Trip to TJ - Memories and Observations - Day 1
So, so long...
Our flight was scheduled for 8:30 am on Thursday, 1/13. We were up quite late the night before packing and therefore Scott hit the snooze alarm one too many times. We weren't very late, but we were late enough that we didn't have time for him to drop C and I off at the airport before taking the car to long-term parking. This meant having to lug ourselves and our crap on the parking shuttle bus.
Being as it was early in the morning when we got there (7:10 to be exact), the bus was uncrowded and it was not too bad trying to get everything on. We really tried to pack light, but still ended up with:
*The Mammoth Marathon (named such because you feel as if you've run a marathon after lugging it through an airport)
*Stroller
*Laptop
*Backpack purse/diaperbag
*Bag-o-food
*2 suitcases
*1 small duffle bag
*1 small-yet-ungainly toddler
We got on the plane without problem and the flight was an easy hour. We arrived, found our driver, got the luggage and departed for TJ in a big SUV. The driver did not speak English and he was about the only person we encountered who we had some difficulty communicating with.
We weren't stopped at the border at all and were quickly headed to our hotel. Or so we thought. The driver took us to the Dr.'s offices instead (luckily I knew what the office looked like or I would have been really confused). We were all preparing to go upstairs to the office when the Dr.'s mother, Mrs. Ortiz, pulled up. She basically is the office gopher and coordinator. She was able to tell Junior (our driver) that he should take Scott and C over to the hotel while I did my pre-op tests. People were still a little confused, but S and C ended up at the hotel.
I went up to the office and was quickly taken to go get my blood drawn back downstairs. Then I waited. And waited. While not at all annoyed, I could really see how things were more laid back in MX. Eventually the nutritionist showed up and she went through my current diet and what I would eat after surgery. She also took my weight and body fat percent.
After about another hour the cardiologist showed. He lives in San Diego and his kids go to school there. He was going to Phoenix that weekend, so we discussed what he could do while he was in town. I did a respiratory exam that showed I was 'mildly obstructed.' The cardiologist ordered a breathing treatment before and after the surgery to be on the safe side. He also did an EKG that was pronounced absolutely normal.
After all that, I had to wait for someone to take me to the hotel. If I had known it was less than 2 blocks away I would have walked! The Lucerna is located on one corner of a very large traffic circle in the Zona Rio. It was a nice hotel that would probably rate about 3 stars here. Its regular nightly rates are rather high, IMHO (about $160 US a night). I wasn't paying, but I was interested in the cost.
Junior dropped me off and I spoke with the bellman who told me that DH and C were in room 323--on floor 2. I went to the elevators and when they opened, DH and C stepped out. It was very lucky as they were actually in room 223 and I would have knocked on some unsuspecting person's door otherwise.
We went back to the room for me to settle in and decided to try going downstairs to the cafe for lunch. Big mistake. C was just not in the mood to be quiet or sit still so we ended up doing a lot of pointing and smiling to tell the waiter that we were going to order room service. We got a pizza and a hamburger to share since C wanted pizza. All I can say is yuck. The hamburger wasn't bad, but the pizza was awful. It still had a piece of plastic wrap on it--clearly it was fresh from the freezer. But it was 2pm and only C had eaten anything all day so we ate it.
And BTW, 7up is way different in Mexico.
After lounging for the afternoon and several bouts of anxiety and slight depression from me (mostly about S and C's living arrangements for the next few days), we decided to investigate other dinner options. We ended up asking the bellman who recommended La Casa de Mole.
We braved the traffic running through the light-less traffic circle and walked around to another corner where the restaurant sat. They clearly did not speak a lot of English, but it was a very nice, family-friendly place. In fact, every table around us had families with young children. There was a family who appeared to be of some nationality not US, Mexican, or Canadian.
We were offered drinks and, luckily, Scott understood when they asked if we wanted a child seat. The waiter then brought out this brightly-painted, very tall, wooden highchair for C. I also couldn't read everything on the menu (not remembering what pechuga (sp?) was and not having my dictionary).
We both ended up ordering enchiladas. Scott got the chile verde chicken enchiladas and I got the crema de cilantro queso ones. We also ordered a queso fundido appetizer and a kid's meal for C.
The queso fundido was just some steaming, melted cheese in a bowl with hot corn tortillas. It was delicious. The cheese was stringy as it was pulled from the bowl and C thought it was noodles. After seeing the 'noodles', that was all he would eat. The kid's meal was a bust. Along with our queso fundido came a pot with a crumbly chile and a bowl of amazing hot sauce.
Next came unexpected bowls of chicken with rice soup. To DH, this was the highlight of the meal. Our meals arrived next with 3 enchiladas each and a small portion of refried beans. I will start out saying that I am not usually an enchilada fan--but, wow. The cilantro cream sauce was enough to send me into heaven. I was bummed that I was really too full to finish them. I tasted Scott's chile verde version as well--they were good but not as delish as my own choice.
[Please note how I am conveniently ignoring that C had 2 meltdowns during dinner that required Scott to escort him out of the restaurant to be 'talked with.']
At the end of the main course, the waiter asked if we wanted sweet tamales. Even stuffed, I said yes. They came with the meal! They were just steamed sweet corn masa with some raisins and coconut. I wasn't thrilled, but C loved the 'cake.'
DH paid our bill, which was about $28 US, and we walked out full and happy. We also found a small convenience store on our way around the other side of the traffic circle where we bought some gallons of purified water.
Getting C to sleep in a big bed was a little difficult, but we all went to bed together around 9am.
I'm not sure where to write about my long, agonizing night but I think this is already too long so it will go in Day 2.
