The Journey Day 1-4

Day 1: What do you take to Belize when you are going for a year?

Late Start.....

We planned to get on the road at 6a but at 4am when I was still folding and packing clothes I went to sleep...exhausted.  When I did get up it was close to 9a and what seemed like a possibility (leaving at 6a) was now and impossibility and at this point I was pushing for 1p.

Thank GOD for my girlz!!!!  Kesha, Jamila and Tashia were there and my only request is to get us out of there by 4p. 

We packed the new van...Blessed-(the name J gave) Indigo-(the name I gave)...DOWN!  I had to ask "what do you take to Belize when you are gonna be there for a year"?  Perhaps I was taking more than I needed but I WOULD NOT see that as the case.  I was determined to take everything and even went about asking the neighbor walking by for help when J surely beyond frustration went on a sabbatical in the house.

We tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged until the 6 or so boxes were "secure".  J came back and put the tarp on and after 50 or so more last minute sweeps we were off.

I reflected on Tas' words "..and now the memory making begins" as I hear first then catch a glimpse out of the mirror of the small now needless box flying off the top of the van not 5 miles into the journey, just before Rosa Parks Blvd.  (I thought it was the box that had Jaah'z home school math curriculum and books for a sister in Belize but later found it was a box marked "bathroom stuff"....yay!!!!).

Regroup:

No tarp-check.  Nothing on the top but the tire-check.  Salty-check.  Get myself together-check...quick-check...this is gonna be a long trip...pit stop to Mom's job...dvd player no remote...sonic...on the road again.

J and I have truly grown.  There was a time when the tinsiest bit of disorder caused not only chaos but explosion.  We are no longer as fragile as we once were...not him, not me, not us...sad that it comes on the fringe of such dramatic change...

On the road?  Not quite...as J sees a man and a child walking on the side of the road.  Worried about the child J turns back to go help.  Long story short- 2 men, 1 lady, 2 kids in a car with blown head gasket afraid to call police for help because they have warrants on them.  When J's pleading becomes them arguing amongst themselves J decides it's time to go.

On the road again...this time it's Isaac...not uncle Issac but hurricane Isaac!  Can you say blinding rain?  So we pull off to get taco bell (you keeping track?  This is fast food spot #2...more to come on that) and Blessed Indigo decides she wants some fresh rain air as the driver side window stalls-thankfully only for a few minutes.

Rain.  No rain.  Rain.  No rain...no rain...

Jackson,  Memphis- ez breezy headed to Little Rock the final destination for the day.  What's this?  GPS is taking us where?  Must be because of the construction....let's ride it out!  I reminisce of the DARK, DARK road in NC, looking for the family reunion, just me and the kids and THANKFULLY a full tank of gas, J says there is a town that looks like this anywhere in the country you go...you know...back woods..but...oh yeah ADVENTURE....

So we're headed through the backwoods town...Calderon if you know it... in Arkansas for 16 miles... As we get back on the highway the no gas light comes on! OH MY GOD!  Where are we?  Where is the $!?@+*# gas station?   Beyond the bend, before empty, GOD IS THE GUIDE!!!! GIVE THANKS! Lesson: Never go below 1/2 a tank....

And just when you thought it was over...

I forgot to mention we didn't book our hotel until we were in Jackson or somewhere there about.  Truth is we didn't really know where we would stop but had decided it would be Little Rock as we got going.  "America's Best Inn and Suites"...sounds FANCY...aint that where we stayed in Johnson City?...great price! 

So we're driving, and driving, and driving and calling, "where's the hotel?  No we're not by the bridge we're in the hood...ok we're on the way.  So we're driving, and driving and calling, "what's the address?  Are you near the home depot?  Are the lights on?". So we're driving and driving and oh there it is but...what's this?  Different address...Is that a pimp?  Is this a....(Fill in the blank)....guess we are not staying here...and we don't.  Instead we have a luxurious stay in the Holiday Inn Express in Bradley, Arkansas...

The end to a Beautiful Day....

Incantation, Affirmation, Inspiration:

The ultimate guide of this journey is God. I expect peace, joy, patience and love to accompany me & my family. Whatever we encounter will be healed through God's protection.~by Tasneem "Soul Story"- Tewegbola

Day 2: Educational Adventure

Part of the reason I wanted us to drive was thinking about the rich educational experience it would be for the kids.  The geography of traveling across 3 states and 3 countries, the math involved with regular highway signs, the character development of being cooped in a mini van loaded to the hilt with 3 other folks...

