Will Hess

Will Hess

gereisd in 15 landen Meer informatie🇺🇸Wisconsin

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San Diego Reiziger
Arrival in San Diego
3 augustus 2023, Verenigde Staten ☀️ 72 °F
Off on another adventure! Our flight from Madison didn't leave until around 11, so we had an easy morning before smooching the dogs goodbye and heading to the airport. Laura sprung for first class tickets, which made our flight to Dallas, and then to San Diego much more enjoyable.

We arrived in San Diego on time, and hustled to drop our stuff at our rental (South Mission Beach) and get ready for dinner at Top of the Market, a seafood restaurant just across from the USS Midway carrier.

We settled in at our table outside, relishing up the cool temperature and breeze
We carefully selected our appetizer, the crudo, before placing matching orders of Sauvignon Blanc and seared tuna. The food was superb, matched by the view of the sunset, sailboats, and lights on the giant carrier ship.

After dinner we took a short walk before heading back to snooze (way past our bedtime in the Pacific time zone!)Meer informatie
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Charleston Reiziger
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
22 maart 2023, Verenigde Staten
Laura let me sleep in this morning, which was most excellent.

We decided to rent a car, so we could learn to fully appreciate how all road signage either came too early such that it was ambiguous, or came too late (EXITLEFTNOW!!!) To be of use.

Still, we did manage to make it out to the Magnolia Gardens, which sits on a former plantation used to grow Carolina Gold Rice (the premier money-making crop for Charleston, farmed with slave labor). We strolled around the garden briefly before boarding a trolley that took us around the property. Our guide quickly pointed out several alligators sunning themselves on ramps sticking out of the swamp, after which Laura retracted further into the trolley interior. Besides the gators, there were tons of birds, turtles, ancient trees with hanging Spanish moss, and of course, flowers that we admired on the ride and subsequent walk around the demesne.

The trolley also looped around the remaining slave cabins on the estate property, with a mostly unfiltered dialog around the conditions they endured leading up to liberation.

We decided not to tour the mansion on the property, but did learn that it was the third constructed -- the first burned down after being struck by lightning, and the second was destroyed by the union army.

Taking advantage of the rental car, we drove over to a local brewer (Holy City) to sample some local beers and have a quick bite for lunch.

After another nap, we grabbed two of the world's largest personal umbrellas provided by the hotel, and bumbled our way over to the city market to look at local knickknacks and art.

On the walk back we spied that one of the restaurants we had earmarked already had a line forming, and a call to our backup conveyed a three hour wait-list. Searching our other pre-flagged choices during wine-and-cheese hour showed that Chez Nous, the restaurant we went to on our first night had a 7:30pm table open up. Since we both really enjoyed it, we decided to go back and snagged it. As their menu changes every day, it was an excellent choice to round out our trip to Charleston.Meer informatie
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Charleston Reiziger
Dinner @ Zero George
21 maart 2023, Verenigde Staten 🌙 52 °F
Everything was amazing. The food, the wine pairing, the weather + heated lamps. Just perfect.
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Reizigeryum!
21-03-2023Reageren
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Charleston Reiziger
Aquarium and Fort Sumter
21 maart 2023, Verenigde Staten ☀️ 59 °F
We spent our morning at the South Carolina Aquarium. Since we were fairly early arrivals on a school day, there weren't many other guests, meaning we got pretty dedicated attention from the aquarium staff. Right at the beginning they had a ray pool that you could stick two fingers in to pet the backs of the rays as they swam by. It was the immediate highlight for me as I bonded with a few rays. The attendant explained that it was because in an hour they'd let guests feed them some fish and they were hoping I was starting early, but I know it was my natural charm.

When we went inside, we chatted with a lady holding a snake 🐍 (Laura wasn't super into it, but I gave her some rubs), and then hit 🐢 THE TURTLE ROOM 🐢 They had 16 turtles that were being rehabilitated, and we got to see about half of those. My favorite was watching a hungry boy chowing down on some lettuce, but they were all pretty darn cute.

Laura was excited to see a scuba diver in the giant tank with the sharks and giant fishies.

After the aquarium we sauntered over to
167 Raw Oyster bar for lunch. We shared a fantastic crab dip, lobster tostada, and tuna burger. The meal was accompanied by a martini for me and bubbles for Laura to pair the food, of course.

Following a power nap, we meandered back over towards the aquarium to catch the boat that took us over to Fort Sumter. It was a pleasant 30 minute ride over in the sunshine to the island. Shortly after embarking, we saw some dolphins playing near the edge of the port. The fort itself was a shadow of its former self after being bombarded -- the flagpole atop the fort had a red line about halfway up to mark the 3rd story that the fort used to reach. Since it was the last group of the day, we got to participate in the flag lowering ceremony. We wandered a bit around the fort reading the plaques, gazing upon the many cannons and mortars, before ending with a spectacular lecture given by one of the rangers recounting the history of the fort and its history through the civil war.

After seeing seeing the dolphins again on our way back we went back to the hotel to change into workout clothes and made a quick appearance at the gym. I scurried back to the room to shower before 6 so we wouldn't miss the complementary wine and cheese hour.

We sipped our wine by a fire pit and enjoyed the cool weather until it was time for dinner at Zero George (the Hotel's restaurant)... which was divine.Meer informatie
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ReizigerTURTLE ROOM!?!?
21-03-2023ReagerenVertalen
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Charleston Reiziger
Charleston Walking Tour
20 maart 2023, Verenigde Staten ⛅ 57 °F
We blacked all light out the room with the blinds and curtains, and put on some white noise to ensure a full night's sleep. When we did get up, we got to appreciate the full character of our hotel in the light of day. We had a very light breakfast, since we had an early lunch reservation. With some coffee in us, we made a brief appearance at the hotel gym (complete with two peloton bikes), before getting ready for the day and heading out for lunch.

