The Innocents Do Vegas

 On the Road -- Again

And so we begin another lengthy road trip.  This time to Los Angeles to see our sons, onward to four National Parks in Utah and a visit to our niece and her family in Colorado.  While this seems straight forward enough we will manage to complicate it in numerous ways -- as usual.  We begin our trip in high spirtis having decided to take our time and just saunter through Mexico and up to Phoenix to see our cousin and then onward to Los Angeles.  Our first stop is Mazatlan (scene of our recent Eclipse event) which is an "easy" six hour drive.  Then we can relax at the beach -- sort of.  The stretch between Ajijic and Mazatlan is arguably the toughest of our drives in that large sections are on a two lane road which necessitates passing a zillion trucks by threading the needle between the trucks in the right lane and the oncoming trucks on the other lane while climbing through the Sierra Madre mountains. 

 I am distracted from Michael's death defying passing strategies by the seemingly endless procession of military vehicles each carrying about 10 very heavily armored and armed soldiers.  I am not exaggerating when I say that we easily passed 500+ soldiers (I was counting) between our home and the border.  We conjectured on what this could mean while being heartened in that they all seem to be going in the opposite direction to us.  "So,' says Michael, " it could be because the presidential election is June 2nd and the current ruling party wants to demonstrate their readiness to confront evil."  "Or, " I offer, "it could be a huge military exercise that is coming together at some central point".   "Or, says Michael, "they could be heading for a really big slap down of some cartel or another."  As with all things in Mexico there are three (or more) possible theories for anything and we will never know the actual answer.  We proceed.  There will be no pictures of this because they really don't like that.

We arrive in Mazatlan ready to relax and have a nice seaside dinner.  Only to discover that it is motorcycle weekend in Mazatlan.  Each crew is trying to outdo the other with roaring motorcycles, suicidal traffic maneuvers and drunken revelry.  We are particularly taken by the Soldiers for Jesus contingent who seem to be everywhere staunchly defending Christ while imbibing vast numbers of Margaritas and beer.  It is time to move on.  Everything continues apace and we cross the border after a significant wait and are once more in the good old USA.  We have failed to do something at the border  that will reverberate later.

We reach Phoenix and meet up with Michael's cousin John who lives on the outskirts in Surprise Arizona.  There is something about Arizona where they felt the compunction to name towns things like Truth or Consequences (really) or Surprise (surprise!) or any number of other confounding monikers.  We find John surrounded by his son,  spouse, daughter, her fiance and a another cousin's daughter as well as his dog Daisy and a five month old Siberian Husky puppy who is very spunky.  They have all landed at his place for the Rolling Stones Concert the next night.  Clearly John has his hands full but we have a great dinner with the mob and head off to LA to see the guys.  The Rolling Stones are a unifying theme of the trip since most people we visit with are going to see them at one time or another on their tour.  Got to get a final concert in before .... well, you know.

From the left is Martina, Deirdre, John and Joe. Starting in the back right is Ann, Stephanie, Jenna, Matt and Ewa.

Ewa took this photo so I could join the group photo.

It Always seems so Simple

So, a major part of our mission on this tour is to do a car handoff.  Our younger son Alex's Subaru has bitten the dust so we decided to give him our Subaru at the ned of our road trip and fly back to Ajijic to pick up our new Subaru.  Part of this is due to the fact that we are amazingly wonderful parents and another part is that we keep backing into things without a back up camera and the  big, old Outback is hard to park on narrow cobblestoned streets.  So, how hard can a car transfer be?  We'll tell you.  

A trip to the DMV reveals that we need a million forms to effect the handoff.  We have a factura (a title in Mexico) that doesn't work in the US even though the car was manufactured in the US and there is a NAFTA agreement that we thought should cover it.  So, this means that we: a) should have stopped at the border to do "something" that would have made it easier and b) now have to fill out more forms and go to the Customs and Border Patrol office in some obscure area near LAX.  Once that has been accomplished (after a scolding from Immigration about a Customs Broker) we then have to return to the DMV who will send the papers to Sacramento so they can do "something" to it and then, when the papers return, Michael will be able to have the US title which he can transfer to Alex. Due to the pace of bureaucracy, the final transfer will occur in late August when we return to LA.  Told you it would be simple....

