Happy New Year!

Hello, 2011! 

 

Yesterday, my brother and I were chatting about the Back to the Future Movies, and he said one was set in 2015...where are our flying cars, yo? We've got four years to bust them out. 

 

2010 was a milestone year for me. I welcomed a new travel companion into the world, and wow, is my life different...in a good way, of course. Before I had a baby, I had always hoped to be really mobile with my child, and The Pickle is a trouper. (He's actually helping me type this, which is why an early draft published before I was finished.)

 

Here's a recap of 2010:

• I survived first-trimester nausea on a work trip to Chicago
• I took a road trip to D.C. while still hiding my bump. I discovered my new prego bladder-emptying threshold (every 45 minutes)
• Phil and I took an amazing babymoon to Key West
• Dylan and I took our first trip together to Dallas (it was a blast, but I came home exhausted)
• I took my first work trip to NYC and endured the pain in the ass of mobile pumping (airport bathrooms blow for this)

Here's what's coming up in 2011:

 

I'd love to take an international trip with Dylan...can you imagine how cute his passport will be?! There are two possibilities for this: a Morocco trip with Sarah or somewhere in the Caribbean for a friend’s destination wedding. Fun!

 

Most likely, I'll have multiple Vegas trips, both for work and fun (Phil and his best friends will be celebrating their 40th this year). Dolla dolla bills, y'all!

 

Happy travels to you all!

Key West: where to stay

I've mentioned in an earlier post that when I travel, I do my best to take advantage of rewards programs. With that in mind, Phil and I booked the Marriott Beachside Hotel for our Key West babymoon. Initially, I was eyeballing the Dewey House, Key West's only B&B with beachfront access, but by the time grumpers agreed to the trip, rates went up significantly.

I really relied on Trip Advisor's reviews to make our booking decision. Reviewers raved about the suites at our hotel and free shuttle service to Duval Street, but explained caveats (high-demand for shuttle, small beach area) to manage our expectations. 

For the reasonable rate we paid, we loved this hotel. I loved lounging on the beach/by the pool until late afternoon each day and then heading out to Duval Street to grab dinner and walk around. I didn't mind being away from Duval Street at all, particularly since Mingus put the kibosh on boozing.

I posted pics of our room and my favorite cabanas on my Trip Advisor review.

I want my cabana back!

Weekend temps projected for Key West: high 70s

Weekend temps projected for Cleveland: mid-40s

Arrgh! I can't imagine wearing a coat.

Strip House 24-layer chocolate cake

This pic does not do the size of this cake justice. It took me three sittings, but I crushed this mofo. Mmmmm!

Sailing and diving in Key West

Last night Phil and I took a sunset sail on a catamaran with Fury for pretty views of the sky, ocean and reef. The wind was very gusty so we ended up doing laps outside the harbor by Sunset Key. But, we did see dolphins jumping in the water, which was really, really cool.

If I wasn't pregs, I would love to do some diving or at least snorkeling since my dad always wanted to come here to dive. Key West supposedly has some of the best diving in the world, particularly because of the reef. Seeing all the pretty shells in the markets reminded me of my dad. I'm so glad I got to come here with Phil and little Mingus because it makes me feel still connected to him in some way.

Why did the chicken in Key West cross the road?

To get away from Phil! 

OK, maybe from me. I started squealing when I saw all of their baby chicks. (P.S. When I was little I would hide eggs in the back of our fridge because I thought it you didn't eat them in time, they would grow into baby chicks...sorry Mom.)

Key West has a stray chicken population, which is really funny. You'll walk down the sidewalk and hear clucking from within the bushes and many random cockadoodle doos. 

We also saw six-toed cats at Hemingway's house, which is now a museum. (The cats are descendants of his cats...not sure how the six toes mutation came into play.) Hemingway wrote many of his most celebrated novels from the pool house out back. I brought The Old Man in the Sea with me and read it on the beach yesterday in tribute.

Who does Mingus look like?

I'm six months pregs today. Who does Mingus look like? (The baby's face is turned upward.)

or

???

(Note: despite what Phil says, Mingus is NOT the baby's name. Just an at-first horrific and now endearing nickname.)

P.S. No, I did not comb my hair today. Back off...it's Key West. ;)

Babymooning it up in Key West

Ahh, paradise.

We've had beautiful blue skies with a refreshing breeze and temps in the high 70s since we got here yesterday afternoon. We love our beachfront hotel and somehow got upgraded to a suite that's the size of an apartment...we have a full kitchen, living room, dining table, 2 bathrooms and an outdoor balcony with a Widow's walk. Yessss!