We arrived a few minutes early, so we spent a little time walking around and generally enjoying some sunshine and the abundance of green foliage. Lunch was at The Obstinate Daughter, where we each had one of the specials, and an it's-almost-noon beer.

The main event of the day was a walking tour of Charleston. Some of the highlights included:
* The Miracles of the Mills house - The historical house survived major fires, shelling during the war and a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Ultimately, it finally succumbed to a termite infestation.

Another major stop was Dock street theater in the French quarter. We got to pop inside, and our guide shared some information about the significance of the Kings crest hung above the stage (the wealthy planter-class would only attend plays held at theaters sanctioned by King Charles. Many notable people were affiliated with the theater, including John Wilkes Booth's alcoholic father, Junius Booth. He famously beat another man with a fire poker, and had to be locked in a room (where a friend snuck him alcohol via a straw through the door's keyhole).

We saw the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, one of the sites where the U.S. constitution was ratified (just around the corner from where slaves were being sold...). The dungeon in the basement was previously used to hold enemies of the king.

As we walked around, we saw plenty of "houses of negotiated affection". We made a stop at rainbow row, a cluster pastel-colored Georgian style homes, before walking down to The Battery to look out at fort Sumter to hear about naval battles against the British naval fleet and the start of the civil war.

When the tour concluded, we walked around just a bit more, before it was cheese and wine hour at the hotel.

Dinner was shortly after, at Leon's Oyster Shop (kind of reminded me of Parson's Chicken in Chicago). We had a half dozen oysters each, and a fried platter of clam strips, catfish, shrimp, and hush puppies.Meer informatie
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Charleston Reiziger
Never without incident
19 maart 2023, Verenigde Staten ☀️ 61 °F
By now we've learned to expect a wave of anxiety on the initial travel day of vacation. We were beginning to believe that today might be an exception... By the time we got up, we had news that Caty had safely arrived in Paris to spend spring break with her Dad, which was a major relief. Our flight wasn't until mid afternoon, so we followed our normal Sunday morning routine, coffee and dog walking, followed by some last minute packing.

We flew out of Milwaukee, so after another good dog walk, it was an easy drive and we arrived with lots of time to spare. About an hour before boarding, we began to wonder why our dogsitter hadn't checked in with us confirming her arrival. As our plane began boarding, we started stressing, and sent some panicked texts/calls to the sitter. When she didn't immediately respond, we quickly devolved into assuming the dogsitter had died in a car crash or had spontaneously combust. Laura's mom graciously offered to head over as backup, which held us over as we took to the skies and lost cellular signal.

The flight to Charlotte didn't take too long, but I'm sure it felt like an eternity for Laura as she ruminated on the circumstances, and let her imagination run wild with thoughts of the dogs being all alone for days at a time. Wish me luck convincing her to take further vacations sans doggos.

Luckily, when we landed we were greeted by text messages by both the sitter and Laura's mom, with some bonus pup pics to assure us that the dogs were indeed alive and not at all in distress. We breathed a sigh of relief, and caught the next quick flight down to Charleston.

We arrived slightly later than anticipated, and following the world's slowest cab ride to our hotel, quickly got ready for our 8:45pm (so late for us!) dinner at Chez Nous. Our hotel is quite charming, but we had to rush through the welcoming to throw some different clothes on and head back out. We'll give it full appreciation in the morning.

The restaurant was also beyond charming, and we were very excited about the prospect of some drinks and good food. We both enjoyed some white wine, bruschetta with peas and mint, a chickpea cake served over salad, chicken thigh in lemon sauce, and grouper over a vanilla saffron sauce (the highlight of the meal).Meer informatie
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Reizigernever a dull moment!
19-03-2023ReagerenVertalen
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
Great Stirrup Cay (just kidding)
23 december 2022, Bahamas ☁️ 77 °F
We had great plans to be one of the very first folks off the boat for today's stop -- the Norwegian Cruise Line's very own island, the Great Stirrup Cay. Room service was delivered to the room bright and early at 7:30 ship time (6:30 eastern). We slammed down the coffee, Caty wolfed down a croissant or two, we packed our bags, and headed straight for the tender line to catch a ride to shore. We made it onto the tender, and spent a good 20m waiting for it to be filled to capacity... before we were informed that the winds had picked up too strong for us to be able to safely disembark/re-embark and that we needed to return to the ship.

Plans shot, we mentally prepared ourselves to spend another day on the ship instead of on a private island as originally planned.

We took advantage of the confusion to rush the gym while few folks were at it (as we have a lot of food/drink to burn off). Following a good session, Laura took a nap while Caty and I enjoyed some screen time, and then we had fancy lunch at the ship's tapas restaurant. Laura had scallops and then red shrimp, while I had blue crab over toast and then lamb skewers wrapped in bacon in an onion sauce. Caty didn't join us, and instead hit the buffet for more pasta.

The rest of the day was spent soaking on the sun deck, in the hot tub, and at other leisure points around the ship. We were determined to make the most of the 75° weather given that we know it's below 0° at home...

As has become a routine, once cocktail time arrived we met our good friends (the bartenders) at the Haven cocktail lounge before dinner for an aperitif or two. At dinner, we each had a selection of our favorites. While we didn't match the gluttony levels of some of our fellow guests this past week, I'll definitely be cutting back on red meat in January...

Tomorrow, we arrive back at port at a reasonable hour. Our bags are packed, so we'll have an easy morning of coffee and breakfast before we disembark and catch a shuttle to the airport. We're thankful to have spent the past week enjoying the warm temperatures, good food, and some lazy days... but are ready to go back home and spend Christmas day with our pups.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
Sailing North
22 december 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ☀️ 77 °F
Another day at sea today, with ocean all around as far as we can see. Laura and Caty let me sleep in past 9 today, which was great since I've been nursing a head cold.

