Friday, December 18, 2015

Pregnant


I want this shirt, but instead I want it to say "I'm STILL pregnant."

Baby girl is so loved and sometimes I can't keep up with all the texts and phone calls I am receiving from family and friends. Last night upon answering a call the first thing that I hear is "are you still pregnant?" Yes, yes I am.

When asked via a text message, I usually respond with a picture of my belly so please let me know if you would like one of those because I still have a few more days until I know for sure that she is joining our family.

Thank you family and friends who keep checking in on me and helping me keep my sanity. Our babes eviction date is set so she will be joining us soon.


Monday, November 16, 2015

Racquetball and Babies

I remember the first time I stepped into a racquetball court with my semi-professional, father-in-law. As an average athlete I figured I could spend a couple of minutes learning the rules and rely on my youth (relatively speaking) to carry me to a competitive, if not triumphant, match.

Minutes later I recognized what I had not realized before climbing into that glass cage. I lacked the nuance, knowledge and humility to win. Before I was thrust into that cube of shame, I thought I might do OK. Once I was there, reality sharpened my discernment.

I fear I am making the same mistake with this baby. We have borrowed a bassinet, purchased a car seat, and been gifted more clothes than the GOP presidential front-runner. Mrs. Bluth is 8.25 months pregnant and sleeping less and less. We're at that point right before father-in-law serves a deceptively tranquil looking ball that unexpectedly ricochets in a different direction than the trajectory implies. I don't even realize how difficult this is going to be. I'm crouched in my stance thinking, "I got this! I'll just rely on my natural ability!"

We're run out of room in our apartment and the guest of honor hasn't even arrived yet. Once she does, once that surprise serve lands and sends me lurching the wrong direction, then I'll realize just how much I'm not prepared. That is when I'll realize that it'll take a lot of work to pick up the nuance, knowledge, and humility that other parents have already developed.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Updates

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” 
-L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

How true is that saying? This October has been more than magical.

On October 1st, Mr. Bluth received news that he past the Illinois State Bar. His initial reaction was relief. My response was nothing but pure pride. This new little esquire passed the bar on his first try and did it with only taking 5 weeks off of work to study and prepare. I wanted to shout it out to the whole world about his accomplishment, but the Mr. is far more humble than me and has tried to hold my tongue. Luckily my parents have been helping me out and I think everyone in Nampa knows of his incredible accomplishment. I still just find myself smiling whenever I think about all that he has accomplished and achieved. I must say that I never really saw him stressed during school, but the month of July I saw a different side of him as he did feel stress and pressure. For five weeks, I sat and watched him give everything he had to prepare for that test and then I watched him give a little bit more.

I unfortunately did not aid much in this accomplishment and I also took away some of his thunder when he received the news on October 1st because I ended up in triage. I have great blood pressure for someone who is not pregnant, but because of my current situation I have passed out a few times. The first two times were back around weeks 20-24, but then I passed out at week 30 and I completely lost consciousness. Luckily all three times I was sitting down at work, but when it happened when I was 30 weeks pregnant I got just a little worried. I also had noticed a decrease in fetal kick counts, luckily the following day I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled and she sent me to triage just to be safe and to check everything. Everything was fine and the good thing out of it was that they did an ultrasound so I got to see baby girl. Mr. Bluth insisted on going to my doctor’s appointment with me, but after they ruled everything bad out, I kicked him out and sent him on his way to work while I waited for my blood work and to be discharged. I now wear compression socks (although not every day) and am doing a few other things to make sure that my blood doesn’t pool down and that it is getting back up to my brain. With all of this, I think we both forgot what day it was. So as Mr. Bluth was on the train heading to work from the hospital he remembered the date and checked his account and saw that glorious "Congratulations" message. He sent me a quick screenshot of the message and I about screamed, but couldn’t do anything besides just sit there as I still had on a heart rate monitor and a monitor to check for contractions and baby movements.

That night he had to run to a church meeting as soon as he got home from work so we were not able to celebrate. But the Bluth’s never turn down a reason to go out on the town so we went to a nice restaurant on Friday night and Mr. Bluth was in heaven because the menu was full of things he had never heard of and that man loves to try new things.

I can’t think of a better way to start the month of October let alone any month!

The next week I had a baby shower at work and I may have started crying. People truly are kind and generous. I came home with so much stuff including the fancy stroller I had been eyeing, but never wanting to pay for!




The next day I was on a plane to Boise that left at 6:15 am and I was able to spend a few days with my parents while they continued to spoil me and this baby girl. I had another baby shower with some of my favorite people and it was just a lot of fun to show off the belly with people that watched me grow up. I did not want to leave, but it was nice to get back to the Mr. who helps me sleep on my sides at night. I can’t wait to sleep on my back again. It is crazy to think that the next time I will see my parents that I will have a baby!

Monday, October 12, 2015

Jalapenos



Dr. Husband,

Last time we went to the grocery store you somehow put that jar of jalapenos in the shopping cart without me knowing until we got home. Well, you might have to put that thing away for the next two months. Your little girl has spent almost the entire pregnancy nice and low which has equated to great comfort, but now she has moved and is hanging out nice and high. You know so I can’t breathe and I feel extremely stuffed and full. Well thanks to this new positioning, I am a little bit more sensitive to food. Those jalapenos you put into dinner last night and that I just ate for lunch today, well this girl is pushing some acid up and the jalapenos are not sitting well. The jalapenos can come out again to help induce labor, but for now, let’s just stick to some cumin for some spice (unless baby girl goes back down to laying in a hammock again!).

