Football Travel Blog: Mexico Day Six Posted on May 31st, 2011 by Ethan Armstrong

Day Six – Back to Minnesota

8:00 a.m. – Well, it’s our last day in Mexico.  We are set to leave the hotel at 10:30 with our flight scheduled to take off at 1:30 p.m.

10:30 a.m. – It’s a bitter-sweet bus ride to the airport.  We are ready to get home, but at the same time are sad to be leaving the Lagartos and Cancun.  Cheeseburger says, “Say goodbye to fun, “ on the ride.  Brad Kruckberg thought it felt like everyone had to attend class when we got home.

12:30 p.m. – The group made it into the terminal and is taking advantage of the duty free stores while here.  Anyone who forgot to get mom a souvenir is scrambling.  I even broke down and got a graduation gift for Pookie.  People who know me are probably going to think hell has frozen over.

We are flying into Dallas to go through customs and board our final flight for Minneapolis.

Thanks to the Gusties parents and family who made the trip. Your support was greatly appreciated.

6:40 p.m. – Well, we knew at one point we might have to deal with adversity, Dallas, Texas was that point.   After a waiting in the longest line we have ever seen going through customs, we boarded the hot, sweat plane just in time.  It wasn’t quite the airport scene from Home Alone, but we were definitely pushing it.  We boarded the plane only to find out that there was warning light on in the cockpit.  The five-hour Rochester, Minn. airplane wait was running through all our heads.  They fortunately allowed us to unload the plane and kill some time in the terminal. Sweaty, hungry, sun burned football players sitting on an 80-degree plane – I feel for whoever was sitting next to Brian Grundmeyer, who had the worst burns of the group.

Blake Kerkhoff skipped breakfast for some dumb reason and was paying the price while on the plane.  I am pretty sure he was spotted sprinting for terminal convenience store.

Wow, that is a good sign, I hear taps playing on a T.V. somewhere, I hope that is not for our plane.

8:20 p.m. – We are in the air, finally, heading for Minneapolis.  Once at the airport, the guys will turn in their equipment bags to equipment manager Wayne Norman and they are on their own.  Summer finally begins for members of the Gustavus football team!

Thanks to the Lagartos team reps for making us feel at home throughout our stay.

10:05 p.m. – Back on American soil.  We have arrived safely in the Humphrey Terminal in Minneapolis to a welcoming party of parents and friends.  The guys are saying their goodbyes to teammates and coaches then heading out the door.  It’s good to be back in Minnesota, but its always tough saying goodbye to teammates for the summer.

I would like to thank Peter Haugen and the rest of the Gustavus football staff and team for giving me an opportunity to travel to Cancun with them.  It was truly a one of a kind experience for me.  Thanks to the coaches for all their work behind the scenes organizing this trip, you are owed a great amount of credit for how smooth it went.  Players, thanks for accepting me as one of your own.  I was fortunate enough to play just one season with some of you and am glad to have the opportunity to get to know the rest of you.

The Lagartos, there are no means in which I can thank you enough.  Your generosity and hospitality was truly unmatched.  This group of Gusties will pay your kindness forward for many years.  Hopefully, we will unite once again in years to come.

Thank you to Peter and Nancy Nyhus for their support throughout our trip.  Pedro, you are a Gustie in every sense of the word.    We know there is one Gustie shining bright from Cancun tonight.

Photo Gallery

Here is another photo gallery that Gerardo Vazquez Garcia was kind enough to share with us.  Check it out at https://cid-96a56565f40838f7.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Ethan%20Armstrong%20from%20Gustavus.

The relationship between the Gusties and the Lagartos will hopefully continue to grow.