The majority of the day was spent doing our own things. Caty hit the waterslides and watched a "battle of the cakemasters" on a lower deck. Laura spent some time on a sun deck reading her book, and I generally lounged around in our room.

Laura and I forced ourselves to another session at the gym in the afternoon (cardio is much harder when the ship is swaying), had a subsequent power nap, and then rallied for a quick negroni/French 75 at the cocktail bar before dinner. We chatted with a couple at the bar (I'm such a talker) about kids/dogs/work until we realized that we had better get to dinner or we'd miss our show. I had a fantastic pork tomahawk that was one of the highlight meals of the trip. Laura had trout and Caty had ravioli.

Our 7:30 show was called "Malevo". Part rhythmic dance, part tango dance sessions, part nunchuck/ball twirling, with S&M undercurrents. While the performers were all very talented, it felt very mashed together. While we didn't enjoy it as much as the previous show, it wasn't a bad way to spend the evening.

We're aiming to be some of the first off the boat tomorrow, so we went back to the room to call it a night.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
21 december 2022, Britse Maagdeneilanden ☀️ 81 °F
The main excursion for the day was snorkeling around several islands near Tourtula. The boat ride out was pretty choppy, so we were excited to hop in the water and see some fishies. In total, our excursion had three spots, the highlight being "Norman" island (aka treasure island, like the story/film). We had fond thoughts of our doggie as we explored the caves. The last stop was a beach, where Laura and I soaked up the sun beams while Caty swam around. My flip flops didn't make it back onto the boat, unfortunately, so it was a sad walk down the pier to get back on our ship.

Back on the ship we had a more low-key afternoon. Caty went off to do water slides and a ropes course, while Laura and I did a gym session. She also spent an hour listening to me snore.

We had a few drinks and then it was time for dinner at our main "Haven" restaurant before calling it an early night.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
20 december 2022, Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden ☀️ 81 °F
We slept in a bit today (which means 7:30 Caty/Laura time). Once again we were scheduled to arrive a little early, so we hit breakfast, packed our bags, and hopped off the boat at our first opportunity. We were hopeful that we'd get to walk around and see some cool stuff, but we found that the area immediately outside the ship was one big tourist trap with trinket/jewelry shops. We walked around for a bit, and then decided to write it off and get back on the boat to wait for our scheduled excursion.

After a short wait, we hopped on a safari bus and climbed up the island to take in a view of the bay dotted with sailboats and yachts. Shortly thereafter we went to the north side of the island where we spent two hours at the beach.

Laura and Caty were thrilled to see some sea turtles, while I spent my time chilling in the shade and then walking along the water with Laura.

After some time at the beach, we hopped back on the bus to wind our way back up to the very top of the island, where we got a scenic view of the island, and several other adjacent U.S./British Virgin Islands.

Back on the boat, Caty hit the water slides again while Laura and I enjoyed cocktail hour, and devoured some mixed nuts while we waited for dinner time to arrive. We had reservations at the seafood restaurant on the ship, which Laura and I both enjoyed immensely.

After dinner, we made the briefest of appearances at the ship's casino (we won't be going home rich), before calling it a night since we have an early scheduled arrival and snorkeling excursion scheduled for tomorrow.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
Exploring Puerto Plata
19 december 2022, Dominicaanse Republiek ☀️ 84 °F
Shortly after we woke up, the captain informed us that we had arrived ahead of schedule, so we hustled to have some breakfast and oack up for the excursion of the day -- a tour of the Puerto Plata. After we disembarked, I looked down and realized I had packed and been wearing mismatched shoes for the past several days, which explains why my run on the treadmill felt much more off than the gentle sway of the boat could explain. Putting my vanity aside, we boarded a bus and set off on the tour.

The first stop was at Macroix Rum house, where we learned the history of the family, followed by a tasting session. While Laura and I felt it was a bit early to start drinking in earnest, many of our fellow guests didn't not share our trepidation. I sipped an 8yr rum that I liked, but we passed on the majority of flavored rums. Caty sniffed one and decided it was not her jam, which was confirmed after dipping a finger in another.

The next stop was the estate of Gregorio Luperón, a general of the Dominican Republic in the 1800s. We learned a bit about the history of the country and his life (the kitchen downstairs also acted as a restaurant to make money) before we were herded back onto the bus.

Stop #2 was the Rainbow shop, where we saw larimar stones/minerals, which can only be found off the coast of the Dominican Republic and is made into jewelry. Caty scored some souvenir earrings from the adjacent store.

Stop #3 took us to Umbrella street, the origin of the name being self-evident with all the rainbow umbrellas suspended overhead. We popped into a local coffee shop for some liquid chocolate (Caty was thrilled), and Laura grabbed some Empanadas from a nearby vendor for her and Caty while we waited for the group to finish. We then walked over to Pink Street, again whose name was self-evident with 100% pink walls. The street took us to a local cigar shop, which smelled heavenly with all the drying tobacco leaves. We heard an overview of the cigar making process, and its importance to the country's economy.

The penultimate stop was the Amber museum, featuring a collection of amber pieces with various insects or small critters suspended within. Interestingly the museum had ties to Jurassic Park. The movie used one of their pieces in the film, and the film crew liked it so much they asked to keep it. The museum allowed them to in exchange for the rights to copy the logo and use JP intellectual property as part of the museums branding.

Finally, we bussed over to Fortaleza San Felipe, a fort used to protect the island against pirates and corsairs. We opted to walk along the beach. We wish we had more time to spend in the ocean -- it was like bath water.

While the sights were interesting, in all honesty the excursion wasn't a winner, as spending the day in a bus with some of our more boorish passengers detracted from the experience. We took it as a lesson learned for how we'd organize the rest of our trip.