Te amo,

Tu esposa

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Back to School

Ohhhhh...
Back To School
Back To School
To Prove To Dad That I'm Not A Fool
I've Got My Lunch Packed Up,
My Boots Tied Tight,
I Hope I Don't Get In A Fight
Ohhhh...
Back To School
Back To School
Back To School...

Yes, I just quoted Billy Madison. You can thank my brother for having those lyrics eternally ingrained in my brain. The lyrics kept coming into my mind last night as we went back to school shopping. Even though neither one of us is going back to school this fall, we walked the school supply aisles with our friend who we took last night to help him get ready for school. I had told his grandma that we would pick him up around 6:00pm and at 5:58 I get a call and the first thing I hear is “Are you still going to pick me today, this is Chrisjin?!” After his call, I was glad to see that he was excited and didn’t think it was a chore.

Our friend is 11 years old and going into the 6th grade so still needed some fun things like markers, colored pencils, and a school supply box. We also helped him pick out two new shirts and a sweatshirt type jacket. I had to laugh because he had some strong opinions on clothes and knew just what was his style. As we walked to the dressing room, I probably told him 5 times that he had to show us what he was trying on. He was very easy to please and very happy about his new clothes. Now back to the school supplies; Target offered us little hope and while we were able to find a few materials, we had to then go to Office Depot to finish getting everything off his list.

We spent about 2 hours together and as we were leaving after dropping him off at his grandma’s apartment, I just looked at the Mr. and said “I don’t know how we are going to do it.” He has a lot of energy and lucky for us, he has a lot of positive energy. He is smart, bright, funny, and just a good kid, but he has a lot of energy to keep up with. When we got home that evening neither one of us had the energy to make dinner, but this baby girl does not let me skip meals anymore so I scrambled up some eggs while the Mr. made some quick and easy tacos for himself.

We just keep getting opportunities to prepare ourselves for parenthood and I am thinking that I need a lot more before this baby comes! We did have a great opportunity to prepare for parenthood by watching our friend’s 8 month old daughter during our first meeting at church. She is a beautiful baby so I mostly just sat and stared at her, but it was another way to prep ourselves.

Ready or not, this baby is coming in about 3 months.

Funny random story that I don’t want to forget: like a lot of pregnant woman I have been getting more Charley horses in my calf muscles at night. There have been some that have been extremely painful and others where I just roll out of bed and stand up to stretch out the muscle. Last night, I had one of the more serve cramps and it of course jerked me right out of my deep sleep. I accidentally threw my arms out and hit Mr. Bluth in the chest pretty hard and unfortunately I was mildly screaming. It scared the Mr. as it would scare anyone and I managed to get out of bed, but it took me a few more seconds to straighten my leg because my muscle was cramping and throbbing so much. After calming down and both of us getting a drink of water we laid back down and I realized that I had awoken and startled the baby. She was going crazy inside after that and I learned that I really need to calm down and not be so dramatic for Mr. Bluth and baby’s sake. It is really hard not to overreact when such a thing occurs though!

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Camping Bluth Style

There are a lot of things that we have not yet done as a family. Fortunately a couple of weeks ago we were able to cross one of these items off the list.

Ah, the great outdoors. Campfires, hiking, and mosquitos. Where a person can test their mettle with the elements howling around the experience.

Our midwestern camping trip was not too extreme, and probably just right for a 4 month pregnant Mrs. We set out for the Michigan Warren Dunes State Park on a Friday afternoon. Much to my chagrin, and because we live in a city, we lack most all of the gear that one needs to camp. We had no tent, sleeping bags, mats, or lanterns. All I had was my trusty pocket knife (purchased at some Scouting expo circa 2003).

Luckily my brother married well and his in-laws were friendly enough to outfit our expedition. A cooler full of food in a trunk full of gear and we were pulling around to the East side of Lake Michigan. Our campsite had another campsite on the one side and nothing but thick woods on all other sides. (Although we could still hear the highway from where we were, but it reminded us of home). 

We quickly started setting up camp. The tent wasn't tricky to figure out and we had that up in no time. Next we had to start the fire because I, Mr. Bluth, had made us foil dinners. For as many foil dinners as I have eaten in my life (give or take 30), I'm not sure that I have made more than a couple. Mostly my mom made them and she did a dynamite job. I replicated as best as possible and now I just needed to start a fire; something you don't forget, like riding a bike.

Mrs. Bluth was happy to scavenge for sticks and had a knack for it. She even knew that we needed to "build a home" for the fire to live. In 20 mins we had a raging fire going and were fighting off mosquitos. Lots of mosquitos. I think mosquitos are worse in the midwest than in the mountains/desert I am accustomed to camping in. I've heard that we are close to inventing an effective repellant--it cannot come soon enough.

