A Romantic Dinner Where?

This month last year we headed to Punta Cana for our wedding anniversary, but before flying off we had a very nice dinner in an unexpected location.

Since our flight was a tad early in the morning, we took advantage of a deal for the Cedarbrook Lodge. This hotel is located right at the airport but the beautiful grounds and Northwest style rooms and common areas make you feel far from the hectic ways of the SeaTac airport. We checked in and were given this lovely, comfortable and serene room for the night.

 

They were providing live jazz on the lawn so we headed out with a cocktail and relaxed before dinner. The lawn, pond, and gardens really are pretty here. 

 

We then had a lovely dinner at the hotel's restaurant CopperLeaf. You don't usually find things like foie gras, duck breast, and 5-course tasting menus by the airport but that is exactly what CopperLeaf offers. The food was all very good, it wasn't earth shattering but it was very good. It was also very, very pretty. The plating was excellent and the restaurant also offers a fantastic wine list with many exceptional local wines. 

Our favorite thing was this dessert. Delicious donuts served with a hand-blended hot chocolate for dipping. Delish!

5am the next day came around much to soon but it was made easier by the complimentary airport shuttle.

I highly recommend Cedarbrook Lodge as an overnight on your next early morning SeaTac departure!

Flickr Photo Set

Paradise... Punta Cana

Generally our trips are a bit adventurous, cultural, active, or even illegal but every once in a while it's nice to just go someplace beautiful and chill out, and for me that is always on a beach. Since our Cape Cod beach vacation got rained out, I booked us an all-inclusive get-a-way to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for our 9th wedding anniversary.

Just like our Iceland long weekend, this was a total steal that I found through Travelzoo.com. The package consisted of round trip air from Miami, airport transfers and 5 nights in a junior suite in the all-inclusive (all food, all drinks) Majestic Elegance. Additionally we chose to upgrade to the "Elegance Club" in which we had exclusive pools, bars and a beach without children, our own butler, a couple of concierge lounges with computers, snacks and drinks, private check-in/check-out, etc. etc. All of this was $2100 total for the two of us (that included trip and hurricane insurance).

The resort was lovely with huge open atriums, perfectly kept gardens, exceptionally clean and warm pools and beaches. We went in knowing that the food was going to be mediocre (which is was) and that the booze selection would be scant (which it was) but the other amenities more than made up for those things and we had a fantastic time.

We loved the Bali beds, both on the beach and by the pools, the swim up bar, the sand that was like sugar, all the nice newlyweds and the funny little casino where Dayne more than doubled his money. I had a very good massage in the spa one afternoon. And of course the Brugal rum flowed like water.

The resort hosted a White Nights BBQ on the beach one night, where we had our first taste of the local shot called mamajuana, a sweet blend of rum, honey, herbs and bark. Another day a few of the staff came around to everyone in our private pool area with a bucket of the brew on ice and shot glasses to hand out. Ah the stress of vacation.

And for those who wanted, there were nightly "shows" ranging from karaoke to live jazz. We chose to end each evening with a nice martini in the big open lobby bar.

We didn't see any of the country really, and I know that there are certainly some interesting areas. But for us it was a wonderful, relaxing vacation and I'd absolutely go back to enjoy those beaches again, the best I've ever been on!

All photos from our Dominican Republic trip are here.

Brugge in 15 Beers

The other night we re-watched "In Bruges", which is a seriously funny and twisted movie. We'd seen it before, but since we were in Brugge last September for our wedding anniversary, we thought we'd see how realistic the filming of town is. It is very good, unlike those crazy scenes in "Sleepless in Seattle".

We left St. Pancras Station in London after Dayne got off work on a Friday afternoon. One easy train transfer and 4 1/2 hours later we arrived in the fairytale looking town of Brugge. We had brought along our own happy hour kit, consisting of Neal's Yard cheese, olives, salami, and pre-batched martinis, travel is rough.

We stayed at the Martins Relais Oude Amsterdam Hotel, right on the Spiegelrei canal. It was a very nice hotel with a huge room & bed, especially by European standards. There were big windows looking out onto the canal, a cute little bar off the lobby and a sweet courtyard with table and chairs. I'd absolutely recommend it and would stay here again.