The day wasn't a total loss -- once we got back on the boat Caty went down the water slide "at least 40 times" while Laura and I had lunch, napped and then exercise. Caty had dinner at the buffet (I enjoyed some cocktails at the bar), and then we all went down to the theater for the highlight of the day. Our show was Choir of Man -- a men's choir set in a local pub. The group was talented, and the set had some very funny moments. We were all thrilled with it. Following the show Laura and I had a late dinner, and went back to the room to catch a bit of the Packers game before calling it a night.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
Sailing south
18 december 2022, North Atlantic Ocean 🌧 75 °F
Slept like the dead for nearly a full 12 hours, replenishing a big deficit from the past week. We had coffee (and hot cocoa for Caty) delivered to the room. Laura and caty spent some time out on the balcony and then got some breakfast while I continued to snooze. When I finally crawled out of bed, we dropped Caty off at the pool and went to secure me some breakfast. The buffet was PACKED, so we didn't stay long -- we'll probably leverage other eating venues on the rest of the trip.

We caught the world cup final, initially at the Haven bar, then back in the room. Though none of us are really soccer players, it was fun to watch (and hear our fellow passengers roar from the pool deck when someone scored or missed. The boat seemed to prefer Argentina over France, as did we, which was nice since they won in what was a wild game.

After lunch, Caty said all the time in the hot tub this morning had wiped her out, and no more twisting of arms was needed to land on napping as the next activity. Post nap, Laura and I walked around the boat to see all the restaurants/bars/entertainment venues, followed by a session at the gym. Caty did a ropes course and Zipline on the deck of the boat.

We went to a jazz show at 6pm, which we all enjoyed, and then attended cocktail hour with the captain and crew. We had a glass of champagne,m and went down 11 floors to dinner, a habachi-style restaurant. It was much like the one back in Madison, without any fire. Their schtick was singing/karaoke. We decide to experience it, rather than participate directly.Meer informatie
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Xmas Cruise Reiziger
All aboard
17 december 2022, North Atlantic Ocean ⛅ 73 °F
3am rolls around prrrrretty early, especially when you did the same thing the day before to ensure you got back from a work trip in time to fly out with the fam for vacation

We were all packed up, so it was only a matter of wrenching ourselves out of bed and loading up the car... and tending to the dogs. Laura, as per uuusch, was extremely worried about the dogs, and woke up extra early to mother them a bit and ensure all was set for our absence. We'll miss them, but the dog sitter will take good care of them while we're gone.

The flights and shuttle to Cape Canaveral were largely uneventful. Laura couldn't sleep until the dog sitter confirmed her arrival (she breathed a huge sigh of relief when the text came through), and I couldn't sleep because, you know, planes.

When we arrived, check in was smooth and painless. We dropped our bags, watched the briefest of safety demonstrations, and hit the bar/pool.

By good fortune, there was a SpaceX rocket launch scheduled two hours after we boarded, and at just 10m away we caught it from the boat. We had some drinks at the bar to kill some time, and then had a short nap before dinner. We sprung for the "Haven" package, meaning we had access to the more exclusive restaurant. Caty had steak and lobster, which made her day.

Fully at sea, the rocking motion of the sea set in and Caty started to feel dizzy. While we had reservations for a late night comedy show, between Caty feeling a bit off and the general exhaustion, we decided to call it a night. The beds are heavenly, and I'm stoked for a big snooze.Meer informatie
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French Polynesia Reiziger
Chasing waterfalls
3 augustus 2022, Frans-Polynesië 🌧 77 °F
One last day in Tahiti, and we're determined to make use of the time. Recognizing that we've seen very little of this island, we decided to rent a small car and make the loop to do some sightseeing.

We packed up our bag strategically so that we could have easy access to different sets of clothes for dinner and the flight back, checked out, and hit the road.

We stopped first at the Arohoho Blowhole to watch the waves crash and hear the air come rushing out the lava tube opening. The sign warned caution, the rush of air could be startling, and Laura did indeed jump when a particularly loud expulsion happened suddenly.

From there, we pulled off to see a handful of serene waterfalls as we made our way south to Tahiti Iti. We ate lunch at a small family restaurant, and backtracked to Tahiti Nui where we continued our clockwise loop around the island. Our final stop was at the Vaipahi water gardens, where we toured the grounds and did a mini hike.

We went back to the hotel to lay at the pool for just a little while longer, and then showered at the spa before going to dinner at Le Lotus to enjoy some signature dishes from a two-star Michelin chef. We ate over the water, and delighted in watching a school of fish at play just below us.

We have a long night (and day) of flying in front of us. It's been a wonderful two weeks in French Polynesia. Sad to leave it behind, but ready to return to our day-to-day lives... and start planning sabbatical #3!Meer informatie
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French Polynesia Reiziger
🐢 Moorea Dive 🦈
2 augustus 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 77 °F
Today's post brought to you in part by Laura. My dive in Bora Bora was so fantastic that I asked Will if he wouldn't mind hanging out in our bungalow and packing up while I went out for another 2 tank morning dive. I had read that dive sites here would be full of turtles which was all I needed to hear. The two dives and dive sites were spectacular. The first site was turtle-focused and it did not disappoint. We must have seen at least 20. Some were swimming across the vast ocean, some snoozing on the coral, some eating. We got within inches of many of them and they didn't seem to mind. The second site was chosen in the hopes of seeing lemon sharks. I had seen black tipped sharks on my Bora Bora dive, but no lemon sharks. As soon as we descended to about 60 ft, we saw two sharks hanging out on the bottom. We hovered for a while to watch them swim around, then continued on. The fish and the coral were absolutely equisite. I told Will afterwards I almost cried into my mask it was all so beautiful. (This is no surprise as I manage to find something almost daily to cry about.) The cherry on top of this dive trip was that during the approximate 1 hour surface interval between the two dives, we saw dolphins. There were about 8, and they came right up to our boat. They actually bumped our boat a few times, jumped out of the water multiple times, and generally put on a spectacular show for at least 20 minutes as they decided to swim along with us. I've never seen anything like it.

