Christmas 2025 in Hawaii

Published on December 30, 2025December 30, 2025 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Oh Hawaii, you beautiful beast, you. We had the most amazing Christmas holiday with the grandparents here.

Happy Wednesday, friends, and happy “I-don’t-care-what-day-it-is-or-what-comes-next” time of year!

Actually, for those keeping score, it’s New Years Eve. So three cheers to another 365 days well lived (well, most of ’em, at least) and trips traveled and friends and family made/cuddled/loved and books read and things seen.

All the things.

We arrived back from our Christmas in Hawaii early yesterday morning and spent the day fighting off the jet lag/overnight-flight-no-sleep thing. But now that I’ve had a nap, I thought I’d get this blog post in. Although we specifically said when planning for Hawaii that we wanted to literally do nothing, literally doing nothing looks a little different with three kids. We stayed at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, which was entertaining enough with its multiple pools, lagoon, outdoor movie nights, early morning yoga classes, hulu lessons, and more.

Throw in a few fancy dinner reservations, a Christmas luau and a whale watching tour and we had ourselves quite a busy vacay! No matter, though, because it was all incredible and exactly what we needed. The fact that Chris’ parents met us there was the cherry on top.

Here’s a bit of what we got up to!

Let’s start with the weather. Upper 70s/lower 80s and barely any rain? Yeah. I could get used to that.

Hey, you know what’s festive? Hawaii during the holidays!

We arrived on Christmas Eve and had our first meal at Fresco Italian Restaurant. Their gluten-free Spaghetti Alla Pescatora was the perfect introduction to fish on the island (I think we had seafood for every single meal, often with breakfast being sushi from the ABC Store for Grace, who became obsessed) and the Mai Tai’s we ordered began our weeklong crusade to have as many as possible.

(Please see our trip to Europe this past summer for another example of ways we incorporate drinks into our travel experience. Ahem…. Aperol Spritz.)

My first Kona Coffee of the trip was from Chee Hoo Patisserie. I made it a cold brew with Macademia nut flavoring and never went back.

Look at this pastry! (Also from Chee Hoo.) We certainly did not starve on this trip.

Emmy had a malasada every day. She was livin’ the dream.

We spent almost the entire day on Christmas at the beach/lagoon/pools! We rented … whatever these things are … and napped and snacked and sunbathed and splashed. It was pure heaven.

On Christmas Night we attended the resort’s luau, which was even more than I could have asked for.

The food and drinks were so good, and the entertainment and stories told were so fascinating. FIRE DANCING. ‘Nuff said.

Then Nan & Poppa paid $60 for the images they took at the beginning of the event. So here is each. and. every. one 😉 Enjoy!

The girls even ended their Christmas Day with a night swim at the resort pool. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

The next few days were beach, pool, lagoon, repeat. We bought snorkel gear and the girls saw tons of fish, too.

Just the literal best in-laws anyone could ever ask for in the world ever.

We did take a boat out one day to go whale watching!

Sadly, this boat ride made me feel sick, which has never happened before!

We did, however, see SEVERAL INCREDIBLE WHALES. So a little upset tummy was totally worth it!

We had a fantastic meal at the Bali Oceanfront restaurant on Friday night and had front-row seats to their Friday fireworks show!

Lotte also discovered her love of Boba Tea.

I discovered that there is no end to my love of poke bowl consumption.

Chris & I left the kids with the grandparents one night and grabbed an early anniversary dinner out. We went to YA!! Sushi, which is this tiny, unassuming restaurant in the front of a hotel with the MOST INCREDIBLE SUSHI. We had the chef’s tasting and it was absolutely incredible. Even better than some of what we had in Japan.

We also discovered our love of the ABC Stores on this trip 😉 They had sushi, shirts, sandals… everything you could possibly need for an incredible vacation!

Ice cream on vacation just tastes different, doesn’t it?

Dinner our last night was take-out on the beach. This also hits different than it would sitting at your kitchen counter at home.

I even managed to drag myself out of bed for the 6:30 a.m. yoga session on the last morning we were there. It was hard! And I was so proud of myself.

Red fruit pastries for the absolute win.

Of course I had a turn, as well. Well, I guess I should say *I l*et Gracie give me a turn around the lagoon.

And that was our trip in a nutshell, friends. The perfect mixture of adventure and relaxation, and we will absolutely be back to Hawaii, that has definitively been decided. For now, though, we’re back in the mountains and we head to Winter Park this weekend for the girls to start their ski lessons, which they have every Saturday in January.

Life keeps movin’ friends, and we’re just along for the ride.

Until then, bis bald, loves!

European Summer Part II: Barcelona

Published on June 20, 2025June 23, 2025 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Hi friends — welcome to Spain! We spent the second leg of our European Summer in Barcelona, and she was so much fun! Besides a few crazy moments (all of which had to do with where we stayed … blurgh), we had the best time! Although not the best for several reasons, where we stayed was in a good location, so that was super fun.

