Sun Yea, Sand Nay - Take Two

Even though we had just vacationed in Mexico only several weeks prior, a trip to Florida was exactly what we needed. Work was overly stressful and with an upcoming major bathroom remodel, it was a well planned break before our lives would turn upside down.

We flew down to Ft. Myers to celebrate my dad's birthday. The only downside to the flight was that we didn't get the star treatment we received on our Mexico vacation. (What's up, Humphrey terminal??) While my dad may not have been too excited about turning 60, the rest of us were thrilled.

The sun, water and relaxation were marvelous! We stayed in next door two-bedroom condos on the beach. Kyra was a fabulous eater down south and devoured whole bananas and strawberries like she was an adult. We tried giving Kyra a second introduction to the sand but she remembered the "horrors" or Mexico. Being the brave girl that she is, she did take a chance to play in the ocean. Most of our time was spent swimming in the pool, walking along the vast beach and having dance parties in the living room. Kyra and Ada were adorable together. Watching them be so loving was incredible...and hysterical (photos pending).

Thanks, Dad! Can you turn 60 again next year?

Sun Yea, Sand Nay

Sara, Scott, Ada, Jennifer and the three of us all took a trip to Mexico to savor the sun and enjoy pina coladas on the beach. Our minds had wavered between considering the excursion with infants to be a great and crazy idea. Although seeing a babies passport is oh so cute. Packing took days, if not weeks. Many thanks to Florie and other girlfriends for providing advice on what to bring. Our packing list was so huge (and of course so incredibly organized) it was considered a "disorder". No matter, it helped!

First thing to note, bring a stroller. Having a stroller was the golden key at the airport. We got through security in a snap, jumped ahead of everyone at check-in and breezed through customs. Kyra was wonderful on the plane. She only napped 30 minutes the whole first day, but didn't whine, cry or disturb other passengers.

Clouds lingered through our first full day but not all was lost because we got to see Sara, Scott and little Ada! It also allowed everyone to adjust to a new rhythm. We spent our days lounging by the pool and ocean, well mostly the pool since it turns out Kyra is terrified of sand (her feet curl up against her bottom at the sight of it). The girls napped in our arms while we lounged under umbrellas. Swimming, eating, and drinking filled our afternoons.

Come dinnertime, we ran into some issues. The hotel had promised us adjoining rooms which they did not follow through on, not even with an apology. We were forced to split up at night since dinner was only served after the girls bedtimes and attempts at extending their day had failed. It was still delicious and with good company.

Valentine's Day Kyra gave both Rebecca and Trevor a treat. Rebecca learned that swim diapers really don't hold anything in as she felt a stream of pee while holding Kyra. Trevor learned that you should always carry an extra pair of clothes with you in case your daughter takes a dump so large it overflows her diaper and leaves a pile of crap in your lap (literally). While these weren't the gifts a parent savors on Valentine's Day, they were quite hilarious.

Overall, we learned a lot on the trip, had tons of fun, and got much needed relaxation and warm weather. Watching Kyra and Ada hold hands on their own accord was beyond touching. While we won't be visiting the exact location again, we will be making the trip annually. And we guarantee you will find us stepping up to the front of all lines since we'll be toting the stroller along, at least until Kyra is 12 years old.

San Diego

A cold spell fell onto Minnesota a few weeks ago. It wasn't just Minnesota; other typically warm states were hit as well. At the time, the hottest location in the United States was San Diego, CA. With the help of frequent flier miles and Hotwire, we had a long weekend booked in no time.

The trip was off to a great start (after the usual Delta delay). We had a "stolen" Reese's cup in hand, Thai in our bellies and sandals on. Strolling along Mission Bay was exactly what we needed. For dinner we hopped into the Volkswagen bus at Hodad's on Ocean Beach for burgers and milkshakes. The next day we walked all around the San Diego zoo and Balboa Park. We drove downtown for tapas in the Gas Lamp district. There was a big event scheduled around Mission Bay Saturday so we decided to head up north and hike around Torrey Pines. Unfortunately it rained a lot that morning, but we made the most of it, along with the surfers outside of La Jolla. It cleared up in the afternoon and we were able to see seals lounging on the beach. We stopped by a coffee shop in Corando for our customary Eastern European early evening. Trevor had his typical beer and coffee while Rebecca substituted her Rum for a peanut butter cookie. By evening, we found our way to El Indio and the rest of the Uptown area. Our last full day was spent with brunch in Mission Beach along with a walk in the sun. Then onto Point Loma to see the tide pools and have a late seafood lunch. We treated ourselves to cake and ice cream at Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy. Then ended the trip with a walk around Old Town and along Ocean Beach before heading to the airport (and another Delta delay).

