I’m off my game. I’ve been away from blogging for too long. I sat down to write up a great post about our first actual, real vacation in years and years, and… nothing. Nada. El zippo.

So, where to start? How about this? We’ll start with a very basic geography lesson. When people say they went to Cabo, they usually mean that they went to Cabo San Lucas, which is at the very tip of Baja California down in Mexico, down near where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez meet (by the way, I love the photo of the divers with the manta ray on the Sea of Cortez page). Cabo San Lucas is a city that was built for the tourist industry. If you want to party hearty, go there. You’ll love it. Cabo San Lucas is also where you go to catch whale watching tours, view the undersea world through a glass-bottomed boat, go para-sailing, swimming in the ocean, sunning at Lover’s Beach, that sort of thing.

About 20 or so miles from all this fun and excitement is the town of San Jose del Cabo. Unlike the new city of Cabo San Lucas, which we were told sprung up in the last 30 years or so to support the tourist industry, the mission San José del Cabo was founded in 1730. The founding priest was brutally murdered (don’t ask, I don’t want to repeat it, it was awful) but the mission remained, and the town eventually grew. One person we spoke with told us that there is no unemployment in San Jose, and that there is virtually no crime. It’s a much quieter town than its more famous neighbor. It’s the home of the local airport, so if you fly to the area this is the town you go in and out through. The town has quite a few of the normal touristy shops, jewelry stores that boast lovely Mexican silver pieces, an area filled with fabulous art galleries, a small shop that sells fabulous silver-decorated porcelain pieces by Emilia Castillo, and one of our favorite stops, Baja Brewing, the only brew pub on the peninsula. The man standing between Steve and Dave is the brewer, and the driving force behind the pub, Jordan, who hails from Colorado. Though we still enjoy having fun, we’re all a lot quieter about it than when we were in our twenties, so much preferred the peace and slower pace of San Jose del Cabo.

As you probably know by now, Dave and I own a timeshare that boasts a number of resorts here in the west (we get a referral fee, so if you want to join please contact me). The newest one is the grand resort in San Jose del Cabo, called Cabo Azul. In a word, it’s gorgeous. Our “tiny” two bedroom suite was opulent, the rooms spacious, the deck fabulous, the dishes are china, the glassware crystal. You should feel the bed sheets. The view is incomparable. The windows in the master bedroom and the living area push all the way back into the walls, so disappear completely, leaving a large, open area for light and air.

The resort has three swimming pools and two hot tubs, all with those gorgeous infinity edges. There’s a swim-up bar in the center pool. The lounges and baskets around the pools have the most comfortable pads and pillows I think I’ve ever relaxed on. There’s also a well-appointed gym, a nice spa with sea shells on the ceiling in the hallways (!), two fabulous restaurants, and a masseuse and a chef who will come to your room. It’s an amazing place. Yes, I have lots more photos. All of the ones I took while there are in my gallery. There are 171 photos there, so it’ll take a little time to see them all.

As I’m sure you can imagine, I have a lot to catch up on after being gone for the better part of three weeks, so I need to wrap this up and get a move on. Lots of things have been left out, like the e-ticket ride I had on the back of an ATV out in the desert, but that can wait for another day, if you seem interested.

Wait! One more thing. I forgot to tell you why we went. Yes, we had a very good reason. My dear husband Dave and our good friend Steve both turned 50, so we had to go celebrate. I’ve always been a firm believer in celebrating the bigger birthdays by doing something special. Steve’s wife, Nora, and I insisted on going along. Not that it was tough to convince them. They seemed to rather enjoy having us along.