Skin Care Cream and the War on Terror...

Maybe we've gone a tad overboard. This week I had to travel through the Big Sky State of Montana.  It's a great state with lots of scenery.  At least that's what I was told.  Smoke from nearby wildfires obscured most of the view and rendered the place looking like 1960's Los Angeles, so I couldn't see much. Even a side trip to Yellowstone left me wondering why everyone is so enamored with the place.  I did not see a single bear like the ones I grew up dreaming were everywhere in the park, perhaps thanks to this Disney video. But all of that aside, the thing that sticks in my memory was my airport experience on my way home. It seems my tube of skin care lotion was a little over the legal size.  It came in at a whopping 4 ounces, one over the legal limit.  So they TSA guy in Helena tossed it in the trash.  He told me that if it wasn't so full, he'd have let me keep it, but because it was relatively new, it had to go in the trash. Okay you might say, rules, or in this case, laws, are laws.  I get it, but if you fly as often as I do, you see exceptions made everyday.  I've seen people allowed to pass with unopened cans of soda, oversize toothpaste tubes and any number of exceptions.  It was obvious, or at least should have been, that i was just a regular Joe. But on this day, I was once again singled out, just like the time I was found to be using Chapstick in Denver.  It was soon after 9/11 and I was spotted by a bright-eyed Delta Air employee who said I had to give up my Chapstick because back then it was still illegal to travel with it. I am just wondering if anyone really thinks stopping a 50 something year old guy from traveling with some skin care cream is helping us win the war on terrorism.

Engaging Mexico... tourism outside the box...

I was reading a Rick Steves, pictured here, article earlier today. For those of who don’t know, Rick Steves is the guru of European travel.  If you want good travel advice about Europe, Steves is your go to guy. Here’s one of his points about having a great experience in Europe... “A fundamental aim in my travels is to have meaningful contact with local people.  When an opportunity presents itself, I jump on it. Driving by a random cheese festival in Sicily? Stop the car, get out, and eat cheese. Hiking through England's Lakes District and popping into a pub for a drink?” What great advice... When you are visiting another country, don’t stick to the tried and true, venture out, explore and experiment! I wish people who visit Mexico from the United States had more of that spirit. One of the great pleasures in Mexico is eating in the markets, on the streets, and some of the off the beaten tracks hole in the wall restaurants.  Sadly, far too often people miss out on a chance to experience some of the heart of Mexico out of fear, timidity, or worry about what might happen. Last year I had a friend join me on mission in Oaxaca for a week of ministry.  Before we got started I led a small group over to the market for lunch where I ordered meat by the kilo for all of us to eat.   Now if you’ve never been to a food market in Oaxaca, it is an experience not to be missed.  The sights, sounds and smells are at once incredible and sometimes overwhelming.  Sadly, most people who are visiting Oaxaca will never experience this. My friend was one of those people until I took her into the market, made her sit in the smoke filled room where they were grilling tons of fresh meat, eat sauteed grasshoppers and have one the most memorable meals of her life. I made her break every rule she had ever heard about eating in another country in general and Mexico in particular.  And yet, there she was, eating and laughing with us as we enjoyed a wonderful lunch together surrounded not by the typical tourists you’d expect to find in Oaxaca.  The folks surrounding us were locals, amazed that a small group of gringos would venture into their local market not just for some cool photos, but a great meal as well. Next time you travel, do what Rick Steves and I do when we travel, get off the beaten track, follow the locals, and leave the cookie cutter tourism behind.  Not only will you get to know the country you are visiting much better, you’ll have way better stories to tell when you arrive home. Next up... the Guelaguetza!

Life as a Member of the Jet Set...

