Cabo

It has been a year at this point, but in the middle of the gray that is the Seattle in March our family took off for the sun in Cabo San Lucas. After more snow, rain and cold than we are used to around the Seattle it was a much needed escape. Much like our prior trip to Mexico in 2019, we booked a stay at a resort outside of the main downtown. This time we found a deal to stay in one of the mountain villas at the Pueblo Bonito Resort right on the tip of Baja California. It was the perfect combination of inclusive resort and private house rental.

Our first night there we had dinner at the Market, a food hall at the resort. Then the next morning we drove to the Walmart (my first time driving in another country!) for our groceries. We spent the trip choosing between when we wanted to use the resorts pools and restaurants, and when we just wanted it to have family time at the house. Dom spent as much time as possible in a pool or hot tub, we took two trips into downtown Cabo, and went on an AVT adventure as well.

March 6th – 9th:

In the mornings we could see boats in the Pacific Ocean tracking the whales. At times we could see the whales break the surface from our balcony. In addition to checking out the “kids pool” with swim up bar, Mom and Dad had a date night without leaving the resort. We had a fabulous dinner at LaFrida Restaurant. It was high-end authentic Mexican food and some very good Margaritas.

View of the Ocean from the patio. Many of the boats are whale watching tours.

Our house for the stay, #122.

March 10th:

We had our first big adventure away from the resort! We went into downtown Cabo for the AvoCabo Food tour. There was more than enough food to try and we left with a few favorite places to eat. Never a fan of Mole I was converted with the version at El Burro Loco.

: Avocabo Food Tour. 1st stop – ceviche.

March 11th – 13th:

We spent the next few days building with legos, eating at the 50s diner at the Market, and testing out the resorts main pool right on the beach. On the West side of Baja California the beach is not safe for swimming, so we were not able to go into the water but watching the massive waves from the beach was very cool. We stood looking out at the ocean and thought about the fact that at that point of land there is nothing between us at the Antarctic but water.

: First lego build of the trip complete.

: Waves crash at the end of the land.

: Finishing up the second lego build.

March 14th:

A week into our trip we spent the day at Wild Canyon Adventures. It is a adventure park East of downtown. We went on an ATV drive through the dunes and down to the beach along the the Gulf of Baja California. It was Dom’s second ATV adventure and for the most part he liked it. He did say that a few times that while driving around the canyon Chris drove too fast. The rocks at the beach however were worth it for him, and he even did okay as we returned to the starting point by driving over a massive suspension bridge.

After the AVT adventure we had lunch then Chris and Dom went to hang out at the water park while did my first zipline course. It included 8 different lines crossing back and forth alone the canyon. Parts where a bit scary and a few times one of the guides had to go with me across, but it was awesome. The whole time at Wild Canyon was fun, and they had a photographer that followed the tours around to take photos so we ended up with a ton in the end.

: Finishing the adventure by driving over the 1,082 foot long bridge.

Zipping across the canyon.

March 15th & 16th:

After a whole day out adventuring we spent the next day sitting by the pool. Dom wanted to play at the kids pool, so we had some lunch there and he managed to make a few friends in the water. For dinner we tried another of the onsite restaurants, The Bistro. The next day we returned to downtown Cabo. We walked along the marina, had some brunch, and got a Margarita to go. In addition to having a Mariachi band play for us we also saw a puffer fish swimming in the marina and some very cool murals.

March 17th :

Our last day in Mexico. Dom and I went down to the beach to play in the sand for a while, then we all had to go get COVID tests for entry back into the U.S.A.. That night we had milkshakes and drinks at the 50s cafe before dinner then ate at the sports bar. It was full with people celebrating both March Madness and St. Patrick’s day.

Just laying in the sand.

: Two faces of Dom

Las Vegas – Escape from the Rain

November 2021 started with an escape from the rain and gloom of Seattle to the warmth of Las Vegas. Even though we have been to Las Vegas 6+ times (2004, 2006, 2007, 2011) this was a new adventure for our family. We skipped the hotels and rented a house for the week. It was only a few minutes from the strip and old Vegas, with a pool and hot tub. As an added bonus there was some private space for Miss Emilia so she could join us and keep up with her school work. Chris was still working during the day, which was key since he is out of vacation days, but then mom and dad could get out in the evenings.

Our home for the week. Dom spent most of the time at the house in the hot tub.

As soon as he was awake Dom wanted to check out the hot tub. With Dad trying to get some work done, Mom and Dom left the house and went to the strip. Dom insisted he wasn’t going to have any fun but quickly was doing just that. We went to the M&M store at MGM Grand, got cake at the Hello Kitty Cafe, ran around The Park by T-Mobile arena, visited the Hershey Store, walked around the “streets” inside New York-New York Casino, and best of all … we went on the moving walkways into Excalibur Hotel.

That night after Dom had more hot tub time, it was the parents turn to explore. We checked out Circa casino and 8 East for dinner. So much of the Fremont street area has changed over the year, and Circa is a perfect example, I remember it as Mermaids Casino.

: Cake from Hello Kitty Cafe

Day two was what Dom had been waiting for, the Discovery Children’s Museum. He had seen Blippi visit it and play with in the water world exhibit. So we spent the morning exploring every area of the museum. Dom left drenched from the water activities, which was fine because he spent the rest of the day floating about in the hot tub. Mom and Dad then had a evening out with dinner at a show at the Cosmopolitan. We went to see Opium, since we had loved the show Absinthe by the same company, but we will not be recommending this particular show.

: This counted as the best part of the trip for Dom.

