint small plazas, beautiful churches, and cobblestone streets surrounded by adobe walls that are overflowing with gorgeous flowering vines. When we began researching our move to Mexico, we thought about checking into the towns of Chapala and Ajijic. Our research told us that both towns had very large expat communities. And that research was true to its words. We especially saw many, many Americans and Canadians. They were everywhere, walking their dogs and many of them were smoking cigarettes. That really surprised me, (We rarely saw Mexicans smoking.)

We went into a small Mexican cafe on the lake. We spoke in Spanish to order and were really enjoying the atmosphere and the Mexican music that was playing. A group of Americans came in, and sadly, the atmosphere changed to accommodate them. The waitress began to speak in broken English (which we love, it gives everyone a chance to work on a new language), but when the older American gentleman lit his cigarette and the proprietor changed the music to an American station, we felt it was time to hit the road.

So, now we have KD and Ian with us, and are in the heart of Tlaquepaque.
Our hotel, Quinta don Jose, was listed as a small boutique hotel and it is true, to that description, small and quaint. But, the greatest part is being a block away from Indepencia. This is a pedestrian street that is about six blocks long and lined with shop after shop of the most beautiful crafts, furniture, just everything. One big shop even has chickens running around inside. Many of the shop proprietors live in the backs of the stores, and occasionally a door will be open in the back of the store to let you have a secret peek at their home. We haven't made many purchases, but the four of us have enjoyed wandering up and down the street or sitting in one of the plazas.

The glass cactus photo was taken outside one of the shops.

We have also been to the pueblito of Tonala. Tonala, like Tlaquepaque, is also a part of Guadalajara. Tonala is where all the factories and shops are that produce much of the merchandise that is found in Tlaquepaque. This is where the artisans are and we were able to see many of them at work. There was also a large outdoor mercado where we did some shopping and a lot of eating. As soon as everyone is up and going, we are off on the drive to Sayulita.

When we decided KD and Ian would fly down and meet us for Thanksgiving, we wanted to take them to the beach. Bill and I have been to Puerta Vallarta many times and we have seen it change over the years and what we haven't seen we have either read about or heard from other people. While we think it is a beautiful, and very romantic city, it was sounding a little too big and crowded for us.
Sayulita, is probably more like what Puerta Vallarta was 30 years ago. We had not been there before and even though it is only 25 miles north of the Puerta Vallarta airport, believe me, on Highway 15, along the coast, that could be a couple of hours.The four hour drive west to the coast from Guadalajara, took a little longer as much of the road is only 2 lanes through and over the jungle covered hills. We were stuck behind more than a few big slow moving trucks.
Sayulita has been discovered by retirees and a lot of young Americans as well. But it is still very quaint and has a lot of local history and great restaurants. The beach there is the best thing going for Sayulita. The sand has pyrite in it and, it is a rich bright gold.

Sayulita is a very popular beginner's surfing destination. Both of our kids are big skiers and boarders, so after their one hour lesson, they were both up, riding the waves all the way in. One thing the guidebooks don't tell you about is that the ocean floor at Sayulita is rocky. So, there were a few cuts and scrapes to deal with.

I only waded in the shallow waves and never hit a rock once. I have developed a fear of water ever since my husband made me go with him on a catamaran to Turtle Island off the island of St Croix. The whole trip he kept doing the 'Jaws' movie monotone, :duh,duh, duh, duh,: and you knew the shark was coming and the kids were on the catamaran.... We never made it to Turtle Island and I hardly ever go in the water over my knees, even at the lake. You never know what is down there....I can't even snorkel, seeing the fish below me scares me to death...

Our bed and breakfast, Tia Adrianna's, was a 3 story, airy home a few blocks back from the beach. Huge windows and open air rooms made the view gorgeous. KD and Ian shared a large room on the 3rd floor which gave them a fantastic view of the ocean and town. We took a room on the second floor and the four of us spent a lot of time on the balconies playing gin rummy.
After a few days on the beach, and lots of wonderful breakfasts at Tia Adrianna's, we did the four hour drive again, and back in Guadalajara, we stayed at El Tapatia, which is a very old hotel up on a hill overlooking the city of Guadalajara.

I can hardly believe how much internet time I am getting. Plus we have figured out how to make our laptop work, well, the kids helped us figure that out. We bought three different battery cables at three different Wal-Mart's in Mexico before we got the right one.
We have just returned from the airport where we put KD and Ian on the plane back to Denver.

Tomorrow we begin the 3rd week of our journey. We have decided to return to Alamos and give it another try.

We absolutely love the town, but what about the noise? Already we wonder will it still be the noisy little town it was when we left? If we choose to live there, maybe we can live a few blocks up from all the circling cars, trumpets, and radios blaring? We don't mind crowing roosters.......

Three Weeks in Mexico

Here's the morning photo from the house. The big mountain on the far right is called Mount Si and looms over the town of North Bend, which is at the south end of the Snoqualmie Valley. Snoqualmie ski area (The Summit) is about half an hour from North Bend, and Mt Si is often used as a training trek for those folks who are going to climb Mt. Rainier.








Okie dokie!!On to Mexico!!!!

I am going to be sharing with you the three week trip we took to Mexico. I'll probably post it in thirds and I hope it will give you a little insight into how we went started this wild and crazy adventure!


exerts from my journal..........................

