All good things
My Houston trip is coming to an end.I was able to help the Houston folks out this week. (It felt good being able to help.) I hope some of my suggestions will be heeded. They have a lot of work ahead of them and hopefully some of my suggestions will make their return to normalcy go a little faster and smoother. 1 of the perks of traveling for business is being able to try nice restaurants. (Ones that I may not go to if it were my budget.) I went to a good sushi place Sunday night. When in Texas, awesome BBQ Monday night. Tuesday night was Italian & Jazz. Wednesday was a long day so I kept it simple, good beer, fries, and a sandwich. Tonight, seafood etoufee and Latin Jazz/Salsa. All good stuff. But I look forward to going home tomorrow night and spending time with my wife & child. And yes, HRH. Labels: travel, Work
Sorry for not posting for so L-O-N-G
Sorry for not posting for such a L-O-N-G time.People warned me a baby would change my life. They said she's going to eat up all of your time. You won't have any time for yourself. Well, they were right. Baby's do require a lot of attention. It's no fault of theirs. They enter the world totally dependent on you for everything. (Food, shelter, warmth, clothing, bathing, etc...) Soooo, guess what. She's taken up all of my time & attention. I haven't had much free time. She was just at the pediatrician's last week. She's 4 months old and she's 90% for length and 80% for weight so she's in the good & healthy range!!!But it's all good. It's all worth it when she looks at me and flashes that million dollar toothless smile of hers. No matter how tired we are OR how fussy she's been. 1 smile from her and I'm reminded it's all worth it. In addition to baby, work has changed a bit for me. It got busy a few months ago. Then it leveled off & slowed down. I was in Houston a few weeks ago helping the Houston office get back up & running due to Hurricane Ike. (I'm actually back in Houston right now. More help for them...) Last week I was offered a new job/project to work on. It's going to be at least 14 to 16 months. It will invovle all the North American locations. It's going to be big & involved. I've accepted the job since I've really needed a change for quite a while. The summer came and went. It's really a sleep deprived blur. It's funny how a new born puts things into prespective and you can easily differentiate the "need to do" from the "nice to do" chores/tasks. Many things got put to a lower priority. The lawn & garden survived. None of the cars fell apart because they didn't get washed or waxed. The garage didn't become a total dumping ground for everything. The walkways & patio didn't fall apart becasue I didn't weather seal them this year.Due to the baby, we ended up getting a home equity loan and spending the money on: A new car for my wife that was child seat friendly, a new roof, a new furnace, and a new front door. All sorts of home related things. I would have thought the loan would make me crazy & nervous with the economy the way it is but I actually feel better since I'd been fretting about the roof AND the furnace AND the front door for the last 4 or 5 years. I actually feel less stress now. All of those things are taken care. I'm a worrier so it was nice to get rid of those big ticket items from the list. So yeah, the loan gave me the chance to get things taken care of and off "the list". I've been pretty good about NOT adding anything to the list of worries. I'm happier and less stressed for it. HRH had to go through about a month/ month and a half adjustment to not being the center of attention. But he's OK with the new arrangement now. I wish we would have had more time/energy to take him out for hikes this summer but it just didn't happen. We did manage to take the family out a few weeks back. We went up to Morraine State Park and spent the afternoon hiking. It was great, HRH ran around like a little maniac. The baby soaked everything in. My wife and I enjoyed the outdoors and watching the baby's reaction to things. And HRH of course. My wife is doing well. The initial sleep deprivation is starting to go away now that the baby is sleeping through the night. She's even had a few painting jobs the past few weeks. So it's a nice change for her to get out of the house and intereact with adults.Labels: Baby, Family, travel, Update, Work
Costa Rican Vacation - Part 2
Activities:
Hiking and beach time at Manuel Antonio National Park: We had a guide take us through Manuel Antonio NP the first time so we knew what we were looking at. It was worth the money to have someone experienced point out the different plants and animals. We would have walked past most of it without the guide. Such diversity. It was amazing.
