Ottawa to Cuernavaca - Fall, 2001
Friday, October 19th, 2001 - Border Crossing
We left at 10:30 am in 15 degree C overcast weather; not quite the 9 am we had planned, but better than previous departures. We hit the border at Ogdensburg, NY, less than an hour later. There was only one car in front of us and he passed through quickly. There are now two uniformed and armed agents to greet you, one asks the questions while the other asks you to pop the trunk and goes through it quickly.
We showed our passports and clearly profiling was on our side. It took about two minutes. We were asked if this was all we needed in the way of clothes for 6 months in Mexico, so we told them we had some clothes already there and we would pick up some more en route in the US (contributing to the economy).
They wished us a safe journey and off we went. Sure enough , we stopped at a Kinney drug store in Ogdensburg to pick up some toiletry we had forgotten to pack, making our first contribution.
We then went on to Syracuse, NY, stopping at the Carousel Mall for a nice fast food lunch. Walking through the concourse we were greeted at the entrance to one store with a rack of T-shirts with a picture of Osama bin Laden and carrying the president's decree "Wanted: Dead of Alive", $5,000,000 reward. I browsed CompUSA, but did not feel moved to help the economy. Then onto the NY Thruway, $5 toll to Buffalo and another $2 to the Pennsylvania border.
The CAA/AAA Triptik always avoids toll roads, and they had us going along the 401 to Detroit, but we had heard too many congestion stories about that border crossing, so we aimed for the light border crossing and went below the two lakes instead of above them (see map, north side up).
We stopped in Erie, PA, right on its eponymous lake.
After paying 58.6 cents a litre in Ottawa a few days ago, Ogdensburg listed gas at $1.41 per gallon, almost exactly the same! We bought in Syracuse at $1.36 and when we crossed to Pennsylvania, we saw it drop to $1.19.
Many cars are flying US flags and others have the flag stickers with a variety of slogans. Some of the truckers have more graphic suggestions for what to do to Mr. Bin laden. Even some of the portable moving light traffic signs say "God bless America".
Saturday, October 20th, 2001 - Easton Town Center, Columbus
We awoke to beautiful blue sky and brilliant sunshine. It was 50 degrees and warming fast. After a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs for me and Total for Carol, we got underway at 9:15.
We headed along the bottom (cartographically speaking) of Lake Erie toward Cleveland, OH and then south to Columbus, OH. The colours of the fall trees were cherished, as we knew they would disappear as we headed south. We had to feed the car just north of Columbus and paid $1.19 per gallon, only to notice signs for $1.10 ten minutes later and then $1.06 half an hour later. At this rate, I can't wait till Texas!
In Columbus, my goal was a new Apple owned retail store at Easton Town Center, a smart suburban shopping complex; very trendy location and design. They had all the latest models (just announced two days ago) and you could play to your heart's content. You could browse the internet at will; all the laptops were wirelessly connected at 11Mb/s; they had their top 6 recommended printers, top 6 digital cameras, top 6 digital videocameras and top 6 MP3 players, all of which you could play with. I asked about the new OS 10.1 and got an in depth personal tutorial from a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable fellow, with absolutely no sales pitch. I could have spent all day there, but Carol laid down the law after an hour and a half. We also checked out the next door Brookstone. No purchases.
Then on to Cincinnati, OH, where we are staying the night just across the border in Kentucky, at a Ramada. After settling in, we went out to a Mexican restaurant, La Jalapena, just to get acclimatized again. All the waiters are Mexican and were constantly speaking to diners in Spanish and English to set the right flavour. Carol had a Margarita, followed by a grilled red snapper fillet with chipotle sauce. I had a mixed platter consisting of a chicken burrito with mole sauce, a Poblano chile stuffed with cheese and a shredded pork tamale. I washed mine down with a Negra Modelo beer.
