Technology is a funny thing. It was a great week without much information technology. I didn’t bring my laptop. The Motel Continental did have an (intermittent) WI-FI zone in the restaurant. But I enjoyed not having the computer. I did have some DT’s about mid-week, and my fingers didn’t know what to do with themselves. I only watched about 10 minutes of TV a day. I only used my cell phone for about 10 minutes a day. It was really nice, truth be told. It was probably really good for me.
We Felt Like This
Saturday morning we were going to have breakfast an hour later than we had all week. I woke up before CavNav’s phone alarm went off. I worked on packing up a few things. I didn’t want us to take half the morning getting ready. The last thing I wanted was to sit in traffic crossing the border. I was pretty much done when there was a knock on the door. Apparently we were late for breakfast. He set the alarm for the proper time, but apparently you have to set the day on his overly-smart phone. No wake up call for us!
With my limited choices, for which I was endlessly ribbed at lunch today, I picked….. hot cakes. We had a fairly subdued breakfast and started to disperse to put our bags in the van or car. Though I was one of the last to eat, I ended up waiting on most of the team to load up. We handed in our keys and took off for the border.
The road to the crossing runs parallel to the road the hotel was on. We caught up to the traffic and sat. It is surreal. You find vendors and beggars walking up and down the line. You can buy water, newspapers, food, porn and more. Porn? Really. I grew up in a different generation where you didn’t sit in your car looking at porn. We were in line for less than 30 minutes, I think. Getting through the crossing was actually fairly simple. All we bought were some t-shirts and stuff for my kids. We weren’t chosen for a good inspection.
Then we were on our way back to Yuma. Back past the casinos that seem omnipresent in Arizona. We arrived in Yuma and noticed a Planned Parenthood office. We gave it a good “boo, hiss”. I’m so glad many of them in Arizona will no longer be slaughtering the next generation.
Back on 8, we hit a check point for the Border Patrol. They asked more questions of us than we were asked at the border itself. Seeing a bunch of guys in a car, he asked how we all knew each other. “Church.” “What church?” “Desert Springs Presbyterian in Tucson”. He seemed satisfied with the truth. “And the van is with us.” Off we went, and the van passed through unhindered.
The ride was fairly uneventful. The van kept lagging behind. At one point we lost sight of them. Suddenly they passed us. I’d been driving about 60 in a 75 zone since they’d been lagging. Now we were following them at about 70. I figured someone suddenly had to “go”, but nope. Turns out they changed drivers, though the previous driver blamed me for going so slow. We made much better time the rest of the trip. You don’t want to dawdle when you’re coming back from Mexico.
We stopped in Gila Bend again. This time I ate at the McDonald’s- one of their Southern Chicken sandwiches which can’t hold a candle to Chick-fil-a. And it was back on the road. The directed us, unfortunately, through town. I don’t know why. But we passed the “space age” motel and restaurant. We had many disagreements about the whole nature of the “space age”. Was it like the Jetsons, or merely built after the dawning of the space age? Eventually we wound back to 8 East.
We put on some music. But it was a tad slow. I kept nodding off, which isn’t a good deal when you’re behind the wheel. So we stuck in Jars of Clay’s Good Monsters. I pepped up. Shortly before reaching 10 we had to roll down the windows. After getting on 10 someone had to stop, and we ended up with a 20-30 minute pit stop. I was actually watching baseball for a few innings. This did not bode well for him.
Daniel Amos' Last Tour?
It was around this time that I realized there was no way I would make it back to Phoenix for the Daniel Amos concert. I’ve waited 2 decades to see them, and yet this opportunity was going to slip through my hands. Too exhausted for the extra driving. Too bad no one in Tucson was able to book the open date.
Back on the road we made good time. That pit stop put us behind schedule. But we rolled back into the church parking lot before 3 pm. Soon I was home and ready for my first good shower in a week. Back to the comforts of home and love of my family. Early in the trip Cesar asked if I was “triste” or sad and missing my family. ‘Not the kids- they’ve been mischievous lately.” But about mid-week, having been free from the responsibilities of parenthood I missed them. Soon, they had me wishing I was back in Mexico. Parenthood, it may kill me.
Cavman Considers 
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