cabo

We're baaaack! Here are a few photos from our trip to Los Cabos.

The distinctive Arch at Land's End, the southernmost tip of Cabo San Lucas.







A fabulous view of the Sea of Cortes from our suite at the Casa Del Mar Resort.







Fine dining at El Tapanco restaurant in Casa Del Mar -- this is the tampiqueno dish which includes tacquitos, steak, enchiladas and a quesadilla.






The moths in Los Cabos are huge -- this one was about the size of a small bird! V. thought they were bats at first.








A sample platter displaying all the fresh seafood offered at Lorenzillo's on the Cabo San Lucas Marina. Very enticing but man that platter must be expensive.






We ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail at Lorenzillo's, which set us back $46. Pricey but wow the shrimps were huge and they came in a pineapple bowl with a tasty sauce.






Here's the gorgeous Cabo sunset as viewed from the beach at Casa Del Mar. Almost every evening we went out to the beach to watch the sun creep slowly behind the hills. What a relaxing way to end each day.





For our last night at the Casa Del Mar we enjoyed dinner at the Mesquite Grill on the beach. This chef cooks your choice of meats or seafood on a mesquite wood burning grille which gives it extra flavor and you dine by candlelight only footsteps away from the water. Fantastico!





The Casa Del Mar Resort sits right by the beach overlooking the Sea of Cortes. Its location midway down the Corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo makes it easy to visit either town, if you have a car. We took the resort's shuttle almost every day to downtown Cabo San Lucas.




Tropical storm Paul (downgraded from a hurricane) passed by one night bringing high winds and thunderstorms. Believe it or not, this photo was taken at 1AM! The lightning flashes illuminated the beach as if it were daytime.





At our second hotel, El Presidente Inter-Continental, the food wasn't as good as El Tapanco at Casa Del Mar, but the presentation of their dishes was nice. Here is their take on the tampiqueno dish.






We told people everywhere that we were on our honeymoon -- people are nicer to you and sometimes you get extra perks. The maids at El Presidente made these swans out of bath towels and even dressed them up with a hat and veil.





The Arch at sunset, taken from aboard the Cabo Rey cruise ship. As a reward for attending a timeshare presentation, we got a free sunset and dinner cruise aboard the Cabo Rey. I also got a free bottle of tequila but I think the cruise was a more memorable experience.

daydream

It would be a pretty shallow thing to say, what you drive defines who you are. But I'm sure plenty of car manufacturers and ad agencies would push this as far as they could. What if it were true? I sat down and thought about the top 10 cars that I would love to own, if I had the money and the garage space. Join me on my little daydream as we stroll into my dream garage... (click on name for more info and more photos)

Aston Martin DB9 - Few cars exude style and speed like an Aston Martin. No wonder James Bond chooses this as his ride in the new Casino Royale film.



Audi R8 - One of the newest supercars to leap from the drawingboard to the street, the new Audi R8 is a stunning work of modern style and technology.



Bentley Continental GT/GTC - sometimes you have to roll in style, and there's few better ways to do so than in a Bentley.




BMW M5 - the most practical 500hp 4-door sportscar out there. Because sometimes you have to bring some friends or family along right?



Corvette Z06 - What would a dream car garage be without some American muscle? Well I am not a huge fan of most American cars, but the Z06 represents proudly for the red white and blue.


Ferrari 250GT Spider - No dream car collection should be without a classic Ferrari, and the 250GT has a classic beauty to its lines.



Ferrari F430 A dream garage also needs a modern Ferrari - this one is faster than a Lamborghini Gallardo, and looks to be a classic in the making.



Porsche 911 GT3 RS - the classic Porsche 911 in race-ready trim. This would be the car I would take to the track and race with.




Porsche Cayman S - Sleek lines and curves make this new Porsche even more beautiful than the 911, and the mid-engine platform promises superior handling.




Toyota MR2 Turbo - This one may seem a bit strange amongst the others, but it's been one of my dream cars since high school and I owned one for about 2 years. I hope to someday own another, and this would be my project car to tune and tweak for fun.

Runner-Up: Ariel Atom - the ultimate minimalist track day car -- even more so than the Lotus Elise. But a little too minimalist to make the list -- I do like some comfort in my cars.

You'll notice I have no trucks, minivans or SUV's in my dream garage because I have no use for them. 'Nuff said.

In case you want to go browse a massive collection of supercar photos and wallpapers, and do a little daydreaming of your own, go check out Serious Wheels.

excursion

We're now only a week away from our next big vacation trip, and I have to say I am a bit excited about it -- after considering travel to places like Tahiti, Bora Bora and Hawaii, we decided on Los Cabos in Baja California. A major draw for me was the much shorter travel time so we can spend less time in transit and more time on the beach. It's only about 4 hours total air time to sunny San Jose Del Cabo airport. And let's not forget my love of Mexican food. To go way back in time, I have wanted to visit Mexico (and no, trips to Tijuana do not count) ever since I read all about their beaches in the 1989 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Besides the usual fabulous supermodels in swimwear, the 25th anniversary issue also was chock full of information about Mexico's beaches, and I probably spent more time reading about them than staring at Kathy Ireland's photos. OK maybe not, but I did read through their 100 things to know about Mexico pretty carefully.

