Thanksgiving Break

Given the high cost of tickets from the Rio Grande Valley to Oregon, I decided to travel to Mexico for Thanksgiving Break. I traveled with nine other teachers to Real de Catorce (in English-"The Royal Fourteen"). This is a small gold and silver mining town nestled in the mountains in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. We took a 7 hour overnight bus to Matehuala, MX then took cabs for another hour and a half up the mountain. To reach the actual town we had to go through a mile-long tunnel that is only wide enough for one car to pass at a time. During our three + days in Real de Catorce I went horseback riding, shopping at the local market, hiking, and trail running. I also cooked stuffing and cornbread in local restaurant's kitchen, ate yummy Mexican food (chicken mole, gorditas, and tacos), and spoke lots of Spanish. I was so excited to see mountains again, to have trouble breathing with the high altitude, and to actually need to bundle up in my warm clothes. Lots of pictures will be coming shortly. :)

Pre-Race Photo--we all raced in the San Antonio Half Marathon today (Nov. 13). I placed 6th in my age division with a time of 1:45 for the 13.1 mile course, an average of 8 minute miles...yahoo! 

My roommates Helen and Lotus at the San Antonio River Walk after the Half Marathon