After our little debacle in Acapulco we were looking forward to getting to Cuernavaca. Visiting Acapulco would have to wait for winter, for now we needed to get back inland.
We got to town and started looking for the campground. We followed our directions but couldn’t see any sign of it. Gone. We had another one listed so we headed there instead. We pulled up out front of the gate and rang the bell. Closed. For years now we were told. But we were also told there was a campground just a couple of miles back down the road.
We drove along and as if by miracle I spotted a small sign tucked behind another. Camping. It turned out to be the one we were looking for in the first place. So yeah, occasionally a GPS could make life easier. Behind the gate we found a swimming pool, playground, and a couple acres of grass and trees. Phew.
The kids both call this a bounce-aline. It’s so cute we can’t bring ourselves to correct them.
After a couple of days cooling off period we were ready to explore a couple of cities. We left the bus behind and made for Cuernavaca.
Saturday afternoon at the cathedral the weddings run as if on an assembly line. It’s quite a sight to see.
What the…?
The first day of the rest of our lives.
The Robert Brady Museum was a welcome surprise. An Iowan who came from a wealthy family, he traveled the world collecting art and eventually settled here in Cuernavaca in an amazing house abutting the cathedral. Walking through the house all I could think was that if I had that kind of money this would not be a bad way at all of using it.
Walking past here Ouest asked, “If there is a Wonder Woman that isn’t too scary can I get it?”
Inside the Palacio de Cortes was a whole bunch of cool stuff: swords, guns, money, and Diego Rivera murals.
We can never decide—straight-face or smiles.
Today the four of us were waiting for an elevator. Ali and I were talking about our plan for the afternoon when it arrived. The kids stepped in, but we were still talking about what we were doing and if I needed to run across the street to grab some lunch. As we were talking the elevator door closed with the kids inside. We hit the button, but it took off without us. We yelled to the kids to just stay on.
Ali jumped in the other elevator and started the chase while I stayed put and watched the kids’ elevator climb. To the top floor it went, then back down it started, stopping at four different floors before finally hitting the ground again. Ali was already back by this point.
The full elevator opened up and our kids came spilling out holding hands. Ouest was super close to tears, but held it together. Lowe stayed quiet. We told them we were sorry, and that they did a great job taking care of each other, and all the other proper parental words we could think of. Then I headed across the street while everyone else went up to the room.
As soon as they got to the room Lowe broke down.
“Are the police going to come and get us?” he asked through choked sobs.
“The police? No honey, everything is okay. It was just an accident. You guys did great. It’s all done now. It won’t happen again.”
“When Little Critter (kid’s book character) got lost the police took him away.”
“Oh, baby, Little Critter was lost at the mall and he couldn’t find his mama. But we weren’t lost. We found each other.”
He came around eventually, but man, kids are so sweet and innocent it pains me. You never know what is going through their minds.
13 Comments on “Cuernavaca”
They were holding hands. That is incredibly sweet. 🙂
ok, that family photo might be my favorite of all time.
You didn’t say whether she got the comic book?
No, there were only a couple Wonder Womans and they were way too dark for our kids.
Lowe’s I Heart Mexico tee shirt is one of my all time favorites!
I want Lowe’s t-shirt!
Holding hands….
So bonded. You are all so good to each other.
Poor Lowe, worried about being taken away by the police.
Thank you for sharing so much.
Gee! I wonder how those kiddos got so sweet? And with parents dragging them all over the place in an old RV!
I will be in Costa Rica in Jan and Feb., maybe I will see you guys.
Miss you guys
Magic
Hi guys! Loving following your Mexico adventures. I used to go down quite a bit to go kayaking on the east coast. If looking for good camping sites there are quite a number due to all the kayakers that go down Nov-April. The area around Xalapa is good (and good coffee). There is a place called Banos Carrizal where you can camp right on a river; in the river they catch fresh water camerones that they cook up in a great garlic chile sauce. Some amazing rivers there set in an area with lots of small villages with great friendly locals. They don’t get the tourists that the west coast gets but rather more kayaking bums hanging out, camping, enjoying cervezas! Just thought I’d throw out my $.02 for a good time (and I’d love to read your accounts of that area since I won’t make it back for several more years). Cheers!
Teach the kids that the police are helpers, and not to be afraid of them. (I know that could be different in Mexico.) Also have a code word. If someone were to walk up to my kids when they were little and say “your mom said for me to come get you….” they would ask for the code word. No code word, no going with them and the screaming would begin “this is not my dad/mom”, “stranger danger!” The other day I was telling someone about the code word, I texted my 32 year old daughter to see if she still remembered. She replied “Motrin, as in Ibuprofin” Yeah it was more like a code phrase. When I asked my 29 year old son if he remembered the code word he said that he didn’t and never had to because Jolea always had him by the hand.
I did the same sort of thing. My son pulled back as I stepped into the lift and the door closed. It stopped at every floor on the way up and every floor on the way down. By the time it got back down I was hysterical, son – not so much. Couldn’t see what the fuss was about. “Well I knew the lift would come back down so I waited”
I felt the same about the Brady house. I especially liked the bathtubs, and fixing, along with the amazing collection of art.
I also agree about kids! I can just see my son’s mind clicking, and often wonder want is going on inside.