Living across the street from my grandmother is Chilo. He’s the dog that might be a person. Technically he guards the car repair shop, but really he likes to screw around with the people who walk by. When you least expect it, he jumps against the solid part of the door. This is no dumb dog, not everyone gets the royal treatment; only those he thinks deserve a good scare. We greeted him when we walked out the door so we got a welcome head pop.  My friend Amy is probably rolling her eyes at this post.  She doesn’t get how dogs are awesome and always deserve to be called out. Not to mention, these are the things I most remember from my travels. Sure I hit the big sites in any new city I visit, but at least for me, those are the memories that fade the fastest. They’re not as special or unique as the situations that only you get to experience.

A big part of the decision to come  to El Salvador for Easter was to have the opportunity to spend more time with my grandmother and gain a better understanding of San Vicente life.  My mom’s family has called San Vicente home for over a hundred years.  Just tell someone you’re a Carranza and you’ll generally be welcomed into someone’s home.  A town full of traditions and at least 5 Catholic churches, San Vicente is also a great place to see what goes on during Holy Week.

The San Vicente of my childhood was one where I always recall being extremely hot and bored.  This time around despite the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning, I was anything except bored.

Holy Thursday kicks off the celebrations with the unveiling of the Easter altars, but is also a mad rush to buy whatever you need before everything shuts down until after Easter.  My aunt took us to a store down the street that a cousin owns to buy dry goods for Friday and Saturday.  I love stores like Lilian’s; they truly represent the social scene of any town like San Vicente.  I’m also always mesmerized by watching who comes in and what they buy.  A great store like this never slows down so you can always observe actual social behavior in action.   It’s also the place to discover new and unusual food items.  Allow me to introduce you to manteca nieve which is used for frying all sorts of food:

I have never seen that large a block of lard before.   It’s called manteca nieve because despite the extreme heat, it doesn’t melt or lose its shape unless heated up a high temperature.  My cousin sells it by the pound and cuts it up with the large spoon you see stuck in the block.

I pretty much don’t want to know when it was used on any of the foods I ate while we were there.  That would completely ruin the experience.  I did however like touching it to see what it felt like.  Just like old times, my mother reminded me to stop touching everything.   Of course, I stuck in a few pokes at the manteca.  How could I not?  And no, it’s not like butter.

Laundry…lots of laundry. I’m leaving again tomorrow morning for New York so there isn’t a lot of time to be futzing around. The other night, reveling in my skiing prowess was cut short by the list ticking in my head. LLBean, the bank, REI, research, CCA, cables, DVT prevention etc, etc. All things that need to be done before departing for a month. I actually wrote everything down which eased the anxiety, but not the urgency.

So today is about errands and chores. Of course it all starts with making sure I have clean underthings. A few answers to questions from my first trip:

1) CCA is full-time but only once a month in SF. No moving, I’ll just spend a long weekend there and hope I can crash on couches. I’m also going to work full-time. That’s the beauty of the program.
2) Got the honey dip donut at Tim Horton’s with a cup of coffee. Coffee, good; donut, eh.
3) I wrote the mitten maker to see if I can get a new partner for my solo mitt. Curious as to the response.
4) I see no reason why I would even entertain the idea of basejumping.
5) No sign of those cute Canada Olympics mittens to buy anywhere, although I did see them on an ice dancer staying at the hotel. I didn’t rip them off her hands.

Tomorrow is the train up to NYC for theater weekend. I’m also going to get to see Kate and her baby Lila for a nice lunch. The last time I was in NYC, it poured all weekend. Here’s hoping for better weather.

Now to figure out what to do with the $20 CAD that I couldn’t figure out how to waste.

Day 1: Washington DC to Lake Louise, Canada (via Chicago)

I admit it. I could not have found Lake Louise on a map before yesterday. Sure, I can name some of the Canadian provinces and certainly cities, but geographic location not so much. Who knew Calgary and Lake Louise were so far west? The length of the flights makes much more sense now.

Just imagine me in a White Mustang (her name is Sally) cruising the Trans Canada Highway.  We had a really nice ride into the Canadian Rockies at 120km an hour.  After a stop at Future Shop for a memory card and BLT at Tim Hortons, I finally pulled into the Chateau Lake Louise.  It really could be the hotel from Dirty Dancing.  Or maybe the Shining.  The only downside:  no suitcase.  Somehow it didn’t make it from Chicago.  Yes, I spent most of the evening obsessing about when it was coming, whether I would get to ski while I’m here, and  what exactly United was doing to get the suitcase to me.  A conversation with their customer service didn’t help.  You know what?  It doesn’t matter.  I’m here!

I have wanted to visit the Chateau ever since I saw it in a travel magazine 6 or 7 years ago.  For a terrible beginner skiier looking for affordable luxury apparently this is the place to be.  My friend Kat and I even became friends over our common desire to lodge at the Chateau.  My expectations have been met.  The hotel is beautiful and my view is amazing.  This Texas girl has never seen a lake frozen over.  Today, I’m going to go walk on it as snow falls silently.  And thanks to my constant, I get to enjoy afternoon tea staring at my mountain.  Yes, I have claimed it for myself.