It was late afternoon and I was on the beach, no doubt baking in the hot sun. But the wind was steady and strong – the magazine on the chair in front of me was blown open and the pages turning – and I felt rather relaxed and cool despite the harsh heat. I watched the boats just offshore, most of them headed back towards the harbor of San Lucas at that time of the day.

I was happy the dates of the trip worked out the way they did and that I was able to spend my birthday in Los Cabos (Aug 9th). I don’t usually get overly amped up about the annual occurrence, but it’s nice when the day turns out to be non-typical, when you can make the day stand out so as to remember it clearly and fondly the following year.

The beach in front of the Fiesta Americana Grand is not swimable during the summer months due to a strong current and an abundance of rocks, and the tropical storm passing off the coast of Los Cabos didn’t help to calm the waters. The currents might not make for good swimming, but it does make for great scenery, lots of white-capped waves rolling over and crashing into the rocks, smashing and splashing up into the air. Amongst them, I could see three or four shades of blue before it turned a deeper color a couple hundred meters off the coast.

I was down in Los Cabos at the Fiesta Americana Grand on assignment for the past few days, and it truly is a beautiful hotel with a lot to offer. I’ll begin to show you some of my experiences next week. We will get into some of the offerings of the Mexican-owned hotel chain, including details on the SOMMA Spa (only vinotherapy spa in Mexico), the Barefoot Elegant Experience (see photo on Facebook), two Jack Nicklaus designed golf courses, and a night out to the local brewery in San Jose del Cabo (we’ll talk about San Lucas when I return to Los Cabos at the end of September).

The night before my birthday I had dinner at the Peninsula Restaurant, and I made the “mistake” of making the bartenders aware of the occasion. They began serving me up Cucarachas: Tequila, Kahlua, and fuego, sucked down through a straw. Check out the video below to see how it’s done. I’m about to catch the last leg of my flight back to the east coast. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Salud!