Mt. Waverley

How does a 15 hour flight trump a 3.5 hour flight? The DC777-200LR. My biggest learning from my recent trip to Australia is that traveling BusinessElite is definitely the way to go. Not only does your seat fully recline, the food, drinks and service are better, but you also get to use the express lanes through customs! I might not be home if it weren't for the BreezeWay (tm).

We had a day and a half of free time before starting work Monday morning. After getting settled into our apartment, we took a stroll into the town of Glen Waverley. On the small street, there were multiple Asian restaurants and grocery stores. We filled ourselves with Thai and bought our first round of groceries. We took the 30 minute MetLink into Melbourne for some quick site seeing. After strolling the Yarra river and nearby botanical gardens, we walked through the city and found a restaurant in South Gate. I tried char-grilled kangaroo, it was good. Sunday we drove to Dandendong National Park, did some hiking and tasted wine at a wonderful little winery. The rest of the week was spent at the plant or at our apartment. I won't bore you with those details. Thursday night the team took us to the sea for dinner and dessert. It was beautiful!

Though my time was quick, it definitely gave me a view into the country and intensified my desire to explore further. Now I just need to figure out how to get another BuinessElite ticket!

Bled and Beyond

The town of Bled sits adjacent to a shining blue lake with a church on an island and a clifftop castle. Nothing gets more picturesque, especially with the Julian Alps in the background. You can't help but be relaxed surrounded by such beauty. We arrived mid-morning and spent the day in the town walking up the cliff and around lake. Again the weather was not very cooperative, but certainly didn't keep us indoors. It was easy to convince Scott to join in our afternoon ritual of coffee and beers. We also introduced him to the delicious Bosnian meat, cevapcici. With a great night under our belts, we took the next day to explore the national park. We visited both Bohinj Lake and a nearby waterfall before lunch. Then we drove back to Vintnar Gorge with it's crushing rapids and winding wooden paths and bridges. Both were sights to be seen! We spent our last evening with pizza and wine on the balcony with cards.

We are currently home after a quick jaunt in Amsterdam. The trip has been incredible and we thank everyone at home who helped us take this journey. We feel so lucky to have been able to explore such beautiful countries for so long. It is highly recommended!

The city we can't spell or pronounce

After a morning drive and train ride, we arrived in Ljubljana mid-afternoon. It was raining so we opted for a taxi to bring us and our luggage to our hotel, a huge splurge. After getting settled, we walked four blocks to try and find Scott at his hotel. We found out he was off spelunking a nearby cave so we hunkered down out of the rain for our afternoon beer and coffee. We were able to find a cafe with dark beer on tap where we relaxed until meeting Scott for dinner. The next day we visited the castle on the hill. Trevor led a wonderful walking tour through the city checking out various sites. Our dinner that night was one of the best through the trip. It was just off the beaten path serving local cuisine. Ljubljana was a cute city with an old town filled with new shops. It had less hustle and bustle than the rest of our trip, but we think it was because of the weather.

Plitvice Lakes

The weather has gone from perfect to not so much. The rain and mist have become never-ending, but our smiles continued thanks to Plitvice Lakes. The national park is a series of lakes connected by ever changing waterfalls. The paths wind through the park over the water with a natural feel. We spent hours walking up and down the various elevations awed by the beauty in all directions. The water is crystal clear and filled with hundreds of trout, probably because there is no fishing or swimming allowed within the park. It is nothing like anything we have ever seen before, and highly recommended!

The Adriatic Islands

Our first stop was on the island of Korcula for two nights. The bus ride over was much better than the one to Dubrovnik. It was air conditioned and we got to ride a bus ferry - so exciting!! The island is quite a bit like a miniature Dubrovnik, but more peaceful and quaint. The old town is surrounded by walls and a beautiful promenade that we took advantage of for afternoon coffees and drinks. The pine trees hang over us and the water creating a gorgeous view. Most of our time was spent strolling the city, shopping and swimming off the rocks.
Next we took an early morning catamaran to Hvar, known as the party island. Mostly because it is a port town that attracts yachts and mega-yachts. We saw one with four levels, a crane and a full staff. We had three nights to occupy. Our room had a balcony overlooking the sea, beautiful as always. The first day was filled with relaxing on the rocks, swimming, shopping, hiking to the castle and wine. Unfortunately when we went to watch the sunset, we encountered a fight with a man beating another man with a rock in the head. It was VERY disturbing, but the sunset helped calm us. The second day we took an excurison to Vis which included a trip to the green cave and blue cave. Wow - the blue cave was awesome! It just glowed. Our last full day we ended up taking a water taxi to one of the Palenki islands, Palmasana. This was yet another peaceful island where we got the best mussels and finally a good, dark Croatian beer, mmmm!

