Laredo Living

 

We've not done much Vagabonding while here in Laredo, as most of our time has been spent focused on securing and setting up Emily's apartment. We're very familiar with the Targets, Walmarts, JC Penney, and assorted other home goods stores, as well as the super Texas grocery chain H.E.B. I've probably gained five pounds trying their superior (Ben & Jerry quality) creamy ice creams! And they have a tortilleria right inside the store. Yum! The store also cracks me up with all of its Texas things, as well as the many types of slabs of meat. This is definitely cow country!

Ribs, Anyone?

Food here, particularly of the TexMex and Mexican variety, is quite tasty. No surprise there, as we are right next to Mexico. (Reminds me a bit of living so close to Canada in Detroit.)

We've been to some great restaurants.

Emily says La Cocina Perfecta has the best tacos she's ever had! I tried the brisket and the picadillo, and they were super-delicious! John and Emily have additionally tried the veal, barbacoa, and fajita. Palenque Grill was recommended by several people, so we made sure to go there. The beef is so delicious here. I'd like to return and have a steak! There is also Taco Palenque, the casual restaurant, which we've not had a chance to try yet. The owner of Palenque began his career in food service establishing the El Pollo Loco chain. 

The Laredo people we've encountered about town have been very nice. Emily has already met several neighbors, and they always say "Just let me know if you need help with anything." One neighbor stopped us the other day and asked if we were from Michigan, as he had recognized our Michigan accents. I saw the Tigers "D" on his shirt and we got to talking about growing up in Michigan. He gave us a tip for a Spanish Tapas restaurant that we want to try and said to let us know when we go, so he can tell the owner to save us a table.

People are polite and not pushy (except the driving, there's some aggressiveness in that realm), and there seems to be concern for others, both at the individual and community level. For example, we dealt with a 9-day boil water advisory. The stores quickly put limits on the amount of bottled water to purchase, with which people complied, no complaints. As well, the city had multiple days where water was available at a variety of locations for free, in addition to delivering water to seniors. Another example is the excellent rate of vaccinations and mask wearing here. Even though Texas has no mask requirements, I'd estimate that 85-90% of people are masking inside! Vaccine stats as of July 30 below. Impressive!

John's research indicated that Laredo is just shy of being in the next category of 'city' and is described as 'densely suburban.' I feel like that is a perfect description. My only complaint is the disregard for recycling. There doesn't appear to be any curbside recycling. The problem with this became especially obvious during the boil water advisory. Here is a partial accumulation of just our bottles! After a frustrating search, we finally found a recycling center to take them to, but we're really not confident they are going anywhere other than a landfill. Wah!

Fortunately, Emily was able to find an apartment within the first couple of days of arriving and to take possession on July 6. This was not only great for being able to hit the ground running with setting up the apartment, but also because our Airbnb has provided many challenges. Not knowing how long the apartment process would take, I had reserved a 2-bedroom condo for 30 days. I specifically looked for one with a pool knowing how hot it would be and that it would be my primary exercise option. And I paid premium (like Santa Barbara) price for it! When we got here, the pool was unusable (yuck!). In addition, we've dealt with continual AC problems, the cable box being broken, a broken toilet seat upon arrival, as well as a poorly equipped kitchen. Really the only thing nice I can say is that it has the best shower we've had since beginning vagabonding and the WIFI has been stable. We ended up checking out several days early and going to stay with Emily. Fortunately, the host was flexible about a fair refund for the unused and unusable days.

Left: The AC air filter after the first repairman was here. Middle: the dryer lint trap when I went to do my first load of laundry (fire hazard!). Right: the AC duct after second repairman trip. Uh, perhaps the owner might consider some maintenance of her AC system, as well as the rest of her unit?!

We made use of the community pool across the street our first weekend. Laredo has several well-cared-for community pools and even offers water aerobics year round. Sweet! And, of course, we've had access to Emily's complex pool since most of the time we've been here. Ahhhh....

And now, for the apartment reveal! Drum roll...

Emily and I like that she has the same apartment as Neo (she's building 11, #101)

The apartment has pretty, dark laminate floors. Emily treated herself to a higher quality living room chair (as well as a lava lamp!), and we treated her to a television as a graduation gift. There is nice natural light in this room, which also happens to be our 'bedroom' when we visit.

There are all new kitchen appliances ... and a dishwasher! Plus plenty of cupboards and prep area.

Since she needed a new and bigger crockpot, Emily decided on the Pixar one. How cute is that?!

A spacious dining area off of the kitchen with good size utility closet to the left side.

