FINALLY...Tijuana

After living about 20 miles away for more than a year, I finally ventured into Baja yesterday with Tracy and my friend Lauren. We drove down to the border, parked our cars in a lot on the American side, and walked across a bridge into lovely Tijuana. I had heard many stories about this fabled place, but thankfully none of the scary ones came true. I had a great time for the few hours that I was there, and hope to return sometime soon.

The part of Tijuana we saw was much safer and cleaner than I was expecting. There were vendors everywhere, with $0.99 beers, cheap glassware and plates, sunglasses, drugstores, and t-shirts galore. It was a shopping Mecca. Each store had a guy standing outside trying to reel in shoppers by trying to convince them they needed the stuff inside. I got quite few comments on how I was a "lucky guy" for walking around with two women, and I stayed away from my infamous "No way, Jose" line while negotiating for items. I ended up with a pair of cheap sunglasses, Tracy got a new margarita pitcher, and Lauren was bold enough to buy some prescription drugs. Toward the end, we stopped for some horrible (but authentic Mexican!) margaritas at the of the sidewalk cafes, before return on foot back to U.S. soil.

Everyone was friendly, prices were cheap, and it really did feel like entering a foreign country. It brought back memories to all my other Latin American travels. What a day!

Bird Update

After seeing the culprit, I have concluded that the annoying bird that keeps me up at night is indeed a mockingbird. Fortunately, there seems to be a self-help book out there on how to get rid of these public nuisances -- To Kill a Mockingbird. I've begun reading it and am about halfway through, but so far, I haven't gotten any helpful advice. I wonder if they save it for the end? :-)

Bachelor Party in Vegas!

This past weekend, ten of my friends and my two brothers joined me in Las Vegas for a seriously wild and crazy bachelor party. A fun time was had by all, although I'm not supposed to disclose any details. Much thanks to Devin for organizing it all!