We took a tiny plane from Tampa's airport to get here, which was a little comical (I was so glad for great weather). It reminded me of the flights my mom, brother and I took in our grandpa's four-seater plane to Michigan when I was a kid (note: his nickname was Crazy Lew and my g-ma was our co-pilot!).  

Once we got to our hotel, we hit the beach. We have fun yellow cabanas on our little beach and roofed (with a fan!), open-air cabanas by the pool. I'm in heaven.

Last night, we took our hotel shuttle to Duval Street for dinner and exploring. We loved Mangoes, an open-air restaurant, for dinner and also Blonde Giraffe for some AMAZING Key lime pie. And, I ran into a friend, Patti, I used to work with...what are the odds?

This morning, we walked to the grocery store to buy some fixins to make use of our kitchen and then hit the beach again. Tonight, a sunset sail on a catamaran.

Traveling for two

So...I'm five and a half months pregnant today and due in August. Whoa.

Phil and I are really excited, but I'm still processing everything, which is why I've been pretty private about sharing our news. I told my extended fam and work my news a month ago, and I'm finally ready to admit on the interwebs that I have a new traveling status: Christina + 1. (No, this is not an April Fools joke.) Some of you might have noticed my bump in my last post while in D.C., so I figured it's time to spill the beans.

Baby K, aka Mingus (our official nickname...long story) has been an amazing little traveler to-date. (Actually, I've had a super easy pregnancy so far.) He/she's been to St. Louis (which I never end up writing about because they're quick day trips for work), Vegas, Chicago and D.C. without incident. And, Mingus will get to experience Key West in a couple weeks. Woo hoo!

My fam keeps asking if I'll still travel while pregs (obviously, yes) and after the baby is born. Of course! I thrive on planning trips, and I don't expect that to change. I'll just need to make some adjustments. My friend Sarah has been an amazing role model for me. She traveled by herself with Ella, who was one, a couple years ago for our San Francisco trip, and she took Ella and her newborn to Dallas by herself a couple months ago. She started a blog to write about being a working mom, Postpartum PR, which I love reading.

In any event, I'm excited to have a go-to traveling companion. This kid is going to experience the world, one city at a time!

Move over key lime pie in Key West! I want some Strip House 24-layer chocolate cake too!

I have been salivating over Key West dessert options based on the guide books I've been perusing as we prepare for our trip next month. Our hotel supposedly serves up a good Key lime pie, so you know I'll be actively sampling. I was also thrilled to realize that there's a Strip House in Key West, which serves up an AMAZING 24-layer chocolate cake (or so I've heard from the Food Channel). Cleveland's The Greenhouse Tavern was featured on a Guilty Pleasures episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and the show also highlighted this dessert.

I...can't...wait...to...try...it!

Watch The Best Thing I Ever Ate tonight at 10 p.m. to see Cleveland Heights' Lopez featured by Michael Symon for its yummy guacamole. Lopez is one of my favorite restaurants, and I've written about it here in The Heights Observer.

Celebrating 2 Anniversaries

Two years ago, I spent my first day alone on a biz trip in London and decided to blog about my experience. I thought it would be easier to capture my adventures online as opposed to making repetitive phone calls and e-mails. I really enjoyed the journaling since I was spending so much time on my own and decided to keep it up during other biz and pleasure trips. Now, I love looking back and reading my daily thoughts from trips like Paris, San Francisco, Thailand, San Diego and Japan. (Incidentally, I went on each of those trips with someone different...I have great, adventurous friends and an awesome husband who's supportive of my wanderlust.)

When Phil and I got married just shy of three years ago, we honeymooned in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It was so beautiful, and I remember feeling so relaxed and content. I'm hoping to repeat that experience when we visit Key West in two months (YAY!) to celebrate our anniversary. I am counting...down...the...days.

2010 Wanderlust

New year, same infatuation with planning trips.

In 2009, I did so-so achieving my travel resolutions. I went on nine trips, four fewer than 2008, and I didn’t hit any new states. However: JAPAN. The Krispy Kreme Challenge and our March Madness trips were also really fun (and both were with Phil).

Bunches of you have been suggesting that I post more frequently -- not just when I go on trips -- so I’m going to work on that. Let me know what you’d like to read about…maybe your own trips and adventures? Lemme know! (And, if you'd like to guest post, drop me a line.)

Right now, I am scheming like crazy to get Phil to agree to a beach vacay for our third anniversary in April. (The pic above is from our honeymoon in Punta Cana.) I’m really digging Key West. If you’ve got any suggestions or hear of any travel deals, send them along!

I'm headed to Chicago in a couple weeks, a city I've been meaning to get back to since it's been five years. And, some friends from India have offered to let us tag along the next time they go home, so I will be ALL OVER that. Maybe this year, maybe next. I told Phil I will go with or without him (even though they are his friends from work).We'll see!