Lowe touched American soil for the first time yesterday, decided that was enough for now, and walked back in to Mexico this morning.

We needed new visas. We could have easily risked becoming illegal aliens in Mexico, chances are it would have never become an issue. But one can never be sure, and seeing as both our kids are Mexican, and we have every intention of spending a good many years here over the course of our lifetimes, we just couldn’t take the risk of being flagged.

So yesterday we flew out to Tijuana, on the least expensive direct flight we could find. The Tijuana airport is literally right on the border, so flying in there, taking a cab to the crossing, and walking across to the nearest hotel was the plan. And everything went well in the beginning. The flight was on time and nearly two thirds empty, the kids were excellent, and we found our way right to the border. And when we turned the corner in the taxi he said, “Woooh.” He was commenting on the line. Hundreds and hundreds of people standing in patient resignation.

We hadn’t prepared for that. Or for the cold weather. Though fortunately Ali did pack herself and the kids some long sleeves. Thanks honey. Ouest put on her sweatshirt and looked admiringly at the long sleeves. She looked at it and felt it and commented on it and in general acted as if she had never covered her arms in her life.

Walked a few hundred yards to the hotel in the dark, Ali gave the clerk a tongue lashing for telling us the crib would cost fifteen dollars extra, waited five seconds as the clerk took one look at my overtired wife and decided she didn’t need that fight, the fee was waived, and we went to bed.

This morning our friend Nick drove down from San Diego for an IHOP breakfast, and then we wandered back across the border and into the immigration office. Let’s just say going south across the border is a whole hell of a lot easier than going north. And that goes for both Americans and Mexicans. We paid our tax, received our new one hundred-eighty day tourist visas, went to the airport, flew back to Vallarta, and had the kids in bed thirty hours after leaving. Oh, but first, Ouest fell asleep on my lap in the cab from the airport. When we got to the boat I got out of the car, thought she was awake, set her down to get the money out of my pocket, and watched as she then tumbled right over onto the sidewalk. Apparently she wasn’t as awake as I thought she was. Nice papa huh?

Man was that a pain in the butt. We’re definitely going to have to figure out an easier way to stay in the country from now on. I’m thinking since our kids are citizens maybe they should just make us honorary citizens as well. That’d be the polite thing to do I think.