While today was not quite the adventure yesterday was in some ways it was and then some in others.

We slept in.  Not your 9a sleep in but one of those Christopher Williams "Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreaming..." sleep ins and by the time we left it was close to noon.

Aaaaaawwww....breakfast in the afternoon!  Exciting if you are like me and can eat breakfast anytime of the day.  Pancakes, grits, eggs, veggie sausage, potatoes, fruit, water (don't laugh!  I love water!) But who really has time when we already slept in.  So guess you know where we're headed...  Yep...that's right...make this fast food stop #3.  Good ol McDonald's.  Now I'm not gonna pretend that I don't eat Micky D's but I try to limit it and I  CRAVE real food.  So the thought of being on the road for 6 days eating 2-3 meals a day of card board chicken of the sea patties and over processed sludge is beginning to repulse me.  So what do we do?  We go to McDonald's anyway but offset it with a trip to Walmart. 

Travelling lesson #2:  Balance the junk with healthy snack options.  

I have also opted to make this trip as sugar free as possible...*STRUGGLING* seeing as how I am definitely neck and neck with my 2nd born on the sugar addiction tip (bragging moment-surprisingly she has the best teeth on the block because her hygiene at 4.5 is out of this world!).  Anyway we'll see how the no sugar thing goes.

So we leave Walmart and we are on the road.  "Look at the cows!  There's a horses butt!  There's Mega Bus! What's a ranch?  Why are they called cowboys?  It's so hot here!  Look at the water!  Is that where we're going?  Is that the Caribbean Sea?  Is everybody in Mexico Mexican?  Are ghosts real?........." 

Heading West on I-30 to Houston...right?  Whew, whew!  This is GREAT!!!!  Sang it MJ!!!  "So you wanna be starting something...." "...cause this is Thriller, thriller night!". I see you back there jamming Jaah'z!  Alright J with your hand riffs!  Wait...Sir have we passed Texarkana?  We're how far from Dallas?  Yea I saw the sign but I thought...  OK so we are not going to Houston....hmmm....we're taking the Texas scenic route?  "GOD is the ultimate guide..." Ok then.  Dallas here we come!

Which was great because my cousin Aaron actually lives in Dallas...now that I think about it so do a couple of other friends of mine but for whatever reason I only think of Aaron...new dad, 30, in Texas away from the world now for gosh probably close to 10 years...I get a little emotional thinking about it.  Oldest child of my Mom's (Happy Birthday Mom!) baby sister Aunt Wanda.  I'm proud of him for doing something different.  For choosing a different path.  For being a father and making his family first. 

Texting...naw I gotta call this dude...no answer...texting...he responds and before I can he calls.  He lives in NW Dallas...I'm in South Dallas..."You driving where cuz?  Thru Mexico?  How long you in Belize?  Wow!  Let me know you made it...send pics of the kids- he says, you too and kiss the baby- I say, we say love you and we're done....

Lord let this be a time of reconnection and rejuvenation.  Renew the bonds of family and let them be strengthened by the increased distance.  May they know my heart Lord....and me theirs...giving thanks...

Driving...Dallas...Waco- ya'll remember David Koresh and the Branch Davidians...the Davidians!!!!  That's deep!!!!  Austin-Kileen!  That's where Levada's house was/is!  Gotta get gas and eat so...I'm thinking "no more fast food" J's thinking fish tacos and the kids agree.  So after driving to Jalisco's (too expensive), deciding against Chilli's we find Torchy's Taco's on the (urban spoon website) where we have salmon taco's, tuna tacos, fried avocado tacos, bean and cheese burrito, and "queso" and cheese with chips. 

Back on the road...

 

Big ups to Blessed Indigo for putting it down on the road!  We have had no problems at all and all is well.  Now considering that it feels like a roller coaster ride as we drive, the shocks or struts will likely need to be replaced in the not too distant future but right now things are going well. 

Almost to San Antonio!  Only 2 more hours after that if we went on to Kingsville, TX as we planned...which we don't-Thanks GoGo!...good decision.

