Trip to The States for Danna’s Wedding

October 16-27, 2013

Our trip home for Danna’s wedding was nothing short of magical, but it did have a somewhat frustrating start.  I had wanted to rent a car in San Felipe and drive all the way there, mostly because I wanted to be able to bring a car full of provisions from the states back to Exodus.  The guy at the marina office told me that, unfortunately, there are no rental cars in San Felipe, but I could easily take the bus to Mexicali and rent a car there.  It’s quite easy, there’s even a rental car agency at the bus stop.  But of course there’s not, and I learned that the hard way. Well, I also learned there are 2 bus stops in Mexicali, so it’s possible he was talking about the other one, but that didn’t help me at all. 

The boys and I caught an air conditioned bus and watched movies in Spanish from San Felipe to Mexicali.  We had to get off at one of the military check points, but the boys didn’t mind at all, since there was a snack bar there and I bought them some chips.  When we arrived in Mexicali, we circled the periphery of the bus stop, which wasn’t very big, but we did not see the rental car agency.  Because it wasn’t there.  I asked the guy at the door who arranges the taxis for people if there was a rental car agency nearby (in Spanish), and he pulled out a business card and a flyer for National Rental Car and said I needed to call this number.  I asked if they were nearby and if I could walk there, and he said no, they would pick me up.  I hesitated because I figured there must be some place nearby and he was just sending me to this one because he gets a kickback, and he interpreted my hesitation for lack of understanding, so he went and got another guy who spoke English.  That guy told me, no there wasn’t one within walking distance, and I should just call that one.  So, I did, and after about a half hour a very large guy picked us up in a Smart Car with a standard transmission and he stalled the car at every stop.  At first, I was kind, and I joked how it had been so long since I had driven a stick I’m sure I’d be stalling it too.  Then I got a little more intentionally helpful, reminding him to give it a little more gas as he released the clutch.  And if it had taken another five minutes to get there I think I would have insisted that he just let me drive.  He was nice, and he was embarrased, so I let it go, and tried to make conversation on the longer than it needed to be drive back to the office.  Renting the car was easy, and I drove away in my much too expensive compact car with automatic transmission but manual door locks and windows.  The boys were so used to our mini-van that not only had automatic locks but automatic doors, that they were not just a little impatient when we would get to the car and I’d have to unlock my door and get in and then lean over to unlock theirs.  Of course I reminded them that, “back in my day….”

The drive across the border was slow but not as bad as Tijuana, and pretty soon we were racing down the country highway to Brawley to my mom’s house.  We had a fantastic dinner with Mom and John, and the without a doubt highlight of the evening was the ice cream.  Well, for the boys anyway.  For me it was the CA Chardonnay that John had chilling for me in the fridge.

We headed to Vegas the next day, and the fun surprises began.  You see, the only people who knew the boys were coming with me were Danna and my mom.  So, they got to suprise Papa and Nana (my dad and Karen), their cousins Ethan and Cammy, and, of course, Andrew.  Ethan and Cammy were the best with all the excited squealing and Ethan repeating over and over how I tricked him.  It was so much fun that Alex and Brenden were able to come, and it made the horrible passage up to San Felipe more than worth it (Well, I’m not sure what Tim would say about that.)

Andrew took a bus, a train, and another bus to get from San Luis Obispo to Las Vegas.  I drove downtown by myself to pick him up, looking forward to some one on one time with my biggest boy.  Funny thing about heading downtown is that when I was still with my mom I muttered something about being concerned to be heading down there.  She took that to mean I was a little concerned about going there by myself.  She confided in my Uncle Mike and Danna about it, and they both reacted similarly, with something like, “what is she talking about being concerned?  She lives on a boat in Mexico and she’s worried about going to downtown Vegas???”  Well, as I was getting ready to go my mom offered for Uncle Mike to go with me since I was concerned about going alone, and I laughed.  I told her I guess I never finished my thought, I was actually concerned about the traffic at the time of day I would be going.  She got a good laugh about that and shared with me what Uncle Mike and Danna had said.  Too funny.

Another funny thing about heading downtown is that it was another of my old stomping grounds.  Vegas, baby!  When I was too young to (legally) gamble or drink we would road trip to Vegas and stay downtown at a cheap hotel and eat cheap food and play quarter roulette.  I could go for a whole weekend on only $40.  The bus station is actually right next to Union Plaza where we would play penny slots. Ah, the good ole days. 

