For the LOVE of groceries.

I just thought I would share what I have to go through to get groceries. And not just any groceries, but food we are familiar and comfortable with. Food from the United States.

4:30 a.m.- Wake up and get ready for a day of shopping--sounds fun, I know, but really not.
4:55 a.m.- Pick up friend Elisa--I never cross the border without someone that actually speaks spanish.
5:00 a.m.- We are on the road to Laredo.
Note: It takes 3 hours to get to Laredo, Texas. 3 and 1/2 to get to Mc Allen, Texas. Not including the time it actually takes to get through border inspection. That is just average driving time--if you dont get lost.
7:15 a.m.- We are 45 minutes from the border when traffic comes to a stand still. Literally, we are parked on the freeway. Lots of drivers are out of their cars trying to see how far up the assumed accident is.
7:45 a.m. Cars finally start moving. We pass the accident that has finally cleared. 3 semis involved. Two are on their sides with their guts spilling out all over. You can see where they were dragged off of the 2 lane toll road.
Another note: There are 3 tolls to pay. Total cost if you drive to Laredo $70. Total cost if you drive to Mc Allen $91.
8:45 a.m. Thanks to all the traffic caused by the accident, we finally reach the border about an hour and a half past schedule. First we have to pass through the Mexican side. Soldiers with big guns can start an inspection anywhere they want. They just pull over on the side of the road and then everyone has to stop. Johnson bad luck says we are going to get stopped and we do. First soldier with big gun talks to my friend Elisa in spanish. I have no idea what they are saying, but I understand when he waves up over to his other friends with big guns on the side of the road. We pull over, and get out of the car. 2 or 3 soldiers with enormous guns inspect the car. To our surprise (I am exaggerating here) they find no guns or drugs and we are on our way.
Another side note: We decided to cross into the United States on a side bridge called Colombia. This way we avoid driving through, Nuevo Laredo--one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico. And we also beat the crowd. It is about 5 miles out of the way, but totally worth it to avoid the long lines to get into the U.S.
9:00 a.m.- We arrive at the U.S. inspection point. There are only 2 cars in front of us. That is absolutely amazing. 2 instead of 200. Hooray! You never know how many cars/people you will find at the border, so it is really a miracle that there were only 2.
9:05 a.m.- We pull up to U.S. inspection. I roll down my window and hand the guy in the box my U.S. Passport. and Elisa's tourist visa (since she is a Mexican, she needs that to cross the border). While he is giving me the third degree about why I am living in Mexico, another guy goes to Elisa's side of the car. He asks her to step out of the car and immediately reaches under her seat and pulls out 1 of our license plates. (We just got out license plates when we were home in December. I put one on the back of the car and put the other one under the front passenger seat, since there is not a spot for it on the front of the car.) He passes it to me and I pass it to the guy in the box and tell him, "It is the same as the one on the back of the car." To which he replies with nothing but a cold stare. Then he looks in his camera on his computer and compares the number on the license plate I handed him to the one in the picture on the back of the car. Hooray, they match and we are good. They could care less that I am crossing the border with a Mexican, all they know is that the metal detector found something fishy "hidden" under the front passenger seat. All that metal on a car and they have the license plate out in seconds. Funny. So, now we are in the states. Hooray! Little bit of relief passes over me. And I mean just a little, cause as much as I have the urge to keep driving towards home, everything I love is back in our home in Saltillo.
9:06 a.m. Navigation system starts working again. Love it. It knows exactly when we cross the border.
9:50 a.m. Walk into Sam's Club. I prefer Costco, but there is not one in Laredo or Mc Allen. in Sam's Club we stock up on everything from cereal, gatorade, chips, books, string cheese, laundry detergent, juice boxes, clorox wipes, snacks for school lunches, candy, peanut butter, syrup, bisquick, water bottles, diapers, wet wipes, medicine, toys that are on clearance from Christmas, and anything and everything else. The only 2 things you cannot take across the border are raw meat and fruit and vegetables. I have to confess, I smuggled 2 packs of BallPark all beef hot dogs back to Mexico in the cooler. I know I shouldnt have, but I have no idea what they put in hot dogs in Mexico and Tyler has to have BallPark--they plump when you cook em. :)
12:00 p.m. Stop at Home Depot for a garbage disposal. The owner of the house we are renting says he will pay for it and have someone install it. Hooray! I am so excited! Plus, we are saving the owner a bundle. The cheapest garbage disposal at the Home Depot in Saltillo costs $5,000 pesos or about $500 U.S. dollars. The one I got in Laredo was a 3/4 horsepower for $120. What a bargain!!!
