Mexico

from the mom

Travel with small children is not for the faint of heart. Travel to a Third World country with small children is for only the very few, the brave, the proud, the crazy. We now number ourselves among that elite group. We are poorer, sick, tired, and very happy to be home. Here is a recap on our journey.

Jueves (Thursday): We left our comfortable home at 5am and head to Seattle. Alaska has some computer glitch where it won't accept two people traveling with the same name (we officially have two "Michaels") and it takes awhile to figure out. We fly to L.A. When we reboard in L.A. we discover that dogs and cats can fly in the main cabin. We pray that Ben doesn't have an allergic reaction since all his inhalers are checked. Fortunately the cat flies first class and we are in the back. The dog is in the front too. We arrive in Mexico. We wait in the customs line. There are no carts and we have two large duffle bags, two car seats, and four small bags that we drag through the customs baggage check. Then someone comes with a dolley and M is off to get the rental car. We encounter Mexican roads with a foot of water on them. We check in to our hotel and Mom & Dad Reitz and Grace come and we ride into Mazatlan (30 minutes away) to pick up the bride, groom, and Alicia for dinner. At 9:30pm we finally get dinner at a local place in central Mazatlan. We are starving but so tired.

Viernes (Friday): Our hotel is lovely. The weather is not. It is raining buckets. Kyri wakes up early and Daddy and she go on a breakfast date and then hit the pool. We all get a little swimming in despite the rain. It clears off in the late afternoon just in time for the rehearsal. It is hot and we use lots of bug spray. The rehearsal dinner is in the Zona Dorada where we enjoy more authentic Mexican. The woman next to me discovers a large ant in her food; I have to settle for only a hair. M begins to feel ill.

Sabado (Saturday): We wake up to a beautiful day. We spend hours in the pool. Daddy turns dark, Mommy gets sunburned, and the copious amounts of sunblock used on the wee ones leaves them about the same. Kyri is coaxed into the deep water for a swim to the Aqua Bar for a banana smoothie during 2-for-1 happy hour. Aunt Grace joins us while the rest of the family frantically prepares for the wedding. Grandpa comes to get M and Kyri and takes them back to the place where they are staying to get Kyri ready for the wedding. Mom and Ben get to drive to the wedding together. It is a lovely wedding but Kyri decides she doesn't like performing and cries as her mom drags her down the aisle. Her mom is now ill. The reception starts much later, at 8:30pm. Kyri and Mom last about 20 minutes. The site of food is making both parents sick. Kyri has been cranky for hours and Ben just wants to party. Kyri and Mom call it a night, say good-byes, and get a ride to the hotel. M returns for about 30 minutes when a huge blinding rainstorm ends the outdoor reception very quickly. Poor Ben is terrified of the lightning and thunder which blows the doors in on the hotel right after they go through them.

Domingo (Sunday): Exhausted. We pack and drive through the rain and high water in Mazatlan to at least say we saw the place. We stop at a truck stop on the way to the airport so we can nap. We arrive at the airport and M returns the rental car while I learn that our flight has been cancelled due to the weather. We work through getting it changed to another airline the next day. We take a taxi back to our hotel and ask to stay another night. They gladly take our credit card and we meet up with the newlyweds (who are staying in the same hotel) for dinner. (We did give them the option of ignoring us.) The kids eat. We go to bed early.

Lunes (Monday): We end up going to Phoenix on the same flight as Amber and Edgar and going through customs with them. We arrive in Phoenix, deboard on the tarmac in the heat and go through the initial customs line. Our checked baggage comes through but lightning on the tarmac shuts down operations before our gate-checked baggage comes through. We can't continue until it finally comes out. We finish the customs check and sprint through the airport, stopping to grab food. After buying food and water, we discover that we have to go through yet another security check where we have to toss the water. We board our flight and then sit on the runway for an hour due to bad weather. Our children are crying they are so thirsty. When our flight takes off, we spend $6 on water (DO NOT FLY US AIR). When we arrive in Seattle, they don't have a gate for us and we get to wait another 40 minutes. When we deplane, we are so happy to be back. M even tries not to complain about Washington drivers on the way home. We are grateful that the kids seem to have skipped the intestinal issues M and I continue to have. We are really happy we could be there for Amber and Edgar's wedding. Edgar is a cool addition to the family and he is already Tio (uncle) Edgar to the kids. We wish we had been able to spend more time with family but it was great to see them. We plan to stay in the country for at least a month.