A Foodie Tour of Tijuana...

Despite nearly 30 years of socializing with Hashers, I am still continually blown away by their kindness and generosity. Case in point: Grassy, who is the GM of Tijuana H3 and someone we barely know, gave Veronica, Brett and Siena an insider’s tour of the city—the same city where Jimmy and I hosted a party for 35 guests the night before our wedding, but we’d now be too afraid to visit on our own due to increased crime. Grassy picked them up in his car after they took the tram down from Chula Vista and drove them into Mexico. Due to COVID restrictions, they technically weren’t supposed to enter the country and had a lame story prepared about going to a dentist just in case they were questioned. Their first stop was the beach to see the border wall itself, which Jimmy and I have never seen.

They were impressed with the many murals along the Mexican side of the wall in Friendship Park; apparently the other side is much more barren.

He took them to a very local taco place where they were the only gringos. Veronica said it was fun watching the tacos being cooked in the open kitchen. They were very fresh, tasty and only $1 each.

The next stop was a food hall, just like in London or Amsterdam with more touristy prices. 

The main shopping area looks much more festive than I recall. The market was already closed by the time they got there.

They also enjoyed watching churros being made by a street vendor, one that Grassy said was the best.

Then he walked them past the strip clubs, which they declined entering. In TJ the sex workers walked the streets looking for clients, which was interesting for Veronica to compare to the Netherlands. Once their tour was done, they hopped back into Grassy’s car. He had a fast pass for easy entry back into the US, but it didn’t cover passengers. So he dropped them off near the border to walk across and then picked them up on the other side and drove them back to their car. They had a great day! We hope to be able to play tour guide for Grassy someday and are extremely thankful that he didn’t sell the kids to sex traffickers.