Feel free to skim it, ignore it or read it all. Just remember this is my journal, so it has a lot of details.
My Adventure Feb. 2009
Dad and I left Tampico at noon, after Church on the 2nd of Feb. The last 2/3rds of our trip to Matamoros ("kill the Moors) we had a wonderful freeway (no cement, black asphalt with no "baches" (chuck holes)). We made great time and made it in 5 ½ hours in spite of being stopped twice by solider patrols checking for smugglers.
We didn't make reservations at a hotel because we wanted to check out where the bridge to the USA was, and which hotel was closest. We found that there are two bridges. The old one goes into the center of the city, but we couldn't find any hotels close. Near the new bridge we found one motel. The sheets were clean even though there were the phone didn't work and I didn't trust the cleanliness of the uncarpeted floors. We saved enough money however to pay for the best Chinese dinner we've ever had in Latin America. Gilbert Rodriguez, our waiter at the Santa Fe Chinese Restaurant. He has two little girls, his wife is in medical school and he has dreams of starting when she finishes. He was really interested when we told him why we were living in Tampico, and replied that he was looking for religion in his life. I really think he was why I wasn't supposed to fly from Tampico.
The savings on a place to stay also went to help pay for the taxi ride across the border to the airport (a whopping $50 to go about 6 miles, plus I had to pay the bridge charge of $2.50). However, in fairness, that short ride took us 1 ½ hours because of the lineup of cars on the bridge (good thing I left the motel at 9:20 for a 1:10 flight to Houston).
When I got to the airport I asked several cabs what they charged to go to Matamoros, ($35-40) so we got taken, however, I got a good referral for the missionaries. My cab driver had heard about "the Mormons" and knew where the chapel is in Matamoros, but he didn't know about the Book of Mormon or anything else. He had a picture of his 5 year old daughter so that was a good conversation started. Margarito is 22, gave me his name, address and phone number, and is anxious to get a copy of The Book of Mormon.
Dave met me at the baggage claim when I arrived in Detroit. He has set up his office in Josh's room on a card table. He is optimistic about job opportunities, in fact he has had so many small free lance jobs come in that he doesn't know when he will be able to work on his portfolios to send off to the company in New Zealand and to Picsar. He has one invitation to speak at a conference of designers in Minneapolis which will provide great exposure. I'm thankful that he and Karalee feel peaceful about their future.
They really feel this is an opportunity to leave the area after 12 years of freezing. Even through t Dave does enjoy his new calling on the high council, and has even bought himself a suit. They are thankful they didn't buy a new home. Their house looks great with new leather sofas, black tables, and great accent decorations.
Did I mention that it is cold! Tuesday and Wednesday I walked Josh and Maddie to school dressed in Karalee's long fleece, snuggly coat to keep from freezing. It was fun to get acquainted with Jacob. He has such a cute personality, and at one point he even initiated a foam rubber sword fight with me.
Wednesday about 4:00 p.m. Mary and the girls came for me. It will take Katie a bit of time to get reacquainted, but Mary had been couching her with pictures and a video from last summer of us dancing together. What a smiling, darling little Elizabeth is! Our three hour drive was filled with conversation, accept for the "white knuckle" patch of driving snow that hit us about 30 miles from London.
Mary has made their townhouse cozy and cute. It reminds me of their apartment in Salt Lake except that it has a basement and there is only one bathroom. The stairs are steep like the ones Rick and Marisa had in Dayton. It is a good thing there is a strong railing to hang onto when one is carrying a load.
Thursday the 6th: Mary, the girls and I ran errands all day finding things to decorate the girl's room. The girls were very patient shoppers. Games at night with Mary and Zach
Friday the 7th: Tour of London, visited the cathedral, watched people ice skate, bought hot chocolate. I went to bed feeling fine, but awoke at 2:00 a.m. nauseated. I went into the bathroom and had some diarrhea. Not being able to throw up I tried to go back to bed, but by 2:30 I was back in the bathroom.
Mary heard me and came in to find me wedged between the toilet and the sink, eyes open, but unresponsive. She was unable to lift me and called for Zach to help as she ran next door for her nurse neighbor who could not get a pulse on my wrist, but could see it on my neck and clocked it at 50. I didn't respond until Zach gave me a blessing (about five minutes after I blacked out). By the time the paramedics arrived I could answer questions, but my blood pressure was so low they decided to take me to the Victoria Hospital. As soon as I was outside I vomited everything that had been in my stomach. On the official insurance form it said the following: "Found unconscious on the bathroom floor, with hypotensive episode resulting in the paramedics being called and being taken to the emergency room."
