Olympe's Piano Recital, July 28

It's not Carnegie Hall, but...:)

Olympe is a wonderful pianist.  She just graduated from high school in France, and has been accepted into a music conservatory in Lille.  She plays like a dream.  We thought it would be neat for her to give a recital, and Nana's place has a built-in audience.  Olympe was disappointed that the audience was small, but it would have been hard to get a bigger crowd during the summer months with very little notice and no publicity.  Plus, the old folks at Nana's place were very appreciative.  We all could have listened to Olympe play all day.

She played some Tchaikovsky, Chopin and some pieces she arranged herself.  It was truly lovely.  The electronic piano wasn't a Steinway, but it wasn't the worst, either.  Olympe made it sound incredible.  We were all grateful to have the opportunity to listen to her play.  Next time, we'll have to plan for a bigger show, because everyone would love Olympe!

Our little (big) family was about to get a bit smaller.  This was a farewell dinner, I think, for Olympe.  Boo hoo!

Dearelder.com

I just wanted everyone to know how to write a letter to Golda without having to mail it.  If you email, she can get the email on Wednesdays.  But if you send an electronic letter through dearelder.com, they will print it out at the MTC and deliver it to her that day in her classroom.

Go to dearelder.com

On the right-hand side, select MTC- FREE as the mission you want to write to (Not Hong Kong), and select "Write a letter."  I beg you not to send cookies or any other care packages.  They are SO overpriced!!!!  There are other companies that can do that MUCH cheaper.

Then you'll see an "envelope" on the screen. Enter your "return address" and Golda's address.  Her unit number is 12, her mission code is CHN-HK and her departure date is August 30.

Then you just type in your note and click "send letter."  That's it, and she can get it the same day.  It sounds complicated when I explain it, but it's not.  Try it!

Crossing the Border

Crossing into the U.S. at Tijuana can take hours. I had several apps on my phone that tracked wait times, and 4 am was the shortest wait. I really didn't want to do that,  so we left at a semi-reasonable time, 6 am, and planned for a two-hour wait. If you're prepared for it, the wait can be fun. There's plenty of food to buy if you're hungry, there's entertainment, and there's shopping. We got our windshield washed, which I'd been meaning to do, we bought some churrros, and we talked to a lot of vendors. One guy was hilariously persistent. He was dying to sell me something. He'd go to the stores that line the road and pick something to present to me. He wouldn't come down on prices, though, so I kept saying no. We watcged him ryn back to the shops, debate quickly, and grab a ceramic turtle to run back to my car. I said, laughing, "Nooo! I don't need a ceramic turtle!" We were both laughing. He was a great guy. I felt badly later when I bought a soccer jersey for Ptolemy from another guy, but the other guy had it cheaper. What can you do?

There was another salesman that walked with us for a few minutes, talking. He was from Guadalajara, and his English was very good. He said he'd tried to cross the border several times and was caught. Squinting northward, he said, "I'll go someday." I told him to be careful. People die every day trying to cross. This guy was ambitious and smart. I wish he had more opportunities, but good for him for being such an entrepreneur.

This guy, I recognized from last time we crossed the border, when we went by accident. He sold us the soccer jersey.

By the time we got across the border, it was 8:30 in the morning. We basically went to Imperial Beach and fell asleep in the sand. Some of us ended up with sunburns to prove just how soundly we slept.

Lunch at my favorite Hawaiian place.

And back to naps. I'm not accustomed to being at the beach without little kids. To actually be able to fall asleep for reals, without keeping one ear open for screams and/or drowning, was pretty great. I even did some reading.

Such beautiful, lovely children, and they get along so well.

Sometimes.

I hated that the Mexico trip with this crew was coming to an end. I loved being with them. I was dying to see Scott and the little kids, but still sad that the end of our brave lottle adventure was in sight. These are the easiest kids. They all got along well. There was never any drama or conflict. They are all very patient and easy going. I thought Sofia might have trouble with her English, but she didn't. She understood everything and gained so much speaking ability during her 6 weeks. I was proud of her, and in awe of her calm approach. She never seemed to get frustrated, even though it must have been a challenge. She is strong and dignified, but also very fun! Sofia is up for anything.

All the kids are up for anything, and they're super accommodating. I felt like I'd be a damper on the fun, as "the mom," but none of the kids, including mine, wver gave me the impression that I was an unwanted stick in the mud, and I appreciated that. I sure loved being with this gang.

After our skin was sufficiently charred, we left the beach and toured Old Town, including the Mormon Battalion. Sometimes I wondered if we laid on the Mormon stuff too think. Ha ha. It's just what we do! Church is intrinsic to our lives. Plus, I think the Mormon Battalion site is interesting. Olympe got cornered by a French-speaking missionary. He was great, though, and so enthusiastic about using his French.

The kids tooled arpund Old Town for awhile while I read, then we drove to our hotel in Escondido, grabbed dinner at Wendy's, hot tubbed and hit the hay.

Puerto Nuevo and Sofia's Quinceañera

Spelled just like it would sound with a Mexican accent!

FYI. I just added a cool video to the end of the last post.  Go watch it.

I was so happy I'd gotten auto insurance for Mexico, so we could explore Baja.  I went through Baja Bound out of San Diego and it was less than 20 bucks a day.  The agent even emailed me tons of tips and info about Tijuana, as she lives there and works in San Diego.  Armed with the peace of mind our insurance gave me, we set out southbound on the "D-1." 

Our impromptu destination turned out to be charming little Puerto Nuevo, home of famous lobster restaurants and overpriced souvenir vendors.  Although, as Victor and Sofia found out, if you speak Spanish, the price instantly drops.  Mexican Spanish is so different from Castillano, some people would answer the Spaniards in English when they spoke Spanish, thinking they were gringos.  The Altieris had a fun time learning new Mexican vocabulary and practicing their Mexican accents.