Anyways, we got a sizzling bed of coals and threw the dinners on. One of Mrs. Bluth's qualities (and it comes from her Public Health background, I presume) is that she does not allow undercooked meat. And especially with her being pregnant I was determined to cook these things well! So, understandably, I burnt them. Mrs. Bluth was a trooper and suffered through it. And everything tastes better when camping. Dessert, an apple cobbler, was terrific.

Settling down was a little bit of an ordeal. We are weak, city-dwelling people that are spoiled with a very comfortable bed. We tossed and turned and thoroughly enjoyed the night under the stars.

The next morning we woke up and so did the mosquitos. It was beautiful to wake up with all of the smells of the great outdoors.

We broke camp (they only had room for us that night) and headed to the dunes/beach. We spent most of the morning just lounging on the beach and sweating. Vacation.

Eventually we got hungry and Mrs. Bluth suggested we stop by McDonald's. A couple of ice cream sundaes later and we were on our way to find a new campground. It was kind of a busy weekend so all of the state parks were full. We checked out a couple of the RV campgrounds, but they were more like trailer parks. More permanent and, ahem, backwoods than we were looking for.

Oh yeah, and at some point we stopped at some outlet mall and bought some baby stuff. Inquire for more details.

Eventually we found Jellystone. The ultimate campground for people with families. We checked in and were directed to our 18' x 30' plot and decided to take a walk. Jellystone is half old-people-with-golf-carts-there-for-the-summer and half families with kids. We wandered over to the pond and took a dip. Then we played a round of mini golf. Pleasant times were had.

Because it was such an immaculate campground, kindling was much more difficult to come by. Mrs. searched high and low and we didn't quite have the critical mass necessary to ignite our bigger logs. Luckily there were some friendly neighbors with some extra plywood. Nothing like a little glue in the fire!

I did not burn the foil dinners this time and they turned out to be quite good. Then we made s'mores until the fire went out. I prefer toasted marshmallows, she prefers chocolate.

The ground was maybe a little softer that night, but was still not quite as comfortable as our bed. But a little tossing and turning and sore muscles didn't make the experience unbearable. The Mrs. is starting to get pregnancy bladder syndrome and needed to make a couple of trips to the washroom between 9pm and 9am.

Experts now at breaking camp, we were able to efficiently pack up and get on our way. With Jellystone in the rearview mirror, and no worse for the wear, we drove home. Happy and healthy and ready to do it all over again.



Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Back to the Domestic Adventures

Hello August and hello blog!

We are about to get serious with continuing our domestic adventures because baby bluth is coming in December!! And baby bluth es muy guapa!! The other day Mr. Bluth had a run in with some of my hair debris and exclaimed “What am I going to do with two of you!” I may have a shedding problem and we may be investing in a better vacuum once our baby girl gets hair.

When we went in for the anatomical ultrasound and saw her moving all over the screen. We then realized that we are just ready for baby to get here. It was an incredible experience and I wish we could have more ultrasounds. When it was time to see if baby was guap-a or guap-o we both instantly knew it was a little girl from the picture. I have heard friends say that their little boys were not afraid to show themselves, but our little lady was not sitting like a lady so it was also pretty obvious. Every time my doctor listens to her heart beat and also during the couple of ultrasounds my doctor and technicians have always commented on how I have an active baby. I think this child is going to be a mover and shaker the rest of her life.

I have been horrible with documenting the growth of baby via belly shots, but I was looking through the pictures on my phone the other day and couldn’t stop laughing at those first few pictures that I took of my belly back when I thought that I was really showing. The slightly scary thing for me is that I currently feel like I am really showing but I know I have a long ways to go. And from here on out baby girl is developed and just needs to grow.

This summer has been a little crazy, but we are now able to start making time for more domestic activities. Speaking of which, I am off to make some freezer jam since we have been out all summer!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Exciting Times

Celebrations

Last night we toasted with Mr. Bluth’s favorite soda pop as we celebrated the exciting times in our lives right now. While the true celebrations will occur in August once the dreadful bar exam is over, we still like to find reasons to celebrate the small things. Although I must say that getting a job offer is not a small thing, it will just seem more real once the weight and stress of the bar is over.

Here are just a few more small things that we are currently celebrating:

Tuesday, June 9: We had a warm day sin rain and I attempted to go on a run. My back has been acting a little finicky lately and sadly running does cause it some pain. It was a rather slow run, but I was still in heaven as running along the Riverwalk and Lake Shore Trail is my favorite and the temperature was perfect!

Chicago’s Riverwalk: Yes, we have been enjoying the Riverwalk for the past couple of years, but I just keep visiting it as I love to go walking there after work and on the weekends. When Mr. Bluth was studying on Saturday, I walked over to the Riverwalk, purchased a huge lemonade and just sat there watching the boats, the kayakers, and all the people walking around. I sat there for over an hour even though it was windy and a little chilly. Mr. Bluth was a good sport for going on a walk with me the other day when he got home from work and studying. It was 8:00pm and he probably just wanted to relax, but I was dying to get out and go for a walk with someone so I could talk his ear off.


