Andrew Eichenlaub and Bo Thomas, Class of 2015, set off for their long journey to Mexico on December 26th. Over the summer, the two hitchhiked across Europe and had some of the best times of his life. He was determined to have another hitchhiking experience, but this time he decided to not go to Europe. He chose to stay within the continent and hitchhike to Mexico.

      Andrew has recently developed a passion for rock climbing and is involved in the activity with a group of friends at Mizzou. Andrew knew that Monterrey, Mexico had great cliffs for climbing and decided that he would need to try them out for himself. He packed up all his climbing gear and his single tent and crammed it in a backpack. Even though his friend Bo Thomas had never hitchhiked before, Andrew convinced him to go along.

“We set off the day after Christmas, making it all the way to northern Oklahoma by dark. Hitchhiking is rather sketchy in the dark so we were forced inside, out of the 15 degree weather, and slept on a booth in McDonalds” said Eichenlaub.

Andrew and Bo encountered many kind people who helped them get to their destination. They were picked up by a trucker and were grateful to sleep in his cab for six hours since it was twenty degrees out. Another man bought them a hotel room so they wouldn’t have to sleep out in the cold tents for the night. Surprisingly with the help of 15 different rides, the boys made it there three days later and were able to successfully cross the border.

      Andrew was able to put his strength to the test and rock climb for two weeks. He slept on the side of the cliffs and continued to rock climb every day in a different spot on the cliffs.  

      “I am a man who loves adventuring, so naturally I hate staying at home. I enjoy seeing the world in a new perspective and getting the most out of the life I live. In times like these I am thankful for the quality friendships I made at Westminster. Even though Bo and I go to different colleges, we still stay connected and hang out since we were such good friends in high school” said Eichenlaub.