May 10, 2008...Day 1
Our flight took off early in the morning on Saturday. We were lucky enough to have our very own drivers pick us up at the door with coffee and breakfast!! (Thank you Laura and Kris!!) What a great way to start our vacation!
Shane eating his breakfast
Waiting for the plane to take off
We arrived in Mexico at 6:00pm that evening. Once off the plane and through security, a man behind the counter asked to see our passport. We were both a bit nervous - what did he want with our passports?? Turns out...he was a time share salesman. It took us a few minutes to figure it out. After making our way past him, we got accosted left and right by more time share people. We were finally able to find our ride waiting for us outside the airport and off we headed to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton on the Sea of Cortez about halfway between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
The view from our balcony
After getting all settled in, we checked out the resort and grabbed dinner at one of its restaurants. We were pretty tuckered out after a long day of traveling , so we called it a night.May 11, 2008...Day 2
After getting some much needed rest, we spent some time relaxing on the balcony while we figured out our plans for the day.
We decided to spend the morning at the resort and head to San Jose del Cabo in the afternoon to check out the town. So we headed off to the beach...
And then to the pool...
After enjoying the water, we grabbed lunch at the poolside restaurant.
Then it was off to San Jose del Cabo. We didn't know much about the town. I had read online that it was something that you shouldn't miss if you were in the area, so we figured once we got there, we'd figure it out. Well, our cab dropped us off at the town square and we started walking. Within 20 minutes, we were wondering if we were in the right spot. We were nearly the only tourists around and there wasn't much to see. We stopped and took a picture of this old church and started walking to find a cab. 
Shane and a ginormous cactus
We were back to our hotel only 1 1/2 hours after leaving. It was quite a quick trip! When we got back to our hotel room, we had a little present from the housekeeper...an elephant made out of towels...
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool and drinking mojitos and dirty monkeys! What is a dirty monkey you may ask? It's delicious. Here's a recipe I found online...I'll have to try it out to see if it's half as good!
½ oz. condensed milk
½ oz. coconut cream
½ oz coffee liquer
1 oz. brandy
½ banana
Blend with ice and enjoy!!
May 12, 2008...Day 3
We managed to drag ourselves out of bed early to grab our ride to the rhino safari tours. It took about an hour to get to our tour departure which was way WAY out of town. Upon arriving, we were given stylish garb to wear and a quick tutorial on how to drive a rhino.
Shane ready to cruise!
Taking a break to enjoy the scenery
Jess's turn to give it a try
Jess's turn to give it a try
After our tour, we headed back to the hotel to relax. And we were greeted by another surprise left by housekeeping...this time it was a snail (as you can tell, I thought these little gifts were very fun!)
May 13, 2008...Day 4
The next day we were up bright and early again. This time we headed to Cabo San Lucas for an America's Cup Sailing Tour. We got there a bit early, so we took a walk around the marina and came across a boat that Shane really liked. I wonder why...
Then it was time for our tour. There were only 2 other couples on our tour...and one of the couples lived in South Minneapolis! What a small world!
We were not just tourists on this ship - we were all assigned the task of grinding. Grinders are the people in charge of raising and lowering the sails. It was sure hard work!
We were also able to steer the boat, which was much harder than you'd think! The slightest movement of the wheel really affected the boat's direction...and then you have the wind to also take into account. I never quite got it. But Shane did pretty good...
May 13, 2008...Day 4
The next day we were up bright and early again. This time we headed to Cabo San Lucas for an America's Cup Sailing Tour. We got there a bit early, so we took a walk around the marina and came across a boat that Shane really liked. I wonder why...
Then it was time for our tour. There were only 2 other couples on our tour...and one of the couples lived in South Minneapolis! What a small world!
America's Cup racing yacht
We were not just tourists on this ship - we were all assigned the task of grinding. Grinders are the people in charge of raising and lowering the sails. It was sure hard work!
We were also able to steer the boat, which was much harder than you'd think! The slightest movement of the wheel really affected the boat's direction...and then you have the wind to also take into account. I never quite got it. But Shane did pretty good...
Here we are watching the sail work its magic!
After the tour, we did some more walking around the marina. I even got a picture with a nice amigo...
We had lunch on the marina and then headed back to the resort to relax by the pool and enjoy some more mojitos and dirty monkeys! Upon returning to our room, we got another surprise from housekeeping...
And then we headed to the pool...
May 14, 2008...Day 5
Lucky for me, I got to celebrate my birthday in Mexico this year!! Our first item on the agenda for the day was swimming with the dolphins! It was a blast!
We took turns grabbing ahold of the dolphins dorsal fin and going for quite the ride! We even got to do a trick with the dolphin (although it was a bit scary!)
After our swim, we headed back to the hotel to see what housekeeping left us this time...a bear!
After an afternoon of relaxing by the water, we got ready for dinner.
Since we had been having most of our meals on the resort, we decided to try out the restaurant at the hotel down the street.
They even brought me a little something special for my birthday...
May 15, 2008...Day 6
We spent the morning and afternoon at the resort relaxing at the beach...
When we got back to our room, housekeeping left yet another creative 'towel creature'. This time it was a doll (she's sure working for her tips!)
That evening we headed to town for a sunset cruise. The first 30 minutes of the cruise was great! We got to see some great views of Lover's Beach, Los Arcos, and a colony of sea lions.
Look closely - there's about 25 sea lions on the rock
We decided to spend our last day in Cabo soaking up the sun at Lover's Beach. This beach is only accessible by boat, so we had to take a water taxi out to the beach. There is no dock, so you have to jump off the boat into a couple feet of water. It was a bit challenging, but well worth it.