Let me tell you, this city is ALIVE! And that’s coming from someone who spent 10 years in New York City.

Here’s a bit of what we saw and did …

We didn’t get to our hotel until 9ish, and then Chris had to run a mile to another location to get the keys. Oy. But still, we could tell how cool our neighborhood would be during the day.

Our balcony was definitely a favorite spot <3

Then we saw some Picasso’s at the Picasso museum … NO BIG DEAL!

They had an adult and a children’s listening tour, which was so cute!

Hot chocolate and churros at the museum cafe were a delightful after-treat.

Passing through the park in the Arc de Triomf area there were men with seeds to feed the parrots. This was obviously a highlight for our bird-loving girls.

Stopped into a lovely little bookstore on our walk to our next stop …

And we ended here — Sagrada Familia — for our tour!

This place was incredible. It was started in 1882 by Antoni Gaudi, and is still unfinished. It’s one of Barcelona’s most famed landmarks, though, even though it’s still under construction, and you can see it from pretty much around the city.

Finished Day One with sangria in the park. It was perfection.

Chris went to the grocery store and stocked up. This humongous tomato brought us a lot of joy.

Then we made it to the Mediterranean Sea 😉

This paella dinner from Arrosseria Xativa was nuts.

Park Guell on our final day was so gorgeous .. and so hottttttttt!

And now we’re off to Italy! The Italian leg of our journey includes Venice and the Dolomites and … the grandparents! All three of ’em! It should be a very fun time.

Until then … bis bald, friends!

European Summer Part I: Portugal

Published on June 17, 2025June 17, 2025 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Insanely gorgeous views from Madeira Island in Portugal

Hello, friends! Welcome to installment one of our European Summer Adventure! We started our travels off with four days on Madeira Island in Portugal. This was a press trip, so I can’t share all of the details, but what I can say is that it was the trip of a lifetime. So gorgeous. So special.

But first, we flew from Denver to Montreal and had a six-hour layover, which gave us a bit of time to explore. Here’s what we did …

Saw the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal!

It was super quick, but I’m glad we got a chance to check out Montreal a bit and stretch our legs before our seven-hour flight to Lisbon. The girls were so great. Emilia slept the entire flight (so jealous), and the two bigger girls know how to keep themselves entertained on long-haul flights by now. (TV and more TV, basically ;))

We had another 2-hour flight from Lisbon to the island of Madeira, and then we were here! In paradise! It was so breathtaking. We really did feel so luck to have been able to experience it.

Here’s a bit of what we saw and did.

The view from our balcony was spectacular.

There were so many pools! We made the most of … all of them!

Such gorgeous views, everywhere you look.

The ocean pool was a BIG HIT, particularly since it had fish and snails in it!

Chris and I even put the kids in the kids’ club and had a private wine & cheese tasting on Father’s Day. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon 😉

The hibachi restaurant was a massive hit!

We went for a hike in Laurisilva, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it was perfection.

Our guide, Nelson, showed us so many beautiful things.

Then he took us to a local cafe, which was so yummy!

This view is incredible. That road … yikes 😉

Back in the pool … aka their natural habitat.

Crab-hunting in the natural pool was so cool!

Then we made Chris’ dreams come true … we went on a dolphin tour and saw. so. many. dolphins!

So many! This photo does not do it justice. They seemed so happy, too! The dolphins swam along with our boat for the longest time.

They were jumping in the air, swimming right up next to the boat … making new baby dolphins 😉 It was a very surreal experience.

Then we stopped here, which was incredible, and went SWIMMING!

I’m so proud of this girl, who ALWAYS gets in the water and ALWAYS loves to explore <3

We had our final dinner of the trip in a working lighthouse.

And that was it, friends. Three full days went by way too quickly, but we were so happy to have experienced it. And now, we’re off to Spain! We can’t wait to see what adventures that city holds for us. Until then … bis bald, friends!

A Delightful Long Weekend in Punta De Mita

Published on September 24, 2024September 24, 2024 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends!

We just arrived home from the most delightful long weekend at Dreams Bahia Mita Surf and Spa in Punta De Mita, Mexico. This was a press trip, so I won’t share all of the details until the actual article comes out. But for now I’ll just say … this place was a pure delight.

Some highlights …

Our room included a small plunge pool, which was perfect for relaxing after a long day at the pool.

The girls loved playing “restaurant happy hour” with the treats in our room. Lotte was the mocktail maker, while Grace and Emilia served up some sweet treats <3

Me and my oldest babe, on our way to dinner the first night.

We’ve got our relaxation down to an art.

First night dinner views were a delight!

Honestly, the food at this all-inclusive was something special. It was very tailored to kids, while also being super tasty & special for adults.