We had dinner at Christoph's the first night, chosen mainly because it was the only one we could find still serving dinner past 10:00pm. The food was good but it was more expensive than it should have been. But we got to have our first Belgium beers here- 1) Duval and 2) Brugse Zot Blond.

Each morning we went to Servaas Van Mullem Patisserie for wonderful coffee and pastries. This was an unexpected and very nice find!

On our stroll around the incredibly picturesque town the first morning, we came upon a large market happening. There was everything from bread, sausages, fish and even socks for sale. I loved the picture on the outside of this unit!

At the Onze-Lieve Vrouwekerk we walked around crypts, viewed the art, and even saw one of Michelangelo's Pietas. It's a beautiful church and well worth the entrance fee.

The area known as the Begijnhof reminded me of the Fuggerei we had seen in Germany.  Now the living area of the Benedictine sisters, it was founded in 1245. There is a replica house open to the public as well as the garden and the church. The grounds are beautiful, right next to the canal, with swans wandering around. All very peaceful and pretty.

Since no stop to Belgium would be complete without mussels and frites, we had lunch in Walplein Square in a little outdoor restaurant which was lovely. Along with beers 3) Straffe Hendrik Triple & 4) Straffe Hendrik Quadruple. And there were waffles. 'Cuz it is Belgium!

Across the square is the De Halve Maan Brewery, the last remaining family owned and operating brewery in Brugge, open since 1856. We joined in on the English tour which was very interesting, climbing all up and down ladders, stairs and multiple levels. Of course beers were had, but they were one's we had before so they don't get counted here.

Another really nice way to see Brugge is by canal boat. The lines looked long but moved very quickly and the cruise takes you up and down the canals, under bridges and past gorgeous buildings. We even went right past our hotel.

By this time it had reached beer:30 again and thanks to one of the tourists, we had been chatting with on the brewery tour, we found the tiny De Garre. It's hidden down an ally and dates from the 1700's. It is the only place you can get the 5) De Garr Triple. We also had a 6) Gulden Draak. The beers came with little dishes of cheese and the atmosphere was very "friendly dungeon" like.  A great spot!

Since we were leaving the next afternoon and still had so many beers to try we decided on dinner at Den Dyver. It's well known and has a very good beer pairing menu. The food was good but we both felt it was much more expensive than it should have been. However the beers were delicious! 7) Witkap Pater Stimulo, 8) Tempelier, 9) Chimay, 10) Lupulus, 11) St Bernardus Pater 6, 12) Lambic.

That evening a crazy thunder and lightning storm started just as we were leaving the restaurant. We couldn't go 5 feet without being completely drowned! We finally got a cab and enjoyed a Genever in the bar back at the hotel before calling it a day.

We spend the last morning at the Groeningemuseum which is very interesting. Lots of gruesome religious pieces, all Flemish artists spanning about 6 centuries in the Netherlands. We strolled around town some more after, deciding between shell, boobs, and animal shaped chocolates to bring home for friends.

Having been given great advice from friends who had been before, we had our last meal and beers at Cambrinus. Delicious bouillabaisse was enjoyed with 13) Trappe Quadruple, 14) Westmalle Triple and 15) Cambrinus Blonde.

If only we had more time...

About the spelling of the town; Bruges or Brugge are both right as one is French and one is Flemish and both are spoken. 

Brugge photos here

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sonoma Wine Weekend

We celebrated our wedding anniversary last weekend in Sonoma County, our first visit to this wine region but hopefully not the last!

Vineyards were originally planted here in the early 1800's making it the birthplace of the California wine industry. Napa didn't start planting until the 1860's by comparison. Additionally there are 12 appellations each one known for a particular style of wine.

Many of the 250 wineries in the region are small mom and pop setups, exactly what I like, so deciding which one's to visit was really hard. Luckily we have friend's who have similar tastes in wine as we do  and were nice enough to share some ideas (thanks Dino & Paul!). I was looking for wines that are hard to come by outside of the area and that is exactly what we found!

There is no way we were going to be able to explore each of the distinctly unique areas so we focused on just part of Russian River and the Dry Creek Valley near Healdsburg and the Sonoma Valley.

Stationing ourselves in Santa Rosa, about halfway between our 2 chosen areas, we set out on our first day to Arista Winery. Driving around the area outside of Healdsburg was awesome. It is hilly and green, the landscape spotted with huge oak trees, horse farms and vineyards. Beautiful, really really beautiful. I love being in wine countries and this is now one of my favorites for sure.

