Mexico - Day 1

So really this happened over a 30 hour period, but we will pretend it was all one day. I would like to title this: "You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!"

--Our trip to Mexico was no less eventful as our drive to Las Vegas. It seemed like everything was starting out well. We arrived at the McCarran Aiport in Las Vegas a couple hours early just incase there was crazy holiday traffic. Much to our surprise it took us less than an hour to get our tickets, check our baggage, and get through security. So we did not feel rushed for time. When we got our tickets the lady told us that our flight from SLC to Los Angeles had been delayed and would not take off until 8:20pm...which sounded good since our flight to SLC ended up being delayed a little bit. When we got off the plane we checked our departure and it had been changed to 9:55pm. Our pilot was flying in on another plane from Detroit and they were delayed. Finally, after we all boarded, and the plane was de-iced, we were on our way to Los Angeles to catch our flight to Mexico. Jared and I checked to see what time our flight was landing in L.A. and the response was 11:05pm. This is when I started to panic a little. Our flight was boarding at 11:00pm and taking off at 11:30pm. I realized that by the time we taxied to our gate, we were going to be cutting it close. We talked to the flight attendents and explained our problem. At first it did not sound like they were going to help us. But they definitely saved the night. We found out what gate we were coming into and which gate we needed to get to. We looked at the map and there was a tunnel from the one terminal to the next (yes, lucky us we had to get to another terminal). The attendants said it had been closed for a while and were not sure if it was still open. This was a huge factor in whether we were going to catch our flight or not. If we had to go the normal way we were going to have to go through security again and there was no way we would make our plane. The attendants found out that the tunnel was reopened and showed us how to get there. To make matters worse we were sitting toward the back end of the plane and it was going to take us a while to get out. The flight attendants were nice enough to find us seats just 3 and 5 rows back and our luggage was near the front so we could grab and go. As soon and the plane stopped we were out of our seats and had our luggage in tow. We tried to get past the first class people as well, but eventhough we were hurt for time they paid for that seat and were not about to let us pass by. We finally got off the plane, ran past all the high to do first class fliers in the breezway and booked it to our next gate. By the time we got off the plane we had less than 10 minutes before our other plane took off. We had a good mile to run and Jared and I discovered just how out of shape we are. Just as we were coming up on the gate I heard a guy say, "Is that everyone?" We barely made it! And to make matters worse I had not had anything to eat since about 2:00pm and my body was yelling at me. I knew whatever was in my stomache was coming up. I asked the flight attendant for a bag, but she directed me to the first class lavatory and it all came up (HA!...take that first class!). After all was said and done I felt a lot better, but was extremely hungry and all we got were disgusting salted peanuts. And forget about sleeping! They kept beeping their seatbelt sign. I just wanted to say, "Hey! This is a red-eye flight. How about you let us all sleep!"
--We finally landed in Mexico (which was awesome to see since it was still dark and the light went on forever!). They had put our carry-ons below the plane since it was a full flight and there was no more room. So, when we got off the plane we waited in the breezway for our bags, just like our first flight, but after 5 minutes Jared talked to someone and they said our bags had been sent with all the other luggage....which you don`t get until you go through customs. One MAJOR problem....our passports were in Jared`s carry-on. We finally tracked someone down to explain our problem. He told us to go stand in line and then he would come help after he helped the other person. We were in line about 15 minutes when he showed up and ushered us out of line. He explained that he was going to go with Jared to grab the luggage and I was to go back and stand in line (thanks buddy!). So after an hour and a half we made it through customs and headed to get our other two bags we checked. Oh, guess what? They were not there!! Since our flight was so close our bags never made it. So we found someone and they said they were still sitting in Los Angeles and we will call you when they arrived. "When will that be?" ... "We don`t know." Lovely. Just great. At least we were smart enough to pack a couple pairs of clothes in our carryon. So after our friend Pedro called and hunted down our luggage, it is supposed to be arriving about now and they are supposed to be delivering it tomorrow, but who knows what time. "Life is a great adventure"....even when you don`t want it to be :)
--But the day was not all bad! We actually had a good time too! We first were able to go and grab something to eat, which Jared and I were both estatic about. I had my first Mexican taco and other than I put a little too much hot sauce on it, it was down right tastey! As for Jared, it was like eating a home cooked meal after a 3 year absence. The first meal of many! We were also able to go out with Pedro and Maricela (who are considered family) to see a few sights in Toluca (where we are staying). Our first stop was the botanical gardens building which were beautiful! The flowers and trees were awesome but what set it apart was the stain glass windows surrouding the entire place!
Unfortunately we are not able to upload our photos right now, but will when we get back! When then just walked around downtown Toluca and wandered into a couple of the shops. What I was most excited for was real Horchata! Yummy! We also took a look into the Cathedral which was absolutely gorgeous! The architecture in some of these buildings is amazing! No pictures though....sorry. I don`t feel comfortable taking pictures inside a place that so many consider their religous sanctuary. Jared and I were both extremely tired so we made it a short 2 hour outing and then stopped by the pharmacy to grab a few things that we needed that were in our missing luggage. Came back, got ready for bed, typed up this summary and then dozed off to sle............................