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A couple shots of Summer in the wagon with Rowley!

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Summer and Haven. Haven is Misty’s daughter who we met at Beach Church. Haven is 2 yo. This is at Frente Al Punto.

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SAYULITA in The Plaza after our final morning good bye brunch at Chocobana with Kristin & Noralina. Im wearing my amazing new top from Galeria Primavera.

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Sunday at Frente Al Punto. PIctured with Kristin & Stella. Im wearing my amazing new dress from Galeria Primavera.

[megmckinney]

The Dreaded Day Of Travel

It’s hard to prepare for traveling with muchas cosas (many things) as we would be traveling home with. Considering our travel to Mexico and everything that happened, it’s not unusual for either of us to feel a bit uncertain about how traveling home would go. Would we have someone to help carry our stuff? If we don’t, can we still make it work? Will Volaris accept Rowley this time now that his rabbis vaccine would be in their 30 day time frame? Will we be able to get back into the US? How will Summer do on the flight?

The great thing about Sayulita is you don’t have to make appointments anywhere. You want a massage? You walk down to the beach and get it. You want to see the vet to get a health certificate to fly and deworming? You just show up and they do it on the spot. No 30 min check up required and an appointment. Of course I did ask if we should make an appointment but the vet said no to just come in when we were ready. It’s not like they would say no, obviously we had to get home and needed to bring our dog lol So we made sure everything was as Volaris required so we could fly home.

To book our flight online it said we would take off at 12:35 pm. But when you click details, the flight time was actually 6:35 pm. Maybe a glitch in their website? We planned our goodbye brunch at Chocobanana with Kristin, Tyler, Noralina, Felix, and the kiddos, went home to nap/pack, and then headed for the airport. If our flight had been at 12:30, well, then, we would have missed it lol but after booking the res, the email confirmation said 6:30 so I was pretty confident about the evening flight.

We got to the airport 3.5 hours early to be safe. They wouldn’t let us officially check in until 4 so we cruised around the airport. it took SO long to get us checked in because of Rowley. We were the first ones there and by the time we were finally done, the line was incredibly long. They needed to review Rowley’s paperwork, make copies, review them again, have us fill out forms, check the weight. It was never ending. Plus we had to pay for the surfboard, get all of Summer’s gear tagged. It was a process. It took 45 minutes to get us checked in. So it’s finally 4:45pm and we are heading to our gate. Things are fine from here, we board the plane, get to our seats, Summer sleeps on me the entire flight. It was SO sweet but my legs were falling asleep, my left butt cheek was hurting, and I was having a hard time breathing with 21 pounds of weight on me and a baby in my belly. We weighed Summer at the vet after weighing Rowley. It’s good to know how much she weighs now haha.

We land, head to baggage claim/CBX Border Crossing. We find guys with the carts to help us with everything. We go to cross the border through CBX but they won’t take Summer without a birth certificate. My expired passport is no big deal. That works fine he says, especially since it expired in 2020. Matt tried to convince them, the supervisor called the Border Patrol but they said no. So we had to turn around and head the exit of the TJ airport, get a taxi to the border, walk across the border, and hope they don’t give us any trouble getting into the US.

We hop in the taxi to the San Ysidro border crossing. He drops us off and surprisingly there is someone to help us carry our stuff. We are shocked and stoked. We get to the mexico crossing and they just need to see that we have ID, they don’t need to check it BUT we lose our guy to help carry our stuff to walk across the final part. I’m excited because I knew with the wagon and the zip ties we brought that we could do it and I had been looking forward to consolidating everything without extra help. Matt was embarrassed. He kept describing us as Beverly Hill Billy but I don’t get embarrassed easily. I was completely stimulated. I had never walked across the border. It was all new and exciting for me-- until we got into San Ysidro and that was SCARY. More on that later.

So we get into the US Border, we get in line, it was a nice mexican/american lady. I think that was helpful. Women LOVE Summer. Even this woman, who questioned how an 18 month old didn’t have a. birth certificate, couldn’t help but comment on how beautiful Summer is with her red hair. She questioned us a little bit but not for long and then let us go. So the only difficult part was not being allowed to cross through CBX.

We get out of the building and need to get a ride home. It’s super sketchy in this area. Tons of drug addicts walking by, dark, scary. We sign up for an Uber XL, he’s 13 minutes away. The cop makes us move down the street so we aren’t on trolley property, Summer is crying because she’s thirsty. Matt runs to jack & the box to get water and leaves us alone on the street. That was the scariest part. I was just getting ready to duck incase gun shots went off. lol read to kick if someone came up with a knife. I was on high alert.

Our Toyota Highlander finally arrives. He said he didn’t think our stuff would fit. And to be honest, it didn’t. We left the stroller in the trash. It was the old, dirty, used Bob that I got on offer up that we all hate. It was nice to have in Mexico but I never want to use it again lol Once in the car the driver told us that if we didn’t have a baby and if I wasn’t pregnant, he wouldn’t have taken us!!! We were the fifth passengers in his brand new car that he did not want scratched up with our surf board, suitcases, dog crate, wagon, etc.

Our house in La Mesa is booked on airbnb until Feb 2 but our other property in Mission Hills is open for a few nights, Of our three properties, the mission hills home is the only one that I actually own. And I’ve never stayed in it, so it’s been fun to stay here, use the hot tub, enjoy the space! When we bought it, it was a flip, and we bought all of the staging furniture, as well, so it’s a really beautiful and modern home. The decor, the pillows, everything is so chic.

We put Summer down at midnight america time which is 2:00am mexico time. She slept until 4:45 american time so 6:45 mexico time. Not bad. We went to lazy acres for breakfast, got some groceries, Matt took Summer on a walk to balboa park. No stroller so back in the wagon for her. She went down at 9:40 am. I have been blogging, chatting with my dad, unpacking suitcases. It’s been a nice morning.