Blackhawks: The first year we were living here, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. We were at home watching a movie when all of the sudden the city erupted with screams, cars honking, and fireworks going off. We quickly remembered that the final game was on that night. Having both of us grown up in the West where hockey was never a big deal, we quickly learned what it is like to live in a hockey nation. To put it simply, Chicago goes crazy for their Hawks. We are currently in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals again and this year we are watching the games and loving it. This cold windy city is really starting to sink into our blood as we are joining the city in cheering on the Hawks. If the Hawks pull it off again this year, we will be right with the city and screaming at the top of our lungs!


Jurassic World: This is honestly a celebration in our household. Jurassic Park is in the top 5 list of Mr. Bluth’s favorite science-fiction books and of course he loves the movies. The past months we have been anxiously awaiting new trailers of the new Jurassic World movie and the Mr. may be acting like a 10 year old boy every time he watches the trailers even though he has seen them countless times. His excitement has made me pretty excited and yes, we are currently celebrating the new movie that is coming out this weekend. And yes, we are going to go see it opening weekend which NEVER happens in this house. I agreed to pay that ridiculous price for opening weekend tickets on one condition; I don’t have to dress up. With all the excitement and talk in our home, I would not be surprised if I was asked to dress up. Although I am not sure if I could decide between being Dr. Ellie Sattler or Lex from the original movie.



Okay well we do have a few more other things that we are celebrating right now and so this list will be continued on another day!

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Mr. Bluth is a Doctor

On May 17, 2015, Mr. Bluth graduated and became a Juris Doctor. When asked by my father if he wanted to start being called Doctor Bluth, my incredible husband responded with “no thanks.” The man steers as far away from being pretentious as possible and I ADORE him and his humility. (Editor's  note: I asked to be called "Esquire," the more attorney-ish term)  So I will not refer to him as Dr. Bluth, but he worked so hard to earn those credentials that I have to refer to him at least once in writing.

As should be, celebrations were due so we spent the weekend with my parents and Mr. Bluth’s parents and grandparents. It was a joyous time spent at a Cub’s game, enjoying delicious food, observing Chicago’s architecture via a boat, and a good old mid-western hike. The week before everyone came in town was more than just a bit hard and my parents had to endure a couple of crying phone calls. So it was a huge relief that everything went so smoothly that weekend. We never get tired of showing our city off and it doesn't matter how many times you visit Chicago, there is still always something new to see!

I need to quickly detour and brag about myself because I sat through a 12 inning and over 5 hour baseball game! I really do love going to baseball games, but I love the environment and novelty of it just a little bit more than I love the actual game. So watching the players warm up and staying for 12 innings was an accomplishment for me this weekend. I know, nothing in comparison to what the Mr. had just accomplished, but I sat there and I enjoyed the game. The end of the game is when it got really exciting so it was worth staying for the whole game. And our Cubbies won!

Before graduation, I had a lot of friends express their excitement and commended me on surviving it too. I usually would laugh and say that it was not too bad and that I had it a lot easier than Mr. Bluth. I spent time today reading my personal journal and I was surprised at how many times I would write things such as “I spent the weekend doing _____ while Mr. Bluth studied all weekend” or “Mr. Bluth didn't have to study on Saturday and it was amazing to spend the entire day together!”. I can honestly stand here today and say that it was not that bad because overall it was so worth it and because I hardly remember the hard days although Mr. Bluth may think differently. Hard things happen in life and you do your best and you move forward.

I also found a few journal entries that talked about how Mr. Bluth got an externship with a judge or this internship, or how he made the International Moot Court team. I quickly realized, that he did so much in just three short years. Mr. Bluth proposed to me just a couple days before he left for law school and I had no idea what the process was going to be like or what kind of jobs you could do with a law degree or anything about the law in fact. So I have been more than amazed at his accomplishments and the amount of work he put into this degree. Sadly, I still get frustrated with his powerful arguing skills. The few “discussions” we have had have always made me a little upset because he argues so well and throws out lingo that I don’t understand. For some silly reason my passion is not an effective persuasion tool and most of the time I can’t come up with any logic and I assume my feelings are more powerful than any logic or evidence. “Just take my side” doesn't convince this highly intelligent man.

Law school has made my husband lose a lot of his hair (yes- I still struggle with baldness) and has meant that our marriage has frequently consisted of him being gone a lot, but law school has been an incredible ride for the both of us and a ride for which we are both grateful.

I probably should comment on his actual ceremony so  I will say this that his ceremony was pretty typical and exciting to see him hooded (is that a verb?!) and it was great that family could attend to show him support.

Felicidades Mr. Bluth!


Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Utah! with its Mountains and Valleys…


I have learned a lot these last two years being married to Mr. Bluth and one surprise was learning the state song for Utah. I still can’t help but laugh that Mr. Bluth knows it and I can’t help but roll my eyes every time that he breaks out singing it. I am sure there is a state song for Idaho, but it was not engraved in my head as a child.

The song does speak truth because by golly those mountains in Utah are glorious.



We visited Utah and those glorious Mountains the last weekend in March and we were not missing the snow that was falling back in Chicago! We celebrated another Bluth wedding – Yay! Rory & Paul! and tried to see as many family and friends as we could. It was a beautiful wedding, but the most beautiful thing was the bride. Rory was glowing.



