For those of you (ah-hum **clearing throat***...who's name starts with an Omer), that don't spy on me and access my other blog! Enjoy!
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Link-a-roo

Video Tour 1

Video Tour 2

Mexico news...

Well... I am scheduled to fly home to Mexico this Sunday, March 29. Looks like that won't be happening. Linc has been doing lots of research and action on getting our FM3 (working visa's) submitted. Turns out the guy down there that was supposed to be helping us.... is kind of a flake. We've been finding out new news everyday about what we need to do. It's pretty madning and even more stressful!!! We ditched him a while ago and have hired a Mexican Lawyer to help us out. Found him through our neighbour who works for immigration!! So, anyway, the latest news is keeping me in Calgary for at least another few days. Too bad, cause i was originally booked to fly home the following Sunday, April 5. Then i switched it to go back early (for 150 bucks). Now.... I've got to switch it again... for another 150 bucks! crap.

Our original "consultant" failed to tell us ALL the documents that we'd been told to bring to Mexico need to be notarized in Canada and "Legalized" at the Mexican consulate in CANADA!! You may be wondering where the documents are?? Considering they are to be FILED in Mexico! Well, they're in Mexico! So, i'm gonna kick back and relax for a couple days while I wait for the documents to get here. Linc is sending them back with a friend who is down there now. Due back on Sunday. Phew.

Anyway, I'll have you all know I am officially unemployed. My last day was friday. I was busy using the office equipment for Moments That Matter work and before i knew it i was the last one in the office. Geez... I should have been leaving early! Anyway, decided to shred all my old pay stubs and laughed as I jammed the shredder! Hhahah, see ya... never.... suckers! I smiled from ear to ear as i walked out of the building for the last time! ahhh.... that was awesome!

We're Home

The plan was to go West, however, seems they are getting snow/slush. No Thanks. Looks like we will be home for the week-end. K/A/B sure hope your looking forward to Connie's exciting Tstorms. Better yet, I hope Addy doesn't decide screaming would be better. Lori maybe you want to come to MH?

Tornado? Thunderstorm?

Well, seems as if there is a big ole thunderstorm on its way....comes with some tornado watches.....we'll be on the lookout until 1am. Don't worry mom, I'm sure it will be nothing serious. And Kim, I kinda hope you see a Texas thunderstorm....they're pretty wicked. oh, and Kim, see you in two sleeps!

Lifes a beach...

Well... it's official. My brain has left the building and it is already in sunny Mexico! This week has been pretty difficult to get out of bed to make it to this office building... where my body shows up... buy my brain is nowhere to be found. I surely won't be accused of doing any work for my last week here. Well... for Gibsons anyway. Been very busy tying up soom lose ends with the rental property. Aaaaah... lots to do! Things to do and people to see!

Went for sup with Dar and Andrea, and Tyler last night. One last meal at my favorite!!! Kelseys! Friday night is East Side Marios with a couple girl friends. Yum, unlimited ceasar salad!

Dar leave Saturday night... and I'm out of here Sunday afternoon. Oh, Dar, do you need a ride to the airport? Lemme know.... I've got some wheels!

Oh, my new phone number is 011-52-1-984-745-1177. This is not a joke! It is not April fools yet! That is our real phone number. Get your digits ready to dial alot of digits!!! It is free for us to recieve calls so... if you're plan allows, call us as often as you like!! Please be patient as it seems a good connection can be hard to find.

Else we also have free incoming EMAILS!!! hahhah.

FIRE FIRE FIRE

I knew there was a reason I didn't bake a cake. It was cause I didn't want the Fire Department coming over. Whew! I thought maybe I'd be in trouble.

Fart..

Oooops, I even called last night and forgot to say Happy bday! Sorry... I still love you tho Dad! Happy birthday!



Your heating bill should be low for yesterday! ahhaha

Happy Birthday Dad-i-o

I know the post is late....but I called yesterday...so I'm still in the good books!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Boots

Well, headed off to work today. Had to throw on my socks and good ol' winter boots... Ah, winter boots. I hate winter... and boots. My feet can't breathe. I am planning to have a ceremony on the beach in Mexico to burn some of my winter mitts... just for fun. I think I will add a pair of socks to that fire.

