Hi Friends-

I’ve just got done working and decided to do as my grandmother Viola would and make myself a proper dirty martini. See, I can’t help but think about how right now I should be going back to my room after a long day of hanging out by the pool with the folks from Marge’s Lakeside Inn – I should be showering the salt, sweat and Mexican lager off my sunburnt body to get ready for an evening of delicious food completed by a nighttime walk down the Malecon boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta…but I’m not because of a shitty virus that shares the name with one of our favorite friendly Mexican beers…so in steps the martini and my blog to reminisce of the beautiful place that I was so excited to share with you. Thankfully, the vacation is postponed to next year, provided we all do our part, mix our drinks at home, and try our damnedest to #flattenthecurve.

Lets start at the beginning…

Sarah and I have been to Puerto Vallarta in the past. In fact we have been to Mexico the most out of all of our travels and we have yet to have a bad time there. We think it is crazy when others say they want to avoid Mexico because we truly love it there. We’ve also stayed in many different resorts owned by AMResorts and have never been disappointed; Secrets Vallarta Bay is no exception.

Francine and I visited PVR in June 2019. We wanted to scope out a couple different spots to see which might be the best for the group. We flew Delta from Rochester with one connection on our way to PVR.  I can’t recall the exact flight time but it was not bad at all. Upon arrival to the PVR airport we breezed through customs and hopped a short cab ride (under 10 min) to our resort Secrets Vallarta Bay. I was excited to be back in Mexico again and to share the quality of a Secrets resort with Francine. There was just one problem upon arrival…it was rainy and grey. June is not the best season to visit this area, but we were planning our groups visit for March/April – a time that sees much more sun…we just had to find a way to look past the overcast that currently clouded our view. It didn’t take long for that to happen.

We were shown to our room on the Preferred Club side of this adult-only resort:

The bellhop escorted us up to the room with our luggage and made sure we understood everything in the room and how it worked. He also mentioned that our butler would be in contact if we needed anything throughout the week…yes a butler, one of the many perks of being in the Preferred Club.

Once we were settled, we headed to the lobby to meet some of the resort staff to start our tour. We were visiting with the intent to bring back the whole group of Marge’s vacationers the following Spring – so the staff was out to show us their best. They started the tour by greeting us with a tray full of cocktails and suddenly our grey skies were looking a bit brighter:

After that they took us on a tour of the entire resort, including all these pools!

We had a private tour of each restaurant on property, so much variety and delicious food…we sampled Margaritas in the Mexican restaurant and some of the best fresh-made guacamole I have ever had. They even took us through the kitchen for the whole resort, it was one of the most impressive parts of the tour – our jaws dropped at how giant, clean and sparkly everything appeared.

We popped up to the casino quickly to check it out. We were impressed as most resort casinos are fairly small and full of smoke. This one has a large bar with tons of flat screen TV’s and a good amount of slot machines. I forgot to snap photos but I found some on the resorts website to share:

After the casino they showed us a room on the family side of the resort – called “Now Amber”. Though it is beautiful, the Now Amber side is not adult-only so we were fairly certain we weren’t interested in our group staying here….however the room they showed us was beautiful and then of course there was this:

We were so impressed with our tour overall. The kitchen, the spa, all the restaurants, and the staff were top notch. They showered us with lotion samples, little bottles of tequila, drinks, & kindness. Afterwards we took all of our swag and headed to one of the many bars to check out the drink selection. They had all the mexican lagers, including one I’m partial to, Pacifico:)

We wrapped up the day with a great meal at the Italian restaurant. They have an expansive wine selection and a tequila cart that rolls around just incase you’d like to spice things up a bit…we indulged in a sipper to accompany our dessert.

The next morning we woke up to witness an early calm over the Banderas Bay. We ordered breakfast to our room, another perk of the preferred club and sat to enjoy the view, our coffee, and a mimosa…duh:)

It seemed like there still might be a bit of cloud cover, so we made plans to visit the Malecon boardwalk. One of the best parts of being in Puerto Vallarta is being able to peruse the Malecon boardwalk; full of art, shops, food and tons of Mexican culture. Lucky for us the Malecon is just a 5 minute cab ride from the lobby of the resort, or if you are feeling ambitious a 25-30 min walk down the beach.

The Malecon is roughly 12 miles long and is the seaside heartbeat of Puerto Vallarta.  It is scattered with sculptures that overlook the beach and sea.

