Home base was right on the Texas/Mexico border in a little town called Edinburg. A trip across the border to Mexico sounded like a lot of fun, so off we went. There is a big river between Texas and Mexico called the Rio Grande River. To get into Mexico, you have to go across a bridge. We lined up with the rest of the cars, then drove across.

The river is not very wide, and it's pretty muddy, so I decided swimming would not be a good idea.

Most people in Mexico speak Spanish instead of English. The first thing we see when we get across the bridge is a big sign that says "Bienvendos a Mexico!". That means "Welcome to Mexico" ... we're here!!

The little town that we're visiting is called Progreso, and has one main street with lots of little stores. There are a lot of places to buy souvenirs, visit a dentist, eat at a restaurant, or do most of the things we do here in the United States.

We're thirsty and hungry, so our first stop is a nice restaurant upstairs above one of the stores. There were a lot of strange-sounding things on the menu, like Cabrito and Menudo and Came Guisada. Sometime I'll have to come back and try them all! I got very full eating guacamole with chips and salsa, and enjoyed a nice cool drink since it was so hot outside. The restaurant had big windows so we could look out into the street. I sat right by the window and watched people going in and out of Plaza Mexico, a little shopping place across the street.

After we were full, it was time to do some shopping! There are lots of neat things to buy in Mexico that are different from what we have here... lots of handmade blankets, clothes, jewelry and toys. There was so  

much to look at and so many
 colors and sounds everywhere! I even tried on a purple sombrero in one of the shops.

I ran into a group of colorful Senoritas dressed in traditional  Mexican party dresses. We danced the day away... what fun!

Back outside, I met a little boy who lives in Progreso. He was selling chili peppers to people that were walking by. Those are too hot for me, so I didn't get any. He wanted to take his picture with me, and I wanted to remember him, so we posed for a photo on the street.

Next thing I know, he's grabbing his little brother for another picture. I don't think his brother really wanted to have his picture taken, but he was smiling and laughing anyway.

I think brothers in the United States and brothers in Mexico are pretty much the same... joking and having a good time with each other all the time.

The little brother was selling boxes of chewing gum that the kids in Mexico like. Since I had so much fun with the boy and his brother, I bought a box for Maddie to take back to her class. I also got a couple of souvenirs for Maddie and Ben that they might want to bring to show to their class as well.

Well, we were pretty tired and it was time to head back. On the way back, you have to stop at a place called Customs. There, they make sure that you're not bringing anything back from Mexico that is against the rules. Some bad people bring drugs into the country, and one of the jobs of Customs is to make sure that doesn't happen. When we were driving by, we saw a car that was being searched by a special dog that can smell drugs... it was very interesting watching him work. Have you ever heard of a dog with a job?

Once we got back to the U.S., we drove to a church in McAllen, Texas. I was staying with Maddie & Ben's aunt, who plays in a handbell choir at her church. It's a real pretty way to make music, where each person rings a bell or two, and when everyone rings them at the right time, it makes a song! I caught on to it pretty quickly, and they even let me direct a song or two.

Before it was time to jump back in the mail for my return-trip to Connecticut, I wanted to take one last look at the beautiful palm trees that were growing all over in the area. I finally got brave and climbed to the top of one!

I wouldn't recommend climbing these...
it wasn't very easy  to do.