California Here We Come - Day 1 - May 8, 2014

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As you know, we are heading to Los Angeles to begin the next chapter of our lives. I decided to keep a record of our trip west and here it is!

Hanging from my neck is a chain with a pendant that on one side says, “Life is short” and the other side says, “enjoy the ride.” That is my motto although I sometimes am not so good at the enjoy the ride part. I’m determined to take it literally though as we make our way to Los Angeles and what's to come.

The past weeks have been tough as we tried to organize what to take and what would fit in the car. We are staying in a furnished apartment for the first three months so we will need limited items from home. The stress this morning seemed to ease (maybe it was self-preservation) as the car was loaded and last minute items checked off the list. I will admit that I never thought Rick could pack all the stuff we were taking in our little Prius but he did. The only thing we ended up leaving behind was the printer.

We left Leawood at 12:30 with the first stop on our itinerary in Topeka. I’ve been collecting photos of all the homes I’ve lived in and the street signs where they are located. We drove around Topeka to the two apartment and two houses where Max and I lived those first ten years in Kansas. What memories were stirred up.

After a fast food lunch (Rick wanted to stop at a nice restaurant in Topeka…I didn’t know of any!), we headed out on I-70. The Flint Hills were just as I remembered, very beautiful. The remains of the spring burning was still evident in some places.

The first thing that really was remarkable was a wind farm that went on forever. I find the windmills beautiful for some reason. It may be that they remind me of Europe.  The windmills were followed by miles of oil wells. What a contrast of technologies. The windmills have my vote, if anything for aesthetic reasons, let alone care for our environment.

Our trip to Colby was made more interesting and enlightening by our listening to three podcasts of the TED Radio Hour. If you aren’t listening to these, you are missing out on some really cool stuff.

Jamaica - Day Five
The Final Four - Sleeping, Eating, Relaxing, Sleeping

It's been tough but we are one night's sleep from completing our relaxathon. Our driver is picking us up at 6:15 in order to make our flight in Montego Bay at 10:15am. Oy vey, what a rude awakening. Good thing we rested most of today!

Finishing our last breakfast.

We literally made the day one of eating and relaxing. It was delightful. I'll just put up a few photos and then tell you about dinner.

View from our window before sunset.

Our final sunset from the pool.

One of the highlights was our "cave dinner for two." We were afraid we wouldn't get to have it because it rained for quite a bit this afternoon and the cave might have been too slippery. Not the case, we were escorted down to the cave and came upon the most magical site. The pictures don't do it justice. The cave wall was strewn with hundreds of votive candles. The low wall around the cave had candles and flowers. The table was set with candles and a scattering of lovely flowers. The music was the sound of the waves. It was totally private except for our server who made several trips down to bring us champagne and our meal. Not only do the pictures not do it justice but I can't find the words to describe this final "experience."

Our lovely table taken with a flash.

Our cave wall of candles.

To hell with banana daiquiris, we drank a bottle of champagne!

The only time I was treated better by people who were not my loved ones was flying business class on Swiss Airlines the first time I went to Europe. The stay at The Caves has that beat by far! I don't know whether we will ever come back here but I do know I will never forget this magical place. Thank you Alissa and Micah for getting pregnant and making it possible for us to be here!

Jamaica - Day Four
This Relaxing is Exhausting

I can feel my metabolism slowing down with the gentle pace of our days. Only one more to go after today and we are completely enjoying every moment.

This morning was the highlight of the day for both of us. Rick went snorkeling with Paul the life guard. Another guest here from Australia was with them. He had an underwater camera and has promised to e-mail Rick the photos he took. Rick very much enjoyed his time with the fishes.

I went back to the spa for another "experience." This time Olivine was my massage therapist. She started with a lavender scented salt scrub and then gave me a lovely facial. I'm posting a photo of the outside massage table although we were inside for this since she had so many oils, lotions, and creams to use. We had a very interesting conversation throughout the whole thing. Normally, I don't like to talk too much but it was my first actual "deep" conversation with someone from here and it was quite enlightening.