One of the best things about Mexico are the affordable prices that you can find, especially outside the resorts. Right now the exchange sits at about 24 Mexico Pesos to every American Dollar. Francine and I picked a second floor cantina to stop in for some drinks and snack. They had a great selection of different margaritas. I opted for a Mango marg and Francine went for the traditional…they were so good we had a couple more to wash down our homemade chips, guacamole, and pico. Oh so delicious…we could have sat there and gazed at the sea all afternoon but there was much more to explore. We requested “la cuenta” the bill and were pleased to see that our total after a few drinks each and a heap of freshmade Mexican snacks was only around $25 American Dollars!

 

We continued our stroll down through the shops and restaurants. Francine bought a beautiful ring from a local jewelry store, we scoped out some stops that might be fun for the nightlife and sat down to watch the crazy Papantla Pole Flyers or Flying bird-men. These men dress in colorful outfits, climb up  to the top of very high pole, attach a rope to their legs and then slowly spin out  upside down while descending.

Here is a video of their whole performance, check it out it is insane:

After a full day on the Malecon we headed back to the resort for dinner and some entertainment that evening.

Anyone that has visited an all-inclusive resort before knows that the on-property entertainment can often be quite strange and often times a bit pitiful…but not here. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Beatles show that the entertainment team put on – complete with live music played by real musicians and great dancers. The outdoor theatre that they use is ideal as well.

The next morning we woke to find full sun beaming down, begging for us to soak it up at the pool bar – finally!

So Francine and I headed down to plant ourselves on a beach chair for the day. I tried to tell myself that I was into reading the book I brought for a few moments until I caved and ordered a cold Pacifico to cut the heat.

This was probably our favorite day. We hopped in and out of the pool, sampling lots of the drinks in-between and talking to other guests about how great the resort is. There were staff members constantly coming over to our chairs to check on our drink levels and even a lady equipped to clean all of the salt, pool water and sunscreen off of our sunglasses. Then of course the tequila cart made another appearance:

A live band set up poolside to play a nice set of fun tunes in the afternoon, everyone at the pool bar thoroughly enjoyed. There are beach vendors that walk back and forth throughout the day. However, they are not allowed to approach you unless you ask them too. Francine and I summoned a few up to our beach chairs and made some purchases. My first purchase was fresh mango on a stick drizzled with mexican hot sauce and tan spices, it was heaven. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since and I cannot believe that I now have to wait another year.

Next was a vendor selling Mexican beach wraps. We decided that these were a neccaessary purchase for Katy Wright and I to wear at our next Teagan and the Tweeds gig at Marge’s Lakeside Inn. The vendor lady even offered to bedazzle them before we purchased…yes please.

Francine purchased some of the funny little barbie doll and action figure parachute men to fly back at the tavern…you can see one of them flying in the picture above.

There is a grill with a good lunch selection located right by the pool bar. It is easy to hop over and grab a burger or some chips & guac to bring back to your lounge chair. Being a guest of the Preferred Club, we could always grab a small sandwich or a snack at the Preferred Club lounge too.

Later on we scheduled a massage and checked out the hydrotherapy circuit in the spa. Both of us were very happy with the spa and would highly recommend that our group check it out. It is not an included service but the prices are reasonable and they seemed to be always running deals.

For dinner we visited the buffet and we were over whelmed by the size and selection. They even had my favorite for dessert, coconut ice cream.

The next morning we were scheduled for a flight out in the afternoon, allowing us enough time get a goodnight sleep, pack up our things, and visit the breakfast buffet.

You never really know what you are going to get with a breakfast buffet at an all-inclusive. We were pleasantly surprised to see a great selection of breakfast options available – fresh made omelettes, a smoothie bar, eggs anyway, all the meats, and pastries galore. They have a nice sunny outdoor patio to sit at as well as a dining room inside:

We caught a cab in the lobby, waved adios to the friendly staff and made the short trip to the airport to return home. Both of us were so excited to put the trip details together for our group and share with them how perfect the resort was.

Even though we have to postpone this trip to April 2021, we know that it will still be so much fun when we finally get there. We have set aside all the rooms for our group in the Preferred Club so that we have access to all the special amenities that Francine and I experianced during our visit. We are also planning a day on the water to offer the group as well as a trip to a neighboring surf town called Sayulita – Sarah D. and I have visited this awesome beach town in the past and loved the boho surf vibe that is has.

When I postponed the vacation I also grabbed some extra rooms at the hotel…so there is still space if you would like to join!

Sorry for the long blog…human contact is minimal these days so I have a lot to say, and the martini just adds fuel to the word fire 😉

-T

Today we felt as though we were filling in for Anthony Bourdain on the set of No Reservations: Morocco. We started pleasantly with a short tour of Marrakech, strolled through a couple old palaces and then swung by the airport to pick up our lost luggage from yesterday.