Many of you know that I have a bit of a passion for North Willamette Pinot Noir so I wasn't really expecting to be blown away by any Sonoma Pinot's. WRONG. Arista makes really gorgeous wines and their gardens are amazing! The buying started early...

Rochioli was next and just down the street. This winery only produces 3 wines- Chardonnay, Sauvingnon Blanc and Pinot Noir. They were pouring the Sauv Blanc and Pinot when we were there, both were delicious.

Right in Healdsburg is Seghesio, beautifully made Zinfandel at really good prices. We were so impressed with all the tastes we had that we joined their wine club. JOINERS!

As we left Seghesio to find some lunch we realized that the temperature had continued to climb and was now around 102F. Our car had stayed cool but it wouldn't be able to for much longer so we stopped in a drugstore and picked up a few coolers and ice so the wine would be safe and sound. I didn't want to come home with bottles of wine reduction!

After a delicious lunch at Dry Creek Kitchen, which was a recommendation from a few locals, we went to our only appointment of the day at A. Rafanelli Winery.

A. Rafanelli produces big, hearty Zin, Cab & Merlot and you can only buy their wines in local restaurants or at the winery. It's by appointment only and really a family affair. One of the daughters, who was a practicing attorney until last year when she came to work in the family business, poured for us and filled us in on the wines available. Once she realized that we were primarily looking for hard to find wines she called George at Unti Winery and got us a tasting at his small production winery also.

George Unti is from Italy and makes very European style wines- Sangiovese, Grenache, Mourvedre, etc. He is passionate about his vineyards and the wines they produce and we had a really good time talking to him about the difference in wine regions terroir around the world.

Day 2 we headed south past the town of Sonoma and out to Gloria Ferrer. The scenery out here is a bit different as the rolling hills are browner than the lush area up north. This particular winery doesn't do traditionally tasting, instead they just sell glasses of their sparkling. Since they so some vintage sparkling it was nice to have a glass and relax out on their patio enjoying the views.

In the same area is Gundlach Bundschu Winery (or GunBun as their website is named!) They are also one of the oldest in the area and offer some really fantastic wines. We chose to try just the reds and split the tastings so we were able to try all of them. The woman who poured for us gave us a few extra tastes of some of their reserve wines and also recommended another old winery up the road. She even wrote us a free pass to taste there since she knew the staff.

So after lunch in the gorgeous square in Sonoma at Maya, a few tastes of really good tequila, a bit of antique browsing and shopping for Rancho Gordo beans at Bram we were off to our last taste of the day at Bartholomew Park. Small, old winery staffed with wonderful people who celebrate all the winemakers of the area with an amazing photo wall. Oh and they make some amazing Merlot!

We used Wine Country Shipping to send all our bottles home, they repacked all the wine in secure shipping cases and had it in Seattle 2 days later. I'm looking forward to enjoying these!

Wine soaked photos here!

And finally by sea...

On our last full day in Kauai we decided to take a 6 1/2 hour Zodiac tour of the Napali Coast to get a bit more up close and personal to the amazing rugged peaks and valleys. We toured with Capt. Andy's and for the most they were very good. The captain and crew were fun, informative and seemed to really want everyone to have a great time and see as much as possible.

We started out of Port Allen and immediately came upon a pod of Spinner Dolphins! They were so funny to watch, playing around our wake, jumping and racing each other. Then it was about a 30+ minute, somewhat wet and wild ride up to Polihale, which is the last place you can get to by vehicle. Many people camp on the beach here with these dramatic mountains just next to them. All the way up you could spot huge sea turtles bobbing around in the water!

We decided to head up to the north end of the coastline before stopping for lunch. The weather was sunny and warm which was good as the captain pointed our Zodiac directly out into the huge waves crashing on a reef. For about 20 minutes we rode HUGE waves, our small boat seemingly being tossed around but yet still somehow in control. Very fun and adrenaline inducing!

He then moved us closer in to the coast where we explored a few sea caves, pulling right into them. So amazing and beautiful!

At this point we had a bit of a problem, the Zodiac has 2 engines and one of ours died. And it really needed both to get our boat of 10 all the way back to Port Allen which is now at least 1 hour away depending on the currents, waves, etc.