It's Time to Rock OUT

Astoundingly, Michael and I have never seen The Stones in Concert.  In fact, probably the last concert we went to involved sitting on a lawn with a picnic and a couple of thousand people listening to folk music.  We are very old. We were in for a very different experience.  The Concert was held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas which holds a mere 65,000 people, has 44 escalators and at least 100 stands selling, well, everything.  Our seats were somewhere near Mars.  We had promised Alex a Stones T shirt since I had inadvertently given his prior concert T shirt to Good Will not understanding its tremendous value.  We stood in the "merch" line of many, many people all of whom were seriously psyched to spend $50 on a T shirt.  As we stood there we looked around and noticed a banner which read: "Sponsored by AARP". I think that tells you what you need to know.

Well actually, the audience spanned the ages.  There were children there who were 6 or 7 (who DOES that) to geezers like us.  We were seated next to two 30 somethings who were restrained at first.  I think the gummies or whatever kicked in around the fifth or sixth song.  At that point the guy next to me leapt to his feet, started punching the air frantically and screaming the lyrics to Jumpin Jack Flash.  I cowered next to Michael trying to avoid the flailing.  It was a really good show though.  I can report that Mick is no longer leaping or doing splits but he still can really strut.  Keith Richards defies medical science.  He gives me hope.

This gives you an idea of the size of the stadium,...

particularly when you see (or don't see the size of the performers on the stage).

The big screens allowed us to see Keith Richards...

and Mick Jagger more clearly,...

as well as the other performers.

After the concert (and after our bedtime) we moved as a herd to the RideShare area to pick up our Uber which we had arranged with the driver who brought us.  Upon reflection, we should have thought twice since the guy was from Ethiopia and had only been in Las Vegas for two weeks.  The RideShare area outside of the Stadium is like a labyrinth of endlessly snaking vehicles.  It is very unclear how one gets into or out of it if one is inexperienced.  He was inexperienced.  We tried to talk him in as much as you would a plane on an emergency approach but all efforts failed.  It was 1 AM and we were exhausted.  Our defenses were down.  A guy approached and said he was free so we took him up on his offer for a ride.  I began to have some misgivings as I sized him up as a swarthy, vaguely unfriendly Russian type who was leading us across a dark parking lot.  By the time we got in the Escalade we both were looking at each other.  It was too late.  We were in the car in a dark parking lot with an unpleasant looking fellow.  Onward.  After a circuitous route to our hotel he pulled up an demanded $200.  We snorted, handed him $40  (the inbound ride was $25) and departed to his outrage and screaming lunges.  Luckily, it being Vegas, there was a security guy at the door so we retreated intact.  Honestly, living in Mexico we have let our guard down -- that's ironic. 

Onward Towards Nature -- Lots of Nature.......

The Eclipse

Aren't We the Lucky Ducks 

As luck would have it, we in Ajijic were adjacent to the "path of totality" -- that is if you count 6 and 1/2 hours of distance as being adjacent.  Never ones to let a little distance get in the way of a fun time we, along with our pals Sally and Mike, signed up for an eclipse package many moons (or suns) ago.  While at first I thought the price a little elevated I was brought back to earth (I have to stop these solar/planetary allusions) when I heard accounts of a nightly rate of $894 for a Motel 6 (or equivalent) in some town that didn't nearly have the climate we were to enjoy in Mazatlan. So off we went to the RI Emerald Bay hotel in Mazatlan -- the first speck of land to enjoy the totality.

The drive was uneventful except for the almost constant need to pass double tractor trailers as we sped through the Sierra Madre mountains on roads that consist of two lanes and two small breakdown lanes.  Passing requires a modicum of trust in the other drivers and it helps to have nerves of steel.   This is how it works.  When you want to pass you peek out to the center of the road and edge out.  At this point the traffic in your lane and the oncoming traffic notice your intent and start driving half in the breakdown lane and half in the real lane.  You zip between them and pull back in.  The only obvious drawback is if two cars try to do this simultaneously from opposite directions in which case it becomes a game of chicken. After completing this maneuver about 214 times we arrived in one piece at the hotel.