I was told that in November, you can often see whales from the beach. Can you imagine?!

There were SO MANY pools and special features. The girls had a blast!

The new kids water park was really amazing! Tons of water features and shallow water so you didn’t have to worry too much about the littles.

We had a private cabana on Friday, and the girls REALLY took advantage of the services 😉

We caught some glorious sunsets from our balcony.

We went to a fun festival with a live Mariachi band!

The kids club was a huge hit! They did crafts, danced by the pool, conducted science experiments, decorated donuts and tons more!

Mom & Dad also were not too sad to have some alone time 😉 It allowed us to check out the “Secrets” section of the hotel, which is adults only. It felt extra special <3

We were pretty happy to get the kids back … eventually 😉

Drinks at the swim-up bar in the adults-only pool. Super swanky.

We rounded out our final full day with a last visit to the beach.

Adios, Mexico. Thanks for the super amazing time.

The girls & I all wore pant/short-suits to dinner on our last night, and it was friggin’ adorable.

Until next time, friends … bis bald!

Summer Adventures in Australia Part VII: Back In Sydney Before Heading Home

Published on June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Saturday, friends!

Welp, we head home tomorrow. After months of planning and 30 days of traveling … it’s all coming to an end. Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Airlie Beach, Hamilton Island, Brisbane and back to Sydney ….

Was it all a dream?!

I mean, I know it wasn’t. I have the memories, photos, and credit card bills to prove it 😉

We headed back to Sydney on Wednesday, but not before leaving Brisbane with a spectacular send-off.

Off to yet another airport! Flight No. 6 of this trip!

Look carefully and you’ll see the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House off to the right.

Thursday was so special. We took a short drive out to Cronulla Beach, which was beautiful. But we also went to meet up with …

MY BESTIE SINCE SECOND GRADE! If you’ll recall, the last time Mina and I caught up was last August, when she and I and two other old friends met up in Savannah to celebrate our 40th birthdays.

Mina’s Mom — who was basically a second Mom to me growing up — was there, too, which was EVEN MORE SPECIAL.

We were able to meet up with another couple of old friends — and their kiddos! — on Friday night, and it was such a fun catch-up.

I cannot believe it’s come to an end, but I’m so grateful that it all has happened.

Until next time, Australia … bis bald, friends!

Summer Adventures in Australia Part V: Hamilton Island

Published on June 22, 2024July 8, 2024 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

If only Lotte wasn’t totally over photos, this one coulda been a keeper 😉

Hi, friends — happy Saturday! Welcome to our Aussie Summer Adventures, Installment No. 5 … Hamilton Island!

(Click here for Sydney, here for Canberra, here for Melbourne and here for Airlie Beach.)

We hopped the ferry from Airlie Beach around noon on Friday and headed over to Hamilton Island. The last time Chris and I had been was for our honeymoon back in 2013, so we were super excited for this leg of our trip!

We stayed at Chris’ aunt’s and uncle’s place for two nights, which was beyond what we could have imagined. The place was gorgeous. The beach was so much fun. The sunsets were unbelievable. There were wallabies everywhere.

In other words, it was pretty much paradise.

Cranky faces here, but the ferry was a super fun experience!

Everyone rides buggies around the island, which is quite the adventure. You can only have four people in a buggie at a time, though, so we did something we’ve never done before on this trip … leave Lotte alone for a couple minutes! She did amazing under the instruction of no food or showers while we were gone. She’s basically ready for college now.

Look at this insane view! Lotte said it was one of her best days <3

These girls had the BEST time on the beach!

WE EVEN SWAM NEXT TO STING RAYS AND SHARKS! How that was okay, I’ll never know.

Burying each other in sand was also a ton of fun, naturally.

Watching the sunset at One Tree H ill is a must when in Hamilton Island.

We only had one full day in Hamilton, sadly, so we made the most of the beach on Saturday. Chris took the girls out on a paddle board, we went back to snorkel around the area again, we made sand castles, had a beach picnic and just generally relaxed the day away.

For kids who never see the beach, these girlies sure knew how to make the most of the experience.

Gathering seashells and burying ourselves in sand were high on the list of fave activities.

Fun and exhausting, was Chris’ assessment.

Thanks for an awesome time, Hammo! We sure hope to be back.

Tomorrow we leave for Brisbane, where we’ll be until Wednesday. Then we head back to Sydney for a couple of days before flying home in exactly one week. This has absolutely been the trip of a lifetime. We’re the luckiest to have been able to go on it.

Until next post … bis bald, friends!

Summer Adventures in Australia Part IV: Airlie Beach

Published on June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

We finally reached warmth in Airlie Beach!

Hi friends! Welcome to installment four of our Aussie Summer Adventures! (Sydney, Canberra & Melbourne were the first three.)

