Back from Tucson...
Category Everything Else
My whirlwind trip to Tucson Arizona is now over. Some Random Musings...
My whirlwind trip to Tucson Arizona is now over. Some Random Musings...
- I don't think I could live down there. No grass, very little green (at least this time of year), and everything looks dirty (of course... it's a desert!). I'm not big into Mexican or Southwest culture, so it's not a big draw for me. Having said that, I had a really good visit with my parents...
- We crossed the border into Nogales, Mexico on Friday. What a culture shift. Getting into Mexico is a no-brainer. Just go through the turnstyle, and you're there. Coming back, there is a US Customs checkpoint that you show ID at, but it's still pretty low-key. I have a tougher time getting into and out of Canada...
- Nogales reminded me a lot of the port cities in the Carribbean that you hit on cruises. Very geared towards tourism, and everyone wants you to come into their store and buy their stuff. The Mexican version of vendors are much more agressive, and you have quite a gauntlet to run as you're walking in front of the storefronts and booths.
- When they say "drugstore" in Mexico, they mean "drugstore". Every block contained one or two "pharmacies" where you could buy just about any drug you wanted over the counter. Amoxicillan, Prozac, Vigara, you name it. Kids in their early twenties are working the counters adorned in white smocks to make them look "medical". I wouldn't trust the quality of the drugs myself, but you can see why people would make border runs to get their prescriptions "filled".
- Vendors have their own Mexican version of "Engrish". One vendor was was advertising Cuban cigars with "No Bull Shit". That's good. And a pharmacy was touting that they were "sheaper than McDonalds". How many McVicodan would you like today? And would you like fries with that?
- And finally, I have to give props to United. I had a Priceline ticket that took me from Portland to San Francisco to Los Angeles to Tucson. Not very nice, and the arrival time in Tuscon was like 12:30 in the morning. When I checked in, the ticket agent, without prompting, booked me standby direct to LA, and then I was able to get on the earlier Tucson flight and get there around 9 pm. On the way back, the agent once again booked me early to LA, and gave me what I needed to catch a standby direct to Portland from there. And that one worked out too. So instead of getting back to Portland at 11:30 pm, I made it home by 8:30 with no intermediate stop in SF. Very nice.
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