She can check out anytime, but she'll never leave

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, I was heading for the Baja California outpost of Todos Santos -- and what I'd hoped would be a heavenly trade of Code Orange alerts and impending war for margaritas and tall tales at the Hotel California.

The former $2.50-a-night dive, said to be the inspiration for the Eagles hit of the same name, was set to reopen as a $225-a-night boutique hotel. No matter that the Eagles had denied ever setting foot in the drowsy Mexican town about an hour's drive north of Cabo San Lucas. In the words of co-owner John Stewart, "There's a place where legend becomes reality, and this one has taken on a life of its own."

But beyond the hotel's candlelit bar, Todos Santos was weaving its own magic. Home to a growing number of U.S. and Canadian expatriates, the town of 5,000 mixed high-end art galleries and focaccia with unpaved streets ... // 50% Remaining