#1: Thanksgiving in Mexico, 2010

While we were disappointed that we were not able to make it out to Arizona and California this Thanksgiving, we are very thankful for the opportunity that soon presented itself. It was almost a “perfect storm” of circumstances that came together: the start date for Melissa’s new job got pushed out to December 1 (after the holiday – a pleasant surprise given that if she started prior to the holiday, she would have likely had to work every day except Thursday and Friday of that week), airline tickets that ended up being half what we were looking at for domestic travel, our friends being available to watch the dogs, completion of the garage and fence just days before any potential trip, the Peso to USD conversion rate worked in our favor making our dollar really stretch, and it being off season in the area of Mexico that we were looking at traveling to: the State of Guanajuato.

Further, I have been taking Spanish lessons on Tuesday evenings, and have been anxious to practice my new vocabulary. My instructor had heard of the area, and was able to prepare me both linguistically as well as with many great travel tips. Likewise, I have several students from Guanajuato and Leon (where the airport is located), and they gave us multiple travel tips.

The trip itself ended up being a birthday present for Melissa. I was actually a bit surprised that she took me up on it… Mexico… and not a typical touristy area either! I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. We haven’t seen each other much over the last couple of months. With my work and teaching schedule, her work and class schedule, and multiple volunteer activities we’ve both been working on, we will sometimes literally only “see” one another when the other person is sleeping! So, I suppose that the chance to get away together… just the two of us… on a true adventure was quite appealing.

… and an adventure it was going to be! At first, I literally only bought round trip tickets… no hotel, transportation, or any real research into what was there and what we would do for 5 days in Mexico! It was only on the night before our flight left that I would book us transportation from Leon to San Miguel (a 1.5 hour drive) and a night at a hotel in the historic center of town. The rest of it we decided to leave open. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would figure it out once we got there… sort of adding to the adventure of it all.

We packed light… a duffle back each, and a shared backpack. We figured that this way we’d be able to switch hotels, take local busses and taxis, and walk between any destinations that we wanted to visit with more ease. The lighter we were on luggage, the more mobile we could be if it were needed. … and of course, we prayed!
So, at 5am on Monday, November 22nd, on a morning of oddly warm weather and the threat of major thunderstorms here in Wisconsin… we left. We had our passports, duffels, a backpack, and about $400 in cash. We prayed, pet the dogs goodbye, left a note for our gracious neighbors, and headed down to the airport.