This afternoon we are signing our loan docs for the refinancing and hopefully heading to la mesa to get our car and stroller! woohoo! I hope Summer sleeps until noon!!! It’s 11 am now. Fingers crossed!!! She needs to catch up so we can get back to a normal sleep schedule!

Well, that’s the end of our travels. I still need to finish the previous blog post but THANK YOU to everyone who came along on this journey with us!!!!

I probably wont be blogging much until October when we plan to move to PALM BEACH FLORIDA for a few years while Matt starts a new pool business, invests in airbnb properties. We’ll see!! More to come from our new nomadic lifestyle!

Love you all! XO

[megmckinney]

WE LEFT - We flew home early! Final Week Rundown.

Today is Tuesday, Jan 12 and I am writing from San Diego. I am so sad. Here is a little recap of the one week we had in Sayulita with actual friends and events! In my final post, I’ll describe how we made it across the border without our proper identification. It was an eventful day to say the least :)

Thursday, Jan 7 - Matt took Summer on a hike in the hiking backpack so I decided I wanted to a nice breakfast. I texted Noralina who met me at Miscellaneous. It’s so rare for me to text a friend in the am and hear a YES response. That is what is so nice about a small town with a slower pace of living and less focus on the hustle. People are around, down to hang out, don’t have a schedule full of plans. So sweet to have a little lady time with NO kids. I ordered an activated charcoal late - no coffee, tasted like the sweetest warm almond milk deliciousness. To eat I got the Croque Monsieur which is basically the french style of biscuits & gravy haha.

Matt went to Don Bonito to do some work during Summer’s nap. When she woke up, we just walked around the neighborhood. All of the little local mexican girls were around and loving on Summer. Picking her up, stroking her cheek, giving her little mexican cheetos. Summer loves playing with the local girls. She goes up to them and starts saying, HI, and waving. She lifts her arms up to them so they can pick her up. When they have to leave, she follows them saying Hi, Olah, or adios. It is SO cute they way she speaks and everyone gets a kick out of her when she says something.

Friday, Jan 8 - Friday in Sayulita is the Farmer’s Market. I had heard about the market but kept forgetting to go so I was set on going this morning. I looked it up online open from 10 - 2. I had to kinda figure out how to manage it with Summer’s nap. Matt ended up taking Summer for a walk and putting her down for her nap so I could enjoy the market with mis amigas. I met Kristin across the street at the park, we headed over and met Noralina there. It was amazing. Since I knew this would be my only visit at the market i got us breakfast, lunch and dinner. Calzones, lasagna, fresh raspberries and figs, quiche. It was an adorable farmers market with tons of food, products, everything. I wish we could go back again. They also sell all the good kombucha, raw milk from Terrenal.

Friday afternoon after Summer’s nap, I put her in the wagon with Rowley and strolled them to the vet. Matt was working at the Library/Book Store across the street so he helped me get Rowley in. We bought our tickets to fly home. Summer and I played at the park until Matt was done working. Headed home. For dinner we had the lasagna and calzone and then headed to the beach to kill some time before bed.

We ran into our neighbors at the complex, Ibrahim & Johanna, and played some rounds of volley ball with them. Summer basically tried to follow the ball until she found a little belgium boy with a ball that she decided to steal. lol

Saturday, Jan 9 - Matt planned an all day surf trip with a friend John who we met last Sunday at Frente. Him and his wife and two boys moved to Sayulita indefinitely from Amsterdam. They are originally from the states, though. They have a car so Matt was stoked to get to drive around, find some good waves, and get a nice session in. They drove to a few spots, all was flat, and then ended at San Pancho in the San Francisco town. Kinda bummed I never got to check out this town. I heard many good things about it. It’s the town just next to Sayulita.

Summer had a super rough morning again. This last week was really hard with her and sleeping. She’s up so early at 5:30, wants to go outside, but the first light doesn’t start to come out until around 7:10am so I basically have to endure a tantrum. This morning I purchased the Big Little Feeling’s Winning the Toddler Years module because I want to feel confident that I am parenting properly. When Summer was born, I was completely unprepared for EVERYTHING. The only thing I prepared for was labor & delivery. Sleep, food, products, everything was just up in the air and I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to know what I am doing, how to handle situations, how to speak in an effective way, etc. I don’t want her to just be my guinea pig. I want to be informed and prepared to be the best mother I can be. So I have already been enjoying these modules and seeing them work.

After nap just her and i went to the beach for a little bit. Then we walked around town, checked out some art galleries, shops, etc. For dinner we went to Rustica and got the gnocchi. Tiny portion of maybe 10 gnocchis. Expensive. On the walk home we bought some chicken at our fav chicken stand and I put her to bed early.

Sunday, Jan 10 - LAST DAY + SUNDAY FUNDAY - Another tantrum in the morning but I felt more prepared after watching the first two modules of Big Little Feelings. We got breakfast quiches at Panino’s and ate them on the beach with Matt. Then headed to our last Beach Church. I was able to connect with Kevin about the crazy instagram loop that brought me to his page so that was cool. We said bye to everyone and headed home for nap.

On the way home we got Summer a second pair of juarachas, the amazing hand made leather sandals that I am obsessed with. These are one size bigger so she can grow into them.

After nap, Summer and I went to Terrenal to turn in all the glass jars for deposits, purchased our last Kombuchas, chocolate, and snacks and then got ready for Frente Al Punto!

Frente was fun. We were the first of our group there. Summer made some friends with some other people. Turns out they are the crossfit crew of Sayulita who have been there for over 10 years. One lady is a wedding planner: @sunset.soiree so that was fun getting to hear her story.

Then Kristin, Tyler, Stella arrived. Then Misty and her fam. Then some other beach church friends. We danced, stayed out until 7:20, got churros on the way home, and passed out!! An amazing final night with friends!!

