NORTH CAROLINA/SOUTH CAROLINA BORDER, USA - The orange and yellow billboards with the cartoon character in the Mexican Sombrero begin on I-95 before Baltimore. By the time you reach the loblolly pine-lined roads of North Carolina, you've gotten to know that pesky Pedro intimately. You know what Pedro "sez", you know where Pedro takes a "siesta" and you also know that by-passing Pedro isn't going to be easy if you have anyone under eighty years old in your southbound vehicle.

In the uncertain world of advertising there is one certain rule. Repetition works. South of The Border's mascot is as repetitive as Wall Drug, See Rock City or the Nike swosh. The little Latin appears on more than 250 billboards from Philadelphia to Daytona Beach.

After hours of Pedro popping up on roadside signage, your curiosity is piqued. Pedro is seductive, Pedro is mesmerizing, Pedro is the penultimate pitchman... Ultimately, you bite... the whole enchilada.

It's no wonder your car exits automatically at South of The Border. I-95 from Maine to Florida is boring. It might be the East Coast's Main Street but it's a yawn...Cracker Barrel, chain motels and Kentucky Fried Chicken feather the landscape. Dodging semis at 80 mph is the main game. Stopping somewhere, anywhere, different has immense appeal.

Rationalizing that you need gas, or a bite to eat, a trunk-load of fireworks, a box of candy for Aunt Ellen, or a clean, affordable motel, you pull off the exit. Immediately, you're assaulted with the size, the amount of signage and the sheer garishness of it all. For an hour, a night, or a week, you're under Pedro's spell.

"South of the Border" is the king of kitsch from the faux cowhide booths in the restaurant to the 77 ton sombrero. Where else can you encounter plastic and imported cheap trinkets in all their glory, unfettered from pretense and purely Pedro. The Mexican theme is pervasive and there's plenty to peruse. There's donuts and coffee, gas and grits, a motel, a campground, the Africa store, an adult arcade, miniature golf, fireworks, and fun, gifts and sundries and the tackiest of souvenirs. There's friendly folk at every stand... even Pedro's potties are clean, well-lit and welcoming for weary road warriors negotiating their way along America's eastern seaboard.

So you want gas? There's Exxon, Shell and British Petroleum. If you forgot your Excedrin or your toothbrush, there's El drug Store. Of course, it's open 24 hours.

If the kids are driving you nuts, there's a carousel, bumper cars, train, trucks and other rides. An l8 hole, indoor mini golf course--the only one of its kind. Teenagers can cruise The Golf of Mexico arcade, one of four featuring video and virtual realities off the interstate. Mom can shop and Dad can grab a beer in peace.

So, you're sleepy and road-weary and might kill a family member just to ease the boredom of America's biggest yawn, I-95. So sleep. Pedro has motels, camping and a truck stop.

The employees call it "The Border" and it's become a town of 350 acres. It's difficult to describe because it's one of a kind...a must see. It's not an amusement park, it's not a mall, it's not a campground or a resort....but a little bit of each. And the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It's a hoot.

Accomodations & Camping

There's the "South of the border motel" with 300 rooms and suites. Many a honeymoon has passed in twenty festive suites each equipped with a king size bed and a sombrero canopy headboard. Complimentary champagne is included. For its overnight guests, Pedro added a "pleasure dome" with an indoor heated pool, sauna, hot tub and Jacuzzi bar, and disco. Sorry, the dance floor is open to guests only. For privacy or plain old discretion, each motel room has a private covered carport. Nobody need ever know you slept there...unless you advertise the fact with goofy vacation slide shows.

The campground, Camp Pedro, has l00 hookups, showers, laundry and playgrounds. There are five restaurants: "The Sombrero" for family dining, fast food at Hot Tamale, Pedro's Diner, Pizza and Sub Shop, a sit-down steak house called The Peddlar and the famous Hot Dog Stand . The Silver Slipper and the Golden Eagle are open 24 hours with entertainment and adult video poker in a casino atmosphere.

And, no need to worry about border security...there's a 24 hour private security patrol. The kitsch campus boasts its own fire department and a bridge for pedestrian's safe passage across busy route 301/501. No passport is required to enter or exit and nobody searches your car.

More Attractions at "The Border"

You can spend days wandering around "The Border". There's 14 shops with souvenirs and gifts. Some of it is great tacky stuff like drinking hats, plastic rain bonnets, mini-sombreros and ball caps with unabashed scatological references. And Pedro is found in all sizes and engaged in all sorts of activities.

