Belize

Of all of our stops on our cruise, Belize was by far our most adventurous excursion. This was the only place we stopped where we had to take tender boats from the ship to shore. The 2nd largest barrier reef in the world is off the coast of Belize and the ships can only get so close without endangering the reef. We were herded like cattle in the belly of the ship onto tiny tenders with about 25 other people.  It was a quick 20 minute zip to port and being on the small boat gave us a beautiful vantage point as the Belize coast came into view.  The tender dropped us off at Belize City and we boarded a bus for the hour ride into the jungle to Cave Branch Outpost for a day of cave tubing and zip lining!  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day (in the rain forest, imagine that) so I didn't take very many pics but here are a few I can share. 

Pulling into port at Belize City.  The small boat on the left is the tender boat we rode in on

We spent an hour tubing down this river

The river goes through a large cave system and when it gets shallow you have to lift your booty

The ceiling was covered with bats and beautiful rock formations

Zip lining through the rain forest was awesome!

After our adventure we went to the tree top restaurant for lunch and to try the local beer, Belikin

Back in Belize City we had time to kill before heading back



Enjoying the warm sun and a cool drink before boarding the tender

Back on the ship, a view of another ship also stopping in Belize

Cave tubing was amazing!  We hiked through the rain forest and our tour leader was a young man named Alfredo that grew up swimming and tubing through these caves.  He pointed out various plants, insects and animals as we hiked and told us a little bit about himself.  We were grouped with a family from Texas (a wealthy family) that found it amazing that Alfredo had never been outside of Belize and had never eaten at a McDonalds before.  He loved asking us questions about America and told us his dream was to one day visit the US.  Zip lining was awesome.  I've always found the rain forests to be beautiful but to see them as you're soaring through the canopy is another thing.  It is such a rush as you fly through the trees and even more of a rush when you realize you have to stop before crashing into the guy that catches you!  Breaking is not all that easy.  The people of Belize were extremely friendly and eager to show off their country.  I'd like to come back here and see the tropical beaches you always hear about or see on the web.  Our adventure was inland so we didn't get to see the nicer parts of Belize. 

Stay tuned, final stop is Roatan, Honduras!

Cozumel

We departed NOLA on  Sunday evening and spent all of Monday at sea.  It was nice and relaxing and gave us a chance to sleep in late and explore the ship at our leisure.  Originally our first stop was supposed to be exploring Mayan ruins in Costa Maya but Norwegian decided to switch that stop out with what would have been our final stop, Cozumel.  I had planned Cozumel to be a relaxing beach day at an all inclusive resort so that our last excursion would be low key.  I was a little annoyed that they just switched it on us because I spent hours planning our excursions very carefully but it ended up being a great kickoff to 4 days in a row of activities.  We docked at Cozumel early in the AM and had to be on the pier to catch our bus to the resort by 8:40 (so no sleeping in for us).  The first thing I noticed when we stepped out onto the deck was the brilliant blue color of the water.  It was so clear and so vibrant!  We hopped on a charter bus and just a few minutes later were at Playa Mia Beach Park which had an open bar, all you can eat buffet, beach chairs, volleyball nets, floaties, hobie cats....you name it.  Jeff and I started the day off by double fisting with rum punch and Dox XX (hey, we were on vacation) at 9:30 in the morning.  It was already balmy and in the 80's and we spent much of the day floating and sunbathing in the warm, tranquil water.  It reminded me so much of the beautiful all inclusive we stayed at in Jamaica.  Relaxing on the beach of a tropical paradise (with an open bar) is my idea of heaven....After 4 hours of bliss we hopped back on the bus and it dropped us off across from the ship in a touristy part of the island.  Jeff and I ended up at Senor Frogs with another couple from the ship.  We enjoyed a beer and were entertained by some of the younger (late teens ,early 20's) 'kids' from our ship who were dancing, taking shots and partying like one should when in Mexico.  After Senor Frogs we souvenir shopped at the market.  Jeff and I have a tradition of buying a Christmas tree ornament at every city we visit so it was fun to go in and out of the shops and search for the perfect ornament to remind us of Cozumel.

Pulling into Cozumel



Double fisting at 9:30 AM

Jeff enjoying the clear, warm water

Dos XX at Senor Frogs

When in Mexico....

It wasn't our anny but the other side said "Happy Sex."  We picked the PG13 version.

