Flightster
South of the Border is North of Awesome
- by Ashley Ambirge
- on July 21st, 2010
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During my overseas travels, I’ve been greatly intrigued by the fanciful perceptions that many of our fellow world citizens tend to maintain regarding life in the United States.
As they would have it, we all live in mansions.
With butlers.
Who bread our butter and iron our pajamas.
And oh, the livin’ is easy.
Or… something to that extent.
Though, it’s understandable why such ideas are born; relative to the rest of the world, we are abundantly wealthy, and even when we aren’t, we still seem like we are; we fall prey to consumerism’s spell all too easily. To the untrained eye, we very well just might have a butler at our beck and call, folding down our bed sheets and waxing the shiny, black BMW that we bought on credit, parked outside of the offensively large home we’ll be paying off for years to come.
And while it may be true that our relative wealth dwarfs that of our international counterparts in many cases, there’s a hefty, unseen cost that’s often attached to it; most would assume that living in a well-to-do nation would supply us with ample leisure time, but unfortunately the opposite tends to be true. Here in the United States, Americans are working longer hours than ever, forgoing nearly everything in the name of working one’s way up the career ladder. Here, what you do is the definition of who you are, and the effects of the mentality are nothing short of profound.
In one way, it’s an unspoken tragedy, but one who’s tradition persists.
Some say its roots began in the Gilded Age, the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States after the Civil War until the late 1800′s. The Gilded Age is regarded for its creation of a modern industrial economy, and for the first time, afforded Americans the luxury of disposable income.
With newfound money to spend not just on basic needs, but on leisure, Americans began searching for new forms of entertainment–with one form in particular that still persists today. The American style amusement park is one example of an industry that derives its profit from its ability to give overworked Americans the opportunity to escape their daily routine, and be transported into a fantasy land where looming deadlines and menacing bosses can be forgotten, and mothers, fathers and children can come together to bond–even if only for an afternoon. It is a mecca for families overdue on quality time, photo ops, and shared memories.
Sure, there are the big guys that everyone knows–Disney World, Universal Studios and Six Flags, for example–but smaller, cozier versions have sprung up across the United States, with the good intentions of bringing an element of magic to families near and far.
Perhaps one of the greatest undiscovered examples of this lies nestled between North and South Carolina; endless miles of vast farmland surrounds you from every angle, mile after mile, to the point where you begin to think that what suddenly appears amongst the cornfields may be a mirage–part the result of the humidity, part the result of the fact that what appears seems frighteningly out of place.
You see the oversized sombrero first, and soon after the brightly-colored poncho that adorns the colossal, cartoon mustached Mexican man, who goes by Pedro and whose primary role is to entice and persuade tourists passing through to come visit the roadside attraction aptly named South of the Border, a Mexican-themed amusement park & rest stop filled with kitschy trinket shops, restaurants, rides, a motel, gas stations (plural) and a fireworks warehouse (yes, fireworks).
It is unreal.
The aesthetics are intentionally campy, with bright neon lights, questionable color schemes and overdone everything–precisely why any traveler passing through is compelled to stop, in order to investigate what on earth such a place has business doing amongst the quiet agricultural lands of the south–not to mention quite a distance from Mexico, at that.
But to those who know its history, it makes perfect sense.
In the year 1949, what’s now South of the Border was originally a simple beer stand. While a small, nondescript beer stand may not seem of much importance, at the time it was actually all the rage, since it stood immediately over the border from a dry North Carolina county. Clever, indeed.
With time, South of the Border’s founder began taking more and more trips to Mexico, and soon began incorporating the culture’s elements into his business. As South of the Border grew, so did the Mexican theme.
Now, the property spans 300 acres and contrary to the Mexican motif, South of the Border flawlessly harmonizes with the American lifestyle. It’s glaring, ornate atmosphere provides the perfect backdrop for families seeking refuge from the jaws of routine, hoping to evade the sobriety of daily life, and the infamous series of Pedro-plastered billboards beckon to us, providing the perfect excuse to do just that.
It’s a place where travelers revive themselves from their weary journey, a place where local families bring their children as reward for making the honor roll, and a place where all of us alike, regardless of where we’re from or where we’re going, are instantly reminded not to take life too seriously.
Becomes sometimes, here in America, we need that reminder.
And sometimes, a little South of the Border is all it takes.
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