I need a torture bear and a piece of rope

sayeth Pike, coming into the trailer after playing outside. Jamie and I found it incredibly funny. Maybe you had to be there…

So, when last we left our intrepid travelers, they were happily enjoying the beach, birds, water, oysters and warmth of Goose Island. By the time we left Goose Island I was really quite sick of it. We got two teaser days of sun and six days of gloom, rain, horrific wind and clouds. I know, from the two days of sun, that it is a lovely place to stay, but I was quite sick of it by the time we left. Two rays of sunshine during that stay were when Jody and the kids came down for the day (and supermom that she is, she let her boys spend the night, then drove 3 hours to pick them up and take them home! What a MOM!) and the day the Mac arrived. Papa and Tata had given Jamie a Thinkpad T40 last May when he and Michael were headed down to Mexico. Somewhere between May and December, the laptop got water spilled on it, was taken to Guadalajara for warranty repair, lost all mouse functions and finally lost keyboard, integrated wireless and touchpad functions. The LCD and hardrive worked though. Since I had purchased a computer rider on our USAA insurance, we get $3000 of computer accidental repairs a year. It took about a month of paperwork but it was all done over the internet and while lengthy, it was painless.

We had a MacBook (refurb with 3 year AppleCare) delivered to the campground and while we were promised impossibilities by Apple, they came through in the end and we should be getting a rebate which will basically negate shipping and sales tax. Jamie is incredibly excited about his Mac; he loves the intuitive design and all the bells and whistles. The kids absolutely ADORE the MacBook and I have a feeling we’ll see more of them in our house as the Thinkpads begin to die.

We thought Brownsville was a mere 2 hours of travel from Goose Island and were shocked to find it took us at least 4 hours to get to Mission, Texas. Jamie “needed” to purchase 1/2 of AutoZone and 1/2 of Target and probably 1/2 of many other stores, so we spent the night in what turned out to be a 55+ park. Oh, man, were the 55+ people pissed. They didn’t like the kids in the pool, they didn’t like the kids in the hot tub, they didn’t like the kids playing in the dirt, they didn’t like the kids playing in the water, they didn’t like the kids playing with their bears; pretty much they didn’t like kids. The owner kept telling us that it was ok for us to be there, but I was never so ready to leave a park in my life. It was quiet though and we got good fireworks views as it was New Years Eve.

Border crossing the next morning was fine. The road to San Fernando de Presas was lovely. We parked for the night in the courtyard of a motel and not one person wanted to leave the interior of the trailer. I’m beginning to wonder why we travel in Mexico at all, when the kids spend most of the day in the trailer and I’m getting REALLY close to limiting the boys time on the computer. I’m also really tired of being the one responsible for all the cooking and cleaning, and while Jamie helps out; he Helps; it really doesn’t seem to be his responsibility. I’m kinda getting tired of that whole scene but he gets so stressed out when I work and don’t do the cooking and cleaning that I’ve also been avoiding work.

We’re in Ciudad Victoria tonight, again, and slowly getting our Mexican groove on. We’re going to some rainforest biospheres and then hope to rent a house in Xalapa for a month and maybe that will help my Mexican attitude. I don’t know what it is this year. Ellen and I were walking to the store today (haven’t even visited the mercado in town yet) and as we were avoiding the killer holes in the sidewalk (when a sidewalk existed) it was such a metaphor for what I’m feeling. The first year, I didn’t even notice that sidewalks were non-existant and it could be a bit dangerous getting down the street. The viscious holes in the middle of the sidewalk, some 1-2ft deep were quaint. The second year, I simply kept an eye out for the kids and wondered if the holes bothered the Mexicans. This year I’m tired of keeping an eye out for the kids and myself and worry they’ll all break a leg or arm.

I think the honeymoon is over.