2 Adults, 5 Kids, Every Country in North and South America in a Veggie Powered F250

[discovershare]

We spent Dia de Muertos ‘eve' in Tzintzuntzan. It was pretty happening. But when the kids were tired, we knew we'd never be able to sleep there in the city with the music thumping, so we drove out of town back toward Patzcuaro and pulled off by some farmer's field.

We drove into Patzcuaro so that our friends could get their brakes replaced, then headed to el centro to see what was happening for the Day of the Dead.

Patzcuaro has a unique center. It used to be a town square that was flanked by mansions of early Conquistadors. Now they have been converted to hotels and restaurants, and today in the middle of them was a gigantic market.

See pictures and read more...

 

[discovershare]

Dia de Muertos (yes, again) in Morelia, Mexico

We had a busy day. A really busy day. We visited Tzintzuntzan for Dia de Muertos eve, then Patzcuaro AND Morelia for Dia de Muertos.

It was tiring, that much traveling… after all, we’re not on vacation. This is our life.

But, we had a blast! And we’ll recover, right?

Morelia is well known for it’s unique architecture, which was quite quaint. It reminded one of being in some Old World city (oh wait, I’ve never been to the Old World…someday.)


Read more and see photos...

 

[discovershare]

I Love the Little Towns (But I Hate Walmart) - Anangueo, Mexico

Leaving Morelia after a delicious meal, our friends grabbed a hotel and we drove out toward el campo in the dark, searching for a place to call home for the night.

We located a little turn-off, which led to a rise where we parked under a tree growing next to a corn field. We all climbed in to bed and slept peacefully for the night.


Read more about my Walmart hating...

 

[discovershare]

A Dream Come True - The Monarch Reserve in Mexico

As a child, I distinctly remember one magical day when millions of Monarch butterflies migrated through the town where I was living. I twirled around like a princess, in awe and wonder, as they fluttered around me.

It was a one time experience, and one I have never forgotten. Before I even knew there was a Monarch reserve, I wanted to go there.

Then, just last year, as we were imagining up this epic expedition, I sat with my children and watched videos on YouTube about visits to the Monarch reserves in Mexico.

“One day we’ll go there,” I told them.

Well, that day had arrived.

Read more and see photos/video...

 

[discovershare]

Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run

There’s an old Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler, that my dearly departed dad used to listen to. It went something like this:

You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run.

You never count your cards, while you’re sittin’ at the table, they’ll be time enough for countin’, when the dealin’s done.”

Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. This might be due to unrealistic expectations, inaccurate information, or from simply pushing your limits.

Read more about our mishap...

 

[Ray Hyland]

Still loving your trip reports.

The above post hits home, when we travel as a family, whenever we try to push too far it goes from fun, to not fun, very quickly.

What we've done on the days when we really need to get somewhere is to pull over somewhere and let the kids get out, run around for an hour, we will cook some dinner, and then after dinner when all are full and happy we can drive on as needed, and the kids usually will fall asleep in the back of the truck. Later we just pick them up and put them into their bed in the tent once we've established camp.

 

[Darwin]

Where are you now?

 

[RockyMtnFamily]

Where are you now?

Rachel, forgive me for copying from your blog, but..

"Hello We Are...Alive"

"I´m sitting (at an uncomfortable chair) in an internet cafe in Tulum, Mexico. So much has happened over the past month, it seems like ages ago. I have so much to share with you, so many incredible photos, video and experiences, I just can´t wait!!

But I´m also very frustrated. It´s tough working from the road. Even now, I struggle just writing this on a Spanish keyboard with foreign characters, where each letter has to be punched out with effort (they wouldn´t let me plug in to their ethernet so I could use MY laptop…argh).

I have to figure out how to make it easier. I need somewhere I can work so I can share what I have to share.

But for now, know we´re alive. We´ve had lots of fun, and some challenges too. There´s great stories to tell.

Right now though, my husband is waiting. We have to go to the beach, one of the most gorgeous I´ve seen. It´s tough, but someone´s got to do it.

Until next time…"

 

[RockyMtnFamily]

Sorry for the double post guys, it appears that my previous one got posted up twice.

Anyways, I hope the family is doing well and we are eagerly awaiting updates from you guys here in the states.

Kevin

 

[discovershare]

Hello Everyone!

Thanks for sharing a previous post of mine, yes, we are still alive! We are now in Bacalar, Mexico, camping in a nice campground right on the lagoon. We spent Christmas here, and are working on some projects.

It has been a wild ride. We've had a series of (mis)fortunate events, but we are well now, and I'll be catching up here on what we've been doing.

Thanks for all of your comments.

 

[discovershare]

Driving Through (Terribly Dangerous) Mexico City

Years ago, while we were still ‘green’, my husband declared that he would never visit Mexico City because it was so dangerous - so he had heard.

Time and again, his belief about the dangerousness of this city had been confirmed by those who spoken to – Mexico City is dangerous.

So he’d made up his mind that we would never go. (I wasn’t so sure. After all, India was too dangerous, but we lived there. The DR was too dangerous. Even Atlanta, GA was too dangerous, depending on who you talk to.)

Read more...

 

[discovershare]

Teotihuacan and the Potty Pyramid

It never fails, that while traveling with children, they will have to use the bathroom at the most inconvenient times.

Greg has been dreaming of visiting the ruins of Teotihuacan since college. Now here we were, with an entire day stretched out before us just for exploring this ancient site.

In it’s day, Teotihuacan was the largest city in Mesoamerica (and is the largest ancient ruin site in the area) – having an estimated population of up to 200,000 people spread out over 8 square miles. It was the ruling power, and it’s influence has been discovered in places such as the Zapotec’s great city of Monte Alban, as well as major Mayan cities.

Read more...

 

[discovershare]

Mexico City By Foot, Bus and Train With Five Kids

Some people argue that traveling with children is selfish on the part of parents, and a waste of time and money because ‘they won’t remember it anyway.’

Perhaps there is some truth to that, but for Greg and I, we believe that traveling with our kids vale la pena – it’s worth the effort – even if they don’t remember it.

There may be some selfishness there – like when we bribed our kids to climb to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon. We wanted to see it, they could only think about what they wanted right now – after a long day hiking pyramids in the hot sun, that was to go back to the truck and get some food.

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[discovershare]

I'm SO Glad We're Not One of Those Travelers...

On of the most difficult challenges of our trip is deciding what not to see. Even with our plan to take up to 3 years for this expedition, we still can’t see everything. There’s just too much!

Already in Mexico we’d missed out on some great sites that we wanted to explore – like the city of Gunajuato.

But we’d also seen some incredible places that we hadn’t originally planned on either – like Patzcuaro and Morelia.

So after exploring Teotihuacan and Mexico City, we faced another dilemma. Do we drive northeast to see El Tajin in Veracruz?

Or head south to Oaxaca to explore Monte Alban?

Read More...

 

[discovershare]

Cholula Has Big Pyramids...And Even Bigger Hearts

Cholula is home to the biggest pyramid in Mesoamercia. Not only that, but on top of that pyramid (mostly in ruin and overgrown, making it look like a giant hill) is built a very large and ornate cathedral.

Cholula also has it’s own voladores, who do a very impressive performance everyday at noon.

We visited Cholula and saw the pyramid and the voladores, but I don’t have pictures of either of them. All I have is a picture of this very nice family.

Why, you might ask? Well, it started because I left my camera battery plugged into my charger, which was plugged in to an outlet at Trailer Park Teotihuacan.

I felt sick when I discovered it.

Read more...