Coming back from Cabo was much better than going! Cabo Airport Shuttle picked me up and delivered me to the airport 3 hours before my flight. Since I had carry-on only and ds wanted a bottle of tequila and dd wanted to try mezcal, I went to the duty free store after clearing security (easy peasy). The store in the airport is huge and well laid out. The clerk at check-out asked if I had a direct flight or transfer and proceeded to put each bottle (including hot sauce for ds) in separate duty free bags with a receipt visible in each bag. More on that later.
After duty free I headed to the Priority Pass lounge. Upon arrival I was told it was full and I would have to wait 20 mins. But less than 5 mins later I was allowed in and selected a seat on a small couch in the back part of the lounge. The menu was very small and included a ham and cheese sandwich, veggie sandwich, lentil soup, pasta salad and cookies. I had the ham and cheese sandwich, which while very small was good. Trying to flag a member of the wait staff down was a bit of a chore because the lounge was busy, but not impossible. When I left I asked for a bottle of water, but was told that they had run out. My flight to Dallas was a half hour late departing; I was very disappointed it was late leaving because my layover was 2 hours and I wanted to try the Centurion lounge (I've never been in one).
Flight back I was in biz class and really appreciated the bigger seat and extra space relative to my flight down. When we landed I had 90 mins to make my connection. I
thought this would be a breeze, but I seriously underestimated the size of DFW. Oh my goodness it is huge! I also didn't realize that I would have to clear customs and security (landed in Terminal D). The line for customs was huge, but there is a GE area, which I headed to -- no line there, thank goodness, no line at security either. I asked at security if the bottles of tequila and mezcal would be an issue (both larger than 3.3oz) and was told no as long as they were properly sealed. Once my items went through the x-ray machine a TSA officer opened the bags with the alcohol and swabbed each of them, then carefully re-sealed them with TSA tape (in case I had to clear security again). I give full credit to the cashier at the duty free shop for bagging everything exactly as was needed, even though it seemed excessive at the time.
If ever I wanted a flight to be delayed, it was that connecting flight to Toronto, alas it was still showing on time. I realized that I'd have to skip the Centurion lounge, and instead thought I'd try the AA lounge in Terminal A, where I was departing from. This was a mistake on my part. After taking the train to Terminal A, I made my way to the AA lounge. I only had time to add an extra layer of clothes in the bathroom when I got notification that my flight was boarding. I found myself hustling to get to the gate, which took 10 minutes and when I arrived they were already at group 5! All this way and still no bottle of water (I tried at the AA lounge but the bartender wanted $3.50

-- in AC lounges bottles of water are free). Flight left on time and arrived at YYZ 15 minutes early. I still can't believe it took me over an hour to make the connection (GE wasn't an issue, security took maybe 10 mins extra for the inspection of the alcohol) -- it was mostly the time on the train and walking (I figure I walked at least 1.2 miles, probably more). Left the WA at 9:55 am MT and arrived home at 11:00pm EST.