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Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Detox: If there’s one word that separates my recent vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic from previous vacations, it would be detox. Previous vacations, for one reason or another, required a vacation from the vacation. This one was quite different. I spent my days laying on the beach or poolside at the Melia Tropical Resort from September 30^th through October 9^th, 2012. The best part was the lack of connectivity to the rest of the world. There was no cell phone service. Well, I wasn’t willing to pay international roaming charges. There was no internet service. The internet service that was available for $15, which I paid for on the 5^th day, right in the middle of the vacation, was somewhat spotty. And there was limited TV service. ESPN Deportes was not a viable option, which was only watched for the occasional review of the scrolling scoreboard, and even that took a little imagination to figure out. All-in-all, I spent the vast majority of the vacation disconnected from the world, enjoying my time in the sun (and shade). Between 4 and 6 hours of every day was spent in the ocean or pool. The swim-up pool bar was a nice touch, making things simple for those of us that like to enjoy a cocktail or two (or ten).

We did partake in a few excursions. Eric and I hit the links at the Cocotal Golf and Country Club. The rental clubs were a bit shoddy, which I’m using an excuse for the lousy round of golf, but the course itself was very nice. The rough, though not tall, was surprisingly thick and the greens were somewhat slow. I prefer a slow green, so that worked to my advantage. Eric requested I refrain from posting a picture of the final scorecard, which I will do. He ended up beating my by one stroke. Later during the trip we all went on a snorkeling trip. We enjoyed a few hours at sea and were greeted back on land with thunderstorms. The amount of rain that fell within such a short period of time was impressive. Even more impressive was the lightning and subsequent sounds of thunder. One lightning strike seemed to land quite close to the resort as there was no break between the lightning and the sound of thunder. However, that was the only daytime storm during the week, making for an enjoyable trip.

We flew American Airlines and were lucky not to be involved with any issues that have been plaguing them lately. However, they have the most uncomfortable seats I’ve seen (felt) during the past few years. The planes flown between Los Angeles and Miami had the old school tube TV’s running down the center isle. It wasn’t pretty and I don’t plan to fly them again. The resort itself was expansive and beautiful. The rooms and beds were clean and comfortable. The beach was filled with chaises and umbrellas made from natural materials. The pool was also quite large with chaises and natural umbrellas. Even better, it had a swim-up bar. The only complaint, and this isn’t really my complaint, was regarding the food. I’m not a food junkie, just give me some basic necessities like eggs, pasta, and bread, and I’m a happy man. But my friends that enjoy a good meal here and there were not impressed. The resort wasn’t at full capacity, which I would venture to guess is why we were always able to get a decent spot at the beach and pool everyday. I would recommend staying there during the month of October, before the busy season starts during November.

In the end, I relaxed and enjoyed the lack of connectivity. There was no need for a vacation from the vacation. If anything, I needed time to reacclimate myself to the hustle and bustle of work life. Now, if you’ve actually read all of this, enjoy some pictures from the trip.

Las Vegas (again) & Grand Canyon

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Another vacation in the books. I’ve come to the conclusion that a week vacation is just not enough, a vacation should be at least 2 weeks long. Actually, I came to that conclusion many years ago, but since vacations seem to be fewer and far between the past few years, I forgot. There seemed to be a lot going on during this vacation, things kept coming at a quick pace, and there was limited relaxation outside of when I was sleeping.

The vacation started with an early morning wake up on Sunday to drive to Las Vegas where we were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. For those of you that don’t know, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas is known for Rehab, a beach/pool party every Sunday during the summer. Leaving shortly before 5 AM, we arrived just after 9 AM and preregistered at the hotel which allowed us to get into Rehab for “free.” Since we were relatively early we were able to find a couple of lounge chairs right next to the pool. Turns out there’s a cost for that though, requiring us to spend a minimum of $150 per chair. Since we were on vacation and expecting to make a day out of it, a 110+ degree day, we decided to go for it. It turned out drinking $150 worth of alcohol in such extreme heat is quite difficult, but we managed. Not sure of the exact time, but it was around 5 that the heat and alcohol finally took it’s toll, resulting in 5-6 hours of sleep back in the room. After waking up at 11 PM we decided to meet up with my brother at the Voodoo Lounge, a rooftop nightclub at the Rio. Many hours and plenty of drinks later, we headed back to the Hard Rock where I lost $100 in the blink of an eye. It brought back memories of the last time I stayed at the Hard Rock. I wrote after the last trip “It was ridiculous how fast I lost my money.” I don’t recommend people play black jack there, it’s the only place I lose money that quickly. I expect to lose money, just not in less than 10 minutes. Anyway, at this point it was time for another nap.

The next day resulted in more pool time during the early hours and a casino tour during the later hours. There may have been a nap in between, but I forget. We made our way to the Bellagio, Paris, Caesers, and Harrah’s on the casino tour. We picked up a fancy Eiffel Tower mixed drink at Paris, which we carried around with us for the latter part of the casino tour. We also did some gambling at Harrah’s, where I lost about $50 over the course of over 2 hours. Add a few free drinks into the mix and it was an enjoyable few hours at the black jack table. That may have been the most fun I’ve had at a black jack table since the first time I went to Las Vegas when I stayed at Stratosphere.