For the older set there's Border Bingo. For a brew or beverage out of a big bottle, belly up to the bar in Pedro's Cancun Saloon, open evenings only. If your mode of transport has l8 wheels, there's Porky's truck stop. Shopping is extensive and can be expensive with a vast array of imported gifts, clothing, art, trash and trinkets from around the world. There's two shops of Mexicana, beachwear and summer necessities at The Myrtle Beach Shop, The Wild, Wild West Store and Rodeo Drive Boutique. Of course, there's a toy and candy store. The Africa Shop offers imported masks, jewelry, clothing, hand-carved animals, music and art. Pedro also sells "Anteeks" at Pedro's Country Store which opened in 1995. And for groceries on the road or in the campground, there are two mini-grocery stores. There's even a United States Post Office at "The Border".

Wandering around the complex, you'll discover the simple. The burger stand is marked with a burger the size of a Volkswagen. No chance for error. Around the grounds, you'll encounter animals the size of nightmares, and lots of tourists having funny photos taken...on top of the alligator, at the horn of the triceratops, at the foot of the gorilla or other larger than life critters. By the giant cone is Pedro's Ice Cream Fiesta with 34 flavors and frozen yogurt and other treats. A trolley will take you around the grounds or you can just stroll and stretch your legs. Part of the charm is the unabashed sense of humor and absence of bowing to current standards of political correctness. Pedro "has sometheeng for every Juan". If you've misplaced your sense of fun, this isn't the stop for you. Get back on 95 and stare at the white line.

For a little global positioning check, Pedro is not south of the U.S. border. It's just a little over the top, south of the North Carolina border. It's about 500 miles south of Philadelphia... and a mere 687 from Miami. It's about midway between the seaside towns of Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Folks flying in from Honolulu will have a harder time reaching the Border, with nearly 4000 miles to the breakfast bar.

There's a draw with a bigger bang than breakfast, Fort Pedro and Rocket City have America's largest selection of first quality fireworks under one roof. Fireworks are still legal in South Carolina---a state where the people still haven't had all the life protected out of them.

Border Background

This wacky roadside attraction pulls a good gate. South of the Border attracted 8 million visitors in l997. According to Suzanne Pelt, Border spokeswoman: "We've been here 40 some odd years. We have people bringing their kids here because their parents brought them here.. And they wanted to share their good memories of South of the Border by creating new ones."

This kitsch as kitsch can destination is as old as the state of Israel having its humble beginnings in l949 when Alan Schafer built a 18' X 36' beer stand adjacent to North Carolina's dry counties. Overstating the obvious, its owner named it the "South of the Border Beer Depot". Business was immediate and brisk. Not long after, a ten seat diner was added and the place was renamed "South of the Border Drive In."

In l954, Schafer decided to add a motel to his burgeoning enterprise to capitalize on all the snow birds migrating to Florida for the winter from the Northeast and Canada. Materials were shipped to an address listed as "The Schafer Project South of The North Carolina Border." Shafer renamed the business simply "South of the Border". When Shafer went to Mexico to establish import connections for his gift shop, he met two young men whom he befriended and hired. After helping them gain entry to the U.S., "Pedro" and "Pancho" worked as bellmen for the motel. They gave "south of the border" an identity...and a spokesman.

Pedro is immortalized on a million dollar billboard visible by any sighted person traveling in either direction on I-95. With 24,576 incandescent lamps in red, blue, green and white, the sign is 59 feet long, 20 feet high and 6 feet deep. Of course, it displays the sombrero and at times shows Pedro counting sheep, flying an airplane, playing on the beach or waving an American flag.

Nearby, a towering Pedro stands 97 feet and weighs 77 tons. He's large enough that you can drive your car through his legs. Known as "The big Man", the statue marks the "Mexico Shop East". Or, you can ride a glass elevator and clamber atop the world's largest sign; the sombrero observation tower standing 200 feet tall.

Today, you can sit at the site of the original beer stand in The Sombrero restaurant. To immortalize your visit, you can donate $10.00 to the Shriner's Hospital and a sombrero with your name on it will join the hundreds of others on the ceiling. The owner matches each donation made by a tourist with dollars of his own. There's no reason to be embarrassed at having been known to frequent the place. It's a $15 million dollar a year enterprise...you're certainly not the first or the last visitor to drop a few dollars at the border.

Pedro is visible everywhere South of the Border...all the time. This world-famous "tourist trap" is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Both the motel and campground are AAA recommended. So stop in at South of The Border. The lights are always on and there's always somebody home. And, he's always sporting a sombrero.

Getting There

"South of the Border" is located on Interstate 95 at U.s. 301-501 at The North Carolina/South Carolina State Line. For reservations or information call: 1-800-845-6011.

 

Sharon Cavileer is a freelance writer and photographer with a passion for travel. One of those rare natives of Washington, DC, Sharon now resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, dogs, cats and a horse named Lasso. On the road often, Sharon is always in search of the untold story to share with her readers.