travelin' man -- no more

Like Ricky Nelson, "I've made a lotta stops/All over the world."

After I looked at my spending for the past few years (moving to mexico? -- cost of living), I decided to cut back on my travel expenses for 2014.  By the time I wrote that post, I knew my big trip -- the three-month road trip through Central America -- was on hold.

Instead, of tooling through Central America, I decided four in-country tours with my favorite group, Mex-Eco Tours, would be a perfect substitute.

• Tapalpa -- a Pueblo Mágico (one of Mexico's "Magic Towns") in the mountains between here and Guadalajara
  
• Mexico City -- to see what I missed three years ago while I was exploding from both ends (dining in the halls of moctezuma)
  
• Oaxaca -- my mother's favorite part of Mexico
  
• Yucatán -- an opprtunity to feed my archaeology habit

So far, fate has not been kind.  I cancelled the Tapalpa trip to attend the first cross-cultural class this season.  And then Mex-Eco cancelled the Mexico City and Oaxaca tours because not enough people signed up.  Yucatán is still on for mid-February.

As soon as I return from southeast Mexico, I will fly north to Oregon to take care of some tax matters.  I had planned on staying up there for a few weeks.  But even that trip may now be modified.

My cousin, Dan, just wrote to inform me that he is available to start the Central America road trip in early March.  All I now need to discover is when I need to be in Oregon for taxes and back here to jump on the truck headed south.

When I thought that trip was postponed until later in the year, I agreed to join my cousin on a 22-day Mediterranean cruise in May and June.  Even though that trip is still in the ticketing stage, I am going to do it.  I have not traveled with him for seven years.  And, even with Honduras in my future, I will leave Italy on the agenda.

When I get back to Mexico, I hope to spend a bit of time in July and August in the highlands.  And then in late August I am off to London to start a cruise to northern France and northern Spain with my friends, Patti and Ken.  You undoubtedly remember her from pulling for patti. 

And in December I will head off to a cruise to the Galapagos Islands with a friend from Melaque and her sister.

Will all of this happen?  Probably not.  Just as the Tapalpa, Mexico City, and Oaxaca trips did not happen.  Some of these may not either.

That is one reason I do not like to plan.  I have used Anne Lamott's quotation several times before, but it always strikes me as appropriate.  "If you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans."

While I was wandering through San Patricio yesterday afternoon, I heard what I thought was folk music coming from one of the local restaurants that tourists love to call "authentic."  It sounded familiar.

Yes, it was folk music.  "Never Did No Wanderin'" from Christopher Guest's wicked send up of folk music -- A Mighty Wind.  In a Mexican restaurant?

I looked around to be certain Robert Rodriguez was not lurking behind a camera somewhere.  I was positive I was going to see a showdown between vampires and El Mariachi.

But it was just a sign for me to counterbalance Ricky Nelson's cheerful optimism with British satire.

Enjoy the snippet.  You may want to go find more.