Whew! Just returned from an exhausting 'vacation' to the midwest for a family function, delivering a dog to a new home, and some light shopping on the return trip. Now I remember why we haven't done this before....
The drive up to the States was interesting, as we had driven down to SMA via a different route last year - skipping most of Texas and the flooded Rio Grande river. So it was the first time for this particular trip to Kentucky and everything was new and different, including that meandering drive through eastern Texas and the Ozarks.
Our dog, Chiquitita, traveled well and behaved when we left her in the motel rooms while getting dinner each night. Visiting with our friends near Louisville - where we introduced Chiqui to her new friend and family - was a joy. Formerly from Pasadena, they had been our more-or-less neighbors for several years (and Michael's good friends since his move to Los Angeles) and had previously had one of our Wheatens. It was great visiting with them and catching up with the last 15 years or so. Chiqui settled in well and got along famously with their present dog, Tanner.
Then we moved on to my brother and sister-in-law's home for a visit. Actually, it was for their 50th wedding anniversary surprise party - which turned out to be more-or-less a surprise and included a lot of their friends and our relatives that I hadn't seen in, maybe, 40 or 50 years. A good time was had by all.
Since my sister had flown in for the party (and hid out at our nephew's home before the event), we then headed up to southern Indiana with her to see the house they own in our old hometown. Still in need of some TLC, it certainly has possibilities! But Paula's right - you need to take a month or two to stay on site while the work is done.
Then it was off on our return trip to Mexico. Of course we hadn't planned the trip quite well enough - we were moving houses before the move as you may recall - so our travel directions were only one-way. We had to reverse them for the return trip, which wasn't as simple as it sounds. Luckily we had our GPS device with us and it proved pretty good. We did manage to miss a turn or two, but it all worked out (some day we'll tell you about that killer pothole in Monterrey - and our adventures at the border - which are better left unreported to protect the innocent) and we eventually arrived home. It's taken us a couple of days to pull ourselves together and feel normal again.
And, yes, we did go shopping at an IKEA in Texas, so there's lots of boxes to unpack and assemble. We arrived home to the find the carpenter installing the bathroom cabinet doors and to inspect the kitchen wall cabinets that were installed while we were gone. Our friend, Victor, arrived to perform his last day of watering the lawns in our absence, and yesterday the remaining dogs returned home from their own acation at Wendy's B&B.
We've decided that we will never drive into the states again, but fly instead. It was one long drive from the border and the return to Mexico through Nuevo Laredo was confusing at best. Only after we reached the Mexican countryside did it become pleasant again.
So we're home again. Lawns green and lush; the kitchen cabinets (reworked) will be re-installed later today so we can then finish unpacking the kitchen goods; the three remaining dogs (Fiyero, Miyaki, and Coca) are happy to be back home; and we've been unpacking and assembling the new patio set for our rooftop and today we're working on the new dining room table. Once the table is done we can arrange for Pedro to install the dining room chandelier and do some additional work around the house while we finish assembling the rest of the things we bought.
All is not without some disappointment, however: The kitchen cabinets were not as specified - even though I'd provided detailed drawings - so those are being modified to be closer to the original design; the IKEA shoe cabinet that we bought in Texas has interior compartments for the shoes and only two work - the other two have parts that do not match each other, which will be a chore getting replaced long distance (we may need to enlist the help of my sister in San Diego as there are no IKEAs in Mexico); and, we lost our US cell phone early on during the trip and it hasn't been found, so we must deal with the phone company moving the minutes and time over to the new phone.
However, it was a good trip overall: We spent time with our old friends who had moved to Kentucky; Chiquitita has a new, loving home; we dined at several really good restaurants; we visited our old hometown of Brazil, Indiana; Michael met some of my extended, crazy family; and we didn't have any issues that weren't settled amicably even though it was a stressful time. Overall, it was a plus!
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