Monday, Jan 11 - our travel day. Check the final post :)

[megmckinney]

Roseuncharted > Wellwithin > Kevin from Sayulita?!?!?

Wednesday, Jan 6 -

We had a rough night. Summer was up at midnight and didn’t want to go back to sleep. Luckily Matt woke up with her and they enjoyed a midnight snack together of milk and banana bread.

Matt took Summer for a walk this morning after breakfast. We had kinda started doing our routine from the states where Matt walks Summer by himself every morning after breakfast to give me a break. This is a perfect time for me to read, nap, clean, or blog :)

I kind of had an emotional morning this morning. I’ve mostly been off social media. My phone notifies me that my screen time is down to LESS than 2 hours. Which is pretty insane. But yesterday I had peeked on my favorite account: @roseuncharted. She is my idol in many ways: natural, makes her own products, wildly intelligent, follower of christ, conservative, etc. Her entire instagram is a wealth of knowledge. She had posted a story allowing people to ask her anything. One of the questions was asking about an instagram account that documented a natural healing of cancer. Since my mom died of pancreatic cancer when I was 16, I’m interested in cancer treatment, options, etc. Also, everyone on my mom’s side has died of cancer. My cousin died at age 23 of angiosarcoma (sp?): cancer of the heart, my grandma died when my mom was 21 of lung cancer, my grandpa died two hears after my mom of prostate cancer. So my uncle lost his mother, sister, father, and then his only child. He still has his one remaining sister who had skin cancer but recovered.

Anyway-- I go to @wellwithin.wandering ‘s insta and scroll through her cancer highlight. All of the sudden, I recognize someone in her photos. She didn’t have the location or the name of the person in the caption so I clicked the photo, and then went to his tagged page. It was Kevin from Beach Church. Mindi’s husband. I was shocked. I’m following these highly followed pages and run into someone I know personally and have seen the last three Sundays. It kind of sent me into a weird spiral/revelation. It gave me this feeling that the all natural approach truly is the best approach to living a healthy life. I felt confirmed in the choices I had been making to protect my family. It also brought me to fear the current political climate in the US where democrats preaching tolerance are censoring our information, mandating mask wearing, forced vaccines for children, pursuing more government control through socialism, teaching our citizens that our country is bad and racist. It’s ridiculous. Look at any other country. Our country is way better, more free, less racist, more fair, etc. It’s shocking to see the scary marxist doctrine and loss of freedom dominating in our country. So sad to see Biden/Harris win the election, the democrats win the georgia state runoff, the lockdowns in CA, everything. It’s so sad. So this morning was emotional for me.

After Summer’s nap, Noralina + Calvin, and Kristin + Stella picked Summer and I up around 2:30. We cruised around in the golf cart, got smoothies at Anchor. Walked around the downtown area. Noralina knows all the shop owners so we feel like VIP walking around. As she is saying hi to all the owners, Kristin and I are laughing about our crazy children breaking the expensive pieces.

Our plan is to head to this Art Exhibit off the Punta De Mita HWY, where the kids have an art activity and they hosts put on a photography exhibit. We are wanting to be fashionably late which in Mexico is at least 30 min late so we stop by Noralina’s parents property, let the kiddos dip in the pool, drink some water and then head to the event. They are playing live music, serving lemonade. Summer wants to run everywhere, mess with the musicians cords, hand children balls she found on the ground, etc. We didn’t stay long but it was cool checking out a local event.

Just a long and exhausting today but thankful for friends, community, freedom!

[megmckinney]

Tuesday + Massage with Coco

Tuesday, Jan 5 - today. I’m all up to date :)

Woke up at 6 this morning. Which I can’t really complain about because Summer was actually up at 4:30am last night. Then 5:15. Then brought her in bed and got her to sleep until 6:30. Plus last night was the night that stupid cat was meowing and woke me up.

So 6am but no cat, no prior baby wake ups = success. Same breakfast as yesterday’s post.

This morning Summer and I were walking around the neighborhood. We met a Mexican lady who wanted to chat with Summer and touch her cheek. Then she wanted to show us where she works. She cleans a home right on our street that is owned by a lady in LA who rents her home out. Even though there were people from AZ staying there, the woman still wanted us to come in and see the place. Luckily I was kinda able to say sorry to the AZ family for intruding. But they were fine with having us walk through. So that was a sweet experience.

Actually, before this, Matt and I were sitting in the patio letting Summer play. We heard a man yelling Bolio and walking down the street. We have heard this same yelling before. Then we heard our neighbors in the complex yell back: Bolio? Si! Hoy! And apparently Bolio is a type of loaf of bread from Jalisco. Our neighbors gave us an entire roll to enjoy. Mexican culture is SO generous. The precious day, I couldn’t get Summer out of their room. They brought us shrimp tostadas, rice, and then shrimp that wasn’t spicy for Summer. I feel bad accepting their generosity but I know it’s their culture. Matt says yes to their offerings much easier than me.

It’s like that at the playground, too. The Mexican mother’s will want to pick up Summer and take her down the slide or push her on the swings. It’s fine with me but I feel bad that they are basically doing what I don’t even want to do myself. At Frente Al Punto on Sunday there was a mother playing with Summer, squeaking this squeaky toy that belonged to our friends with Summer, while her own son was using the iPad. I think it’s just because of her pale skin, blue eyes, red hair?! We really do get SO much attention. I don’t seem to. I wonder if they still find it beautiful on an adult, aka myself lol but Mexicans sure do love Summer. It’s so sweet.

So anyway, around 10 am Kristin shows up with Stella, Noralina, and Calvin. Calvin is Noralina’s 11 month old son. We walk around the neighborhood a little and end up at the owner of Cocobananas house. We go through her house to the backyard where she has turtles and a parrot aviary. This woman, Tracy, is an activist here for recycling and for rescuing the parrots and helping them live back in the wild. This specific type of parrot is not supposed to be domesticated so she rescues them. It was a very cool experience.