Currently we are off the islands in the city of Split. We took full advantage of our time so far and visited the Diocleatian Palace, a Chagall exhibit and a great lunch. Tomorrow we are driving off to Plitvice Lakes for our last night in Croatia.

Dubrovnik

The bus ride from Mostar to Dubrovnik took longer than expected due to the multiple passport control stops (Bosnia to Croatia, Croatia to Bosnia and Bosnia to Croatia again). Old Town is huge and magnificent! Enclosed by towering walls and marble floors, the walk around the city walls has been the highlight of the trip. Our first full day was spent on the neighboring island of Lokrum, a national park. It was far more secluded than the busy streets of the Old City (especially with the overload of cruise shippers). The island is full of rocks to sunbathe, Adriatic water to cool off in and trails of pine trees everywhere. It also had the added bonus of no smoking on the island, excellent. We rented a car on the second day and drove to Montenegro. The freedom of hitting the curvy seaside roads and exploring Kotor and Saint Stefan was marvelous. Today is our last day in Dubrovnik. We found some hidden rocks outside the walls of the Old City with deep water to splash in. The pictures will not do justice of the beauty surrounding us. We are excited to head to the next couple islands as we explore the coast.

Thanks for keeping up with us, and as always, we would love to hear how everyone is back home.

A Minute in Mostar

We got to Mostar earlier than expected but the ride through the mountains was gorgeous (of course Rebecca slept through half of it). It reminded us a little of Sweetbriar with the green hills and river below. We stayed outside of Mostar's Old Town, small and quaint. The Old Bridge, Stari Most, was quite a sight and we were able to catch a guy jump off the 70 feet! The river is beautiful, ice cold, we could barely keep our toes in, probably as cold as the Kawishiwi in May. We tried the local wine...interesting. Our highlight was finding a rooftop terrace and watching the sunset.

The Valley of Sarajevo

We are wrapping up our time in Sarajevo before a day in Mostar and then on to Croatia. The city is not at all what we expected (not sure what that was though). It is nestled in a green valley with a fabulous Old Town next to a river. Originally we had a trek planned, but it ended up getting cancelled last minute. No worries, even though it would have been beautiful, we created our own voyage. With much help from a local taxi driver (who spoke no English), a foreign announcement was made on the loud speakers of a bus directing us toward our stop. It was a gorgeous view of the town and surrounding hillside. Other than our spontaneous non-trek, we have filled up on loads of meat. Yep pretty much just meat, mostly seasoned ground beef, lamb, or both. Delicious and incredibly filling!

Architecture of Budapest

It is our last night in Budapest and have loved every minute of it. The first day we spent our time in Buda on Castle Hill which had beautiful views of the Chain Bridge and all of Pest. It rained a lot! Being unprepared for the rain didn't stop us from walking all over, sopping. We even made it back over to Pest and saw Parliament, which was gorgeous. In the evening we went to see Romeo and Juliet ballet at the opera. Unfortunately our seats were so good we only saw half of it. For dinner we sat outside wrapped in blankets and had their famous paprika chicken. Jet lag kept us in bed longer than expected until we jumped up and went to the market and Vaci Utca. Following shopping, we relaxed in the Szechenyi baths. They were extraordinary, except that Rebecca got locked in a bathroom stall which was completely traumatizing. We walked back along Andrassy street and marveled at all the gorgeous buildings. All in all, the goulash, gelato and beer are superb and the buildings of Budapest are worth the journey alone.

Note: We think we saw Luke Wilson at the Heathrow Airport.

Christmas in January

Instead of a typical holiday season with mounds of presents, we decided to limit the gifts and book a trip to Mexico. What an excellent decision! We spent four nights at the Hyatt Regency in Cancun. The weather was gorgeous!

It's amazing how easy it is to get out of bed when the sun is shining and you don't have to go to work. Every morning we rose early to catch some rays before filling up at the free breakfast buffet. Once the sun wore us out, we took a stroll in the city for guac, quesadillas and cervezas. Then it was back to our balcony for games before heading to dinner and calling it a day.

It was time well spent swimming in the ocean, reading in the sun and ordering drinks at the swim-up bar. I love Christmas!

Sweet Sweet Sweetbriar

Our good friend Casey has a cabin in northern California on the Sacramento river. This was our second visit to this picturesque retreat. Sweetbriar consists of a series of old family cabins nestled along a fish filled, rapid paced, cold water river just south of Mount Shasta. Most of the week was spent lounging riverside and eating good food. We ate, showered, slept and played outdoors. With such beautiful trees and mountains surrounding us, it is the perfect vacation.

