When I awoke, I realized that my first duty of the day would be to clear the driveway (as requested by family) and clear the sidewalks (as required by local statute). I spent about thirty minutes selecting and putting on the right winter gear, including long-johns, ski coat, hat, gloves, boots, wool socks and other warmth-ensuring paraphernalia. Having done a pre-test of my snow blower last night, it growled into action on the first pull of the flywheel, and I was off. It took me less than 15 minutes to complete my task.  Being a generous soul, I cleared the driveway of an elderly neighbor who has a heart condition. Total time outside: 25 minutes.

As I walked inside, I realized that I spent more time getting ready to do my work than I actually spent completing my task.

Thinking about teacher effectiveness, I realize that this is one task that will be neither quick nor short-lived.  However, I wonder about the work it takes to properly prepare for teacher effectiveness systems in schools.  What does it mean to properly select and test the evaluation frameworks?  What does it mean to prepare the school culture for accountability, evaluation, and feedback? What does it mean to pilot test the technology tools that will increase the effectiveness of the evaluation work while increasing the efficiency of observers? What does it mean to create the climate necessary for mutual reflection on instructional performance? What is necessary to prepare principals to be effective evaluators of colleagues, shedding bias and personal preferences?

As we work together on increasing the effectiveness of teachers, let us not forget the critical preparatory work necessary for implementation success.  Including teachers as partners, educators at every level need to work collaboratively for the sake of students, focused on doing whatever is necessary to help children achieve.  Let us prepare– to be collegial with one another, to give feedback that guides growth, to establish a culture of accountability, and to foster a common spirit of focus on student success.

The flight to Dallas was uneventful as well.  I gave the flight attendant one of those recognition certificates– she was very happy.

Customs and Immigration in Dallas is a cluster…  well, it’s a mess.  You go through two major lines, the first one a full 45 minutes long.  The second line to collect and resubmit bags took another 30 minutes.  Urgh.  I’m tired. 

As I write, I’m in the Admirals Club in Terminal D, enjoying a cocktail.  We’ll be home as planned for the 4th of July festivities (on July 2nd, go figure) in Lititz– an important, annual tradition.  We’ll host the annual open house, so I hope the kids have left the place in good order.

Best wishes to all my readers.  Enjoy your vacations and your travels.  And thanks again, American Way Magazine!

Scott

Today, we finally got smart and staked out our poolside location first.  We planted towels and some personal items on our selected lounges so we’d have a prime spot following breakfast.  The lounge vultures get up very early to get the best seats– and by the time breakfast ends, only the weakest locations are left.  Mind you, there are NO bad seats… but the best of the best are right up front!

As usual, we enjoyed the Hilton breakfast buffet for omelets and all kinds of great food.  I can’t get enough of the view from our breakfast table!

So far, we had not been to the actual waterfront down below the pool.  So today, it was our goal to “do the beach.”  OUCH.  The sand is very hot, and we trekked the hill without our sandals.  It was great to get to the beach area, see the shanty shop, scope out the pelicans, and stand in the salty sea water.

Pelicans are funny.  They are all over the place.  This one decided to pose for me.  Every time I’d point the camera at him, he’d stretch his wings and pose!

We went back to the pool and hung out until 4pm.  Then it was time for showers, clothes changing, and the conclusion of our novels in the air conditioning.

Tonight, we took Rich and Shonda’s recommendation to eat at the Hacienda Resort’s Cantina y Cochina.  The dinner was fabulous and the prices were the best we’ve seen.  Becky had shrimp and I had beef medallions.  And for the first time, we ate dessert in celebration of our recent diets.

The Hacienda setting includes an amazing view of Land’s End, and a beautiful beach club with two pools.  (Paris Hilton spent New Years’ Eve here last year!)  For those of you that are coming down, eat here early in the week so you can come back again.  It’s THAT good.

For the firefighters in the family, we took a photo of the fire station.  Enjoy!

We fly back at 11:50am tomorrow.  So it’s off to bed.  We have to be out of the hotel by 8:30am! Sweet dreams.

Today we slept in until 9:30am again.  That may not seem late to most folks, but given it’s Mountain Time, it’s plenty late enough.  We ate breakfast at El Meson as usual, using the handy-dandy coupons.  Today, it was just cereal.  (Last night’s Mexican snack supper on the tour boat kept me up half the night!)

