April 20th, 2000
Day one
My Journey began in Austin, Texas. I met up with Brother Mark and David Tanner at the TGIFridays in the Dallas airport. They serve really large beers there. The main body of the party was to arrive in Guatemala City an hour or so ahead of us, and we anticipated joining them in the Bar.

Flying over the city for landing was a lesson in socio-economics of Third World Countries. The contrast between the Hill-Top high-rises and condominiums and the tin and palmetto shacks lining the valleys was scary. The entire landscape is burned off and eroded, except for the gardens of the rich.

We somehow manage to talk our way into the main lobby of the airport, looking for the bar. No luck, the place was shut down for the evening, it appeared. We went back to get our luggage and realized that, yes, we DID indeed have to go through Customs and Immigration. We were lucky we didn't get shot. All the walking had us perspiring and we headed for the front doors of the airport where we met up with the rest of the group. Al Scarborough(Pops), Dickie Harris, John Farrell, Billy Wilson, Tom Slin, and other Brother Bryant.

They were looking thirsty too, so we piled into the micro bus and requested that Ceasar', our driver, take us by the Mercado for some Cerveza's on the way out. Ceasar' doesn't talk much, but he nodded his head and we soon pulled into the most modern Texaco station I had ever seen. We loaded up with some Dorado and Gallo beers, coupla bottles of rum and enough mixers, cups, chips and ice to last us for a three hour tour, much less the one hour ride to the Casa. We drove through the Dusk, Downhill all the way. The sunset made the volcanos look as though they were in full eruption.

Of course, there was no way that we were going to make it to the Haciendia without a restroom break and I was glad to learn that the Guatemalan people are as casual about peeing on the side of the road as most Americans are.


It gets hazy after we arrived at the house, but I do know that Kid Rock CD's don't fly worth a damn and that it sucks to be the first one to, er, "go to sleep".


He did earn a perfect 10.00 score for his diving hammock mount, though.