Our third day in Las Vegas was Saturday, which meant we all got out of the house in the morning. We started the day with a trip to Avengers Station at Treasure Island. Dom had mixed reviews; he loved some of the costumes and the ants that were projected on the floor, but did not like some of the interactive elements. Unfortunately he was not up for participating in a group photo, but that could be in part to his empty stomach. After a quick lunch we went to Fremont street. It was a complete sensory overload for Dom, we did one walk up and back and then went to the playground at the container park. That was a complete success, Dom found a bunch of older boys to play a battle game with and would have been happy playing the rest of the day.

Dom attempting to “prove worthy to wield mjolnir”

On Sunday Dom and Miss Emilia took a drive out to the Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, and the Hoover Dam. With time on their own, Mom and Dad then were able to watch some football, visit a few casinos, and explore Fremont Street a bit more. While Dom got to have this hands in two states at once, Mom and Dad listened to some live music and even ran into someone we knew in the street. It was a successful day for everyone.

: Exploring Lake Mead

Hoover Dam

If you want a crazy flash back, we had taken a motorcycle out to the Valley of Fire back in 2006.

Monday had Dad returning to work, so Mom and Dom got out of the house in the morning and went to Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. At first Dom was not interested in any of it, but he does like trails, garden’s and Cacti so he quickly changed his mind. The cactus garden was all decorated for the holidays, which I will say was a bit weird. After following the path through the whole garden we went inside to see the factory. It was a slow day, they were only packaging chocolate hearts so we did not get to see much of the process. We did taste test some before going to a playground. After that we drove by the Vegas sign on the way back the house for more Hot Tub time.

: Inside the Ethel M factory

For our last day Dom and Mom went to Mandalay Bay in the morning to see the Shark Reef. Dom loved that it was designed like a ancient temple and a sunken ship, plus he like touching the stingrays. After we had our fill of sea creatures we walked over to Luxor to eat before going home for … more Hot Tub time. Mom and Dad had tickets for the Kraken versus the Las Vegas Golden Knights at the arena. We all went together to the strip to check out the fountains at Bellagio before the game. The Kraken unfortunately did not win, but we had some great seats behind the net and enjoyed the game anyway.

: Dragons, fish and turtles

And then it was over. This was our first time staying off strip, and the first time bringing a kid alone and it went really well. Chris even said they he preferred it to Palm Springs for a warm weather trip with a short flight from Seattle. Dom wants to go back to several of the places we had visited, never wanted to leave the hot tub, and loved all the “feather girls” he saw walking around the casinos. So I guess it just a matter of time before we are back in Vegas.

Kauaʻi – End of Summer Escape

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2020. That didn’t happen.

We’d planned to spend two weeks in Germany during the fall of 2021. That didn’t happen.

We decided on somewhere “nearby” that we’d probably not visit after we left Seattle in the next few years. That did happen.

Dom had never been to Hawai’i and we’d never been to Kauaʻi, so we made it happen with a direct flight on Alaska Airlines. We used a $100 companion fare for Dom and Melissa flew on miles, so we got to the island for much cheaper than is typical. I think it came to like $250 per person. For reference, weekend flights are usually in the $500-600 range. The island is fairly spaced out and remote (thankfully), so we rented a car (with miles!) and a two bedroom VRBO condo in the Princeville area, on the north side of the island. We booked this trip as soon as Alaska switched to no change fees and before vaccines were available; figuring we could cancel/move it if COVID prevented us from traveling. Good news is the trip went off without a hitch.

This trip was an odd intersection of life. Dom was not vaccinated, Hawai’i was on the backside of its travel crunch, and I’d just gotten another team reporting to me at work the week prior. Our plan was to keep mostly to ourselves, which we did for the most part. I didn’t take my computer, but I was coming off of a crazy summer at work, and I did stay connected to via work email on my phone. That’s against my better judgment, however I was in the final days of hiring two folks for a severely understaffed team. Keeping watch was going to make my fall that much easier. I know… it’s work and I’m making excuses. Trust me when I say I am well aware I made this decision after having a heart attack on the last vacation. I will be making healthier choices in 2022 and beyond.

We didn’t make a ton of plans going into this trip. Melissa marked things on the island, and I did a little research on activities, but it was mostly a play by ear kinda thing. We did the normal grocery shopping and cooking at “home” thing, with several carry out, and maybe 2-3 outdoor meals. It’s kinda a blur, to be honest. We went to the condo community pool a couple days, we drove to some remote beaches a few days, and we traveled to the south of the island for tourist stuff one day. The pace of life on Kauaʻi is a wee bit different than, say, Honolulu, and lends itself to waking up each morning without a set plan.

The beaches on the island are different than most other places we’ve been, as you end up driving down some work out dirt road to a beautiful beach with calm waters and very few people. We always loaded up and went in the morning, as it’s easier to get Dom out of the house and the beaches were nigh barren when we got there. I think it was the first time either Melissa or Dom had really swam in an ocean. I was too exhausted to do much swimming, but I grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and am glad they had that experience. PNW waters are anything but forgiving.

Total non-sequitur… we also grabbed lots of fruits at a local farmer’s market.

Other fun things included lots of drone flights (I brought mine), an adults-only walking food tour in Hanalei, and a family outing in a Polaris 1000 cc 4 Seater UTV. That last activity was Dom’s first real outing of that type and certainly the first time doing off-road stuff. He had a lot of fun getting dirty, but the helmet did end up hurting him by the end. No surprise there – he’ll need to be fitted if ever really gets into motorsports. I ate so much dirt and dust, even with a mask on, but there were enough “oh crap” moments to keep you on your toes and heart rate elevated. Especially when you’re driving an almost-five-year-old in a three point belt. The minimum age was five – he was only eight days shy! Nothing bad happened.

I think Kauaʻi if my favorite island of the four Melissa and I have been to. We’re not really beach people or big on hot weather, but I can see the appeal.