We left on Tuesday, January 4th for Mexico! Every single crevice in our truck was filled with our possessions. Lincoln & I stayed up the entire night the night before, getting the truck packed up & trying to figure out how to make everything fit. We had to leave behind even more than we'd planned on, but still managed to pack quite a few things to take with us. We even vacuum-packed our clothes in trash bags so that we could fit them. We were pretty desperate. :)
My family & I were an emotional mess when we said goodbye to each other. My mom packed us all treat/entertainment bags for the trip. I stuffed my face with peanut butter cups & Peeps because I was so depressed. It helped a little bit. After the first hour or so of feeling sad, I became really excited that we were going to Mexico.
We spent a lot longer than we thought we would at immigration, but eventually got the paperwork we needed & entered Mexico. We drove through many toll booths once we got into Mexico. I think we spent over $100 in tolls.
We stayed in Hermosillo the first night. I was so excited to find a Subway there, but quickly learned that it does NOT taste the same as it does in the United States. My sweet onion teryaki sub had little pieces of chicken with straight teryaki sauce poured all over it. It was disgusting.
The next morning we left on the second leg of our journey. We were being constantly entertained by what we saw on the roads...
Poor Kylee had stuff practically falling on top of her, the truck was packed so tight. Luckily she was sick & on Benadryl, so she slept quite a bit!
Daisy made herself comfortable by laying right on top of me. I was so tired, I didn't even care.
Lincoln drove the whole way there. I didn't trust myself to drive in Mexico with the truck weighed down like it was. He was a good sport about it...
We arrived at our hotel in Mazatlan on Wednesday night. It was BEAUTIFUL. We were really worried because the hotel didn't allow pets, and there was no parking in front of the hotel, so we couldn't leave Daisy & Duke in the truck for the night. We had no clue what to do. I said a quick prayer, & Lincoln asked the hotel what our options were. They told us that the dogs could stay in our room with us. Oh, I was so thankful!!!
We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, right on the beach. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We had the most delicious authentic tacos, while listening to the waves crash. It felt kind of surreal...like the picture-perfect dates on The Bachelor...except that there were 2 other adults & 5 kids with Linc & I. :)
Back in the hotel room, the dogs relaxed with "Bee"...
The next morning we spent a little time on the beach before we headed out for the last part of our trip.
The private beach behind the hotel...
Mommy & Kylee looking at the hotel fountain...
Family picture on the deck outside our room...
The view from the deck...
The ocean was RIGHT there!
Hanging out on the beach...
Introducing Kylee to the ocean for the first time...
Can you see her face? The waves freaked her out.
We arrived in our new home of Zapopan (just outside of Guadalajara) on Thursday, January 6th. When we were a few minutes outside of the city, Lincoln & I started getting pretty nervous. I started thinking about the fact that we just moved away from our family & friends, with hardly any money or possessions, & that we don't even have a home!
This is totally worth it. I go to sleep every night knowing that I learned SO many new things that day & that I grew as a person. How many times in life can someone feel like that? I'm sure that I'll be experiencing that the entire time that I am living here.
Lincoln & I take walks at night to buy fresh pastries or tacos in the PERFECT weather & I feel like life is so simple. I love knowing that he & I are on this journey together, & that Lincoln will come out of this as a physician. How great is that?!
Life is good. And I am really glad that we are living in Mexico. I know this is where we are supposed to be.
P.S. I actually started a conversation in Spanish yesterday. I'm quite proud of myself. Although after I said one sentence & the lady started talking nonstop to me, I had to politely tell her "No habla Espanol." At least I tried though, right? :)
