Last day in Mexico and my return to Texas

 

On the way to Matamoros, I passed this windmill and the cold ground clinging mists of the morning.

After getting up I left Tres Palos for the last 150 miles to Matamoros and the border. Since there were basically no towns in between and the roads were in good shape, it only took a couple of hours or so to get there.

It was cold though and mists hung over some of the lower parts of the fields. It almost felt like fall in the northern reaches of the U.S. And again I thought of the weather reports not too far to the north, and the arctic temperatures. I wondered how far I would actually be able to get, and if the 3 or 4 day window of warmer weather I was hoping for would actually occur so I could ride all the way home. It was still one day at a time and I had to get a lot closer, because even if that window I was looking for did happen I needed to be two or three days from Michigan to use it, not 4 or 5 as I was now. I figured the sooner I got to Mississippi or even Memphis the sooner I could just position myself to wait on the weather to change, and finish the last leg when it did. And again it would do no good for the weather to change if I wasn't in a position to use it.

I also thought about my bike and getting to Brownsville. I had left at first light thinking I might be able to get to the Kawasaki dealer and get my radiator plug fixed that day instead of having to wait till Monday to do it. I also needed my oil changed, laundry done and to catch up on my blog. The Motel 6 in Brownsville where I had stay'd coming down was where I could stay and rest while getting all these things done. Even if I had to wait till Monday to get my bike fixed the day of rest would not go to waste. It was funny, even though I could use the day off after pushing across Central America and Mexico, I just wanted to get everything done as soon as possible, and it made sense to just keep moving and not spend any time in Brownsville, even though I had sort of dreamt sometimes of just getting back there and being able to relax. The luxury of being back in the U.S. didn't seem to be all that luxurious, and the truth is I still had a long way to go if I was going to get back before the holidays.

The somewhat barren landscape stretching hundreds of miles from the gulf, and south and westward from the U.S. border and Brownsville.

The ride to the border was uneventful. I did pass a couple of the police check points on the other side of the road I had to go thru the first time heading south. There was also one military check point heading north I met but they just waived me thru.

As I reached Matamoros I began to remember how big this city was and also that they had 3 separate border crossings into Brownsville. I thought it would be easy with multiple signs showing the way but there wasn't that I could find. I thought to myself that Mexico would have one or two more things to throw my way, and it did. I stopped and asked directions one more time and again thru luck and some general sense of direction I found the border I had crossed at originally coming down.

My last fill up in Mexico. The Pemex's what I assume are state owned gas stations, were my life line for gas and water for my entire trip across the country.

I still had to find the right building to get my passport stamped and my vehicle permit canceled. Someone pointed the way for me, and again I was relieved there was no handlers and he wasn't going to take over and end up trying to charge me something. After going back to the same building I used to enter Mexico, it was all pretty easy. There was a 45 minute wait in line and I had parked in the wrong place and the clerk made me move and bring my bike up and pass the military check point, where the soldiers once again went thru my bags. Everything was pretty easy to get at, and by now I was getting to be a pro at this since this was probably the 7th time now my bags had been looked at on my trip back thru Mexico. And that's basically all they did, they just looked in all the pockets, they never meticulously went thru every little thing, which I was grateful for.

Back in the U.S. and Texas. This is one of the last places along the Texas Gulf still building oil rigs. I was told the other two had been temporarily closed down due to the economy.

So my passport stamped and my vehicle permit canceled (again make sure this gets done before you leave the country or it could be an expensive hassle) I headed across the International Bridge for one more traffic jam at the U.S. border. This took about an hour and while I was in line I called the Kawasaki dealer to see if they could look at my bike. They said they were open till six and could do it that day. They also said they would be closed Sunday and Monday so today being Saturday it was a good day to get it done.

When I reached customs for the U.S. the guy checked my license plate number, asked me if I was a U.S. citizen and where I was from, and that was it, welcome home. Now it was time to go get my bike fixed and maybe find a place to eat some American food since I hadn't ate anything yet that day. I headed for the Kawasaki dealer where I was kind of treated as a hero almost. They couldn't believe I had taken my bike all the way across Central America and Mexico. In fact when I walked in the sale room one of the sales guys asked me " you must ride a lot " and I said "why". He said "because you have a tan mark on the side of your face from your helmet". Yes I felt like a real warrior at this point!