I really enjoyed my time in Cozumel. I would love to find an all inclusive and spend some time there and maybe also in nearby Cancun.  I love me an amazing beach!

Stay tuned to hear about our next stop, Belize!

Bon Voyage

I love to travel.  I remember the excitement of booking my very first trip outside of the US (I don't count all my nights partying in Tijuana as a college kid) with my former roommate to go to Costa Rica back in November 2001.  I grew up in a family that did not really have the resources to travel outside of the US but we went on plenty of road trips as a kid.  As much fun as those road trips were, I yearned to see the exotic and to meet people with different cultures, beliefs and customs than mine.  When my roommate mentioned heading to Central America to visit her grandparents for a week I jumped at the chance.  We went over Thanksgiving and it was right after 9/11 so the airports were being patrolled by the National Guard and security was very tight.  It was a little scary.  We landed in San Jose and then jumped on a 12 seater plane for the 45 minute (terrifying) flight over rain forests and volcanoes to the little town of Gulfito for a week of yachting, exploring, toucans, howler monkeys, Blue Morpho butterflies, kayaking and more.   I knew that this would only be the first trip of many for me.  Fast forward to 2005 and the international travel bug began to bite again.  I found a cruise that departed from New Orleans (a city I've always wanted to visit) that stopped at 4 different ports in the Mexican Caribbean and Central America.  I ran it by Jeff and we talked it about it a few times but ultimately decided to go on a much less expensive and shorter vacation to Hawaii that year.  I tucked the cruise away into my mental file and moved on.  In 2008 we went to beautiful Jamaica for our honeymoon and in 2010 went to Hawaii again.  That satiated my travel appetite for a bit but I kept thinking about that cruise.  After spending 8 days in New Orleans in 2009 and just falling in love with that city I knew we just had to do that cruise!  It would be like 2 vacations in one!  We finally bit the bullet and booked a cruise over Thanksgiving 2011 that departed from the crescent city and went to Cozumel, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico.  We booked a hotel few days before and a few days after so we could spend time in New Orleans.  We arrived in New Orleans on Friday, November 18th around 3 pm and after dropping off our bags at Le Richelieu went straight to our favorite NOLA haunt Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar on Bourbon St.  We spent the rest of the evening strolling up and down the quarter dropping into some familiar places and discovering some new spots.  A waiter drew us a map of restaurants and bars with good live music that were less touristy and more 'local.'  We told him we planned on going to Frenchmen St on Saturday and he told us we had to eat at Snug Harbor and to follow the music we liked best to see where we'd end up.  The meal at Snug Harbor was to die for and we ended up at The Maison listening to a band called The Brass-a-Holics.  The music was amazing and exactly what you would picture a NOLA band to be.  We stayed until the very end shaking our booties the whole time.  We were having so much fun we were shocked to see it was 3 am!  We headed out and went straight to Cafe du Monde for chicory coffee and beignets and then hit the sack since we had to be on our boat in just a few hours. 

Neither Jeff or I had ever done the cruise thing.  It all began a little chaotically with thousands of people all checking in and handing off baggage and filing one by one onto the giant ship.  Once we were on board we had about 4 hours to kill until departure so we went straight to the nearest bar, Henry's Pub.  Our bartender was Armando and he ended up knowing us quite well by the end of the week.  He would greet us by name and knew what 'the usual' was after the second time we ordered.  Our room was small but not nearly as small as I imagined it would be.  The ship was beautiful and clean and huge.  Jeff and I spent the hours before departure checking out all the different restaurants and bars, the pool area, the casino and it just seemed to go on and on.  Finally, at 5 pm the Norwegian Spirit pulled away from the dock and began its journey down the Mississippi toward the gulf.

First stop, Jean Lafittes!  That's him on the wall

Stopped at Tropical Isle for Hand Grenades and live music at their blues club, The Funky Pirate

We had beignets and chicory coffee at Cafe du Monde every day we were in NOLA

A second line parade following a just married bride and groom down Royal St.

The view from the balcony at our first hotel Le Richilieu

Our departure from NOLA.  It was really foggy.

Got on the boat and headed straight to Henry's Pub for Bourban and Diets

Enjoying the window view in our cabin

Stay tuned to hear about our first day at sea and our first stop....beautiful Cozumel!