Now in our second week in Mexico, I have decided to stay. Well, okay, I would if I could. Our 3 week trip, divided into thirds has been to date, just what we had hoped and even more so. This is a fact finding mission for us as we decide to make a permanent move to a new country. A few months ago, my husband came home on a Friday and said, "Guess what? I retired, so lets move to Mexico." Moving to Mexico is something we have always talked about, I just didn't know we were going so soon.
Flying into Hermosillo and renting a car was a breeze. With Mexican car insurance in the glove compartment, and trying to stay committed to our decision to never drive in Mexico at night, my husband, Bill, threw caution to the wind, and drove like all the Mexicans did. I buckled up for the ride, only closed my eyes a couple of times, and we made it to the hotel as the sun set behind the horizon.
Before leaving Washington, we immersed ourselves as much as possible in the language, taking Spanish classes from two different teachers as often as possible. Car and hotel rentals seemed to be working for us and we were able to finally get one room instead of two. We still need alot of language practice though. Bill kept telling a man that we had "dos anos named KD and Ian" (2 years named KD and Ian). Bill was trying to say "dos ninos" (2 children). The interesting thing was the man kept shaking his head and saying, "si, si.", as though he understood everything Bill said. Having studied French, Bill sometimes gets the two languages mixed up and that makes for very interesting conversation. How good am I, you ask? Well, there was the little old lady in the bathroom; I told her "Bien viejo", but I meant to say "Bien viaje" (have a good trip). I called her a good old woman. She just smiled at me.

A short drive took us to San Carlos Bay. This is a beautiful bay, full of yachts and sailboats and Americans. We felt as if we had taken a wrong turn and gone north to California.

(Beautiful San Carlos Bay, but too many condominiums and too many americans)

Heading further south we arrived at our main destination, the town of Alamos. A colonial town nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, we had heard this was a small sleepy little town.

Our Alamos Hotel, a view from the balcony and the Alameda begins on the left where the white cars are. The archway in the buidings to the right leads into the mercado (market). The balcony where we spent our evenings is below the Posada de Andres sign.

We arrived at our small hotel on the Alameda well before dark. After dinner at a nearby cafe, we settled into chairs for a relaxing evening on the balcony that overlooks the long Alameda. We thought we would watch some of the activity for awhile. Soon we noticed that there were more and more cars coming out and driving up one side of the Alameda and up a few blocks and then returning down the other side of the Alameda. We watched this for awhile and began to say things like, "There's that red trooper coming back by." "Man. there's that truck again with all those little kids in the back end." Suddenly the town went crazy. There was very excited yelling and screaming, radios were blaring, men were playing guitars and singing, everyone was whistling.

The whole town went absolutely crazy with noise. We began to see more and more cars cruising around and around. The music got louder and louder and of course, each car was playing a different station. A large truck went by with a wire reindeer on its roof and a fire burning in a container below it. We started to have concerns that Alamos might not be the quiet town we are looking for. It was a Thursday night and we wondered why people were out so late. By midnight, the noise settled a little and then someone drove by with a crowing rooster and the town went crazy all over again. It quieted again around 2 am and someone went by blowing a trumpet and again, craziness let loose. We thought about finding a hotel farther up the hill for the next night. Things finally did get quiet for about an hour and then, all the delivery trucks arrived in town, right under our window.
We did stay in the same hotel the following night and watched this madness repeat itself. We were hooked on all the excitement and activity, but when it was time to go to bed, I used earplugs.
During the day, we discovered that we can take a Nissan Izuru rental car everywhere the townspeople say you can't, "because you need 4 wheel drive". So an adventure on dirt roads up into the foothills turned into a 4 hour long trip of winding and twisting roads and an occasional drive through the same small pueblo twice. Directions to town from a farmer on a donkey can take a person very interesting places.

A flight to Guadalajara, another rental car and more Mexican car insurance let us spend a night down at Lago de Chapala at the old Posada de Nueve. This is a beautiful historical hotel in Ajijic. Right on the lake, the hotel has a beautiful banyan tree on the lakeside. We sat at a table beneath the tree one afternoon and it began to rain. Being from the Pacific Northwest, the light rain didn't bother us. However, the other foreigners who had been at tables made a bee line for the indoors and the waiters thought we were crazy.

Now we are back in Guadalajara, having picked up our children, KD and Ian, who have flown in from school in Colorado to be with us for Thanksgiving. We are planning some shopping in Tonala and Tlaquepaque and will drive west to Sayulita for a trip to the beach.

More manana, mi amigos!

a few notes to share before I go...... The flowers are blooming everywhere, but this was at the end of the fall season, apparently during the rainy months of July, August and September, there are even more flowering plants.
Alamos buildings and sidewalks are well above ground to accommodate the running waters that occur during the summer rains. During the summer monsoon rains, we hear that the water rushes down the street, often right at sidewalk height and most of it ends up surrounding the alameda.
Alamos streets are cobblestone, brick, lime, but there are still many unpaved roads in and around town.

Beautiful old buildings surround the church plaza -
The church at the plaza is very very white and clean. It is also fairly quiet compared to the working alameda plaza. The church plaza and the alameda are connected by the kissing wall, a very long, narrow alleyway, where the youth sneak to at night. Stories say that the alley is so narrow that sometimes they can kiss from second story window to window. I never saw that happen, but the kissing wall is used a lot to get from one plaza to the next.
The alameda is lined with vendors selling food.There are so many small vendors , tacos, tacquitos, hamberquesas, fish, chicken, all being grilled on wood fires. You order your food and then sit down and someone brings it to you and it is all so good. Also at the alameda you can buy a nice hat or shirt and get your shoes shined, a vendor will bring a newspaper to your car as you drive by and a coca or 7 (Coca-Cola or 7up) can be found everywhere.

In my next post I'll show you some photos of the church plazaand photos of Lake Chapala.