We woke up 4 a.m. on Tuesday to head to the airport for our 7 a.m. flight to Proserpine, which was about a 20-minute drive to our Airbnb in Airlie Beach.

We couldn’t check into our Airbnb for a couple of hours since we arrived early, so we stopped at Whitsunday Gold Coffee (a haven of delicious food and coffee, fun animals and a huge play area for the kiddos, even if you do have to pay $10/kid to play) and then found an amazing (free) playground by the beach that was literally one minute from where we stayed.

Delicious ice cream with a delightful Macaw as a chatting mate.

We took it slow Wednesday morning, then headed out to explore in the afternoon.

The Airlie Beach Lagoon was such a hit! The depths of the water were so clearly marked and sectioned off that I felt totally safe letting the girls run around … PLUS there were lifeguards!

Of course nothing beats the actual beach <3

We spent a good few hours here, just exploring, collecting seashells and chatting with other beach-lovers.

Chris was dying to see some crocodiles, but the actual tour would have cost us more than $500 for the five of us, plus it would have taken all day. Instead, we headed over to The (Real) Crocodile Lookout (thank goodness for Google) and did get to spot one!

Thursday was some kind of special. We booked the Northern Exposure Tour with the Ocean Rafting company, and it was AMAZING. The tour met up at 8 a.m., rafted out for about an hour and a half, and included two snorkeling adventures, a small “bush walk” to a gorgeous view, lunch on the beach at Whitehaven and then the ride back.

The crew was spectacular. They made me feel comfortable enough leaving Lotte and Emilia back on the boat for a bit when they got cold (Grace, however, rocked it, and absolutely adored snorkeling!), and they catered wonderfully to all of our dietary needs with lunches that were so super tasty.

This was a day that I know I’ll never forget. Hopefully our girls won’t, either.

This girl has found her calling. Snorkeled for probably over an hour and saw a sea turtle, a bunch of Nemo fish, tons of other fish and amazing coral. It was a spectacular experience to witness.

I cannot say it enough … these girls are up for anything, and I am so in love with their sense of adventure and fun.

We spent about 40 minutes on the beach, which was meant to include lunch. Of course the girls had no interest in eating when the ocean was calling!

Thanks for just an amazing experience, Ocean Rafting crew!

And that was it, friends. On Friday we packed up to ferry it over to Hamilton Island, our FIFTH DESTINATION!

Until then … bis bald, friends!

Summer Adventures in Australia Part I: Our Sydney Arrival!

Published on June 5, 2024June 5, 2024 by Cheryl Lock7 Comments

Happy June, friends, and welcome to the first installment of our Aussie June!

We arrived in Sydney early on Sunday morning and have spent the past couple days showing my stepdad around. We drove to Canberra yesterday for my sister-in-law’s wedding party, and although a gnarly stomach bug has taken pretty much every single one of our gang down over the past few days, we’re hoping to be on the other side of it finally.

Here’s a bit of what we’ve been up to in Sydney so far!

No one does an Aussie airport arrival quite like the Connors <3

Fam-bam party [with a super-special “for Chris” hand gesture … it’s an inside joke, don’t ask ;)]

It was chilly and windy at Bald Hill Lookout, but so, so beautiful!

These cuties are having the best time … minus the vomiting :/

The Simbio Wildlife Park was the perfect way for us to say hey to some Aussie animals.

Feeding the kangaroos is always an absolute highlight of any Aussie trip <3

On Tuesday, Lotte, Cath, Robert and I headed to the Vivid Sydney light show at the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and downtown area. It was so gorgeous!

And now we’re in Canberra ready to celebrate Auntie Kate & Uncle Tom. Until the next entry … bis bald, friends!

2023: A Year in Review

Published on January 5, 2024January 5, 2024 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Not a bad way to spend the beginning of October <3

Another one bites the dust, my friends! So here we are, with 2023 in the rear view mirror, and what a year it was. Travelwise, it was simply stellar. Things in the world, of course, continue to throw me (and everyone paying attention) off kilter. With that always in my mind, I continue to be forever grateful for the opportunities I have with my family to explore and enjoy what’s beautiful about this great big earth we all live on.

So, without further adieu, here’s what we got up to in 2023!

January

Celebrating 10 years married (!) in New Zealand!

At the beginning of the year our family was still on the other side of the world. Chris and I rang in the New Year (ahead of everyone we know!) on our anniversary trip in New Zealand, then finished up our Australia visit with a trip to Chris’ families’ favorite beach, Forster. The girls got to check out the Sydney Harbor area for the first time, too!

The girls and dad at the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Forster with the fam. We love you Auntie Sare-Bear!

Once we were back in the states, Emilia and I packed our bags (again) and turned around fairly quickly for a trip back east to meet my new twin baby niece and nephew!