After the airport we headed straight toward the mountains to Couleurs Berbers, to meet with the owner Salah for lunch. Couleurs Berbers is a luxury camping or “glamping” retreat resort outside Marrakech. The 7 acre property frames the majestic Atlas Mountains on the horizon.

Salah had set up a private table for us and had his staff serve a delicious traditional Moroccan tangine with chicken, cinnamon and prunes. Olives are served before almost every meal here, along with a hearty piece of fresh bread to eat with the shared tangine. Next to Salah’s property was a big field of olive trees. The food was great, and the company was too.

The weather has been unseasonably beautiful since we have arrived here, pure sun everyday. Today was no exception, we enjoyed good conversation under the Moroccan sun. It is low season here so the property was not reserved and our time there was totally private. Salah shared with us his passion for the beautiful property he has built, his life as a Moroccan, his travels and ideals. Sarah and I have brought lots of people on trips and often go through the most popular spots that sometimes are over run with visitors and solicitation. When we travel on our own we are constantly looking to connect with the locals like this and experience what they see and do.

We ended our day following Salah back in to Marrakech for coffee. On the way we stopped at a riad (boutique Hotel/restaurant) that his family owns. The sun was starting to set and the property is situated right on a small reservoir lake, it was stunning-if we do come back to Morocco again this is where I would like to stay for a few nights.

When we returned back to Marrakech he showed us one of his favorite rooftop terraces above another riad, Sarah nicknamed him the Mayor because he seems to know everyone and was greeted with affection everywhere he took us – and no one seemed to mind that his little pregnant dog Lexi shadowed him everywhere he goes.

We ended our day with a feeling of immense fulfillment from connecting with new interesting people in new beautiful places.

Visit http://www.couleursberbers.com to see Salah’s property and everything there is to do there.

Here we are! 1st Travel trip of 2019! Morocco bound. This was a place chosen based on logistics. We never thought Teagan’s job would take us here on our regular group travel trips and we had some points to spend, so we found the most interesting place to spend them!!

Morocco, here we come!

N.Africa- a continent we have yet to travel and a culture completely foreign to us! It’s been fun learning about in anticipation of going!

A mix of French and Arabic cultures. Hard to conceptualize. But before I try to tell you what to expect, I’ll fill you in on the travel getting there.. so far, not very fun. We saved a buttload flying out of Toronto, so we drove up and left the car in the airport. $140 for the week or so.. Teagan definitely freaks out upon anything associated with time so you can imagine her anxiety when prepping me to be ready to leave the house. Multiply her anxiety by every leg…drive the 3-1/2 hours to Toronto, cross the border, park the car, and finagle security- In her head, everything will take an extra hour than it does so we sat in the Toronto airport for 3 days.. just kidding, it felt like days, but we were 3-1/2 hours early. Actually this is why I started this blog. All my customer service people went home for the workday so I couldn’t bug anyone at work anymore, so I started blogging👍😬

Just found out flight delayed 25mins due to late departure.. is this really the case or the long drawn out excuse before it cancels.. ugh..

tbd…🤞

So the flight carried on successfully after pigging out on a Smash Burger and a couple local IPA’s.;) We were fed and ready for AirFrance. This initial flight was great. It was a Boeing 747 and one of the big ones; 3 rows of seating 3-4-3. It had all I ever want on a flight.. WiFi, an On board movie selection, blankets, pillows, eye masks for shut eye;), alcohol at no charge!!, and meals( not really edible food but at least the option is there).

This flight left late and we only had an hour layover in Paris France.. made for quite a track and field event to get to our departing connection.

We made it at last boarding call!

This flight however was completely different flying in to Marrakech. It was still Air France and like a 2-1/2 hr flight. A much smaller plane, zero amenities and the flight attendants not NEARLY as cool or friendly. My seat was disgustingly dirty and It down right changed my initial opinion of Air France. Humphrey;(

Either way, we got to Morocco safe and sound but then stood waiting for our baggage.. and waited, and waited..we looked on our Air France app to see that it wasn’t on our flight. We then went to baggage claim and they confirmed our baggage would arrive the next day on the same flight. It only goes once a day. What a nightmare.

Without a long drawn-out story, we sucked it up for the night, the next day and then finally got it a few hours after they said we would back at the airport—oh yeah and Air France ended up making us travel back to airport to interrupt more of our vacation. HUMPHRY again!😖

Day 2- morning without luggage but first homemade Moroccan Meal!

