I don't blame you at all.
[QUOTE=MemoeNasty;2699313]Tijuana sucked and I'm never going back! Went down thxgiving night rainy, cold shoulda never went. Drank all night with snorting up a couple bags of substance. Got to room above tropical bar but didn't sleep or stay in it. I did let a girl who works at las chavelas crash for a few hours between 5-7 am. This girl looked beat and was sleeping in one of the booths. I offered her my room so the room did get slept in. I showered at 11:30 am and was at the border at 12:38. I never crossed until 4 pm. It was the worst I've seen it in some years. Not only that, it's Black Friday so it took from 4:45 to 6:15 just to get through San ysidro. You read that correctly. Whoever came up with that idea of putting an outlet mall right there at the border should be shot and strung up on that arch in downtown Tijuana. It did not rain while I was in line all that time so it could of been worse. It really was an agonizing and stressfull return trip though. The Zona is very slow these days. SG's are complaining, bar girls are complaining and even the bums are bitching about it being very difficult to make a buck in the zona. Moe.[/QUOTE]As I was standing in the non-moving line, I told myself I would not return to Tijuana again, too much hassle now. As it turned out, I didn't wait long, only because I had the Global Entry card. There is no possible way I would ever return if I didn't have the GE card.
Back before 9-11, I used to take a long lunch break from work, pop over the border and fuck a SW, then pop back over. It used to take me 60-90 minutes to do this, and no hassle whatsoever. The only lines back then were early in the morning when Mexicans would be streaming across the border for jobs in the US, and late in the evening, especially on weekends. Seemed like the guards always liked to fuck with people that were toasted coming back late at night. There were never any lines at all at lunchtime. Most the time, they would just ask "Citizenship"? And then you reply "US". They would just wave their finger to let you through. Rarely, they would say "bringing anything back"? (I usually would reply "just a smile".) Also, they almost never asked for I'd.
It was truly a nightmare right after 9-11. I stopped going to Tijuana, until things died down. What is happening now isn't going to "die down", I am afraid, it is the new normal. Doesn't matter that much to me as I don't live in SD anymore, although I come back to visit family and friends from time to time.
Global Entry versus Sentri
[QUOTE=MemoeNasty;2700207]I remember those days myself. 9-11 started all this shit and I was wondering if Black Fridays long line was the result of a holiday or maybe because of what happened in Paris a few weeks back. Back in the old days there were a lot of people in the city and the zona and no line at the border. Now it's the opposite. I've cut down going down there in the last year or so. I have the ready lane card and it's still a horrible wait during the day. Somebody told me it's a one time fee of a 100 dls for sentry pass. I'm thinking I might have to look into it. Moe.[/QUOTE]We cover this from time to time, but right now, Global Entry at 100 bucks for five years is actually cheaper than Sentri at $122.50 and does the same thing as far as coming back from Mexico is converned. Actually, if you are not a USA, but are a citizen of a few select other countries, it does more.
Click here for details of the various programs and their benefits:
[URL]http://qz.com/478039/the-complete-guide-to-getting-global-entry-and-tsa-precheck/[/URL]
It is just my opinion but it is worth it just for the airport Pre Check benefit. Not having to stand in line when coming back from TJ is the gift that keeps on giving.
C3.