February

In February we had a visit from some of our New York besties, so we did our best to show them the Colorado sites!

We also checked out Meow Wolf, which was so trippy!

March

In March we celebrated “spring break” with SO MUCH SNOW at Grand Lake! We stayed in a tiny cabin, walked on a lake, rode sleds off our roof and traipsed through Rocky Mountain National Park up to our knees in fluffy powder. It was a delightful (if somewhat cold) time!

April

April was a big month, what with ME TURNING 40 AND ALL! We celebrated with a tick off my bucket list: A trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. She was all that I could have hoped for and more. So stinkin’ beautiful!

You can’t go wrong with a hot tub in nature!

Polebridge Mercantile was an extra-special treat, especially with the puppies we played with outside!

Thanks for making my bday extra special, Montana. She was one I’ll never forget <3

June

The Museum of Natural History was such a highlight on our kick-off-the-summer trip to NYC!

Right when the girls got out of school we hit the road! We headed back to one of our favorite spots — New York! — but this time with a twist. We stayed in one of my bestie’s Brooklyn brownstone basement apartments and let our family come to us! We traipsed around the city and took in so many sites (blogged about here, here and here). It was the trip of a lifetime, and so much stinkin’ fun!

Meeting up with the fam in Cold Spring was a big perk <3

We love the Museum of Natural History whale!

But really … it was about being with our loves <3

July & August

I blogged about making the most of summer here (because we really, really did!), and our three amazing press trips (to Grand Colorado on Peak 8, the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek and C Lazy U Ranch outside of Granby) all definitely helped!

Second baseball game for the girls! Seeing the Rockies play in Denver, this time.

Rode the gondola up to the mountain resort above our hotel.

August

Meeting up with my oldest friends from elementary school in Savannah Georgia!

To celebrate the big 4-0 for all of us, three of my besties from elementary school and I met up in Savannah, Georgia, for a weekend filled with fun and walks down memory lane! We had the best time catching up, checking out a new town, and just generally cheers-ing to life!

We took a historic tour and a nighttime haunted stories tour, both of which I would highly recommend!

September

For Labor Day weekend we headed back to New York (as I was fond of saying, New York was needy this year!). My little twinsies were baptized — and Chris & I were the godparents! — and we got to see all our fam again, which is always the best. I even went back to New York at the end of September — all my myself — for my cousin’s adorable and delightful wedding.

Always reminded of how very, incredibly blessed I am <3

Such a fun time watching my baby cousin get married in such a beautiful place!

October

Oh, October, how delightful were thee! I consider October to have been split into two EPIC events — the first was our trip to Disneyland with Grandpa! and the second was Chris’ 40th birthday adventures with ALL HIS IMMEDIATE FAMILY IN TOWN FROM AUSTRALIA!

Look. The joy I felt in Disney — watching the absolute love on my kids’ faces — was very, very real.

Thanks, Grandpa, for joining in on the fun/mayhem!

We were home from Disney for two days before Chris left for a work trip to Disney World, and then his parents arrived two days after that! Little did Chris know, though, that the rest of his siblings — all four of ’em — were also Colorado bound. It was so. much. fun!

Happy birthday babe — thanks for giving us another reason to all be together <3

December

We started our holiday season with a quick trip back to New York (yup, again!) for Grandpa’s surprise 60th and a delightful visit with our besties in the city for some holiday shenanigans!

The girls saw their first Rockette show!

Bryant Park is a delight during the holidays, even in the rain 😉

To close out our holiday season — and the year! — we took an EPIC European holiday trip to Germany and France, Switzerland, and Iceland with Chris’ parents. We visited Christmas markets, ate delicious food, soaked in a geothermal hot tub and just generally had the time of our lives.

Phew … what a year! And now, blink, it’s 2024. We can’t wait to see what unfolds.

Bis bald, friends. Thanks for being here 😉

Celebrating Birthdays and Friendship in Savannah, Georgia

Published on August 22, 2023October 13, 2023 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends! I just arrived back from the best trip down South — to Savannah, Georgia, to be exact — with three of my closet friends that I’ve known since our 2nd grade Balmville Elementary School Days in Newburgh, New York. 2023 marks 40 years on earth for all of us, meaning 30-plus years of friendship.

If that’s not something to celebrate, I don’t know what is.

We stayed at this Airbnb, which was the perfect location for us. We were walking distance to so many restaurants, bars and shops, not to mention the water and the Savannah and ghost tours, both of which we took full advantage.