Sunset on San Padre Island, Texas.

The good news after they looked at it was that it was only the radiator plug itself and not the hose, or worse a hole in the radiator. The bad news sort of, was it was going to take several hours to fix it since they had to go to the store to get the part and they seemed to be tied up with other repair work as well. After some of my past experiences with having to be on guard constantly for being overcharged I was almost tempted to get their estimate in writing. And when he wouldn't give me a direct estimate when asked I was apprehensive to say the least.

I visited with one of the sales guys for awhile and gave him my blogsite so we visited that and checked it out, and then we went to Adventure Riders website where I checked out that rather popular site for the first time. In fact I think Dr. Greg Frazier maybe the editor of that site (I know one of you can help me out with a comment here!) for I've heard about it now from different people. KL650's seem to be the theme here, and taking the bike as far as it will go into some amazing places. Sort of like out of bounds skiing, only this is out of bounds motorcycling! Some pretty amazing stuff, and some really neat pictures. When I get my site a little more organized that would be another good link to add. While I'm not into simply pushing the limits of a bike and myself per say (there are too many other stories happening as well, mainly the country and people your visiting), certainly any trip south of the border or into the many remote places of the world push the limits of your bike anyway as well as yourself, so the theme here between the two sites is consistent. I can appreciate what they do and why.

This gulf Pelican, one of many that are along the shores of San Padre Island.

So after having made a connection with the people at the dealership, and kind of picking the guys brain on the KL650, Kawasaki's Dual Sport, as well as the new Kawasaki 1200, their answer to a BMW I guess,  complete with an automatic adjustable windshield, I decided to head out for lunch. I walked about a mile down to the nearest strip mall and went in to order the basics, a Grilled Hamburger and Fries and an Ice Tea. The service was not very good, in fact it was terrible, I had to go to the bar to get waited on. When I finally ordered and then got my food, I didn't see the bartender again until I was ready to leave. My thought was ,gee, in Mexico and Central America they don't expect you to tip and generally you get great service. In the states they expect you to tip, and often don't. Any "obligation" I had carried to tip in the states regardless of the quality of service was fast dissipating. In fact a contrast in work ethics, at least on a certain level would not be hard to imagine exists. Another debate for another time perhaps.

After my first American food in weeks, and yes it did taste good, I walked back to the shop expecting my bike to be done. It wasn't and it took another hour and a half before it was. At this point with what appeared to be 3 mechanics in the garage not overly swamped with work, and really just a plug for my radiator to be gotten, I could not imagine what was taking so long, and I was still apprehensive about what the bill was going to be. So with time to spare I made some calls now that my cell phone was working again. I have Alltel and about the only place it might work outside of the U.S. is down around Mexico City.

This view of the gulf, in the distance you can see the bridge that connects San Padre Island with the mainland.

I called my dad first and he wondered where I had been even though I told him where I was going. With his Dementia he just couldn't seem to place where Texas, Mexico, or Central America are. It was Ok, it was good to hear his voice even though I don't think he understood a word I said, or maybe even that it was me. He may have thought it was my brother Ron. I then called a friend and then my sister, I was back in the loop.

Finally the bike was ready, the charge for the plug, new radiator coolant, and topping off the engine oil, and putting air in the tires $30, or basically a half hours labor. They also cleaned the entire bike up and the mechanic said I might look at getting a valve job after I got back to Michigan, but everything else seemed fine. He also felt both tires were good for the rest of the trip back. After 8,000 very hard miles on them it was a nice surprise. This was very reasonable and I wrote them a letter later thanking them for the good service, even if it had taken a long time, which they had apologized for as well. It goes without saying that at many places where you get service you feel that you often pay for more then you got, here was not the case, and being a traveler one tends to be even more grateful for good service and not being overcharged.

So to think I not only had finished my leg in Mexico but had gotten the repairs on my bike I needed all in one day on a weekend felt good. If I didn't have so many other things to do I think I would have just headed back on the road that night. But I had to get my oil changed, do laundry and catch up on my blog. For some reason while I had fantasized at times about being able to rest in a Motel 6 (of all places), watch cable t.v. and do my laundry, it now for was not that appealing. Kind of strange, like now I just wanted to travel and luxury didn't seem to have that strong of pull on me. I guess I was changing into a Road Warrior...