Our flight was scheduled for 8:30 am on Thursday, 1/13. We were up quite late the night before packing and therefore Scott hit the snooze alarm one too many times. We weren't very late, but we were late enough that we didn't have time for him to drop C and I off at the airport before taking the car to long-term parking. This meant having to lug ourselves and our crap on the parking shuttle bus.
Being as it was early in the morning when we got there (7:10 to be exact), the bus was uncrowded and it was not too bad trying to get everything on. We really tried to pack light, but still ended up with:
*The Mammoth Marathon (named such because you feel as if you've run a marathon after lugging it through an airport)
*Stroller
*Laptop
*Backpack purse/diaperbag
*Bag-o-food
*2 suitcases
*1 small duffle bag
*1 small-yet-ungainly toddler
We got on the plane without problem and the flight was an easy hour. We arrived, found our driver, got the luggage and departed for TJ in a big SUV. The driver did not speak English and he was about the only person we encountered who we had some difficulty communicating with.
We weren't stopped at the border at all and were quickly headed to our hotel. Or so we thought. The driver took us to the Dr.'s offices instead (luckily I knew what the office looked like or I would have been really confused). We were all preparing to go upstairs to the office when the Dr.'s mother, Mrs. Ortiz, pulled up. She basically is the office gopher and coordinator. She was able to tell Junior (our driver) that he should take Scott and C over to the hotel while I did my pre-op tests. People were still a little confused, but S and C ended up at the hotel.
I went up to the office and was quickly taken to go get my blood drawn back downstairs. Then I waited. And waited. While not at all annoyed, I could really see how things were more laid back in MX. Eventually the nutritionist showed up and she went through my current diet and what I would eat after surgery. She also took my weight and body fat percent.
After about another hour the cardiologist showed. He lives in San Diego and his kids go to school there. He was going to Phoenix that weekend, so we discussed what he could do while he was in town. I did a respiratory exam that showed I was 'mildly obstructed.' The cardiologist ordered a breathing treatment before and after the surgery to be on the safe side. He also did an EKG that was pronounced absolutely normal.
After all that, I had to wait for someone to take me to the hotel. If I had known it was less than 2 blocks away I would have walked! The Lucerna is located on one corner of a very large traffic circle in the Zona Rio. It was a nice hotel that would probably rate about 3 stars here. Its regular nightly rates are rather high, IMHO (about $160 US a night). I wasn't paying, but I was interested in the cost.
Junior dropped me off and I spoke with the bellman who told me that DH and C were in room 323--on floor 2. I went to the elevators and when they opened, DH and C stepped out. It was very lucky as they were actually in room 223 and I would have knocked on some unsuspecting person's door otherwise.
We went back to the room for me to settle in and decided to try going downstairs to the cafe for lunch. Big mistake. C was just not in the mood to be quiet or sit still so we ended up doing a lot of pointing and smiling to tell the waiter that we were going to order room service. We got a pizza and a hamburger to share since C wanted pizza. All I can say is yuck. The hamburger wasn't bad, but the pizza was awful. It still had a piece of plastic wrap on it--clearly it was fresh from the freezer. But it was 2pm and only C had eaten anything all day so we ate it.
And BTW, 7up is way different in Mexico.
After lounging for the afternoon and several bouts of anxiety and slight depression from me (mostly about S and C's living arrangements for the next few days), we decided to investigate other dinner options. We ended up asking the bellman who recommended La Casa de Mole.
We braved the traffic running through the light-less traffic circle and walked around to another corner where the restaurant sat. They clearly did not speak a lot of English, but it was a very nice, family-friendly place. In fact, every table around us had families with young children. There was a family who appeared to be of some nationality not US, Mexican, or Canadian.
We were offered drinks and, luckily, Scott understood when they asked if we wanted a child seat. The waiter then brought out this brightly-painted, very tall, wooden highchair for C. I also couldn't read everything on the menu (not remembering what pechuga (sp?) was and not having my dictionary).
We both ended up ordering enchiladas. Scott got the chile verde chicken enchiladas and I got the crema de cilantro queso ones. We also ordered a queso fundido appetizer and a kid's meal for C.
The queso fundido was just some steaming, melted cheese in a bowl with hot corn tortillas. It was delicious. The cheese was stringy as it was pulled from the bowl and C thought it was noodles. After seeing the 'noodles', that was all he would eat. The kid's meal was a bust. Along with our queso fundido came a pot with a crumbly chile and a bowl of amazing hot sauce.
Next came unexpected bowls of chicken with rice soup. To DH, this was the highlight of the meal. Our meals arrived next with 3 enchiladas each and a small portion of refried beans. I will start out saying that I am not usually an enchilada fan--but, wow. The cilantro cream sauce was enough to send me into heaven. I was bummed that I was really too full to finish them. I tasted Scott's chile verde version as well--they were good but not as delish as my own choice.
[Please note how I am conveniently ignoring that C had 2 meltdowns during dinner that required Scott to escort him out of the restaurant to be 'talked with.']
At the end of the main course, the waiter asked if we wanted sweet tamales. Even stuffed, I said yes. They came with the meal! They were just steamed sweet corn masa with some raisins and coconut. I wasn't thrilled, but C loved the 'cake.'
DH paid our bill, which was about $28 US, and we walked out full and happy. We also found a small convenience store on our way around the other side of the traffic circle where we bought some gallons of purified water.
Getting C to sleep in a big bed was a little difficult, but we all went to bed together around 9am.
I'm not sure where to write about my long, agonizing night but I think this is already too long so it will go in Day 2.