French Polynesia - Sept 2022

Toasting to our first night at the Hilton Moorea

We finally made it to Shawna's bucket list wish place - hut over the water in French Polynesia.  We were supposed to go in 2021 for her 50th bday celebration but Covid was still a little crazy then so we punted it another year.  John and JoAnna joined us and we spent three nights on Moorea and four nights on Bora Bora.  It was absolutely everything Shawna wished for and more - truly stunning scenery and the color of water was nothing like we had ever seen!

Accommodations:

Renaissance LAX Airport - We stayed here one night.  Nice hotel. Close to the airport. 

Hilton Moorea - We stayed here three nights in a hut over the water.  The resort is small with three restaurants, a small beach and a pool with a beautiful view of a mountain.  Our room (104) was very nice and we enjoyed swimming in the water from our room.  We had seen in the reviews that the food was not the best so while we had breakfast and lunches at the hotel, we ate all of our dinners off property.

Hilton Moorea

St Regis Bora Bora - We stayed here four nights in a hut over the water, also in room 104.  The resort is stunning with four restaurants, a small beach, two pools, a spa and a lagunarium where you can snorkel with fish.  We splurged and got a nicer room that had views of the main mountain on the island and had a large separate living room and deck.  We spent quite a bit of time relaxing our deck and swimming in the ocean from our room.

St Regis Bora Bora

Activity:

We flew to LA on Thursday evening and worked from the hotel on Friday - mainly because we did not want to miss our connecting flight that flew out on Friday night to Tahiti.  John and JoAnna also did the same.  Shawna worked a half day on Friday and so she and JoAnna went to Santa Monica Pier to walk around a bit and have lunch.  With traffic, it took a while to get there so we did not have as much time as we would have liked to explore.  We returned to the hotel, showered and packed up and then the four of us went out to dinner in Venice Beach before heading to the airport to catch our flight at midnight.

Santa Monica Pier

Venice Beach

We arrived in Tahiti on Saturday morning early.  John and JoAnna had booked a tour package so we were able to go on their transports by paying some extra cash.  So we hopped on a bus which took us to a ferry (the ferry was about a 30 min ride to Moorea) which then took us to another bus and then another bus before we finally arrived at our hotel!!  Since we got to our hotel well before check-in time, we changed into our swimsuits and relaxed by the pool.

Pool time

While in Moorea, we did a tour of the island for about three hours - on the tour, we drove in a 4x4 truck and went to a distillery where we tasted some local liquor, a vanilla farm where we had some vanilla ice cream and homemade jam and explored multiple viewpoints on the island.  The tour was great and our guide was interesting and funny.

Photos from the tour

The rest of the time on Moorea was spent relaxing at our hotel - sitting at the pool and drinking sparkling apple juice (aka beer - our waiter called it this).  We also swam off of our deck and snorkeled around that area, spending one afternoon entirely doing this.  We took kayaks out one morning to look for sea turtles and we saw one but it swam away quickly.  

Hanging out in the ocean off of our deck

Kayaking

On Tuesday, we checked out of our hotel on Moorea and took a bus to the airport to fly to Bora Bora.  The flight was short - about 40 minutes and once there, we took a large boat that is operated by the hotel from the airport to the hotel.  We were so excited to see the views and the water and of course to get to our hotel! Our rooms were not quite ready so we grabbed a late lunch and then got settled in.  That evening, we drank the complimentary Champagne that we each got in our rooms on our deck.

We had a primary concierge assigned to us who took care of our restaurant reservations and ordered us beer to be delivered to our hut so we could hang out on our deck on afternoon.  We struggled to come up with things to ask her to do since we were all so low maintenance!!  She was super nice and probably appreciated that we were not too demanding!

View from the beach

While on Bora Bora, we did one excursion - a snorkeling tour for about three hours.  The tour picked us up at our hotel and we went to three different spots to snorkel with reef sharks, manta rays, eel rays and lots of other colorful fish.  The cool part of this tour (aside from the really amazing snorkeling) was that we also went around the whole island so got to see it from all angles.  We definitely would recommend this tour and the company we went with.

Snorkel tour

The rest of the time, we enjoyed the resort - mainly relaxing at the beach or on one of our decks.  The water from our decks was deeper (no real snorkeling there) but we were able to jump in and use the floats that John had brought to relax in the water.  We only spent a couple of hours one day at one of the pools as it was really much nicer to spend time at the beach or on our decks.  One morning, we attended the fish feeding at the lagunarium and then also snorkeling in the lagoon for about an hour - some really cool fish here as well.  Keith and Shawna also treated themselves to a 90 min couples massage on the last day which was amazing!