I must say it sucks rocks to be back here. Its like, I started this brand new, awesome life in Mexico... and now I have to return back to my old... colder life. Boooo.

Back in Calgary

Hi. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm back in Calgary. Maybe only for 2 weeks... Maybe 3. Staying at a friends place who is actually down in Playa visiting "us" right now... staying at our place. Oh, not sure if you all know, the Calgary condo ended up renting out for two months. Maybe longer.... depends on his work.

Tonight, going to clean out our storage at Lincs condo. Have some things to sell, some to give away, some to store. I tell ya', it sucks being back. It's so cold! Hahha. Nothing like waking up to the sun shinning at 8AM, opening your full width/length patio doors and letting in a fresh breeze. Ah... Playa...

Our place is fantastic. Also found out our neighbours below work at the immigration office. Linc is going to chat with her tonight to see what she can do for us.

Anyway, back to work tomorrow. Should be fun... Not. Mom and Dad, I'll try to give you a call tonight.

Hi Family

Not much going on in Houston. Its been raining the past few days....so the grass is green green green. I love it! But it can stop raining any day now.

Less than 2 weeks until KAB come and visit. That should be good times!

And really nothing else to report. Thats it. Pretty boring as usual.

Safe At Last

Sounds like your fittin' right in with the Mexican culture....doing some smuggling...haha, good thing it's only animals. Jeter & Peanut have already found themselves full time jobs and they don't know it. New Menu for them, Bugs a la carte.
Zoomed up to Calgary today for another one of my labs. Dad drove and I slept. Shortest trip I had in a long time. Got back in time to watch The Tim Horton Brier semi-finals. The game really sucked.

Me again

Here is another chunk of my story. Been really busy trying to get things setup here. Having trouble with internet and cell phones. Also met up with the guy helping us submit our paperwork for working visas. Yesterday was cloudy, which was actually nice... and today is sunny again. Probably have a dip in the pool later today!

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Day 6 – Thursday – Houston to Brownsville

Left Houston an hour and a half late. That’s just what I do… usually running late… especially in the mornings! Managed to stuff all our purchases into the van! By the way, I’m very pleased with all my new clothes. I got some great deals on new clothes for wedding shoots. I spilled my secret to Lincoln today… I bought two pairs of capris that are a little too tight for me! Hahaha… I plan to cut some pounds before I return from Calgary again. Oh, by the way, I’m only in Playa for a week. I still fly back to Calgary, work for about a month, then come back to Mexico. That’s going to be a rough few weeks for me. Turns out it is a bit of a blessing too… I only have the trip to worry about right now. Linc has actually quit his job already, so it’s a little more real for him.

Been trying to deal with issues back home for the last 3 days over text messages. I can’t imagine what our cell roaming bill is going to look like. Someone is trying to rent our condo back in Calgary… but it’s pretty tough to coordinate when you can’t talk to the guy. Been askin’ a lot of favors from the friends back home… But I guess we can pay that off with a place for them to stay in Playa… or some wedding photos!!!

Lolita is holding up well. The drive today was pretty low key, considering it was ONLY 7 hours!! Phew.

Chillaxin in the hotel in Brownsville with some Rum right now. Had to smuggle the animals in. For a hotel that doesn’t allow animals, there sure is a lot of damage from dogs in here. Also… my little hunter/cat, Jeter, just found a bug crawling on the floor. Yuck… how I am supposed to sleep here now?!?! Hahah… I’m in big trouble!! Plan is to hit the free breakie at 6AM, then the border. I hope the border is like the rest of this city… seems everyone speaks English very well and are very helpful. We will see if our luck with borders continues…

Didn’t sleep well in Brownsville. The animals continued their hunt for bugs and found several more. Grody. I’m already starting to feel the effects of traveling through Mexico. I don’t feel entirely safe here in the dark. Yikes, what am I doing… I’m not even across the border yet!


.... More to come... eventually.

Hi

Quick post to say i'm here. Live and well. I'm sooo sooo tired. Been on my feet all day and that is not such a good thing on tile floor and flip flops. Unpacking is going well. Found some outdoor furniture today.