We browsed afterwards in a Borders bookstore and a Walgreens pharmacy, then back to the hotel for a little TV and some e-mail. On TV, we found a Spanish speaking channel, where we "met" a current Latin hottie, Olga Tañón, who does a mean meringue.
Sunday, October 21st, 2001 - The Peabody, Memphis
We left the Cincinnati area at 9 am in 56 degree sunshine. Another blue sky with no clouds to be seen. Started off by listening to a live interview of Carol King on NPR about her new album, "Wanting to feel safe again", written and recorded more than a year ago, but now suddenly popular. She is now 59, my generation.
As we took the ring road around Louisville KY, home of the Kentucky Derby, there were appropriate road signs urging people to drive slowly: "Whoa, baby, whoa" and "Leave the racin' to horses".
Soon, we crossed into the Central Time zone and gaining an hour. We have adjusted both our watches, the car clock and the computer clock. Will have to gain another hour next weekend when we go back to Standard.
Before we got to Nashville on I-65, traffic on our side ground to a halt. After watching others do so, we moved to the shoulder and got off at the next exit where we got some gas, $1.16, and some lunch for us at a place with some local colour instead of the fast food chains. The locals told us there was a major accident about 6 miles south of us and it would probably take a while to clear up. Sure enough after our lunch, we crossed over I-65 to check what was happening and saw everyone parked on the highway and out lounging on the grass; obviously ready for a long stay.
So we set out on a 2 lane road, 31E, south to Glasgow, KY and on to the Tennessee border to Scottsville, TN. Carol was impressed her Scottish countrymen had settled here long ago. We maintained a good 65 mph in almost no traffic making good time.
However, coming down a long hill, with a car about 500 feet ahead of us, we saw another car and large pick-up another 500 feet ahead of that. The furthest car, an older low-slung "muscle car", with the pick-up following closely, pulled off unto the shoulder and the pick-up slowed down. Then the lead car performed a U-turn from the shoulder, directly in front of the pick-up. The car was hit broadside.
The car in front of us and we, slowed and stopped well before the site. Four young people got out of the struck car, obviously unhurt, but certainly shaken up. All four of the car's tires were flat and all of the windows were broken. The rear window seemed almost intact but broken into a thousand pieces on the middle of the road. It must have just popped out whole and broken only on landing on the road.
The driver obviously had been totally oblivious of the fact that the pick-up was right behind him and had not even bothered to look behind him before executing his U-turn. Fortunately it all happened so slowly that only steel and glass got hurt. Later we crunched over the broken glass and headed on down to I-40 and then west to Nashville. We never found out what had happened on I-65, but the danger of driving on Sundays is, obviously, Sunday drivers.
From Nashville, we continued on to Memphis, arriving at 5pm at the Peabody Hotel, our intermediate destination. We planned to stay here for two nights.
The Peabody has a fetish with ducks, that we mentioned when we came through here before. That evening, after drinks in the lobby, we ate at one of their restaurants, one called Dux. The meal was delicious! I started with a salad of mixed greens topped with sliced grilled eggplant and beefsteak tomato, all covered with a vinaigrette with a strong hint of soya sauce, very tasty. My main course was a mixture of shrimp and calamari (not the breaded variety) in a nice strong almost "Thai" sauce. Lovers of bland foods would not have liked this, but for me, it was perfect.
Carol had crabcakes that were better than either of us could remember. Dessert was a "sun-dried cherry" bread pudding. The wine we choose was a good California cabernet sauvignon, sorry, cannot remember the vinyard. Everything was not just good, but excellent. A treat to be repeated in other years.
After dinner, we sauntered down to Beale Street, checking out the various bars, enjoying the warm 77 degree weather and ended up spending an hour at an outdoor performance of some very good soul music by a small group with an excellent singer. They had an informal audience of only about 20 of us, but that didn't stop them from giving a great performance.
