Arrived in Brownsville at 2:30 after an easy drive of a few hours across wide open spaces in which plowed fields extended as far as the eye could see. Have three goals: 1 - meet with the customs agent recommended by my Belize customs connection; 2 - get the air conditioning unit in the truck fixed; and 3 - learn Spanish.
Could not find a listing for the agent in the local phone directory, so have sent an e-mail to my Belize connection seeking more info. Still waiting for reply. The AC was fixed last spring by a shop in Portland affiliated with NAPA Auto Parts, and they said the work was guaranteed, and would be backed up by any other NAPA Auto Care shop. I found one 3 miles away, but when I went there it was closed, and the next closest is 20 miles away. Not wanting to go that far, I decided to take it to the Ford dealer about 3 miles away (in another direction). I take it to them at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and they have a shuttle that can take me back to the motel. That's a critical element that must be repaired! At least it has already been converted to the non-freon gas.
Stopped at a K-Mart and bought a couple of coolers and some water and ice tea to get me through Mexico and Belize.
Tonight and tomorrow I'll get into the Rosetta Stone Spanish program, so at least I will know how to pronounce the language. I have two other helps, so hopefully I'll be able to muddle through.
That's it for today - now it's time to learn Spanish!
Final Post...New Beginning
12 years ago
3 comments:
Hey Carl- Great to hear you are in Brownsville area safely and able to stop and get your ducks in a row! From now on things have to click into place. The more you know before you cross over, the better prepared you'll be. Must be very exciting! What is it like there? Must be pretty warm if you need air conditioning.
Don't hesitate to post your next bog in Spanish- We'll be waiting with dictionaries on this end. The only phrase I ever memorized in Spanish came from a subway ad in NYC- the Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking is dangerous for your health. El cirujane major mas determinado que fumar cigarillos es peligroso para su salud! Something like that.
Mikki is off to yoga class after a quick supper of fried haddock and salad with her famous green paste. She was away all day today at the last woody's class at O'Donal's nursery.
After it started snowing around 9 I started working on the Deering Center Community Garden proposal again to try and rewrite the opening segment of it in language more appropriate to the Master Plan. At this writing I have one short paragraph left to write and then I will take a hard look at Amy Segal'e draft of the actual garden plan- step by step.
At 2:30 Elizabeth from the garden group walked over in the snow (2-3 inches),and we walked together over to the cemetery office thru Evergreen. Our aim was to see if we could locate the Trustees Records and see if there was any mention of the Brentwood Parcel. Altho we found some good maps, we struck out with the records- evidently someone has removed them from storage in the basement.
So our next stop was the Registry of Deeds in my car, and we ran out of time there. What we are trying to establish is the prior owner, the date of purchase by the city, and any info on its intended use. The only lead we have is a 1933 map that lists the names of owners of Libby Field parcels and has written in the margin where the Brentwood Parcel should be "formerly Richardson". All of this activity because I think it might help to have some historical background on the parcel. Imagine the two of us opening the registers for 5 year periods at the Courthouse and scanning under all the Richardson entries as fast as we can and trying to find a purchaser labeled The City of Portland. What a long shot. I did find two entries for 1927. But we didn't get half way thru the registers when they kicked us out. All of this is in preparation for the planning meeting this Wed at 4 with city historic preservation staff and reps from Portland Trails, FOE, Portland Parks Commission, etc. It won't be boring- that's for sure (with Kathy and Al leading the charge).
My Mon night show "24" starts at 9.
Then Mikki watches Medium until 11.
I have got the gas log stove cranked up as the apartment is pretty cold. The news is more and more dire as the world economic crisis deepens. If I wasn't so happily distracted by projects, taxes, art shows, mom, and your wonderful blog, I would be deeply distressed and depressed. Since Mikki and I received no advice from our broker to sell and get out we are stuck in the market for the long long haul.
Keep safe. Keep us posted. Muy bien. Floydmonet
Carl, too bad you decided to leave Rte 10 going through Mississippi. You would have gone through Pascagoula, then Gulfport, then Biloxi, right next to the beach and the gulf. And could have seen all the destruction from that hurricane.
Gray and I have been following this blog each day. Usually he prints this out for me, and this is the second time I've entered a comment. We are already talking about coming down to visit with you and seeing Belize for the first time. Can't stand the idea that we would never see you again.
60 minutes had a segment on the dangerous border -- guns flowing south, drugs flowing north, $$$ flowing south, corruption, drug gangs taking over the police forces and etc etc etc. Hope you can hide the laptop and GPS while you are in Mexico. 60 minutes was concentrating on Mexico City also, and the control of these drug gangs even in the capital city.
I disagree with Floydmonet. I'm not sure I would take time to translate from Spanish, but I could take it in to the library and ask my hispanic co-staff to translate it for me. But then Gray would miss out, and he enjoys reading about your adventure.
Take your time, after you leave the border well behind, and I'm glad you have an extra set of tires. There are great people in Mexico also, and my hope is that you will find them.
As far as UU is concerned, that was what I encountered when we moved to California. That was why I changed and joined the Episcopalians, whose service was so close to Dad's service order.
We love you, Carl, and hope you will keep up this blog, even after you get to Belize.
Oh yes, Gray said, find an AAA office in Brownsville while you are there, and buy Mexican insurance for your boat and truck, and the contents. American insurance will not work in Mexico.
And when Gray would go and inspect hotels in Baja, he always bought Mexican insurance at a Calif ACSC office. Also be sure to buy premium gas instead of the cheapest gas at the PEMEX stations.
We love you.
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