While going through airport security this morning on my way to Cabo San Lucas with my girlfriend, the thought of what the X-Ray screener was seeing made me laugh. First bin, my boat shoes and the obligatory 3 ounce liquids – sunscreen, Chapstick, deodorant, cologne, and toothpaste; then my shoulder bag flowed by with my belt, watch, passport, airline tickets, my wallet in one of those RFID shielded organizers, iPad, various charging cables, iPhone and brand new prescription Kaenon sunglasses; and lastly on the conveyor belt was my carry on suitcase packed with swim shorts, t-shirts, a Patagonia pullover sun-hoodie (love those, by the way!), toothbrush, razor (more for my head than my chin) and two pairs of shoes…

Yep, three pairs of shoes for a three day weekend. I know, high maintenance. But, I do have cause and reason and need for such a variety of footwear, I swear!

You see, my girlfriend and I are heading to Cabo for the weekend to celebrate our two year anniversary and she is going to wear this amazing dress when we go out to dinner on Saturday. And since I am not that much of a boating bohemian, yet, despite how hard I try to foster that as my personal mythology, I appreciate an excuse to wear my best — hence the need to polish up and pack along my Ferragamo shoes. I plan on wearing them with (gast!) my Agave jeans and a Hugo Boss dress shirt which, of course, will remain untucked…you can can take me off the boat, but you can’t take the boat out of me.

Oh yeah, the third pair of shoes are my Teva Omnium Sandals. Perfect for when I’m wandering about the hotel, heading out to the pool, sipping margaritas while writing this and so on.

As a writer, I love wandering around and checking out the area, but I have never been one of those tourists that rush from attraction to attraction, from historical or natural marvel to the next in a blind-flurry, all-or-nothing effort to check off some imaginary list of been-there’s and done-thats in order to justify a vacation…

FYI, if you feel the need to justify a vacation then it’s time for an escape!

Okay, it’s now day two of Cabo…

My girlfriend and I are staying at the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort, which is actually about 25 KM or so to the east of the famous Lands End arches, too far to walk, but this hotel has a swimmable beach, which we enjoyed Friday afternoon after we checked in. And while it was fun getting knocked down by warm waves and heavy undertow, it really sucked having my brand new, $570 prescription Kaenon sunglasses washed off my face and vanish into the depths…24 hours old and never to be seen again.

Okay, time to stop dwelling on their demise. Time for a Romeo Y Julieta, Habana – Cuba and a Negra Modelo…asking for cerveza is about as much Spanish as I can manage. It’s not a mild cigar, but at about $13 American, it was cheap enough to have and commemorate, but I wouldn’t smoke two of these bad little boys. Too damn strong for my mild preference. I usually like cigars that have a more mild, maybe even buttery texture to them like Romeo Y Julieta’s Bully, Connecticut Shade Nubs, or Montechristo White Labels. Lately though, my tastes have been edging slightly higher to cigars like Gurkha 15-year old Anniversary series. I especially love the short one with the pig tail end cap. Fantastic smoke with a straight Single Malt like a 15 year old Glenlivet or Glenmorangie’s LaSanta, Nectar D’Or, or my favorite, a Quinta Ruban with two ice cubes, max, mind you.

It’s 2:00 PM and my girlfriend is napping the heat of the afternoon away in our AC’ed room as I sit down here in La Vista bar overlooking the ocean…

Okay, slipped away there for a while as it is now Day 3 of Cabo.

I’ve talked my girlfriend into coming down with to the pool this morning, before dawn. She was very reluctant at first, but then I convinced her that we’d certainly be able to grab one of those big cabanas and she would be able to stretch out, enjoy the dawn with me and sleep if she wanted to…she slept!

Anyway, this is the view from where we lounged Sunday morning. Overlooking the infinity pool’s edge out onto the Pacific Ocean. There was a palapa on the beach with a white and blue panga pulled up onto the sand beside it. It was visually wondrous to watch the first rays of dawn illuminate that vista.

Swimming this morning, looking up at this gorgeous resort, into the cabana where that gorgeous young woman slept and it hit me; damn I hope my books sell, I really want this life!,