The beach is located on the southernmost tip of Baja California - one side of the beach is on the Sea of Cortez and the other side is on the wild Pacific Ocean where the swimming is not safe, but the view is absolutely beautiful!!
After our relaxing morning, we were ready for lunch! We grabbed our water taxi (we were a bit nervous he wouldn't come back for us, but he was right on time!) and headed back to Cabo San Lucas. We decided to take a walk through town to the restaurant La Fonda. It was a bit further than we had thought and boy was the sun beating down on us. We got there around 1:00 pm, which is when their website says they open, but they actually open at 1:30 pm. Normally this wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the restaurant is well off the beaten path with no other places to grab a drink or do any shopping around. So we walked around a bit more trying to kill time, and luckily it was well worth it! The food was fabulous and the drinks delicious after such a long hot walk.
After lunch, we hopped in a cab and headed back to our hotel. And we had another towel creature waiting for us...this time a turtle!
I just had to take a picture of our entire towel family...
We spent the rest of our day relaxing at the pool and trying to soak up as much sun as we could before leaving for home the next morning.
It was a wonderfully relaxing vacation which is just what we needed!!
We had lunch on the marina and then headed back to the resort to relax by the pool and enjoy some more mojitos and dirty monkeys! Upon returning to our room, we got another surprise from housekeeping...
And then we headed to the pool...
May 14, 2008...Day 5
Lucky for me, I got to celebrate my birthday in Mexico this year!! Our first item on the agenda for the day was swimming with the dolphins! It was a blast!
We took turns grabbing ahold of the dolphins dorsal fin and going for quite the ride! We even got to do a trick with the dolphin (although it was a bit scary!)
After our swim, we headed back to the hotel to see what housekeeping left us this time...a bear!
After an afternoon of relaxing by the water, we got ready for dinner.
Since we had been having most of our meals on the resort, we decided to try out the restaurant at the hotel down the street.
They even brought me a little something special for my birthday...
May 15, 2008...Day 6
We spent the morning and afternoon at the resort relaxing at the beach...
That evening we headed to town for a sunset cruise. The first 30 minutes of the cruise was great! We got to see some great views of Lover's Beach, Los Arcos, and a colony of sea lions.
Lover's Beach
Los Arcos
Look closely - there's about 25 sea lions on the rock
As we rounded the corner and moved from the gulf side into the Pacific ocean, things got REALLY choppy!! Our great front row seats turned into being the wettest spot on the boat! We were quickly drenched, and cold, and hanging on for dear life!! Eventually, the crew turned the boat around and things got much calmer. And then our sunset cruise turned into a booze cruise! It was definitely not what we expected!
After miraculously making it back to land, we were off to dinner. We ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant called La Dolce (yes, they have great Italian food in Mexico of all places!) We sat outside near the street at dinner and were approached by a number of young children selling their handmade goods. Although we had been approached throughout the marina by children selling items, it was now pitch black out with these same children wandering the streets going up to complete strangers. One girl in particular tugged at our hearts. She had come back to our table for the second time trying to sell bracelets that her mother had made. We asked her to sit and gave her some bread from our table. We found out her name was Amy and that she was 7 years old. She showed off her English skills and how high she could count. Eventually the waiter came over and told her she should go home. Which is probably a good thing or we would have brought her home ourselves!
After miraculously making it back to land, we were off to dinner. We ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant called La Dolce (yes, they have great Italian food in Mexico of all places!) We sat outside near the street at dinner and were approached by a number of young children selling their handmade goods. Although we had been approached throughout the marina by children selling items, it was now pitch black out with these same children wandering the streets going up to complete strangers. One girl in particular tugged at our hearts. She had come back to our table for the second time trying to sell bracelets that her mother had made. We asked her to sit and gave her some bread from our table. We found out her name was Amy and that she was 7 years old. She showed off her English skills and how high she could count. Eventually the waiter came over and told her she should go home. Which is probably a good thing or we would have brought her home ourselves!
May 16, 2008...Day 7
We decided to spend our last day in Cabo soaking up the sun at Lover's Beach. This beach is only accessible by boat, so we had to take a water taxi out to the beach. There is no dock, so you have to jump off the boat into a couple feet of water. It was a bit challenging, but well worth it.
The beach is located on the southernmost tip of Baja California - one side of the beach is on the Sea of Cortez and the other side is on the wild Pacific Ocean where the swimming is not safe, but the view is absolutely beautiful!!
After our relaxing morning, we were ready for lunch! We grabbed our water taxi (we were a bit nervous he wouldn't come back for us, but he was right on time!) and headed back to Cabo San Lucas. We decided to take a walk through town to the restaurant La Fonda. It was a bit further than we had thought and boy was the sun beating down on us. We got there around 1:00 pm, which is when their website says they open, but they actually open at 1:30 pm. Normally this wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the restaurant is well off the beaten path with no other places to grab a drink or do any shopping around. So we walked around a bit more trying to kill time, and luckily it was well worth it! The food was fabulous and the drinks delicious after such a long hot walk.
After lunch, we hopped in a cab and headed back to our hotel. And we had another towel creature waiting for us...this time a turtle!
I just had to take a picture of our entire towel family...
We spent the rest of our day relaxing at the pool and trying to soak up as much sun as we could before leaving for home the next morning.It was a wonderfully relaxing vacation which is just what we needed!!
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