We had a great weekend with Andrew.  We all stayed together in a hotel room, and Andrew and I took turns sleeping with Brenden, since he’s still quite a mobile sleeper.  Not Alex, on the other hand.  He sleeps like a rock.  The day before the wedding the four of us went to the Vegas Strip to do some sight seeing, and while Andrew was quite a good sport, Alex and Brenden basically complained all afternoon, because they just wanted to go back to the hotel room to watch TV.  I guess they miss TV, after all.  When we were walking through the Paris hotel, someone actually asked Andrew and I if we were married.  I laughed so hard, and then I laughed even harder when I saw how horrified Andrew was.  I told him I was used to being mistaken for his sister, but this was definitely a first.  He commented that of course I’m going to have to tell everyone about it, and I thought, well, yeah!

That night was the rehearsal dinner, and when Danna invited us she let me know there would be beer and wine, “but, probably not anything I would like.”  I’m pretty sure that was her calling me a beer and wine snob.  Since Andrew rode over with Dylan, and Alex and Brenden rode over with Papa and Nana, I decided to stop and get some respectable beverages to bring along.  I found a Whole Foods somewhat on the way, and when I walked in it was like clouds parted and angels started singing. I wanted to fall to my knees and weep.  It was the epitome of everything I no longer have access to on a boat in Mexico.  The piles and piles of colorful fresh fruits and veggies.  The bulk bins with nuts and grains I had forgotten even existed.  I’m starting to tear up just thinking about it, so I can’t go on.  And I didn’t linger in the store too long either for fear I wouldn’t be able to leave. I grabbed a couple six packs and a few bottles of wine and slowly made my way out of the store. I was hoping to find Arrogant Bastard and Raging Bitch beer for the special occasion, figuring it was appropriate for a wedding rehearsal dinner, but unfortunately they were out of both.  The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun.  One of Danna’s friends hosted and it was a very relaxed evening.  They had a fire pit out back, and as I’m walking up I hear *Andrew* telling the story from earlier.  I guess he got over his mortification and realized how very funny it was.

The wedding was amazing.  Whenever I was telling someone I was going to Vegas for my sister’s wedding I would feel compelled to add, …”she lives there.”  So, no, they didn’t get married by Elvis in a chapel on the Strip.  It was at a beautiful place North of Vegas with a lush green outdoor area with a stream running through it and a large gazebo.  Everyone had such a great time at the reception.  It was relaxed and fun being with all of my relatives.  Alex and Brenden ran around with Ethan and Cammy, and they all showed their moves on the dance floor.  Andrew ran around with Dylan, and it was enjoyable seeing them together again after so long. 

After Vegas we drove to L.A. and had a great time visiting friends.  We stayed with Colin and Jen, and Heather even flew out to visit.  So, being with them meant I had a few days of good food, great wine, and even a run on the beach.  The boys were able to see thier buddies as well, and they were very sad to leave (again).  We spent a night at Dad and Karen’s house and then headed back to Brawley for my step-sister Kristen’s wedding, another wonderful wedding. 

The few weeks before the visit Tim and I had started our Amazon purchases, and the boxes were piled pretty high in my mom’s living room.  Tim even joined Amazon prime so he could order stuff right up until the last minuite.  I also made a Costco run, a Target run, and a grocery store run, so I had quite the puzzle to solve getting everything to fit in the tiny rental car.  Everything had to come out of the packages, and every square inch of usable space in that car was used up. 

I took a different approach with customs this time and didn’t bother putting together any sort of spreadsheet.  We had also bought a Honda generator, so I figured if asked by customs if I had anything to declare, I would just declare that, pay the duty, and be done with it.  However, at the border, I inadvertently totally bypassed customs altogether.  I needed to stop at immigration to get new tourist visas, but instead of stopping and parking where I needed to I accidentally got in the customs line.  So, when the guy came to talk to me I told him I needed to go to immigration, and asked him what I should do, and so he told me I could just leave the car there, and go in.  But we took so long in there, they had to come in and ask me to move the car over to the side, which I did, of course.  So, when we were done with immigration and went back to the car, I realized that where I was parked was now past the customs checkpoint.  I stood there for a minute or so, kept looking around, and then we just got in the car and took off.  Sometimes, being a bit of an idiot can actually pay off.  We drove the rental car all the way to San Felipe, and the next day Alex and I took the rental car back to Mexicali and rode the bus back.  He didn’t want to go with me, but then I told him it was for safety in that he’s big enough now that I would be safer if he went with me than if I went alone (just due to safety in numbers).  He puffed his chest out a little and said, OK.  He always did like being “grown up.”  We had a great time up in the states, but it was nice to be back on Exodus with Tim, getting ready to get back out on the water.