Garza Canela Hotel in San Blas, Mexico

Nothing about my stay in San Blas, Mexico has been quite what I expected, but that's not to say the town hasn't exceeded my expectations.

In fact, I wish I could pass another day here. Part of the reason I'd like to stay longer is the hotel where we've been staying.

The Garza Canela Hotel is run by just the nicest, cutest people ever! It's owned by the Vazquez family.

The family's four sisters Josefina, Doris, Betty and Diana all take a role in running the place, as does their mother, Dora, who must be in her 80s (or older), and their four dogs, who greet every single customer to pass through the doors.

Betty is a rock star chef who trained in Europe but returned here to little San Blas to set up shop inside her family's hotel. Betty's food is amazing! Eating one of her meals is a luxurious experience.

Or, as she told us herself, eating one of her meals is a memory for the heart. You can not re-eat a great meal, she said, but you can remember how it made you feel forever.

Yes. And something else I will forever remember about my stay at the Garza Canela is what was waiting for me inside the bedside drawer in my room -- a copy of the New Testament and a copy of The Teachings of Buddha.

And you know what? There was nothing remotely strange about that at all (well, okay, at first I thought it was strange). But after staying there and experiencing the welcoming warmth of the Vazquez family (and their dogs) first hand, it seemed perfectly natural.

Coronado Beach, San Diego

After a stuffed weekend of wedding fun, the family headed to the beach for some relaxation and some sun.

Since the wedding was held near downtown San Diego and we were all still in the area, we decided to drive up and over the very tall and rather scary-looking bridge to Coronado Island and set ourselves down there in the sand.

We tried to park in the lot outside the famous Hotel Del Coronado, which has been the setting for several movies, including Marilyn Monroe's Some Like it Hot. However, every other tourist in Southern California had the exact same idea.

The car I was riding in got lucky with a nearby spot on the street; the other cars had to drive around a bit more. But everyone got a parking place and everyone reconvened inside the hotel's lobby, which was wide open to visitors.

We toured the gift shops, which were stuffed with trinkets of every kind boasting the iconic Marilyn Monroe, and the lobby itself, which was decked out in darkly stained and richly carved wood.

We also ducked into the bathrooms, which tons of other tourists also seemed to be doing. We appreciated the fact that hotel staff wasn't manned inside kicking out all non-paying visitors.

Once we hit the beach, we were also to able to rent sun umbrellas and towels from a hotel staffer.

And then we passed a good chunk of the day chillin' in the sun and surf.

Lips Smacking Fun in San Diego

From here on out, this week of my life shall forever be remembered as the "Week of Skin."

This is not to be confused or misconstrued in anyway as the "Week of Sin."

While I've managed to load up the past seven days of my life with a belly dancing show, a burlesque show and now a drag queen show, I have remained on my best behavior.

All of these shows have been in the name of good, clean fun. And yes, I really did just use the phrase "good clean fun" in reference to my "Week of Skin."

While the belly dancing and burlesque were attended at home in Minneapolis, the drag queen show was attended in San Diego.

Hubby and I arrived in sunny Southern California late yesterday afternoon for his sister's wedding. We arrived with just enough time to pick up a rental car and head out for our gender-appropriate stag parties.

I don't know where the boys went, but us gals went directly to Lips, a drag queen club, where we spent the rest of the evening embarrassing the bride and giggling like school girls.

Wishful Thoughts for a New Year of Travel

I've always thought that we kiss our honey-pie at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to usher in the coming year and ensure it is spent in love and harmony with that person.

Does this hold true for whatever it is you do on the first day of the year? If you spend January 1 comfy and cozy at home eating good food and reading good books, is that a foretelling of what is to come in the new year? Can you shape your year-long destiny by choosing your day-one activities wisely?

If so, my 2008 will be filled with hassle-free travel.

Hubby and I packed up and shipped out for San Diego early on the first. We arrived at the airport with ease, boarded the plane without a problem, took off and landed with nary a care, and collected our checked luggage sans snafus. We returned home five days later in the identical fashion.

While we were in Ca-li, we mostly chilled with relatives. We ate at Lucky Buck's, a burger joint in San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood adorned with signs of all sizes proclaiming it the best burger spot in town. Our cousins thought so too as they were the ones who took us there.

It's a small, laid-back place where you order at the counter and pick up your basket-o-food when it's done from the kitchen window. The waffle fries are worth the price upgrade and the spiked lemonade was quite tasty. Yum.

Our trek to Lucky Buck's occurred on the only warm and sunny day we were there. We spent the rest of our days donning layers and ducking in and out of foggy drizzle.

Yet the travel gods smiled on us again. As soon as we stepped foot on Oceanside's Pacific pier, the clouds parted and the late afternoon sun accompanied us on our stroll out and over the cold winter waves.