We went back to the NP a couple of times to hike the trails and go to the beach. The rainforest goes right up to the beach. It’s neat. I’m not used to the forest/vegetation being right up to the water. On 1 of our hikes we encountered some white faced monkeys. We were walking along taking it all in and HC notices some white faced monkeys a few feet away from us right off the trail. They were busy foraging for food paying no attention to us. As HC was taking pictures of the ones in front of her, a monkey came from behind her and started fiddling with her bag. She turned to swat at it thinking it was me messin’ with her. The look she and the monkey had on their faces was priceless!! They were both surprised and shocked. It was hysterical!! It was great. It made my trip right there. I’ll never forget it. We watched this group for 10 or 15 minutes before they moved on. We ran into a few other groups of monkeys each time we were on the beach. It was the coolest.
We also saw Iguanas, Jesus Christ Lizards, and gecko’s. There was also this raccoon like animal called a Coatimundi that walked right past me as I was on a bench reading a magazine. It was very casual about walking on the beach. I guess it was looking for hand outs. I watched as 1 of the park rangers grabbed a handful of sand and gently tossed it in it’s direction. The Coatimundi took the hint and left. The rainforest was just so cool. So much to see and experience.
Canopy tour: It was OK. As HC put it “This is their Kennywood” It was more thrill ride than tour of the canopy. I was expecting to spend more time up there looking at the trees and animals. But we were busy zip lining from 1 tree to another. Now don’t get me wrong, zip lining from tree to tree was out of sight but I thought I’d get to see & learn more about the flora & fauna.
Snorkeling and sightseeing cruise: The water was choppy so the ride was a bit rough. It had been raining the night before and the red tide was out so the water was very cloudy. So we didn’t go snorkeling. But we did spot dolphins and a sea turtle. And there were just a few clouds so weatherwise it was lovely.
Beach time: We spent a bit of time on the beaches. Between Manuel Antonio NP and walking the public beaches. Cancun’s sand was finer and whiter but I like the CR beaches well enough. CR’s beaches were better than Aruba’s beaches which had coarser/grittier sand. And it’s been so long since I’ve been to Grand Cayman I can’t compare. I remember liking it though. The surf was rough since it had been raining and it was “Green” season. (A euphemism for rainy season.) The thing we kept in mind was “it needed to rain in order to keep everything so lush & green.” Besides it’s a “Rainforest” so what did we expect?!?Sumary: We had a great time in CR. The people, sights, and food really made it memorable. We wouldn't hesitate to go back except for the l-o-n-g list of other places we want to see. "It's a great big world out there!"Labels: Holiday, travel, vacation
Costa Rican Vacation - Part 1
Since work & LIFE have been keeping me overwhelmed I decided to break up my CR vacation post into multiple posts. This will keep each post from getting too L-O-N-G.CR was a blast. A thoroughly good time. Would I recommend CR? It would depend on who you are and what your interests are. I wouldn’t recommend CR for shopping or theater. But I would recommend CR for outdoor pursuits, relaxing, and hot weather.
The people:
Warm and friendly. Not just the workers in the hotel or restaurants but everywhere we went. Even the bus drivers were nice! This really added to the experience (and lowered our stress) since we didn’t speak much Spanish. I felt comfortable with the very basic phrases I knew, but there’s no way I could hold a conversation. (Unless it was with a 3 year old) The people were gracious enough to switch to English as soon as they heard me butchering their language. They were nice about it. They knew I was trying and I think that was enough for them. I wasn’t pulling the typical American attitude of “Everyone should speak English! It’s the official language of the universe. If YOU don’t understand me, I’ll speak English louder & slower. ”
The food:
From the nicest place we ate at to the local hang out bar: reasonably priced, consistently good, and fresh. The seafood was amazing. We were right down the road from the port town of Quepos so I’m sure a lot of the daily catch ended up in Manuel Antonio. Everyplace we went to had fish on the menu and had it cheap. Tuna and Mahi-Mahi were the most available but Swordfish, Sea Bass, and Snapper were also on the menus. Grilled, blackened, fried, baked. You name it they prepared the fish that way!! The chicken was also good. Don’t bother with the beef. (It was stringy and a bit tough.) But the seafood rocked!! The typical CR side dish to a meal is black beans & rice. (Including breakfast. How about bacon & eggs with black beans & rice? You bet!) You might think black beans & rice are pretty boring but every place did it a little differently and it was usually pretty good.
We ate at some pretty cool restaurants: El Avion, Barba Roja, Anaconda, Restaurant Marlin, El Gran Escape. Again all good, reasonable priced, friendly, and fresh.