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Laura provided a lot of coaching but had total confidence in my packing ability. I spent the morning drinking espresso, lounging around, and cramming our stuff into our massive duffle.

Once reunited, we ate a quick lunch and taxied our way back to the ferry. Recalling the fumes from our first ride, we chose to sit inside. This proved to be a terrible idea, as we were immediately rocked up and down on the huge waves and both turned green 🤢 within moments of takeoff. We quickly wobbled our way topside so we didn't yak -- it was a near thing.

Ultimately, we made it back to the same Tahiti resort without taking ill, and had a chuckle as they placed us in nearly the same room on the 4th floor. We went down to enjoy happy hour and a sunset, and both immediately started feeling better. We ate dinner, and went back to the room quite tired.

While we're feeling a bit melancholy given it's our last night, we're also thrilled at having had such an incredible trip. That said, we're also ready to see our doggies and Caty shortly after, and Will is excited to make an actual martini.Meer informatie
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French Polynesia Reiziger
🛵 Moorea Scooter Day 🛵
1 augustus 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 77 °F
We both slept in until around 7, and then had french toast, yogurt, fruit, and coffee to kick the day off.

We decided to keep the lower body exertion to a minimum today, so we landed on another scooter day as the activity du jour. The rental wasn't available until noon, so we went to the gym for a bit to do some upper body exercises, and then spent another hour canoeing around the lagoon (no turtles 🐢 spotted).

We loaded up the backpack with water, snorkels, and towels, and went to pick up our scooter. This scooter was slightly larger than the last, and was equipped with two storage compartments that made life much easier for both of us. The rental dude asked if I'd ever operated a scooter before, and I assured him I was an absolute pro. Laura clambered on with me, and feeling his gaze, it was time for takeoff. We took off with only a slight wobble, so I'll call that a win.

Our first stop was to secure lunch. At the recommendation of the concierge, we decided to hit a food truck that apparently was quite well regarded in the area, which was evident by the line when we arrived. Bonus points for being super affordable, we both had BBQ and veggies, and also some fresh tuna carpaccio that was simply divine. It took a good while to get our food and settle the tab, so we were eager to get back on the bike and drive the ~30m to the Plage des Tipainers. It's worth noting the bike had a top speed of around 45km/hr with both of us and our full tummies to haul around.

The view of the mountains and bays along the way made it an enjoyable ride, but we were ready to jump in and see some aquatic life when we arrived. I kept a wary eye on all the trigger fish 🐠 I spotted during our swim. There were no further incidents, but one was definitely ready to go on the offensive after I accidentally snuck up on his lair.

After drying off, we hopped back on the scooter to continue the journey, and after driving another 10 minutes realized that we probably need to turn around if we wanted to hit our final attraction before it would be time to return our bike. We zoomed on back at our leisurely pace, and pulled into the parking lot of Manutea Tahiti - Rotui Juice Factory & Distillery.

The factory offered fresh squeezed juice tastings, along with some pours of their various spirits. They had pre-made maitais, coconut and ginger based liquors, and rhums for us to sample (the rhum was stroooong but heavenly), and gave us some juice chasers -- pineapple and mixed tropical. I decided to buy a bottle of the rhum as our second souvenir of the trip. The pours were very modest so we were able to resume our journey to refill the gas and return the bike at the resort immediately.

We had some downtime to swim in our pool, read, and shower before it was time to be picked up for dinner at Rudy's Restaurant. We continued out theme of eating as much seafood as possible. We started with fruits de mer, Laura had a smoked salmon pasta with cream sauce, and I had parrotfish stuffed with shrimp. Dessert was a pineapple and papaya fruit tart (and a Cognac, of course). On the ride back, we chatted with our fellow dinner/resort patrons about our travels and traded recommendations.Meer informatie
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French Polynesia Reiziger
Pushing our bodies to their limits
31 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 75 °F
Laura almost always wakes up before I do. Today was no exception, and she kindly shut the glass doors separating the living room from the bedroom to minimize noise so I could sleep in while she made an espresso. I awoke, bleary-eyed and still partially in a fugue-state, saw my beautiful wife sitting on the couch, started to walk towards her, and promptly left a body/face print on the glass door I had failed to spot. The moment sponsored several spontaneous laughing fits for Laura throughout the day.

After taking a moment to collect myself (Laura was doing the same in an entirely different fashion) I mustered up the remainder of my dignity and we made our way to breakfast. Over coffee and yogurt, we decided to give bicycle rental another shot and to hit a hike or two. Recalling our shoddy bikes from Bora Bora, we asked the activities desk staff to inquire if the bikes were capable ("and I cannot stress this enough") of shifting gears. Assured that they came with the particular feature, we went back to our room to pack backpacks with sunscreen, suits, towels, and lots of water.

We were thrilled to see the bikes were legit mountain bikes, capable of 29 gear combinations. We clambered on and took off ready for the day's adventures. We quickly learned that the bikes were not in fact perfect. My bike indeed did have many gear settings, but my derailer was intent on going above and beyond by having me experience their half states and sudden, unrequested changes. Laura's bike's rear-reflector was a-dangle, causing it to rub against her thighs as she peddled. We did our best not to let these quirks impede our journey, and after ~20m we reached the base of our hike -- "La Route Du Manoï". We stashed our bikes in the parking lot, and began walking our way up the winding incline.

It was at about this point that Laura remarked at how active we had been throughout our vacation... "You can really feel the compounding exertion starting to take its toll..."

The situation deteriorated from there.

