Monday, July 28, 2008

Game Plan

We are leaving for our roadtrip of a lifetime TOMORROW!!! Well, technically, extremely early on Wednesday morning. Here's some of the nitty-gritty info:

* We have decided to rent a car to travel in. Mark's dad's cousin works form Hertz so she is able to get us a family discount plus she's getting us a free upgrade to a small SUV (like a Honda CR-V or Ford Escape). We will be picking up a midsize car at Hertz here in Downey on Tuesday morning but I will then be driving it out to the Ontario airport location (about an hour from here) to trade it in for the SUV. I will then spend the day packing and making it comfy and cozy while Mark works his last shift until September 3.

* We WILL be bringing the dog with us. We went back and forth about this for awhile but the thought of leaving him home for almost a month just killed us. Yes, Mark's parents will be around to feed him but it is a really long time for us to leave him alone. He will be travelling with us and camping with us until the 3rd. We will then be taking him to his home away from home - my mom's. Doing it this way, we will have him with us for a couple of days and then he'll be with my mom then we'll be with him again thus avoiding an excessive amount of time away from us.

* King and I will be picking Mark up from work on Tuesday night/Wednesay morning and the three of us will immediately hit the road. We are planning on driving as far and for as long as possible without checking into a motel. If we feel the need to stop, of course we will but we want to get to Michigan asap!

Our itinerary looks something like this:
July 31-August 3: Camping
August 3-4: At my mom's
August 5-8: No plans
August 9: Party at my mom's
August 10: Becky's baby shower at my mom's
August 11: Our anniversary! Staying the night & having dinner at the Ren Cen.
August 12-14(ish): Spending time with Mike & Kristi
August 15-17: Madison for Karen's wedding!
August 18-20: Driving to Boston, spending time with Darin & Millie
August 20-21: Driving to NYC for the night
August 22: Back to my mom's
August 23: Leaving to come back to L.A.
August 26: Return the rental car

Wow, writing it all out like this makes me feel like we aren't going to have enough time but, then again, it's almost a full month! Can't wait to see everyone!!!!

Friday, July 25, 2008

More Pictures

I just got our waterproof cameras developed and uploaded the pictures onto the computer. I wanted to share some pics from the waterfalls, the pool, and the Caribbean...


Mmmm, banana coladas!

Jamaica, Mon!

As you know, Mark and I just returned from our FREE trip to Jamaica and, boy, was it great! We arrived at the airport in Montego Bay to be whisked away (well, after spending 45 minutes to get through customs and immigration) to the Sandals welcome center. They had little finger sandwiches, soda, and, of course, Red Stripe (hooray beer!).


We were then taken to our resort which was all of a ten minute drive from the airport. Since this vacation was "replacing" the one we paid for on our honeymoon and because we spared very little expense for our honeymoon, we again had a concierge suite. The biggest benefit to having this room is the check-in and check-out process. We were served champagne, beer, and rum punch in a beautiful, air-conditioned lounge while the concierge took care of everything and those guests who didn't splurge were left sitting outside in the humidity. After checking in we were given a tour of the resort and I was able to taste my first banana colada since our honeymoon (I'd been craving one for months!). We were then taken to our room where our bags were already waiting.
We quickly changed into our swimsuits and made our way to the swim up bar in the pool. As you can tell from the picture, it was slightly overcast but the cloud cover didn't put any kind of a damper on how excited we were to be there. The whole trip, we kept reminding each other how lucky we felt to be there and how wonderful is was that we got two honeymoons for the price of one! Dinner on Friday night was a Caribbean beach party theme right on the beach and they had all kinds of food - including Jamaican jerk chicken (yum!) and freshly cut coconuts to drink from.
After dinner, we hit the pub at the resort where we met a really nice couple from New York and ended up closing down the place with them. The guys who worked in the pub made our trip so much fun! The bartender was pouring drinks with bottles and glasses on his head, the servers had a dance off, it was a blast! We topped the night off with some flaming Bob Marley shots. They tasted like peppermint or cinnamon. Mark didn't get to taste his since his straw ended up melting! For future reference, this is the shot that made me make a new rule for myself: no shots.