Chocobanana is a large restaurant right on the plaza. They are famous for their frozen banana dipped in chocolate or as a smoothie. We actually ate here three mornings in a row last week because they have a French toast that Matt has been craving. Plus the food comes out SO fast which is good for Summer lol

The afternoon was a little rough. I wanted to eat at Anchor and get The Farm Bowl that I had been craving since going there with Kristin & Noralina. Summer made it difficult. Wouldn’t stop crying. Basically I had to take her home and Matt got the food to go. I wanted to let her run & play in the plaza for a little but i didnt bring her shoes. The plaza is notorious for having broken glass because it’s were people/locals come to drink and hang out. Instead of going to a bar, it’s legal to drink in public, so people come to the plaza with their alcohol and have a nice time which usually results in broken glass. There are lots of birds, though, so it’s fun for Summer to chase them. I let her run for a little and then took her home so we could eat.

Matt took a nap, I spent time with Summer. They we walked to the beach. He played with Summer and I got a massage. Have I told you about my massage with Coco?!

I got three beach massages all for $20. My first and last massages were nice but my second massage was with Coco and it was the most glorious thing I have every experienced. I knew the massage was good because throughout, my body would tingle. I can’t even describe what she did but it was deep tissue, strong pressure, and different/intense moves. Coco is amazing. They use a peppermint oil on their hands and then have you breathe it in, while walking home, one of my arms was like numb from the oil. haha but I didn’t care. It was heaven.

[megmckinney]

Monday, Jan 4, 2020.

Woke up around 6:30 am with Summer. Made Summee two scrambled eggs, two eggs & toast for myself, and French toast with almond butter & honey for Matt. Matt spend some time playing with Summer outside on the patio. She loves hanging out with him. I did some blogging. Around 9am Kristin, Tyler, and Stella picked up Summer and I and we headed to the playground to let the girls play. They did the baby swings, the adult swings, the seesaw, and played in the boat.

Then they took me home for Summers nap. When Summer woke we had some pasta, cereal, potatoes, and then met with Matt to walk to the playground again.

There is a teacher who teaches the kids at the playground. There is a long picnic style table where they all sit. It’s mostly the vendors children who are at the park most days, anyway. I’m not totally sure why their schooling is done at the park but maybe I will find out before I leave here.

Summer played with a soccer ball, the slide, and by the end she was with all the kids and the teacher coloring. She was standing on the bench with the teacher behind her. Summer would grab a colored pencil, the teacher would say the color in Spanish and tell her to draw on the paper. It was so sweet. I ended up sitting on the bench with them while Matt headed home to get his surfboard.

Then around 3:20 I headed for our new friends Anna andJohns house. Matt was going surfing with John so I was going to hang with Anna and her two boys: 4yo Otto and 8mo Bo. My phone internet doesn’t work sometimes without WiFi so I wrote down the directions while looking at Matt’s phone. Three turns. Couldn’t be too hard to get to. I knew the basic direction. Arrived on Sabala street. Started walked up the hill. This was the steepest hill I have ever seen in my life. Steep and SO long. And cobblestone. I literally walked up the entire hill Called Anna and realized I was supposed to turn BEFORE the hill. The bill was dangerous, to be honest, to be walking with a stroller. It was so steep and the cobble stone made it very hard to get up. It was seriously not smart that I did that. But crazy. I felt light headed but empowered after lol

After a couple hours, Anna drove me home which was nice. I tried putting Summer down at 6 but she wasn’t having it so we walked down the street to the little pollo stand. Had the most amazing and mouthwatering pollo y arroz, put Summer to sleep, waited for Matt to get home from surfing and went to sleep myself.

Overall a great day but I was EXHAUSTED at the end of the night.

[megmckinney]

63 Ciruela - Our home & a little history + rambling thoughts

Our home is named the house of Sweet Dreams. Every home here has a ceramic plate with a house name on it. When you buy property in Mexico, it basically comes with everything in it already including beds, furniture, silverware, coffee makers, pots & pans, etc.

The owner Maty and her husband live in LA. His parents live on site and manage the space. It’s so nice having Maria & Ramon on site to answer any questions. Maty responds right away via WhatsApp, also,

For our stay, cleaning once a week is included, laundry is free although since being here for just 9 days, the dryer has been broken twice. Maty is looking into getting a new unit asap, though. They bought this place just one month ago so are kinda figuring out what needs to be fixed based on the complaints that come in. Not the best way to figure things out but hopefully people are understanding.

Our stove and oven are pretty old. To turn them on, you have to use a lighter. So you turn the dial, and then take the lighter to add the flame. I don’t mind doing this every morning. It’s really quick & easy. I’ve been enjoying some of these aspects. The stove gets super hot which is awesome and cooks our food perfectly. I don’t cook much but will make us breakfast, coffee, maybe some pasta for lunch.

I really like our place. I can’t quite understand why but I just feel an overwhelming love & peace here. I think I love how tiny it is, there is minimal cleaning. We only have 4 small plates, 4 large plates, 4 bowls, 4 coffee mugs, 4 plastic water cups. It’s so easy to maintain and keep tidy. We don’t have a ton of clothes and since laundry is so scarce I really appreciate when I get the opportunity to do it. Unlike in the states when I hated the loads of laundry we had to do. The cleaning service comes in once a week for the sheets, bathroom, floors. They will also do any dishes in the sink. it’s so nice. I never leave dishes for them, I enjoy doing the dishes in the morning. In our airbnb we did have a dishwasher but I don't feel the need to use it.

There’s a simplicity here that is so calming. No worries in a way. I did request a new coffee maker because this one requires more water than coffee comes out and you have to push a button for the coffee to come out and it is the thinnest slowest drip. I think the unit in general could use a simple and working coffee machine.

The shower head is the only other upgrade needed for this place. It works fine but kinda shoots out in random places and is so high up that the pressure is not as strong. I am short, though. So I mentioned that if she is going to come and do upgrades, that could be a good one.

