April Fools!

I wish anyway. Today is the day that I was leaving for my cruise. Heather's flight left early from Charleston, SC and she had a layover in Atlanta. We had already planned on her calling me from Atlanta to let me know that everything was going smoothly and she was going to be making her connecting flight safely. I had already planned on giving her a good April Fool's scare when she called me to check in. Well, she beat me to it, except it wasn't a joke! Her plane in Charleston had technical problems and she didn't get to Atlanta in time to catch her flight....she wasn't going to get to San Diego in time for her to make in on the ship. We called the emergency travel hotline for Carnival Cruise and they told us that if we could make it to Ensenada, Mexico (our first port of call) sometime before our ship left for Cabo San Lucas that we would be able to board there. Well, Ensenada doesn't have an airport and it is in super shady Mexico. Since we didn't book our travel through Carnival we were kind of on our own as far as getting to Ensenada. Heather got put on a later flight to San Diego and I just took mine as scheduled. Now I had to figure out how we were going to get to Ensenada once we both made it to San Diego.

Of course I did what I always do when I am in a sticky situation....I turned to neverwinpoker.com I quickly made a post in the Vegas airport before my flight boarded 100% confident that someone on there would come through with an answer for me by the time I landed in San Diego (keep in mind...none of the travel agents or rental car people I talked to could give me any useful information on how to get from San Diego to Ensenada.....not how long it would take, how much it would cost, what mode of transportation I should use, they were seriously zero help). I swear, anything you need to know in life there is someone on NWP who is an expert in that field and/or is an internet wizard of some sort that will go out of their way to do research to find out an answer. This is both good and bad....there are some crazy degenerates on there that will do everything in their power to make your life hell if thats what they choose to do. They will find info, pictures, and just about anything you think they could never find out about someone just to embarrass them on NWP. Simply put, the people on NWP are amazing whether it is for good or evil.

So, just as I thought when I landed in San Diego NWP had come through for me.

This was the first post in my thread from a girl I have met one time in person and exchanged only a few messages with online (basically, only when I needed favors in the past...she has connections at Full Tilt).

"I don't know much about it except that it is a 90 minute DRIVE from San Diego, and Southwest airlines doesn't fly there. I'll try to find you the closest airport unless someone more knowledgeable gets to you first, which I hope. You're a fuckin mess. GL, obv.

I just looked up that you can take a bus from San Diego to Ensenada. I think that is going to be the best rout, because it looks like the closest place to fly from SD is Tijuana. Not sure though. I have to sleep now "

-I was pretty impressed that she didn't actually know anything about my question to start with, but took the time to find out some useful info. for me. Btw, The one time I did meet her she was quick to apologize for her somewhat vulgar language and explained that the F-word was just something that was part of growing up in the pool halls/poker rooms/somewhat mob-related lifestyle that she had on the East Coast. She is a cool cat.

The second post:

"San Diego-Tijuana-Ensenada

If you reach San Diego, you must first get to the Tijuana border. There are three options to go from the San Diego airport to the Mexican border (San Ysidro):

1) Take a taxi (expensive option).

2) Take a bus (about 1.50 US) to San Ysidro. The bus stops at the other side of the parking lot of the United Airlines terminal. Buses leave every 15 to 30 minutes.

3) Take a bus to the "trolley" station at the center of San Diego. The "trolley" will take you to San Ysidro for 3 US. This is the most frequently used option.

Cross the border on foot (avoid heavy luggage!). Just accross the border there are 2 bus stations servicing Ensenada (ABC and Aragón). Buses leave every 30 minutes, and the price is about 3 US. The trip takes 1.5 hours (you can watch the scenery or a movie).



I think you will be just fine. Does your cruise stop in Puerto Vallarta?"

-Now THAT was helpful! I now knew exactly how to get to Ensenada from San Diego, how much it was going to cost, how long it was going to take, and even what my entertainment options were on the bus ride there! The cool thing is that I don't ever even remember conversing with this guy before on NWP, but he saw I needed help and happened to be from Puerto Vallarta and has apparently made the same trip I will be making tomorrow morning a time or two. Also, he was wondering if I was stopping in PV, because he was going to offer to show us around while we were there. I was so thankful for his help that I sent him $50 on Full Tilt and he was more than happy about that I think.

I found a fairly cheap hotel room ($109) in San Diego while I was in the airport (laptops and free wireless internet are probably two of the greatest things on earth) and started looking for something for us to do in San Diego since we would be spending the night there. Well, what do ya know? The Padres just so happen to be in town playing the Astros tonight and I can the stadium from my hotel window! NWP even came through with a recommendation (and someone else seconding that recommendation) to eat the garlic fries at the game if I end up going.....and I think I will :)

Heather just called; she finally made it to San Diego and is on her way to the hotel via shuttle right now. She has had a really long day....I hope she feels like going to the game.

Hopefully, your April Fool's day has been less hectic than mine has. Even though, it seems like a tough break missing the beginning of our cruise I am actually kind of pumped about spending the night in San Diego and going to the game. If I get any internet access on the cruise I will try to post some pictures and some blogs while I am there. If not, I'll do it when I get back (Sunday the 6th).

Here is the view of the stadium from my hotel room (limited, but at least it is within walking distance....I think):