El Avion: Was the most unique since part of the décor was a CIA C-123 cargo plane. The view of the ocean and coastline was breathtaking. The food was good & the waiters were funny. They were always joking with their customers.
Barba Roja: The food was really good. The view of sunset over the ocean was awesome. A Pirate theme. What more could I want? The second time we were there we watched a storm roll in and a lightning show over the ocean. Very cool.
Anaconda: Probably the fanciest place we ate at. The food was really good. A very diverse menu with a lot of European influenced menu items. Wonderful view of the ocean and coastline. I felt like I was in a big fancy tree house.
El Gran Escape: Seafood. Seafood. Seafood. Good & fresh. The portions were large and the people were warm & friendly. The décor was fun & tacky. All kinds of fish & fishing related paraphernalia.
The Restaurant Marlin: Was our local hang out. The food & drinks were good & cheap. The people were nice.Labels: food, Holiday, travel, vacation
Vacation - Background
We’ve needed to get away, far away for a while. Work, LIFE, and families have really ground us down. It’s been a few years since we took a big trip. (2005 to Wine country Napa & Sonoma Valley.) In 2006 we took a couple of modest trips and a small break over the 2007 Easter holiday. Anyways, the point is we needed to get away from it all. We needed to go someplace where we didn’t know anyone AND didn’t have responsibilities or duties.
Why Costa Rica?
We brainstormed and narrowed it down to Costa Rica or Greece. Then we thought “If we are going to have kids in the next few years, which of these destinations would be more kid friendly?” We thought Greece would be kid friendlier so we went to Costa Rica while we were kid free! We were both interested in seeing the rainforest and the animals. I’d read a few years back about Eco-tourism in Costa Rica, how they were trying to preserve the environment while letting people see the rainforest, and how it was the next big thing. It sounded very cool & exotic. AND I’d get to see monkeys!! I love monkeys. I think they’re fascinating. How they move, how they solve problems, and the expressions on their faces.
Where in Costa Rica?
We decided on the Manuel Antonio area because it had a nice mix of beach and rainforest available to us without a lot of running around. HC likes to go some place and unpack. She doesn’t like to spend a few days here, then pack and go someplace else, etc.. She doesn’t feel relaxed or resting when she’s constantly on the move like that. It feels hectic to her.
Puddle jumper or shuttle van?
While making the arrangements I was debating “How” to get us from SJO to Manuel Antonio. There’s no easy way to get anywhere in Costa Rica (CR). Option #1: 20 minute puddle jumper ride OR Option #2 a 3.5 hour van/bus ride. The cost was close so I went with the van just in case we were late. The puddle jumper companies have a NO Refund policy and they “may not” re-book us on a later fight. (On further research there was also a 30 pound per person luggage weight limit. I pack pretty light but I don’t think I could have made the 30 pound limit for a 10 day trip.) I also wanted to go with the van ride so we’d get a chance to see more of CR. I figure it’s hard to tell anything apart from an airplane. But at ground level you’d see a lot. AND we’d have 3.5 hours to see it!!
Getting there:
PIT to CLT was a breeze. No issues. We had a 1 hour delay leaving CLT. Something about a malfunctioning flight attendant panel. It was worth the wait. Maybe it’s me but…I’d hate to find out the panel wasn’t working right at 30,000 feet!
As soon as they said we had to wait until the panel was fixed, I was glad I’d selected the shuttle van service. We would have missed our flight from SJO to Quepos. And been S-C-R-E-W-E-D.
Once the mechanical problem was fixed, we got to SJO, our luggage, through immigration, and to the shuttle van no problem. It was raining but that was the van driver’s problem not mine. I was glad I didn’t attempt to drive in CR because they believe in driving “guidelines” more than driving laws in CR!! Double yellow lines are kinda pretty but not strictly adhered to. (At least they use turn signals and honk politely to let you know they’re going to do something not in the textbooks.)
Lodging:The hotel was basic but close to Manuel Antonio National Park. When we’re going on a big trip like this, I tend to spend more money on excursions, souvenirs, and meals than on lodging. I feel as long as the room is clean and comfortable we’re good. Besides, other than to sleep and to use the bathroom I figure we’re going to be out & about. NOT spending too much time in the room or on the hotel grounds.This post is getting L-O-N-G so I'll write more tomorrow about the actual trip.Labels: Holiday, travel, vacation
We're back
Hey we're back. Safe & sound. We had a great trip. I'll write more when we're unpacked, cleaned & organized.Labels: Holiday, travel, vacation
Vacation Countdown update
T minus 16 hours and counting.