Now you can all roll your eyes, but I just have to say that we were #blessed. In order to become an attorney, one must take the bar. One part of the bar is a national ethics test. The test happens to be offered only twice a year and just so happened to fall on March 28. We were #blessed because the wedding was on Friday and that Mr. Bluth could take the test anywhere in the country! Saturday we set off early and I went to my grandmother’s house and Mr. Bluth went to the University of Utah. I was extremely #blessed because I spent a wonderful morning and afternoon with my grandmother. We had breakfast together, she read the newspaper, we tried to do the Jumbo puzzle together and eventually had to call my mom for help, we cleaned a little, and the best part for me was “interviewing” her. I had some questions prepared and we just sat for a couple of hours just talking about her life. While I don’t remember all the details she told me, I will never forget the feelings I had just sitting there and talking to her. I have an incredible grandmother and she has been and will always be a wonderful example to me. When Mr. Bluth got back we had lunch together and then spent time outside. When I think of my grandmother, I think of her yard. Oh my goodness, I can’t possibly explain to anyone how much I love her yard. I will say this: her yard = so many memories. It was a treat to show Mr. Bluth that you have to step on every step that is laying in her grass and the thrill of swinging from her tree swing. It was great to just sit on her porch and listen to her wind chimes with the warm sun shining down on us as we watched the squirrels run around the old trees that fill her yard. I am ready to go back.




After leaving my grandmother’s house we had a couple of hours until we were meeting up with friends in the evening so, to quote the state song, we enjoyed “Utah with its mountains and valleys!” as we hiked the Y mountain down in Provo. Once upon a time (aka, junior year in college)  I was in really great shape. I was fully taking advantage of all the outdoor goodness that Utah offered and my amazing gym membership where I was always going to some class. That year, my endurance and strength level had me running to the Y mountain and even running up the mountain. I could never understand when someone would say that it was a hard hike. Well, I was humbled. It has been over two years since we have done any kind of hike and I was huffing and puffing up that mountain. We walk miles all over Chicago, but I learned that it is just not the same. Wow, elevation is serious and, other than flying, I don’t think I have been that far up above sea level for over two years. Pros and cons to living in the Midwest. Due to our pride, we never stopped moving forward, but we definitely did stop talking. The view was incredible and we enjoyed seeing that little campus that we use to call home.

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting friends and family and made it safely back home to Chicago.

Monday, March 2, 2015

February

The month where I am dying for a break from the cold and snow. The highlight of the month was Mr. Bluth's birthday, but we still have yet to celebrate because we have spent the month busy doing many other things. Mr. Bluth spent most of the month preparing for a competition over his birthday weekend in DC. His team argued quite well; the case was about some international water rights issues and he returned home just in time for me to leave to San Diego. My work was kind enough to hold their annual conference in San Diego. So off I went to spend five days in the most beautiful city in the US. I ran almost everyday along the water and I had forgotten what it is like to run without wearing five layers. Let's be honest: This negative degree weather and icy sidewalks has detoured me from running at all. (Another brutal winter in our books is making me appreciate even more that I got to serve my mission in San Diego. Everyday I ask the Mr. when we can move there and I don't think he really understands the seriousness in my question.) I worked during the day and then had time in the evening to visit with some of my favorite people. It was magical and San Diego is probably the only place that I can go and be okay with being separated from the Mr. for five days or more.

I threw my bags down as soon as I checked into the hotel and walked right back out the door and went for a walk. I sat down by these trees and looked out into the ocean and completely lost track of time. Mediation/technology free time/pondering, whatever you want to call it, is so good for the soul.

The hotel was on the waterfront and next to downtown so I continued to walk all over those streets. Thanks to Chicago, most downtown areas seem so small to me now, but I still loved every street and building that I saw.

Saturday I had a break from my conference in the morning so I ran to the BEST and most legitimate Mexican taco shop. I had 1.5 hours until I had to be back so I put my running shoes on and hustled over in my dress. The place was just over a mile from the hotel. I arrived at 9:20 and the line was already way out the door. A line coming out of the door is actually the only way that I have seen this place. Everything about this establishment makes my heart want to burst; from the very elderly lady working the cash register who only speaks Spanish, to the pigeons that have flown into the building, to the fresh tortillas that were just cooked in lard. Is your mouth watering yet? As I was leaving with a very full belly, it started to rain. It turned into a downpour and there I was running without an umbrella as I had to get back to the conference. And getting soaked, it was still completely worth it. The rain did stop before I made it to the hotel and the sun came out to help dry me off a bit. 




My last night I rode the train to Old Town (that ride alone could be its own post). I walked around and saw everything that I saw everyday during my mission because I lived in Old Town the entire time. I loved walking around the square that I used to run in the mornings, including passing the court house we would go clean while wearing our period style clothing and bonnets. I got some more Mexican food for dinner and then met up with some friends at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site. I arrived early and sat on the porch in the rocking chairs. I rocked in a chair and wanted to cry as I remembered so many details about my mission that I have not thought about for a long time. We went on a tour together (not the rocking chairs, my friends and I) and it is still hard for me not to get up and start giving it as that tour is engraved in my mind and heart.


The best part was going to church right before I left to fly home. I sat in between two individuals that I had tried my hardest to serve, but in the end they did so much more for me. Between all the Mexican food and seeing so many friends who have continued to progress and follow the example of Jesus Christ, I was filled to the brim.

