A Day in the Life of Danica and Rachel

One of my girlfriends is visiting from Seattle. When we get together, crazy and wonderful things always happen...

7am Wake up at Sister Anita’s House in McAllen

8am order from abundant breakfast taco menu at Mrs. G’s Taco’s

8:15 Be so excited about our impending feast that I back directly into a giant pole and spill hot coffee all over myself—the only pair of pants I’m planning to bring on our trip—but the tacos are safe.

8:16 Drive off as if nothing happened

8:21 Eat epic breakfast taco feast on the porch

8:32 Examine car and find only a small dent and some red paint. Yes!

8:33 Tour the neighborhood lawn displays of exercise equipment, laundry facilities, and various ornaments.

9:00 Buy 2 lotto tickets—win $20—buy 2 more—lose—net win $16

9:20 Board bus to Monterrey, Mexico

12:50pm Arrive in Monterrey. After failing to function the pay phone we are discovered by Luis and Diego, who were sent by Memo (a friend I know from the Iowa City salsa scene) to pick us up.

1:00 Hit the town

1:15 Enjoy a free Tacate beer at the brewery’s lovely beer garden

2:00 To the art gallery to see Luis’ collage

3:00 Walk around Macro Plaza, see a pony in a store window, next to a jaundiced monkey, but refuse to pay 2 pesos to enter the store. Laugh hysterically outside instead. Woodchips.

4:00 Rachel eats pig. We feast on traditional Mexican soups, carne asada, mole, cheesy plantains, and inadvertently drink a couple glasses of tap water…

5:00 Meet up with Memo and drive to the top of the city to look out. Incidentally, Monterrey is enormous.

7:00 Get lost in the crazily (dis)organized Monterrey and gawk at the rich people’s homes

8:00 Memo turns over his apartment to us for the weekend.

9:15 We meet wonderful Mirna, Memo’s girlfriend, and go out for ceviche.

10:20 Get a table at last, in the unroofed restaurant. People eat very late here.

11:00pm Finally get served. We feast on ceviche tostadas with avocado—much different from the Peruvian ceviche, which is spicier and has more lime and onion, and is served with fried corn and sweet potato or yucca instead of tortillas.

12:15am Arrive home to our new place, and unready to go to bed after our late meal, we do some house cleaning for our outstanding host.

1:30am Giggle about our days of ridiculousness that never cease when we are together.

This was day 1 of 3 for us in Monterrey. We returned late on Saturday night.

Note: If you buy a toothbrush in Mexico, spend more than $1.