Well...we made it. What a long, strange trip it's been! Let's see...for two weeks before leaving I was selling everything in the house and packing and trying to figure out all the details and what needed to be packed. I was getting by on about 5-6 hours of sleep a night. On Sunday morning we woke up at 4:30 am and headed down to the airport for a very teary goodbye - it was a lot harder than I figured it would be. We were able to upgrade to first class for our flight to LA and that was fun. Sierra is convinced they use softer plastic for the 1st class windows than for coach!
I surprised Sierra with the Disney tix at the SFO airport and she was excited...I think it helped to get on our plane...she was really sad. It was a quick flight to LA and I have to say...LAX is a dirty and yucky airport. They didn't have any lockers for us to put our backpacks in, so we had to take them to Disneyland. Problem was....Disneyland didn't have any lockers for us either, and almost didn't let us in the park. Finally, they let us put them into the kennel
We had a good time at Disneyland and were pleasantly surprised that the lines weren't as bad as we figured they would be. We left at 8 o'clock to get back to the airport. After checking in we went up to the gate and vegged for a bit - Sierra was struggling so we got some food and she slept a bit on the floor. I was afraid if I fell asleep that we'd miss our flight, so I stayed awake.
As it was getting close to time to board, I woke up Si, and she was completely out of it and kept trying to lay back down to sleep. She was pretty whiny. At the last minute we had to switch to another gate, so we trudged down that way only to wait in a long line for about forever. Finally we got on and were able to get some sleep. Well, Sierra was able to sleep anyway - they kept waking me up to ask about drinks or to fill out paperwork or some other such thing. We landed in Guadalajara at 6:45 and stood in another long line for customs. Sleep had been good for Sierra and she was much more helpful.
There was a woman with her daughter and 3 grandkids who kept trying to get in front of us in line. I was just tired and cranky enough that I wouldn't have it, so we sort of jockeyed for position for about an hour - but I finally secured my position! We definitely had the SLOWEST processor of them all and our line inched along. Then, the guy handling the line next to us left, so our slow guy had to process two lines...oh yeah, that was fun. We FINALLY made it through (didn't even ASK for proof of custody for Si) and we got the "green light" so no bags searched.
We took a taxi to the Central Camionara (central bus station) and got the ETN bus to San Miguel de Allende (SMA). Now let me tell you, taking that ETN bus was the best idea yet. Only 24 seats on a huge bus. The seats are wider than 1st class ones and they lay almost all the way back. There are leg supports that fold out from the seat in front - imagine it as looking like a dentist's chair when it is fully prone. They played two movies (Remember the Titans & Blackhawk Down) and they provided headphones for the movies or for radio. In the back is a little changing room, coffee service and a restroom. I was finally able to get some sleep.
We got into SMA and grabbed a taxi to meet my friend Geri in the centro. Only problem...I only had about 11 pesos on me and a bunch of American change, and $100 bills. The driver said all the banks and cambios were closed!! It cost 40 pesos for the taxi ride. We were in a bind. He finally found a bank and I got my money put into pesos and paid him 70 for helping me out.
We missed Geri, but got to our Hostel - it is called the Iron House Youth Hostel and is really nice. There's another mom with her two sons here (8 & 11) and they are taking Spanish classes. The owner is so nice and showed us all around. I was still pretty out of it and wasn't very good company last night, so I went to bed around 7:30 pm. At 9 pm the owner came and knocked on our door...."tu amiga esta aqui" - your friend is here. Geri. She was worried when we missed each other and wanted to make sure I was okay. She was crying because we hadn't seen each other in so long...she's just the softest-hearted person you'll ever know. We visited for a minute and agreed to meet for dinner tonight. I had taken two Tylenol PM's and was pretty much just a zombie, so I went back to bed and slept soundly until 2 am.
And that's where we come to the title of this story. Our door has a slide-lock and is a bit hard to open. I woke up at 2 to go potty and couldn't open the door. I was pulling on that slide for my life, doing the dance with more and more intensity. I got out my swiss army knife and flashlight and tried to bang it open...no such luck. Being the ingenutive person I am, I finally dismantled the lock and removed it from the door so I could go about my business!!! I was afraid I wouldn't make it, but thankfully, I did!
Today has been pretty much a day of doing nothing, just trying to get some energy back - although I did wash some laundry. Other than that...it's just been about laying around!
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