What Granny and Opa liked to do on vacation.

I had intended on doing a blog of both the Memorial service in Colville and the one in Las Vegas but find I am not quite ready to tackle that kind of blog. I've pulled a vacation that predates our blog in order to give the grandkids some insight into our earlier travels.
This is Baja, one of our all time favorite places to visit and relax. It is comprised of two different years, 2002 and 2007.

It was always exciting flying down the inside of the Sea of Cortez because one, it's beautiful and two, I knew we were going to have two weeks of relaxation. (and taco's)

The terminal at Cabo is a welcome site, that means you've made it on to the ground safely. I only stress this because, although the ground is very level, at the last minute it looks like you are going to fly into a cliff. The airport is built on a 200 foot plateau and the landing runway starts right at the beginning of rise.

We can't get our rental fast enough to get out of the fast pace of "swinging" Cabo. The Punta Colorada Hotel is 20 miles from anything...literally, nothing for 20 miles. The very simple rooms have no TV, no refrigerator, no radio and one working phone in the office! How is a person supposed to survive under these extreme condition?

Bar, beer, burritos, bitchin' people and beautiful views, day or night. On this trip the hotel was filled with Alaskans, down fishing for marlin. What a great group and because they head out on the boat around 5 am it's really an early and quiet night for us. I've never taken a boat out but granny has...I prefer to shore fish or snorkel. 

As I said, this is no "Four Seasons Resort" but the views and tranquility more than make up for the lack of room service.

If you do get tired if the salt water there is always a wonderful pool to take a dip in.

Want to get out of the water for a change? The hotel has a couple of quads, just for the asking.

With miles and miles of beach to ride on you do occasionally come upon some sad sights. Looks like dogs or a coyote found these sea turtle eggs last night.

Further down the beach we find some pieces of a long deceased whale. There was some of its baleen just off shore and I waded out look at...big mistake. As soon as I brought it to shore, we got a whiff of the stench...man I couldn't wash my hands hard or long enough.

Heading in to dinner there is a reason Donna's has a mischievous smile...I'll explain soon.

While in line to eat Donna had overheard some of the Alaskan guests complaining because there didn't seem to be any wasabi for miles, it's not exactly a staple of the Mexicans. These guys go out everyday, spending hundreds of dollars to catch tuna and just wanted some fresh sushi. It just so happens that we always carry a tin of powdered wasabi when we go to Mexico... so you might appreciate the deal Donna is setting up. She'd supply the wasabi and we could join in on the nightly feast. That's my little negotiator at the end of the bar.

Next day when the boats came in, and every day after that, we were eating "high of the hog" because my bride always packs wasabi!

Yep, I'd say she was pretty proud of herself. :-)

Ok, back to why we loved it down near Lands End. Great food, good company, water in the mid-80's, beautiful sunsets...

and more possible, beautiful sunrises!

Snorkeling in the rougher water was my favorite type.

Most of the coves we dove in were fantastic, full of colorful fish and delicate coral. Never go down to Baja without your equipment. (or wasabi)

Donna loves stacking rocks into cairns, as you might see from the background. She will do this for hours even though I tell her that the first storm will take it all down, no matter...it's what she likes to do.

Besides reading, stacking rocks, snorkeling... walking miles on a sandy beach looking for "just the right seashell" was another passion of Donna's. I can usually only do this for 1/2 hour because after that my neck is sore from looking down all the time. It's amazing how many perfect "have to keep" shells Donna will find. I know we have gone home with 5 to 10 pounds of shells, more than once.

At least once a trip we will dress in our Sunday best and splurge on a $40 or $50 dinner...yeah, just call me a reckless big spender.

At the end of our trip we always check-out early for our late scheduled flight. This way Donna can get in some premo shopping in downtown San Jose Del Cabo.

A stop at the a famous Cabo glass factory was always a must although for some reason we felt cheated the last time there.

Our last spot is the InterContinental Hotel in Cabo. I'm not sure how we discovered this ploy, but we walk in like we own the place, straight out to the pool bar, where everyday at 3 pm is two for one drinks and free chips and guacamole. We'd sit, have a few drinks and chips while recounting what a great trip is was, all with a view of Lands End right in front of you.

That's one tired, but satisfied traveler. While all the memories are great, it would sure be nice to be with my best friend again.