Norma's Shoe Shopping!

"The only thing" Norma wanted to do in San Miguel De Allende was to renew her shoe collection. We found the San Miguel Shoe store on Google Maps and headed out on our Quest. We went into the store and Norma started going through their huge selection with Juan helping her keep everything sorted out. She said she needed five pair but could only find two. The clerk told her there was another store a few blocks away so off we went. This store was a gold mine for her, the selection was much larger and she had little problem filling out her wish list!

"But Juan, none of these are exactly what I want!"

The Prize!

San Miguel de Allende

It was a nine hour drive but with lots of stops for snacks, coffee, pee breaks so it went really well. The guys Dodge Durango is a little more comfortable than the Honda for long trips so my back survived the trip with little pain. The rental agent met us at the house and showed us around.

And then it was Happy Hour! A little chilly but it will warm up over the week. 21 degrees scheduled for today and 25 for tomorrow.

Here is our room upstairs off the patio.

And our view of the church downtown.

You can read more on Chris' Blog HERE

Monterrey Day 1

It rained in the middle of the night and a neighbour serenaded us with some very loud music at 2:00 AM but after all, it IS Mexico and we can't get too excited about it. Here are some shots of Chris and Juan's house.

First stop, tacos for breakfast! A huge selection at $11 pesos each.

Then haircuts for Chris and I. I tried twice in Mesa to get my hair cut but got a crappy job both times. Here, Louis gave me just what I wanted, short! 

And then it was Chris' turn.

Then we had to find Norma and Juan to see what trouble they had gotten into.

We then went to the tire store where the guys replaced a tire they had an unrepairable flat in and finally to the grocery store to get some supplies for the road trip tomorrow to San Miguel de Allende!

Tonight we are going out for Italian food. The fun never stops around here!

Monterrey!

Safe and sound in Monterrey!

The border crossing was uneventful. We were the only ones in line, we filled out our forms, paid our fees, stuck the holograma on the window and headed out of the parking lot where we got the red light! No problem, he opened the trunk, saw the booze, asked if it was for our own consumption and waved us through.

Highway 2 was quite rough until it joined up with the cuota highway 85. We paid one toll of 205 pesos and were soon in Monterrey where we followed the GPS instructions to Chris and Juan's house in Santiago. Chris was home but Juan was at work. We are all here now enjoying Happy Hour. More later!

Border Nerves

I don't know why I worry about this. We have our documents and have done this a dozen times. Migration.... Banjercito.... TIP.... Copias..... Piece of cake!

Texas Trivia

Texas trivia!

Know where the term "Shot of whisky" came from?

Back in the day a glass of whisky cost ten cents. A .45 bullet also cost ten cents. If a thirsty cowboy wanted a drink but was broke most obliging bartenders would trade him a "shot" for a bullet from his/her gunbelt which they would then sell to another customer. Now you know.

Laredo, Texas

A great drive today on mostly good secondary roads. We passed through FRACKING country with lots of oil related industry and lots of RV parks, many of them temporary.

The Red Roof Hotel is nice, $56 on Hotels.com. Close to the road to the MX border. We will rest up tonight.

Tomorrow's route. Part of it anyway.

Today's route if you are interested.

The Honda is Back!

The Honda is ready before promised! $480 US after taxes, maybe a little more that I would have spent if I had been able to shop around but all in all, not bad. Thank you Roberto at Del Rio Goodyear!

Three hours to Laredo, TX. We are back on schedule!

Well This Sucks!

We got a good start out of Fort Stockton this morning and made it a hundred miles or so and then BANG! a blow-out in the drivers side front tire! Even though I was doing over 70 (probably 78, my standard cruise control setting in a 75 MPH speed limit). I got it to the side of the road and inspected the damage. It was bad!

By luck we had cell coverage so I called AAA for road service. I have a donut spare but it is 27 years old and has never been used, I was not about to trust it. They dispatched a truck from Del Rio Towing (Del Rio is the nearest town of any size) which arrived in about an hour and a half.

I was happy to see both the driver and his helper (a woman) were Mexican so I knew they could find me tires. The size I needed 195/60R/14 are hard to find. She started calling tire stores while we were traveling and after phoning every tire dealer in Del Rio, they could not find any. She called the Goodyear dealer back and asked if he could order four of them. He could and they will be here before noon tomorrow and he can mount them right away. We will be on our way to Laredo by 2:00 at the latest.

We asked the tire dealer about hotels and he pointed us to the nearby La Quinta with three restaurants close by. Perfect

It was good that Norma insisted on an extra day "just in case". We will still get to Chris and Juan's in plenty of time.

Fort Stockton, Texas

Waltzing Across Texas

Only one thing to say about I-10 in Texas. Rough and boring! OK, that's two things. I so much prefer the secondary roads.

We had a great free breakfast at Day's (waffles, omelets, oatmeal, cold cereal, toast, juice, coffee - as much of everything as you want) and headed out of New Mexico. As usual, El Paso had tons of construction on the Interstate. El Paso and Salt Lake City are the same, 365 days a year of construction zone. Not fun!

We got to Van Horn, the town at the turnoff to the Big Bend highway and stopped for lunch and gas. There is a century old hotel that has been rebuilt and refurbished and we tried that for lunch but were told they were only open for dinner. They recommended Margie's Bakery and it was very good if $7 grilled cheese sandwiches are your thing. Oh well, breakfast was free.

We stopped at the Texas Welcome Center to see if they could line us up with a hotel deal in Fort Stockton but they said there were never any deals there. We drove down the main street to have a look and passed a Motel 6 with lots of workers trucks outside. We pulled in and found they had rooms for $56. Very basic and no free anything, not even WIFI. I have my own WIFI so we took it.

Gas mileage was worse today as the speed limit on the Interstate is 80 MPH so I set the cruise control on 78 and relaxed except for when I hit the odd pothole or rough section. The Honda just purred along. I am feeling bad now for thinking of getting rid of it!

Six hours of mostly secondary road driving tomorrow and we will be in Laredo, Texas