Last Friday, December 28th, we took my nephew from back east down to Mexico for the day. Some observations:

Tecate
Crossing here is as easy as ever. With the exception of population and maquiladora growth, the character of the town hasn't changed much since I first visited in 1977, relative to the other border cities. We visited the Tecate (Cuauhtemoc) Brewery, where we were told that it is closed for tours until January 15th. We did get our free one can of beer each in the beer garden. Everyone else in the garden appeared to be a local. There is a small but nice gift shop next to the beer garden that sells beer paraphenalia at what seems to be very low prices, e.g. a Tecate beer tray was only $2.60 US. Finally, there was a line of cars extending east on Highway 2 almost to the glorieta and the police station. I assumed that this was the line to get back to the U.S. David E., can you shed some light on this? Is this the place to join the line into the U.S.?

Here's the response from David Eidell as posted on the Message Board:

"In regards to the "cola" (line) in Tecate, threading back down Mex 2, you are exactly correct. It should be noted that the normal exit route for RV'ers who would find it difficult to turn around on a city street, would benefit from making a RIGHT turn at the signal at the intersection of the main city plaza (instead of going straight up the hill in the direction of the border). After you make a right proceed one block while looking to see if traffic is backed up (up the hill to your left). If you think traffic may be backed up to this intersection then look down the street to the very next intersection. If cars are backed up to this intersection, and around the corner and all the way back to the glotietta (this is on Mex 2 now not the road to Ensenada), drive on past the clogged intersection and up to the "glorietta" and you have the legal and physical means to make a U-turn here even the longest converted bus towing a car. After the U-turn, stay in the right lane and queue up behind the string of cars. Relax, it'll be an hour wait but not the four hour wait like Otay or San Ysidro. Hint: Do not block cross street intersections. There will be a scad of traffic cops around and they send prospective interceptors all the way to the back of the line. If you are towing and or really long, stay in the outside of the two lines (the left line) to swing wide onto the main border crossing street and up to the US Customs Kiosks."

Tecate to Ensenada
This drive is still beautiful. The road is rough leaving Tecate then gets better several miles south. It's a nice drive and a good alternative to the toll road for those who aren't in a hurry to get to Ensenada.

Ensenada
We were three of the few gringos on Lopez Mateos. The merchants here seem to be hurting for business. I was told that Mexico's recession started in 2000, before ours. This and the events of 9-11 have caused a drop in tourists. Ensenada is still a great alternative to Tijuana and a more relaxed place to take visitors from back east for shopping and dining.

La Fonda
The hotel is still operating. The restaurant reopened 200 feet north of the old location, on the first floor of Dimitri's house. It is a work in progress with light and unobtrusive construction continuing. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. Dimitri is working hard to reestablish the restaurant as the place it was in the former location. He has all new employees, who to a person provided better service than we got in the old restaurant. Dimitri didn't want to talk about the ongoing labor dispute, however, an expatriate who sounded knowledgeable provided the following:

The labor contract is 30 years old and was causing Dimitri to lose money.

The shutdown resulted from the workers striking.

The old workers were frequently dishonest, but because of Mexican labor law it is far too costly to fire an employee. Therefore, it is cheaper to keep them around, despite the losses they cause to the business.

There is a lawsuit pending. The old workers are seeking, collectively, around $100,000 US. Listening to the above reminded me of Luis Morones, the corrupt Mexican labor boss who was deported in the 1930's with President Plutarco Calles.

Tijuana
We ate dinner at Carnitas Uruapan. The atmosphere with the mariachis is arguably difficult to top. Carnitas for three and a round of drinks was $39.00 USD before tip. We crossed into the U.S. at San Ysidro, approaching the border from the east (Zona Rio). Unlike the last time, it was shorter than coming from the toll road and downtown. We waited about 30 minutes to cross. For a Friday evening around 8:00, the wait was short. In my 24 years of crossing the border, with many different people and in varying states of consciousness, I have never had such an easy time getting past the inspector. While everyone else was getting secondary-type searches in primary, ours was next to nothing. The inspector asked my wife her citizenship. When the inspector asked if my nephew and I were also U.S. citizens, we answered "uh-huh," which was followed by us being waved through. Neither of us had to say "U.S." nor we were asked where we had been or what we were bringing back, a change from the past. Needless to say, with recent events we were expecting much more. In summary, Northern Baja California is still a great place to take visitors from out of the area for a day trip. Although you won't find as many bargains as in pre-NAFTA times, it is still worth your time to see and do things you won't find north of the border.