Since I knew I’d be mostly catching up with my friends, I didn’t spend too much time researching what I might want to do while in town. Seeing my friends, checking out some gorgeous trees and eating delicious food was about all I had on my list. Luckily, my friend Laura did do her research, and she guided us through the most magical and perfect couple of days in (holy crap it was hot!) Savannah. Some of our highlights included:

Vic’s River Grill for dinner on the Friday we arrived.
Visiting the Love Lock Bridge.
Treylor Park Restaurant for breakfast on both Saturday and Monday … that’s how good it was!
Our tour of the city was hop-on/hop-off, and we hopped off at Forsyth Park to take in some of the gorgeous Spanish Moss (neither Spanish nor moss, mind you) trees.
Lunch in the beer garden at Moon River Brewing Company.
Dinner at The Olde Pink House. This place was SO. STINKIN. COOL! It’s actually an old house that turned naturally pink when the sun baked through the white paint to expose the brick underneath. You can check out the entire house — which is gorgeous — after you eat and, of course, they say it’s haunted.
On Sunday we drove out to Tybee Island, which was about 20 minutes and totally worth the drive. It was the cutest little beach town.
Chamacos Tacos and Surf for lunch on the way back was so fun, especially when combined with Rita’s Ice after.
Dinner at Huey’s On the River before our ghost tour was so tasty.
Arco Lounge had the yummiest (and prettiest!) craft cocktails.
The breakfast at Little Duck Diner was so good (even if the service was so incredibly slow).

Besides all the eating, drinking and site seeing — which was an integral part of the trip, don’t get me wrong — it was so amazing to catch up with these lovelies. We live in Colorado, upstate New York, Florida and Arizona, respectively, so as you can imagine we don’t get together that frequently. Upon leaving this trip we made a pact to do this every five years.

I surely hope we can keep that promise.

Here’s a bit of what we saw, friends!

Even the Savannah airport was adorable! Look at these cute rocking chairs outside!

So many treats! Such amazing pralines! This place is a gold mine for candy/sweets lovers.

Look at this Treylor Park breakfast insanity! I ate more grits on this trip than I did probably the entire time I was in college in Virginia. And I’m not in the least bit sad about it.

Look at these trees!!! (Don’t touch ’em, though! Tiny little bugs called chiggers live in them. They used to be used to make pillows, though, which is where the phrase “Don’t let the bed bugs bite” comes from!)

Look at this gorgeous room at the Olde Pink House!

And this creepy cellar that was actually incredibly cool.

Tybee Island was such a tucked away gem of a spot!

I hadn’t been in the ocean since we were in Australia, so this day was long overdue.

And to be there with these besties was even better.

And a super cute ghost tour to round out our last night.

I sure do love these muffins. Best friends are hard to come by. People who stick by you through thick and thin are hard to come by. Finding people who have been with you from the beginning is a nearly impossible feat. My luck to have been found these friends is off the charts.

Bis bald, my friends. I hope you’re soaking in the last days of summer, too!

Holidays In Australia Part 4: Forster Beach

Published on January 8, 2023July 8, 2024 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

What’s a trip to Australia without a proper visit to the beach?!

The final leg of our Australian holiday journey was a trip to Forster, the beach where Chris almost every post-Christmas holiday with his family and two groups of family friends growing up.

But before we headed to the beach, we flew from New Zealand to Sydney and hopped right quick on a train to catch up with the kids in Circular Quay and take some necessary touristy shots of the quintessential Aussie sites:

We have a similar photo of these two from our trip back in 2019. Time. Sigh.

Emilia obviously had no idea what she was seeing, but I wanted her to see it, nonetheless.

The girls did surprisingly well with all the photo taking, considering ….

I also forgot to mention that while Chris and I were livin’ that kid-free life in New Zealand, the girls did some pretty fun things with their fam back in Sydney, including a visit to the Simbio Wildlife Park where they got to SEE KOALAS AND PET KANGAROOS!

So incredibly grateful to this crew for watching our own little zoo for a couple days, allowing us a very much appreciated solo getaway!

While getting away by ourselves was the main objective of our New Zealand trip, obviously, Chris and I were both so incredibly grateful that the girls got to spend some one-on-one time with this delightful family of theirs that they don’t get to see very much.

FED KANGAROOS! An experience that at least Lotte and Grace will, I’m sure, always remember <3

We were also finally able to catch up with Chris’ grandmother — and all of his other family members on his mom’s side — after missing them on Christmas when Nannan got Covid. Thankfully she was doing much better, and getting everyone together before heading off to the beach was absolutely the best.

We decided to head straight from dinner to Forster to make the most out of our few days left. That meant a three hour drive, but the girls did incredibly well, and Chris and Vince volunteered to take ALL THREE with them so that Cath and I could drive and chat in silence.

I mean, how sweet is that?

We arrived after dark, obviously, but once the morning hit, it wasn’t hard to see why Forster has meant so much Chris and his family. Here’s what we got up to during our few short days there.

Our cute little condo is the same place Chris’ family has been staying for years!