After our experiences, we had another fabulous lunch. I had what was described to me as lasagna but what really was mac and cheese with some interesting spice and peppers. Rick had fish but neither of us remember what kind at this point! I also am including a photo of the condiments that are on the breakfast and lunch table. When lunch was over we decided to take our afternoon nap outside but ended up back in our room since it was pretty hot even in the shade.

Our final experience of the day was supposed to be a private sunset hot tub in a cave of course! Unfortunately our romantic experience turned out to be me shivtzing and complaining about the heat. We ended up going up to the cool pool for the final few minutes of the sun setting. It was delightful.

Of course after that we needed another nap before dinner. The star gazing was particularly lovely tonight. We tried to use my iPhone app to figure things out but ended up just enjoying another lovely dinner and another banana daiquiri!

Jamaica - Day Three
Another Day in Paradise

I think we are getting the hang of this resort vacation thing. A few times I have had fleeting thoughts of "what are we going to do today" but they have only been fleeting. Mostly we're into sleeping, eating, looking at the sea, chatting with fellow travelers, eating some more, etc.

A Dirty Banana Daiquiri

Brown, stewed chicken with rice and greens

I'll get the food out of the way first. Breakfast - fruit and made-to-order banana pancakes, Lunch - a delicious salad, brown stewed chicken (photo) and Rick had a fish wrap, Dinner - I had jerk chicken and Rick had tuna both accompanied by amazing sweet potatoes and green beans. Rick has stuck to fruit punch. I had quite a few banana daiquiris (dirty - with Bailey's and Kahlua) and regular. I switched to a Cosmo for dinner. I might try to mix it up with drinks tomorrow.

We finished breakfast around 11 and decided to walk to the lighthouse at the end of the property. We actually had to leave The Caves and walk down the street to reach it. We were too lazy to climb it but we walked around the grounds seeing some interesting old ruins of buildings and some fantastic huge trees. The sign was at the gate of the lighthouse. It looked like a herd of goats lived across the street hence the need to shut the gate.

After we returned, we decided to explore some of the caves. The surf was getting a little rougher and I took tons of pictures before I could catch it breaking at the mouth of a cave. We rested and read in our favorite gazebo before lunch. After lunch we showered prior to our first "experience."

Rick too tired to make it up the steps to our room!

We had massages overlooking the sea. Those of you who know that Aveda fragrance can imagine what it was like. It really was one of the best massages I've ever had and I even stayed awake for the whole thing! It made me chuckle when I heard Rick snoring. He had said he would take the table overlooking the water since I would probably sleep through mine. I didn't get any photos of the little spa but I will tomorrow.

The massages really tired us out so we went back to our room to rest. I rested long enough to get the energy to head out to the pool for my water aerobics while watching the sunset. Rick joined me and it was perfectly delightful.

After all that exercise (and vodka), it was time for a nap before dinner. We made it to our candlelit, enchanted, rooftop dining room around 8:30. Dinner was delicious as mentioned above. We ate under a sky strewn with stars while watching lightening in the distance. After a walk the length of the property (about 5 minutes), we are now back in our room totally exhausted from such a busy day.

Jamaica - Day Two
March 9, 2012

After a lovely, albeit sweaty night sleep in our "tent," we opened our front window to this amazing view!

They serve breakfast from 7:30-10:30. We arrived around 10. There is no menu, they will make whatever you would like to order. The coffee is delicious and the fruit they served to start with was amazing. I had the best French Toast I've ever eaten and Rick had a Jamaican specialty, Ackee and cod.

After breakfast, we had our official tour of the resort and signed up for our special experiences. I'll tell you about them as we experience them. On the tour, I saw a gazebo with a couple of hammocks that looked inviting so I grabbed my iPad from the room and decided to make the "transition" to being on vacation.