Introduction to Sam.. Teagan met this man at a Work conference she attended. We had already booked this trip using some hotel points we had earned .. however, Sam has business Interests in getting more Americans to Morocco! He is Moroccan born and raised but has lived in DC for most his life. He currently has his own business mostly focused on group tours in the DC and in Morocco. Morocco destinations Management. He speaks fluent Arabic, French, and English. He offered to write us up an itinerary and meet us in Morocco to guide much of the trip. We were grateful for all his guidance in return that we visit a few places he has relations with. It’s was with our pleasure, we obliged.

The first stop Sam took us was a nice personal touch. He doesn’t normally bring groups or people to his families home, but his Niece Hannan offered to make us a nice Moroccan meal from her home. It was such a pleasant experience meeting her three boys between 8, 14, 17 years or so old. All very welcoming and pleasant. The Moroccan way is to greet with a cheek on each side;) The middle school boy had already learned English in school so he got the opportunity to translate and communicate with us better than the rest (besides Sam of course).

Some awesome things we noticed about her home is that there is always sooo much seating- sectional type seating is a must because family gatherings are priority and everyone can be comfortable, they refer to this as a salon.

Where we like the “Open concept” in the States, they have their living roomssss and dining area in that way but have an actual door to the kitchen..( not sure if this is an upper class thing or not because this family had a maid who prepared the meal).

Most Moroccan meals are served Family style. There are always greens or salad served first-it helps with digestion;) then came the Tangine. This plating allows the juices and spices to marinate in a way that you can’t pass up the bread. You MUST dip it and scape it along the tangines bottom to get the good stuff;) They gave us a side plate but also welcomed us to eat right from the main dish. Bon appetite!

We finally then went to see our Hotel at the RIU Takida Garden’s. Sam warned us it was a little far from the Jamaa el Fna Square. We have so much planned that this won’t turn out to be a problem.;)

We settled into the Hotel for the night- not happy with this Hotel but we can get in to that another time..

Today we felt as though we were filling in for Anthony Bourdain on the set of No Reservations: Morocco. We started pleasantly with a short tour of Marrakech, strolled through a couple old palaces and then swung by the airport to pick up our lost luggage from yesterday.

After the airport we headed straight toward the mountains to Couleurs Berbers, to meet with the owner Salah for lunch. Couleurs Berbers is a luxury camping or “glamping” retreat resort outside Marrakech. The 7 acre property frames the majestic Atlas Mountains on the horizon. Salah had set up a private table for us and had his staff serve a delicious traditional Moroccan tangine with chicken, cinnamon and prunes. Olives are served before almost every meal here, along with a hearty piece of fresh bread to eat with the shared tangine. Next to Salah’s property was a big field of olive trees. The food was great, and the company was too.

The weather has been unseasonably beautiful since we have arrived here, pure sun everyday. Today was no exception, we enjoyed good conversation under the Moroccan sun. It is low season here so the property was not reserved and our time there was totally private. Salah shared with us his passion for the beautiful property he has built, his life as a Moroccan, his travels and ideals. Sarah and I have brought lots of people on trips and often go through the most popular spots that sometimes are over run with visitors and solicitation. When we travel on our own we are constantly looking to connect with the locals like this and experience what they see and do.

We ended our day following Salah back in to Marrakech for coffee. On the way we stopped at a riad (boutique Hotel/restaurant) that his family owns. The sun was starting to set and the property is situated right on a small reservoir lake, it was stunning-if we do come back to Morocco again this is where I would like to stay for a few nights.

When we returned back to Marrakech he showed us one of his favorite rooftop terraces above another riad, Sarah nicknamed him the Mayor because he seems to know everyone and was greeted with affection everywhere he took us – and no one seemed to mind that his little pregnant dog Lexi shadowed him everywhere he goes.

We ended our day with a feeling of immense fulfillment from connecting with new interesting people in new beautiful places.

Visit http://www.couleursberbers.com to see Salah’s property and everything there is to do there.

Hello Fellas,

It’s been a bit of time since we have been motivated to blog. Not for lack of adventures, but for lack of time and effort in keeping up with all we get to do.

We are on a cruise with a chartered group that started in Miami and traveled to Belize and then Cozumel. Teagan and I were on this same cruise last year and although the Belize portion sounds great, the port isn’t quite established and the surrounding area lacks adventures. Last year we opted to take a Cave Tube adventure, and although entertaining, it wasn’t the adventure we were looking for. So this year it became a goal to see what else Belize has to offer. The commercials about how exotic and surreal Belize is must surely have some sort of ground. Teagan went to the internet and found a YouTube video of a cruiser who took a domestic puddle jumper plane across to another island in under 15 mins. The cost wasn’t too bad either. We were able to negotiate a bit at the cruise port and secure a flight out on the hour with a return flight just in time (with a bit of spare time just in case) to return to the cruise port upon departure! The domestic flight was a small 13 seater that allowed us to see great views of the area and explore San Pedro Island. (Yep like the Madonna song San Pedro).

