Often times in traveling to a conference to learn or speaking at an event. Each time I do this, I’m leaving my loved ones, I’m sleeping in a bed that may or may not be comfortable, l may or may not be able to be in the gym, I often have 12-16 hour days the whole time I’m gone, I’m dealing with long lines at airports, etc etc. So 1 thing I learned a long time ago was I need to see reward for the effort. So each time I have to do this, I always try to build in a reward.
I may stay an extra day or 2 to hang out at the beach or hit the spa and get a massage, or take that extra time to go visit friends or family. Some times I go do something fun that is specific to that area like a cool museum or a nearby attraction like a national park or go paragliding or swim with dolphins.
This particular picture is one of those many adventures. Meet Little boy blue. This was my car rental during a trip to Phoenix. It was one of those car rental places that said pick any car in this section. Of course his color stood out. He was sporty, peppy and good on gas. Which worked out great because I took a day and went to Mexico.
I had never been across the border at lukeville and thankfully my friends warned me. It was nothing like the tourist areas of cancun or other parts of Mexico. It was like something out of the movies. Tons of abandoned homes and businesses, run down shops mixed with a few updated ones, stray dogs everywhere, people aimlessly sitting around doing nothing, gang and graffiti signs everywhere, bars in most windows.
I looked everywhere to try to find how these folks provided income for their families and all I could figure out is that they commute out to other towns or farms.
Thankfully I speak Spanish, I’m rusty, but still pretty passable, and was able to get by. I made sure to spend some money and help the local economy, then rode off into the sunset, literally.
It was sobering and made me grateful to see how blessed I am. Little boy blue did great and we had a great time. So now it’s on to the next adventure!!!
