We have had a few campers stay over the summer, some weekenders, and a couple of daytrippers.  They seem to love the summer weather, cool when it rains and warm when sunny. 

The new restaurant down the road is now open, Hacienda El Retiro, specializing in lunch.  Breakfasts were planned and put on the menu but as there are few tourists here now, he may put breakfast on hold till the season picks up. Word has it that Rafael’s restaurant, by the “castle” is open but we haven’t been there yet to confirm.  Will let you know later.

I know that many of you may not be visiting Mexico because of concerns of trouble in the country.  This is sad for you and for Mexico.  If you are interested in flying down, many people in town are offering to rent out their homes or rooms.  If interested just let us know, we will make the arrangements.

 Sal and I drove to the states and back  twice since April, crossed at the Columbia bridge north of Laredo and had no problems.  If the crossing lane looks too narrow, tell them you want to go thru the wider lane. (Carril mas ancho) They should direct you to the widest lane.  We had no problems with our 30 foot 5th wheel.  There is a toll road that goes from Columbia to I35 in Texas towards San Antonio.  There are no toll booths for payment however.  They take a picture of your license plates and if you don’t have a Texas toll tag, they will send  a bill to the address where the plates are registered.  It’s about $3-6. If you aren’t a frequent traveler, they may not even send a bill.

By crossing at Columbia you totally avoid driving thru any part of Nuevo Laredo and will join the main highway to Monterrey a little before the check point.  From there we took tolls when we could, pricey, but better for the vehicle and RV, less topes, wear and tear, etc. Plus less likely to be stopped by unsavory characters.  The federales did check us once each way, were very polite and let us go quickly. We stopped in Matehuala for the night and stayed at Las Palmas, also a little pricey but quite secure.  We felt pretty safe traveling, but of course there are no guarantees.  You need to make the decision to travel in Mexico for yourselves.

 Hours of Operation for the Columbia Bridge
8:AM – 12 Midnight Monday – Friday
8:AM – 4PM Saturday
12 Noon – 4PM Sunday

A new RV forum, specifically for RVers in Mexico can be found at  www.mexicorvforums.com    This has a lot of pertinent information to make your travel easier and more interesting.  Hope you all have a safe and fun rest of the summer.

Sal and I have been working to get ready for the next season. This will be our third, thanks to you all. We have been filling in uneven spots, put in a few more sites in the back, and started the pavillion. It may not be done by the time you start coming but we are trying.

We look forward to seeing you and want to invite anyone who is here for Christmas to our home on Christmas Eve for a traditional Mexican Christmas supper of pozole and tamales.
See you then.
Sal and Barb