I am in love. In love with a city that’s at the tippy tip of the Baja Peninsula, nestled between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. A city with ubiquitous sunny skies, temps in the 80s, and people who are just as cheery as the weather. Cabo San Lucas marks my first international trip since becoming Kristi Krass (minus our Barcelona honeymoon where I still had my Kristi Redick passport), my first-ever  trip to Mexico and a fabulously memorable Thanksgiving with the Krass clan.

Jeff’s parents came up with an ingenious idea for the holiday: Let’s get the six of us together to spend Thanksgiving in a beautiful, non-Michigan locale. They landed on Cabo and the family shipped in from Detroit, Chicago and Portland to spend six days in paradise. We stayed at Pueblo Bonito Rose hotel, right on the sea and a short walk from the bustling downtown and marina. We ended up getting three days of inclusive meals and drinks at the resort, and spent the other days sampling the local cuisine. Some awesome restaurants: the outdoorsy, lantern-filled Edith’s with high-end Mexican food, the slick new American-vibe Bar Esquina co-owned by a young Boston man, and the locals-only, hole-in-the-wall El Pollo de Oro with the best chicken fajitas I’ve ever tasted (its translation, “the golden chicken,” turns out to be quite appropriate!).

Of course, we bar-hopped as well: the requisite Cabo Wabo, where a magician dazzled our table with 30 minutes of card tricks; the pinup-themed Happy Endings with the coldest beers in the city; the eight-seat “smallest bar in the world” Slim’s Elbow Room, where we shot tequila with fellow Michiganders who had a creepy amount of connections to us (Michigan State, VeeV, Traverse City, same hotel…); and more.

While food and drink added to the experience, the headliner was definitely the beach. Our hotel had a monster-sized pool next to the sea, so we hopped in and out all day. Jeff, Rob and Amy paddle-boarded; the six of us took a four-hour private snorkeling (my first time!) and sunset cruise with Cabo Sailing; we played beach volleyball; and we bought Ray-ban knockoffs from beach peddlers. We also kept busy off the beach: The guys golfed at Palmilla; the girls got massages; we played bingo and music trivia; and Chris and I held baby lions.

Bottom line: It was extremely hard coming home on Sunday, especially once the airline offered us an expenses-paid night and $650 to stay until Monday. But, it was great seeing Cooper again (thanks Lindsay and Daniel for making him part of your Thanksgiving!) and we’re so thankful Bob and Chris planned such an amazing experience. We will be back!