We stop at McDonald's for a bathroom break and to use the free wi-fi to book the hotel.  As I wait for Jaah'z to finish in the bathroom, J and Je'Mazz are in the front erecting social justice.  For those who may not know J is like my GOD daughter Arieanna.  For her it can be me fussing at Je'Mazz, or homelessness or not including someone in something....crickets...crickets...but she is at 8 years old already a huge advocate for social justice and perhaps a future social worker :)...this is as well J but probably 10 fold.  So when a few guys in McDonalds start making racial innuendos to one of the cashiers and J persists in giving them the evil eye it ends as you would expect...with them apologizing to Shaka saying they didn't mean anything by it....GOD love warrior Baba!

Holiday Inn- Downtown San Antonio-Market Place here we come, there we rest...

Hasta Manana!  Vamos al Mexico!  Or for those who like me have limited Spanish proficiency: See ya tomorrow!  We go to Mexico!

Day 3:  Nerves of a Noodle (Uncooked)

What a day!!!  Easy to start at the end as it was so dramatic!  Visualize I AM Legend, meets Limitless, meets Dusk to Dawn.  This is how I felt as we raced to get to the hotel by dark.  Limitless- I don't where or how I knew the things I did but it was like anything I had ever seen or heard came to the forefront of my consciousness..."Why is the cop stopping me?  Oh that's 100 kilometers per hour not miles which means that it's 200 km to Cuidad Victoria...ok quick conversion...5k is about 3 miles so 200 divided 5 times 3"....  I AM Legend/Dusk to Dawn- remember what happened when the sun went down?  Yes that's the scene I see in my head...mind you J is talking about some mythical big foot like creature native to Mexico...and did I say I was driving?...for the first time the whole trip!!!!

Well after going to the grocery store to get directions to the hotel and feeling like "I'm American...can't someone just escort us to the hotel"?  Then driving in circles (and stopping for pizza at Little Ceasar's (I know right!) we finally get to the HOLIDAY INN-Cuidad Victoria!!!!  Beautiful!

But before all of this excitement we had a pretty smooth start.  Did the usual dance of food, gas, hittin the road.  J started the drive as he had everyday we'd been on the road except today he LET me drive.

So I took us in to Brownsville pumping Badu-Mama's Gun.  On to Sanborn's for insurance...smooth...on the border but where is it?  Left?  No.  Calling the travel experts the Tewegbola's!  "Uhhhh (Bill Cosby speed)...I think...-Zu- what street are you on? (me thinking Zu you know it aint no street signs! Oh sorry...we just can't read signs outside Nashville...ok so a bit of an exaggeration but herein is Travel Lesson #3:  LEARN GEOGRAPHY!!!! and remember that most if all other countries use the metric system...   

I'm talkin reading maps in case GPS goes under or google maps forgets that you're not int the US and knowing how to tell which direction you are headed by the position of the sun and again maybe a bit much but all of this would be aid in travels.

We get to customs and it goes pretty smoothly.  Passports-check, visas- check, registration for the car (not title mind you which I had discovered only days before about this and in a nutshell what this means is we probably could've taken the Equinox but EVERYTHING happens for a reason... So we get the vehicle permit and we are off...or so we think but of course they wanna check the van seeing as how we are loaded down. 

We explained in our broken un polished Spanglish that we are moving to Belize for a year, that it's mostly books, toys and our household stuff.  After opening a few boxes and pulling out others we are free to go but need to stop at the 2nd inspection at the light.  We say bueno (ok), gracias (thank you). 

We proceed to leave a little over an hour later, looking for but not finding the 2nd inspection (oh well) and we're off.

After driving for a few in the wrong direction,  then another few in the other wrong direction, we get quick directions and get back on course.

Now our only "fear" is the sun or the lack thereof.  I must say for me this day of all the days between Day 1-Day 5 was certainly the most fearful. 

I think just the idea or the speculation you get from people about driving through Mexico puts you on 12 automatically.  In truth we were so ready to get out of Matamoros/Brownsville (I can hear the Gangland narrator in my head as J reports Uncle Issac just saw Brownsville/Matamoros on Gangland) we didn't take pictures there or anything we just left.

We raced down the highway and couldn't get to Cuidad Victoria fast enough.  I couldn't really tell you about the scenery or much else in Mexico on that day. 

 

I do however know for sure that I will become fluent in Spanish and I will require it of my children.  That I feel good about this decision despite my moments of ambivalence which I read is much more common than 100%certainty.  I feel blessed to be on this journey.  To have one more chance of a lifetime.  To be in a moment of change...

Obedience to the song of the Spirit is Bliss.  A Joyful dance between head, heart and soul.  Alignment aligned, O Mighty Omnipotent Me Being.  The service of worship Divine.  Lifting up, up, up in total Praise....