The next 2 miles were peppered with huffs, pouts, and an angry glare or comment directed at the many scooters, ebikes, and ATVs that roared by us. We ultimately reached the summit, and paused to rest and down some water before making the descent. When we reached the bikes again, we took a rocky road towards a grove of pineapple trees, but abandoned that plan quickly as Laura's bike seat continued to attack her.

We decided to switch bikes, which immediately rectified that issue for Laura, bonus points in that it was much kinder to me. This gave Laura a second wind, and we continued the relatively flat journey further around the island. After a while, we began to value the prospect of lunch more than the prospect of developing more saddle sore, and turned around to return to the resort. That was smart move, as we both were running out of gas at the 17 mile mark that signaled the end of the trip. We dipped in our bungalow pools and then put back some chicken sandwiches at the resort grill.

Laura took a nice big nap to recover, and then we went out into the lagoon to do some snorkeling and make use of the remaining daylight. The snorkeling was quite good, we were surprised by the amount of coral and number/variety of fish just below the surface. Laura was also treated to a show, when I inadvertently triggered a Trigger Fish 🐠, and it rammed itself into me three times to drive me off. I finally turned around after the second to see what was touching me, and was startled to see the little guy hurtling himself at my foot. Mask flooding with water, I scrambled away, expending the sole shred of dignity I had leftover from my glass-door incident.

I consoled myself with a happy hour margarita while we watched the sunset and waited until it was time for our taxi ride to dinner at Moorea Beach Cafe.

Dinner was lovely; a beach side restaurant called Moorea Beach Cafe. Our table was 5 feet from the water, and we could hear the fish splashing and see the spotlights of boats on the water. We split a trio of tuna tacos that were most excellent. Laura had seared tuna with a soy glaze, while I had a half lobster over risotto. For dessert, Laura indulged in some ice cream, while I had a Cognac.Meer informatie
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Travel Day: Bora Bora -> Moorea
30 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 79 °F
This morning was our last in Bora Bora, so we took our time having breakfast and coffee, working out, packing up, and getting some expenses comped by the resort.

We hit the iconic swing, and made sure to hit the other side of the resort to see the ocean proper before it was time to take the boat back to the airport. It was an idyllic way to get one last look at the beautiful lagoon and majestic island mountains, though we made sure to keep one eye on our bag that they were insistent on placing precariously on the back of the boat (conjuring visions of hitting a wave and watching it sink to the bottom of the lagoon).

Our route necessitated a stop at the Tahiti airport, and after landing we took a taxi over to the port to catch a ferry. So, travel by land, sea, and air today. The ferry was slightly delayed, but otherwise travel was without incident.

We arrived and checked into our Garden Bungalow (complete with a small pool!) and strolled rthe resort grounds while we waited for happy hour to arrive. We were both famished since our lunch consisted of measly croissant and light beer, so we were really just waiting for the bar to open so we could have some chicken wings. They were subpar, and possibly the best thing I've ever eaten.

Having had some solid food, we retired to our bungalow pool to drink some complementary champagne and await our opportunity to eat something more substantial.

We decided to eat at the resort, since they had a fire show and it meant not having to do any more traveling.Meer informatie
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Bora Bora Bike Loop
29 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 79 °F
After what has felt like a pretty packed set of days, we treated ourselves to a lazy morning. We slept in past 7am and used the time zone delta with Caty to our advantage to hear how her summer in Italy has been going. Laura announced that she would be eating pancakes for breakfast, so we ate our fill at the breakfast buffet (crepes with house-made hazelnut spread for Laura, a mound o' bacon for me). After the concierge informed us there were no more bicycles available for rent on the main island, we spent the rest of the morning at the bungalow, the main excitement being my mild electrocution via a frayed hair dryer cord.

Fully charged up, we decided to boat-taxi to the main island anyway for lunch and to see if anyone had returned bikes. We had lunch at a bar called "The Lucky House" -- Pizza, a Fish burger, and a shared Hinano Lager. We found the shop up the road did indeed have 6 bikes to choose from, so hopes were high, and we secured a rental.

We subsequently discovered the bikes were all single speed. We settled on picking the bikes that weighed about 75-coconuts, but whose brakes were not permanently engaged. Upon mounting our trusty iron horses and kicking off, we soon we're enlightened to the fact that they had a maximum speed of 10.5mph, and my bike's chain would make an escape attempt at any bump of consequence. Thus began our leisure cruise around the island. Still, other than one steep climb and a few gusts of strong wind, we had a good ride, though we were both feeling saddle sore and about done with biking by the end of the ~20m loop.

We dropped the bikes, suited up, and spent an hour by the ocean to kill time until our boat arrived to take us back to the resort. We made it back in time to sneak in a happy hour drink order, and then took much needed showers before dinner. Dinner at the resort was an Indian buffet, paired with a superb bottle of we-definitely-earned-this wine. Dinner also featured a tahitian dance show, topped off with a digestif.Meer informatie
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Reiziger Josh loved that beer when we were there!
30-07-2022Reageren
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Dinner @ La Villa Mahana
28 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië 🌙 77 °F
Special dinner post #2!

Our taxi took us a few kilometers down the road and turned off onto an unmarked driveway, passing by several houses, and stopped in front of La Villa Mahana. The receptionist ushered us into the courtyard, and subsequently to one of the five tables in the house. The place had so much charm.

The dinner crew consisted of several waitresses and the single chef working in the kitchen.

Laura ordered Seared Tuna and Mahi-Mahi on top of banana+mashed potatoes, and the portions were extremely generous.

I, once again, went big and did the french tasting prix fixe and wine pairing. Everything was delicious (and massive) -- we needed to be rolled back into the taxi/boat/golf carts back to our room at the end of the night.Meer informatie
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Reiziger All your food looks amazing! I desperately want this risotto 😍
29-07-2022Reageren
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Bora Bora Dive Day
28 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ⛅ 79 °F
Though we had a fair number of drinks yesterday, we made sure not to overdo it so as to not feel crummy for the main event of the day: Laura's scuba dive. After the wine pairing last night I was a little worried, but two cups of coffee had me feeling right as rain.