So I’m running out of time to complete this blog right now.. until later

Teagan here- we got to San Pedro after an amazing little plane ride. Walked off the plane and headed down to walk the beach. The beach of San Pedro is lined with little beach bars, coffee shops and restaurants. We picked up a cold brew and stroller around, appreciating this adorable little island and all it had to offer. We chatted with our local barista and inquired about the best place the locals like to eat. She let us know about El Fagon a authentic Belizean restaurant a few blocks away. After our beach walk we casually made our way there. We sat at a table for 2 in the tiny restaurant with a sand floor and a large fire pit hearth with fresh stews roasting. I choose the seafood creole on the servers recommendation, SD opted for the special fried chicken. Haha. Holy shit-both were unreal and unBelizably affordable. We were feeling full and happy and decided to continue our beach stroll. As we made our way from the restaurant we heard the local school bell ring and tons of adorably happy little Belizean children in school uniforms ran from the docks, streets and beach to end their school day. It was the cutest thing and brought a smile to our face as they ran by us waving and giving peace signs.

After another beach stroll we headed back to the tiny San Pedro airport to catch our flight back to the mainland. Our flight back was just as beautiful as the way there. We boarded our ship feeling as though we had cracked the Belizean cruise code: Do not stay on the mainland while cruising to Belize….go catch a quick flight to San Pedro via Mayan Island Air or similar. It costs around $75 and is better than any excursion you can book through the cruise line. We can’t wait to go back.

Photos coming soon…

I am currently traveling from the northeast to Mackinac Island, MI and it is a rainy, crap day. So I am going to write about our trip to Domincan Republic last fall. We fell short on writing the blog then…but I still feel that it is important to talk about the trip even now. My cousin was in Punta Cana a week or so ago and I found myself texting her a whole bunch of info, inspiring me to blog.

So we went in late October, Sarah and I escorted roughly 50 ppl from Ithaca, NY to Punta Cana, where we then met up with a larger group of 230 or so. We arrived in Punta Cana in the later afternoon. We had a group shuttle arranged for us by the tour company-they were ready and waiting with cold water and an air conditioned bus…clutch. When we arrived at the Majestic Colonial we were impressed right off the bat. Often times the theme/interior decoration of a resort does does match its surroundings…I’m my opinion. Not the case here. It is beautiful, tropical, and very welcoming. We met up with our group in the main entertainment hall, here the hotel did a big group check-in for us…it was smooth and quick. Then we were off to check in to our room. We stayed on the Preferred Club side of the resort – the perks include Butler Service and access to the Preferred Club itself, here you can grab a quick bite to eat and anything to drink at your leisure even if the other restaurants happen to be closed. 

Our room was beautiful. Separate Jacuzzi and giant walk-in shower. A very adequate mini-bar area and ample closet space. The room was large and had a very nice balcony that looked out on the ocean and the pools.

We spent lots of time poolside during our stay there. The pool is long and winds throughout the resort so you can easily find a nice little corner to hide away and soak up the sun in. 

Excursions:

We did go on a couple excursions while we were there. The first was an obligatory booze cruise…my favorite day of any tropical vacation. I stand by the fact that if given the opportunity, it is always important to get out on the waters when you visit any of these beautiful tropical vacation destinations. 

1. Booze Cruise

A shuttle picked our group up right at the resort. This was organized through DePalm tours. We shuttled about 15min away and arrived at the pier. Here we hopped on a motorized catamaran. They explained the rules of the boat, turned on some music, the crew danced, opened the bar, and we were off!

First stop is a snorkel park. Here they have a section roped off out in the ocean with sharks, sting rays, and some other sea life. I love snorkeling but this was unimpressive to me. I don’t like the fact that these things were trapped in the area…and I really didn’t want to touch a sting ray and have my picture taken…but I did. Sarah made me. The picture is hilarious, we had no choice but to buy it as we exited through the gift shop. I will snap a pic of it and post later. You can tell I do not want to be touching the thing…and Sarah is thrilled and has 100% authentic perma-grin😃

Next we got on the boat, put a drink in our hand, and started a dance party with the crew. The dancing and alcohol induced fun continues as we cruise down the coast to the Natural Pool. Here they let us out in the water at a sand bar. The crew has floating bars that they bring out to serve us rum and coke while we float and enjoy ourselves. I like to try and remind myself in these moments that I do have one of the best jobs ever…so I snapped a pic, labeling it as our “Morning Staff Meeting” on Instagram.