Day 4: Tampico, Cuidad Madero, Tuxpan, Veracruz, Boca del Rio....

We get out in decent time to head to Veracruz getting better at understanding directions and getting out quicker. 

Before we leave we have a chance to sample a local breakfast- eggs, beans, tamales, fruit, toast, yogurt, cereal, juice, (and then the things we don't eat like bacon for all the meat eaters out there!).

J is back at the wheel and has been an awesome pilot. 

It's pretty much been an easy route with no hiccups from Cuidad Victoria to Tampico.  The scenery is BEAUTIFUL!  Lush grasses that wave to us as the truck in front of us zooms by, trees of all sizes leaning, twisting standing tall, rolling hills and mountains and mountains and mountains....  I wonder what mountains they are, has anyone hiked them? 

Cows and horses and horses and cows.  If you eat beef this is certainly the place to get it because the cows here are eating grass and there's lots of it.  Ironically these are some of the skinniest cows I've ever seen...which is quite the paradox because it makes you wonder are the cows here under fed despite their constant and never ending supply of grass or are the cows in the US over fed with their fat, full of grain bellies???

We arrive in Tampico and unknowingly enter the CITY.  I mean you name it from VW dealerships, ballerific houses, Sam's, Walmart, Burger King, McDonald's and everything in between. 

We find our way to a shopping plaza which we find out is in Cuidad Madera, all the while feeling like we're going the right way.  We take a bathroom break and I venture to a neat children's educational toys store (HEAVEN) for precise directions.  I restrain from making a purchase and further junking up the van...

In the toy store I work with the lady working there to piece together directions with our Spanglish, and we think we are on the way until we start going through the hood...

So we're thinking this is not the way and J says, "maybe we should ask one of the taxi driver's which way to go" and no sooner than he says it, one pulls up to the car...Is this the Celestine Prophecy or what?

"Where are you going?"-he says in his quick, choppy incomprehensibly fluent Spanish..."to Boca del Rio-Veracruz" we say intuitively knowing this is all he could be asking and picking up on the Va (going) in his question, "Sigame!" He says as he darts off and begins to guide us through a maze of new old buildings, shabby chic dwellings, blowing his horn with his stiff arm out like this is the Super Bowl and he's blocking us through to the touch down!  Amazing!!! 

Where did he come from?  How did he know we needed him, needed help?....

He guides us out of the city and onto the highway with a quick wave as we pass him by...a character in the great journey and amazing adventure!

We continue South inching closer to Veracruz and therefore Belize.  We unconsciously yet meticulously avoid going through Poza Rica and finally begin to see water!!!  Exciting!!!!  Water for as far as you can see!  And the hotels and houses (some) on the water...whew!!!  Beautiful!  We are in the tropics!  And we thought we had seen the mountains but THESE mountains are astounding...

Just a little further...no stopping us now but wait!!!  No sun!  Please don't leave us again!!!  And yet again we find ourselves racing against time to get to the hotel before dark...

It seems like forever getting to Veracruz.  Our longest drive yet clocking a whopping 11-12 hours!

Travel Lesson #4- If google maps says it's 9 hours add 3 hours (in Mexico)....

These directions that we got from google maps have been virtually worthless.  But for GOD, the kindness of the people in the country and the Michelin Road Atlas (2013 version) we would be in San Diego via Mexico!  (Somehow I feel like this was the lesson another day as well)...

We FINALLY arrive at the Holiday Inn Veracruz (which looks a little seedy) and get directions to our hotel the Holiday Inn-Boca del Rio which in contrast overlooks the water!!!

I get out to check into the hotel.  We go in, lay our bags down and scavenge for food.  After deciding against the hotel restaurant (nothing for kids to eat besides not really felling the vibe of some of the staff) we head around the corner to Chilli's!!!  Not too exciting but the fish enchiladas are tasty and the waiter and host are very friendly.  We end dinner with one of my all time favorite desserts- Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie....I know, I know I said but....  J takes the kids out as I wait for the bill.  The waiter (who could be a Latino Elvis impersonator by the hair) comes over and says (in English), "excuse me Ma'am, your husband, does he play baseball"?  Me (slow with uptake) says, "no he plays basketball"!  Oh well...missed that free meal!

Veracruz is Beautiful!  Can't wait to see it in the light of the day.