Overall I feel very safe, I love the roosters that crow all day long. A couple nights there has been a cat meowing in distress that wakes me up. Matt went out to find it and scare it away twice but couldn't find it. That’s hard because the sound feels so close. One night it was screaming in distress. The second time just meowing at 4am. We are hoping no more cats come back.

The main road in our neighborhood is dirt and then getting onto the Main Street that takes you to town is cobblestone. Luckily there are sidewalks because it’s really hard to wheel the stroller or wagon on the cobblestone. Sayulita was declared a Pueblo Magico years ago so the government helps fund the city. With this money they received public benches, trash bins, and paved some of the main roads.

Supposedly 5 years ago it only cost $10,000 to build a house. Now it’s closer to $50,000. The gentrification in this area is different than in the states. In the states people renting get pushed out of their neighborhoods because they can no longer afford the rent. But here, all the Mexicans own their property. So if they sell, they are leaving with a big chunk of change. And, of course, they don’t need to sell. They could always develop it themselves. There has been a lot of change in the past 50 years as tourism began. The older generations said it was great living in Sayulita until the tourists came with their money. The poor people lived on the beach as it was less desirable. You couldn’t farm your land near the beach, the ocean water ruins buildings, etc. So it’s been a huge shift in the city to see the poor become rich through developing their properties.

There isn’t much crime here. The cartel is in charge. People don’t mess with the tourists because they bring in the money. A few years ago, there was some riff raff going on where tourists wallets were getting stolen with their passports, etc. There was a Facebook page with a number you could call to let them know your stuff got stolen. The cartel would get involved and make sure their documents and whatever else was returned. For that reason, there is a sense of safety here. There is legit law & order. You don’t mess with the cartel. A few weeks ago there was a murder in Puerto Vallarta which is really rare but it was a political crime. It was completely planned. That’s the different. In America, you can walk down the street and accidentally get killed because of gang violence. Here it’s different. No one is selling drugs unless they go through the cartel, no one is stealing unless it’s through the cartel. The law & order makes people feel safe. I wish we could enact stricter punishments in America. It’s ridiculous that we are accepting all the riots, looting, crime going on in the name of racial equality or whatever else. It’s bullshit. 

I’ve learned a lot about American culture being here. We are literally so spoiled and entitled that we have no problems, so we create them. Our streets are clean, our appliances work, we have access to anything we could possibly want through amazon, fed ex, etc. Three numbers and we can dial the police for help, we can choose where we want to live, we have paved roads and easy access to get anywhere. We have 100 different park and grocery store options. Everyone has a smart phone and a car.

It’s different in Mexico. The trash system is good but could be improved. Many appliances could be improved. The beaches, streets, park could definitely use a clean up crew. You can't even put toilette paper in the toilette. You eat what you grow, what you caught, or what you have. There are problems to be solved so people aren’t looking towards some idealistic vision of life. They are happy with what they have. I wish Americans could be happy with what they have. I mean, in Mexico, I don’t really even know if there is a democratic system because the cartel is in charge. I’m sure there is a downside to that. They don’t have a bunch of red tape and regulations. People can work. It’s just different. It’s simple. You mind your own business, you don’t judge, you become okay in the dust, the dirt, the garbage, the dog poop on the streets. It’s a different and more accepting type of life.

[megmckinney]

Frente Al Punto - aka Sunday Funday

Every Sunday this blue grass band plays at Frente Al Punto. Our first time checking it out was last Sunday, Jan 3. Today is Tuesday, Jan 5. Kristin and Noralina invited us to the partay. We showed up around 5pm, band started playing at 5:30pm, and tons of other mamas and their kiddos came. It was so so so fun. 

Frente Al Punto is a large outdoor venue/restaurant right on the beach off Playa Azul and Av Del Palmar. Right in the town but technically to the north side. They have delicious food on the more expensive side but their special for $20 USD was a steak, shrimp, and mussels surf & terf so still a spankin’ good deal compared to the US.

They have a large grass area which is nice so the kids can play. One of the hardest parts about having a toddler is taking them to restaurants. They just don’t have patience waiting for food. I do think this is an American problem. After reading the book: Bringing Up Bebe, I am inspired and empowered to teach my child patience. This is another book I highly highly recommend for all moms. It teaches how the French get their babies to sleep through the night at 3 months, how the French children aren’t throwing tantrums at restaurants, how they teach their child patience from the beginning. The book is written in a first person experience story while also citing studies, books, and interviewing professionals. A quick & inspiring read. And also hilarious when it describes what American moms do and you can't help but think: wow, I do do that.

We are starting to teach patience slowly in the mornings. Reminder her to wait or to be patient as I am cooking breakfast for her. Since we weaned the dependence of the pacifier to just the crib/bedtime routine, now we can start to practice patience before meals. What I have found is that if parents are consistent, this training really only takes a couple days. Being consistent is the hardest part, though.

But anyway, Sundays have become our favorite day with Beach Church in the morning, and Frente Al Punto in the evenings. As we are in our fourth week now, making community, figuring out what there is to do, we are hoping more routine like days start to form. Although we are aware that it will be so hard to leave Sayulita in one month once we have all the good stuff figured out. I’m ready to come back in October and stay for 4 months. So we’ll see. Life is just starting to get exciting.

[megmckinney]

Third week highs + Jungle Hike

We moved into our new second and final lodging the day after Christmas on Saturday, Dec 26. The following Sunday would mark the beginning of our official third week in town. As I started this blog in our third week of being here, you’ve kind of already gotten to hear some aspects of the third week.