Lagunarium

Swimming off our deck

Chilling at the beach

Our flight back on Sat was at the end of the day so we were able to get a late checkout for John and JoAnna's room which allowed us to enjoy more time at the resort and shower up before heading to the airport.  We flew out of Bora Bora around 6:30pm to Tahiti and then had a few hours at the Tahiti airport before our midnight flight back to LA.  We landed in LA shortly after 11am so we each ran to our connecting flights and got home around 8:30pm on Sunday.  What a long day getting back!!

Overall, truly an amazing trip - we were so sad to leave but definitely had to return to make more money to pay for the trip!!

Restaurants:

Gjelina (Venice Beach) - We had dinner here on Friday night before going to the airport to catch our flight.  It is one of Keith's favorites in the area.  We shared a bunch of yummy dishes.  All of the food was fantastic! 

Arri Vahine (Hilton Moorea) - We had breakfast here each morning - great buffet of fruit, pastries, and the usual hot items.

Rotui Bar & Grill (Hilton Moorea) - We had lunch here each day, eating at the pool.  We usually shared the tuna trio and a salad.  Food was pretty good.

Rudy's (Moorea) - We had dinner here twice - food was very good.  They offer pick up and drop off for free (most of the restaurants do this).  The first night we shared some yummy fish dishes and the second night we had some even yummier meat dishes.  Shawna was not a fan of their creme brûlée which she went on and on about!!  But everything else was really tasty.  A must go place on the island.

Le No Stress (Moorea) - We had dinner here one night at the recommendation of our concierge at the hotel.  While the food was good, the service was slow which caused some stress ironically given the name of the restaurant!  We also got free pick up and drop off to/from our hotel.  We shared some tasty seafood dishes.  Overall, we preferred Rudy's.

Te Pahu (St Regis Bora Bora) - We had all of our breakfasts and lunches here.  The breakfast was a really nice buffet with the usual items but then also fresh sushi and you can order hot items made to order from the table.  For lunch, we mostly shared the tuna poke and salad but one day splurged on getting the burger which was really good.

Bamboo (St Regis Bora Bora) - We had dinner here two nights at their Asian restaurant.  Food was really good.  We shared the stir-fried beef both nights.

Far Niente (St Regis Bora Bora) - We had dinner here one night at their Italian restaurant.  Food was also really good - we really like the truffle pasta but also shared a few other items for the table.

727 Bar (St Regis Bora Bora) - We had drinks here two nights - once at sunset to watch the sabering of the champagne and another time later in the evening before dinner.  Great location to watch the sunset. 

Lagoon Restaurant (St Regis Bora Bora) - We had dinner here one night - this is their nicer (and most expensive) restaurant on property.  We shared an appetizer, pasta, main dish and dessert - everything was very tasty!

NYC - Aug 2022

Drinks at the Met

Since Keith had to be in NYC for this board meeting, we decided to stay the weekend and catch up with friends.  Keith was there all week and Shawna arrived Thursday evening.  We stayed at the W Hotel Union Square and worked out of the hotel on Friday.

On Friday afternoon, we took the train out to New Jersey to stay at Kim and Tom's house for the night.  After having a couple of beers and hearing about their trip to Switzerland, we cleaned up and headed out to dinner at Ninety Acres - a beautiful restaurant in a park about 40 min from their house. We started with a cocktail and then moved on to wine while sharing a burrata salad, veal rags and a pork entree.  The food was delicious.  Once we got back to the house, we crashed pretty quickly - Kim was disappointed that we didn't stay up for more drinking!!

Dinner at Ninety Acres

On Saturday, we went for a hike near their house with the dog and then showered at their house before taking the train together back into the city.  We dropped off our stuff at our hotel (Sheraton Time Square) and then the four of us went to meet Mark and Alicia for drinks at the rooftop of the Met.  It took a while to get to the rooftop as there was a line to get in but once we got there, it was amazing - great weather and views of the city.  We had a couple of drinks.  Cassie, Mark and Alicia's daughter, also joined us.  We then headed downtown for dinner at Casa Carmen, a trendy Mexican restaurant in Tribeca.  We had yummy margaritas and some great food, sharing a bunch of dishes for the table.  

