Friday, January 17 – I flew to Dallas, Texas on my way to Los Angeles to see my parents. As I was finishing my packing this morning, Lola was very attentive. I do think she knows what it means when the suitcases come out. There she is sitting on one, ready to come with me. Sorry, Lola. Not this trip.

I arrived in Dallas in the early afternoon. The car rental company upgraded my rental car from a mid-size car to an SUV. I’m not very comfortable driving an SUV. I asked the rental agent, it’s a small one, right? And he said, oh yes! Ummm, no! It’s full size, as far as I can tell. A Jeep. And it was just too big. I was uncomfortable driving it all weekend. I found this car had several “blind spots” especially when changing lanes. I did find the size useful, however, taking boxes from the storage unit to the Donation Center. So, for a couple of days, it worked out!

When I moved to Mexico in August of 2021, I left a small storage unit in Dallas where I am storing a small amount of clothes, kitchen items (ie: crystal wine goblets, small serving dishes and other items), I also have some wrapped wall artwork, paperwork and important documents (ie: tax information) and other items. I don’t even recall what else is there right now. It’s a 5 feet by 7 feet indoor storage room, almost the size of a closet. It is climate controlled with air conditioning in the hot Texas summers and some heat in the winters. I try to make it there once a year to check in on things, make sure it’s all good. So this is my annual trip. My last visit there last year, I was able to get rid of a couple of boxes. Mostly clothes and shoes that I gave to a Donation Center. I know that I still have some clothes there that if I haven’t needed in three years, I don’t need it at all. More donations.

So, I’m spending two full days in Dallas, to do a really good check on the storage room. I’m by myself, so it won’t be easy. The room is 7 feet tall and the boxes are stacked pretty high. But I am determined to get rid of a lot more this visit, either donated or to the trash! You can see by the pictures below, the work I had set out for myself. Although the three pictures may not look very different, I tell you that I did make a good “dent” in the number of boxes (lots less) and other items that I donated. I found a big box with several coats and jackets that my sister and mother insisted I bring to LA. Fortunately, I had a fairly empty second suitcase and everything fit inside it nicely. I found some cat items (blankets and toys) that the local Petco store gladly accepted for the cat shelter organization that they work with. Here’s a picture of that particular store, which seemed a bit smaller than the one I volunteer at in Puerto Vallarta. This one had a very small area for the adoptions.

That first night I had dinner at my favorite Dallas restaurant: Pangea. This is the restaurant that was on the first floor of my apartment building and where I worked as a Hostess for a couple of months before moving to Mexico. It was not as busy as I remember it for a Friday night, and unfortunately, the Chef/Owner was not working this evening. There were a couple of employees still there that I remembered and we had a nice chat to catch up on our lives. Regrettably, once I returned home the following week, I learned on Instagram that the restaurant (after 5 years) had closed. It was shocking to be honest and sad.

Saturday, January 18th & Sunday, January 19th – I decided this 10 day trip should include a few walks on the treadmill in my hotel gym, and I was able to fit a few of those in, both in Dallas and Los Angeles. Yesterday afternoon I did a little shopping for some items that I need that I cannot find in Mexico (a quick stop at Target). I didn’t have a chance to visit the storage unit, but I did do that both on Saturday and Sunday for 3-5 hours each time. For lunch on Saturday, I visited a local BBQ restaurant and had some delicious pork ribs and for dessert, my favorite: warm peach cobbler (like a pie) with vanilla ice cream. It was delicious!

I went to mass at my old church in Dallas on Sunday morning. Afterwards, I went back to the storage unit and continued working. I do feel good about the work that I completed as I was able to get rid of a number of boxes. I’ll have to make another trip either later this year or early next year and continue the work of purging. I will likely always have a storage unit in the USA, but less is better, right?

Monday, January 20th – I had an early flight to Los Angeles this morning. First, return the rental car then a rental car bus to the airport terminal. I didn’t have time to visit the VIP Lounge in Dallas, but I did find time for a quick cup of tea and a bagel. I arrived in Los Angeles and picked up a rental car there and made my way to my mother’s house. Shortly after, my sister and I went to my hotel to check in and drop off my luggage and then went to visit our father. He has been in a Nursing Home now for about a year. He is no longer able to care for himself and is suffering from low-grade dementia. So being in this Center is what’s best for him and he is doing well.

I was in LA for 10 days, and I visited with my father daily, usually in the mornings after breakfast, and then to mother’s for dinner Every day I would take my father something to eat. He really enjoys special treats. One day he asked me for apple pie a la mode (!). So I picked some up at a local supermarket. Another day I brought him a coffee and danish, I also delivered Sprite several days (his favorite), muffins from the hotel breakfast buffet (!) and other items of his choosing.

I had the opportunity to visit with a couple of friends and family while I was in LA. Maureen, my best friend from college and her daughter (my god-daughter) joined my mother, sister and I for dinner one night. On Saturday afternoon we met with our Machorro cousins from San Diego for lunch in Marina del Rey. It was great to see them! I met another old friend, Jonathan, for lunch one day. When he asked me what I preferred, I said a hamburger! And we got a great cheeseburger (I could only eat half!)

For those of you keeping track of the dates that I was in LA, you will probably recall that just two weeks before my arrival, the Los Angeles area had been on fire! The cities of Pacific Palisades (near Malibu Beach) and Altadena (near Pasadena) were destroyed. So sad and devastating. My family lives about 15 miles away and fortunately, they were completely safe. The days of the fires, they did see some smoke near their home and some ashes. But by the time I was in LA, all was good: blue skies and sunny weather.

On my flight home, American Airlines upgraded me to first class. Very unexpected and quite welcome! A larger seat and breakfast was served! Hooray!

Overall, it was a good visit to Dallas and Los Angeles. It was great to see my family, as I hadn’t been back to LA since last May (!!).