Having our first cooked meal at the apartment (before move in). Doors in back are laundry area. Emily is very excited about this - no more shared and pay laundry facilities!

Bathroom with good cupboard space and a garden tub. Love the decor selection!

This floor plan came with a small study off of the bedroom. Emily decided to flip that and make the small, cozy room her bedroom and the larger room her office / music room. She's still taking sitar lessons over Zoom with her mentor / teacher Scott, so it's nice to have a dedicated, roomy space for that. The office has a very large walk-in closet, and there is another decently sized closet in the bedroom. Plenty of storage space.

Emily chose some special art pieces for her bedroom. To the left is our piece of Concert for George. When the box set came out, we shared buying the set which included this cut square from the hand-painted stage canvasses which Olivia Harrison had saved from the concert. I love that our patch has a design that looks like a dragonfly! To the right are artworks from two friends. The owl painted by German friend Richard (friend Petra's father). He really connected with Emily when they met and made this painting for her after talking about owls. Richard is also the person who completed Emily's Beatles vinyl collection. One day a package just showed up from Germany with several albums he had found at flea markets. The art in the black frame was made for our family by friend Yuna. It is hard to appreciate without seeing it up close, as it is a very delicate paper cutting! 

Other art, many made by friends, appear in other photos above ... The canvas photo in the office was gifted by friend Michelle, who took Emily's high school graduation photos. The quilt, while not a gift, is an artisan piece I obtained in Bayfield, Ontario long before Emily was born. Maybe my friend Ruth remembers shopping for it on one of our cabin weekends? The vase on the dining room table was hand painted, colors my choosing, by an artisan in Cancun. She painted while John and I swam in the pool and drank margaritas. It is also BE (before Emily). Also in the dining room, on the shelf, a ceramic bowl made by friend Deborah. Another dining room piece, a recent acquisition, is the shadowbox constructed by our cousin Gerlyn containing handcrafted items made by our Van Dosen / Williams female ancestors. The other painting was made by Emily, of Santa Barbara. Finally, in the kitchen is a beautiful hand-dyed (again colors chosen by me), hand-woven basket by award-winning friend Marilyn. These are all special items and are the things I think of when people ask if I have a hard time letting go of anything for Vagabonding. I'm glad they have a home in which to be enjoyed and where I can 'visit.'

We've all been joking about how Emily has her first 'big girl bed.' She's been sleeping on a futon or sofa-bed since she was about 9! I'm glad she finally gets to sleep in luxurious comfort, LOL!

Now that her apartment is all settled, Emily has been getting into the swing of things for her new job.

She had lunch with her new boss and coffee with her dean, is preparing her syllabus, and has contacted the director of the guitar ensemble to let him know she'd like to join them. Here are a couple of pictures from the campus:

Like Emily's undergrad, Agnes Scott College, there is a planetarium. Like UCSB, there is a prominent tower on TAMIU's campus, which chimes at certain intervals. Very nice!

The planetarium is named the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, after a Laredo philanthropist. Bruni is an Italian name (Bruni/Bruno is one of John's Adamo line names), so it piqued my interest, especially since every once in a while I've been spotting streets or other landmarks also with Italian names. When I researched Lamar, I learned that she established a trust to distribute the majority of her wealth to area charities. This led me to learn about Antonio Mateo Bruni, one of her ancestors, an Italian immigrant who came to Laredo in the 1800s to establish a mercantile business and became a prominent community leader. 

One of Laredo's central plazas is named after Bruni, so we made a stop by to check it out.

"God has given us political power to be used for the welfare of the people." A.M. Bruni

We've enjoyed our time in Laredo so far and look forward to returning at the holidays, when the temperatures will be cooler and more amenable to exploring. Now, just not possible. HOT!

The Vagabonds depart Laredo on August 7, heading back to Florida for the foreseeable future. John has secured a November appointment to get his Italian passport, and we have made a booking for a transatlantic cruise to Genoa, departing from Miami, in March. Maintaining hope that all will go accordingly to plan and we can institute Europe Retirement 2.0!

We had planned to leave Laredo a slight bit later, but ... 

After a few days in Cape Coral, fulfilling my civic duty, John and I are headed to Naples, Florida, where we have reserved an Airbnb through mid-September. Then, hopefully, and as long as COVID-Delta doesn't shut down cruising again, (I can't believe we've backtracked so much again, well, I can believe it, but it still is shocking, disappointing, enraging, heartbreaking, etc.), we have a 5-day (vaccinated) cruise scheduled out of Port Canaveral. The price is great, why don't you join us!?