Our girls would have slept in the water if we left them. Other than a few terrifying moments where we lost Grace (which, bright side, afforded us the opportunity to discuss what to do when you get lost!), we had THE BEST TIME at the beach!

Chris’ best friend even drove hours from his home to stay at the beach with his own family while we were there. That was so special and sweet!

This was the first time these two had ever had their families together, so that was a lot of fun for us <3

His daughter became fast and adorable friends with Lotte and Grace <3

We had a cookout on the beach the second night we were there, which is another one of Chris’ families’ traditions.

Having family around was the. best. Chris’ mom took Lotte and Grace for a walk on our second morning, which gave me and Chris a chance to take a walk with just Grace. It was so delightful.

This little beach “pool” was so great. It was a sectioned-off area of water separate from the actual ocean, which meant there were no waves/riptides contend with. The girls did have fun splashing around in the actual ocean for a bit, but we spent most of our time here, which was a nervous parents dream come true!

So much fun with all these adorable people!

Emilia wasn’t totally convinced on this trip that she loves water … but I have faith that she’ll get there!

We ordered fish & chips for dinner and went out for ice cream on our last night, which is also a Connor Clan tradition!

Our last day before heading back to Sydney was cloudy and rainy, but that didn’t stop the girls from a beach trip!

Breakfast at a restaurant on the beach was also a highlight!

Some members from one of the other families that used to vacation with Chris while he was growing up also stopped by for lunch and a beach hang, which was yet another amazing highlight of this trip.

Lots and lots of cousin time was the other major perk. (I have no idea what this is, by the way, but I am HERE FOR IT!)

And that was Forster, friends. It was the most amazing beach time, and I’m so glad we were able to make it work.

Then we were back in the car headed to our final night in Sydney before flying out the following morning.

It’s absolutely impossible to sum up what this trip and all of its parts has meant to us. I have 12,000 photos to relive the memories, of course, but I’m hoping to hold on to the feeling for as long as I possibly can.

Until next time friends … BIS BALD!

2021: A Year in Review

Published on December 30, 2021December 30, 2021 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Welp, friends … there goes another year. As the photo above indicates, we’ve had our highs and lows. I think the year didn’t quite pan out the way most of us were hoping it would, but still, there were bright spots to be found.

Here’s hoping 2022 brings you and your family all the happiness and cheer that you deserve! And here’s what we were able to get up to in 2021 …

April

We dusted off our travel boots for the first time in more than a year (!) this past April for a trip to the mountains. We headed to one of our favorite low-key spots — Granby Ranch — and the older girls even tried their hand at skiing for the first time.

Lotte, Grace & Emilia cuddled up on our couch in the cabin.

Chris and the big girls posing on frozen Grand Lake.

They look a little weathered here because this was after their lessons … but I HAD to get a pic of the two of them with their adorable little set of skis!

We wrangled the kids to take a quick selfie when we got out on the lake in Grand Lake.

June

By the time June rolled around, Chris and I were fully vaccinated, and we were able to start hosting some of our favorite people at our house again. We also went on a fun mountain/lake hike, Lotte continued her adventures in skiing and started running (well, that was pre-June, but I blogged about it in June!) and we continued to find adventures everywhere we could in the great Colorado outdoors. We also spent Father’s Day in one of Chris’ favorite places.

Grandpa came for his first visit in more than a year!

July

The end of June and beginning of July was a busy time for us, as we packed up the car and hit the road for our trip out East! We started in Colorado and made out way out to New Jersey and New York and then back, stopping in a number of states along the way. (You can find all the gritty details here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

Staying at a real, working farm in Pennsylvania was … interesting!

entering Colorado on the way home — Colorado State Line

Then, at the end of July, our firstborn turned FIVE!

August

We hosted more of our besties in August, Lotte started kindergarten, Grace returned to preschool and we managed to make it to Frisco for one final summer mountain visit.

September

We hosted one of Chris’ good friends in September, and they hiked a 14er (a tradition they started years ago). We also spent Labor Day at Standley Lake with friends.

October

We spent October in our traditionally favorite way … with all the fall activities!

December

As the holidays rolled around, we were really looking forward to spending Christmas and New Years with family back in New York. Unfortunately, Covid had different plans for us. Perhaps we’ll have better luck next year. Still, we managed to get a day in Manhattan, and we did get to spend actual Christmas Day with family, which was an upgrade from last year, so we’ll call it a win.

Grace was very taken with the Rockefeller tree 😉

And that’s 2021, my friends. We’re looking forward to a quiet New Years Eve (and wedding anniversary, for myself and Chris <3) and planning for (hopefully) some fun travels to come in the New Year.

But until then … bis bald, friends!

Brigantine Beach and a Big Reunion

Published on July 10, 2021July 11, 2021 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

A kind stranger offered to take this photo of our whole family after she saw me snapping away, and it’s one of the cutest photos from our trip!