It's really hard for me to clean my mind of everyday "home" stuff or to stop thinking in "schedule mode" planning every minute of the day. I thought it would take me a while to make the transition. Actually all it took was the swaying hammock, the aqua sea, Bob Marley singing on the iPad, and an incredible banana daiquiri! What a way to spend the time between breakfast and lunch.

Lunch was delightful. We sat with the couple we had met the night before and chatted. So far everyone we have met here has come from the US. After lunch we thought we should take a nap. Afterall we had exerted ourselves so much.

I couldn't stay in, however, so I put on my swimsuit and took the minute walk to the little infinity saltwater infinity pool. I was feeling a little sluggish so I decided to do what I thought was water aerobics. I was all by myself so I danced and ran in place buoyed up with a swim noodle, singing reggae songs, and waving my arms around underneath the water, I did this for more than 30 minutes. Then I texted my trainer, Stacy, to see if this counted as exercise (she said it was). It actually was fun and tired me out so after a little more hammock time, I joined Rick in the room for a pre-dinner nap.

Dinner was served on the flat roof of my hammock gazebo. We dined by candle and starlight along with the light of the waning full moon. I had mentioned to Karen, who gave us our tour, that I didn't eat fish or meat except chicken. She showed us the menu for the days we would be here and it looked like I could make due. Making due doesn't quite cut it here though. When we arrived at dinner, our server asked me how I would like my chicken breast prepared. They were serving steak and lobster so I told them just to grill it like the steak.

OMG! I think this was the best meal of my life! Started with a red pea soup, then a Jamaican Cesar salad, our entrees' were the same except for the different kind of protein. My chicken breast was grilled to perfection with a delightful melange of onions, peppers, and mushrooms covering it. It was accompanied by some amazing mashed potatoes and delicious sauted carrots. This time I had a banana daiquiri made with vodka rather than rum. Perfecto!

Dessert was slivers of coconut cake and banana cream pie.

Now we are back in our bird's next playing on our computers. Oh how I loved this day! The best is that we get three more of them!

Jamaica - Day One
March 8, 2012

We arrived in Jamaica after spending a few days with my mom and step-dad, Bob, in Delray Beach, FL.

We're staying at The Caves thanks to Alissa and Micah who generously gave us the vacation they earned by saving up Aveda points! They scheduled the trip before Alissa found out she was pregnant. They didn't want to travel out of the country. But, we did!

The drive from Montego Bay was 90 minutes. We had arranged for transportation through the resort. We were the only ones on the bus. The driver was really nice about explaining what we saw, gave us some Jamaican history, and told us about food to try. Neither Rick nor I have been to the Caribbean. It was the first time I experienced driving on the other side of the road. I'm glad I wasn't driving!

What we saw was quite eye-opening. Most of the housing seemed no more than tiny shacks crowded tightly next to each other. The driver pointed out other housing that was government subsidized for people who qualified. Those abodes were quite small and looked like mini pre-fab trailers. He also explained that the concrete block structures with re-bar sticking out were actually buildings in progress. Apparently, people build until the money runs out and then go earn more money to continue. Some looked like they had been a work in progress for many years. All in all, I have never seen such poverty except in the news and I was getting increasingly uncomfortable about going to a resort.

The other interesting thing was that everyone we saw was dark-skinned. The only other time I felt like such an obvious minority was when I was in Atlanta. This was quite a bit different than that. Something to ponder.

When we arrived at The Caves we were greeted and given a short tour as the sun had set and it was hard to see much. We were shown to our room, The Bird's Nest and invited to attend a welcome reception at the Rum Bar in one of the caves before dinner. There are only 24 people staying at the resort at this time. We met a few before we were ushered out of the cave because the tide was so high the water was rushing in!

