Drawing Spades in Cabo

It was in February of 2000 when I surprised Dorothy with a 8 day trip back to our favorite resort then, Twin Dolphins in Cabo Real, a dozen miles from the whistle blowin, Macarana moving teenage spring break world of Cabo San Lucas proper…

Twin Dolphin was an oasis, on a rocky bluff of untold acres, it over looked the Sea of Cortez, as the bluff fell away to sandy beaches for those willing to walk the paths to the palapas… It was not for the lazy, but with a packed cooler it was a day of bliss, nudity and complete privacy and all that that offered… with the slap and tickle of the softly lapping waves… And in early spring the birthplace and playground of whales going north for the summer… The frolicking of the pods on migration was inspiring and the emotions enormous…

The fields of organic crops fed the amazing kitchen and a super solid wine cellar formed the culinary backbone of this stunning resort… 

The Main House, reception, bar, dining room, and lobby was Mies van der Rohe meets Sinatra at the corner of Palm Desert cool, and Ocean view…

The art by design continued as the guest cabins resemble nothing so much as a derailed cargo train, a great tumble of boxcar sized cabins spilled down a slope to the sea, but kept from the bottom and the bay by huge boulders that held them in place, and then the windows and decks and doors were made on the waters side and the rooms were perfection… 

I have no real numbers but based on dining and the pool maybe 30 guests at a time I guess could be there and not feel crowded… It was special to say the least… 

We were having a really well-deserved break; our cocker babies were being well attended to at our home and we had just time to relax… I played some golf with Dorothy as my cart partner, seaside golf courses of such beauty and our time was perfect.

I was also writing a speech I was giving the next month in NYC at a major gathering of the commercial production industry and I spent my days around the pool tanning and watching the whales in the Sea of Cortez below while putting pen to paper… Old School…

For the first weekend we watched as a group of 3 couples frolicked about, clearly unencumbered by tradition or responsibility… Younger than us by a decade or more, they tended to be dismissive of the peace and privacy the property deserved… But hey, that is what privileged young people do, and we were fine with the little extra noise, the cannonball with a drink in hand, it was not like we were in Cancun or anything, some taste was on show and the clothes and bodies were fun to watch… We were watching them when a spat developed and tempers flared a bit and 4 of the 6 left in a huff, and Dorothy said to me, about the two who remained, “that’s Kate Spade, the handbag designer, and her husband Andy, David Spade’s little brother…“  “oh, said I”

Dinner that night was quiet, and delicious with fine foods and wine and only a few guests in the dining room, and I read a first draft of my speech to Dorothy between courses, this place was truly a haven… The walk down the hill to bed was with the sounds of distant whales and lapping waves.

Late the next morning, after coffee on our deck, we arrived at the main building in time to see the foursome loading into a van with luggage, an airport beckoned… Andy and Kate were at a table for two, clearly the split was unresolved for this trip… 

As we finished our breakfast, and waited for the two soft coolers of food and drink that we would take with us for a day at the beach, the Spades passed closed by and stopped an said a brief hello and an even briefer comment of “hope we did not bother you yesterday at the pool, our friends were a little loud” We assured them it was not even noticed and wished them a good day… Andy is “one handsome fit fellow” Dorothy notes, “Kate is cute in a plain way” say I… “I like that she is not too thin…”

Soon we took the curving path down the hill that lead to the waters edge, with large rock outcroppings defining private coves with large straw umbrellas known as palapas… We arrange our selves and spent the day sunning and dipping, dining and some light drinking and either reading or writing, and did not see another human… Sometime in the afternoon (what have you got to lose) we gather our little campground together and start the march up to the cottage and a long nap is planned.

The sun has set on our paradise by the time we wake and wash and find something fitting to wear for an evening of comfort dining and drinking and while casual, not too much so… Twilight and low garden path lighting show the way to the top of the hill, where the stunning glass walled girder beamed building stands really looking jewel like against the blackening sky…

Greeted and seated like old friends of the family it is another enchanted evening… Great food, vintage wines and two hours just slip away…  After saying our goodbye to the dining staff we walk thru an open breezeway and decide to have a night cap in what is the perfect 50’s modern bar, currently empty except for the attentive bartender, who would probably prefer to be closing, just graciously brings our well chilled vodka martinis in proper glasses to our table and bows them into place… Ahhh.

Almost done when Kate and Andy Spade come in from dinner elsewhere, and we ask if they would like to join us… They say “yes thank you”, and when we noticed that the bartender was MIA, Kate suggested that their cottage was loaded with booze as friends had sent bottles as congrats for their anniversary, so why don’t we all go there for drinks? We agree and soon the 4 of us are back on the path down the hill, chattering and sharing names and backgrounds… We have lots in common on the surface, marketing and advertising, places in NYC and weekend homes in Ct, no children and a love of dogs… And soon we are in their cottage and pouring drinks… 

The energy was powerful in that space, there was no cocaine involved (that we knew of) but it did have that “coke” vibe that we both knew from our distant pasts…

They shared their plans for expansion of Kate’s design brand, of Andy introducing a Spade brand for men and retail and a global presence and on and on and on… We offered support and prospective, the speech I was writing was on the coming new media landscape and how adaptation of current thinking was needed and that got Andy and Kate both throwing out thoughts on how they could see that fitting with their plans and on and on and more drinks and very relaxed and suggestive climate and all of the sudden we all saw the light coming thru the window and it dawned on us… A fun and informative night saved from “something else” by the morning light…

Hasty goodnights, hugs and kisses and promises to never be kept, but well intended.

They left Twin Dolphins before we had even opened our eyes, and we spent the rest of our week in quiet togetherness…

In closing, my speech was well received a couple of weeks later and my tan was still fresh enough to impress… 

We ran into Kate and Andy a few months later at one of the great restaurants near our apartment and had a nice brief conversation and memory.

I started this story a few weeks before Kate Spade tragically took her own life and only recently decided to finish it…

Twin Dolphins was closed a few years ago, and is now a destination golf resort, with homes, condominiums, and hotel accommodations, with the golf course designed by Fred Couples… 

All done very well no doubt but it will never be Twin Dolphins even though they saved the midcentury main structure.