93.2: Frequently Asked Questions: July 2008

1. You drove? To Cancun? What were you thinking?
   I had 3 goals.
   • See the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza.
   • SCUBA dive.
   • Give Hannah a chance to use her high school Spanish.
2. How far did you drive? How many hours? What vehicle?
   • 4100 miles. About 90 hours including the gas stops.
   • Toyota Tacoma, '96 pick-up truck with (now) 240,000 miles, i.e. the distance to the moon.
3. What did gas cost?
   • $2.36 / gal
4. Did you have reservations?
   • None. Actually we did make one reservation for a hotel. They gave us a ridiculous price at the desk. So we left, sat in the truck, dialed their 800 reservations number, used AAA card, got the same room for half, for that same night.
5. What did you do to prepare?
   • Got a "long form" Birth Certificate from California plus a new picture ID from Ohio DMV for Hannah
   • Passport renewal for Don
   • Tie rod end and Mexican insurance for the truck
   • Studied Spanish language roadside signs
   • Borrowed a map book
6. How was the border?
   • Two hours getting into Mexico. There was a hang-up with the truck registration. Swore to bring it back, not sell it in Mexico.
     
   • Two hours getting back into US. Mostly it was just queue time but they looked long and hard at our seashell collection.