On my way as well. Probably ~ 6:45PM? Traffic is no bueno.
Nixta was fantastic. Everything was delicious and well executed. Highly recommend checking it out. The duck carnitas taco and summer melon salad were favorites. And their tortillas are beyond legit.
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I’m so sorry I missed your trip.
What wine did you pair with their food?
If I leave right now I should get there by midnight. Will Y’all still be there?
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Indeed, by midnight-thirty?
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A roaringly good time was had by all, but we didn’t make it until midnight, sadly.
Great to see everyone, we shouldn’t wait so long between meet ups!
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Thanks for organizing! It was great to see you snd Jim again, and meet other folks in person. And next time I fly to Grand Rapids, I know what pilot to ask for.
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I though our drink-up was slightly above average 
Seriously, so incredibly great spending time with @austro, @JimR , his lovely wife, @MarkR ,my unloved younger sibling @MikeS , and our Mom.
Sunny-gal also enjoyed things.
Prost!, y’all.
Let’s go Astros.
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Epic beard, Mr. Raup!
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No worries, bud. Trip was a bit more compressed than I would’ve liked, but hoping to be back in the Spring and have more time out here. Touch wood, we can plan something proper when the occasion arises.
Poured out 2023 Semillon and 2022 Old Vine Carignane at Nixta. Really fantastic food, one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile.
And @austro @MarkR @JimR and @JohnS - that was a hell of a good evening. So glad we got to hang out and tell stories that were somewhat grounded in reality. Definitely felt a bit dusty this morning at my first tasting appointment.
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Great time at Turnstile seeing the Marks and meeting the Shieffers’ mom. She hung in there well. John and Mike seemed to get along. Brenda drove us home, thank goodness.
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Holy shit! I hope @NeilT never gets this close to a grizzly when he’s fishing up north.
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So much to take in here. Make sure to read every t-shirt, every sign and watch the background action.
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Reminds me of the time the boys at Top Gear went caravaning.
Birds aren’t real.
Not really travel, but relocation…
If only we had someone who could confirm this…
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Uruguay and Panama are the top 2 on my “bail the f-out but stay in the Western Hemisphere” locations.
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If only we knew someone who could give us the inside scoop of living in Panama…
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Info:
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Under normal circumstances I would still be living, happily, in Latin America. I am still very very pro Panama and would recommend it with some hesitation as a relocation destination. The hesitation depends on the person to whom I’m recommending it; it’s not based on the place itself.
If we were to return to Latin America I’m pretty sure we would live in Bogota. I like Bogota a lot and it would work great for us as a family, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to an uninitiated person looking for a tranquil retirement venue. Or even a bail the fuck out venue. Other parts of Colombia do fit that bill very nicely, though. Everybody (but me) likes Medellin, and there are lots of smaller cities if that’s more your thing, and maybe it should be your thing because many of them are very pleasant places, mountain towns, beach towns, etc. Colombia remains, despite the current administrations best efforts to destroy the dollar, unreasonably inexpensive.
And Lefty is definitely on to something with Uruguay. Uruguay is an amazing country and I could certainly live there happily. I greatly prefer Montevideo to Buenos Aires, which is noteworthy because for me when it comes to cities it’s usually the bigger the better. CDMX is my favorite Latin American city, but I’m pretty sure Montevideo is my favorite South American city, although Santiago has a lot going for it, too.
If anyone is seriously considering or even not so seriously considering Panama I would be happy to provide input.
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