Well I've been out of the loop for 5 days soaking up sun in Cabo. Now I'm back and happy to be freezing in Chicago! A lot of things to talk about. Let's start with the Dallas airport, which Mom and I connected to. They have renovated this place so well. 20 restaurants, amazing art murals, just a beautiful terminal. I did not realize how dingy O'Hare was until this week. Now Jessica Simpson is from that area and she endorses Proactiv Solution. Well, we're walking to the Sky Link, the train that connects people throughout the AA terminal. I'm getting on the stairs, I look to my right, and I see a vending machine. They had Proactiv in a vending machine in the airport. Nobody there selling, it was just there. We're so conscious of our looks, we're getting acne treatments out of a vending machine while we're traveling! Anybody else find that a little strange? Also, this was the best American Way magazine I've ever read (American's in-flight magazine. For five reasons: (1) I completed all three Sudoku's, (2) Dwight Yoakam/Buck Owens article, (3) funny article about a video- gamer wannabe, (4) article on energy bars, (5) and Sue Bird is on the cover. What a knockout.
So we get to Cabo and the airline lost Mom's luggage. And you get out of the terminal and these timeshare people are there to bombard you with deals and offers. Meanwhile, we just want to get our car, get to the hotel, and rest. Well it took 30 minutes to get to Avis and 30 minutes more waiting there to get the car. And if you rent a car, just get insurance. The way drive down there on those bumpy roads, you need it. Even if they hit you head on, you're responsible for your own car. But driving down the road with that warm breeze whipping in your face feels so good. We drove to Zipper's, a bar and grill type place by the Sea of Cortez. The burger was good, not as good as I remember. It was around 3 pm and we drove the last 10-15 miles to our hotel. Except we encountered a bit of traffic. They're reconstructing all the highways and it took one hour to go 10 miles.
We got to the room and didn't really want to leave once we got there. But the restaurants at the hotel are kind of overpriced so we decided to head to downtown Cabo San Lucas to our favorite restaurant down there, Pancho's. We loved the Huachinengo (red snapper), and the live mariachi band. Mom wasn't quite as into it, because she was so preoccupied with her luggage. But we got back to the hotel around 7:00 and thankfully, her suitcase had arrived. And I think I slept nine hours that night.
Woke up Sunday and hit the gym. Of course, I was especially happy when I saw the Rangers won! Then we headed just up the street from Pancho's to Cabo English Church. I wasn't sure what to expect in an area that's very Spanish and very Catholic. But I certainly came away impressed. There were about 75-85 people there and the service lasted around 1.5 hours. It was very small area, but it was nice. Carpeted floors, projection screens, a live webcast. They also have small groups during the week. The pastor, Mike, talked about how people react to offenses. Later this month, they're driving up to La Paz to go swimming with whale sharks. Uhh, I'll pass.
From there, we drove 50 miles north to Todos Santos. This was a two lane dirt road drive through the desert. We drove by an area that I have name Broccoli Hill. To me, as you're driving toward this one mountain, the green shrubbery forms into these little round shapes, looks like florets of broccoli. As for the town, it's grown just like Baja in general. Of course, we went straight to the Hotel California. Now they're constructing the appropriately named Tequila Sunrise bar across the street. But this hotel is apparently trying to distance themselves from the greatest rock song ever. You can't even buy a Hotel California shirt there right now. And I met a few people on the street who were pissed about this! We grabbed lunch at an outdoor restaurant at the hotel and it was really good. Mom had fish tacos and I had a steak sandwich that included Hotel California Tequila Mayo. I don't know. And they had a salsa that was almost orange in color and tasted more like a tomato sauce than Mexican salsa. Good stuff.
Then we went shopping and we had just gotten into a leather store when all of a sudden this kid (must have been 6 or 7) comes out of nowhere and starts doing this Bruce Lee karate stuff on me. This is where watching pro wrestling helps. He'd chop me in the arm, I'd grunt, I'd fall down on my knees, I'd be selling the chop. And we fooled around for a while. It was fun.
On our way back, we stopped at Costco, which has just opened in the area. In the last three years, they've added Costco, Home Depot, and Office Depot. I guarantee there will be a Starbuck's with in 1 year. To save a little dough, we got some groceries and hung out the rest of the night. I did hang by the pool in the later afternoon. Played a little music and enjoyed an $8 pina colada. I admit I liked Cancun because I could eat or drink anything I wanted and not have to think about price. Some observations through the beginning of the trip:
1) 91 during the day, 70 at night. Not bad.
2) Stores are developing on the Route 1 between the main towns. It's not just tiny business and big hotels anymore.
3) The older you get, the more meaningful these vacations get.
4) I don't like the hotel activities stop at 5 pm. It's like they expect us to go downtown which is a little wild for me sometimes.
5) If a restaurant advertises its whole menu in the phone book, I'm skeptical. If it is a good place, people will spread the word around.
6) This feels more and more like a place for couples. Most of the people around me now are middle aged couples with a sprinkling of seniors and families with young kids.
7) Life does not have a rewind button. But it can have a fast forward button.
8) We have three radio stations. They're all in Spanish. So if you move down here, just get XM.
9) Before traffic lights turn yellow here, they start flashing green for a few seconds. I think we should do that too.
10) This was a chorus we sang at church. It hit me pretty hard and I felt obliged to include it.
Jesus I am thirsty
Come and fill me up
Earthly things have left me dry
Only you can satisfy
Lord all I want is more of you.
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