My Family Finally Visits! William, Martha & Maria-Thelma Bussear II - Riverside, Ca.
After I was discharged from the Long Beach VA Medical Center on November 29, 2008, we took the motor home to an RV park near our son's house in Riverside, California. We wanted to leave California on December 5th so we would have plenty of time to arrive at Isla Aguada, Campeche by the 12th of December. Our son Bill, our daughter-in-law Martha and our granddaughter Maria-Thelma had reservations to fly to Freedom Shores on that date. Everything was still pretty much up in the air because I didn't know how long I could sit up and drive the motor home without my wound site breaking down again.
We left Riverside and I drove to near Indio, California where I exited the freeway and found a good parking spot. Thelma used the Horcher Patient Ceiling Lift to pick me up out of the driver's seat and put me back on the queen size bed in the bedroom. She examined the wound site and everything looked good. I slept for about an hour and a half and then, she put me back in the driver's seat and I drove all the way to Gila Bend, Arizona.
Thelma and I love Gila Bend because it always reminds us of my father David Edson Bussear. He was the one who told us about this shortcut around Phoenix, Arizona. We spent the night at the Shell gas station RV park.
The next morning we drove through Tucson and continued east through the beautiful state of New Mexico. That afternoon, just as the sun was setting, we pulled off on exit 1 on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas.
In the morning, we checked the wound site and everything looked good. That day, we drove all the way to San Antonio. We stopped at a Wal-Mart Super Center to spend the night and to buy groceries. The next day we left San Antonio and headed towards Laredo. About 20 miles from the city, there is a newly constructed freeway bypass through the desert to the Columbia Bridge River crossing. Mexican Customs was not very busy but it still took us about four hours for all of the paperwork.
It is about 120 miles from the border to Monterrey. This is a large, bustling industrial city that produces much of Mexico's steel and automobiles. We took the bypass and headed for Saltillo. I love this old dusty city in the middle of the desert because it was the first place that Bob Wheaton (paraplegic friend), Bill Walters (our friend/aide) and I stopped for the night when I first came to Mexico in 1962.
The next day we drove to Tepozotlan just north of Mexico City. In the morning we took the bypass around the city (not much of a bypass), drove through Puebla, descended the steep mountain grade to Cordova where we stopped for the night. We always buy coffee here because this region grows some of the best coffee in Mexico!
We got up early the next day and arrived at Freedom Shores about an hour before sundown. It was the 14th of December and my son and his family had already been there for two days!
As we crossed the long causeway between the islands, I looked to my right as soon as I could see our beach. I wondered if my darling granddaughter would be there. I could see that there were two figures on the beach and, as we got closer, we saw that it was Maria-Thelma and Jimena (grand- daughter of Graciela, the General Manager). I blew the air horns and both of the them started jumping up and down and waving at us! They then turned and ran towards the hotel. I knew that she would tell everyone that her grandparents had arrived! It was so good to be home!
My son Bill, who has been invaluable in the development of the resort, had never seen Freedom
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Shores since we purchased the property in 2004 except in pictures. It didn't take me long to see that he had really settled in. He, like his father, told me that he enjoyed pushing out to the beach and just sitting there watching all of the activity. He loved watching the pelicans diving for fish. He was amused by watching the seagulls trying to steal the fish that the pelicans had just caught. He was amazed and fascinated by the dolphins fishing just offshore. He said that he had begun waving at the fisherman in their boats as they passed by and that now they waved at him first. He just loved Freedom Shores. He said he wanted to move here full-time!
My daughter-in-law Martha and Maria-Thelma had already collected a big pile of seashells. Maria-Thelma was already wondering how she was going to take all the shells back to California. Her mother said that she was living in her swimming suit! She really felt pressured when her father told her that she had to pick out five seashells and leave the rest here. Later; when she caught me alone, she asked me, "Grandpa, my dad will only let me take five seashells on the airplane. When you come to California in your motor home, will you bring me the rest of my seashells?" Of course, I answered in the affirmative as I hugged her and kissed her reassuringly.
