Mexico Part 56: Leaving Guadalajara

On the 4th of July, my brother Alex flew in from Washington DC to do the trek with us from Guadalajara all the way to Phoenix, Arizona.  The days leading up to the move were of course CRAZY.  We were frantically trying to sell all of our stuff.  There was this lady that came one Saturday night and told us, "I want everything."  Which helped relieve some stress but created other stress.  It's hard to price your things sometimes.  The last things to sell were our beds, which was actually a good thing since our last night there we were still sleeping on our bed.  So that Thursday, Eva had presentations at school for her last day, I was running around closing up water/electricity/cable accounts, and picking up my brother from the airport.  Needless to say we had a lot to do in order to leave right after Eva got out of school.  Well, that didn't happen.  My brother came to our home to see a pretty chaotic downstairs and the landlord.  We quickly shoved everything outside and turned in keys.  We actually got our deposit back, which was awesome, since they didn't like to give us back our last one.  My sweet neighbor had watched my kids all day and even fed us the yummiest lunch/dinner.  We said our goodbyes and didn't pull out of the driveway until 5.  It is very humbling to see all the things you own in the back of a trailblazer and maxima.  We made it to Tepic, two and a half hours outside of Guadalajara before we had to stop because of blinding rain and containers on the top of the blazer that kept opening up.  We wanted to make it to Mazatlan that first night but with such bad weather and a late start, we stopped in Tepic.  The next morning we had more bin problems but made it to Mazatlan and stayed the rest of Friday at the beach.  It was beautiful there.  Saturday morning we had the best hotel buffet breakfast and headed off for a long drive.  The kids were great this day.  They had no movies to entertain them and we traveled a long time.  It was on this day that we were waiting what our fate would be with the Yaqui community.  Apparently, they were having water disagreements with the government.  So, there way to be heard was to block the road with huge semis and not let people through.  They weren't very nice about it and used wooden paddles, bandannas and numbers to intimidate and threaten people.  It was by far the worst thing about the whole trip.  But we made it through that ordeal and am thankful I will never experience anything like that again.  Well, at least not anytime soon.  That night we made it to Hermosillo.  And the next morning got up and made it all the way to Phoenix.  I was proud of myself.  I drove all the way through with my brother as co-captain helping with whatever the kids needed or wanted.  And Matthew was awesome driving the whole time alone, with River and Eva's bicycle in the front seat.  The first week in Arizona our awesome friends let us stay at their place from Sunday to Thursday morning until we could get keys into our apartment.

We are slowly getting adjusted.  It's hot here, but I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.  It actually feels good on my joints.  This place is very diverse.  There are a lot of different people where we live.  Maybe it's because it's a college town, or cause we are in an apartment, but you can see just about any kind of ethnicity and race here.  The transition for Eva has been easier than for Elijah.  He loved every "home" we stayed at during our trip and still asks about our "other house" but slowly he will get there.  We all will for that matter.  Matthew of course, couldn't be happier that he is here.  He is learning a lot and grateful everyday he is now studying medicine in the states.  And, I, well, am slowly getting there.  It feels lonely a lot of the times, but I just put on a happy face and hope really soon, I will really feel that.  

Here are just some of the special people we have loved while living in Mexico, that are still there and miss...

We now are onto our next adventure.  Arizona Part I??  I can't believe three short years ago it was Mexico Part I.  I never thought I would be so sad to leave a place when I wasn't eager to be there in the first place.  But I suppose that is how life is.