Huaraches

LUVIANOS, Estado de Mexico--We stumbled upon a hidden huarache factory here that distributes these traditional handcrafted leather shoes throughout the country. The woman who runs the makeshift factory expanded the business with remittances that her sons send her from Austin, Texas.

The $1,500 sombrero

LUVIANOS, Estado de Mexico--Jeremy tries on a sombrero in the Tierra Caliente region, where a lightweight, bendable hat is not only traditional but also necessary. Hat makers use palm leaves to weave an intricate and high quality sombrero that costs about $1,500 USD.

It takes months for one hat to be completed, and then lasts a lifetime. But for campesinos or farmers who work the land for a living, a hat like this is a life saver. Some campesinos save for years and years to afford this luxury.

While younger generations prefer a baseball cap, older farmers wear their sombreros with pride. Some young men, though, see how necessary a hat like this is to battle the region's intense heat and create new styles and ways of wearing the sombrero. They are reinventing a tradition in order to keep the sombrero alive.

Rice Krispies back in Mexico!

It's amazing what foods you begin to miss when you've been away for awhile. While I was living in Michigan, I craved breakfast tacos. While living in Florida, I missed Mexican Coca-Cola, and in Mexico City I longed to hear my bowl sing "Snap, Crackle, Pop!"

I'm not sure why. I was never a huge fan, but I guess you always want what you can't have. On trips back to the States, I always had to have at least one bowl. I even asked my sister, Marisol, once to stuff a bag of Rice Krispies in her suitcase when she came to visit me (which she graciously did) from San Antonio.

Then a few days ago, while online grocery shopping, the familiar blue box popped up on the computer screen. Was this an Internet hoax? Surely, there was some mistake. But I clicked on the "add to cart" button, and hoped for the best.

When the groceries were delivered, I frantically scanned through all the bags. And there they were---those three little guys just like I remembered.

Apparently, Mexicans enjoyed Rice Krispies too until about 20 years ago when they misteriously disappeared from grocery store shelves. For whatever reason, they are now back in Mexico, ready to win over a whole new generation.

So Snap, Crackle, Pop or Pim Pum Pam! (as they say here) to everyone!

Reaching our Northernmost Point

OLYMPIA/SEATTLE-- For the last leg of our trip, we met up with my aunts who live in Olympia. As soon as we got to their house nestled between a lake and the woods, I understood why they have chosen Washington as their home for so many years.

They graciously took us to all the surrounding hot spots. We even got a chance to check out Jeremy's beloved Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field!




My aunts enjoy Olympia's beautiful capitol grounds. Austin's got nothing on this breathtaking campus.


photo by jeremy
From flying fish to freestyling musicians, Pikes Place Market in Seattle had it all.


photo by jeremy
The amazing clouds surrounding the Space needle made for great views.



photo by jeremy

SAFECO stadium had better food and beer than any other stadium I have ever been to.

News of the Weird

SOMEWHERE IN OREGON-- We've covered a lot of ground in the last couple of days, and we are driving into Portland today. The drive has been amazing. We've seen everything from the world's largest trees to mountains, rivers, the Pacific Ocean, vineyards.....and so much more. But a trip is not complete without also getting a chance to see the quirkiness that makes us want to keep seeing more. Here are a few examples:



Smokey the Bear made an appearance at the capitol grounds in Sacramento.



We get the "thumbs up" from a mystery creature growing out of Napa Valley vineyards.


This probably has been the weirdest thing we have witnessed. If you think these are regular goats, you're wrong. These little guys are called "fainting goats." Every time they are surprised or scared, their muscles stiffen and they fall over. Jeremy got to see two of the smaller goats get spooked and go down.


In northern California, near Crescent City. 

Snaps from the Road

My cousin Margarito feeds the livestock in his Tracy, CA ranch.


California's beautiful rolling hills make the drive much more enjoyable.

I spotted this tree at a Farmer's Market on the way to Sacramento.

Alternative Energy Along West Coast

NEAR TRACY, CA--As we whiz by northern California, inching our way up to Seattle, we've noticed solar panels and wind mills covering the mountainside of the west coast. It's refreshing to see all these alternative energy sources especially because I don't think that a road trip through my native Texas would look like this.

These wind mills provide energy for Los Angeles. But they have also been controversial. Animal rights activists have argued that birds are getting caught up in the blades, diminishing the population of some rare species.

California Dreamin'

SAN FRANCISCO-- Jeremy and I are taking a little break from the megalopolis to explore northern California and the Pacific Northwest. We've been on the move a lot during our road trip, but this time we are on VACATION! We were just discussing how a road trip is a perfect vacation for us because in the last couple of years both of us have gotten so used to always being ready to pick up and go. Jeremy wondered if we are always going to be this antsy.....ya veremos.

Here's a few pics from the trip so far:
photos by jeremy
A very windy day aboard the Oakland ferry, heading to San Francisco.



Lombardt Street is America's most crooked street. If it weren't for the curvy design, people would be in danger of rolling down this crazy steep slope.


Fog towers over the Golden Gate Bridge. In fact, fog towered over most of San Francisco. It was an interesting weather combo that made for cool views of the city--warm air temperatures hitting the cold Bay water.

Mexican Riverwalk

photos by jeremy

MONTERREY--Aside from it's famous and delicious cabrito, there's a new reason to love this city--the Paseo Santa Lucía. It's the Mexican version of the San Antonio Riverwalk. In fact, the Monterrey design is based on the Texas model. But unlike the Riverwalk, the Paseo Santa Lucía (which opened last year) does not feel claustrophobic or way too plastic. It connects the downtown area with one of the biggest parks in the city and runs through Monterrey's colonial neighborhood called the Barrio Antiguo. Art and cool water fountains pepper the Paseo, but the best part is getting to float on the boats while taking in the beautiful mountainous skyline. You definitely can't get those views in San Antonio.

In order to save Olympic face

Forty years ago Mexico City hosted the Summer Olympics--Mexico 68. And just as violence and concerns over China's human right's record are being protested and examined before the Beijing Summer Olympics in August, Mexico, too, faced scrutiny after one of the worst tragedies in its modern history.

Ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics the Mexican army and police massacred an estimated 300 student protesters gathered in Mexico City's Plaza de Las Tres Culturas or Tlatelolco. The student movement in Mexico City rose out of the constant injustices in the university system as well as politically around the country. But in an effort to silence the students before the world came for the Olympics, Mexico's PRI President Diaz Ordaz ordered the military and police to end a gathering at the plaza on October 2.

Panicked by the intense gunfire, students and supporters ran to save their lives and created a chaos. Most of the media reports were controlled by the government and accused the students of firing shots first. It wasn't until years later that the surviving students were able to tell the disturbing truth about the Tlatelolco massacre.

Mexico faced some world scrutiny, but overrall the downplaying of the events by the media worked and Mexico 68 continued as planned. The only sign of defiance was when African-American athletes who received medals, rose their fists in the air with black gloves symbolizing Black Power.



No one to date has been held accountable for the deaths of hundreds of Mexican students.

While on a visit to the Plaza de Las Tres Culturas and the Memorial 68 museum, we couldn't help but feel the eeriness of the location. The reason the plaza is called three cultures is because, if you notice in the above photo, all the buildings represent the three cultures that make the Mexico of today. The pyramids and ancient ruins were built by the Aztecs, while the colonial-style church was built by the Spaniards and the urban apartment buildings in the background were built by the mestizos (or the Spaniard/Indigenous combo that are now modern Mexicans).