Dinner at Casa Carmen

On Sunday, we got our usual Starbucks and relaxed in the room, and then did a walk around Central Park.  Back at the hotel, we showered and then went to the airport to fly back home.  Great weekend!!

Montana Trip - Glacier National Park - July 2022

Glacier National Park

For Kim Botha's 50th birthday celebration, we joined Kim, Jonathan, John, JoAnna and Johnny Mac in Montana for a long weekend of hiking in Glacier National Park.  The rest of the gang stayed for a week while we joined them Friday to Monday.  Jonathan had reserved a VRBO in Columbia Falls which was very convenient to getting into the park.

We arrived on Friday around noon and were picked up at the airport by Kim and Jonathan.  We went to the house to drop off our luggage and eat a quick lunch.  Keith worked from the house that afternoon while the rest went for a short 3 mile hike on Hidden Meadow Trail which ended at a nice lake in a meadow.  We then went to Lake Bowman and relaxed there for a short while - the water was super cold!! Before and after the hike, we stopped at Polebridge Mercantile & Bakery to get some huckleberry bear claws and a few other goodies.  We got back to the house and quickly showered and then went to the rodeo in town which turned out to be quite fun.  We had dinner (hot dogs and burgers) there while we watched all of the competitions.  Unfortunately, when we got back to the car, one of the tires was flat so Jonathan changed the tire and then Kim and Jonathan went to swap out the car.

Hidden Meadow Trail

Lake Bowman

Rodeo

On Saturday, we did two really great hikes - 3 miles on Hidden Lake Overlook which had beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, and a 5-mile hike on Trail of the Cedars / Avalanche Lake which ended at a gorgeous lake also surrounded by mountains.  We hung out at the lake for a bit (again very cold) before heading back to the house.  We first stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge for a drink on the porch and then went home to clean up.  That night, we had dinner at Three Forks Grille where we shared a few appetizers and an entree.

Hidden Lake Overlook

Avalanche Lake

Trail of the Cedars

On Sunday, we did another great hike - 5 miles from Sun Point to St Mary's and Virginia Falls.  We were a bit under a time crunch so we hiked pretty fast to get to the end.  The waterfalls were beautiful and the scenery along the way was stunning with views of St Mary Lake and the mountains.  That afternoon, we did a boat tour on St Mary Lake which was fun.  We stopped at St Mary Village Lodge for some snacks and beers before doing the two-hour drive back to the house. That evening, we ordered pizza from North Fork Pizza and just ate at the house.

St Mary Lake

St Mary Falls

Virginia Falls

Boat Tour on St Mary Lake

On Monday, we both worked out of the house before we flew back later that afternoon.  We had such a great time and were reminded of how beautiful Glacier Park is.  The bonus was that two days later on Wednesday when the rest of the gang flew home, we got to see Kim, Jonathan, JoAnna, and John again as they got stuck in Chicago for a night.  So, they came to our house and we ordered Chinese food - had dinner and a few beers and heard about the rest of their trip!

Lake Michigan Trip - July 2022

Outside the Thorp House in Fish Creek, WI

For the week of July 4th, we decided to explore some of the local areas with a trip around Lake Michigan, staying in Door County which is a peninsula in Wisconsin that juts into Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island, Traverse City, and Saugatuck.  

Accommodations:

Thorp House Inn and Cottages - A very cute B&B located in Fish Creek, WI.  We had a great room (the Everil room) with a super comfortable bed, a balcony, and our own private staircase to get to the room so we were separated from the rest of the guests which meant it was quiet.  The only downside was the bathroom was quite tiny. We had breakfast here each morning (included in the rate) with fruit, pasty, and a hot dish.  We stayed here three nights.

Thorp House Inn

Mission Point Resort - One of the larger hotels on the island and located at one end of the island with a nice big lawn out front.  Our room was nothing special and we were amazed at what we got for the price we paid.  It was a clean and decent size but that's about all we could say.  We only stayed here one night so we really didn't get to enjoy the amenities of the hotel, except the spa which was nice!

Mission Point Resort

Traverse City AirBnB - We stayed here for three nights in a one-bedroom located downtown.  The apartment was on the smaller side but clean and modern and relatively quiet.  Great location!

Hotel Saugatuck - We stayed here two nights.  Very cute hotel with a main building and cottages and within walking distance from the main part of town.  Our room was in the main lodge on the second floor at the end of the hall - a nice room with coastal decor.  We had breakfast each morning delivered to our room that we had to order the day before!