Laura was feeling a bit nervous, so I had a big breakfast while she nibbled on hers, and we set off to the dock to catch the boat out to the first dive location. Laura donned her gear, and along with the dive master and 4 other divers, took the giant stride to plunge into the South Pacific. They were under water for about 45 minutes, and upon surfacing Laura excitedly reported seeing giant Manta Rays and a Sea Turtle 🐢!

Once all the divers were back in the boat, we motored to the second dive spot to see black tip sharks 🦈. About half way we saw the telltale sign of whales -- several sprays of mist rising 🐳. Sure enough, moments later a few whales surfaced, tails and all. It was fantastic luck; the dive crew reported they were the first of the season.

Laura and the gang made their second descent, and immediately saw dozens of sharks. One got right up in her face 😨 before swimming off. She also saw two octopi 🐙, and of course, many many fishies 🐠. Her favorite was the trigger fish, an aggressive little guy who chased off anything that came too close to his turf. While Laura was diving, I whale-watched, snorkeled, and generally worked on my sunburn.

Once we made it back to the resort, we ate more fish for lunch and had a good nap. We read and spent a little time at the gym before catching our taxi (a boat) to take us to the main island for dinner. We had a cocktail and watched the sun go down at the sister-resort, and then got picked up by the restaurant taxi (van) to whisk us off to our second fancy dinner of the trip.Meer informatie
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Dinner @ Le corail
27 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ⛅ 77 °F
Special dinner post! We ate at the resort gastronomic restaurant.

Laura ordered ala carte, and I went big and had the tasting menu with the paired wine option. Everything was magnificent, especially the wines.Meer informatie
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Paradise would be the right word
27 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ⛅ 79 °F
Bungalow debacles resolved, we slept great, partly due to the strenuous day, mostly due to the excellent bed's crisp sheets and down comforter. The buffet breakfast had tons of options, and after a quick stop at the hotel gym, we knew it was time to cannonball off the deck and swim around a bit in the lagoon.

We slathered on sunscreen and hit the beach for some watersports. We made use of the paddle boards, kayak, and our snorkel masks. There were tons of fishies in the coral garden.

Appetites stoked by the physical exertion, we tried 'The Sands' for lunch. We had matching orders, beer and poke bowls... Maybe all the honeymoon couples are rubbing off on us.

After a quick nap, it was time for the main excursion of the day -- the Jetski island tour! We opted for the group Jetski tour to save a few hundred dollars, but fortune was with us as we were the only ones who had signed up. The other guests must be amateurs and actually believe the rainy forecasts.

Our guide gave us a crash course on operating instructions, and assured us that we'd have opportunities to stop and give my throttle finger a rest. Apparently a lot of guests cramp up or just get fatigued, but three decades of PlayStation found me well conditioned to the task. Our guide knew the meaning of speed, so we largely just tried to keep up with him while trying to blink the salt water out of our eyes. After our first stop, the remaining legs were less intense and we had a blast. The final stop included a 'Coconut Show' -- a demonstration of how to peel and open a coconut, along with the opportunity to eat it fresh. Luckily they had grapefruit and papaya for me, all of which was quite tasty. We hit some waves on the ride back, and I almost lost Laura after a speed change, but though there was much sliding and tight gripping, neither of us were flung off. We had great fun.

We went back to swim around our bungalow to kill time before some cocktails at happy hour. After putting back a few, we rediscovered that neither of us are particularly talented billiards players. I blame the alcohol. It was a great way to pass some time until our dinner reservation.Meer informatie
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Mount Tapo
26 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië 🌧 77 °F
We had most of the day to spend before it was time to say goodbye to Huahine, but started our morning packing back up and preparing for our flight out in the late afternoon.

After a quick rain dance, we set out to find the trailhead for the Mount Tapo hike we had missed two days back. We had read a French website that indicated the trail is a sacred journey, and marked with a barricade, which we recalled as we biked past it and dismissed it as the hiking trail previously. It did rain lightly on the 5km walk to the trail, but not enough to dissuade us.

Taking the "entry forbidden" sign as more of a suggestion, we made our way up the switchback until we reached a cell tower. Squeezing through the small square opening, we found the second leg of the trail that marked a significant spike in difficulty. The next 0.4 miles had us scrambling up rocks, and focused on keeping our balance lest we answer the question of "can I achieve terminal velocity starting at this height?"

We did manage to reach the summit, and took a few moments to catch our breath and chug more water. Due to the light rain and thick foliage, our shoes and socks were mostly soaked, which made the descent even more challenging than the ascent. We were very thankful for the many trees along the path offering handholds as we made our way down, and the slip events were minimal (though we both had muddy butts from our efforts). All in all, the climb down was less scary than we expected, but we'd definitely categorize that hike as "advanced".

Unfortunately, we still had to hike the 5km back, and there was nothing to do but get to it. By the time we arrived back in town, we were ready for some hamburgers and beers at Izzy's, followed by a dip in the ocean to wash off the mud and sweat. The sun had come back out, so we relaxed on the beach until it was time to catch our flight to Bora-Bora. A quick 20m flight, and we're there. If the island of Huahine felt a little spartan, Bora-Bora (or 'BOB' as the airport is affectionately named) is anything but.

A speedboat whisked us off to the resort where we were greeted with sweet tea and oiled towels at check in. The hotel staff gave us a tour of the resort by golf cart, ending at our bungalow. They opened the door for the grand reveal... and the power was out. Our concierge was mortified, but we got a chuckle out of it. While they resolved the issue, we enjoyed the bottle of champagne they had waiting for us on our bungalow dock and watched the sun go down until it was time for dinner at 'The Reef' here at the resort.

