Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Mar9

I’ll Try Anything Once

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I’ll Try Anything Once

Please remind me never to travel during spring break again. I thought I’d never get out of Tucson last Friday. Full flights, full trains and full buses. I wound up getting a shuttle to Phoenix. It kind of reminded me of the collectivos in San Luis Potosi. The driver was Mexican, passengers were all Mexican except for one other gringo who didn’t speak any Spanish. I actually loved that shuttle. I was back in my element again, immersed in Spanish. None of the Mexicans spoke English.

In Phoenix it was the same as Tucson. Full flights and full trains. I managed to get the last seat on a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles. We wound up leaving 3 hours late. The bus had blown a tire on its way from El Paso.

I had a great seatmate on that bus, a woman from Santa Barbara who currently lives in Vegas. We also struck up a conversation with a recovered alcoholic and a recovered drug addict who had both become Evangelists.

I got to LA and surprise, surprise. Couldn’t get on Amtrak. And I didn’t feel like starting up with LAX during spring break. Reluctantly I decided to take my chances with Greyhound again. The agent and I played around with all kinds of combinations of buses but I figured going to Santa Barbara or any other beach town during spring break without a hotel reservation would just be an exercise in futility. So I opted for getting one of the last available seats on a bus to Seattle.

I have to give Greyhound a little credit. Excellent high speed WiFi and great charging stations in the station. Not so excellent Wi-Fi on the bus.

Will I ever travel by bus again? Yes in Mexico on intercity buses. I miss ETN with the single seat and the computer terminal at my seat. But NO to Greyhound in the USA.

I heard horror stories from other passengers about missed connections and ridiculous reroutings. I was one of the more fortunate ones. I actually got to where I was going in a more or less timely fashion.

I Ubered it to my hotel from the bus station in Seattle just after midnight. I love you Crowne Plaza Downtown. A hot shower, a Keurig in my room, and a comfy king bed all to myself. Who could ask for anything more?

And I was able to get on the Amtrak to Leavenworth later that day.

Dec16

What A Year!

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What A Year!

2021 is drawing to a close. A sigh of relief. Almost through year two of the pandemic. It appears that Covid and all of its mutations are here to stay. I wonder how different 2022 will be.

I was living in Wenatchee when 2021 arrived. It was my first winter in snow since 2009. While it was a relatively mild winter compared with the Canadian ones I’d experienced before, it was winter in a cold climate nonetheless.

This afternoon, seven of us enjoyed lunch together outside on the patio of an Italian restaurant. Now that feels more normal to me. With the exception of last year, outdoor dining in December has been the norm since I first arrived in Mexico in 2010.

In January I moved back to Leavenworth. There was more snow and the temperature was colder than in Wenatchee.

In February I was vaccinated and I began thinking about the future. I wasn’t ready to return to Mexico yet and the USA issued a Level 4 travel advisory against travel to Canada.

In March I retained an attorney and applied for an extended stay. I didn’t receive the confirmation that my stay had been approved until July. So I was in limbo for a while.

In April I had biometrics done at the USCIS Field Office in Yakima. Quite an interesting experience. But one step closer to getting that extended stay.

In May I moved to Dryden. It was peaceful living along the river, away from the hoards of tourists who continuously flock to Leavenworth.

The month of June flew by quickly as Amtrak became my new best friend. I traveled by train along the coast from Seattle to Los Angeles, visiting with friends in Portland and Sacramento along the way.

July and August were tense months. I was trying to figure out a way to get to Canada to see my kids and my granddaughter. Every day the rules changed with regards to travel restrictions. The Canadian airlines were gouging customers and I refused to pay quadruple the airfare I had paid before Covid. PCR tests were not available in small-town Washington.

In September I returned to Mexico for the same airfare I’d paid in years previously. No gouging here. No PCR test required. I was back home in Aguascalientes.

Considering that I’m not teaching or doing any volunteer work, I now find myself at more than halfway through my 180 days. The only traveling I’ve done was to Mazatlan for Thanksgiving and to Culiacan to see my family, as well as a day trip to San Jose de Gracia.

I will be with friends in Mexico City for New Years, and then on to Pechuca, Hidalgo. After that, who knows? What is certain is that the travel bug has returned, and that makes me happy.

Sep5

Last Post From Washington State

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Last Post From Washington State

Three days until I leave. I’m actually very organized, other than the last minute stuff that just can’t be done beforehand.

I’ve been here for almost a year and am more than ready to head south except for the fact that I’ll be missing fall here. I won’t see the leaves in their fall splendor as they change color. The view along Highway 2 in Leavenworth is spectacular. I also won’t be able to meander through Cashmere admiring the glorious fall colors, especially my favorite red maple.

Wednesday will be a busy day and I won’t be posting. I fly from Wenatchee to Seattle to Los Angeles. Then on Thursday I fly to Guadalajara and grab a bus to Aguascalientes. I’ve done it before but that was before Covid. My masks are ready.

I said goodbye to my life group on Wednesday at a barbecue. Last night I had intended to bid farewell to my friends at the Senior Center, but the activity was canceled due to the rising number of Covid cases here in Chelan County. On Friday Joyce and I had spent the day together in Wenatchee and had one last lunch at Olive Garden. Joyce and I also taught our last fitness class together on Tuesday.

This afternoon Linda and I will have one last movie afternoon. We’ve been hibernating indoors on Sundays due to the smoke. Her husband Gene is an amazing chef and pampers us with a variety of tantalizing dishes.

There will be more goodbyes to more friends in the next couple of days. Each fall it gets harder to leave here as relationships grow. And I have been especially blessed this year as Debbie and Paul have provided me with a wonderful home for the last few months.

Although I am excited about a winter without snow again this year, I do look forward to returning to the mountains in the spring. This prairie girl will always be enamored by the beauty of the Cascades.

Apr28

Thanks For The Memories

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Thanks For The Memories

Every day on Facebook I check out the Memories section. And I reflect on my life and all the different places I’ve been. I also can’t believe how fast the time has gone by and how much I’ve changed throughout the years.

Two years ago I was volunteering at Camp Heartbeat in Peshastin. It was the beginning of my annual children’s ministry experience at LCN.

Three years ago I was in Toronto visiting my friend Deborah. I recall long walks along the lake and the beautiful view of the water from her backyard.

Four years ago I was in Puerto Vallarta enjoying walks along the malecon and gazing out at the ocean from my lounger on the beach.

I found another memory where I was actually in Winnipeg at this time six years ago. That was a year before I discovered Leavenworth.

And then I found a memory from ten years ago. On my way back from a visit to my friend Rochelle in Los Angeles, I had stopped for some beach time in Mazatlan before returning to Culiacan.

Today I’m moving from Leavenworth to Dryden, a town about 10 minutes away. Not quite as exotic as other places I’ve been, but it will be a memory nonetheless to look back on one day.