Hello World John and Lilly here,
Signing in officially to start telling our tale. We’re that pot farming,anarchist couple on the run from the united states of america facing over 20 years each for a plant. We decided to start this story from what in a lot of ways is the climax or deciding factor of our current tale but for us it is the beginning of the rest of our lives. Months of labor and thought went into preparing for the journey to the border and our lives after.We had decided to leave the country years before and had been looking into leaving the whole time but never taking action convincing ourselves it wasnt the right time. The arrest was a reminder of what was important and due to the general corruption of the gooberment. For example the prosecutor in our case calling us a flight risk and requesting no bail while letting violent people go free. We decided to run for the mexican border rather than face that much time if we decide to fight or 100’s of thousands in fees if we decided to take a plea.
We went to Detroit intially, for work and a safe haven. We often compare Detroit to a smaller Mexico in America, there’s a lot more freedom and its much easier to go unnoticed there. It has a culture that says “Anything goes as long as you’re not hurting anyone in the process”. We had a job there in the cannabis industry, which we originally intended to use to fund our Mexico trip. We also had a house to live in and were surrounded by a community that made it very easy to blend in. At the promise of a better paying position, we went to Oregon, only to realize there is little to no work there, especially for new comers. As it turns out there aren’t many capitalists in Oregon and as a result we had a hard time making any money there. We probably would have been better off financially had we stayed in Detroit, but sometimes you have to take risks and they don’t always go well.
After being stranded in Oregon for a few months, we finally collected enough funds to get out and go south. Realistically, we collected enough money to get out of town, and decided to figure out the rest along the way. We bought a Mazda pickup truck started to develop a severe engine problem right when we needed to start our journey. We didn’t have the money to fix it, but were betting on making the money along the way to do so. As we saw it, we’d rather be homeless in Mexico than sitting in a jail cell. And due to the fact that we were anarcho-capitalists living in a communist household, we would rather be homeless in Grants Pass than remain on that property. As our friend A promised before we left, our truck made it to Grants Pass, which was 20 miles away and no further. We got the money together for another truck, and headed south. We literally had to beg for gas money from strangers along the way to make it, and we barely did. Every day more we spent in the states seemed like one chance more of something going wrong, though. Mexico or Bust.
Our intended destination was Acapulco, Mexico and we had a personal deadline set as well. Our reasoning for Acapulco is that there is one of the largest anarcho-capitalist communities in the world there, for those who aren’t aware. It is also a great place to start a business, which is something we are both interested in doing. Before, when considering moving out of the country, we were hung up on where to go. We had considered Cambodia, Mexico and all sorts of other places, but really couldn’t decide. After we were arrested, we decided that our only way out safely was south. We aren’t dead set on staying in Mexico, but we were deadset on leaving the USSA. We are going to try Acapulco, then if that doesn’t work continue south. We might also consider options elsewhere in Mexico, everythings really up in the air. Whether or not we remain in Acapulco really depends on whether or not we can get a viable source of income. The one thing we have noticed is its a good city for those ready to make shit happen or have already made it happen and just want to enjoy.
We aren’t okay with the direction the United States has taken, both economically and socially. The decision to leave was fairly easy, the arrest was only a catalyst to get us to do so immediately. We had decided to leave years before, but were hung up on various things like not having enough money or not knowing where to go. As far as we are concerned, we are much happier with the decision to leave than we ever could have been staying. At this point we are pretty upset that we waited as long as we did. Considering the fact that we had a good store of money when we originally decided to leave the states, and that we had 50 dollars in our pocket when we actually left is a testament to this statement. It does not pay to make excuses in times like these. For anyone who wants to get out of the United States, do so before its too late. Things in that country are only going to get worse, as we learned. Also, had we left we would have never been arrested, and we could have avoided the bullshit that went with that. We should at the minimum be on probation, if not in prison today. Instead we live in a tropical paradise, surrounded by mountains and a community that cares about the world they live in. Whereas our lives would have been somewhat ruined had we stayed, we took matters into our own hands to ensure our freedom. Our only regret is not having done so sooner. What matters though is that we are here and safe, all that prevents us from success is ourselves.
The days preceding our crossing were stressful at best. By the time we crossed the border we had both dropped a lot of weight. We were having a hard time eating due to the stress. We were also unable to sleep for the most part in the week before we crossed, sometimes with reason. Two nights before we crossed we attempted to illegally camp somewhat close to the Tijuana border crossing, off in the mountains nearby. Within an hour, one US border patrol officer flew by the truck in an SUV. There were drones and other aircraft, no doubt scanning and running our plates. Our truck formely belonged to a young navy kid with a 30 year retired cop for a dad, so this is probably the information they pulled up when they searched our registration. This no doubt is the reason we did not get harrassed that night.Throughout the night 2 more border patrol drove by, but they didn’t slow or stop. By the end of it we were somewhat convinced their entire job was to go offroading, as we didn’t witness them doing much else and they were going speeds to fast to notice anything or anyone in those hills. So we proceeded to crack jokes about them all being drunk offroading government vehicles all night. We were exhausted by the end of that night, which didn’t help.