Our crew consisted of Casey, Tina, Sean, Becky, and Ben. Casey's parents joined us for a portion of the trip as well. They were extremely generous with delicious home-cooked dinners. Beyond swimming and tubing in the river near the cabin, we also took a couple half-day trips. Due to the haze from the nearby fires, we took one afternoon to shop around Mt. Shasta city where Rebecca picked up some great earrings and clothes.

Once the haze cleared, we spent an afternoon jumping the Sims cliffs, a secluded stretch of the Sacramento river. Casey led Sean, Becky and us for a swim up the rapids to a nearby waterfall. Though it was very cold, it was a great swim.

Another day was spent at a mountain reservoir. Castle Lake is a beautiful, deep, clear lake with mountains on all sides and more cliffs for jumping. We hiked a mile around the lake and ate a picnic lunch. After our sandwiches had settled, we swam across the lake to jump off some cliffs.

Sweetbriar provided us again with much needed relaxation, beautiful landscapes, and good company. We hope to be back soon!

Mah-keese

As you all know, I (Rebecca) currently support a system called MQIS for General Mills plants. MQIS is an acronym for Manufacturing Quality Information Systems. The system is used for a variety of data entry and reporting needs. To help broaden my knowledge base, I was recently sent to Irapuato, Mexico to help with the start-up of the new taco lines and implementation of MQIS. When introduced to MQIS, our Spanish friends referred to it as one word, pronounced Mah-keese (similar to Matisse). I'm petitioning to rename my team.

Onto the trip....Our descent into Leon, Mexico was accompanied by a picturesque sunset to the west and storm clouds penetrating the mountains to the north. It was quite beautiful. Pete, my co-worker, and I picked up the car and took a 45 minute drive southeast into the neighboring city of Irapuato. With an elevation of over a mile, Irapuato is 3.5 hours northwest of Mexico City. It's a smaller city, but large enough to host a General Mils plant, a Con Agra plant, a Coca-Cola plant and much more. Our days were spent at the plant in a large conference room setting up data and training the trainers. For lunch, the plant provided us with a variety of food including Dominoes pizza and chilaquiles. With our limited free time, we were able to take a tour of the new taco lines (still in the construction phase) and the neighboring Green Giant lines.

The time at the plant was constructive. Most days we were able to finish by 6pm. Our after hours schedule was determined on day one. After returning to the hotel, we split up to work-out, study, swim, and raid the grocery store of interesting Mexican treats. We met for dinner around 7:30. The first night we ate at the hotel. Despite the electronic 80s jams playing in the background, it was a pleasant evening. Vaishali, another co-worker, ordered a beer Michelada style. I was nervous for her due to our experience in Guatemala, but it was quite good! The second night we ended up at an Italian restaurant in a mall. Again, quite good, but not very cultural. Our final night in Irapuato surpassed all expectations. Pete visited Irapuato in the past and brought us to Panteon Torino (The Bull Fighters Cemetary). The restaurant is designed to look like the inside of a stadium with the liquor lined up behind the bar in the "stands". Through dinner we were serenaded by mariachi which made the meal more enjoyable. After a couple shots of tequila (served alongside tomato juice and lemon juice), the bull arrived. The bull danced through the restaurant inviting all to join along. Once everyone was roused, a stage was set up for bullfighting. We each took our turns to be the Forcados waving a red cape trying to distract a fellow patron running back and forth with bull horns held up to their head. It was quite adventurous. We had one more night in Mexico, but had to stay near the airport in Silao due to early flight times and thus had dinner at Applebees.

Even though we weren't able to fully experience all Irapuato has to offer, the trip was an excellent experience. If I ever end up in the city again, I'll be sure to see more sights and hopefully have another shot at Panteon Torino.

Madrid

We spent three lovely days in Madrid. Despite being the third largest city in Europe, it still had some of the same charms we witnessed in Barcelona. Scott guided us on an evening stroll through Plaza de Oriente, Placio Real, Cathedral de la Almundena and Jardines de las Vistillas for our first night. The rest of our nights were spent strolling the city finding spots for dinners and gelato. During the days, we took time to see Museo de Prado, Parque del Retrio, Museo Nacional Reina Sofia, Jardin Botanico, Plaza Mayor, and various other monuments. It was great to be able to see so much of the country within such a short amount of time. We were always remember the beautiful architecture, tasty tapas and daily siestas.

Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona in time for a traditional late lunch. Our hotel was only a couple blocks away from the Picasso museum, thus a perfect place to start our exploration. The variety of work leaves all visitors content. To help with jet lag, we forced ourselves to stay up through dinner and even a couple of beers at a nearby pub.

We started our first full day at the Museum of Contemporary Art and walking along Port Vell. The museum had gorgeous photography along with odd pigeon videos. We spotted a line of locals outside a restaurant where we stopped for a traditional Spanish lunch of sangria and paella. With our bellies full, it was time for our first siesta. We spent the evening people watching at a bar off of Las Ramblas.

With museums closed on Mondays, we took the day to see the beautiful architecture of Gaudi. After a full day of walking and sight-seeing, we spent the evening sampling sangria, chocolate churros and litras of cerveza.

Tuesday we took a walk to the beach at Port Olimpic and passed by the beautiful Arc de Triumph and Parc de la Ciutadlla. In the evening, we split off from the crew for some shopping, drinks and dinner in Placa Reial. A long line of people attracted us to a fancy but cheap restaurant. We continued to drink wine more than water and finish every meal with a scoop of gelato.

Our last day in Barcelona was spent enjoying the works of Miro. We visited the Miro museum and continued on to the Parc de Miro. The museum was fabulous although the park was not much more than a single statue. We experienced much more than posted here. Overall we spent our time walking the streets, looking at old buildings and drinking wine. Fabulous.

Espana

What a splendid country! Filled with cozy neighborhoods, pitchers of sangria, siestas and even the beach. Spain is definitely a worthwhile vacation. We were lucky enough to spend a full week exploring Barcelona and Madrid alongside Pam, Robin, Sara, Scott, and Jennifer.

What the heck, Jeffrey!

We knew our flight to Newark was going to be long when we took our seats just in front of the family we had been mocking while awaiting the boarding call. The family was complete with a young boy (XYZPDQ Peter!), his older brother wearing a woman's watch, their mother tuned into her book, and a controlling father.

The flight started out like any other. Before take-off the boys were given a portion of a piece of gum each. "Wait, wait, wait, NOW! Everyone start chewing!" Luckily we made it into the air safely. The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful, except for the lies being told. Who knew that seat backs needed to be in their upright position because it's better for your back?

The main event occurred during our descent. Older bro, Jeffrey, started having pain in his ears due to the change of pressure. Unfortunately, the gum was incorrectly portioned and there wasn't enough to heal the pain - Jeffrey was forced to yawn. "Yawn, Jeffrey, yawn" was yelled behind us by his frantic father. In turn, young Peter pointed out that he "highly recommended taking a car to visit grandma to prevent ear problems". Unfortunately the insight of a 9-year old did nothing but aggravate poor Jeffrey. Instead, Jeffrey continuously hit Peter when the pain became unbearable. Luckily their father stepped in to help with a lesson on yawning, "You have to yawn all the way. Watch me, watch me". In spite of our eagerness to learn, we held back and didn't take in the lesson.

We do need to add...having issues with pressure and your ears inflight can be quite painful. We do not wish that upon anyone. So, be sure to yawn!

Winding Down and Celebration

The hippy town of San Marcos was our next destination. It is situated on Lake Atitlan, just a boat ride away from San Pedro. We had rooms at a luxurious hotel nestled in the cliffs. After a vegetarian lunch, we showered up and explored. It is a small town filled with restaurants and holistic centers. We booked massages for the next day and picked up some Guatemalan wine for the evening. The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting it up with a Chicago-native-turned-Guatemalan-artist while sipping on tea and smoothies. The chef at our hotel served us Spanish tapas for dinner. The tapas were great, but we missed out on dessert, major bummer! We made the most of the luxury by hanging out in our rooms, playing cards and drinking wine. We woke up to a bright sun and a stretching yoga class before breakfast. We took a quick dip in the lake before checking out of the hotel. Then it was on to massages and lunch to round off our time in San Marcos.

It was a grueling ride back to Antigua due to road construction We made it in time for dinner and found a fun fusion restaurant to eat at and a fancy garden for dessert and drinks. Rebecca was awoken with banana bread overflowing filled with candles for her birthday. It was a wonderful way to start the day! We spent the morning shopping and exploring the city. We ran into some fun art galleries and local markets along the way. We experienced our first typical Guatemalan lunch at La Fonda de la Calle. After walking the city further, we took a siesta. We started the evening festivities with a happy hour at a local Irish bar. We moved on to coffee and sangria on a terrace overlooking the city. Dinner was at a Spanish-style tapas restaurant with seafood and paella. We stopped at a Bavarian bar before heading back to the hotel for beers and cards. Overall, a great birthday celebration!