I will send more later, right now... my feet are killing me and I'm super tired. nite nite.

Hola from Altamira

Pulled in yesterday around 5. Stayed at the Holiday Inn. Planning to hit the road within an hour or so. Want to get to Veracruz today... before dark... We'll keep Connie posted along the drive.

Busy

Whoa...busy drivin sister! That is a lot of driving. And, I think your version of keeping Linc company is body only on auto-sleep.
I've been super busy trying to get this project wrapped up. Hit some hurdles but things are looking better. Getting ready for a 165 desktop, 20 server deployment. I've been working most days and most night. I came home about 7pm tonight to visit munchkin before bedtime. She was really hyper; it was quite funny. I guess she misses me.

well i am super tired and probably working again all this weekend so i think i should get to bed.
safe travels.
KAB

Hola from Brownsville

Hi Y'all... we're in Brownsville now. Left Connies at 11:30. Had a good day driving. Felt short and sweet compared to our first leg. Linc will probably be taking the wheel from now on. Brownville is the border city. Getting up at 6AM for breakie, then hitting the border. We're expecting to pay some duties... but if our luck continues like the last border we'll be in and out quickly with no issues. We'll let Connie know ASAP.

Bye bye.

First Leg...

I posted this story on a forum for other people in Playa following our trip... Enjoy. More to come. (ooops, i'm logged in as Lincoln... this is really Lori talking)

Ok, where to begin??? Friday evening, up until 2AM packing the van. So much for leaving by 9AM… We still hadn’t finished our packing or cleaning the condo. Had to leave her shining as there will be showings for sale or rental while we’re away. Anyway, it was quite the show. My favorite was watching Lincoln pack the roof while standing in a shopping cart. Then, just when I thought he couldn’t get any more Trailer park, he started washing the windshield with a floor mop. Entertaining. Then there was me, I was in charge of packing the back of the van. I’m tellin’ ya’ she is TIGHT! Did my best to fill every last square inch. And… just when we thought the van was full… we realized we forgot the printer. Keep in mind, it’s a desk top printer, but it felt like a full sized Zerox at that point. By the time I finished we were having issues finding space for a roll of toilet paper! Now, THAT’S tight! Gotta love it when you find a new air pocket! I was a little disappointed when we pulled out of the parkade and realized there were a couple holes of space near the windows. Ha, we could have taken at least one more piece of paper! Hahah… seriously! Or at least some bounce sheets!

We finally hit the road around 3PM on Saturday. Heading for the border at Sweetgrass Montana. Nothing too eventful on the way. Lolita was holding up nicely. Handling the load as best she could, which was comparable to a Lincoln Continental in need of a front end alignement (to say the least). Make small adjustments when driving, and be sure your big rig driving hat is on tight. Top speed… 110Km, aka 70MPH.

Roll in to the border around 6pm. No line, thank god. We’ll see if our luck continues as we pull up to the window. So, the dude asks Lincoln “What do you have in the van?”. Linc says “Uh, other than the kitchen sink, nothing at all”. Border official “do you have any weapons?”, Linc “uh… just a gun… a tape gun… does that count?”… Ha… not. We didn’t think he’d find that as amusing as we did! Kept that one to ourselves. We were asked to remove the animals and they took the van out back. Since they couldn’t have actually opened the doors without stuff tumbling out, we figure they must have done some swabbing and drug dog snoopin’. About 20 minutes later, passports in hand, and back on the road. Grasias, and Adios. I must say, that was one of our most enjoyable trips across the border. Pleasant people who didn’t have anything to prove…. To us anyway. Might be smart to keep our “jokes” to ourselves at the Mexican border too.

Montana… I noticed it’s really tough to figure out their ‘exit’ system on the highway (maybe just at night). I haven’t exactly pinpointed what the issue is… Cause I think there are several. For instance, the lines. The way the lines are painted, the Exit isn’t clearly distinctive from the rest of the road. No dotted lines to cross over, and no signs or lines to mark the middle section. Then, plant that confusing exit onto a curve in the road… and you’ve got yourself a wrong turn. The ‘exit’ goes completely straight… and the actual highway curves hard to the left. Lucky for us, we brought along our trusty Cherry 2000 gps. For anyone who doesn’t know, Lincs addicted to TV… apparently that is a movie about some robot woman. We love you Cherry.