Oh, and the work conference went well.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Mexico - Part 2

Tulum

The next morning we grabbed the Ado bus to go to Tulum. We saw some missionaries in the bus terminal (we had seen them the day before on our way to Chichen Itza, too). Missionaries are pretty ubiquitous in Southern Mexico.

Tulum was about a 3-4 hour bus ride from Valladolid and is located down the coast from Cancun. In the last decade, Cancun has started creeping southward. Play del Carmen now has dozens of huge resorts. It looks like Tulum is the next logical Cancun colonization. It has the beautiful beaches, a few close ruins, and a fun little city. We had printed off a map that had at least a dozen hostels listed, all right along the beach. So, all we had to do was find our way to the beach and then we were planning on just staying in one of the hostels.

We grabbed a map of the town from the bus terminal and it didn’t look too far away. However, after asking around it was established that it was probably too far to walk. So we grabbed the colectivo. Most of the city of Tulum is a couple of miles from the beach. There is one road that leads to the beach and then you can turn right or left and there are hotels, hostels and cabanas all along the beach in either direction. The bus took us down the road and took a right. We weren’t quite familiar enough with the colectivo system at this point and neither of us had a good view out the window. So after a few miles we hopped off the colectivo.

Turns out we had wanted to go to the left and head northeast, not southwest. Undeterred we started walking along the road next to the beach. We passed dozens of small boutique hotels and hostels. It was a hot and sunny day and we were feeling parched. We didn’t really see any of the places that had been recommended online and eventually we were so tired that we decided to just get a place at the next cabana. The next place that we happened upon was rather informal. Even compared to the hostels we had already stayed in on this trip. But for $35/night we could stay in tiny private cabana with an incredible view of the sunrise and the ocean.

We put our bags down inside and within minutes, ants were swarming all over Mrs. Bluth’s bag. She had a few cookies in the side pockets of the backpack. We broomed them out of our tiny cabana and hung the backpacks up and hoped they wouldn’t find their way back to the treats.

It was after lunch and we were hungry. A taxista happened to be hanging out and gave us a cheap ride back to town. We ate some lunch at a taco stand that had about a dozen different types of tacos. They were a tiny bit touristy.

Next up on the itinerary were the ruins of Tulum. Located right on the coast is a very picturesque ruins site. We took the colectivo there and followed the flow of tourists towards the ruins. We passed a muchacho with a baby lion. Some of the tourists were taking pictures with the lionito. The muchacho said that it was sleepy from just eating, I think it was mildly drugged. No cat wants to be passed around to dozens of tourists, even if it just ate.

We wandered into the ruins of Tulum. Possibly because these ruins have been popular for years and possibly because they are located so close to the ocean, but they seemed pretty run down. Even for ruins, that is.

It was only a few acres worth of ruins and the biggest most impressive one was closed. Couldn’t even really get close enough to get a good picture. So much for being a picturesque site. We found another pair of Idahoans on vacation. There is just something that emanates from people from our same culture.

The Tulum ruins has its own little private beach. We didn’t get in but I made the mistake of getting my sandals wet. The exit to the ruins was only a mile and a half from our little cabana so we started hoofing it home. My wet sandals started chafing against my soft, weak feet. My feet were much too used to shoes and several days in sandals was starting to irritate them.

It was near supper time but there was no where to eat along the beach. All of the food was in main part of the city. So far we had been driven there but for some reason I thought we could walk it. It was a very, very long walk. I had to take my sandals off for most of the way and it got dark pretty quickly. Up ahead on the trail we could see a green light that we assumed was the city lights. It was only the halfway point.

3 miles later we arrived to the outskirts of town. Exhausted. We ate at the first restaurant we saw. Mariscos. The Mrs. isn't a big raw seafood fan, so she mostly watched me eat and had antojitos.

We were much too tired to trek home so we hailed a cab and arrived to a very dark cabana. No electricity but they were kind enough to leave us a candle. We laid our spare sheet over the bed (we very much did not trust these sheets) and dropped the mosquito net. We could hear the ocean rolling on to the shore about 50 feet away all night. I also had to get up and use the toilet twice during the night.

The sunset was pretty spectacular. We opened our little window and drank it all in. Because we had been keeping a pretty brisk schedule we decided to make it a beach day. I went to take a quick shower in our little communal washroom. It was pretty grody. I didn’t actually feel much cleaner. We laid out for a little whilem and enjoyed the Caribbean sun.

After a short morning of laying out, we noticed that whoever owned our little cabana had invited a handful of friends over. About lunch time we noticed that they were getting ready to leave and they looked to have a couple of extra seats in the back of their pickup. They graciously agreed to let us catch a ride. We were definitely avoiding that three mile walk.

They dropped us off somewhere in the touristy area near a grocery store. Tulum was just a little too big so we decided to rent bikes for a day. For only $5-6 per person we were able to rent bikes for 24 hours. We rode up and down the street just next to the main street. Why the street just next to the main street? Because that is where all the good food places are. If you’re on the main street, all of the food is touristy and expensive. Just off the main street, the food is cheap and delicious. We found some very inexpensive (and spicy) tacos for lunch. And we drank our horchata out of a bag.