Dinner was overlooking the sea although we couldn't see it. There had been rain earlier in the day and there were still some clouds in the sky but we were able to locate some planets and constellations with my handy iPhone app. The full moon rose over a building just as we were finishing dinner. Did I mentioned that this was an all inclusive resort? Including drinks. They will probably make money on us but I started our stay with some delicious "Jamaican Delights" while Rick had some fruit punch.

Our room has air conditioning which is incredibly quiet. Still, we slept under the mosquito netting for the fun of it. It was like sleeping in a tent. Of course, the "the outdoor girl" that I am can only imagine sleeping in a tent but if they all were like this, I might consider doing it again!

September 26, 2011

Day 20 - Cinque Terre

(This post was written last night but the wifi was so slow that I didn't have the patience to add the photos. Those of you who thought yesterday's was the last post...well it isn't! This probably is, unless we see or do something interesting in Milano tonight. We actually are going to have dinner with an American couple who are staying at our hotel this evening. We are staying near Malpensa Airport and leave in the morning for home.)

Oh what a day! After breakfast in the hotel, we wandered around the town a little before boarding our boat which would take us from our town of Monterosso to the other four towns of the Cinque Terre and then onto Portovenere. From there we would board another boat for a swing around three islands before taking the boat back to our town. We left on the 2:00 boat and got back at 5:10.

Monterosso al Mare

It was a perfect trip! Each of the five towns are connected by a walking path, railway, and boat. Had this been the first part of our vacation and not the last, I think we may have tried to walk to another town but today we just felt like enjoying the view.

The Ligurian Sea is the northern part of the Mediterranean. The water is an incredible color of royal blue. The sky was bright blue with only an occasional puffy white cloud. Throughout the voyage by the four other towns, we had an hilarious guy narrating what we were seeing. He started out speaking each piece separately in Italian, German, French, and English but toward the end he was interchanging the languages and going between them sentence by sentence. He had a real dry sense of humor. It was interesting to hear the laughter roll through the boat depending on what language he was speaking. At the end we were all laughing at the same time! I don't know whether he was provided by the boat company or he just picked up the mic on the boat and went to it.

It gave me the idea for a stand-up routine by an almost burned out tour guide. It could be very funny.

Some of the sights were too gorgeous for words. This was the perfect way to wind down our trip. It was relaxing, beautiful, and fun. I adore boat rides and these boats did a lot of rocking which I enjoy. I've included a photo of each of the other four towns which make up the Cinque Terre. The boat took about another 30 minutes to get to Portovenere.

Vernazza

Corniglia

Manarola

We spent about an our in Portovenere between the trips. It is quite a lovely town. I think it would have been a nice place to stay. A little less touristy. Their local specialty is basil pesto. Absolutely delicious. We bought a small jar. Hopefully it won't go bad before we get it home or maybe we will have to buy some bread and eat it on our drive to Milan.

Riomaggiore

Portovenere

Palmaria

 The boat ride around the three islands; Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto was very interesting. The islands are made of Carerra marble. You can see stripes of black and white. They almost look like the striped  churches we've seen on this and other trips. I'm wondering if those church builders were trying to copy nature.

Rick with his fish and pasta!

We returned to our hotel in time for the late afternoon snack buffet. It was more than a snack with tons of different seafood and they made you pasta with your choice of several kinds of sauce. A little early for dinner but included with the room charge! Breakfast and dinner, not bad.


 Tomorrow we head to Milan for our flight back on Wednesday. We both consider ourselves truly fortunate to have had such amazing experiences and to have seen so many incredible sights. Very,  very fortunate! I think we were both taken by surprise that we could enjoy ourselves so much without Susan and Werner with us.Who knows, we may have overdosed on happiness had they been here! We talked about them every day and what they would have liked, or in Susan's case, loved! We are very thankful that Werner's health problem did not turn out to be serious and are hoping he'll take another gamble and plan another trip with us!

Thanks o those of you who have been reading this blog. I probably would have gotten lazy and not written as much if it weren't for you!

One more Cinque Terra picture for the road!