No Goodbyes, Only Hasta Luegos...

Kenya, John, BeeJay, Alan, David, Dolly

The mountains of Georgia, the wire grass of Alabama, the bayous of Louisiana, and the Lone Star State of Texas were all stops along the way as we spent time with family and friends before entering Mexico for the trip to our home. Saying goodbyes to family is always an emotional moment and especially when, at our age, or any age for that matter, we never know how many farewells we have remaining. We insisted that all should make plans to visit us soon (we'll see) and promised to travel safely and to report our experiences each day. The weather was beautiful in Georgia. We enjoyed our visit with my sister and brother-in-law, and with my niece and her family. Then we headed down to Alabama for a couple of days to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law. It was good spending some quality time with my little brother (he's actually a head taller than me). He assured me that we could expect a visit soon.

From Alabama we drove through the northern tip of Florida, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and into New Orleans for a brief visit with our friends Robert and Muriel Sullivan. Robert is a French and Latin teacher who we met when he had a teaching position in Norfolk. His wife was in New Orleans when Katrina devastated the Crescent City. She came to Norfolk and spent 10 days in our home while we were traveling. We get a thank you card every year at Christmas, thanking us for our hospitality. Their home was spared and they are still in NOLA, praying that it never happens again.

From New Orleans, we traveled to Houston for a few days with Alan's brother and sister-in-law. We had planned to visit the Mexican Consulate there to obtain our Temporary Vehicle Import sticker for the van, but after 2 days of trying to reach someone we were told that it could only be granted at the border.

By now the animals were beginning to accept this puzzling nomad life. They travelled extremely well and were happy to sleep in such close quarters. Maneuvering through the 20 foot van required a certain degree of organization and cooperation. The organization part was fairly easy - the teamwork part occasionally broke down with the accompanying bitchiness.  Tempers can flare in such close quarters and we were no exception, but knowing each other so well after 34 years, the flares died quickly and it was back to driver and navigator mode.

Next...crossing the border at Laredo, Texas.