On the way back to the room on Friday night, I tripped going up the stairs and woke up Saturday morning with a swollen, bruised, and scabbed left knee! And, boy, do I wish that was all the hurting I felt from our first night in Jamaica. But, those who know and love me know that I get the worst hangovers known to mankind. For those who didn't know this, being in Jamaica does not make you immune to such things. No sir. I did, indeed, wake up with what may possibly be the worst hangover of my life. :(

Luckily, it rained all day long. Literally, not one drop of sunshine. Thank goodness. I was in bed or on the bathroom floor until about 5:00 at which time we had dinner reservations. Mark (who was SO great all day - drawing me a bubble bath, bringing me food, and watching silly chick flicks with me) convinced me that once I got up and moving I'd be fine. Not true. Not true at all. We skipped our previously scheduled dinner and met up with our new friends from NYC at more casual place where I had to excuse myself numerous times throughout the meal. We ended up back at the pub and, honestly, just walking into the place made me sick to my stomach. I made Mark take me back to the room and, after emptying my stomach one last time, I finally felt like myself again. It was 10:00!!! At that time we decided to take a dip in the pool but not before grabbing our new friends from the pub. We swam and hung out in the hot tub and just enjoyed our new friends' last night in Jamaica. All's well that ends well, I say. But, what a day!

We woke up early Sunday morning to the knock of room service at our door (which we did EVERY morning on this trip) and had the front desk call us a cab to take us to Dunns River Falls. When the taxi pulled up, we found out that we had an entire 28 passenger bus all to ourselves!!!

We drove about an hour and a half to the falls where we had a great time! It wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. It wasn't difficult either but there were definitely some places where we couldn't see where to step and I almost fell on my face a few times. In fact, I fell onto a rock and banged up my good knee! At the exit of the falls was a small craft mart where local Jamaicans peddle their wares. We were in good spirits at first but, as we left with two necklaces, a wooden Red Stripe mug, a small wooden turtle, and a painted Jamaican couple with our names carved into them, Mark said all he wanted was to get back to the resort. His friend Toby had warned us that we'd be taken by those guys because we are both such softies and they don't all take no for an answer. Oh well. We have souvenirs!

After the falls, we stopped by the Dunns River Sandals for lunch and were very impressed with the place. Especially the beach. It was beautiful and beckoned to us to take a dip. So, after lunch and a quick swim, we started back to our resort.
On the drive back to the resort, our cabbie stopped at the side of the road for us to buy something they call ginnups or Jamaican sea grapes. You bite into the skin, pop the seed into your mouth, suck the juices off of it, and then put it back into the skin. Mark liked them. I tried it at least!


Our driver, Leslie, was great. He took us to the falls on one route, we even stopped at a local rest stop and bought Jamaican Red Bull and Vitamin Water (I know, not very "When in Rome..."). He then took us a different way home, explaining the sights to us along the way. Did you know that Jamaica is a major producer of boxite? We didn't.

Sunday's dinner was at the resort's french restaurant, Le Jardinier. One of the luxuries of going all-inclusive is that you can order one of everything on the menu. So, for appetizers we did just that. Guess what I tried? Can you guess? That's right - escargot!!! And, you know what? It really wasn't too bad. It tasted like chewy, buttery, garlic. It's a mind over matter thing though and I had to chew it and swallow it as quickly as possible but at least I tried it. After dinner, we went to a drumming/dancing show and then for our nightly dip in the pool. The pub is closed on Sundays.

We awoke on Monday morning to find the sun shining brightly and calling us to come bask in its warmth. We took a boat over to the resort's private island, previously known as Kokomo, and relaxed by the pool. When exploring the island, we found this sign: And, yes, we tried it. For about 10 minutes we were scrunched up in water that was about a foot deep. Until we realized just how public this "private" beach was. At that time, the pool bar had opened and we were in need of a drink or two. Unfortunately, they didn't have any bananas on the island so no coladas for me. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the mainland, in the pool, at the bar, and sleeping in chaise lounges. Ahhh, perfect relaxation.

For dinner on our last night, we took the boat back to the island and the resort's Royal Thai restaurant. Another new thing for me. It was delicious and romantic and a perfect way to wrap up our trip.

Because our flight back to L.A. wasn't until 4:50 in the afternoon, we were able to check out on Tuesday morning but then continue to enjoy the resort for a couple of hours. We swam and I had a couple of banana coladas one last time, we ate lunch, and then we were off to the airport.

To REALLY put icing on this vacation cake, we flew Air Jamaica direct from Montego Bay to LAX and not only were our bags free (Spirit charged us $15 each to take them there) but we recieved a hot dinner, complimentary champagne, free headphones, and an in-flight movie!

We really are lucky to have been afforded the opportunity to take this vacation. Had Hurricane Dean not "interrupted" our honeymoon, I don't know when we would have had this experience. Life is good.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Vacation, Vacation

I am at a point where I just can't sit still any longer waiting for both of our fabulous vacations!!!



