Independence Day

Yes, in case you didn't know, this past weekend was Mexican Independence Day. And how did I celebrate? Good question! Because our school was one of the only to give Friday off (hardly anyone else was on holiday), I decided to go with a couple of girlfriends to Guadalajara. They stayed in Tlaquepaque, and I went on in to Guadalajara to visit MPM and his roommate. The first day, when I was dropping them off, we shopped a little bit around Tlaquepaque, but found the prices a bit too high. Friday evening, I hung out with MPM and his roommate, then on Saturday went back to meet the girls in Tonala for more shopping. That was it. We bought the place out. We had so much, I had to tie crap on the top of my car. They had a lot of stuff, but I had some big stuff--mirrors and such. Then Saturday afternoon I went back and met the boys for lunch and free time, then later we went down to the centro for the Grito.

If I were a good blogger, I'd explain all of this, but I think for now I'll just put the pictures, with a little explanation.... (That first picture up there is of some masks in the girls' Tlaquepaque hotel.)

We got lost on the way there (a 2-hour detour), but found the Alabama Restaurant somewhere. I asked the guy why he called his place the Alabama Restaurant, and he told me that he had lived in Birmingham (Pelham, actually) for over 8 years! We were neighbors of a sort. He also had the cleanest bathrooms we saw anywhere on the road.

I bought coconut with salt, lime, and chile from a little old man in Tonala. It was delicious.

A day of the dead skeleton, decked out for Independence.

The fireworks in the centro for the Grito were really great--sparks fell on my head, on the buildings nearby, on the trees around the plaza, and just about everywhere else. No fires, though.

Road adventure #2--we almost ran out of gas somewhere in Michoacan. Seriously, we were about 40 miles from the nearest gas station (we asked at the tollbooth), and below the red line on the fuel gauge. We thought our luck had changed when we saw one of the Green Angels on the side of the road (you know, the trucks that patrol the highways 'helping' stranded motorists). Well, of course the guy didn't have any gas, but he did direct us to the next little town, where this cool old guy and his grandson (?) sold us some gas out of a bucket. The girls tell me that it was the highlight of their trip. I don't know if I'd go that far, but it was pretty fun. The people at the carport gas station were all really nice, cracking jokes and such.

I guess that's all for now. I need sleep.


Now playing: Billie Holiday - Don't Explain (Dzihan & Kamien remix)
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