In all of our collective 150 years of life on earth Michael and I have never stayed at an "all-inclusive" resort.  We sought counsel from friends more experienced than we were.  One friend said, " Think of it as being like a cruise ship just kept going and came up on shore and called itself an all inclusive resort.  This proved pretty apt. Now before you think I'm going to get all snooty about our lodgings I must say that it was a really nice place.  The staff was friendly and exceptionally efficient.  The food was excellent.  All in all it was a good experience.  But it was a bit overwhelming.  It was huge -- and I do mean huge.  It took us ten minutes (at least) to walk to the lobby.  Everything was on a gigantic scale.  As I sat in the lobby waiting for Michael one day I kept having this feeling that I'd been in a very similar place before.  Yes!  That was it!  It was the noise.  The lobby was so cavernous that the sounds echoing off the 30 or 40 foot ceiling sounded just like rush hour in Grand Central Station.  Really Huge!

 Michael had brought about 113 lbs of camera gear (a slight? exaggeration) so that no aspect of the eclipse would escape his photographic reach. We wandered the grounds searching the perfect vantage point.  As I became bored, I suggested that Michael just follow the Japanese crew and set up where they did.  They seemed very confident.  Michael went his own way.  The great day arrived and Michael set up three cameras and we were ready to go.  For those who did not experience it here is the short form of what happened.  The shadow grew over the sun fairly gradually but everything remained the same.  Birds flying and cheeping, sun shining brightly, calm winds.  Then after about 3/4 coverage things speeded up.  Birds landed and stopped singing, the wind came up markedly, the temperature dove at least ten degrees and the sky darkened to a shade of dark dusk.  What was weird (well it was all weird) was that a slight ring of light emanated from the horizon in all directions while the rest of the sky was dark.  And then, as it came, it went.  I later learned that in Ajijic there was about 90% coverage which begs the question of the drive and hotel but hey it was fun.

These were the views from the 22nd floor of the Riu Emerald Bay,...

while we were scouting locations from which to view the total eclipse...

and viewing an even bigger water park then the one at our hotel.

These were the beach views from the back of the hotel...

which made us decide not to brave the ocean surf & also hope for a less cloudy day for the eclipse.

The frigate birds enjoyed riding the thermals above the hotel (see if you can count the number).

This was the view of the hotel from the beach.

The beginning of the eclipse (in which I learned it is much harder to photograph and eclipse).

Earlier we encountered this couple and their son from Mexico City, who decided this was an excellent location from which to view the eclipse.

The corona of the sun highlighting the moon at totality.

Another shot of the the moon highlighted by the sun at totality.

This is the shot I was hoping for but was beyond my photographic skills, so I created this in a program called Midjourney using AI.

A Tip for Oldsters

Some might consider this just another of Deirdre's phobias but this one played out as a pragmatic success. I always request a room on a lower floor.  Michael will just roll his eyes and humor me.  Well, the wisdom of my "phobia" was displayed on our trip.  At 4 AM on the night that the eclipse occurred we were awakened to flashing lights and screaming sirens and announcements in various languages to vacate the building ASAP.  So. for those of us who are seventy five (or for that matter any age) do you want to deal with a stairwell stampede from the 22nd floor or the second floor?  Now, here is the second reason.  The hotel was full.  Do you want to get on the elevator (if you can) at the 20th floor and stop at every floor before reaching the lobby?  And vice versa?  I rest my case.

A Very Sad Farewell

Chico Rico (AKA Rich Boy) entered our lives about seven years ago.  He left us on Easter Sunday. During the six or seven years before he came into Alex's life and ours, he had endured so much you would never believe that he could  remain the sweet, loyal dog that he was.  He had acid spilled on his back to try to make him a fighter and went through a painful recovery. He had owners who died leaving him on the streets again, and at least two other owners who were less than wonderful.  And then he wandered into a bar where he found our son Alex.  And his life turned around.  Relentlessly friendly and comical he was a great companion.  He went to weddings and funerals, hiked the redwood forest with us and preened as he pranced down the Beverly Hills promenade.  He loved our road trips, dinners out and children. He did not love cats.  He died a happy dog.  We were walking and he just fell over and died-- doing what he loved with the people he loved.  We should all be so lucky.  Thank you for the joy you brought to the family Chico.  Hopefully we'll see you on the other side. 

