SFO777

Thank you DanielW. Totally agree, although there is something about your sledding tent accommodations that intrigues me.

Thanks nequine.

Thank you worldtraveller73. We also thought about that Hawaii-Cabo comparison. For us, 2 hours vs. 5 hours is a big difference. Not so big from YVR or SEA.

Thanks Bretteee. Good memory on the beaches. Nothing has changed with the Pacific being too dangerous to swim. On the other hand, just 20-30 miles away, the Sea of Cortez is perfectly safe.

Thanks so much antebellum. Agree on "outside of summer". Summer is just too oppressively hot for our tastes.

SFO777

A relaxing day at The Resort at Pedregal


After a late night... a late morning. The beautiful view from our terrace.



Oh yeah, a filling breakfast goes a long way to help with the hangover.





It was well after noon by the time we finally left our room. OMG, from 68 degrees to over 100 outside. Yikes. Despite the oppressive heat, I decided to explore.



Despite the 100+ degree temps, lots of crazies out in the sun.











The fitness center is the place to be today with much nicer 70 degree temps.



... and a view.



Now after 2pm, we headed for a light lunch at Don Manuel's, near the beach.



Much more pleasant inside with cooling fans.







Food was excellent as we shared the Blue Fin Tuna...



... and shrimp tacos. Fabulous.



Then back up to the room to cool down. A little after 4pm, snack time! With some creature moving in from the left. LOL.





By 7pm, the temps had cooled into the upper 80s, and the walk to dinner was more pleasant.



Tonight we're dining at el Farallon, the resort's signature cliff side restaurant.











A drink to start as the sun sets...



el Farallon serves a 4 course quasi prix fixe menu featuring ocean-to-table selections. The starters are standard, you just have to pick your main and two sides from a variety of choices... all explained here prior to being seated.







Yummy bread basket.



Up first, excellent clam chowder.







Then a trio of delicious starters.



The octopus was sensational.



The ceviche divine.





And a lovely beet salad.





Our mains. Mrs. SFO777 enjoyed the Mexican red snapper and her sides of Mexican rice and zucchini.



And my Cajun shrimp with sides of roasted tomato with pesto and capellini with home made chorizo. Fabulous.



And desserts to die for.





Heading back to our room after a wonderful meal.





Poolside entertainment, nice with a drink at the bar. Not so nice in our room. Mercifully, they packed it in at 10pm.



The view from our room, with el Farallon off in the distance cliffside.

nequine

Wow! The place looks just as fantastic at night as it does during the day!

seat38a

Not 100% sure about Cabo, but when I was in Mexico City couple months ago, the Kiosks are just an automated passport and customs/immigration machine which can be used by US citizens. I used it to clear immigration. It's equivalent to the automated kiosks used at US Airports for the Non GE people.

mrfussion

Sadly Alaska is cutting SNA to SJD (and PVR). I think the last flights are this month. Only option SNA to SJD will be Southwest. And that leaves the unfortunate decision of what's worse: LAX or Southwest …

Not sure what day you arrived, but never arrive Cabo on a Saturday. Most of the timeshares are Saturday to Saturday so you get an excessively high number of arrivals and departures that day. I've twice arrived on a Saturday and finally learned my lesson the second time. I will never make that mistake again.

Tony3021990

SFO777

And a lot cooler at night!

Thanks seat38a. Good to know. We'll try it next time if there is a repeat of the masses in the regular queue.

I was surprised to hear AS eliminating SNA-SJD/PVG as well. Not sure what the reason is but the chatty CBP agent alluded to some dispute with the OC Board of Supervisors. He was definitely blaming the supes. Southwest or LAX? Ugh. Plus LAX is regular AS metal. SAN-SJD has VX metal so we might consider that since it's only 5 miles further than LAX for us.

SFO777

Heading home to The OC

With an 11:30am pickup, we enjoyed a leisurely morning before heading down to San Miguel's for breakfast. Nice breakfast buffet station where you order your main which is then delivered to your table.













