I haven’t written anything over the weekend, because I have been traveling again. On Friday night, Ripper and I went down to meet Elle’s band in Tijuana. It happened to be Elle’s birthday, and we thought it would be a lot of fun to spend the evening with her and the boys in the last place I thought I’d ever be.
We flew to San Diego, cabbed to the border, walked over the border, and then caught another cab to the club where the band was playing. The club was something. It apparently used to be a very large cinema, but there was a fire that gutted the place, and the roof was destroyed. They cleaned it up, put up a stage, and voila, an outdoor music venue. We kept saying how this would never happen in the states, because of all the insurance and permit issues.
The opening band was this local ska-punk band. I never did catch their name. It was pretty cool. By the time the band went on, I was feeling pretty damn good. The band played a rocking set, and we were all pumped. When the gig was over, we set out to paint the town and eat some tacos.
We stayed out until the sun was almost coming up. I feel confident that I have seen and done what there is to see and do in Tiajuana at five in the morning. As you may expect, it’s not pretty. It’s also not quite as bad as all that either. It’s almost comedic. I’m not going to go into the specifics, because I don’t see the point. It wasn’t scintillating nor was it scandalous. It was just Tijuana.
The next day, we hoofed it back to the border, and along the way, some some of the other sites of the city. Including a lot of junk for sale on carts, some art, some roving musicians, etc.
Over all, I’d say it was a great experience in that it was an experience. Something I had never seen before, something I couldn’t have seen elsewhere, and something I never thought I would see. I’m glad I’ve gotten to this point in my life, where I have the opportunities to be spontaneous, and to do these unexpected things.
I didn’t tell my family that I was going, but I called Momser afterwards and told her I’d been. She thanked me for not telling her so that she wasn’t worried.
I went, I saw, and I didn’t get mugged or arrested.
Also, I accidentally had a bit of the tap water and nothing bad happened to me.
No pictures with this one, ’cause those are just for me and my friends.
Peggy Lu Who's Just Sayin' 
I visited Tiajuana with my younger brother and a friend in the late 60’s. It was one of those long weekends you’ll never forget, but don’t want to think about too often. It was a wild west kind of place at that time. Glad I went. Glad there are no pictures.
Sometimes it’s just best to hold those images in your mind, right? I was thinking about this yesterday, and I wonder when it was that Tiajuana became what it is today. Was it ever anything but a den of iniquity?
Tiajuana was and Tiajuana is. Probably hasn’t changed much in forty years.
Interesting. Very interesting.