The three mile bike ride back to the beach went much quicker than our walk the day before. The trail is very windy and we were passed by a couple dozen people coming the other way. Very well developed and a neat trail.

We decided to hang a right (where the colectivo had taken us the prior day) and explore the beaches that way. We would ride for a while, stop, lounge for an hour, and do it again.

As we left our cabana that morning we decided that we needed one night in a place nice enough to have a clean shower. So we asked around at a couple of hotels and found one in the city to stay at (the ones on the beach would have broken our already damaged budget). The hotel we checked into was beautiful and not just because it was the first set of clean sheets during out trip. It was just quaint and a vacation from our vacation. As soon as we checked in we took showers. It had only been 5 days since our last real shower with soap, hot water, and a real faucet (all of the previous showers only had one of the three).

All of that lounging and sun made me very hungry. So we rode that trail back to civilization (that trail was a recurring theme of Tulum) and again dragged the street next to the main street. We found a little diner (using the term “diner” loosely) called “El Aguacate”. We ordered too much food and talked to the owner for most of the evening. They had only opened the diner about a year earlier and the tourism was enabling them to do incredibly well. From there we wandered to the park to have some ice cream.

Because we didn’t have a three mile trek home that evening we had a little extra time at the hotel. So of course we took another shower. You don’t know what you're missing until it’s gone.

The next morning we had a fancy breakfast (after a third shower) at the hotel and headed to the bus terminal. This time we were headed to a tiny little town called Coba.





Coba
In order to get to Coba the bus (which is one of the large Greyhound style buses) takes a small detour and drives down one road, maybe half a mile, drops off the Coba bound people and drives back up the road. Turns out that half-mile stretch of road is the entire town. There was one hotel, a couple of convenience stores, a bicycle rental with about 8 bikes, a church, a butcher's shop, and a souvenir shop.

Because there was only one place to stay...we decided to stay there. It was inexpensive and far from the worst place that we stayed. But it wasn’t the luxury that we had encountered in the hotel from the night before.

We wandered down to the bike shop and rented two cruisers. The cruisers took us to the ruins of Coba just a half mile away. The ruins of Coba are a fairly recent development and are not super developed. In recent years they have become more and more popular despite being off the tourist-beaten path. The town of Coba seems to be preparing to bank on their ruins becoming popular. They have built a zip line to “soar over the Mayan jungle” and are attracting vendors and other touristy things.

Anyways, we parked the cruisers outside of the ruins and rented different bikes inside of the ruins. Silly rule. But the ruins were several acres and we had evolved past our walking days. The jungle was very think in these ruins and because they, like Ek Balam, were pretty new, we were allowed to climb on the ruins. We saw our first pyramid that wasn't square. It was a circular, kind of like a bee hive. (Well, like the beehive on the Deseret Book label, we've never seen a real beehive shaped like that).

The main pyramid was very steep and the steps were not very even. I think they were working under a deadline because most of the other pyramids in So Mex had very even steps. Someone had graciously hung an enormous chain down the middle so that we wouldn't lose our balance and roll down dozens of uneven steps. We reached the top and of course there was nothing but flat, Mayan jungle for miles. The natives must have really loved the feeling of being able to be above it all and looking out over all the land.

After we finished the ruins we commenced our greatest adventure of the trip. Only a few miles outside of city limits (and the reason we had rented bikes for this tiny town) were two more centores to visit. There was thick jungle and nothing else on the ride out. We reached the first cenote which was, of course crystal clear. The stairs from the surface descended into an island in the middle of the cavern. There was one other family of Chilangos swimming and I was able to swim around almost the entire island. The water was only about 11 feet deep.

We wanted to make sure we had time for the next cenote so we hopped on our bikes after a half hour or so. The guide at the last cenote told us that the water was 40 meters deep (!) and that there was platforms on the stairs that we could jump from. As we descended we were met by a lady who was exiting and announced that we had the place to ourselves.

The cenote did not disappoint. It was an enormous cavern. The view from above was incredible. The water was so clear (they even make you take a quick shower up above before you climb down) that you could see straight to the bottom and I couldn't tell where the water ended and the air began. We were looking directly into the Earth! There were just enough lights that we could see but still felt like we were underground, it was a slightly eerie vibe. Somehow they had built a cement pad in one section of the cavern and that was where the stairs descended into. For some reason, the cement pad was six inches underwater.

We explored for a few minutes before I decided to try jumping from the stairs. There were two heights; one at 5 meters and one at 10. As I peered down from the 5 meter platform, I was nervous because, again, the water is so clear that I could not tell where it was exactly. So with an undignified yell I threw myself into the void. Other people had started entering at this point and they cheered when I came back up for air. I felt like an Olympic diver, except I had basically landed in a feet first fetal position instead of a twirly, jackknife dive.

The second platform was a dangerous-feeling 33 feet but was a lot less scary after conquering the first jump. We swum around the pool for awhile but it was a little unnerving to look down and see the rocks below us but no matter how far down we reached we couldn't find the bottom. After just paddling around for a little while I heard a call from above “Mayan sunset, time to go!”

