There's No Place Like Home

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Outside of an rv, there is no other place like home. We got home yesterday about 3 p.m. It was a great trip. Once we crossed the stat eline from Tamaulipas to Nuevo Leon, we shouted, "we're home".

Everything was in order at home. We were gone almost a month and the house, apart from being a bit dusty and musty, was in good shape. We turned on the air conditioning, it was over 100 degrees. I took a two hour nap in my bed, amen to that.

Today I got up early and unpacked my suitcase. I did some laundry because I need to pack again. This evening I am flying to Tampico for an event tomorrow and then tomorrow night I fly to Aguascalientes and come home on Thursday.

I drove into Monterrey to pickup my tickets, pick up the mail from the post box and say hello to a couple of people. I love Monterrey, I zipped all over town in a matter of minutes. I saw a couple of sites that were under construction but now that the city and state have time requirements to meet or get penalized, the bridges, underpasses, etc. were all completed. It makes moving around town great. One thing I don't miss from the states are those pesky 10 hour red lights. God almighty, you just sit there and there is no traffic coming from the other streets. Even in Monterrey we have sincronized traffic lights.

Big news. I stopped by the immigration office. When we came across the Colombia bridge yesterday, the immigration officer stamped my FM2 with the "entrada". I told him it wasn't a dark enough stamp and when they go to count my days for the year there will be a problem. He said it was a new stamp and that's how it was. Bulls---!

When I went to the office the officer that helped me said it was not a good stamp and would correct it. She put a not in my FM2 along with a new stamp. She said she would call and tell them they have to correct it or bring it back to the office. In Monterrey, they send officers to the border for two weeks stints, a rotation system.

While I was there I asked about the new tourist visa. There is no change other than the form. You enter Mexico, ask for 180 days. If you leave before your time is up you have to turn in the permit. When you return, you get a new one. There is nothing about fiscal year, 12 month periods, or anything else. You use up your time, turn in your permit, and if you want, turn around the same day and come back to Mexico and take out another 180 days. This came from the horse's mouth.