Some shots of our beloved Chico Rico showing his style...

even in repose...

and comforting our son Alex, when we were in LA for Alex's failing liver.

Our next adventure is a road trip to the West.  We'll visit our sons in Los Angeles and then head to Utah and Colorado with visits to National Parks, a Stones Concert and a visit with our niece Shannon.  So, more blog fodder.  We hope you are all enjoying spring and please let us know what you are up to. 

Happy New Year and Yes. We Are Alive!

 It's Been A Long, Long Year...and now it's over!

While sparing you the gory details, I will summarize our year as less than stellar.  So, let's just move on and hope for a more groovy 2024, in spite of multiple wars, political upheaval and climate change.  Stop Deirdre!  It will be fine.

So, this will be a short post just to kick off the year.  I must say Ajijic is a great place to spend New Years. The Mexicans really know how to enjoy a holiday.  I mean in a country where the Day of the Dead is a festive event you can only imagine what New Years is like.

We began the celebration with our good friends Sally and Mike who, each year, host a Midnight In Paris Party.  I offer this up to you readers of a certain age who find reaching midnight to be a bridge too far.  So, with a Midnight in Paris party everyone celebrates at what would be midnight in Paris.  For us in the Central Time Zone that means 5 PM.  Assembling at 4 PM with wine in hand and massive appetizers we count down to champagne and toasts at five, more eating and drinking and we're home at 9:00.  Perfect.

Having tucked in early we are prepared for the annual New Years Parade in the Village.  This is not the Parade of Roses but it does have its charms.  It is alleged that the parade originated as a method to cool hostilities between two barrios of the village.  Rather than physical hostility it was decided that a healthy competition was in order.Thus they created the parade and decided a battle of the floats beat a battle of the fists. Over time the original impetus was lost and it just became another festive event.

The parade was billed to start "between noon and 1:00". We were far too experienced to fall for that.  We showed up a bit before 1:00 and thus only had to wait and hour and a half more until the parade appeared.  But it was not wasted time.  We made new friends.  That is the beauty (or one of the beauties) of this place.  If you just plop yourself down somewhere odds are you will meet interesting people.  So, as we sat on our concrete bench we made friends with a Canadian couple.  He had been a news cameraman and had some interesting tales to tell.  On Michael's side was a woman who was born in Mexico and was a professor at Carnegie Mellon.  She was visiting Leon to celebrate her 60th birthday  and decided to swing by Ajijc. We chatted with our new pals for over an hour and then enjoyed the parade together.  It is a sweet place.

I said this would be short and it will.  Mardi Gras will be rolling in soon and we will be going to Mazatlan in April to witness the total eclipse which passes directly overhead.  Hopefully we'll get to do some more extensive travel as the year unwinds and we'll have more tales to share.  In the interim, have a happy and healthy New Year and let us know what you are up to. 

Even the abuela (grnadmother) & her nietos (grandchildren) participate in the parade.

The Barbie theme was big this year.

This man was providing his own horsepower, while fueling it with cerveza.

What's a parade without a little confetti...

.

with some dispensed by an angel.

Even Spiderwoman was part of the parade.

Los seis esquinas (six corners) had a dragon in the parade.

The "torito" or bull frame with firecrackers attached was on the hood of this vehicle.

This cute pair look like they are ready for their performance in the Nutcracker.

These are either supposed to be young fairies...

or mariposas (butterflies).

NO New Year's parade is completer without the Grinch, appearing as the DJ for this event.

I'll let you use your imagination on this one.

No parade would in Ajijic would ever be complete without the caballo & caballero.

The young children get in on the action as well.

Not too many parents NOB (North of the Border) would have their young child....

riding on top of the car, no matter how slow it may be going.

As can be seen from these two photos, the "naughty" nuns put in an appearance as well.

There were many characters with large papier mache heads...

of different types...

and varieties.

One of the more intriguing floats was this one with the young man riding...

and balancing on a large papier mache bull.

Santa Claus himself put in an appearance having dispensed with his rigorous Christmas duties...

to help celebrate the New Year.

A spaceship with aliens following were also part of the parade.

This young girl had perfected the "royal wave".