The following day, Tuesday, was spent driving to the second part of the trip, the Grand Canyon. It took 5 hours to get there. The Jeep was being pushed around by high winds almost the whole trip. For some reason I thought we were going to be close to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, but it turns out it was over 2 hours from where we were staying on the south rim of the canyon. After we arrived we made plans to go on a helicopter ride the following morning. Those plans fell through the next morning when we realized the location of the helipad was in Sedona. The person on the phone didn’t do a good job explaining that to us when we were making reservations, so we ended up canceling the ride. We started at the Grand Canyon Visitors Center and walked west along the South Rim trail. I say trail, but it was paved, making for easy walking. We walked and took pictures for about 4 hours. At one point we thought about going down into the canyon a little bit, but decided not to as my knee was acting up. Still is, actually. It seemed no matter where we were the view looked the same. It was also quite hazy, which I wasn’t expecting. After relaxing for a little bit we went back to Grand Canyon Village for a nice dinner at El Tovar. I think that was the only real meal we had the whole trip.

Thursday was spent driving back to Venice, which took about 9 hours. It was an enjoyable vacation, but I’m hoping the next one will be a little more relaxing.

2011-04 – Hiking Eagle Rock Trail

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As I noted a couple of days ago I was able to fit in a hike this past Saturday. Eagle Rock Trail is part of a series of trails at Topanga State Park, between Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean. To get there from the Venice Beach / Marina Del Rey area we simply drove up the Pacific Coast Highway – which isn’t really a highway, but that’s a rant for another day – and turned right on Topanga Canyon Blvd. After hiking from the parking lot to the trailhead, it was 1.8 miles out and back and took about 1.5 hours to complete, give or take a little as we didn’t note the time we started. My main concern going into the hike were my knees, which turned out to be of no concern at all during the hike. What did cause to be a problem, at least for the first half mile or so, were shin splints. A haven’t had them in ages, mostly because I don’t run anymore, but they subsided after a while and I was able to enjoy the hike as a whole. There were a lot of mountain bikers on the trail too, making me think that could be an option for future reference. Or, since it’s a relatively short drive, it’s an easy location for an after work or weekend hike. I’m definitely looking forward to another hike in the near future.

Knicks vs. Timberwolves

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This past Friday I had the (dis)pleasure of getting to see the NY Knicks live as they played the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis. This would become the 3rd arena I’ve seen the Knicks play in, none of which include Madison Square Garden, the MCI/Verizon Center (Washington Bullets/Wizards) and Pepsi Center (Denver Nuggets) being the other arenas. The game started off great for the Knicks as they built a 14 point lead at the half and extended it to a 21 point lead early in the 3rd quarter. The half filled arena was quiet. I was almost bored watching the game. But that’s when things turned for the worse. The Knicks started missing a few three pointers, and then a few more. I turned to my co-worker, who joined me to watch the game, and told him it’ll be a close game soon enough as the Knicks don’t know how to stop shooting 3′s, even if they’re not going in. Well, it was a close game for a split second as the Wolves just kept going right past the Knicks on the floor and scoreboard. It was ugly to say the least. I didn’t even realize during the game that I was watching a player for the Wolves do something that hasn’t been accomplished by an NBA player in over 25 years. Kevin Love had over 30 points and 30 rebounds in the same game, a majority of which he got in the 2nd half as the Wolves ran right past the Knicks. Every season I hope things will get better for the Knicks, but they don’t seem to be getting better. It’s rather disappointing considering how big a fan I am of the Knicks. As a result of that loss the Knicks were 3-6, now 3-7 after losing to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Maybe even 3-8 after playing tonight against the Denver Nuggets. It’s been so long since the Knicks were good, I’m longing for the 90′s Knicks that may not have played an aesthetically pleasing game, but they found a way to win more often than not.

The outing wasn’t all bad though. I got to walk the Minneapolis Skyways, which are enclosed walking paths/bridges that connect building above the streets, allowing people to walk through most of downtown without having to go outside. A big bonus considering how cold it can get here in Minneapolis during the winter. Although it was dark, I got an outside look at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, while walking the Skyways. We also had dinner before the game at the Hard Rock Minneapolis across the street from the Target Center. It turned out to be a fun night out nonetheless.

Next up, Minnesota Wild hockey in the other Twin City of St. Paul… maybe.

San Diego Zoo and Chargers Game

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Pictures from San Diego, CA the weekend of October 22-25. The weekend included a trip to the San Diego Zoo and Qualcomm Stadium for a game between the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots.

2010-01 – Pro Bowl / Doral, Florida

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Pictures from my weekend in Miami, Florida where I golfed at Doral and went to the Pro Bowl. Click here for my recant of the trip.

2009-12 – Hawaii

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Pics from my trip to the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Maui from November 28 – December 5, 2009. Click these links for pictures from Oahu and Maui.

2009-08 – San Diego, CA

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Pics from my trip to San Diego on August 8-9. Activities included the Mets vs. Padres on August 8, Dick’s Last Resort at GasLamp Quarter, the Sky Lounge on top of the Marriott GasLamp Quarter, and La Jolla.