Page Title

La Marina Inn is the best kept surprise and secret in Cabo. It is, using the 60's circa
"hang ten and shucka bruddah" surfer speak, a secret spot.
In the old fishing village of Pueblo La Playa (also known as La Playita, which means
"little beach") now also known as Puerto Los Cabos. It is sweet.
La Marina Inn. Stay awhile in one of the neat and spacious rooms (about 25 rooms, at
about $100 bucks). Golf at one of the very close-by Jack Nicklaus or Greg Norman
designed golf courses, or surf at one of the many fine breaks, or dive, or launch in a
panga boat (right across the street) and go fishing at the close-by and popular Gordo
Banks for yellow fin, marlin, wahoo, red snapper, grouper, and dorado...plus others.
Bring your catch back to the marina beach facilities, clean it or have it cleaned, and
then tote it across the street to La Marina - which is only a few steps away. At La Marina,
your fresh catch will be grilled, baked, broiled, roasted, blackened, or seared to your
satisfaction for dinner that very evening - with lemons, and saute es, and all of the
garnish stuff. Just tell the chef how you want your catch prepared...he will gladly get it
just right for you and your friends.

Why spend $500 per day for a "destination resort" hotel room? You can easily access all
of the Cabo stuff at your leisure from La Marina - at a fraction of the cost. And you can
stay away from the crowds when you want to...but mix it up when you like. Relax at the
quiet La Marina poolside or at the uncrowded beach across the street.
And guys, don't tell your wife this, because if you do, we will all get killed. With the four
hundred dollar savings per day, your girl can bobble into shops and buy earrings and
stuff while you're out golfing or fishing. And you will be her hero because you lavishly
spent bucks on her shopping sprees. But - psst - Sherlock Holmes Clue coming up here:
She's going to shop and spend anyway, no matter what you do or say.

Reservations and Information: La Marina. The person to contact at La
Marina is Kelly. Telephone her at 307-224-4929 during office hours, which
are 8-5 Monday through Friday (mountain time zone).

The "season" at Cabo starts in November, and goes through March (just in
time for Spring Break).

Another one of La Marina owner George's innovations - Tower House in
Seal Beach, California.
Now, George did not save the whales...but he did save the water tower
from imminent and irreversible destruction. He conceived a plan to convert
the huge redwood water tank on top of the tower (which is just steps from
the beach, and that provides an unparalleled 360 degree unobstructed
view of Southern California) into a "no-kidding" house. Here is why: The
city council was ready to rip the tank / tower down because it no longer
served its purpose of providing water...plus it became a graffiti magnet and
eyesore. Upon hearing of the "rip down" part, some concerned citizens
braved to venture into a council meeting and said to the council "don't you
dare rip down our landmark, or we will rip you a new one." And they said
"if we can't do that, then we will rip something right out of or off of your
bodies" (or words to that effect). You are not getting away from us this
time, you scoundrels. You are captured. Give up!

The council got the message. They surrendered. And they wisely and
promptly replied to the citizens...but only out of fear for their (the council's)
very existence. But, oops, there was a small problem: there was no public
money available to restore the water tower. Now whadda we do, the
council mumbles to itself (in a panic filled state of confusion, which is often
referred to as "leadership" by politicians and C.E.O.s). We don't have any
money, and we don't want those parts that you citizens (i.e. - pesky voters)
are talking about to be altered or removed from our bodies.

George then dashes into action with a plan that ultimately made everyone
happy - except for communists. He jetted numerous times to Sacramento,
attended countless meetings with the California Coastal Commission (aka,
the bureaucracy to end all bureaucracies...unless you've been to Mexico,
Zimbabwe, or San Francisco), blasted off a string of letters, and asked for
"permission" for the structure to be converted from a water tower into a
house. The CCC finally "caved in" and said "yes." (Logic 101: The
citizens want the tank / tower preserved; the city council wants it
preserved; and George has an answer. How many hula hoops must the
CCC require these citizens to jump through or rotate in unison in order to
get this simple task done?)

And then he did it...with his own bucks.

And lastly, a full disclosure: George Armstrong is Commodore Jim
Armstrong's uncle. And neither one of them will admit this fact in public.