I took my family on a trip to the Mayan archaeological site of Edzna. They were amazed by the city's size and grandeur! Maria-Thelma could hardly wait to climb the highest pyramid. When she and her mother reached the bottom of the steps, Maria-Thelma ran and all the way to the top! It took her mother about 15 minutes and all the while, Maria-Thelma was at the top urging her on! It was so funny, but the pictures they took from up there are just amazing.
When I told Maria-Thelma that she was related to the people who built these pyramids, she immediately sat down beside me and asked how. I explained to her that her grandmother Thelma has Mayan ancestry and because of that, so does she! She asked her father and grandmother, "Did you know the people who built his place?" She still doesn't have the concept of "Time" totally mastered.
The drive back from Edzna was beautiful. For miles and miles the highway runs right along the beach and, as the sun was setting over the Gulf of Mexico, it was absolutely breathtaking!
We also took them on a deck boat ride on the Laguna de Terminos. Maria-Thelma really, I mean really, went crazy over the dolphins. That day they came so close to the boat, as if they sensed or were curious about the little girl. They even seemed to look at her. Of course, on Seashell Island the ladies got off to collect seashells. We had to threaten to leave them before they would get back on the boat. Maria-Thelma was very excited about the new additions to her collection.
About 30 minutes before sundown, they headed for Bird Island. This is a collection of little islands where mangroves have begun to grow. It is a wonderful haven for the birds, because they know that they can spend the night in the trees and that they will be safe from predators.
All of the migratory birds on the eastern seaboard from the Arctic, Canada and the United States come to this area to spend the winter. Bird Island offers people who love birds a chance to observe them up close.
The two hour trip to the UNESCO World Heritage colonial city of Campeche was another wonderful opportunity to be with my family. We visited the bazaar (state-wide indigenous artisans), the zócalo (downtown center), the cathedral (inaccessible to wheelchairs) and "Casa Número Seis" (mansion dating from 1701 A.D.).
The interesting thing about the cathedral is that the building site itself sits up about 6 feet above the sidewalk. There is a wonderfully constructed ramp which leads to the building level. My son (A Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus) and I were very excited about
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being able to visit the inside the cathedral. When we got to the front door however, there was a large stone threshold which prohibited us from entering. We wondered why they would go to such expense building a ramp up to the site and leave the building itself inaccessible.
We wheeled to the rectory on one side of the cathedral and knocked on the large wooden door. A person who described himself as the janitor answered the door. He said that they knew we were there but no one, including the priests, inside the church were willing to come outside and talk to us!
Later, we witnessed the reason for the ramp as some pallbearers wheeled a casket from the altar to the door, lifted it over the beam, and took it down the ramp to a hearse. It was accessible to the able-bodied and the dead!
I was upset. I wheeled up to the stone threshold and yelled inside, “I’m going to hell and it’s your fault because I can’t come inside to confess my sins!” I yelled this several times, thinking that we might get someone to come outside and talk to us about the inaccessibility issue. We waited for about 10 minutes, and then we left.
The city of Campeche is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited! The first Europeans sailing from Cuba landed there, looking for drinking water, on March 22, 1517 where they encountered the ferocity of the "Kin Pech" Maya. For many years the Spaniards encountered fierce resistance in the Yucatán and they also had to contend with the pirates who were sent to this area by the jealous royalty in England, France and Holland. That is the reason Campeche is Mexico's only walled city! Twice; the pirates pillaged the city, plundered it, killed nearly half of the inhabitants and carried away many others into slavery. It is a very interesting city to visit and my family enjoyed it very much.
Before we knew it, it was time for them to fly back to California. I did not want them to leave. I wanted to spend more time with Bill, Martha and the joy of my life Maria-Thelma! I know that I would not see them again until they come back here in June or July. I did not want to take them to the airport.