Jetsetters

The Boeders are on the move!  Halloween will be spent with the gang in Phoenix checking out the Coleman's new digs, Thanksgiving week will be spent in New Orleans, Costa Maya Mexico, Belize City, Belize, Roatan Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico.  And, it looks like we might be starting the year off with a ski trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico with the possibility of a week in Ko Olina, Hawaii with the Colemans in February.  Next time someone asks me and Jeff when we plan on starting a family, I will advise them to read this post.  Not anytime soon!

Oh Yeah...

The yard is done!  Forgot to post the final pic.  We've enjoyed a few nights out by the fire pit and even had friends over for Sunday football and moved the big screen outside so we could enjoy the new patio.  So far we are loving our investment!

Blue Angels

Here is a cool vid of the Blue Angels flying right over our house.  We don't have to leave the house to enjoy the Miramar air show! 

A Change Here and a Change There

I consider the kitchen, the bedrooms and bathrooms pretty much done but the living room just bothers me.  I've tried rearranging furniture but I realized that I just didn't like the proportions of the items above the fireplace or the wine hutch on our 'Big Wall.'  I found an amazing bookshelf/wine rack at Crate & Barrel for a pretty reasonable price and found some mantel inspiration on Pinterest and spruced up the room a bit.  I still have some rearranging to do (we have so much damn wine!) but I'm liking what I see already.

Fireplace before.  The pic above just seemed to small for the space

Fireplace after.  Looks better, right?

Our old setup on the Big Wall (taken at Xmas obvi)



Replaced by this awesome piece!  Don't worry the other wine hutch is in the kitchen

So, we now have 4 separate wine hutches and a wine fridge and we have wine on bookshelves and at the bar area.  I need to start drinking more wine so I'll stop buying furniture to store it in!

Making Progress

The backyard is really coming along!  Here are some pics of the progress made this week, just a few more days and we're done!

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent prepping to pour

Concrete was poured Thursday

Concrete was stained the color Sandstone Friday

We have foliage!

Woo hoo!  Just a few mor days until completion!

Under Construction

We've spent the last 18 months updating and renovating the inside of our house and the outside has been all but ignored.  We have a beautiful covered patio in the back but we hardly sit out there because our view is dirt, weeds and a crumbling retaining wall. We love to entertain but when we do have people over the party rarely goes outside.  As I've mentioned before, the reason we bought a house rather than a condo was for the outdoor space and now that the inside of our house is done (well it will never really be done to this DIYer) we figure it was time to put some love into the backyard.  We met with several landscapers and settled on Angel from Promised Path Landscape who really had a vision of what our yard could be.  Construction started Wednesday of last week so here are some pictures progress so far.  We are most excited for the lounge area with the fire pit!  We should be ready for an evening of drinking Pinot Noir outside by the fire pit on October 15th (if there are no delays).  The front yard is still all sorts of ugly, but we plan on having Angel come back to do that sometime next year.

Before pic of the patio

Before pic of the yard

The Vision

After day 1

After day 1



End of day 3



Bye bye patio!

Wino Country

Last week we had the privilege of attending the wedding of our good friends Ryan and Rebecca.  Although the couple now lives in Minneapolis, the two opted to have the wedding in Ryan's hometown of Napa, CA.  I've known both Ryan and our mutual best friend Nate for 12 years now and have never been to visit their turf, even being the lover of wine that I am.  The wedding was on a Thursday evening so we decided to make a loooong weekend of it and flew up Wednesday morning and the wine tasting commenced immediately.  We ended up going to 18 different wineries in 4 days (our 5th and final day was wine free as we just couldn't bring ourselves to taste another drop) and had such a great time.  It was also a reunion of our entire San Diego crew so it was a lot of fun to all be together again.  I know these reunions will be few and far between now that we are all spread out.  Below are some pictures of our adventure, unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera to the main event (the nuptials).  You can view all the pictures of the trip by clicking here.

Our first stop on our first day

The Boeders in front of Luna

Darioush was built by a wealthy Persian.  It was over the top beautiful!

Tasting with the Colemans at Cuvaison.  Gorgeous views.

Family portrait at Raymond

Reserve tasting at Mondavi.  Do not drink the '96 Cab

Bubbly and cartwheels with Jenny at Domain Chandon

Rombauer Chardonnay is so good!  The view ain't bad either.