Our flight leaves from PIT to CLT at 8:40 in the morning. We're very excited. I've got all my clothes & etc picked out. It's just a matter of packing.
I've already promissed to have 4 drinks for people while I'm down there.
I'll write when I get back the weekend of 5/19.
See you at the airport!!!
Labels: Holiday, travel, vacation
Vacation countdown
T minus 5 days and counting. Costa Rica here we come!!!
I'm going to do some serious "Letting go of the peanuts" I think I've earned it with everything that's happened this year: Work, the family, HC's miscarriage, etc...
I plan to spend time on the beach and in the rainforest. Drink, eat, hike, drink, eat, drink, and drink.
I wish I'd started sooner with my Spanish lesson tapes. I think they're handy. I've learned some simple phrases that will hopefully help us get by. No I'm not going to hold in depth conversations but at least I can ask for some basic things politely. And I'll have a slight chance to understand what they're saying to me. I'm sure we'll be fine with the little bit I've learned. (It's the typical me wanting to be prepared/worrying) We were OK in France for 2 weeks with the paltry French I understand/speak so I don't think Costa Rica will be much different. We'll be in touristy areas not in the backwoods where no one in the village speaks English. Labels: Holiday, travel, vacation
Lamb, Shrimp, Beef, Pasta, Venison
We ate very well this weekend.
The restaurant at the lodge was pretty good. We weren't sure what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised. The menu on their web site sounded good. But anyone can make a meal sound good. But does it taste good?
Friday night, I had Lamb Chops. HC had Stuffed Shrimp. Saturday night, I had Prime Rib. HC had Pasta Primavera. Both evening’s dinners were expertly prepared.
So where does the Venison come in?
Well funny you should ask....
On the way home, we stopped and went for a hike. When we got far enough from the road, we took HRH off his leash so he could let his inner beast out. HRH is out of sight for a few minutes. When he's coming back towards us:HC: What is that HRH has in his mouth?
CH: It's probably just a stick
HC: He never shows that much interest in a stick. I bet it's a deer leg.
She was right!!!! HRH had somehow gotten himself a deer leg. And as he was running towards us he was flipping it in the air and thrashing it back & forth. He was the happiest freakiest guy in Cooks Forest. The next thing was how to get it away from him. He knows to stay away from us when he's got something he thinks we'll take away from him. (poop, sweaty dead things, rotting things) Our latest strategy is to call him towards us and ignore the fact that something gross is hanging from his mouth. Depending on what it is we'll even treat it as a toy and toss it for him to fetch. After a little bit of fetching, we'll just take it away from him & give him a treat. This seems to be working for now. After a few times fetching the deer leg, he started eating/gnawing on it before bringing it back. Well before I was able to confiscate the deer leg, he was able to tear most of the fur & meat off of it. He was all proud of himself. Mighty hunter that he is. Killer. Tough Guy!!!He was kind of restless on the ride home. He kept wanting to be up front with us and in HC's lap. Later that night he threw up on the carpet. Yep. You guested it the mighty hunter, tough guy, killer had a tummy ache from eating that nasty, dead, funky, deer leg. That dog cracks me up. It took him a day to get back to his usual self. But he's back to 100% HRH. That's why I say "He's just smart enough..."Labels: food, HRH, travel, vacation
Weekend Update
Being out of town did HC and I wonders. I needed a change of scenery even if it was only for a few days.
Usually if we go away there are all sorts of activities planned. (Lots of running around to see this. Or to do that. Etc…) Or at least there are more options available to us. But where we stayed is near not much of anything so we were able to hang out & relax. I didn’t feel like we were missing out on something because there wasn’t much nearby.
We went on a couple of hikes, got spa treatments, hung out, drank beer & wine by the fire, read and talked. Away from the TV, computer, crowds, traffic, and noise. It was nice. I think I really needed a weekend like this. I may try to plan 1 of these quiet weekends every few months just to calm back down.
The food at the lodge was pretty good. Friday night, I had Lamb Chops. HC had Stuffed Shrimp. Saturday night, I had Prime Rib. HC had Pasta Primavera. Both evening’s dinners were done very well.
