2/11/10--Pedros South of the Border

Well, this is it. I'm done. In any great endevour there is an ending, and I have reached mine. With Steinbeck, he got to Mississippi and Louisiana and ran out of steam as he got into a funk about how low man can go (he experienced the early days of the civil rights movement and the integrating of a school). His book just ran out of steam and we never heard anything about the last few miles of his trip.

For me, the end came at Pedros South of the Border. I first visited 30 years ago and couldn't wait to go back. To me, it was Everyman's Disney World, like Wally World was to Chevy Chase, the dream was apparently more than the reality. 37 miles out the signs began. (See above) As I get closer my pulse starts to race. Then I get there. There are carnie rides, stores galore, half a dozen restaurants. A fireworks store. Every thing you could want. Like Disney World, you never have to leave the grounds.

There's only one thing wrong. The place is utterly deserted. Nobody is there. I walk into a tourist nicknack store the size of a super Walmart, and I am the only customer. It is now that I realize how bad things are in this country. If Pedros is this bad off, what about the rest of the Country?

So this is goodbye................