After multiple tries to get it cranking we went on one engine over to Nualolo Beach, accessible only by tour operators who qualify. It was a barren beach made up of rocks and a little open picnic area where the guys served us a really good hot lunch. We snorkled before, snorkeling was ok but nothing spectacular. For lunch there was a pineapple chicken dish, great rice, fruit, salad and dessert. After lunch we went on a walking tour of the ancient Hawaiian fishing village that use to be there.

The village was really interesting. Remains of burial grounds, houses and springs. All around the valley walls you could see the scars of old waterfalls.

We even saw a monk seal lounging on the beach which is incredibly rare as they are on the endangered list. Our guide explained that they are so friendly the locals call them the dogs of the sea. They will just come right up to people and boats and unfortunately this made them easy prey for hunters.

Unfortunately during this whole time the captains were hard at work on our raft but couldn't fix it. They ended up taking a family of 6 off our raft and adding it to the now very crowded second raft, leaving just 4 of us on our handicapped vessel. We were really worried that it would take hours to get back but the captain did a great job and we were back in just under 2 hours. And we had a great time along the way still hitting some huge waves and getting tossed around as if we were riding a mechanical bull!

We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel, and salty and sweaty! A dip in the pool and a tropical cocktail were perfect. We stayed at the hotel that night and had an ok sushi dinner at a small place next door.

The last day we didn't leave until 10pm for our flight home so the Marriott was nice enough to give us keys to the Members Locker Room and we just stored our luggage and hung out at the pool all day. I was very sore from the raft expedition!

We had dinner that night at Roy's before heading to the airport and catching our red-eye home.

A fantastic trip and a great way to spend our 5th year anniversary. Kauai has definitaly become one of my favorite islands!

For the full set of our Kauai photos click here.

p.s. the photos in this segment were taken with our underwater camera which uses film and has a protective cover which gets foggy- that's why they look all dreamy and kind of old fashion. I like it!

from the air, from the land...

In an effort to experience Kauai from every possible angle- after flying overhead and driving up it's steep cliffs- we decided to hike it and paddle it! Following a tip from Fodors Message Boards we found our way to a small ancient Hawaiian village and rented a kayak. We were given some instructions on paddling up the Wailua River and hiking to our destination: Secret Falls!

We made it into the kayak without toppling ourselves and our gear in the river and headed out. After a few wrong turns we finally found the beaching ground. We then asked some people who were leaving as to where the train head started as we couldn't see anything and were pointed to an area on the opposite side of the small arm of the river we were on (big secret hu?). So we waded across and started on the trail, soon taking another wrong turn only to end up at a dead end with no falls in site (Amazing Race contenders for sure!).

Back on the trail in the correct direction we had a really nice hike. The trail was barely marked in most areas and you definitely felt as though you were in a tropical jungle with exotic flowers, vines and birds surrounding you.



Our first glimpse at the falls confirmed our thoughts that the secret was out but soon all the people left and we actually had the falls and it's pond all to ourselves to swim in- very cool.

As the next wave of people came we left and headed back to our kayak. Heading back up river we came to the landing for the Fern Grotto. A short hike in and we were rewarded with an amazing open cave filled with ferns sprouting out and cascading down. Grotto = Cave - cool!

We headed back to the river, passing gorgeous and fragrant flowers and plants. The water felt so good in the heat I could have just jumped in and swam back to the village!
After hitting a bbq place for lunch and a Mai Tai we made our way up to the north coast for some snorkeling. The views all the way up made for such a nice drive!! We arrived at Tunnels Beach late in the afternoon, the water was warm and clear and we finally saw our first turtle! Unfortunately we didn't have the underwater camera with us so you'll have to take my word for it.

We snorkeled for a while, layed on the clean sand and admired the views of Bali Hai and then made our way farther north to Ka'a Beach passing really interesting caves and cliffs covered with vines. We got to Ka'a about an hour before sunset and it was very pretty and calm- people either packing up from a day spent at the beach or arriving to take in the sunset.