We were within a few miles of some hiking trails. They were pretty with a light covering of snow. HRH had a good time running, sniffing, and digging.
I got about 60% of the way through the Costa Rica for Dummies book. I’m not a reader and it’s amazing how much I was able to read when there we no distractions. So now HC and I need to discuss what we want to see in CR. I want to hike in the rainforest, see the cloud forest, and do a zip line above the forest. HC’s interested in the rainforest and the beaches. CR is a small country so we should be able to meet both of our requirements.Labels: Holiday, HRH, travel, vacation, Weekend Update
What kind of traveler am I?
I got this e-mail/survey and....
You're a Savvy Traveler!
Four-star hotels. Shopping sprees. Fine dining. For you, traveling is all about indulgence. Leaving the comforts of home doesn't mean leaving your love of luxury. In fact, you probably enjoy the spoils of a vacation more than most. Admit it, you like the finer things in life, especially when you're rewarding yourself with a getaway. And you know that giving yourself a few special treats will make the trip more memorable and worthwhile. So go ahead, order the dessert, relax with a massage, unwind in roomy first-class seats. That's how you savor the experience. Ahh...Bullseye! Right on the mark! When I travel for work I'm careful with my expense account. (Even for meals.) But when it's personal, I go all out. I want all the amenities! I want the whole experience!
I'm high maintanence!
I'm easy NOT cheap!Labels: surveys, travel
We're back
We had a nice (albeit quick) trip to Toronto after the holiday to get away and unwind. Important safety tip: If you go up on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), don't expect many stores or restaurants to be open.It was raining on the way up to Toronto. Very windy and cold the first night. (This added to the experience as we scampered around town trying to find a place to eat.) We walked to the CN Tower. It was overcast so no need to spend money to go to the top of a very high building to NOT see anything. We couldn't even go there to eat since that restaurant was closed. OK. What's the next plan?
"Someone told me about a brewery or brew pub near the CN Tower. Let's try to find it. Brew Pubs usually have good food."
Yes. Brew Pubs usually do have good food BUT brewery's don't serve food. The Steam Whistle Brewery gave us samples and was willing to give us a tour BUT they do not serve food. So we asked the guy working the counter if he knew of a place that might be open for dinner. He thought about it a moment and made a call to his favorite Thai restaurant. We were in luck they were open AND walking distance from the brewery. We thanked him and took our leave. Nice warm filling Thai food made us feel better. (I need to learn how to make Lemongrass soup.) Cool Toronto fact: A lot of the buildings in downtown Toronto are linked via tunnels so you don't need to be out in the cold OR drive from one place to another. We discovered these tunnels our first night there. (We like to walk when we're in a new city. We think you see more and get a better feel for the place.) We wanted an alternative to being out in the cold on the way back from dinner. HC said "There's a PATH sign over there. I saw one in our hotel. Let's see what's up with that." And sure enough with a bit of navigation we got from the CN Tower back to our hotel without having to be out in the cold. To clarify, when I say tunnel I don't mean a hole in the ground or a cement lined corridor. These were fancy tunnels with all kinds of stores, banks, restaurants, snack shops, etc.. Full amenities. No indication you were underground except for the lack of windows. This was a brilliant idea. It's usually cold & crappy up here for so many months out of the year it makes sense to make it easy for people to get around AND to get their chores and errands run. I'd love something like this in Pittsburgh. Using the tunnels to get around became our little game the whole time were were in Toronto. We thought it was the coolest. (We don't get out much)
The next day we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), the Distillery area, and the Eaton Centre. The Distillery area is an old industrial area that is being renovated with art galleries, shops, artist spaces, restaurants, and lofts. It reminded me of the Strip District or the South Side before they tore a lot of the old buildings down. Very cool area. (I want to go back to see how this area develops.) The Eaton Centre was for retail therapy. The weather this day was warm relatively speaking. It's been unseasonably warm in Toronto too!
We stopped on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls on the way home. Grabbed a bite to eat. Went to the Niagara Falls Aviary. Their main room is made to look like a rain forest in Thailand complete with temple ruins you can walk through. Very cool. Afterwards, we walked around and looked at the falls.
And since we were in the neighborhood.... we stopped at Prime Wines and restocked the wine cellar.
Yesterday was a L-O-N-G day. But it was fun. Labels: travel, vacation