Hmm, the third week we feel pretty steady here in Sayulita. We have our little church community, we have a couple friends that we are starting to make plans with. We are in our lodging for the next five weeks. As mentioned in a prior post, we are figuring out and have mostly figured out by the end of the week how to manage in a 1 bedroom. We understand the basic layout of town. Since we haven’t connected much with our friends yet, we are a little bored at times. We don’t know quite know what to do every morning and afternoon. We basically end up at the beach 4 days in a row in the afternoon and eating out these first four mornings, as well. I do some shopping during Summer’s naps, Matt does some work or goes surfing.

Some highlights:

I searched the streets for this one shop that we had passed that had a beautiful baby girl dress hanging in the window. The shop is called Galeria Primavera. It’s at Av Revolucion 46. Matt told me not to spend more than $50. I spent $276. I am obsessed with the clothes here. I bought two beautiful mexican dresses and one shirt. I look forward to heading home so I can wear these pieces. I am currently wearing the shirt and wore the dress yesterday but I worry about getting them dirty. I’d love to be home, get all dressed up, and then take them straight to the dry cleaners afterward.

A couple days later one of our condo mates was wearing this adorable one piece jumper. I commented how cute it was. She told me she got it in town. She gave me basic directions for how to find this shop. The next day during Summer’s nap, I went out in search of this jumper, following the directions I remembered her sharing. I successfully found the shop and found the jumper. As I was ringing up, I ran into Kristin. The same mama from the park and from my morning walk with Noralina. I had just texted Noralina that morning for Kristin’s number. Funny thing is that her, her husband Tyler, and their daughter Stella were with Noralina and her two kids. These are the sweet joys of living in a small town. Summer was asleep with Matt at home and I was free, just bought my jumper, and decided to tag along to whatever they were up to. We ended up heading to a restaurant to get lunch. This restaurant was called Anchor. They had an amazing Farm Bowl-- vegan delciousness. I felt revived. As much as i love the mexican street food, there is nothing better than fresh veggies. Tyler & Kristin drove me home after on their golf cart. After Summer’s nap, Matt and I headed to the playground where we met up with Noralina’s husband, Felix and their 4 yo daughter. Noralina & Felix own a festival clothing company called Noralina that is pretty well known! It was so interesting to hear more about their lives, their business, and what it’s like having two kids!!!

Jungle Hike - on the North end of town, even more north than our first airbnb, in fact, on that same road just parallel to the beach but as far north as it will go, you end up at a jungle hike. We’ve done it twice. The first time we were a little more cautious of getting lost and wanting to stay on the main hike area. We started uphill and followed the trail until we made one left turn, ended up at an amazing Jungle Temple. This is basically a space in the jungle surrounded by the rock stacks. These are all over SD, too, but not like here in the Jungle temple. There are over 100 hip or chest high rock stacks, a small little river the leads towards the ocean, painted rocks, and some of the hanging native artistry. We walked past and ended at the beach but continued on the trail to loop back around.

The second time we did the hike, we felt much more adventurous. We took every single off turn we could which usually ended in a dead end of some sort. One was straight up hill for a while and lead to an amazing view of the entire town. It was hilarious because by the time we reached the top, we could use the base of the music playing from town. Summer would laugh hysterically anytime Matt would slip, or if he would have to bend down to get under a branch. She loved when the leaves would brush her face. Instead of turning left where we did the first time, we continued straight down and reached where the water would be had there been a more flowing river. We walked along the river as far as it would go. It lead us to a little road that we followed and then hopped back on the trail to the beach. This time once arriving at the actual beach, we went right and walked on top and through these big rock bluffs. This lead us to a thing and narrow trail, rather dangerous, actually, and up to a different jungle hike. This hike lead us to a secret beach. Actually, some gentlemen told me not to post about this beach on the internet :/ luckily my blog isn’t really read by many. But, if you’re ever in Sayulita, I’d be happy to give more specific info about Malpasso beach. We didn’t end up going all the way down to this beach since we had been hiking around for some time now but it felt pretty incredible to have found the secret beach and seen it from above.

Another hike we did was the same route to Playa Los Muertos but instead of continuing straight through for the loop to town like I did with my lady friends, we ended taking a sharp right following a sign that said Punto Sayulita. We walked, got a little lost, hit a dead end, turned around, kept going, and then ended seeing some spooky writing (graffiti) on the walls. Things saying like: imagine if that was your last day on earth, etc. Some pictures of the white widow spider, etc. We ended up heading down a steep and narrow path to another more deserted beach. We played here for some time and let Summer stretch her legs. Upon getting Summer out of her hiking backpack, Matt had told her not to go in the water. Just to stay on the sand. She is actually pretty good at listening to us. I recommended the book No Bad Kids by Janet Lansbury to teach how to communicate in an effective way. It seriously works. Shockingly and amazingly. But anyway— Summee started having a tantrum. Crying. It was really interesting. We had also stopped giving her her pacifier since it was starting to become an addiction. She wanted it all the time, wouldn’t enjoy the wagon without it, etc. So today she had a big release. Maybe a release of being told what to do, of withdrawing from the pacifier, of moving into another new space, if not being home. Who knows. But we just loved her, held her, let her cry, and when she was done, she got to enjoy playing on the beach. She had one more of these tough days. I think it was mostly going through pacifier withdrawals but after that, and since then, she has been. She knows the pacifier is now only for the bed.

[megmckinney]

Cultural Differences

These are just a few fun cultural differences I’ve noticed so far. Today is Sunday, Jan 3 which marks the beginning of our 4th week in Sayulita. Third week post coming soon and then we are almost up to date :)

First is how you say the age of your child. I mentioned this in a prior post. In American we just say the months. For example: Summer is 17 months or as of yesterday, 18 months. In Mexico, you would say Summer is one year and 5 or 6 months. Or since she is 18 months now, you would say she is Uno Ano Y Media: One year and a half. Since Summer has her beautiful red hair and pale skin, unlike any one else in Mexico, we get stopped a lot and people ask often how old she is.