Stopped in a little town, barely had a gas station. But they did have a Countrytime Skillet. Ah, I forget what it’s called, but that’s close enough. YUM-E!! We shared a homemade turkey veggie soup, chicken fingers and mozza sticks. It was a little difficult to order cause I referred to the chicken as ‘Fingers’ instead of ‘Strips’. I guess they’ve never heard of that. Apparently ceasar salad isn’t a small town thing either… I believe I stumped her 3 or 4 times while I was attempting to order. Geez, we speak the same language and I’m already having difficulties. Can’t image what I’ll be ordering to eat in Mexico. Anyway, what I managed to order was so delicious! Veggie soup?!?! I don’t even eat vegetables! But I couldn’t get enough of that soup!

On the road again… Linc drives all the way through the night. I tried to keep him company most of the time, but since the driver has control over the temperature and radio… that left me listening to snoring talk radio. Some “interesting” topics which include religion and UFO’s. How am I supposed to stay away listening to that? Hit a McD’s parking lot for a quick snooze around 6am, then breakie and back on the road.

Somewhere in Wyoming, we realized our rear tires weren’t holding up so well to all the weight in the van. Stopped off in Cheyene to get them replaced with some 44psi beauties. All I can say is that there sure are some interesting characters in Cheyene. I felt very out of place, haha.

Tried to make it though yet another night, but after 2 caffeine pills, a couple coffees and an energy drink (that is supposed to last for 5 whole hours)…. It was a no go. I was actually still tired after pumping myself with all that caffeine. I should write a letter to that stinkin’ Energy Drink company!! Made Linc drive again and I was zonked out within minutes. Finally decided to park for a few hours sleep around 2am, in Dumas, Wyoming. We attempted to sleep in the van. The two of us, and two animals in the front seats of the van… It doesn’t work. We decided to check into a hotel for a good nights sleep.

Waking up Monday morning I was totally hung over. I believe I can attribute that to a caffeine overdosed the day before. Thank god for a bed though… we needed it! I’m sure the animals appreciated a break from the little cube we’d been living in too.
We planned to drive all the way from Dumas to Houston Monday. Saddle up, it’s going to be a long ride. Due to arrive around 11pm. Our AMA trip advisor told us to take highway 35 most of the way to Houston. But our new found love Cherry, lead us down another route, through several small towns, the number 287. The highway was still fantastic but down to single lane in some areas. This didn’t affect us at all considering our top speed is about 110km/hour. We weren’t passing too many vehicles in Lolita, that’s for sure.

So, a day… and a night… and another day… and a night…. And we’re almost where most people start their drive to Playa.

Rode into Houston around 10:30. Staying with my sis and her hubby for a couple days before the next leg of our trip.

Did some visiting, shopping, hot tubbing and lots of eating in Houston. Not sure how we plan to fit our new purchases into the van… but where there’s a will, there’s a way! Dad called today very concerned about the news reports of violence at the border and driving through Mexico. We’re very aware and planning to do everything we can to stay safe. I will admit, it scares me to think about the border where I cannot speak their language. Then to top it off, another 5 military check stops on the way….. yikes. uh, we’re from Canada where it’s very rare to see machine guns kicking around. Or for that matter… any guns at all. I could personally do without them. But… I guess that’s part of what I’ve signed up for in order to live my dreams in Playa.

Leaving shortly to Brownsville.

L&L&L whereabouts

They're just leaving Dumas, TX. Should arrive in Houston around 10/11pm. They stayed in a hotel last night.

another lori update

um....lori, lincoln, and lolita think they'll be in houston tomorrow aftn. thats about all i know right now. update ya in the morning.

lori update

i've been texting with lori.....sounded like a piece of cake getting thru the US border. 20-30 mins. not too bad. i think they drove through the night and when i woke up and asked for an update they were in casper, wy. they were stopping for a sleep break. don't think it was very long because i was just texting with her again and they had just stopped for mcd's and were on the road again. sounds like they might be getting some new tires or something, so they'll be stopping in cheyenne, wy in about an hour.