A Hop, Skip and Jump

Flying from Leon, Guanajuato, to Houston was a two hour flight. Truly a hop, skip and jump in comparison to my usual fourteen hour drive - nine hours to the border and an overnight stay and then five hours into Houston. Woo hoo. Of course the whole trip isn't two hours. The shuttle picked me up at 5:30AM, then waiting at the airport (thank heavens for a kindle) and then the flight, US Customs and then a shuttle to the final destination. About nine hours total. An odd experience happened at the Houston airport. I had asked for a wheelchair since it is a LONG LONG walk from getting off the plane through Customs to the shuttle. It's a darn big airport. I did that once before when I flew up for the gallbladder surgery. A piece of cake, to put it mildly. Not this time. No wheelchair waiting for me, but, finally they came, they took me around the corner into a hallway and sat me there with 22 other women from Latin America who needed assistance to go through Customs etc. Only two attendents to help 23 of us did not add up to me. I sat there for a while pondering the situation. Hmmm. None of the women spoke English, so I went up to the person in charge and said that with the current ratio it seemed to me like it would be several hours before the 23 women, myself included, would be helped. Her response, "They can wait!" I waved goodbye, said "Adios" and off I went slowly but surely working my way through the airport to the shuttle service. I was so irritated by the response as it related to the women, but, had no idea what I could do to help. I mentioned it to a Customs guy but he didn't seem to care either....... The rest of the journey was upbeat by the time I got in the shuttle with a man from Monroe, La. who was talking about going home to spend Mother's Day with his Mom and couldn't wait for the homecooking she would shower upon him. Okra, yellow squash, butter beans, purple hull peas and cornbread. By the time I got out of the shuttle from laughing and talking with him, I wanted Southern home cooked food so so bad. Settling for seafood was NOT settling. My friends Sue and Vandy picked me up on Clear Lake and we made a beeline for a great restaurant on the Seabrook Channel. We could eat, drink and watch the sailboats going out into Galveston Bay and coming back in. Brought back many years of memories. Seafood had been the goal. Seeing the water has been another. Spending time with friends and family has been the crown jewel. I'm writing this as I sit looking out at the canals in Omega Bay. The tide is going out and will be coming in later today. Weather has been amazingly perfect. Low humidity, cool temps, sometimes overcast but always, amazing sunsets. What's not to love? I was so shocked at the coolness of the weather that I think that was all I could comment about for about four hours. What a pleasant surprise. I've been whittling the "Houston list" down little by little. Yesterday I found an almost brand new Samsonite suitcase at Goodwill for $5USD to take all these purchases back to San Miguel! Such a deal. I've seen a Mafioso's home, laughed til my sides hurt, hugged my grandson Christopher and I'm ready to see what surprises the rest of the trip will bring. Stay tuned.