Things are going well! I’m not too in tune with the magic and romance of Mexico yet but I’m trying. We do love the weather. Right now, the nights are a bit chilly. So we open the windows during the day to let the heat in and close them at night. We’ve run a electric space heater once or twice. We’ve heard that it could easily start warming up again from here on or perhaps starting early next month. The days are still nice and warm. We climbed a nearby mountain yesterday with short sleeve shirts.

Yesterday, Christmas day, was our first hike here. We had planned to climb up to a little shrine that is about half-way up one of the mountains - for Christmas and all. But some friends of ours were planning a different hike so we joined up with them instead. The hike was only about an hour and a half up and an hour down so we were back home by around 12:30. We chose not to have a special meal out or at home Christmas day but simply had left-overs instead. We did have an invitation out for desserts at night. It was fun. The hostess had little name tags prepared for all the invitees and everything. And, like the perfect hostess, she quickly introduced us to a few people and got us started mingling. We met a couple from Bedford, NH, a town not far from where we used to live that we were quite familiar with. Eventually, she called us together and asked people to tell stories about how Christmas was observed when they were young, in their home county, or in other countries they have lived, etc. She had put together a very diverse group. I think one man had spent Christmas in more than 15 countries. We felt pretty damn common and not very well traveled at that point but seemed to fit in all the same. I’m almost always anxious about going out to social gatherings, but then always end up having a great time.

Leading up to Christmas we tried both gringo and Mexican events. There was a Garden Club luncheon with turkey, dressing, everything including the plum pudding that was quite nice. There was also a Christmas concert in the auditorium by a local group that was very good, with the proceeds going to charity. We also went on a charity fund raising home tour of six homes. We joined in / observed two nights of a Mexican posada in the nearby village of San Antonio. I think it is a traditional way of re-telling the story of Christ’s birth to the children. The Padre led the children through the streets, periodically stopping a different stations along the way, and told the story. It must have been a lot more than just the “no room at the inn” because we saw Moses parting the Red Sea, angels, etc. at the various stations. Then the crowd would be led in song and sing and clap along the street to the next station. Eventually, everyone is led to the Mass at 7:30. The second night we went it seemed like there could have been as many as 500 people. Finally, the other Mexican event that comes to mind was a concert by children of various ages on the steps of the Catholic church in the center of Ajijic. Between the fires that were lit that were more smoke than flames, the buzz in the loudspeaker system, and the local school children quality of the concert, we might choose to pass up the opportunity to go to that one next year.

The big news prior to Christmas was our successful trip back to NH (via airplane) and the drive down in our automobile. We timed it so we would have Thanksgiving with our best friends Holly and Andy in NH, get to see Leigh’s parents and cousin a couple times, etc. It worked out great. We got to visit our stuff, in another good friend’s basement, and try to find the various items we thought of to take down with us. We had lots of other logistics to take care of as well. We were at our friends house for about two weeks and busy with something or other most of the time.

We finally got our car packed with a roof top carrier and all and headed out near the end of November. We chose to go out Rt. 90, the Mass Pike, all the way to Erie and then through Ohio and down. I didn’t mind being on the road as much as I thought I would. Motel rooms were no problem and were inexpensive that time of year. We stopped for a day of fun at Mammoth Caves Kentucky and another day in Memphis, Tenn. We also had about a half-day of sight-seeing in San Antonio, Texas. The border crossing, with a car full of stuff mind you, went quite well even though we got the dreaded red light. Leigh had a list of everything we packed, down to the compartment of the vehicle it was in, and a value assigned to everything we didn’t think was exempt from duty. So rather than make us unload our roof-top carrier, which would have been a real pain, they simply asked us to open the trunk. I think they wanted to see what kind of computer we had. We had hoped that the information we had heard that desktop computers, as well as notebooks, were now exempt was true, even though I couldn’t find any information supporting this on the Internet. This border official didn’t seem to think so because we were asked how much it was worth and to add it to our non-exempt list. We had our answer prepared ahead of time of course because we new this was really iffy. Anyway, we just paid the tax, got the stamp, and were on our way. Next stop - temporary auto importation. That all went pretty smoothly too (except one somewhat amusing wrong turn). We were well prepared with all the necessary documents in hand. We were on the road with clear sailing by about 10:15 AM. For me, the border crossing was the most dreaded part of the trip and to have it all done by mid-morning felt like a huge success and a major relief.

From Laredo, Texas to here is a two-day drive. We took the toll roads wherever we could and they are pretty good but not as nice as the interstate highways in the US. There was also some very slow going in a few sections that were under construction or repair. We had heard of a good place to stop that was about half way and sure enough it worked out great. Leigh felt that the last hour before getting here, on the highways on the outskirts of Guadalajara, was the worst because of the nerve-wracking congested city driving. We were on the road a total of nine days, including the stops for fun along the way.

We had a great time at Mammoth Caves. We planned our trip so we would be there on a weekend, when more tours are available this time of year. But, we had nothing in particular planned. We had a leisurely breakfast and got to the information desk shortly after 9:00 AM. I’m thinking we would take one of the 1:30 to 2:00 hour tours and be on are way by noon or so. We ask what’s available and before the information booth person can get out much of an answer a man in overalls asks “Want to take the Wild Cave Tour?” “We have two people already signed up but we can’t go without at least four.” “It’s usually all booked up in advance this time of year.” We start reading the brochure and it’s talking about being physically fit, 9” passages, climbing, crevices, 6-hours underground, etc. etc. and I’m saying “No way.” But every time I raise an objection the man says “Well, we can go around that.” “Don’t worry, bring $10 and you can buy lunch in the cave.” We eventually realize that this is a great opportunity. We change into our hiking boots and cave clothes and indeed have a great time - 9” passage that we can barely squeeze through and all. For me, the 120 ft. tunnel that you had to crawl / slither through was probably the worst - way too long in a confined space.

Kevin, Leigh, Keith, and Jackie at Mammoth Caves

Well, there is lots more to tell you but I’m typed out for now.