criplomats

 

After a year of waiting, we finally arrived in Guadalajara – and we are not disappointed! It’s a beautiful city and everyone has been very welcoming, including our sponsors, Cindy and Raoul who met us at the airport when we arrived Monday.

They got us settled into our temporary digs, then took us out for grocery shopping followed by a drink on their balcony and a nice dinner out on the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was our first day in the office – everyone seems really nice and friendly. The Consulate building is old and pretty decrepit, but it’s in a busy location downtown with lots of restaurants and a Starbucks within walking distance. My immediate boss, Pete, is a fun New Yorker who seems like he’ll be fun to work with; the other managers are nice, too.

Wednesday we moved into our permanent apartment in the afternoon – it’s nice to finally unpack the suitcases and know we’ll be here for a while. The apartment is lovely with a fantastic view over hole #2 of the Guadalajara Country Club. It’s fun to watch the golfers from our balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday night we grabbed a taxi and braved the rain to go to a nice reception sponsored by the Guadalajara American Chamber of Commerce at a local hotel. Met some nice folks there.

Thursday we walked to an excellent oyster bar in the neighborhood where I had the best po’ boy I’ve ever had, along with a good cold Mexican beer.

The Ambassador was here for a visit on Friday. He led a town hall meeting on the Consulate’s patio, then we mid-level officers had a meeting with him afterward.

Old habits die hard: on Saturday, John and I went to work. John’s group actually had work to do since the fiscal year closes next week; I didn’t have so much work, although it was nice to have some quiet time in the office. We went out for lunch and then after work, grabbed a beer at a fun little outdoor spot close to the Consulate.

Today, Raoul and Cindy picked us up and took us to Tlaquepaque, a fun little town on the outskirts of Guadalajara. We had a good lunch with a margarita, then moseyed along looking at the little shops. Fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trip here was uneventful. We had to get up at o’dark thirty for our 6AM flight out of Little Rock. We ran into a college friend, Connie, and also John’s buddy Leland from Systematics. Flavie did great on the plane. After my normal stressing about her paperwork, the airlines in Little Rock looked at it, but no one in Mexico did – typical! She’s gradually getting used to her new surroundings.

It still hasn’t quite sunk in that we are here in Mexico – and will be here for three years! Pinch me!

We’re enjoying our remaining days in Arkansas! Last Tuesday, my good friend Kelley organized a get-together of our old golf league – it was so fun to see everyone! John made an appearance, so everyone got to hug on him, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before the golf girl gathering, I met Leah for a glass of wine in downtown Little Rock – so good to catch up with her! It’s hard to believe we were working together in the late 80s – seems like yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday night, my dear friend Pamela and her standard poodle Gus came to Hot Springs to spend the night at a friend’s house on the lake. I went out to have dinner and stayed the night. We sat up yakking, then continued the next morning over coffee until John came to pick me up. Fun!

Monday, John spent the day with his good friend Russ – how cool is it that he lives up the road in Mt. Ida?! Russ’s wife Cathie picked me up on her way home from work and we spent a great evening with them and their wonderful critters (Penny is John’s favorite). Good times!

Other than these outings, the rest of the week was pretty low-key. Mom took us out for great steaks at The Porterhouse downtown, and again for a good Outback lunch on Friday. Pete and Ginger made the trek down to Hot Springs for a Smokin’ in Style BBQ lunch at Mom’s house. Afterward they dropped us off at the airport in Little Rock so we could rent an SUV big enough for all of our luggage – it’s huge!

We’re disappointed that our air freight got hung up in Pakistan’s demonstrations and didn’t get to us in time. We owe Cousin David a good bottle of tequila for taking care of it for us after we leave.

Last night, we went to a great magic show put together by Hot Springs’ own Maxwell Blade! We were thrilled to see our favorite, Michael Ammar, and Jeff McBride. Amazing that these fantastic magicians were in Hot Springs – normally we would have to fly to Vegas to see them.

It’s been a great three weeks in Arkansas. There are so many folks I didn’t get to see, but there is always next time. And everyone is welcome in Guadalajara!

Vacation continues! We spent a few fun days in Mountain Home with Pete and Ginger. Pete gave us a look under the hood of his fully-electric truck that Philip helped him convert. Ginger took me to Curves one morning, followed by a morning of shopping for fall clothes.

Tuesday we headed back to Hot Springs. On the way out of town, we stopped to see Ginger’s friend Mary, who loaded us up with enough brownies and peanut butter cookies to feed an army – and they are delicious! We arrived home in time to pick up Mom and have dinner with David and Alison. We had a lovely dinner on their backporch overlooking the lake, then we went out on the boat to look at the super-moon – gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John and I spent the following morning on the boat with them again. It’s always so peaceful in the mornings and beautiful – a great way to enjoy our coffee! Afterward we yakked with David for a while, then dropped him off downtown at the art gallery.

Cousin Julie came to visit us at Mom’s house on Wednesday afternoon – so nice to get caught up with her.

Thursday John went up to Rusty’s for the day. I met David and Alison for breakfast at Perkins. It rained pretty much all day and has really cooled things off. I took Mom to the beauty shop and ran some errands the rest of the day.

Friday John and I hit the road to Little Rock. He dropped me off at the new Southwest Power Pool headquarters (what a neat building!) so I could go to lunch with Leslie. We had fun catching up at Senior Tequila’s – always good to see her.

Yesterday we went to see our favorite masseuse, Janet Gilliam – she is incredible! Later Mom took us out for a nice steak dinner at the Porterhouse downtown. We took the scenic route home over West Mountain – so pretty.

We’ve been enjoying going to the gym every morning, trying new wine from our favorite wine store, and watching reruns of The Middle and Big Bang Theory. Life’s good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued our drive from Tupelo Monday morning and made a quick stop in Oxford, Mississippi, at their lovely town square. We poked our heads into a great independent bookstore and strolled around the courthouse. After driving through part of the Ole Miss campus, we continued toward the delta and crossed over to Arkansas in Helena. From there it wasn’t too much longer before arriving in Hot Springs at Mom’s house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a visit to our favorite eye doctor, Dr. Clem, John spent Thursday with his friend Rusty while I spent the afternoon at Mike’s Salon – one of the few people who can cut my crazy hair. At the end of the day, Rusty’s wife Cathie and I met up with the guys for sushi.

Friday afternoon we met with our financial adviser, then picked up Cousin Nancy for a yummy dinner at Caper’s. After dinner, we met Mary at the Afterthought and spent the night with her. We stayed up a long time yakking with a bottle of wine – fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning, we all went to Cafe Rosalia’s in Hillcrest for coffee. I arranged to meet handsome Cousin Jason who lives near our old duplex, recently back from an overseas deployment himself – what a cutie!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also met several of Mary’s regular Saturday morning coffee friends and saw some old faces, like Judy who lived across from me in Hillcrest when I lived in the duplex, and my golf girlfriend Pam and her wife Rita. Fun!

We left there with Mary just in time to meet Deb and Doug at Casa Mañana for lunch. We sat around drinking tea long enough for happy hour – and out came the margaritas!

Not too much later, John and I went to Star of India to meet Pam, Ike, Ann, Jim, and Jackie for dinner – so fun to catch up with some of my besties. After dinner, John and I spent the night with Ann and Jim in Conway – where once again we sat up late yakking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast and a good catch-up session with Ann, we drove up to Mountain Home to spend a couple of days with John’s parents, Pete and Ginger. We had a beautiful drive up here and look forward to a couple of fun days!