First, on Thursday night, we will be heading to Jamaica and staying at the beautiful Sandals Royal Caribbean for four nights and five days. While there, we are planning on climbing the Dunns River Falls. Mark is terrified at the thought of being up 600 feet but one of his friends has been there and said that 75 year old ladies do it so that we'll be fine.

We are also planning on taking a raft down the Martha Brae River. Mark's friend said that it is a very mellow adventure with just the two of us, the guy who paddles the raft, and a little Jamaican kid who swims across the river to deliver us beer and rum punch.

We will get back from Jamaica on Tuesday, July 22 only to start getting ready for our road trip to Michigan. After much hemming and hawing, we have decided to drive cross-country to visit our friends and family in the Great Lakes State.

We will be leaving on the 29th after Mark gets out of work. He said he would like to leave no later than 9 but we'll see about that. We are going to be driving as much as possible before stopping to rest since we have plans to camp in Metamora from the 31st through the 3rd with Mark's best friends.

We have no concrete plans as of now for the 4th through the 8th but we are planning on spending at least a couple of days/evenings with my dad and Amy and the kids. We're having a BBQ on the 9th at my mom's and hope that everyone can make it. It'll give us a chance to see everyone, plus Mike and Kristi will be there to show off Colin! On the 10th, my mom and I are hosting a baby shower for Becky at her place in Lansing.

The 11th, of course, is our anniversary and we are thinking of having a nice dinner and staying the night at the Ren Cen in downtown Detroit. We will then be spending a couple of days with Mike, Kristi and Colin, possibly up in Bay Harbor but all of the details haven't been worked through yet. We will be going to Madison, WI on the 15th for Karen and Scott's wedding and staying through the 17th or 18th and then returning to MI for our final few days.

The best thing about driving is that we don't have any real deadlines. If we plan on leaving on the 20th but something comes up, we can always leave on the 21st. We HAVE to be back for an annual party that Mark's parents host on the 30th of August but are planning on getting back about a week before that. Mark will then either go to work for the school district or return to work at BJ's on the 3rd os September.

We have a lot of preparing to do, but I guess I just have to take it one amazing vacation at a time. :}

Thursday, July 10, 2008

63

Mark got the results from his test with the school district and he scored 63 out of 65!!! I'm so proud of my hubby! He will be hearing within the next week or so about the panel interview. Keep your fingers crossed!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Outsourcing

Ugh! I just hung up the phone after speaking with a man whose name was allegedly "Sam" that I really couldn't understand. I believe my credit card payment has been posted but Sam could've told me that I just purchased a small, private island using the card and I wouldn't have known the difference. Frustrating.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Crossroads

Mark has been thinking for a long while now about leaving his job at BJ's mostly because he wants a schedule that is more conducive for a family man. His friends have stopped calling to invite him places because the assumption is that he is always working. Even when he does have a day off, he usually spends it recuperating from the hellish 60+ hour week he's just had. The company has been good to him and it is a growing company in an economy that is not so certain but he has started to feel like he lives to work rather than the opposite.

At the beginning of June, I noticed a posting for a job with the school district as a cafeteria manager. It is 40 hours/week, 10 months/year - the same schedule that I work. That means, spring break, Christmas break, Monday holidays, etc. would all be days that we could share together. He, of course, turned in his resume immediately. There are four steps in the process of being hired: 1) The paper review 2) The test 3) The panel interview 4) The final interview. He has passed step #1 and will be taking the test on Tuesday. One great thing about this process is that the woman who would be his boss is a friend of mine who is on my softball team. She was super excited to hear that Mark applied for the position but he must still jump through all of the hoops in order to get to the final interview with her.

Knowing that this job with the district might happen and being fed up with his current position at the restaurant, Mark put in his 2 week notice last Tuesday. Well, he attempted to at least. His area director (his bosses boss) told him that she worries that he may not be making to best decision and that he should take as much time off as he needs to figure out what he wants to do. She told him to apply for jobs and try to get hired elsewhere (not in the restaurant business, of course) but that, if he doesn't find anything, his job at BJ's is still there for him. I think this response is incredible!!!

At this point, his plan is to take the next period off (from July 30-Aug 26) to see what happens at the district and, of course, take a trip to MI. When we were discussing this change in his career and his desire to leave BJ's, I never imagined it could work out so well. We will be able to take the vacation we want AND he can wait to hear about the job he really wants before officially leaving the company.