Activities:

We left the house around 11am on Friday and drove 4.5 hours north to Fish Creek, WI in Door County where we stayed for three nights.  On the way, we ate cheese and crackers in the car for lunch so we wouldn't waste time stopping.  The town is on the water on the Green Bay side and is very cute with restaurants and shops all within walking distance.  We checked into the Inn, got settled, and had a short nap before dinner.

On Saturday, we rounded around in the morning since breakfast didn't start until 8:30.  We had our breakfast out on the porch which was really nice.  After breakfast, we did a three-hour walk in Peninsula State Park.  We walked to the park from the Inn (took about 15 minutes) and then walked the trails all around the peninsula - most of the time we were walking in wooded areas but once we got to the point of the peninsula we saw more of the lake and beaches.  It was a relatively flat hike but a good one for distance.  After the hike, we stopped at the local market in town to get a few things and then went to a brewery in Egg Harbor for lunch and beer.  That afternoon, we had a nice long nap and then went to dinner in Sister Bay, stopping in the town of Ephraim to check it out and sit on Adirondack chairs overlooking the lake.  Ephraim is also a small town but very cute with most of the hotels and restaurants directly facing the lake. Sister Bay is larger but also nice with plenty of great restaurant options.  

Hike in Peninsula State Park

On Sunday, we lazed around again until 8:30 breakfast which we had again on the front porch, and then drove over to the lakeside to do a two-hour kayaking tour with Cave Point Paddle and Peddle. From the lake, we could see quite a bit of dead minnows which apparently happens every year from getting too cold!  We also saw the rocky shores of Cave Point County Park and we were able to go inside one of the caves for a few minutes which was very cool.  After lunch, we did some wine tasting at Stone's Throw Winery which imports its grapes from California.  The wine was decent but not good enough to buy a bottle!  We also had lunch here.  In the afternoon, we relaxed, napped, walked down to the water and sunset beach, and then had dinner.

Kayaking Cave Point

On Monday, we got up early and drove the 5.5 hours to Mackinaw City, stopping only for gas and bathrooms - we had cheese and crackers in the car again.  Once there, we quickly got the ferry and got to Mackinac Island around 3pm.  The island was a bit bigger than we thought (the ring road is 8 miles round), had more houses than we thought and the town was more kitschy than we thought!  We checked into our hotel and then did a 45-minute walk to Arch Rock so we could at least say we got some exercise for the day.  We then cleaned up and walked into town (our hotel was about 15 minutes from the main part of town) for dinner.

Mackinac

Arch Rock

On Tuesday, we each had a 90-minute massage at the hotel which was fantastic and very relaxing.  We then quickly cleaned up, checked out, and then did our own walking tour - stopping to see Fort Mackinac and Fort Holmes.  We grabbed lunch in town and then went to the Grand Hotel to have a drink on the infamous porch.  We were quite impressed at how much we packed into one day.  We caught the 4:00 ferry and then were on the road around 4:30 to drive the two hours to Traverse City.  Once there, we got settled into our AirBnB and got some groceries before crashing for the evening.

Fort Mackinac

Grand Hotel

On Wednesday and Thursday, we worked from the apartment, eating breakfast and lunch in the apartment.  Wednesday evening, we drove out to Torch Lake to visit Keith's former colleague, Steve, - we went out on the boat with him to see the area, had a few drinks on the deck, and ate enchiladas.  The house was beautiful on a great lot right on the lake.  Thursday evening, we met up with Shawna's high school friend, Mary, (who she had not seen since high school), and her husband.  We had drinks at a rooftop bar and then had a later dinner at one of the restaurants in town.  It was so great to see her and catch up after all these years!

Dinner at Steve's House

On Friday, we walked along the bay in Traverse City before packing up and checking out of our apartment.  We then drove about two hours to go to two wineries on the outskirts of Grand Rapids - Stoney Ridge Vineyards was a small winery with nice views; however, the wine was not spectacular.  We ordered a pizza for lunch which was decent.  We then went to Cooper's Hawk which is a chain restaurant/winery with the main winery in Illinois - we tasted quite a number of wines and while they were better than the first place, nothing grabbed us to buy.  We drove over to Holland to see the windmills and Dutch architecture - mainly just stopping in Windmill Island Gardens - it was not really worth the stop!  Another 15 minutes and we were finally in Saugatuck - checked into our hotel, relaxed a bit, and then went out for dinner.  