Anyways fast forward to 2006 and I managed to talk V. into planning our next vacation in Mexico. Beautiful beaches, abundant seafood, plush resorts -- what's not to like? We'll be in Los Cabos for 1 week and we each picked a hotel.
For the first 4 days we'll stay at my choice, the Casa Del Mar resort -- we'll enjoy a Luxury Suite with ocean views and be pampered at what was picked as one of the top 10 Mexican Beach Resorts by the Travel Channel. It's a fairly small resort with only 56 suites and we're sure to enjoy the quiet and private setting by the beach.

After that, we'll spend 3 more days in Cabo staying at V.'s pick, the Presidente Inter-continental Los Cabos Resort. It's a larger resort -- featuring 400 rooms and 6 restaurants. It's also an "all-inclusive" resort which means all food and drinks are included in the cost. With 24-hour room service, I may never leave the place. I have some reservations about the quality of the food and amenities at these all-inclusive places, but I guess we'll have to see.

Anyways there should be lots to see and do in Los Cabos such as snorkeling, boating, kayaking, horseback riding, cactus-petting. OK I made up that last one. Stay tuned for photos from our trip.

digestive

After last night's dinner my adorable V. said one of the funniest things I had heard in a while, and I just had to immortalize it here before I forget.

We had ordered the Tiramisu for dessert at Broadway Prime after our lavish feast of a dinner, and after the first bite V. was visibly disappointed by the consistency of the creamy layer on top.

"There's nothing worse than bad dessert -- it makes eating dinner a waste of time."

That didn't stop us from finishing the dessert though -- guess it wasn't so bad after all.

carnivorous

With my birthday this week, this past weekend was a never-ending blur of carnivorous consumption. Some good eatin' fo' shizzle.

On Friday, we went to the newly opened Claimjumper at the Pacific Commons shopping center in Fremont. We had reservations for 8:15pm but they are almost a formality. You're in for a wait no matter what. We arrived early at 8:00pm to check in and didn't get seated until 8:30pm. But consider this -- if you show up at dinnertime without a reservation, expect to wait at least 1hr 45min. That's just crazy.

But all that aside, once we were seated at CJ's things were very impressive. We had a massive booth for the 7 of us, and the tables were so spaced apart that it almost felt like we had a private dining area -- noise level was high but I could hardly see any of the other patrons from where I was sitting. The menu is pretty varied and offered something for everyone, from vegetarian to full-blown carnivore (that would be me). I ultimately selected the 24 oz. Prime Rib with garlic cheese toast and cheese potatocakes. Ohhh baby. I couldn't finish it, not without suffering irreparable harm at least. It was good, but not great -- some quality seemed to be compromised to deliver such a large cut of prime rib, it was a little tough.
Fellow carnivore Ryan ordered a hamburger dubbed the Widow Maker with double-thick cheese, bacon and onion rings. Everything was ridiculously huge, and you see people walking out in droves with take-out bags and boxes after their meals, or should I say feasts.

On Saturday, I finished off my prime rib for lunch -- not too shabby. Then for dinner we went out with my dad to Dynasty Chinese Seafood at the Grand Century mall in San Jose. I've been to both the one in SJ and the one in Valco Mall at Cupertino, and the SJ one is much better. The food and service is great at the SJ location, whereas both suffer in Cupertino. Seafood is a specialty of theirs, so we ordered a Boston Lobster with noodles. They also have a $49 dinner special where you can order 4 plates -- this is actually a good deal plus it comes with soup. We had the crab meat and fish maw soup, followed by Seafood in a Bird's Nest, Beef and Scallops in XO sauce, Broiled Sea Bass, and Garlic Fried Chicken. It was all pretty good, but the Sea Bass is the real standout dish -- very nice. It's cooked to perfection and has a slightly crispy and sweet glaze on the outer edges... mmmm good. The lobster was decent but not outstanding for the price they charge... I think it was around $33 for the 2-lb critter.

On Sunday I was left to my own devices for lunch and being a little lazy, snuck down to the local 1/3 lb. burger joint called Bob's Giant Burgers. And they aren't kidding, the burgers are pretty big. The burgers there are good, not spectacular, but hey you gotta support the local joints sometimes, I'd much rather go here than McDonalds for sure.

For dinner, it was off to Santa Clara to meet up with my mom and wait for a table at the Cheesecake Factory inside Valley Fair Mall. They don't take reservations on weekends, but it wasn't too bad -- just about 30 minutes to get a table. We got a massive booth for 3 of us which was pretty funny. The booth had mirrors like the nightclub that Tony Montana liked to hang out at in Scarface -- good for evading the sniper fire, you know? This place is also known for their humungous portions, and I ended up choosing the BBQ Beef Ribs with Onion Rings and French Fries. Wow. You gain weight just looking at it. V. asked me, "is the meat tender"? And as if on cue to respond, the meat fell right off the bone I was holding and rolled off the plate onto my shirt, leaving a nice big BBQ trail. Boy did I look stupid walking around Blockbuster later that night with a big brown stain on my shirt. I compensated by drooling and slapping myself to embarrass V. even more.

Good times, I tell you. And then Monday morning, the day of reckoning at the doctor's office for my annual physical exam. The verdict: -3 lbs. The doctor said "good job, now try working on losing the other 20 lbs". It's gonna be a tough holiday season for sure.

Tuesday night, V. and I revisited Broadway Prime in Burlingame, and I ordered ... what else, prime rib. Yes, more prime rib. The 24 oz cut at CJ's wasn't nearly as satisfying as the 16 oz Broadway cut I had tonight. Fantastic. It's really about quality, not quantity here. But don't get me wrong, I was plenty stuffed when I wobbled out the door.

Ok, tomorrow I think I better have a salad for lunch. The guilt is killing me.