Busted!

It's always fun to start a new year with an adventure.

Annette and I headed down to Nogales for a celebratory New Year's cocktail and lunch - actually a few cocktails (surprise!) - nothing like a shot of really good tequila to start the day! We started at the Saint Regis Hotel bar, which is a grand old place - looks like it belongs in the old cowboy movies - heavy wood, lots of big mirrors, but I didn't see any bullet holes! Beautiful place for folks like me who love the majestic old bars. I'm going to have to share that one with a couple friends who search out similar places!

Anyway, from there we went to Elvira's restaurant, which I have somehow missed out on in my 15 or so years I've been visiting Nogales. Neat, neat place with good food, and a complimentary shot of tequila and lime (oh dear, not another drink?!) before lunch even arrived! They have several varieties of moles (that's mo-lay for those who aren't familiar with that word, not furry critters, a wonderful Mexican sauce, usually for chicken). Annette had a hazelnut flavored sauce and mine was with pinenuts - YUMMY!

By then we figured we'd had enough (never enough!) tequila for the long drive home, so we headed back to the border. We must have looked particularly suspicious, because they set the dogs on us and we were frisked for drugs!

Giggle! Actually it wasn't quite that bad! After we passed thru the checkpoint without incident, one of the Border Patrol agents stopped us and asked how our day was and if we had a little time to spare. "Lovely day, and I guess we have a little time. What for?" Turns out he wanted to "work" his dog. "Would we mind putting packets of drugs on your person?" and see if doggie can find them? We thought that might be fun, so of course said yes. Fools that we are!

Annette was wearing shoes and socks, so he suggested putting a packet of suspicious looking white powder in her sock. I, of course, was wearing open shoes, had no pockets or anyplace else to tuck a bag of the white powder, so I tucked it into my bra. The guy blushed, for heaven's sake!

He collected his dog, a handsome yellow lab, and took him out into the crowd waiting to enter the U.S.

We were left standing all by ourselves against a wall, looking every bit like felons waiting to be picked up by the cops. Another of the BP agents even said we should go, that our guy was finished with us. We told him we were working for him, and he got on the radio to check, obviously not believing us. The looks from those folks passing thru the checkpoint with their hidden prescriptions and bottles of booze were priceless. I'm sure they thought our grinning and laughing were just a front, covering our terror!

Then he sent Annette out to join the crowd, and later sent me out also. I personally don't think the doggie found the stash, because he didn't do anything obvious, like bark or point or whine, or any of those things we see them do on TV. He did walk in a circle around me, but didn't jump up and put him face down my blouse, so I don't know. But the BP fellow did reward the dog and thank us, so I guess it was a successful test.

Of course after all that excitement, we needed another cocktail, so headed to Tubac Jack's or whatever they are calling themselves these days for a nice coffee drink, to sober up!

Grand day!