Monday, October 22nd, 2001 - Saddle Creek Mall, Germantown
We slept in and read the paper, delivered to our door, and then went down for a light breakfast at a restaurant in the hotel billed as a cross between a New York Deli and a Viennese bakery. I had a croissant, a nice runny cheese omelet and coffee while Carol had a heated bran muffin and coffee. Consistently good with friendly service.
We scouted out the downtown, a new urban mall, the local streetcars, the Mississippi waterfront and some urban renewal underway. We hurried back to the hotel for their 11 am ritual march of the ducks from their rooftop duckhouse down the elevators to the lobby fountain. A red carpet had been rolled out from the elevator door to the fountain, and the 5 ducks, a drake and four young hens, strutted down the carpet straight to the fountain past the flash bulbs of amateur photographers and the outstretched arms of young children to mount the little red carpeted staircase to enter the fountain moat. There they frolic in the water until 5 pm, when the carpet is re-installed and they make the reverse journey.
We took the required photographs and then retrieved the car to check out a new shopping mall, the Saddle Creek Mall in suburban Germantown. We also got some more gas, $1.09, a 10 minute oil change, a snack and some window shopping. We returned by 5 pm. The weather got a bit humid and up to 84 degrees. Heading south does have results.
At 7 pm, we tried the same restaurant for its deli wares. For me a bowl of gumbo and half a hot pastrami on rye, and Carol a tuna sandwich. The gumbo was a disappointment for Memphis and the sandwiches were just not up to New York standards. Maybe we are spoiled by the likes of the Carnegie Deli or the Stage Deli in Manhattan. But the accompanying potato salad, coleslaw and dill were very good. Even the service was down from what we were getting used to. Oh well, just proves no one can be perfect.
Then early to retire and catch a little CNN. On the late local news, there was a story about a crop duster spraying a couple of barges and a tour boat on the Mississippi near Memphis. Nobody got the registration number off the tail of the plane, but they are testing everyone for anthrax. We have no flu symptoms, but we had brought some Cipro from Canada just in case.
Tomorrow, an early start towards Dallas...
Tuesday, October 23th, 2001 - Willow Bend Mall, Plano, Texas
We left Peabody at 9 am and crossed the Mississippi into the state of Arkansas. The weather was overcast after some heavy wind during the night. However the temperature remained in the 80s until we got to Dallas, where it was 90. The legs along the way were I-40 to Little Rock and then I-30 through Texarkana to Dallas.
Bought some more gas in Arkansas, $1.10, but prices in Texas look higher so far, somewhat surprising. No other surprises confronted us today, so it was a simple, perhaps somewhat long drive. We arrived at 5:30. We may have to slow down somewhat (or speed up) to avoid driving through Mexico City on Friday.
In the evening we browsed at the Willow Bend Mall in suburban Plano, reputed to be or expected to be the largest mall in Texas. Anyway, it was nice, but not so large (no West Edmonton Mall!) and not yet finished. This is Nortel Networks territory, but didn't see anyone I knew, even at the Apple store.
We finished off the evening with some delicious Blackened Catfish on "Dirty Rice" at a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, also in Plano. Their gumbo was very good too, not like the other night. The plates were generous, we each got 4 large fillets; we could easily have shared one plate, but we managed.
Wednesday, October 24th, 2001 - San Antonio
We took our time again and set out after breakfast at 10:30 am, but rummaged around Dallas, visiting a Home Depot for some essentials for the house in Mexico and didn't really leave the Dallas area until about noon. We thought about exploring Austin, but decided against it and went on to San Antonio.
We arrived there early, at 4:30 and settled in. Then we went for dinner at the Water Street Oyster Bar where we had been twice before, but each time before, taken there by a friend who lives in the city. This time we got there on our own. It is not located on any Water Street in San Antonio, but at the corner of Nacogdoches and Broadway.
A few years back, we were in Corpus Christi, on the Gulf, when we noticed a Water Street Seafood Restaurant on Water Street there, were intrigued by the similar name and found out that the Corpus Christi one was the original, but the San Antonio one is bigger and does more business. The owner shuttles back and forth between them. Anyway, we like both of them for their fresh fish.