Here you get a good shot of the boat we were on as well – Marinarium.

We stayed out here for a while and then hopped back on and danced our way back to the pier. Here we said goodbye to the crew and exited though the gift shop back to our shuttle.

In conclusion, it was fun. I stand by my opinion, you can never go wrong with a booze cruise.

2. Zip Line/Canopy Adventure

This trip Sarah and I led our own group excursion – a zip line and canopy adventure. The two of us have zip lined before in Mexico, I had fun then but Sarah felt sick….I think it was the tequila the night before…not the zip line. This time Sarah had a great time and I struggled a bit….I have no idea why…haha.

Either way, it was a great zip line. There was friendly staff, long lines over beautiful scenery, and our group was fun. It was hot though…felt great to return to a pool and a cold-frosty drink.

3. Dune Buggy Tour

I wasn’t sure what to expect. My coworkers told me that we were all going on this one because it is the most fun. Ok, I trust them…and we always seem to have fun when all of our staff joins a group on an excursion. 

One need-to-know fact about a dune buggy tour. YOU WILL BE COVERED IN MUD. From head to toe….and then some. I am still trying to get the dirt out of my favorite Kavu bag and the hinges of my sunglasses.

You need a bandana or 2 and glasses. The tour company lined up several dune buggies. We listened to the rules and signed a waiver. Next we strapped on helmets and bandanas and buckled into our buggy. We followed a lead buggy and toured through mud puddles, dessert like dirt fields and roads…it was like the Domician Outback. Our group had a great time. Lots of fun pictures, thank god we had the GoPro and chose to leave our phones behind. ​

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​​We got back and had to take a shower before soaking in the pool…we were covered. 

We wrapped up and awesome week with an epic party. This was hands down one of my favorite group events I have seen on a work trip. We are always looking for ways to provide added value for the folks on our group vacations. This time my colleague/trip leader Melissa, delivered in a big way. She got the resort to rent us the rooftop suite- complete with a huge patio. She filled the outdoor jacuzzi with ice and packed it full of beer for everyone. She set up a DJ complete with stage lights….and she rented a mechanical bull. Genius. Our group loved it. It felt like a VIP party and was an awesome way to wrap up a beautiful week.​

There are a few things I am good at, riding the bull is not one…but here you go:

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So there it is folks. Domincan Republic. My parents took me and the family when I was 17. I remembered it being amazing, mostly because it was my first experiance being able to legally order a drink from the bar. I was curious how it was going to sit in my memory this time after a year of experiencing some of the most beautiful places on the earth. My opinion is that you should go if you are looking for an affordable, beautiful, and relaxing resort vacation. You will have a great time. It is the perfect place to take a group of friends/family. 

We would highly recommend Majestic Colonial or Majestic Elegance. The resort was great and I say splurge on the Club side, it is worth having access to the food constantly and a butler.

Safe Travels.

TW

It’s been a while. 

We have been busy and have become lazy about posting. However, I am sitting in the Rochester International Airport waiting on a plane that is slightly “Behind Schedule” so I am going to fill my time writing about our most recent trip to NYC.

We decided to fly to NYC for my sister Bayleys’s bday. She was hoping get lucky and catch a performance of Hamilton and experience some of the city.

Sarah and I didn’t realize that she hadn’t really been to the city before. Once we heard that we decided to spend a good amount of time walking around and showing her our favorite usual spots.

We got in on a Friday evening touching down at LaGuardia. We immediatly called for an Uber to the city…thinking this would be the quickest option. WRONG. LaGuardia has some nasty construction going on and our Uber guy was having a hard time getting to us. About an hour later we finally we making our way to the hotel.

I had used Priceline so solidify a hotel in the Chelsea area. It was a DoubleTree. I feel like the Name-Your-Own Price tool on Priceline is no longer reliable. This hotel was just alright, we have stay in much nicer before for less money. They did give us a warm chocolate cookie upon arrival though…points.

Next we hit up a Noodle joint a couple blocks from our hotel. Jun-Men 249 9th Ave, Chelsea.  The three of us were freezing and this tiny place warmed our cockles. We put in an obligatory order of pork steambuns that were perfect, they even made sure to change the plate to serve 3 buns in order for us each to have one. I ate the Kimchi Ramen, so good. We were each thoroughly pleased with our food.