Right after that, we returned to the amazing pool. I can’t get enough of the view of that infinity pool just reaching into the ocean. (Tomorrow, I do plan to actually get in the ocean finally.) We read, swam, and just generally hung out at the pool until 1pm. It’s so wonderful.

Yesterday we met a cute baby– and her dad– in the pool.  Today she celebrated her first birthday (with about 30 family members) with pink, purple, and white balloons in a specially decorated cabana and private table area poolside.  The party was topped off with a 3-tier Minnie Mouse Cake in pink/white polka dots to match her bathing suit (not to mention Mom’s and Grandma’s dresses).  Not a bad start to life, I suppose– a destination birthday party at age 1!

Becky and I had lunch poolside at Madera. The mojitos are great there, as are the pomegranate margaritas! Becky at the fish tacos, which she recommends, and I had the baja burger.

To change the pace, I hooked up Becky with some spa time at 3pm (and joined her, of course). There’s a deal if you book between 12-3pm, friends– don’t miss that when you come down. We both got 80-minute massages– deep tissue for me, Swedish for Becky. FABULOUS. Ask for Ines!

Tonight we drove back into Cabo San Lucas to shop for gifts for the kids (yes, you too, Dave) and Kaylee, Becky’s grand-neice. We walked through any number of shops, all of which look identical to me. T-shirts, shot glasses, silver jewelry, and hats. Roy, be sure to get yourself a WWE mask for when you do your wrestling stuff. They’re all over.

The people here are very friendly. Every one of them wants to talk to you– because every last person has something to sell you, it seems.  (Rolls eyes.) It’s tiresome.

You’ll see much here in Cabo that looks like home. The brands are worldwide. See Becky posing with some Elton John memorabilia at the Hard Rock Cafe.

We toured the marina area which is the heart of Cabo.

We ate a light appetizer supper at Alexanders, right there in the marina. A cute little boy came by the table and offered to sing for us– so we of course took him up on it (and paid the kid handsomely for his talents). He was very good– I’ve discovered a future Mexican Idol winner!

Despite the fact that we’re not on a cruise ship, we’re getting daily towel animals from the maid.  How nice!  When Becky and I came back tonight, we laughed out loud, thinking the maid had left us a “mouse” this time. (The animals are usually on the bed; this one was on the floor.)  Alas, further investigation revealed that it was just that the head of yesterday’s animal that fell on the floor. 

Off to bed. Buenos noches, amigos.

The tour leaves at 6pm and returns at 8:30pm.  We did the Margarita Cruise, although they also offer a dinner option.  The Margarita Cruise offers heavy appetizers– which was dinner enough for me!

We met another couple who sat at our table.  Turns out that he’s a preacher from Oregon, so we had lots to discuss and lots to laugh about.  Mark and Marci were great– and we enjoyed our evening with them.

Here’s a selection of photos from our trip around Cabo San Lucas.  I took about 80 photos– these are just some highlights.

El Meson is a fantastic place to eat breakfast.  With your Hilton Diamond breakfast coupons, the continental breakfast is free.  The upgrade to the full buffet is $9.  A deal!

This is the “adult pool”– the smaller of the two. It’s on the opposite side of the hotel’s central wing. It’s very nice– and much more quaint. Being teacher types, we’re at the main pool. The babies and little kids are cute. And since it’s off season, there aren’t a lot of folks around anyway. It’s quite relaxing. I’m blogging poolside.

Today is a lay-around the pool day– for a while.  We’re planning to do a sunset cruise around the Arch tonight, but I need to make reservations yet. Will need to log into TripAdvisor and see what’s recommended.

Becky and I left PHL airport at 8:30, flying first class to Dallas.  Thanks,American.  The flight was uneventful.  I slept the whole way. (Click on the thumbnails for full-size photos.)

Becky selects the adjacent 5-story escalator next to me at DFW.  Th race is on!