Tonight we had Blackened Yellowtail Tuna for Carol and Blackened Mahi-Mahi for me. We asked about the house red wine and were told it was from Texas and not very good, but I had seen it advertised somewhere and thought we should try it. It was 12% alcohol, so passed that test and when we tried it, it was a little rough but with good flavour. We were happy.
On examining the label almost after we had finished it we noticed that it said "imported and bottled by Somebody in Someplace, Texas". Beside the 12% by volume it said "France". So, it seems a mystery, but also the brand was "Ste. Geneviève" which might bear out its French roots. Back home in Ontario, some of the less well regarded local wines say on their labels "a blend of imported and domestic grapes". Perhaps this is the same kind of thing.
The day was a sunny and humid one, starting at 80 degrees and reaching 95 at 4:30 in San Antonio. Gas prices varied all over the map during most of the drive, from $1.07 to $1.24. When we stopped for gas, we were lucky it was $1.09, but when we reached San Antonio, the price had dropped to 99 cents. Closer to the Gulf, I guess and to the refineries in Corpus Christi.
For you Canadians, that is about 41 cents per liter and for you Mexican residents, that is about 2.39 pesos per liter.
Thursday, October 26th, 2001 - Monterrey, NL
After an excellent night's sleep, we left San Antonio at 9:20 am on a cool 68 degree morning with a mixed sky. We stopped at a place called Pearsall to give the car a good wash, as the birds last night had done a thorough job on it and it looked disgusting. I think bird dropping acid can do permanent damage to the paint, so it was more than an aesthetic need.
Then on to Laredo, where we had lunch and made a few last minute purchases before crossing the border. We hit an ATM to replenish our US dollars, and we also filled up with gas, this time at a relatively atrocious price of $1.29, but nevertheless much cheaper than in Mexico. We finally crossed into Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas at 2:30 pm and found the new location for the car permit, virtually underneath the bridge we had just crossed. The formalities took about an hour and we left Nuevo Laredo at about 4 pm CDT.
It seems Mexico has already switched back to Standard time early, as a compromise to using it at all. So it was really 3 pm CST and we don't have to do anything further this Saturday night.
We hit the real customs stop at the border between the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon and got a green light. Good luck helps.
We arrived in Monterrey at 5:30 CST and checked into the Royal Courts on University Avenue. We had stayed here last fall and liked it. Modern air conditioning, good TV, cable, clean and an included hot breakfast buffet. It has a very pretty internal courtyard with many large laurel trees, where we park.
After settling in, we went for a little walk, browsed an Ahora pharmacy to check out the over-the-counter Cipro, dropped in on a Radio Shack, to see how it compares to the US ones, browsed a Gigante supermarket to check out large TVs and buy some sparkling water and generally enjoyed the warm outdoors.
Then back to the hotel for supper. We both had filete de pescado (fish filets), mine "al mojo de ajo" (with butter and garlic) and Carol's "empanizada" (breaded). This was enjoyed with some BC red wine (Baja California).
Then a little CNN and early to bed.
Friday, October 27th, 2001 - Querétaro, Qrto.
We awoke this morning to a tropical downpour that sounded good, but left the outside corridors of the hotel somewhat slippery. We weren't even in the tropics yet! Then we set in to our long and sumptuous hot breakfast buffet. We finally left Monterrey, Mexico's third largest city, with only about 5 million inhabitants, at 10:15 am.
Soon, we were weaving our way through the mountains of the Saltillo bypass and encountered our first army checkpoint, again near the Nuevo Leon - Coahuila state border. The feds used to always hang around state borders, not sure of what the individual states were up to. Now they no longer do so, but seem to carry out their federal duties near such borders, perhaps keeping track still, but less obviously.
Mind you, we like the federales; it is the state cops who are the crooks generally, and who we avoid at all costs. That has changed in some states, but not all, particularly one adjacent to our winter home state.