We brought some fruit and pastry back to the table while we waited for our mains.





Mrs. SFO777's loaded omelet...



... and my huevos rancheros. Both excellent.



Our pre-arranged Eliker driver was on time and we headed off for today's 30 minute drive to the airport.





Adios until next time... in the winter, not in the summer.



Terminal 2 at SJD.





We had checked online and printed boarding passes at the hotel, but checked in at the counter for a document check.





And then upstairs to security.



... where they was virtually no one in line.



With six open scanning stations, we were thru in no time, and into the typical duty free shop on the way to the concourse.



I guess it works as there were at least 40 people waiting in line for the cashier. Go figure.







At the far end of the small concourse is the VIP Lounge, a Priority Pass lounge.





This lounge was quite pleasant and comfortable. The lounge has two levels, with a bar and food station on each level. The larger and nicer 2nd level.

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And the lower level.

SFO777

Our flight today was assigned a bus gate, as half of the terminal and gates are still under construction. The completed portion...



... towards the not so completed part and our gate.









San Jose de Cabo SJD to Orange County SNA
Alaska AS 1223
A319
2:20pm-3:40pm (sked)
2:15pm-3:20pm (actual)
First Class
Seats 2AC


Bus boarding was called at 1:25pm or around T-55. The usual priority boarding was followed, which at least permitted us to get seats on the bus.





















Excellent service again today from our First Class flight attendant Jessica. In the air, time to dry out.



Lunch choices were a protein plate or chicken and cheese sandwich.



The chicken sandwich was actually very tasty and included real, non-processed chicken.



For desert, we finished off our parting gift from The Resort at Pedregal, delicious turtle-shaped shortbread cookies.



We arrived home at SNA 25 minutes early. John Wayne/SNA has a very small CBP facility with only three agents today. Since we were one of the first to arrive, we bypassed the 3 Global Entry kiosks and just headed directly to an agent. What an enjoyable quick two day trip to Cabo. We'll definitely return but never again in the oppressively hot summer. Thanks for following along on this short report.

For more pics and an HD version of this report, please visit SFO777.com...

• Off to Cabo
• The Resort at Pedregal
• Relaxing day at Pedregal
• Heading home to The OC
• Alaska First Class to John Wayne

nequine

It looks quite controlled/organised the bus gates compared to some airports I have seen!

Love the cookies you took from the hotel!

Thanks again for another TR from you.

gaobest

Madone59

This is the summer of SFO777. Thank you again for sharing ^^

iaflyer

The Google transition of part of the Mexican page about the Viajero Confiable system is this... (I speak no spanish so it's entirely a google translation)

"If you are a Mexican, American or Canadian citizen (belonging to the Global Entry and NEXUS Programs) and reside permanently in Mexico, the National Migration Institute has launched an action that allows you to quickly and safely enter Mexico through Automated kiosks located in the participating airports in the internment rooms, where you can scan your passport, provide your fingerprints and fill out the Migration Form, which will reduce your waiting time considerably when you enter Mexico."

SFO777

Thank you nequine. Another reason we ate the cookies was to not have to declare them at customs.

Thanks very much gaobest. With Global Entry and Fast Track, it's been a long time since I've experienced anything like that. Even Shanghai was better.

Thanks so much Madone59.

Thank you iaflyer. So you need to have GE or NEXUS and reside permanently in Mexico?

krazykanuck

Thanks for this SFO777. I'm actually gearing up for a half long weekend, half mileage run to Cabo next month. Nothing like JFK-MEX-SJD r/t to rack up the Delta MQMs on a cheap fare, topped off with an AM redeye MEX-JFK! Still don't know where I'm staying but I'm sure it won't be as lux as your weekend.

Those machines are a god send, MEX has long been a cluster f... I'm not sure the full list of countries that can use them, but Canadian citizens can as well. I used them earlier this year connecting in MEX.