We planned to leave on Friday evening through the Tijuana crossing as per the advice of our friend J told us this is when we were less likely to be stopped and asked for identification. However we drove a pickup truck that contained all of our possessions, we somewhat expected to be pulled aside, even if only to ask about the contents of the truck. Our worst case scenario plan, if they asked for identification, was to hand them a drivers license with a small bribe. There’s no guarantee that they would take it, and actually let us through.
That morning, we went to visit and say goodbye to our friend D, who happened to be living in the city we were staying in before we left. In an attempt to make it a good day, should we be apprehended at the border, we went off hiking for the day with our friend and our dog. The mood was tense and bittersweet however, despite the beautiful waterfalls and pretty views. “Tonight we find out for sure what’s going to happen” was something said repeatedly that day. We were either going to make it and start the rest of our lives, or they were going to arrest us. It was really all up to chance.
So as the sun set, we returned to our cars and said our goodbyes. Our friend joked about driving our truck over and having us walk, or other similar ways to help ensure our success. He is not on the run and has a passport, so he’s able to travel freely legally, unlike us. We started to drive away, originally intending to go it alone. As we drove, we came up with the plan to just have him follow us, both to see if we got through and to be another car to blend in with. We returned to his place for his passport and started towards the border. Things were tense as we got closer and closer to the border, as the signs for Tijuana started appearing. We nervously chuckled as we read the sign “No Medical Marijuana into or out of Mexico”. Before long, traffic got really thick and we entered the Tijuana crossing. As far as we were concerned, these were perfect conditions for us. We were still hoping thing would be so conjested they just let everyone through, without stop.
Traffic slowly worked its way around several bends before we were noticed. There were sirens and cameras and flashing lights, all to add to the already tense situation. Due to the fact that we were traveling with a unvaccinated and unregistered 5 month old puppy, our anxiety level was heightened as the sirens went off, as we thought he might freak out and bring attention to us. Oddly, maybe somewhat understanding the severity of the situation, he remained quiet. It was as we were approaching large xray machines that we were waved over to the side, with a “rapidscan” sign under our windshield wiper. While we had somewhat expected this to happen, we were still scared. In the next few minutes we were going to know how things were going to turn out, for better or for worse. Our friend pulled up next to us, with a somewhat terrified look on his face as he drove past us into Tijuana.
We continued foreward into the scanner, doing our best to keep our composure. The mexican border officials motioned for us to stop at a point. All they asked was “Is this your truck?” They did not ask for identification. We assume they ran the plates and came up with the same information that border patrol did. They sent me(Lily) on a sidewalk that goes around the scanner to the otherside, a somewhat futile attempt to protect us from the radiation. They then asked John and Rebel to join me. They seemed to not care about the dog, other than the fact that they didn’t want him in the truck while it was being scanned. We assume this is due to the culture of Mexico, the land where dogs are everywhere, both stray and domestic. We sat watching as they scanned the truck. After a minute, someone told us to return to the truck and to pull into a space off to the side. We were silently freaking out until we saw that they were pulling everyone who went through the scanner to the side as well. A mexican woman asked us what we were hauling, and we replied “Our clothes for a few days and stuff to camp”. She gazed past us to the next group of scanned vehicles waiting to come through, and let us go.
We pulled out of the parking area, back into the flow of traffic that was continuing into Tijuana. Soon after we saw a sign that said something along the lines of “Bienvenido Tijuana!” and it occcured to us that we had made it, at least past the border. We knew our friend was in Tijuana, waiting for us, but we had no cell phone connection and thus no way of contacting him to determine where he was. We decided to leave Tijuana, as there are American officials there deporting those without identification, according to some reports. Our friend had told us a story about his friend being deported from Tijuana by American and Mexican officials because he could not provide identification. It went against the reports we had heard so far, but we weren’t willing to completely ignore the risk. Tijuana was also a crazy busy city, a bit much for us considering the cirumstances.
On the way out, we stopped at a taco stand. It was literally a canopy with a tarp over it and a grill and some tables underneath. There were several employees, and none of them spoke english. It was the type of place where eating in consisted of standing eating at the counter where you ordered. It was also the type of place that would make you do a u turn just from the smell of the food. Considering our newfound freedom, we were starving. We tried to communicate with the employees until a US postal worker approached us and ordered for us. There were lots of jokes on our gringo status but we were too elated to care. We got gringo priced but it was worth it. What’s interesting is that US postal worker had lived in Tijuana for 10 years at least, while working in the states. He said a lot of people are doing it because Tijuana is cheaper and has more to offer. Go figure.
We continued south out of Tijuana and before long were exhausted. We made the decision to pull over on the side of the road and sleep, hoping no law enforcement showed up. As it turned out, no one stopped, someone only slowed and shined a light on us. In the USSA, we would have been asked for our papers within an hour of being there. The fact that we were not was considered somewhat of a good omen for the journey to come. We woke up a few hours later, still free and continued on to Acapulco, still unsure as to how were were going to finish the trip.
Were now broke in mexico figuring it out and having a blast. If you want to help us or help us tell our story please send Bitcoin to
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