Waimea Canyon

It was going to be tough to top our anniversary day! The helicopter tour was really a once in a lifetime experience. And we spent a lovely evening at the Grand Hyatt for drinks and dinner. But with only 5 days on Kauai we were determined to see and do as much as possible- and then kick by the pool on our last day :)

So we were up and in the convertible the next morning, on the road to Waimea Canyon. The views are just over the top amazing! We followed the road up and stopped at each lookout point. It was fun to watch the helicopters flying thru, looking just like tiny dots and knowing that was us the other day. As our book and others suggested we kept driving to the very very end- the Napali Lookout. Here you can see where the canyon ends at the Napali coast. The clouds build up in the valley and you have to wait it out, but when they clear...wow!

This was the only time we were rained on, it started soft and then really dumped for 5 minutes. I was driving with the top down and finally we had to stop in the middle of the road and put it up as I couldn't see for all the water in my eyes. And then it cleared up and we were on our way. The drive and the canyon were just awesome.

As we came down we stopped for lunch at the Waimea Brewing Company which had good beer and yummy Kalua pork nachos!

On our way home we stopped at the Spouting Horn and watched the hole throw ocean water high into the sky for a bit but really we were ready to be back by our pool and catch the hula show that they were doing just before sunset.

Another gorgeous day on this beautiful island.

Remember T.C.?

I always thought that Theodore "T.C." Calvin, Magnum's friend and owner of Island Hoppers helicopter tours, had a pretty good life. Sure, he didn't get to live in a 200-acre beachfront home, or drive someone else's Ferrari, but flying over the Hawaiian islands every day seemed like a decent trade-off.
I'd always hoped to be able to have that experience.

We'd realized that we weren't going to be able to get back to French Polynesia, our honeymoon location, for our 5th-year anniversary, even though that had been our original thought. The twin realities of available vacation time and available funding reared their ugly heads and dictated a vacation that was both shorter and closer to home. Fortunately, we got a great deal on accommodations and airfare and were able to schedule a 5-day stay on Kauai.

Our flight landed in Lihue after dark, so when we drove to our nearby hotel, the Kauai Marriott Resort, we really didn't get to see very much, and were somewhat skeptical that our so-called ocean-view room could actually see the ocean. We just had some sushi and late-night drinks at one of the attached restaurants that night, but looked forward to actually seeing the island the following morning.
Fortunately, the next day dawned bright and clear, and we discovered that we did actually have a view of the Pacific, albeit somewhat obstructed. We spent the morning exploring our hotel (including gigantic koi pond), pool (largest on the island, and in fact the largest in which either of us had ever been) and beach.

On the advice of several friends, we'd scheduled our helicopter tour for our first full day so that we could get a feel for the topology of the island. We walked over to the helicopter operator's office, directly across the road from our hotel, received a brief safety lecture and were bused the mile or so to the airport.

The American Eurocopter EC130B4 "ECO-Star" in which we were flying had room for two passengers in the front seat (to the pilot's right) and four in the rear. The tours, from all oeprators, take a clockwise flight pattern around the island, so the front and right of the aircraft are the best viewing seats. Even though we'd requested those locations, weight distribution of passengers meant that we ended up with the left rear, to our initial disappointment.

Neither Wendy nor I had flown in a helicopter before. When it took off, I thought she was going to squeeze my fingers off. I personally thought the flight was extremely smooth, and with the noise-canceling headphones we were wearing, it was much less noisy than a commercial airline flight. It was a bit disconcerting to slide sideways from time to time, or to rotate in place.
Within five minutes, we were flying through a rainstorm somewhere over the south side of the island, next to a mountain range, with zero forward visibility. Very wild! That lasted a grand total of only a few minutes, and then we were in the clear and heading up over a ridge and into Waimea Canyon, which easily compares to, and exceeds, the [distant] views I've had of the Grand Canyon, or my direct experiences in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Raydah Escarpment in Saudi Arabia.

Eventually we headed to the northwest corner of Kauai and began flying along the incomparable Napali Coast. Our pilot was great, and when he took us into individual canyons he was careful about rotating in both directions so that Wendy and I were able to get clear views of all the cliff walls and waterfalls. In particular, the 3000-foot cliffs and falls of the crater in Mt. Waialeale were unforgettable -- we hovered about halfway up the cliff, rotating in place, and it seemed like we were in some prehistoric Land of the Lost.

The tours unfortunately only last about an hour, so all too soon we had to head back to the airport. But it was a fantastic way to start the trip; T.C would be proud!