The trip that almost wasn't

I keep two calendars of appointments one for mother and one for myself.  Hers is obviously more important.  With the administration threating to shut down the border since last October 2018 and actually doing so in California for several hours last year I canceled my remaining appointments for 2018 so I could resume them in 2019.

This year did not start any better with the long lines at the border.  Have only managed a trip to the dentist thus far.  Scheduled a follow-up appointment but could not find my calendar so left the card in my purse and of course, forgot about it.

I was reading Barney's blog (OFM Adventures) when he mentioned his own trip to the dentist and something just kept nagging at me. Yesterday morning I found the appointment card only to realize it was today at noon and had less than two hours to get ready!  Thank you, Barney.

My dentist is a stickler for punctuality as one should be so was surprised that I had to wait for 30 minutes.  Listening to her son talking on his cell I understood why.  He had driven with his mother from San Angelo, Texas (a 3 hours drive) for her to have an emergency root canal.

Today I had the old filling removed from my two molars and replaced with a more natural color substance.  Fillings are $58.00 dollars each so today I spent $116.00 USD.

Tuesday's are Martes de Cosecha...Harvest Tuesday at Gutierrez.  They have really good specials on fruits and vegetables so much so that the other stores do not try to match their prices anymore and now offer their own version but on different days.

The shade canopies at Gutierrez give
it a leg up on the competition.

Drove by Gutierrez which has a much larger parking lot than this picture depicts, there is more on the side and the back...it was packed!  You know my rule...NO LINES...unless they are unavoidable like the lines to cross back to the USA.

Drove to the smaller Bodegas Aurrera (owned by Walmart) mostly so I could use their Wi-Fi as my cell phone does not work in Mexico and I wanted to check the Border Wait Times App.  It said there was a 35-minute wait which seemed incredible to believe.

Their limited shade canopies are no match
to those at Gutierrez.

Before I list the prices...here are the Exchange Rates...top number is the BUY rate for $1.00 US dollar you can buy $17.40 Mexican Pesos. The second number is the SELL rate, they will sell you one US dollar for $18.70 Mexican Pesos.

Exchange rates for 5-07-19

I wanted to buy some onions and tomatoes but I did not like the prices so I will buy those in Del Rio.

The last time I was in Bodegas Aurrera was at their larger store on the northwest part of town.  I remember mentioning then that there were stockers everywhere and empty shelves. The same took place today at this smaller location.

I was going to buy a bottle of Kahlua and save $3.75 (Texas liquor tax per bottle) by crossing at the Amistad Dam Port of Entry but the liquor shelves were barren.  Ended buying 3 bottles of hot sauce that were on sale for $20.00 pesos (20.00 divided by 17.40 equals $1.15 USD).

With the re-routing of traffic to the new Mexican Customs building
you have to pay attention to the signs or end up lost like what
happened to me the first couple of times.

With no reason to drive to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry headed back home the regular way still doubting the 35-minute wait quoted on the App. Tolls to cross to the USA are 28.00 Mexican Pesos the equivalent of $1.61 USD.

 

 When something sounds too good to be true it's because it is.  This was NOT a 35-minute line.

It was hot and humid around 88 degrees and it took 1 hour 20 minutes to cross the border because only two lanes were open to traffic.

When I got home I decided to make an early post because I had my NBA Semifinal games this evening only to find the cable, internet and home phone were not working.  The cable came back in time to watch my games but both the internet and telephone were out until 7:32 a.m. this morning.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Trip to the Dentist

I can not believe it took me all weekend to get over my trip to México. I was exhausted and did not get to do my other chores.

I had mentioned that I was on a waiting list if there was a cancellation at my dentist's. I just had this feeling they would be calling me Monday and sure enough they did.  It was the only time I was glad I had my cell phone turned ON.

Incredibly, I got up very early Monday morning and was able to get to the things I had neglected over the weekend. Gassed up for $2.45 per gallon. Went by the post office, the bank and stopped to buy two breakfast tacos at Stripes where they KNOW how to make tacos!

My appointment was at noon so left at 11:17 a.m. Made sure to write down the mileage, it was 5 miles from mother's house to the dental office and took me 20 minutes.

I got a tooth filled for $58.00 dollars and had my teeth cleaned for $45.00 for a total of $103.00 USD. I usually pay in Mexican Pesos but chose to pay in dollars today.

Went to run a couple more errands before heading to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry.  Since I was not in a hurry I stopped at the dividing line where the Eagles are located and took some pictures. I also added some to the prior post.

From here you can get a great view of Lake Amistad.

 As well as of the Rio Grande River. México to the right and USA to the left.

Joined the line to cross the border at 3:30 p.m.  On a prior post I had said it was a 10-mile drive from downtown Ciudad Acuña to the Amistad Dam Port of Entry but I was wrong it is a 17-mile drive.

 After a few minutes, more had joined the line behind me.

I reached the ICE agent at 5:17 p.m. It took me 1 hour 47 minutes to cross the border.  Then had to drive another 17 miles to get home but at least I can tick off another thing off my To Do List.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


NBA Corner

Last night I was going to watch the game between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, but it was so boring and obviously the GSW were ahead by a lot so changed channels. This morning I woke up to find the Clippers made an unbelievable comeback and  I missed it...grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

A little bit of everything

Why is it that when I have full access to the internet. nothing happens?  Yet when there is a lot of things going on...I can't even get online?

I am not going to rehash my computer and connectivity problems, as you are all well aware of them :(

Tuesday, we made our way back to Ciudad Acuna to pick up mom's new dentures and to run several errands as well. The exchange rates went down some, which is good news for those wishing to buy dollars with their Mexican Pesos and spending them in the United States.

The weeds have been growing by leaps and bounds. Thought about starting up the weed eater but I think it is low on string and I do not know if I even remember how to re-string it.  Lots of videos online but not enough bandwidth or bars to actually be able to watch them.

Decided to use my hulla hoe but could not find my gardening gloves. Cut up my hands as well as got a couple of calluses...but what the heck, I needed to try to get a grip on them while I still can.  My back hurts like hell and I still have a LOT more weeds to get to :-(

The peace and tranquility that I have always sought but for some reason has eluded me came to an end this past Wednesday.  They opened up the entrance to the sub-division.  I have no idea why...as the project is not completed yet.  I guess there must have been a lot of complaints about having to drive to the north part of the city and then having to back track.

I would not exactly called this a completed road project!

Having lived in Houston all my adult life, I got used to the endless traffic and long distances one has to travel.  I must admit I have finally succumb to the small town way of thinking and a 20 mile round trip is too far.  However, since I do not work, the once or twice a week trip to town was well worth it for the tranquility and lack of traffic I received in exchange.

These past couple of days have been very humid and we have been very fortunate to have received some rains in particular this afternoon and evening.  The city alarms went off, but I have no idea why and it only rang one time.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Spurs Corner

What can I say?  I am so proud of my Spurs!  As we go to sleep tonight...but only for tonight...we are the second seed in the West.

I only lost it  a couple of times this week, as I was not able to tune in to Spurs Radio WOAI and actually listen to a complete game.  Neither on the radio, my car or the internet!  Both of my laptops as well as the radio, came real close to being tossed out the window...but then I would have to replace the window :-(

Go Spurs Go!!!!