Mexico!

Tuesday morning, February 13, we headed to the airport in Milwaukee.  My brother and sister-in-law, Steve & Rebecca, drove, and our three kids still at home, Heidi, Ben, and Rose, came along as well.  Blessing #1 was having Steve & Becca see us off and then making a day of it with our kids by doing some shopping and taking them out to lunch.  It was a quick, tearful good bye at the curb, and then suddenly my Love and I were in Mitchell International checking our bags and our flight status.  We were excited, yet it was kind of surreal to finally be on our way after about six weeks of preparation.

We flew to St. Louis first, where we caught a connecting flight to San Diego.  Blessing #2 was the first God-thing on this trip.  While I was using the restroom near our gate, I spotted my kids' piano teacher, Sue Zuberbier.  No way!  She didn't hear me call her name, and she was ahead of me in the line, so I thought I missed my chance to catch her.  But God.  When I came out of the bathroom stall, who was right in front of me washing her hands?  Yes, it was Sue, and she was just as surprised to see me!  It turned out that Sue and her husband, Ted, were catching a flight back to Milwaukee after having been visiting some grandchildren.  When Sue and I exited the restroom, we found Ted very near the gate where Bob was waiting for me, and we enjoyed just a few joyful minutes together.  Of course we took a selfie, and Bob prayed before we parted ways.  What a cool start to our journey!

Shortly after that, we boarded our plane and arrived in San Diego about four hours later.  Both flights went smoothly with no problems, and I had no issues with leg pain on the journey, either.  An airport shuttle took us to our hotel, and we were soon settled in.  It was so nice to feel the balmy air and see lots of palm trees.  

< We enjoyed flying over the mountains in California.


> The welcoming outdoor terrace at our hotel.

The front desk staff recommended we visit Old Town in San Diego for dinner, so we did.  A driver from the hotel dropped us off at Old Town, and we found a great open-air restaurant named Café Coyote, where we enjoyed a fantastic authentic Mexican meal on the patio.  It was a fun and relaxing way to spend the evening after the long day traveling.  After dinner, we walked through a large shop nearby, then called the hotel for a driver to pick us up.

We headed to bed soon after returning to the hotel, since we knew a driver from Hope 4 Cancer would be arriving bright and early the next morning to take us across the border to Tijuana where the clinic is located.  The hotel bed was very comfortable, and we both had a restful night before the next step in this adventure.

Our driver, Uriel, picked us up promptly at 7:00 a.m. the next morning, Valentine's Day, and we headed south to the Hope 4 Cancer clinic.  Uriel was friendly and knowledgeable, so we weren't lacking for conversation during the drive.  We had a brief stop at the Mexican border offices in order to obtain temporary visitor visas, then before we knew it, we were across into Mexico.  Apparently it's quite easy to go into Mexico, but not so easy to cross back into the U.S. from Mexico.  It was fascinating to see the border fences between the U.S. and Mexico.  Mexico has its own fence made of several different materials for different stretches, and all of it is old and rundown, and much of it covered with graffiti or murals.  Some stretches are old brick wall about ten feet high...with trees planted all along it, allowing people to easily climb a tree to the top and jump over.  Some of it is rusty corrugated metal, and the stretch beginning in the ocean is very high metal louvres--with open space between the metal slats, but not enough space for a human to squeeze through.  The U.S. also has its own fence, and although it is not nearly as colorful as Mexico's, it is well maintained and uniform--a high chain link fence with plenty of barbed wire looped along the top.  The space between the two fences is like no-man's-land, and U.S. border patrol SUVs can be seen regularly.  The Hope 4 Cancer clinic is right across the street from the ocean, and the border wall is only about a quarter mile away.

       

The clinic is a pretty nondescript brick and stucco building along the street, and the only signage is on the glass of the main entrance door.  The clinic started in one building, but as time went on, Dr. Tony expanded by purchasing neighboring buildings and connecting them.  This resulted in the clinic being somewhat of a maze on the inside, and it took me several days to figure out to learn the layout.  Patient rooms are mixed in with all the different treatment rooms on both floors; there is a nurse's station on each floor; the dining room and terrace are on the second floor, and there are three different ways to get to the dining room!

               

Dr. Tony during a Q&A session.