The rain cleared up past Saltillo, but we got the occasional sprinkle later in the day. We stopped for a light lunch in Matehuala, and then drove on south, crossing the Tropic of Cancer at 2:30 pm. Now, formally in the tropics, the sky cleared right up and blue sky reigned. The 20 degrees C (we are back in metric country, with liters, kilometers and degrees C) dropped to 18, but with the sunshine, quickly rose to 28.
Next we rounded San Luis Potosí (in its state) via its bypass and headed for Querétaro (in its state). We skipped its bypass to go right into the city to get to the Real de Minas hotel for the night. This is one of a chain of Real de Minas hotels in Mexico, which has not been doing all that well, but seems to be thriving in Querétaro, they even have two of them here, the "Traditional" where we stayed and the "Express", somewhat newer.
While we have been around the city many times and gone slowly through the city twice, we have never stayed here before. To appreciate it better, we left the car at the hotel and took a taxi to the center and browsed around looking for interesting sights and restaurants. This city of, officially, only about 500,000 inhabitants is definitely underappreciated. There are three fascinating squares, linked by pedestrian only streets that are ringed with outdoor restaurants, much as you would find in France or Italy, not sheltered under the traditional Spanish colonnades, but right out in the square.
After checking them all out, we settled for the Plaza de Armas, which is also called Plaza de la Independencia (to confuse the tourists). Many of the restaurants had competing musicians for their customers, but fortunately they didn't all play at the same time all the time, so we were treated to different music at different times from different sides of the square most of the time and only occasionally to overlapping competing music.
The restaurant we choose, was called "1810", which everyone remembers, of course, is the Mexican year of independence, their 1776 or 1867 or whatever you celebrate; normally celebrated on the 15th of September with "Grito" parties. In any case we celebrated with a regional soup, basically a lentil soup into which you put candied dried fruit, strange, but interesting. We followed this with a whole "Mojarra" fish for the main course. This is a nice ugly fish from the sea, often called Tilapia in Canada. It is considered at least two notches below our preferred "huachenango" which translates into red snapper, but it was tasty nevertheless.
Since we were taxiing, we could also enjoy a bottle of 1998 cabernet sauvignon from BC, specifically from the Calafia Valley of Baja California.
This city is quite interesting and definitely worth another longer stay. The local people are clearly enjoying life.
Saturday, October 28th, 2001 - Cuernavaca, Mor.
We left the hotel before 9 am without breakfast and headed to an area in the outskirts where we had been before to check out some stores. "Home-Mart" a poor replacement for Home Depot, but perhaps the best of its kind in México. It was disappointing, having seemingly gone downhill from two years ago. There was nothing there I was looking for, even things that were there two years ago that I should have bought then were no longer there.
The other was Costco, just to see what was current and to pick up some last minute things for the house and pantry. Then, on to a nearby McDonald's for a McBurrito meal. Much better than in the US or Canada! After that, about 10:30 am, we set off for México City and then Cuernavaca.
It was cool and overcast in Querétaro and turned even cooler in México City, about 17 C. It rained off and on, and started to get heavy leaving the city. As we climbed the 10,000 foot pass, a heavy fog set in along with the rain. Perhaps we just drove into the clouds. We were warned about several accidents ahead and saw the remnants of two of the accidents along with ambulances and tow trucks.
The temperature dropped to 8 C at the top of the pass, but as we coasted down the other side, down into the valley of perpetual spring, the clouds disappeared, sun broke out and when we reached Cuernavaca it was back to 24 C. Cool but not too cool.
We arrived at about 2:30 pm, just in time for a light lunch. We were greeted by Gloria and Guillermo, the two dogs, Sally and Cora, and my sister Claudia and her husband Willy. Now it's time to unpack and settle in.
It feels great to have finally arrived.
Statistics:
9 days,
56.14 hours,
5055 km, or 3153 miles.
October, 2001
