the great campestre fire of 2012

This week I had wanted to spend this post talking about service here in Mexico, however event have led me to move the service post to another date.

Tonight, while on the computer about 8 pm., I smelled something burning, but thought nothing of it.  A few minutes later i hear some mumbling downstairs and water running.  I thought at that mom had gone down to water some plants, still think nothing of it... A few minute mom is screaming upstairs at me.  I go down stairs, and mom says there is a fire outside. 

I go outside and I get flashbacks of the farm fires, with everyone trying to keep the grass wet to prevent it from getting to the house, cause dad has a hose in hand watering the concrete walls of the house.  The field is basically black.  No one knows who started the fire but I figure that whoever did it was trying to remove all the dry brush.  Many neighbors come out and talk about the crazy fire, and the fact that there used to be rats in that field to, and probably arent anymore.  Dad tells the security guard to call the fire department, but even with some fires still going in the field he says no its almost out.  After awhile even those fires disappear, and the guard says he will keep an eye on the field as he makes his rounds tonight.

After a 20 min meet and greet with the neighbors we all migrate to our houses.

Tomorrow ill add pics of the field.

Welcome to My Blog

We have been here for 6 months... At least 3 times a week I have to pinch myself to remember that this is real and not my imagination.

 We arrived back in December.  Dad, Manuel, and I drove in from Texas.  We arrived at about 10 at night.  It was a crazy drive, we had so much fog south of Monterrey that we couldnt see 20 feet past the front of the hood.  

Getting across the border wasnt exactly a Kodak moment.  We arrived late that night, cause we left Houston that afternoon.  We knocked at every hotel along the highway, but since it was 2 weeks before the holidays, they were almost all booked... what wasnt all had single rooms for like $150 a night, and calling that motel seedy would be a step UP.  We were looking at crossing the border and trying to find a hotel in Mexico for the night but I think Manuel suggested we try downtown Laredo first.  We found a very nice hotel that had a suite for $150... whoo-hoo.

This picture was taken from our hotel suite window ledge/balcony.  Its the border crossing we used the next morning. 

We go across the border.  There is a mixup as to where which direction we are supposed to go, and instead of crossing into mexico, we somehow turn around and cross back into Texas.  We get to the border and the guy is like and where are you coming from? we say Houston, and he is 'theres a Houston in Mexico?'  At this point we realize that we never made into mexico.

We arrive in Nuevo Laredo, and drive around looking for immigration.  We get our papers, which is a long hassle, and drive on.  We cross the 2nd border crossing checkpoint (about 30 miles inland), and play the dumb americans well, and they just wave us through. 

As we pass Monterrey we get into heavy fog.  But once we pass the fog its beautiful.