Baja Roads and Humid Summers

I recently took a little drive down the peninsula of Baja California to the formerly unknown fishing village that has become Cabo San Lucas. "Little" being the operative word for this 25 hour drive that is...or three days in a car if you like to stop for fish tacos, empty waves, or hidden mountain towns. Cabo may be sin city for some but for my family it has always been as oasis from the realities that an imperfectly perfect life can bring you. With Gramma finally out of the hospital, Rodeo being taken care of by family, and thick fog covering Coastal San Diego, this perfectly imperfect life took me to Baja for a little surf, a lot of tortillas, and the occasional game of beachside Scrabble.

Passports Ready!

Waiting for some fish tacos

El Mercado de Pescado

I never cease to be amazed by the nostalgic quality that Mexico inspires in me. I remember playing with my barbies in the tide pools at Punta Elena, fighting over the boogey board with Molly, and my fear of the imfamous Cascadas Shark Pool. Now as I return to Baja as a young adult(Scary word!!!) I continue to be calmed by the ethereal nature of the country, simply happy to bask in the low latitude sun and collect shells along the beach.

Nine Palms' Sunset

While Cabo has changed in many ways--no longer a small town but a buzzing city, there are still many things that remain special. There is nothing in the world like waking up to the sun rising over the Sea of Cortez(those eastern facing beaches always freak me out!) only to find random horses and donkeys grazing on the beach.

If only I could get my friends to pose this much...

One of the best parts about the trip this summer was that my friend and blogging muse Julia got to come with my family. My mom has always called her "our favorite Baja traveler," a title that continues to inspire jealousy in my boyfriend Adam. Julia has one of those "go with the flow" attitudes that I can only hope to fractionally emulate. She keeps me grounded and reminds me constantly that the stress that I claim to love isn't really as necessary as I make it. Plus with her constant mixing up of spanish words, there is always something to laugh about.

Julia-Always ready to dig in a random shell pile on the side of the road

We spent 12 days eating good food and simply relaxing. We found an amazing restaurant called The Hangman in San Jose which served dollar tacos, sauteed spicy potatoes, and cactus quesadillas. In Guerro Negro, at the Malarimo, my Dad, Julia, and I dined on medallion sized scallops(hands down the best in the world) and seafood stew. In the mountains above Cabo Pulmo we bought mangos fresh from the tree. Somehow this blog, and my life, always falls back to the food.

Potatoes and Salsas at The Hangman

Yet now, as I sit in my bed in New Brunswick,NJ thousands of miles away from those warm, sandy beaches I continue to remember my trip with fondness. Sometimes, it is the simple things in life, like golden buttons on a vintage sweater or fresh fish tacos from a stand in Ensenada that remind us that life is not as hard as we'd like to make it out to be. There are treasures to be found in the everyday, sometimes they solely require a deep breath and the realization that they are possible. I'm back on the blogging train now, refreshed from my Latin American vacation, the LSAT behind me, and ready to see what my beautiful senior year will bring me. Ciao Bellas!