Saturday night the 7th: We played Hearts. Doug, Gordon, Bruce, Cora, Will and Rick all called. Mary added the antidote that when the paramedics talked about taking me to the hospital I sat up straight and said, "I don't need to go to the hospital!" and promptly feel over again.
Sunday the 8th: I taught the combined YW in Mary's Ward. Darling girls. I love working with youth! I feel perfectly fine. More of the family called. Played Chess and Authors
Monday the 9th: Mary, the girls and I went to an indoor market. Worked on the girls room. I made peach cobbler for FHE with neighbors.
Tuesday the 10th: Got my hair streaked and cut, spent the rest of the day paying my hospital bill, getting copies of my health records, playing with the girls, scrabble with Zach and Mary
Weds the 11th: Will's 9th birthday. We stayed in, washed clothes, worked on our projects for the girls room. Mary had YW in the evening. Zach and I held down the home front and had a great visit.
Thursday the 12th: Mary the girls and I drove to Stratford, Ontario for an outing. It was bitterly cold and snowing. We darted into cute shops to keep from freezing, and ate lunch at "Bentley's" a charming restaurant. Zach was kind enough to clean my teeth in the evening.
Friday the 13th, aptly given the reputation of being unlucky, Karalee and the kids headed out to meet us at the border. However, her car broke down on the freeway and she had to call AAA to tow them into Port Huron. Mary, the girls and I were meanwhile without cell phone waiting at the outlet mall. Thanks to a kind clerk we were able to borrow a phone and reach Kar. We arrived just as the tow truck was picking up their van, and loaded the kids and Kar into Mary's van (one seat short). After the trauma I took everyone to McDonalds for dinner, and so that the kids could get out of the car and play. Mary drove us to Detroit and stayed the night.
Saturday the 14th: Mary, Kar and I did some quick shopping errands, before she and the girls headed home. Dave and I went with her to Port Huron to pick up the van as the garage couldn't find anything wrong with it. About 40 minutes into our trip back to Detroit the same problem Kar had experienced developed and we had to pull off the freeway and give the engine time to cool off. We eventually limped our way back at 15 mph. Hopefully, it will be an easy thing to fix.
For their birthdays (Kar's is on the 28th and Dave's in May) I gave them money to go out to dinner and have a date night. While they were gone I also began reading Anne of Green Gables to Josh and Maddie. Maddie has a wonderful imagination, and enjoyed identifying with Anne. Dave said he has read lots of books about boys to Josh and was glad I had a suggestion of one for Maddie.
Sunday the 15th: Dave left early for his meetings. I went to church with Kar and the kids. The evening was spent doing a talent show, guessing animal charades, reading Anne of Green Gables, and playing a game of Hearts (for the first time in my life I actually managed to "shoot the moon").
Monday the 16th: Cora's tenth birthday. And here I am on the last leg of this trip home to Toney. My bag was 13 lbs overweight when Dave dropped me at the airport this morning. It was probably overweight when I started as I really haven't bought anything to speak of, but they didn't weigh it in Brownsville. Anyway, I unloaded and tried to stuff everything in my carryon without success. I unfortunately brought a small carryon and small purse. Wearing two winter coats I managed to make it to the $9.99 store in the airport where I purchased the largest purse I could find.
I finished reading a new book by Patricia Holland. It was powerful and left me with a desire to learn to appreciate more fully the writings of Peter and Paul. I'm going home with renewed determination to be better at my personal scripture study. We are almost there. I can't wait to see Dad.
Tuesday the 17th: Dad was waiting for me when the plane arrived! It is good to be together again! We looked around Brownsville a bit (not much to see), and bought a few things at the grocery store before crossing the border. We went back to the Santa Fe restaurant to find Gilberto (our golden contact). We ate there and talked to him. He still wants to have the missionaries, but they hadn't come by yet. I was able to call them (they had a wrong address for him) and will get together tomorrow (Gilberto's day off). We drove around Matamoros a bit. It is a prettier, and larger city than Brownsville. We also found a beautiful Best Western Hotel, and a very nice Howard Johnson so if we ever stay overnight again there we have better options than last time. We got home at 10:00 p.m..
This morning we went walking, got the car washed, went to the tianges and purchased some fresh produce. Dad did a good job of keeping the house in order. We opened the temple this afternoon. There is new carpet and everything looks beautiful. All is well.
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Wendy W. Bentley
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