Laura had some well-cooked squid, and I had a bowl of magnificent shrimp risotto. Before turning in, housekeeping dropped in, but we found our door entirely stuck shut. Laura and the housekeeper both had a laughing fit at the absurdity of the situation, and all my prior jokes about needing to swim to shore or another guest's bungalow got a second life. Maintenance resolved the issue, and we went to bed entertained and excited for tomorrow.Meer informatie
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🛵 Scooter Day 🛵
25 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië 🌧 77 °F
We took our time getting out of bed this morning (guess who was feeling a bit lazy). After having some instant coffee and a light breakfast of misc stuff we had picked up from the grocery store yesterday, we decided to once again ignore the very rainy weather forecast and see if we could rent a scooter to tour some other parts of the island. Unfortunately, the line at the Eurocar around the corner was 6 families deep, and didn't bode well for availability. We didn't want to wait around, so we abandoned the line and instead went down to the beach for a bit.

The surf was good, and we body surfed for a little while until it started to die down. Emboldened, we grabbed the paddles for a 2-seat kayak and struck out into the ocean. We paddled around for about 10m before the waves picked up again, and we started to get sucked out to sea. We both started questioning our life choices as we battled our way back to shore with moderate effort. Riding a respectable wave to shore, we slid back on to the beach while oozing a sort of "that was all according to plan" aura. While returning the paddles, the hotel staff was less than thrilled that we helped ourselves to the kayak, as they were not renting them out due to the rough conditions (maybe don't leave all the gear laying around!)

It was time to seek our next thrill, so we went back to the Eurocar and found they did indeed have one small scooter remaining! We snagged it, Laura hopped on the back, and we zipped off. I'd describe our initial acceleration much like our kayak landing. Uncertain, a little wobbly, but surprisingly without catastrophe.

Since we had only had a light breakfast (and not at all because we couldn't find the damn trailhead) we decided to skip hiking and instead go see some scenic lookouts and points of attraction dotted across the island. The first stop was the sacred blue eyes eels, found in a culvert alongside the road. They. Were. MASSIVE, and not at all like the moray eel I saw yesterday sticking his head out of some coral. Super cool, if somewhat unsettling.

Next stop was the Huahine pearl farm, a quick motor boat ride east onto a floating hut. They sold black pearls and pottery, but the highlight was the overview of how they encourage the oysters to make the pearls (we were the only ones who spoke English instead of French, so we got a private explanation).

Finally, we wound our way up the mountain road to overlook the island, and then put the scooter's brakes to the test as we descended the long 30-40° grade road back towards town to secure some simple lunch again from the grocery store.

We waited until 2pm for the nearby micro distillery to open, where we sampled some phenomenal rums and liqueurs. Laura's favorite was the coconut-vanilla, mine the vanilla or the chestnut. We purchased two bottles as our first souvenirs of the trip.

Satisfied we had experienced some of the high points Huahine had to offer us, we returned the scooter and spend the afternoon with a nap and some more time reading/swimming at the beach before dinner.

We ate again at the resort restaurant. Laura tried the coconut-marinated fish, and I had chicken stuffed with chorizo and prawns... Plus some more mirabelle.Meer informatie
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ReizigerEels - spooky, but at you really on an island in the Pacific without a scooter experience?
27-07-2022Reageren
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A triathalon of sorts
24 juli 2022, Frans-Polynesië ☀️ 77 °F
While this resort does have a few roosters, they did not seem determined to assert their dominance throughout the night, and we both slept well. We enjoyed a buffet style breakfast, but honestly I would have paid the full fare simply for the two cups of strong coffee. It rained for just a minute, which was enough to produce a rainbow that we took as a good omen for the day to come. The weather forecast called for rain all day, but we decided not to believe it and booked a bicycle rental to see what this island had to offer. I raked a razor over my face for about 20m in hopes that it would allow a more secure snorkel mask fit and it was time to head out.

The first stop was the grocery store to stock up on some water, pack a lunch, and secure a bottle of wine for later. We dropped off the wine in the room minibar and headed out around the island.

Our first stop was Maeva ("Welcome") Marea Complex, housing the Fare Poree ("Oval House"), a reconstruction of a traditional Tahitian meeting house, now a small museum on the lake. We read the history of the island and its people, and checked out the artifacts before backtracking a little bit to reach the Matairea Hill hike trailhead.

It was an easy hike, though it branched off regularly enough to have us doubting our choices as to whether or not we were going the correct way. along the way we encountered our first Marea (temples) that had been overtaken by a massive tree. Either by our magnificent wayfinding or sheer dumb luck, we made all the correct choices and popped out at another Marea with a great view of the island. Satisfied, we wound our way back to the main road and continued biking to the Jardin de Corail.

We stashed our bikes and donned our snorkeling gear. By this point we were both sweaty and ready for a swim, and it didn't disappoint. My baby's-bottom-smooth face did in fact prevent water from flooding my mask, so we both got to enjoy the coral and many aquatic creatures. There was a strong tide at points, but we exercised appropriate care and had a blast snorkeling for a while.

Feeling refreshed, we threw our towel down and snarfed some prosciutto and toast along with some fruit (and plenty more water). Refueled, we biked along the outer part of the island back to the hotel and beyond to see some sailboats in another bay before calling it and enjoying some downtime and a glass or two of wine. It was a smart call, as the skies opened up just a little while later.

We prepared for dinner, and more importantly, the 10m walk to dinner. Laura donned the rain jacket, and we made use of the bungalow's umbrella, but still arrived somewhat damp due to the ongoing monsoon. We both had tuna tartar and some great swordfish (Laura's again with coconut, mine with green pepper sauce), before making the journey back -- somehow it was raining even harder. We had to dodge a few crabs on the walk back (no joke), but all in all counted it another great day.Meer informatie
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