When going to the bathroom, you never put the toilette paper in the toilette. It always goes in a small trash bin besides the toilette. This must be because the plumbing here is not good enough to handle all of the paper. I will do this when I pee but if I poo, I flush it :/ I just can’t get around having poo paper sit in the trash bin for any amount of time, at all. 

There are no carseats here. Or even really assigned seats in cars, ATV’s, or motorcycles. No babies, toddlers, young kids sit in carseats, at all. They are usually sitting on their moms lap either in the front seat of the back. We will see whole families on the ATV’s/golfcarts, and there could 3-4 people on a motorcycle: toddler in front, then dad, then baby, then mom. There could be 4 people in the back of a regular car or we’ve even seen a child sitting on the center consul of the car: no actual seat, no seatbelt. I had a mama friend drive me home yesterday and put Summer on my lap in the front seat and put the seat belt around both of us. If we had our own car, we would use carseats and same with Taxis, we always put her in the carseat. There are a few Americans we see who have carseats in their golf carts. We also heard people get child bike seats and attach those to car seats because they are smaller, plastic, and easy to wipe down after being outside all day/night.

Dogs run off leash all over the city and they are never neutered or spaid. All male dogs have their balls, many female dogs have clearly had puppies due to their nipple size. You can tell puppies have sucked on the nipples and therefor elongated them.

I also mentioned this in a prior post but here the people literally eat off the land. The fish was caught in these waters, the meat was sliced from the cow from the person’s house, the eggs are so fresh they don’t need to be refrigerated. Even all of the organic products we buy at Terrenal are all from Nayarit which is the ‘state’ that the city of Sayulita is in. Sayulita is in Nayarit which is in Mexico.

There are no safety, health, food standards here that are necessarily maintained. There are tons of small carts that serve street food. I’m sure there are health standards for example, most businesses, in the mornings, dump soapy water on their doorsteps. I’m sure this is to help clean the sidewalks, eliminate bugs, poop, etc. But it’s not as intense as in America, of course. You can pitch your business on any sidewalk and start serving or selling. We have noticed that electrical wires are always just out and hanging around. This could be a huge liability. There are steep drop offs. While there are less regulations enforced, there is a greater sense of freedom. Dogs are more primal and wild. They are smarter, they can see cars coming and get out of the way. Same with the children. At the playground, the local kids Summer’s age know not to just walk in front of someone swinging or going down the slide. I’m still trying to teach Summer these concepts.

Continuing with the above concept, the playground is right behind one of the streets where there are local “pop up” shops. The vendors come every morning and set up their entire store and take it down every evening. Their children hang out at the playground for most of the day. This could also be because school is closed for the holidays. Next week we may not see as many kids. I’m not totally sure when school is back in session here. We rarely see parents in the playground. It really is that community style or raising kids where the older kids who are still young look out for and care for the younger ones. Hendry is our favorite little guy. He is 22 months and so adorable. Summer really likes him. At first he was also really interested in her and nice to her and then something kinda switched. Once he went to hand her a weed he picked, she denied it, and from there he was no longer a fan. She tried to hug him and he pushed her away, she tried to high five him, and he shoved her. Another day she wanted to play with his toys and he went to kick her! I had to intervene at the point but I wondered if maybe he liked the attention I was giving him even if it wasn’t always good. I try and tell him to be sympatico (nice). lol There are super sweet little girls there and they all play together. The only really bad time was when they found a dead crow and the boys were throwing it all over the park. I only stepped in and made them stop when they threw it a little too close to my child. 

Overall, the mexican children are very aware and conscious and sweet towards babies. If Summer comes close, they stop swinging. If Summer wants on the merry go round, the go slow for her. They are used to caring for younger siblings, cousins, friends, etc. I think they feel weird that myself or Matt are always around hovering. We try not to hover too closely but we do like to keep an eye out for Summer as she likes to pick up and eat garbage, or run towards some of the more dangerous aspects of the playground.

[megmckinney]

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This is a sweet video of Summer singing while being pulled in the wagon. 

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This is Summer in her mexican dress and handmade leather sandals. This is our first airbnb at the Pajara De Fuego Condominiums.

[megmckinney]

Sayulita Beach Church

We arrived in Sayulita the afternoon of Sunday, Dec 13. When walking to the beach we saw a sign for beach church every Sunday at 9:30am. We had, unfortunately, missed it this first day but were looking forward to attending the following Sunday. Matt was sick that next Sunday and I was emotional and overwhelmed with the concept of moving long term to Sayulita. I showed up with Summer, started chatting with Mindi, and started crying. It was kind of like a release to be around fellow Americans, Oregonians, in fact, who had made the move 4 years prior. (I am originally from Portland, Oregon). MIndi & Kevin have four precious teen age kids. They own property down here, are building a house down here, and their business is airbnb. The pastors family is from Canada. They have two young boys and she is pregnant, also due in April, with their third boy. They own 6 apartments down here and their business is also airbnb. There are a few other families who attend beach church but my first week, it was just us. Mindi stayed after church to chat with me. She leads the children’s ministry. She is so sweet & wonderful & loving. How Beach Church works is we all arrive at 9:30, sit on blankets, and start by doing the children’s ministry all together. We start in prayer, sing 3 kids songs, listen to the kids sermon, then do adult worship, and listen to the pastor’s sermon. During the sermon, the kids can color or go play along the beach. Most times they all just sit and color. It’s a really special and beautiful small community and we are blessed to have found it.

On Christmas Eve they held a candle lit service and sang beautiful christmas songs. It was very nostalgic for Matt and very sweet to me. At one part, Summer walked up to the front, sat on one of the drums, and gazed out at the ocean. It was remarkable! 

Summer usually walks around during the sermon saying hi to people. During worship she reads the song book to herself or to anyone who is listening. During the sermon she will grab crayons, bring them back to me, color, go back and get more crayons. It’s a very casual vibe.

[megmckinney]

Long term lodging or heading home?