We stopped into an Irish bar on our walk back to the hotel. It was called Maggie Riley’s. The bar tender was friendly and the people inside seemed warm and pleasant. We each had one beer and decided we were way to tired to stay out late so we headed back and retired for the night.

We got up early in search of an authentic Jewish bagel shop and then the ever popular Hamilton tickets. 

We found Murray’s Bagels – 242 8th Ave. It was busy and smelled delicious. Food was served at a fast moving deli-style counter. On principle I had to order an everything bagel “Nova Scotia” – this means it is served with a schmear, Nova Scotia Salmon, capers, and tomatoes. It was awesome but it had way to much cream cheese. 

TKTS was not open yet so we walked to the Highline and strolled down to the Chelsea Market.

The Highline is so cool. It was very cold but the views and scenery of the old raised railroad path are so interesting and it gives you a great perspective of the city. There is a weird fake rubber man in his underwear too.

We then wandered through the Chelsea Market, one of my personal favorite spots. We warmed up and grabbed some delicious little donuts and browsed the shops.

Next we headed towards Times Square to try and catch tickets to a show at TKTS. My Dad taught me this past summer that TKTS is the most affordable way to see a show on Broadway. Him and I were able to catch 9th row center for Kinky Boots. The selections at TKTS on this particular day were not great, sadly no Hamilton. There was a new show that looked interesting though, titled In Transit. We decided to wait and buy the tickets later for the evening 8:00pm show.

Our friends Jess and Cappy were in the city for the weekend as well so we met up with them at yet another Irish bar right on the edge of Times Square. Sarah’s good friend and NYC resident, Luciana also met up with is here. We warmed up with a few drinks and decided to head to a late lunch and check out TKTS once again.

We snagged pretty great tickets for In Transit. One of the leads was Justin Guarini from the first season of American Idol. He was the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson and had a giant Afro-remember him now?

The show was based around the NYC metro system. It was several stories about different people that were all a bit connect – similar to Love Actually. There was no orchestra pit or band for this production. Every sound in the show was made from a human. 

The Circle In The Square Theatre is unique in the fact that the stage is set up like a catwalk and the audience sits in a U-shape around it. For this production they had a conveyor belt strip down the middle of the stage that the cast would use to hop on and off of during numbers. The show was great, very unique concept.

After this we went over to Hell’s Kitchen. We bar hopped to a few places and landed in surprise!!….another Irish bar. We finished the night out getting a bit saucey with Luciana and then retired for the evening.

The next morning it was time to say goodbye to the Big Apple and head back home to a much quieter part of New York State. We caught an Uber once again to LaGuardia. It was much quicker this time, we got in and through security on no time at all. 

We landed back in ROC by 1:00pm on Sunday. Not a bad little weekend trip!

Next stop Colorado!

We loaded our guests up into shuttles and headed towards the Port of Tampa to board the ship. 

Boarding a cruise ship is very similar to getting on an airplane. You give your bags to a porter, walk thru security, check in at the desk and then walk on to the ship. When you board the cruiseline snaps your picture and keep it on file linked to your sail pass card.

Once we were on the ship we had to help a few guests with some room issues and such but shortly after our room was ready and our baggage had been delivered. They had even left us a plate of sushi, fresh fruit, a bottle of champange, and a chocolate piano!

We quickly got freshened up and headed up to the concierge lounge. We were fortunate to be put in a Grand Suite, which gives us access to free drinks at the concierge lounge from 5:30-8:30 everyday. Not bad:)

That night we all ate at Giovanni’s Table-one of the specialty restaurants on board. I had Osso Bucco and it was amazing. Everything that was served, especially the wine was top notch. The rest of night we sipped on a few more cocktails and eventually ended up at the StarQuest Lounge where we danced a little and then retired for the evening. Grand Cayman in the morning!

I gigged late Sarurday night with the band back home at Johnny Irish Pub. It was a solid crowd and that place always has a stellar beer selection. Started my night a Rohrbach’s/Iron Smoke Whiskey collab brew that was smokey and delish. It was a late night, a cold late night…followed by a freezing cold early morning.

Sarah D dropped me off to the airport at 4:30am, sadly she could not join me this time as this is a work trip for a major client that we work with. I had to catch a flight to Tampa and hop aboard Royal Caribbean’s Brillance of the Seas. The plan is to go from Tampa to Cayman and Cozumel then back to Tampa. I have never cruised so I am not sure what to expect. This cruise is a full charter, so everyone on the boat is with our group. I will say  is it is going to be HUGE;)

I flew Southwest down to Tampa w my friend/boss Michelle. I really do love Southwest. We got great seat selections and had a whole row to ourselves. I was looking forward to defrosting in Tampa’s warm breeze. Rochester had hit 23 degrees with snow the evening before I left.

