July marked the third anniversary of Larry's Stem Cell Transplant at MD Anderson Cancer Center. We spent the last week of July in Houston where Larry had 17 appointments including blood work, CT Scans, EKG, and routine appointments. The end result is Larry remains cancer free. MD Anderson is a massive complex with over 30 buildings, 11 million square feet, 570 hospital beds, 27,000 employees which makes it the largest free standing cancer center in the world. Here Larry is standing by the Tree of Life that symbolizes nature, comfort, and healing to those served.

This Fourth of July, we celebrated the 250 year of independence of the USA by attending a one-man play of Thomas Payne. He is noted as one of the Founding Fathers that helped make freedom a reality.	Open Circle, our Sunday morning lecture series, featured Benjamin Franklin, another Founding Father who helped draft the constitution and secured help from the French that led to victory over Britain.
Home improvement projects took up our summertime. Here is an empty staircase that leads to a roof-top patio.	We converted that empty space into a bodega, where we store bikes, golf clubs, paint and garden supplies. Friends say it looks like it has been there forever.
We left Ajijic the middle of July and took an 11 day road trip to Houston. Our first stop was two days in San Luis Potosi where we toured the highlights of the city seeing churches, museums, plazas and city parks.	While San Luis Potosi has over 160 churches, the main church is St. Louis the King Cathedral. Both the interior and exterior are exquisite beyond belief, but then so are most of the church's built in the 1600s.
San Luis Potosi was designed with lots of open space throughout the city. These pedestrian walkways are lined with statues, gardens, benches, and shaded pathways.	The San Luis Potosi prison was first built in the 1880s and remained so until 1999, when it was transformed into a massive Regional Art Center, featuring music, painting, library, and other art mediums.
The art center houses the Loretta Carrington Art Collection. She lived in Germany during World War II, persecuted as a Jew, and was smuggled into Mexico where she became a highly recognized artist.	One of the six main prison buildings was converted into a music school, where residents learn to play various instruments and hold their performances in this main concert hall.
Along one of our walks we took along a pedestrian street, we ran into this quaint three story homes with round turrets from the main floor to the third floor. Surrounding the building is a shopping plaza. Cool!	One of Mexico's National Mask Museums is located in the city center of San Luis Potosi. It houses 1,300 masks and custom dresses from throughout Mexico and some international cultures.
The museum is dedicated to preserving the heritage of Mexican rituals and dance masks from pre-Hispanic times to present day. It is the second largest Mask Museum in Mexico.	Our next stop was four days in Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila. The day we arrived there were three Quinceaneras' going on. Each included extended Hummer limos driving them around.
The World Cup Final was going on while we were in Saltillo. Futbol (soccer) has the largest following of any professional sports in Mexico. Argentina vs. Spain, how could a Latino be any happier?	We were rooting for Argentina (as we once toured the La Boca Stadium in Buenos Aries). We quickly learned that Spain was the team of choice among this crowded dinner/bar in Saltillo. Spain won 1-0.
All the hotels we stayed at on this trip were located in the center of these major cities, all being over a million people. That way we could park the car and walk to all the points of interest.	In conjunction with the World Cup, Saltillo had a month-long party with a large screen showing the games along with cultural events including these Folklorico dancers. Very Colorful!
On the southern edge of the same park is a lake with canoes to rent. They were closing by the time the Folklorico dancers were finished. But it was also cool to walk around the lake.	Saltillo features a tower with a mirador with a  360 degree overlook of the city.  It had 124 steps we climbed. We made one stop along the way up, then to the top. No stops on the way down!!
The city is in a large valley with mountains on all sides. This picture is of the city center, with the cathedral, government palaces, plazas and the hotel we stayed at. It was a very clear day.	East of Saltillo is a Magic City called Arteaga, known as the Switzerland of Mexico. With it being July, we missed the apple orchards and winter snow, but the walk along the pine forest was awesome.
Saltillo is called the Detroit of Mexico with its large  manufacturing plants for GM, Chrysler, and dozens of tier one and two auto parts suppliers. Their manufacturing includes aerospace and electronics.	Saltillo has the largest museum in the world dedicated to exhibiting the entire national bird collection of a single country. It houses over 3,000 taxidermies specimens which are 73% of all birds found in Mexico.
This museum has an awesome displays of native and migratory birds from all of the eco-systems of Mexico, including deserts and mangroves to rainforests. It is now located in a 19-century Jesuit college.	Saltillo has a Desert Museum which does more  than featuring desert landscapes. It is home to Mexico's primary region for giant dinosaurs, along with mammoths, saber-toothed cats and short-faced bears.
Another side to Saltillo's history, is its rich tradition in textiles that date back to the 1600s. It is the birthplace of the Saltillo Sarape, a garment used as a cloak and recognized as a symbol of Mexican identity.	On to Monterrey, Mexico's third largest city--5 million.  It too, has many museums including the Mexican History Museum which features the Ivory Room, filled with religious figures carved of ivory.
This ornate religious altar represents the peak of colonial religious craftsmanship. It was hand-carved from cedar wood then finished in glowing burnished gold leaf, with St Joseph holding the baby Jesus.	The museum traces the nation's journey from pre-Hispanic civilization depicted by this intimate carved wooden statue of Christopher Columbus as the symbolic starting point of transatlantic history.
One day we took a cruise on the Santa Lucia River walk, a 2-1/2 kilometer man-made river running from downtown Monterrey to Fundidora Park. A dozen boats move people along this pristine river every day.	The river ends at the entrance into Fundidora Park, one of the largest urban parks in Mexico. The park now occupies what was once a steel mill, now a 360 acre park with museums, recreation, and sports.
The park begins with this massive steel bucket symbolizing the history of iron and steel production which now pours water into the river. The day was a bit warm, but pleasant for a day at the park.	Monterrey was at the forefront of heavy industrial manufacturing beginning in the early 1900s. Its steel was used to produce railroad rail, beams and other major infrastructure projects. It went bankrupt in 1987.
The foundry is now a museum dedicated to the history of making Monterey a lasting booming industrial economy. This early 1950 Chevy pick-up truck was an exhibit of what this steel foundry produced.	The last picture we took of our weeklong road trip was of these statues that lined one of the major pedestrian walkways through Monterrey. In the far right hand side is one of the main cathedral of Monterrey.