The first and second week were a big discussion about whether we would stay in Sayulita long term. This was an overwhelming concept for me because we had planned for a 3 week vacation and now he wanted to move here for an entire year or so?!?

I felt excited about the prospect of having a Mexican citizen baby who could buy us property for investing. I loved the fact that Matt didn't work and we got to hang out all day. I loved the idea of learning Spanish and my daughter learning to speak Spanish at such an early age. There were so many benefits. I had always said I would have loved to marry a man in the military and get to travel around the world experiencing different cities, cultures, etc. 

For this specific move, the cons of moving to Sayulita long term were: First, I was having a baby soon and I loved giving birth at the UCSD Jacobs Medical Center Birth Center with Summer. I loved that building, my care, my labor experience, everything, Also, I had just ordered baby Sage her brand new $300 naturpedic mattress: completely organic, no synthetic fibers, just the highest quality mattress you can get for a baby lol I also didn't bring my Solly Baby Wraps that I ordered on Black Friday, I didn’t have filtered shower heads down here. It’s funny, but those were the things holding me back: shower head, mattress, baby wraps. When Summer was about 2 months old was when I discovered the world of organic, natural products, more hippie, healing, healthy foods, etc. and it has absolutely changed my life for the better. We love bone broth, raw dairy products, pasture raised organic meats, eggs, etc. Basically everything from the Weston A Price Foundation. I highly recommend looking into WAPF if you haven’t heard of it :) Luckily we found the store Terrenal here so I am able to get all of these foods that we love.

The other issue with moving down here full time was that I have 6 weddings May-Oct 2021 in San Diego. Also, the whole passport issue as mentioned in my first post. So there were some things to figure out BUT I wanted to say YES!! I wanted to experience a slower pace of living, seeing what God was trying to teach us, use this adventure as an opportunity for humility, character growth, being okay being dusty, dirty, etc. Not requiring the nicest products, not wearing as much make up or caring about our physical appearance (as much). There was so much to learn. SO--

I made an appointment at the American Consulate in Puerto Vallarta for a passport renewal. I ordered Summer’s birth certificate to be shipped to a local store in town so I can get her a passport. I found a fellow planner who could manage my weddings. I released the concept of needing my end mattress and knowing Matt would fly home and bring back all the baby clothes and my baby wraps. And lastly, we secured our long term rental! We had everything figured out. We were ready for a year in Sayulita.

Okay-- here’s the thing about our long term rental. We found an adorable little 6 Plex condo unit. Big open patio up top, big open patio out front, free laundry, close to town but in an authentic Mexican neighborhood called the Tamarindo, wifi, just everything we could want. The only downside was the 2 bedroom would not become available until Feb 1. So we would stay in one of their 1 bedroom units for the first 5 weeks. I was nervous but up for the challenge. My state of mind is: what is God teaching me? How can I grow my character? How can I take every opportunity and see it as a positive one. So we would be in a one bedroom, we would have to be very quiet during Summer’s naps and basically hide in the room if she sleeps in the kitchen/living room or hide in the kitchen/living room if she sleeps in our room. With her early bedtime, we would basically need to get in bed and stay in bed for 3 hours before we actually go to sleep. Would we be able to cook during her naps? Would she sleep well? What would we do with Rowley? Sometimes he wanders around in the middle of the night. Would we have enough storage space for all of our clothes? There were a lot of things that we didn't know but I looked forward to the making it work. If we can manage in a one bedroom with a tolled for 5 weeks, then we can handle ANYTHING! Then we can be grateful for ANYTHING! I was stoked. Is there a better, more humbling experience? I’m sure there is but this was a good one for us.

So we moved in. It’s maybe 200 sqft total. Tiny. Matt described it as a prison cell. I was overjoyed to be here. The location is epic. I never thought id be so happy to never go up that steep ramp and stairs again. First thing, we got Summer set up for her nap. The pantry is just a couple large shelves so we were able to squeeze her pac n play underneath and she kinda has her own little nook. We put one of our new Mexican blankets over the top of the shelf and over her pac n play for extra dark and sound proof. Her sound machine is right above her. Rowley sleeps and naps in his crate so he doesn’t wander around aimlessly in his dementia state.

The sun does not rise here until about 7:30am. This was awesome the first two weeks when Summer slept in until 7 or so. We thought we had mastered the 7pm-7am sleep schedule but as our bodies got used to the time area, she began waking up at 6 again so, oh well. 

Overall the one bedroom is fine because we have the large outdoor patio and we do adventures every morning and afternoon (pre nap, after nap lol). So the only real downside is our internet here is a little spotty so in the evenings when it would be nice to watch a movie since we are stuck in this room, we can’t. I will happily go to sleep at 8pm. Matt will usually read. So we are adjusting fine to the circumstances.

The big question of will we stay or go back home, though-- the answer is: We are coming home Feb 2. So we have one more month here. Our house got a one month rental on Airbnb that ends Fev 2 so we will fly home after and be back in our San Diego home!

The main reason is that we have some awesome opportunities in San Diego to grow our real estate business, grow Matt’s pool business, and buy our dream home in 5-10 years. Matt is getting a little bored down here and wanting to work, hustle, take advantage of the opportunities we have in the states. I am happy to go home mainly for the reasons mentioned at the beginning of this blog post: Birth Center, bed mattress, crib mattress, solly baby wraps, of course my Uppa Baby Stroller where we already bought the parts to convert into a double stroller! Ahhh so excited for all of that!! Plus I love my community of La Mesa moms! Sam, Abigail, Nina, Ali, Gabbi!!!! Love these ladies and their little kiddos! I just found out Jackie & Matt are moving to Santee in Feb so it will be so sweet to come home to all my favorite mamas! I love our church community at home and our mom group there. I love all my other girl friends and sweet family, sister in law in San Diego. My dad and step mom will come down for baby Sage’s birth. So much love, community, and favorite products awaiting us in San Diego.