A Well Deserved Post-Vaccination Trip To Saltillo

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We waited our time after the second jab and decided there was enough waiting.  We took off for Saltillo early Friday afternoon.  I booked a room at the Marriot.  Saltillo continues to grow and they have opened a new section of town before you get to the downtown area.  It's called Galerias and is comprised of office buildings, parks, condominiums, restaurants, and shops.  Not really our style as it reminded me of my working days (ha, just a year ago).  It was a nice weekend though and we had a lot of memories and conversations.

First off was a good nap after arriving.  Then we had happy hour from our ninth-floor window overlooking the city.  It was just nice to be somewhere else.  I felt a bit uncomfortable walking around, so many people without their masks on and kids playing in the park.  I have to say though, seeing people out and about is a good thing.  We are waiting to see how the vaccination process actually works and not suffering the third wave.  That said, still so many who don't want the dose.  

Very comfortable and relaxing.  Having someone wait on you and bring you whatever you want.  I forgot my pillow.  I don't like resting my head where others have.  Too many hotels in my work life.

The trip's main focus was a visit to our favorite restaurant that, unfortunately, had moved.  El Tapanco has been around for many, many years.  We used to drive there almost every weekend on nights with a full moon.  The mountains with the moon's glow are an incredible sight.  Times change and so do places.  The restaurant was once located in a colonial house from the 18th century off the main square.  The home was beautiful and it kept its original ambiance.  Wooden vigas across the ceilings, the original well in the courtyard.  The service was top drawer, some may have thought the place was a bit stogey but we liked being waited on.  So now they are in the new Galerias but they were quick to point out that they maintained some of their original dishes from long ago.  The best was the rack of lamb with rosemary pureed potatoes. 

We opted for a bottle of very good cabernet, a rib eye, and spinach stuffed ravioli.  What a fun night out.  We almost closed the place.  We walked back to the hotel and you could see the storm clouds building.  The predicted rain for Saturday through Wednesday.   After, we watched The Crown on Netflix.  Man is it a good series.  Not sure how much is true.

We asked to be in a private area and only to have one person to wait on us.  I'm just not ready to de-mask and walk around freely.  It will come though.

On the home front, the pool is really working well.  I don't know what our gardener did to it for 20 years but it was always a chemical disaster, turning green and staining the grout.  Since we filled it up last October we use very little to no chlorine and no acid.  It's been a real charm.  The temps have been running high.  Seven days in the last month of 107F.  The water is warm but does the trick.

The rains we've had did a good number on the grass.  I also fertilized it and that really has helped the roots to retain water.  Well water doesn't work, it has little to no oxygen.  Mother Nature does the trick.

After years of begging someone to make us a screen door for the front of the house, I gave up.  We had used one of those tacky screen curtains with magnets.  It worked great but looked cheap.  I was at Home Depot and they started to carry this one model recently.  We are happy now, we can leave the door open at night and not worry about possums, mice, or raccoons coming in under the screen curtain.  The plus side too was the price.  

The car had not had anyone inside it since March of 2020.  I did little to keep it clean.  We hired a guy to come and clean the interior and also do the dining room chairs.  What a difference!  The total price for the car and the four chairs was 700 pesos (35 USD).

Wish us luck next weekend.  State and local elections are coming.  38 candidates have been murdered and crime is on the rise.  Please use caution on the Laredo bridge crossing.  Hold-ups, robberies, and kidnappings on the route south to Hwy 40 to Saltillo are on the rise.  In the last two months, 20 young men have been kidnapped on the highway between Laredo and Hwy 40.  All on their way to work in Laredo or Sabinas Hidalgo.  The government refuses to intervene.  I don't know how this will pan out but Presidente Dingus insists the only solution is to get the bad boys in school and get them a job.  What a joke.  I preferred the old method.  Kill the bastards, they've done so much damage to the fabric of family, country and economy.