Restroom Iconography I: Mexico

Maybe it's my fascination with the human figure.
Maybe it's my interest in graphic design.

Maybe I'm just odd...

Whatever the reason, I am unreasonably delighted when I encounter a restroom with an atypical male/female icon on its' signboard.

I found this elegant icon outside the ladies room at the Marquis Resort in Los Cabos. I was waiting there for my wife (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

I'm not sure that Frank Lloyd Wright had restroom signs in mind when he said, "God is in the details". At the same time, I'm pretty sure he'd approve.

Pictures from Mexico

Angie at Playa Santa Maria

The best of my photos from 10 days in Cabo San Lucas are now posted on my photo site at hues.smugmug.com.

Click here to go straight to the Cabo photos.

You'll find surf, sand, sunsets, some skin, pelicans, turtles, a mission, ceviche, margaritas, turkey legs, christmass goodies, and a hummingbird in a pear tree.

Enjoy!

From Cabo: Time to Fly

Took one last walk of the beach this morning, before packing and heading to the airport.
Our local pelican was kind enough to pose for us.

From Cabo: It's the Little Things that Matter...

Today we hiked up Fox Canyon, in the Sierra Mountains West of Cabo San Lucas.

I always hope for dramatic wildlife spottings - mountain lions, coyote, poisonous snakes... but that's rare.

We did see a coyote, but he took off before we could take photos. So, as is often the case, the highlights were found in the little things.

In this case, my little green friend was the highlight of the day. He didn't like being handled. Every time I caught him, he escaped. But I'm persistent. Finally, he posed for me.

Ladies and Gentlemen: my friend, the frog.

From Cabo: Slope Soaring for the Mind

I've been watching pelicans a lot this week.

One of my three favorite birds - kingfishers and hummingbirds are the others, if you must know - these goofy guys are so ungraceful that they give me hope that even I might be able to burst into spontaneous flight one day.

They are clever, though, on at least one level. They know how to maximize their flight with minimum effort. I've been watching them catch the updraft from waves, a technique that's also known as "slope soaring".
Wikipedia says that slope soaring is "a gliding technique used to maintain altitude by flying in the updraft produced by wind blowing up the face of a steep slope". This requires a "a hill, ridge, escarpment or ocean wave, and a wind that is blowing against the slope".

That got me thinking... when it comes to creativity, what is your hill and wind?
For me, travel is my hill or ocean wave, and conversation is the wind.
When I travel and talk about it, my creative juices flow and new ideas come smoothly and fluidly - like a pelican coasting down the beach.

Without travel (even virtual travel works, checking out new magazines or websites) I'm stagnant. I have few new ideas.
But without conversation, I'm unable to get any real lift from the ideas.
Give me both, and I'm slope soaring.

What works for you?

From Cabo: Releasing Sea Turtles

Yes, I'm holding a big-eyed baby sea turtle...

This is one of the baby leatherback turtles that we released this morning.
In 2000, we watched a turtle lay eggs in South Africa. Eight years later, we're able to complete the cycle. The rangers brought 60 hatchlings down to the beach, and a group of us got to hold and then release them.

A few thoughts:

• Sense of Direction - This is so important in work and life. Not all species or individuals have it (I know a lot of folks with none), but the first turtle I released sure has it.
  As I held this guy in the palm of my hand, he always knew exactly where the ocean was. Whatever direction I faced, he would turn and start moving towards the ocean - like the needle on a compass always points north. Pretty remarkable.
• Persistence - Watching these little guys waddle through the sand, exerting huge efforts only to get tossed backward by the waves, was tough.
  Most of the turtles got tossed back three or four times. Others had it worse. Often, they ended up on their backs, straining to flip over. Those of us watching would cheer each turtle that finally made it through the surf, its' head popping up in the sea beyond.
• A Little Help from my Friends - As we got down to the final two or three turtles, it became obvious that some of these were clearly weaker than the others. Eventually, all (some with a little human help) made it to the water. They may not last long, but they all have a chance. You never know what they'll do with it.

A great morning...

From Cabo: Vultures and a Saguaro

I'm not the biggest birder in the world, but I guess this is a turkey vulture?
It was fighting with three other vultures over a dead pufferfish.

It's hard to imagine a more vivid demonstration of the harshness of a desert environment than three vultures fighting over a dead pufferfish (even in the best of conditions, I don't think there's much to eat on a pufferfish).

Another of my favorite icons of the desert is the saguaro cactus. Here's one we spotted.
Yes, there's so little in the desert that someone had to use this cactus as a fence post!
It's really effective, I'm sure.

As most of my friends know, I have a really lame sense of humor. One example?
Whenever I see a saguaro, I sing to it, using the melody from "Tomorrow". Yes, the "Tomorrow" that the annoying little red-haired girl sings in "Annie", which I've never even seen...
That's as far as I get before Angie tells me to shut up... which is good, because I don't know the rest of the song anyway.

Is there a Special Place in Hell for Timeshare Salesmen?

From Cabo San Lucas:

We were help captive for 30 minutes today so a Dollar Rental Car employee/partner could pitch a timeshare for us while our care was 'readied'.
Felt like I was the one being readied - not unlike a turkey is readied for Thanksgiving dinner.

We walked away... my time is worth more than their money... but, boy, do I hate that!

Number eleven of the huesvalues is "Offerings, Not Products".
This value originally was titled, "Selling Sucks", which sits a lot closer to my true feelings - but is patently unfair and demeaning to the many people who sell with integrity and personal authenticity.
I was talked off the ledge regarding this value by a couple of fine (smart) colleagues.

Still, there's a part of me that wanted to be more blunt. I'm an active, smart consumer.
Give me the information I need, a web address, and a phone number.
If you're product is any good, you'll hear from me.

If not, well, you're not going to hear from me no matter how hard you try.

Triple Your Spanish Vocabulary! Guaranteed or your Money Back!

We fly today to Cabo San Lucas (pictured to the right) for a little RnR at the Hilton Los Cabos Resort.

I love the collision of desert and ocean that occurs in Baja, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Ceviche, chorizos, chipotle, and chiquitas!

Time to start rolling my r's...

Speaking of which, I can triple the average Spanish vocabulary in one easy step.

I learned this in Mexico in 1991.

We were in Loreto, watching a parade of some type.

It looked like an election, so I asked an older Mexican man who was standing next to me.

Me: "Election?"

Him: "No comprende"

Me: "ELECTION?"

Him: "No comprende"

Me: "E... LEC...TION?"

Him: (shakes his head)

Finally, the proverbial light bulb appears above my head.

Me: "Eleccion?"

Him: as if discovering a dog could talk, "Si! Si! Eleccion!"

I realized that if I took every english word that ends with '-tion' and turned it to '-cion', I was now a master of Spanish.

I could go to the estacion and have a conversacion with the populacion of Mexico!!!

Viva '-cion'!