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!