It used to be you were part of the Jet Set when you traveled. Flight attendants were stewardesses, beautiful, had cool uniforms and you got some great meals. Not anymore. Now you are part of some vast herd that must be corralled by the least amount of staff the airlines can legally put on the plane. But the fun usually begins before you even board as you are pushed into lines, given no real instructions, poked, prodded, and felt up, all in the name of national security. These days with flight attendants freaking out and pilots going nuts, you wonder if you're even going to survive the flight. I was thinking about this all day yesterday as I was sardined into my 18 inch wide seat for my flights home from Oaxaca, Mexico... 1. When you arrive at the airport and they have a scale waiting for you before you get in line, you know the airlines have decided to take baggage weight limits seriously. 2. US Airlines seem less willing to change your seat than the Mexican Airlines. At least that is true for whatever we are calling United/Continental airline these days. So yes, I was sitting in row 648, seat Q on my trip home. 3. I noticed that one of the benefits of flying United is that they give you complementary seat choice. Seriously, that's a benefit? 4. I left Oaxaca and went through security. I arrived in Houston, passed through security, customs, immigration, and then security again. Can anyone explain to me why, after I was allowed to fly to the states, I have to pass through security again after Immigration allowed me in, even though I stayed in a controlled area? 5. It is never a good sign when the guy across the aisle from you tells his wife he needs the barf bag. 6. More and more people are dressing like they should be part of a Walmart customer photo exhibit. As a general rule, I don't want to see your underwear, ugly feet, or your gut and belly button when I travel, and I'm betting, no one else does, so get dressed before you fly. 7. They've taken almost all of the free snacks away. Now they don't even offer you that bag of 6 pretzels. Of course you can buy it, but it costs $6.99, credit card only. 8. The government has decided that on international flights, you can no longer use the bathroom when you are within an hour of the United States. Supposedly, this cuts down on the possibility of a terrorist doing something untoward in the last hour of a flight. I wonder why no one seems to think he won't just do what ever it is in the last hour and a half? 9. Is all the security really necessary? I mean, could someone explain to me what kind of dumb terrorist is really going to try and pass through security with a bomb these days? Why would they not just blow themselves up in the line of 5000 people waiting to take off their shoes and belts and get X-rayed? And finally, when I left Oaxaca in the morning, food in a tortilla was called a taco, or burrito, depending on where you were. Somewhere over the US, the same food in a tortilla became a wrap. Travel can be so confusing... Want a bonus? Check out Brian Regan's hilarious take on flying...

Looking to Get Away? Sayulita may be your answer...

[The beachfront at Sayulita] When you visit Sayulita, a small fishing village popular with surfers north of Puerto Vallarta, you expect to eat some good seafood. I recently spent a few days there and I was not disappointed. After arriving from Guadalajara via Primera Plus, a top notch Mexican bus company, we got settled into our rented vacation home, Casa Sorpresa. As you may guess, sometimes renting a house off the internet can be fraught with problems. At times the pictures upon which you base your decision are old, or even of another property. In this case, the pictures did not do the property justice. The place was fabulous and only about 100 yards from the beach, where we quickly headed looking for some good eats. We soon came upon Captain Cook's Seafood Restaurant, right on the beach. It did not take long for the margaritas and cerveza to make it to our table along with the requisite chips and salsa. Let me just say that the salsa might be the most pedestrian salsa I have ever tasted. It was more like tomato sauce with a hint of spice. Perhaps owner Uwe Fellier, pictured here, is worried about too much spice for most of his clientele, but this sauce, along with his bottled Huichol hot sauce just don't cut it. How about some fresh chili de arbol salsa for us more adventurous folks? The poor salsa however cannot take away from the real star of Captain Cook's... the food. At Uwe's urging, and in spite of my wife's fear of tough, chewy octopus, we ordered the seafood platter. Lobster, shrimp, scallops, fish, scallops and green lip mussels all joined the octopus and were heaped on a bed of pasta. It was fantastic. The octopus was tender, the mussels delicious, and most importantly, the lobster was perfectly done. The scallops melted in your mouth and the fish was fantastic. [Captain Cook's Seafood Platter] Now when the plate you order is this good, you often wonder about the rest of the menu. Don't worry about that. One person in our group, a seafood hater, ordered up a Hawaiian burger, complete with pineapple. She raved so much that I ordered one for lunch the next day. Made with Kobe beef, it was wonderful as were the fresh fries that came with it. My wife and I went back one more time for a late evening dinner at the oceans edge. And we ordered the signature dish, Pescado Sarandeado, a whole red snapper, butterflied, coated with a guajillo chili sauce and then cooked over a wood fire. Wow! The fish was light with a hint of bite from the chili and just the right amount of smoky flavor from the fire. No other place in Sayulita serves this and probably with good reason. They are not going to beat the combination of beach, fresh fish and wonderful smoky flavor, so why try? Uwe has got this place rolling. During the day he provides his guests plenty of umbrellas and beach front seating from where they can watch the surfers, read the latest book, and enjoy a great lunch. At night, in addition to tables inside his restaurant, you can sit at waters edge for a nice romantic dinner while listening to the surf as it hits the coast. Wrap all this up in a package, add the great service, and Captain Cook's in Sayulita is a winner. I just wish they had some better salsa...