At 1:15pm, we boarded our flight to SJ Cabo.  This flight, too was uneventful– just the way I like them.  We landed at 2:45 MST.  We went through customs and immigration quickly as we were among the first off the plane.  We had our Avis rental car by 3:45pm!  We were able to avoid the folks hawking timeshares– but apparently there’s an Avis employee who also has a side deal.  He offered us a tour of someplace for a lower rate. LOL

We rented a car to drive to Los Cabos.  It’s by far the most economical option– the trip to the hotel alone pays for the car.  I do recommend the insurance though– crazy Mexican drivers and no enforced speed limits.

Driving here is a hoot.  The outside mirrors on the car are convex– not flat like in the US. In some respects, that’s helpful– but it can throw you if you’re not used to it.  The biggest vehicle on the road wins– so drive safely.

The terrain is rugged and sparse.  It’s reminiscent of the Palm Springs dessert, although there is more dried vegetation.

There are numerous great beach views. Don’t be afraid to stop and see the vistas.

The Hilton is on the left, on the bluff, overlooking magnificent ocean views.

For those of you coming here, this is the entrance. The Hilton does NOT have its own entrance.  If you do like we did, you’ll have to turn around and drive several kilometers out of your way.

This sign confirms that you’re entering at the right place.  The hotel is gated– they take your name as you drive in.  The cool part is, when you pull up into the courtyard, they know your name and provide a private check-in right in your room!  It’s a quick 30 min trip from the airport– take the Toll Road (a well-spent $2.40).’

Follow the niceperson who checks you in.  He’ll start your stay with a welcome drink– a pomegranite margarita.  AMAZING.  It went straight to Becky’s head (even better!).

In the main bar, there were lights with 12-pointed stained-glass stars.  This is reminiscent of the 12-pointed Moravian stars that are very common in the town in which we live.  Usually used for Christmas ornaments at home, these stars are signs of welcome and blessing, as on the occasion of the Bethlehem star. Extremely cool to see here first thing– a great sign.

Of course, we check the view from our balcony first!

Becky says this will do nicely!  “We can just stay at the hotel all week,” she says.

The bathroom has a pass-through window, so you can soak in the tub and see the TV, perhaps.  You can see Becky in the bathroom here if you look closely.

This is the main pool– as seen from the hallway window right outside our room.

The beach view from the pool area.

There are cabanas everywhere.  If you prefer, beautiful lounges abound as well.

This is the hot tub at the Hilton.  It’s set amid the winding infinity pool– the main pool at the hotel.

Each pool has a restaurant, complete with a swim-up bar.  Tomorrow, we’ll order mojitos from here!

We decided to take a drive and tour both cities quickly.  San Jose del Cabo is a traditional Mexican town, with a nice mercado (Centro) that has several shops and a couple restaurants.  We walked the square in an hour, avoiding the silver shops and the farmacias. We did poke around a couple art stores and saw the TEO restaurant that Rich and Shonda recommended.  It was dead there at 6:30pm.

Quite by accident, we found Cabo Wabo when we got to Cabo San Lucas.  Made famous by Sammy Hagar, Cabo Wabo is an icon here.  It’s one of those places everyone will ask you if you visited– so despite the poor reviews– we went anyway. Jeffery Ottens recommended it, so we decided to head in for a drink.  Besides we were hungry.  The food was very good, but expensive.  (It was $22 each for a side salad and an appetizer.) The margarita wasn’t that great– and the iced tea was instant.

First I must begin with a hearty thank you to American Airlines. As one of the winners of the Road Warrior of the Year contest, I won this trip as a part of my prize package. Becky and I wish to extend our many thanks to Adam Pitluk, David Radabaugh, Susan Gordon, Ann Weidner, Michael Woody, Anna Fialho, Danielle Marino, and all the others at American Way magazine.  These fine folks selected great winners, made us look fabulous (even with scarfs and winter coats), and entertained us beyond measure.  If you haven’t seen the magazine issue, see my page where I recap the selection and the photo shoot.

Becky and I head to Philadelphia for a relaxing evening on Sunday night. We kick off with an early Monday flight on June 27th. You can follow this blog for updates on our trip along the way! To my Road Warrior friends– I wish you were coming along. Absent that, I hope that this blog will help you in planning your own trips. I stand on the shoulders of Rich and Shanda who have already gone to Cabo and have sent their trip report– so I hope to provide some useful feedback as you plan your adventures.

Feliz Viaje!