Now...This! is Big Time fun! Golf at the Rattlesnake Arroyo.
Directly across the street from Buzzard's - and a mere 200 yards from the briny main - is the largest known golf
course in the world consisting of one giant sand trap...the legendary Rattlesnake Arroyo Golf Course (18holes -
nine of them are used twice - from opposite directions). There is not a blade of grass within three miles! The
Best and Biggest sand golf course in the world.

Here is the routine:

You arrive at about 7:00 a.m.
You may or may not "meet up" with all of the folks that said that they would meet you there - depending
on how everyone set their watches / clocks the night before, or if their eyes were open to look at them in
the morning, or if their car started. Either they got there too early, and started without you. Or you got
there first, and said (after a loooong five minute wait): "We are burning daylight, let's get the herd
moving - with or without them."
But, most of the time, it actually works out as planned.

These are the rules (as Commodore Jim understands them, and of course they are subject to change at
anytime):
1. You are golfing in the sand...putts and all...all of the time!
2. There are no golf carts. You will be walking, bubba.
3. Golf bags are prohibited. You must carry your selection of shooters in your hand - or find someone else to
carry them for you (Good luck on that one).
4. Caddies are not allowed.
5. You don't use them wood clubbers...ya use them iron things.
6. Tee's are mandatory (those are them little wood things that you place your ball on, and which becomes the
launching pad for your soon to become "perfect shot"). And you better have a buncha them...'cause they
magically disappear into the sand after your shot...all of the time...no matter how hard you look for them. Tee's
are not a shirt here...no matter what you have been told. And they are not something that you drink with
crumpets.
7. You had better be standing behind whoever is doing the swinging. And even that may not be safe - because
balls have been spotted ricocheting off of boulders to achieve the "hole in one." It is funny to see it happen
before your very eyes. It's magic. But they could just as easily bounce back and bop you on your noggin.
8. Keep your eyes open at all times.
9, Don't trust anyone.
10. Be prepared to "duck and cover" at any given moment.
11. Dogs are allowed, but watch your step, because them critters have been known to "make a deposit" on the
exact location that your next step takes you a fraction of a second before your foot lands. And then it
squishes. And then you smell it.

Now...if you whack a ball off of one of the designated "fairways" by accident, you are required to scrounge and
trudge through heavy brush, trees, cactus, and a buncha other stuff on the perimeter as part of your search
effort for your vanished ball. This rough is really a rough. At that instant, some not-so-kind words will
immediately, automatically, and uncontrollably be uttered from your mouth. You are not saying them...they are
just coming out. It's magic!

No tellin' what you'll find in those bushes; but more than likely, you will find stranded, lost, and wayward golf
balls - missing since who knows when (and they come in all colors). And they could be lodged in trees or
tucked away beneath some rocks. And you could not have found a better place to hide them if you were in
charge of an Easter egg hunt.

This next part is important, so pay attention: If the closest ball that you spot in the brush is the same color as
the one that you were using...then pick it up, toss it back onto the course, and resume play. If you cannot find
a ball within two minutes of disappearing into the brush as part of your valiant effort to find your missing ball,
then glance over your shoulder (to make sure that nobody is watching you), take a ball from your pocket and
clandestinely drop it onto the ground. Then point at it, and loudly proclaim "here it is...I found it." Nobody will
be the wiser. For once in your life, lying and cheating is allowed...and possibly encouraged, and probably
expected...depending on who you are playing with. Take advantage of it. You don't even need to be a
Congressman to "get away with it." (By the way, we all know what you are doing on your "missing ball " hunt.
We are just pretending that we don't, so that you can pretend that you do.).

Commodore Jim says that he personally explored for errant shots on more than one occasion...and it ain't
particularly easy when your golf shoes are "blown out" flip-flops.

Commodore Jim also says that he played the course for the first time in 2006 (although he never plinked a link
in his life prior to that)...but man-oh-man, the "dessert" part of the experience is the breakfast at Buzzard's
after the "round of golf" (or whatever you later decide to name it).

The Rattlesnake Arroyo even has a "sanctioned" tournament once a year (in March). Who does the
"sanctioning" is not exactly known; and what "sanctioned" means is not exactly known - but nevertheless, it
is sanctioned, and they probably even have some rules.