From Full House to Empty Nest

That title just rolled off the keyboard and then I realized that I was pulling in two sitcoms titles...oh well the title stays.

My parents finally arrived in Oaxaca around 10:30 pm on April 2nd after a truly hellacious day of air travel. I offered them very little rest and promptly shipped them off on a 10 hour tour of Mitla, a mescal factory, Teotitlan del Valle, and Hierve del Agua (see our previous post on this location).

April 3rd Mom Manella arrived fresh as a daisy after smooth sailing on her flights. She may be the only person that has flown US carriers in the past few months that didn't have any problems to report and arrived at her destination on time.

Mom M also got no rest because I packed all of the 'rents in the car for the 5 hour car journey to meet up with Mike at the beach. Thanks to some dramamine everyone survived the trip through the mountains sans vomiting. Our timing was perfect as Mike arrived at the hotel about 20 minutes after us. He was flying in after his week long orientation in Decatur with ADM.

We stayed in cabanas on Playa Zicatela and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Saturday we put in a full day at the beach and then Sunday we went out with Jesus in search of dolphins and sea turtles. We even did a bit of humanitarian work by helping take a barnacle off the nose of a sea turtle that Jesus grabbed out of the water. I guess our guide grabbing the turtle out of the water wasn't the most humanitarian thing, but what can I say other than VIVA MEXICO! We were all a little leary when the lancha seemed to be heading away from shore for what seemed like way too long, but it was all worth it. The dolphins put on an amazing show for us jumping out of the water and racing at the bow of the boat. It was really incredible. As for the turtles, they were everywhere! Every place you looked there was another turtle shell poking out of the water.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end and I had to get back to work. So Monday we headed home via San Bartolo de Coyotepec where a few beautiful pieces of the town's famous black pottery were purchased. Then it was off to Los Danzantes for a delicious dinner with the most delicious dessert I have ever had....Los Danzantes chocolate souflee. If you ever come to Oaxaca and don't eat this dessert you are doing yourself a real injustice. It's worth every calorie, trust me on this.

Tuesday Mike took the reins as tour guide and brought the parents downtown to see the Cathedral and do some more shopping. I unfortunately had to go to work, blech. Then it was time for the Stellings to take off and before I knew it Mike, Mom M and Tootsie were packed to the gills in the car and were heading for the border.

It was a great week. Having everyone here and staying with us was really a lot of fun, but man sending every one off was pretty depressing. Luckily I have had a few coworkers (Lili, Brian, and Carlos) in town to keep me entertained.

Mike, Mom M, and Tootsie made it back to the States only having to bribe one cop in Mexico City. I'll leave that story for Mike to tell!

Semana Santa and beyond...

We have admittedly been slacking off on the blog. I guess it was inevitable.
I'm sure a lot more has happened since the last post, but all I can remember at the moment is...

Semana Santa - Mike, Ben and I got ourselves a great spot to watch the Silent Procession (doesn't really translate). The procession occurs on Good Friday every year and thousands of people turn out to watch. Even if you aren't a deeply religious person, the event is quite impressive and you can't help but get caught up in the emotion of the season at least a little bit. Unfortunately the procession started right as the sun totally disappeared and our pictures only came out so-so. If you are interested in seeing more, let Meri know because there are more shots on Snapfish.

Mike found a Star Wars store - This actually happened a while ago, but he finally got the nerve to not only go in but also bring his camera to take pictures of all of the memorabilia.

Our good friends Ben & Nohemi left - They finally had enough of everyone wanting to touch their adorable baby and went back to Michigan, brrr. Ben's departure left a gaping wound in Mike's heart. Even the faux lucha libre fight wasn't enough to keep Mike's spirits up after Ben left. Mike will always have his Blue Devil mask to remember the good ole' days.














We went to our first Guerreros game - Overall, pretty disappointing. We got there in the 5th inning and left at the end of the 7th. Baseball can be admittedly be slow at times, but this was ridiculous. Even the weird birdlike mascot and cheerleaders couldn't keep us interested. Probably the most interesting part was stumbling on some sort of pimped out ride gathering on the street behind the stadium.

Mike left for Decatur - Boo. Luckily he'll be back on Friday to spend a few days at the beach with my folks and his mom then he's off for good.

The next post should be chock full of family fun. Norm and Aud are should arrive today (actually they were supposed to arrive 3.5 hours ago but are still in Mexico City thanks to United) and Joella will be here tomorrow (Lord willing!) I won't start my rant on the airlines, I will just leave you with Mr. and Mrs. Salchicha.