Well I went to the Motel 6 I had stay'd at on my way thru the first time. It was very busy being a Saturday night, it looked like a lot of the people checking in were actually traveling to or from Mexico. Something also I noticed in Brownsville was that everyone either spoke Spanish exclusively, even in businesses, or spoke both Spanish and English. Its as close to being in a foreign country without leaving the U.S. as possible. It would also be a good place to practice Spanish while still living in the U.S. since just about everyone was speaking it. Apparently even some business owners would refuse to speak in English even though they could. I thought this was odd too. Another debate for another time perhaps.

After refusing the first two rooms because they smelled so bad from cleaning chemicals I finally found one that was tolerable and settled in for a couple of nights. About all I wanted to do was relax, but I did have a lot to do and knew that wasn't going to happen.

The weather was warm, in the 70's the next day as I headed to Walmart to get my oil changing materials. The Kawasaki shop had quoted me $60 to change my oil. When I was traveling out on the East Coast last year a dealer had charged me $85 (as noted in a previous post) for one. For $15 in oil, a $6 filter, a cheap oil drain pan and some towels I could do it for about $25. The question was where to do it, and where to dispense of the used oil here in the middle of suburbia and strip malls.

I figured if worst came to worse I could always leave the oil at a car instant oil change place with a note asking them to please dump it for me in their recycle bin. Being Sunday nothing was open anyway. However Pep Boys or Auto Zone often accept used oil and I found one that said they would. I should have just asked them if they minded if I changed my oil in their parking lot but didn't want to have them so say no, so I thought I would find an empty lot or something to work in and bring the oil back to them. As it was I felt guilty doing this.

I found an empty lot right off of a main road next to a bar restaurant and got to work changing my oil. As traffic drove by and someone from the restaurant drove out to the lot to see what I was doing, I began to feel guilty like I was trying to get away with something and should have just asked for permission. I kept waiting for the cops to pull up and ask me what I was doing.

It took about 25 minutes to change the oil and filter, get the used oil back in a container, get cleaned up and bring the old oil over to the Auto Zone for recycling. There were a few drops of oil on the ground where I had worked but basically there was no evidence I had been there at all. I guess to alleviate this feeling of guilt next time I'll simply ask until I find a place that will let me change it on their property. The oil drain pan I got from Walmart I wiped out and left next to a bathroom at a county park hoping a camper or someone would find a use for it, or at worst it would get recycled.

I still needed to do some shopping for winter clothes for the trip back and the upcoming cold weather, but everything else now was basically done. I decided to go over to San Padre Island one last time and see if that restaurant with the great shrimp was still open. The wind had been blowing really hard almost since I had arrived and I wondered what the island and the waves would be like over there.

I drove into the night and the heavy winds the 30 miles to the island (there is a great long bridge to the island by the way) and watched the sunset and then headed out for dinner. The place I had eaten at the previous time was closed but I found another good place, a quiet little bar that had a good menu. I stuck to seafood, shrimp and scallops and again wasn't disappointed. At this point I decided I could live along the Gulf Coast quite easily, if for no other reason then to eat their seafood.

Later going back to the Motel I took a wrong turn and ended up going about 30 miles out of my way. This would turn out to be almost disastrous the next day as I headed north into the cold and a stretch of highway that had few gas stations. After coming all this way, at this point about 8000 miles without any gas scarcity issues, to have to face them on a stretch of highway in Texas seemed sort of ironic.

Back at the motel I watched the weather reports north of me. With below zero temperatures in most of the Plains States and freezing rain from Houston across Louisiana into Mississippi and up to Memphis, it seemed my window I was looking for to get back to Michigan was not going to happen. Still I had to try to get as far north as I could to either position myself for that window in case it happened, or if I was going to rent a u-haul as I had planned if needed, I wanted to get as close as I could to Michigan to reduce that expense of having to do so. It seemed the current weather front extended only as far as Houston and not quite into Louisiana so if I could get ahead of it I should run into a different weather system.

So the plan was to do some winter clothes shopping in the morning, bundle up, and head north. As it turned out I was going to need all the protection I could get.

 

In the Motel 6 parking lot in Brownsville, once again heading north on the road.....