12:15 p.m. Wal-Mart- We promised Chloe a new bike for her birthday. She has outgrown her old one. So I buy the cutest BRATZ turquoise sparkly bike for my girly. Somehow I got that in the car and then went back in to get more stuff like crayons, markers, pencils, erasers, hair stuff, toiletries, weights--I have been trying to work out--, bike pump, and more groceries that I didnt want to buy in bulk size. And I have to admit, I am a little frustrated that it is not a super walmart. I cant find Wheat Chex or Newmans Own Balsamic Vinagrette. Bummer.
1:15 p.m. We decide to enjoy a tasty lunch at the Outback Steakhouse. What can I say, it is my favorite place to eat, and it is practically in the same parking lot as Wal-Mart.
2:30 p.m. Target Greatland, here we come. Here we buy clothes for the kids and more toys that are on sale. Valentines shirts and St. Patricks day shirts are just a must for the kids!!!
3:30 p.m. Stop at H.E.B. for the rest of the groceries we couldnt find at Wal-mart or Target. Yes there is an HEB in Saltillo, but it doesnt have half the stuff an HEB in the states have. I still cant find Newman's Own Balsamic Vinagrette, but we do find I cant believe it is not Butter spray. Oh Good!
4:30 p.m. We are done shopping and are back on the road to Saltillo. We decide to head through Nuevo Laredo, instead of driving the 15 mintues back to the other end to cross at the Colombia bridge. We make it across the border nicely. Get the green light at the first customs spot. Hooray! (Last two times I went to Mc Allen, I got the red light and had to hand over my reciepts and pay the 15% tax). We drive right through Nuevo Laredo without any trouble. The main road goes right through the center of town, lots of houses, and other buildings. As soon as we clear the buildings, a Mexican Policia on a motorcycle, pulls up next to the passenger side window and waves me over. Great. He tells me that I was going 81 kilometers in a 60 kilometer zone. Which is roughly going 50 miles an hour in a 40 miles an hour zone. Of course, there has not been one sign that stated the speed limit, and there were lots of cars that were flying by me, but I was the only one with California license plates (aka $$$). It is that Johnson luck again. He tell us that is will be $800 pesos for speeding and $300 pesos for not paying attention. As soon as the cop realizes that I dont speak spanish he completely ignores me. Elisa is doing everything she can to talk him out of a ticket. The cop is just getting more and more frustrated/agitated. Elisa gets really nervous, because here we are 2 women by ourselves in one of the most dangerous cities & if you get a ticket you have to turn around and drive immediately to the traffic office--if you can find it--and pay the fee. So, she opens her wallet. I open mine too. For this exact reason I have taken out all of my larger bills. I count out all of my pesos, which came to $450 pesos. I tell him that is all I have and he shakes his head no and points to Elisa's wallet, because he saw her U.S. dollars in there. So, she rolls up some cash and slides it behind her ID which I pass to the policia. He then says some crap in spanish and lets us go. So, there you have it. We paid into the corruption. I hate myself for doing so, but am thankful for my safety. Now, Elisa and I are on the road again.
8:00 p.m. We finally arrive home. We are a little bit late, thanks to Mr. Corruption and the fact that I missed the turn off to the second toll road. Dont blame me, the sign for the turn off and the actual turn off are literally feet apart. There was no way I could have made it.
Another note: At the second customs inspection we got the green light. I figure the tax money I would have had to pay we used to pay off the cop. So, I guess I am even.

If you are wondering if this is all worth it, let me tell you, it totally is. First reason: Everything costs twice as much down here. So, even if you tally up the tolls and the gas, and the pay off to the cop, I still saved money, compared to buying the same things down here. Second reason: Food makes me happy--especially food that tastes like it is supposed to. Third reason: Food also makes the kids happy--especially when they get their favorite things in their lunch. Fourth reason: I drive a Yukon Denali XL, and I fill that baby up. Literally to the roof. That way I dont have to make that trip for another 3, 4, or 6 months. My stomach couldnt take it if I did that once a month--the nervousness at crossing the border and driving through scary towns would kill me. Plus, it is kind of like food storage, when we have one room totally full of food that wont fit in the cupboards. :)

Seriously, for the love of groceries. I would have never dreamed of driving to Vegas, shop all day and drive home. And that is about the same trip from Redlands as the one I make to Texas.

Lesson learned: When we move back to the states I am never going to complain about going to the grocery store.