We hit Tampa and headed to the Holiday Inn at Rocky Point for a one night stay. After checking in we walked over to the Bahama Breeze for some lunch and a highly-anticipated Cigar City Jai Lai IPA. So good.

The flight was so early and the beer was so good, we needed a nap. We had big plans to go straight to the source that evening and hit up Cigar City brewery.

For dinner we met up with our coworker at a restaurant in the Westin called Aqua. I had Seasame Salmon served with Rice and Kimchi and a different local brew that was key lime flavored. It was awesome, but the service was painfully slow.

 Michelle had never used Uber before, so I sent her a code for a free ride and 4 of us hopped in and headed to Cigar City.

The brewery was not too big but the beer selection was extensive and incredibly appealing. If only the bartender had a better attitude. One of our group asked for something like an Amber and he gave her a 20 min. insulting dissertation about how no one makes Amber anymore. He never even suggested what she might like instead. Ass. And he had a man bun.

Overall every beer was great. I will go back, and hopefully get a different bartender. Maybe one who encourages everyone to enjoy craft beer no matter what they ask for.

Tomorrow we board the ship!

It’s been a while…

Came home from Hawaii and over scheduled ourselves to the max. I have a feeling that is how this year if going to go. We are finding that traveling often results in being very busy in between at home. 

Last weekend we loaded up in the big white band van (pictured below) and headed northeast.

First stop was down the NYS thruway I-90 to the original Dinosaur BBQ. If you ever find yourself in Western/Central NY this is not a place to pass by. At this point in my music and travel career I have eaten a TON of BBQ…and this is THE place. You would think that the best should be in Memphis or Austin…nope, it is here in Central NY.

The band and I have had a resident gig for the last 5 yrs or so playing once a month at the Dinosaur BBQ Rochester location. Once every couple months we load up the van and head to Syracuse to the original location. We make sure to get there early enough for a couple drinks, dinner, another drink, sound check and a long set of tunes.



Right across the street from Dino is a new joint that I need to mention. Dinosaur BBQ owner John Stage and long time Dino bartender icon Paul Messina opened Apizza Regionale. Our buddy Scott Sterling ran across the street during our set and picked up 2 pies for us to bring back to the hotel for a late night snack. We could not believe how delicious they were. They use fermented dough and top notch ingredients, baked in an oven constructed out of clay imported from Mt. Vesuvius. We had a potato pie and a flagship Margherita pizza. Can’t beat it. I will be thinking about it until we are back there again.

Rise and shine. We hit he road and headed even farther into the most rich fall colors you can imagine. The farther north we drove the brighter the oranges and reds became. We arrived in Portsmouth with enough time to catch some dinner and check in to our hotel to get ready for our gig at The Press Room.

We pulled Wilma up outside of The Press Room. The streets of Portsmouth are narrow and quaint, decorated with old brick buildings. The Press Room was no exception. You walk inside to the cozy and historic New England bar to a familiar social scene of happy people, friendly craft beer drinkers. We learned that we were playing upstairs…what? The last word a 6-piece band wants to hear when entering a new venue is “upstairs”. The bar tender assured us that we would be pleasantly surprised by the space up there and the crowd that they expected for the evening.

And so we lugged our stuff up the old steps piece by piece. Sure enough we found a nice open room with a tavern-style bar at the back, wood floors, concrete ceiling and a stage. We had a house sound engineer and lights for the night. Not bad. But it got better…

After soundcheck, I went downstairs w Katy to grab a drink for Sarah and I. We met a few locals that had looked us up on YouTube before coming out. They were friendly and excited to see us, asking questions about our set and where we were from. I was relieved that there would be at least a few people upstairs listening. 

We started promptly at 10pm. A few people had started to wander into the space, our new local friends included. Then the music started. I sang one song, 2 songs, 3 songs and then it was like someone had pour water on the crowd and they were instantly multiplying – like one of those tightly packed towels that expand with moisture. Amazing. The energy was turned up and the atmosphere was alive and inspiring.

We left The Press Room hot, sweaty and musically fufilled. New friends chatted with us as we packed up our instruments, sharing and suggesting other venues that we should play in the northeast. Though our time was short in New Hampshire, Portsmouth took a little peice of my heart. Plans are in the works to return in the spring. 

And now we moved onward from Fall Foliage to the crystal blue Caribbean. See you soon Domincan.

-Teagan