Pinterest

If only this existed when I was wedding planning!  Pinterest is the best thing ever.  It is a virtual pin board so whenever I'm blog surfing or internet window shopping if I find something I want to come back to later you just 'pin it' it to your selected board and it posts a pic of what you pinned and by clicking on the pic it takes you to the link for that item.  You can also see all the neat stuff other pinterest users are pinning and repin it to your board.  It's basically a bad ass one upper for your 'favorites' button.  You can take a look at everything I've pinned so far here and you can follow me by clicking on the Pinterest button on the far right of the screen.  Happy Pinning!

SDBeerbus.Com

My cousin Amanda and my brother Peter both work at Bridlewood Winery in Santa Ynez which is lucky for me.  For one, I'm surrounded by winos when I go home to visit and second, they have access to lots of wine.  I told them they should head down my way for a day of wine tasting in Temecula so they could compare our wines to the wines of the Santa Ynez Valley.  I finally got a text from Amanda saying "we're coming" but curiously enough they did not want to go wine tasting.  They wanted beer!  My brother has always been a 'Beer Snob' and I say this not with negativity but that is just the best way to describe his taste in beer.  When he came of age and started drinking beer, he started with Guinness and sneered at my cans of Tecate and Corona.  My bestie Nate has also always been a 'Beer Snob' and saved me from the clutches of Bud Light and MGD at many a college party.  Much like he did with wine, Nate introduced me to the different styles of beer and even learned me a few things about the history of the brews.  In college, he took me to Stone Brewery's 5 year anniversary celebration at their first location and I began to realize there is quite a microbrew culture here in beautiful San Diego!  Last year, as Nate's going away last hoorah, we bought tickets for the beer bus which on the weekend takes you to 3 breweries, serves you lunch and gives you  a souvenir pint glass.  The best part is that they pick you up at your house!  We had a ton of fun and I thought the beer bus would be perfect to introduce my guests to the San Diego Craft Beer scene.  We booked it again and the beer bus rolled up to my front door around 11 am and headed to our first stop, the now world famous Stone Brewery Bistro and Gardens in Escondido.   We were given 5 tasters over the course of an hour and also had time to roam the beautiful grounds (I love taking out of towners here) and the gift shop.  Stone makes some really hoppy beers and while I enjoy tasting them, their beer isn't really something I could drink on a regular basis.  We did get a keg of their Pale Ale a few weeks ago and it was pretty tasty, definitely one of their more mellow beers. 


Discussing the tastiness of our brew




Taking a picture break as we roam the gardens of Stone




Beer makes you think about things...

 

 After 5 tasters and a shared pint of their Imperial Russian Stout we hopped back onto the bus and headed to San Marcos Brewery for a few more tasters and some lunch.  While the beer was so-so the food was delish and after drinking beers with 9-12% alcohol content at Stone, there was definitely a little bit of a buzz starting so the food was much needed.  At this point the various groups on the bus began socializing and we started to get to know our fellow beer lovers.  We also started talking to our  bus driver Steve who was a plethora of SD Craft Beer knowledge. 



Me and my brother, captivated by something

 After filling our bellies we hopped back on the bus and by this time the bus was much louder than when we first got on.  The driver announce we were heading to our last stop and it was all the beer you can drink for the 50 minutes we would be there.Woo hoo!  Our final stop was at The Lost Abbey in San Marcos.   When Stone moved into their current, ginormous facility, The Lost Abbey moved in and took over.  They specialize in monastic and Belgian style brews but also have Port Brewing which is their more American style beers.  Needless to say, we had quite a selection to choose from!

Decisions, decisions



We had a lot of fun trying various beers from both Port and Lost Abbey.  The place was pretty crowded but we had no problem getting refill after refill.  The bus driver, Steve, gathered our group and a few other from the bus that had expressed an interest in the brewing process (and not just getting drunk) and gave us a behind the scenes tour of the facility.  He pointed out all the different machinery and told us various statistics so it was also educational and piqued my interest a little on the home brewing front.  Could be a fun (and tasty) hobby! 

See how happy The Lost Abbey makes us???



Amanda and I snuck into the Awards Room



When you are overserved, things like pretending to pee on a wall like a boy are funny

As our time at Lost Abbey came to an end our now rambunctious bus mates turned the beer bus into a party bus as we headed home.  It is amazing how in five hours and after a few beers people you never met and will never see again are your best friends...Jeff and I were the only San Diegans on the bus so we enjoyed telling our new friends where they had to visit and where they should go eat while in SD.  It was a fun day and I think our guests enjoyed the taste of the SD Beer scene. 

Our Beer Bus Family