Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Shared Image)

Panda was very excited to cross the border into Mexico, but she was also a little nervous.

She had heard stories about stuffed animals being torn apart because someone suspected they were being used to smuggle drugs. Panda, of course, had never touched drugs and wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. But she couldn't help wondering, "What if there is a misunderstanding?"

I assured her that everything would be fine. The chances of something like that happening were incredibly small. Besides, if anyone were going to have a problem with her, it would probably be when we were coming home.

That didn't exactly make her feel better.

We had flown to San Diego and met up with our friend, who had a boat moored in Ensenada and had made this trip many times. We got a ride to the border, where we would walk across together and then catch a bus to Ensenada. Panda was grateful to have someone experienced along for the journey.

And then we crossed the border.

No interrogation. No suspicious border agents. No one tearing Panda apart.

Just a perfectly uneventful crossing.

Panda was relieved—and once she saw how easy the crossing was, she wasn't nearly as worried about coming back.

Of course, she couldn't cross into Mexico without taking a moment to celebrate. She posed with the big "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" sign while people waiting nearby to take their own pictures seemed to think Panda was pretty cute.

I posted a photo of us with the sign:

“Jay and Panda with sign to Mexico ❤️”

Then Panda got her own photo:

“Panda at the ‘Estados Unidos Mexicanos’ 😮”

The response was simply:

“Wow.”

Panda spent the rest of the trip enjoying Ensenada without worrying about being mistaken for a stuffed-animal drug smuggler.

There was only one thing that disappointed her on the way home.

After crossing back into the United States, there was no big “Welcome to USA” sign waiting for her.

Panda thought Mexico had done a much better job of welcoming her.