Stoney Ridge Vineyards

Windmill Island Gardens

On Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel in our room.  We then hiked up Mt Baldhead which has about 230 steps to the top of the hill and then we walked down the back side to Oval beach and returned.  The hike took about 45 min in total.  We had a bit of time to kill before our next activity so we drove through Douglas (the town right next to Saugatuck) and had a drink at one of the coffee shops - the town is artsy and cute.  We then did a 45 min buggy dune ride which was fun - we stopped on top of one of the dunes and walked around for about 10 min.  We had lunch in town and walked around a bit to see the shops.  In the afternoon, we napped and relaxed before heading out to dinner.

Hike up Mt Baldhead

Oval Beach

Dune Buggy Ride

Restaurants:

Pelletier's Restaurant - Casual spot located in Fish Creek, known for its fish boils.  We were skeptical of the flavor (how good could boiled fish be) and were shocked and how yummy it was.  We got there early to get our tickets and watch them do the boil which contained potatoes, onions, corn, and fish with LOTS of salt which surprisingly did not taste very salty when we ate it.  We sat outside for dinner and had some beer with our meal which also came with yummy cherry pie 'a la mode'. 

Fish Boil at Pelletier's

One Barrel Brewing Company - Great brewery with plenty of outdoor seating located in Egg Harbor.  We had lunch here with a couple of beers.  For lunch, we split a meat pizza which was quite tasty.

One Barrel Brewing Company

Chop - A great steak restaurant located in Sister Bay with modern decor - we had dinner here.  We started out with a cocktail and then had a bottle of Animal Malbec from Argentina.  We shared a salad, a filet with truffle butter (which was also served with mashed potatoes), and a side of mushrooms and a lobster tail.  The food was incredible - Shawna couldn't stop raving about it. 

Vino Vino - We had lunch here at the Stone's Throw Winery, sitting outside and sharing a charcuterie board and meatballs.  It was tasty.  

Stone's Throw Winery

Barringers - Located in Fish Creek, we had dinner here.  The restaurant has bright, modern decor.  We sat at a high top in the bar and shared the lobster bisque, chopped salad, and the filet au poivre with brussel sprouts.  We started with a cocktail and then had a bottle of Prisoner red wine.  The food was quite good and they comped us our cocktails since it took a little while to get our soup and salad.

Carriage House - Located on Mackinac Island, we had dinner here to celebrate our anniversary a bit early.  Nice place located on the water.  We shared the crab tower, a salad, the pork chop for an entree, and the lemon meringue pie for dessert.  We had started with a cocktail each and then had a bottle of Ridge Zinfandel followed by a glass each of dessert wine.  Much to our surprise, when we went to pay, Jean and Dick had called ahead to pay for our dinner!  What a nice surprise for sure!  Dinner was really good and even better when it was a gift!

Dinner at Carriage House

Mary's Bistro Draught House - Located on Mackinac Island on the water, we had lunch here, sitting outside.  We shared the fried cheese curds, a lamb burger, and a spinach salad, along with a beer each.  The food was pretty tasty.

Grand Hotel Front Porch - Of course, we had to go here - the most famous hotel on Mackinac - to have a drink on the world's longest porch - 668 feet long! We each got a glass of wine and enjoyed the views.

Grand Hotel

Hotel Indigo - Located in downtown Traverse City, we had drinks here on the rooftop.  Nice views.

Poppycocks - Located in downtown Traverse City, we had dinner here.  Shared pita chips and cauliflower appetizers and lamb rags for the entree.  Cute restaurant.  The food was tasty. 

TRAP - Located in Saugatuck, we had dinner here.  We shared the falafel, dates, and lamb meatballs.  The food was pretty good but we had higher expectations.  

Coral Gables - Located in Saugatuck, we had drinks here, sitting on the outside deck and listening to live music with views of the river.  

Coral Gables

Pumpernickels - Located in Saugatuck, we had lunch here.  Cute restaurant.  We shared a salad and Mahi tacos - very tasty. 

Coast - Located in Saugatuck, we had dinner here.  We did the tasting menu with the wine pairing - starting with tuna crude, mushroom risotto, salmon, trout, filet, and then dessert.  The restaurant was very cute, the food was very good but the service was not the best.  They struggled to time the dishes with the wine pouring and never explained any dish or wine that we got.  

Dinner at Coast