Indeed, it was darker outside of the cave than inside. The road back was darker still. Although Coba is infrastructuring their town, nobody has placed any street lights in the jungle between the cenotes and Coba. The moon wasn’t anywhere to be found and so we just chugged along in the complete dark and hoped we didn’t make the one possible wrong turn. 20 minutes later we emerged, unscathed, from the trail and headed to the hotel for some dinner. I asked the concierge (using the term “concierge” loosely here) where we could get some cochinita pibil for supper. He encouraged us to eat at the restaurant on top of the hotel. It was delicious, and like most nights, we fell asleep exhausted.





Back to Tulum
There was a rather obnoxious rooster somewhere on the same block as the hotel where we were staying. Apparently roosters sometimes awaken before sunrise, this one sure did.

We got up and were planning on taking the first bus back to Tulum (we had managed to do everything there was to do in Coba already). We took our bikes back to the bike rental store but they weren’t open yet. So we rode up and down this street and back towards the ruins for a little bit. Eventually the bike shop opened and we returned the bikes. We returned to the hotel to grab some fruit and treats for breakfast. Somehow we missed the first bus but the second wasn’t too far behind.

A couple hours later, still in the AM, we arrived back in Tulum. We rented another pair of bikes (yes our legs were aching from all of the bike riding) and rode out to get another cabana. Unfortunately Fidel had rented out all of his cabanas for the night. We had to work our way down the beach looking for room. We found a different cabana 50 meters into the jungle from the beach. After settling in we decided to take a walk down the beach. It started to rain on us just a little bit. Mostly we were just relaxing and getting some sun in.

I can’t really remember what else happened that day. Or what we ate. I think we rode back to town to eat. But I do not quite recall.

Church, Playa del Carmen, Cancun
The next morning we hopped on our bikes to go to church, bags and all. (Note: It is hard to keep track of days when on vacation. Every day feels like Friday or Saturday.) Five minutes into the ride the chain on my single-speed slipped off. We were planning an hour bike ride to get there and this set us back about ten minutes.

We found the little chapel on the far side of town and waddled into a sacrament with Mexicans, expats, resorters, and tourists. There were some great messages and we were able to check email-after the meeting of course. (Somebody at Church headquarters has standardized the Wireless access throughout the world and that person deserves a raise).

Next we returned our bikes back to the bike shop. And said goodbye to Tulum. We were less than 24 hours from heading home.

We caught a colectivo to Playa del Carmen. Playa is a very touristy city where we saw lots of gringos. We ate some chilaquiles and headed to, you guessed it, the beach. Sundays are an extra fun day at the beach because the Mexicans have work off and get to spend time on the beach. There were soccer matches going on and plenty of kids running around. As we wandered up and down the beach we ran into an enormous EDM festival. The sounds waves reverberated up and down the beach while guys and coeds danced all along the beach.

Later Mrs. Bluth got some pizza from a place with a long line, which is usually a good sign. But this time she didn’t like it. I opted for some fish tacos. They were quite different from Tijuana fish tacos but still fresh and good. We wandered around downtown Playa until quite late. There were plenty of bars with the NFL playoffs on and there were even tourists walking around with Patriots jerseys on.

We were getting tired but we had one last leg to our journey. From Playa del Carmen we needed to get to the Cancun airport. Our flight was an early morning flight and we didn’t want to pay to stay somewhere that we would just have to leave at 4am. Fortuantely the colectivos run 24 hours towards Cancun.

Around midnight we arrived to the entrance of the airport. I asked a gas station attendant how far it would be to walk to the actual terminals. He wasn’t sure and had never seen anyone do it but he said it was paved the whole way. So we took off on foot and headed towards the terminal. Over a couple hundred yards, a very kind hotel shuttle picked us up and drove us the rest of the way. He dropped us off at terminal B and we headed inside to find a corner to nap in.

Airports, like Mexican tour buses, love their air conditioning. I would not be surprised to find out that that the Cancun airport temperature is set to 62 degrees. I was wearing a sweatshirt and was wrapped up in the sheet we brought and could not maintain a comfortable temperature. Poor Mrs. Bluth was straight up shivering. Also, there were not enough chairs for everyone that had the same idea as us (to spend the night in the airport). Thus we were sprawled out on this extra firm and well-polished tiles that were also freezing. It was a cold night.

Around 4:30 am some nice looking gentleman came around announcing that they would be opening security soon and we could head in. At this point we realized we were in the wrong terminal. He steered us towards a taxi driver that offered to take us to terminal C. We hopped in and he drove us maybe half a mile. I asked what we owed him and he, seeing our tired, gringo faces, generously said he would accept $30.

$30 for half a mile? Not even in Chicago, not even in New York, and certainly not in Cancun (even if it was 4am at the airport). I not so calmly explained that we would rather be returned to where he picked us up at or he could accept all the rest of the pesos that I had in my pocket. Maybe $4 or so. He protested and I protested and finally we gruffly exchanged money and both left angry. Guess he should have turned the meter on.

We were the first people in line for security and breezed through. I checked lost and found for my iPhone. No luck. Then we waited another couple of hours for our plane to take off. Soon we were on our way back home. iPhone-less, tanned, exhausted, feet covered in blisters, and no worse for the wear after spending an adventure backpacking through the ruins of Southern Mexico. Hasta luego!