Puerto Nuevo is loaded with mariachi bands and street musicians, all waiting to play you a song for a peso.  I recorded Ruby playing a little tune on this guy's guitar.  It was the sweetest moment.  All those years of practicing were worth this one song, impressing the musicians and having a laugh with them.  Here's the video.

Music doesn't have to be technically perfect or rehearsed to be a universal language.  The point is to learn to communicate with other people through your music.  Mission accomplished for beautiful Ruby.

Araceli got a ring made with her name on it.

Back to the chickens as we waited for Jimmy to prepare Sofia's birthday dinner.  The quinceanera isn't big in Spain, or our corner of the U. S., for that matter, so it was perfect that we were in Mexico for Sofia's 15th birthday.  We didn't go so far as getting the wedding-like white dress, but we did celebrate with a very memorable dinner.

I went to the store with Jimmy to get ingredients.  Groceries are incredibly cheap there.  Our total was like 400 pesos, which translated into 24 dollars.  I love Jimmy's shirt.

Our beautiful 15 year olds with their quinceanera garlands.

Jimmy whipped up a wonderfully authentic Mexican dinner and loved doing it.  He made "tacos de oros," a seemingly poor man's meal, fried tacos filled with refried beans and potatoes.  For peasant food, we felt like royalty as we gathered around the table and enjoyed our tacos with all the fresh toppings.  It was better than any meal we could have had in a restaurant because Jimmy took such pleasure in making it for us.

At the store, we had Sofia's cake personalized.  The woman didn't want to do it, and afterwards, we saw why.  She couldn't spell!  Or maybe it's just a local spelling.  We noticed Mexicans love using the letter Z, even when the word doesn't call for it.

And here's our little dinner group.

Jimmy, bless his heart, gave Sofia a bottle of tequila for her 15th birthday.  Where is my cry-laughing emoji?  He's a generous soul, and what could be more authentic when you're in Mexico than getting a bottle of tequila for your quinceanera?

Happy birthday, dear Sofia!  We love you!

Baja Explorations

 This is how I picture road tripping in Baja: in a VW bus. Our minivan was a pretty sweet ride, too. I was worried about standing out in my lovely new van, but the thing about traveling is that you're always afraid it's going to be so different, and it always turns out to be more the same than you thought. People are people...not to quote Depeche Mode or anything.  Nobody cared about my minivan!

In addition to the chickens and koi, there was a cat in our garden.  There was also a hot tub.  I should have taken a picture of it.  One day, Jimmy was filling it up with the hose.  So it's not hot, it's just filled with hose water, but Jimmy and Camilo presented the cold-hose-water hot tub to us with no apology or irony.  Just, "Here's a great hot tub for you guys!"

 Breakfast the morning after the big quinceañera dinner came from a car with a megaphone strapped to the top. OK, so that's different. The woman was selling corn tamales, so I had Jimmy broker a deal for 5 bucks' worth. The sweet woman also threw in two steaming cups of Champurrado, or Mexican hot chocolate, but not like you've tried in the States. It's thickened with flour or corn starch, so it's hearty.

 Araceli wasn't so sure,

 but when I explained that we were just buying breakfast out of a Ford Festiva, she was fine with it.

I felt confident about driving in Baja, so we loaded the directions onto our GPS before we left WiFi and set out for the LDS temple.  It was about a 30 minute drive into the city of Tijuana.  Victor helped me navigate the road signs.  When we approached the temple, armed guards were everywhere.  I don't think they had anything to do with the temple, and I don't know why they were there, but we asked one guy where the entrance to the temple was.  This was literally in the shadow of the building itself, and he said, "What temple?"  Um, the one RIGHT behind you!  This temple was only dedicated last year, and I remember wanting to go see it during the open house.  It's beautiful, and incorporates the Spanish Colonial style so prevalent in this area.

It's the only temple within a vast region, so there is a big kitchen set up for cooking and relaxing.

I really enjoyed seeing this.  We spent some time inside the visitor center, connecting to WiFi. I love how our European friends now know the world wide Mormon WiFi password: Pioneer 47. :)

After the temple, we wanted to drive down the coast, but not using the same route we took the day before.  We headed southwest through the interior, toward the D-1.  Along the way, at a roadside stand, we stopped for lunch.  Tacos al Pastor were less than a buck.  If fact, we all got drinks and a taco, and the total was nine bucks.  The tacos were so good, we went back for more.  So OK, 15 bucks for all-you-can-eat tacos for 7 people, with drinks and al fresco seating.  Too bad I don't know exactly where we were, or I'd go back!  Looking at the map, I thought we had traveled this extensive triangular route, but in reality, we had traversed a much smaller triangle.  Baja is HUGE!  It's 760 miles long.  You know I would have driven the whole length if I could, right?  A mere 15 hours each way?  Next time.

Another unscheduled stop was to see puppies for sale by the road.  They were so fluffy and adorable, we all wanted one.  It's a good thing they were papered and expensive, or we would have ended up smuggling a sleepy little fluff ball across the border.

We reached to coast and drove along the Pacific Ocean for awhile before the route took us inland over a mountain pass, coming out in Encenada. I loved driving up into the hills into the vineyard country.  I would have loved to explore more, but you can't see everything.  Just like the puppies, the kids were sleepy and missing the scenery, so I thought we might as well

We didn't stay in Encenada long.  It was too congested and touristy.  Too much traffic, so we did a quick shopping stop then drove northward.

Look at the gorgeous vineyards!  Oh.  Never mind.  It reminded me of all the incredible vistas I must have missed on all those bus tours in Europe when I was a teen.  There's only so much you can absorb!  The car is hypnotic, and the perfect place to rest up for the beach!