Do you know that amazing feeling you get after you’ve accomplished something that you’ve been planning for a long, long time? And on top of accomplishing it, it actually went well?!

Well that was me and Chris the Friday we arrived in Brigantine!

The beach was about two blocks from our Airbnb in Brigantine, which was amazing since we were eager and tired after our travels!

After our monster road trip across the U.S., we were ready to relax on the beach, eat some good seafood and, more importantly, reunite with some family members that we hadn’t seen since early 2020. It was an emotional trip, to be sure, but I was prepared, and seeing my sister, brother-in-law and niece in person for the first time in 1.5 years was everything I thought it would be and more.

This collapsable Radio Flyer has been amazing ever since we bought, even on the beach. Would highly recommend!

Em was clearly very excited to meet her Aunt Stephie for the first time 😉

Our cute crew. Yes, it took forever for us to all get out the door, but it was very worth it when we finally did.

Steph’s house was close to a beach that had more relaxed waves, and a glorious view of Atlantic City right across the water.

So naturally we dressed all four girls in matching outfits for a photo opp <3

We had a big ole’ seafood night for dinner the day grandpa came to visit, and it was everything I had dreamed of and more. (Em was thrilled by it, as well !)

Rosalie’s love for Em was too much for my heart to handle.

Of course it went by way too quickly, but we managed to make the BEST memories.

Rosalie was just turning one the last time I saw her, and now she is a tiny human, running and talking. Seeing her this way, after so long, was just the best.

Don’t ask how long it took to get this picture!

The bunk beds are our Airbnb were a big hit!

These two snuck away one night for some gambling in Atlantic City which, we didn’t realize, was only a few minutes away from Brigantine. They really played up the part, wouldn’t ya say?

Ro and Grace have a dueling Boss Baby thing going on, but at the end of the day, they sure do love each other.

Besides the awesomeness of seeing family, this was also our first family trip to the beach since we were in Australia, and Em’s first trip to the beach in general. The two older girls loved it so much, I have a feeling we might need to make regular beach trips a thing in our future, as well.

But really, what’s not to love about the beach?

This one slept most of the time, but when she was awake, she loved to take it all in.

Our traditional in-the-air photo with Lotte, the beach version.

Em wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the actual water, but she was happy to partake from the shore.

My sister and I even managed to get away for a solo lunch, just the two of us. This was my first of many lobster rolls, and it was everything I want in life.

Food just tastes better at the beach, am I right?

The Details

This was the Airbnb where we stayed which, like I mentioned, was about two blocks from the beach. It had two rooms, and the girls loved staying in bunk beds together. There wasn’t a pack and play, so we did have to bring our own. That was fine, since we were planning on doing that anyway, but it’s something to keep in mind if you are traveling with your own little ones.

Some food spots I would recommend include:

— Brigantine Bagels: A MUST for bagels and coffee, if you want my opinion

— Laguna Grill & Rum Bar: Steph and I ate here for lunch when we escaped, and it was just the delightful beach scene we were looking for. There were places to eat both inside and outside, live music and lots of delicious seafood to pick from.

— Crab Shack Seafood: We picked up the seafood for our seafood night from here — lobster rolls, crab legs, muscles, clams, corn and Caesar salad — and it was all so good!

— Aunt B’s: Stop here for ice cream at some point in your trip … it’s delish!

The last time I was in Brigantine I was in high school, and while it was a great trip then, this visit really topped the charts. We stayed until Tuesday, so for three full days, and it was the perfect way to start our whirlwind trip. It was so nice to have some time with just Steph and her family, and to start off with a relaxing (is anything relaxing with kids?) first leg.

And that was our beach trip, friends! Until next time … bis bald!

Our Final Days in Australia

Published on January 11, 2019August 21, 2019 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

And so here we are, friends … we’ve arrived at our final two days in Australia. Le sigh.

Our last two days were filled with all the classic Australian activities, including checking out Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, then heading out on the Manly Ferry to check out Manly Beach with some family and old friends. Lotte had the best time splashing around in the water with our friends’ son, who is one year older, and we’ve discovered G’s love of fish and chips, as was demonstrated by her eating all of Chris’ aunt’s fish after she woke from a delightful nap by the beach.

Continue reading “Our Final Days in Australia” →

A Week of Firsts in New York

Published on July 25, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Lotte and I just flew back yesterday from our quick trip to New York, and as much as we missed dad (sorry Chris!), we had so much fun. Lotte had a ton of firsts (first trip to the beach! first first birthday party!), we celebrated my Uncle’s retirement, we met my sister and bro-in-law’s new puppy, and just pretty much rocked out on our trip together.

Don’t get me wrong … traveling alone with a little one is super hard. The flight? Hard. Doing everything yourself for five days straight? Hard. Ummm … major shout-out to all the single parents out there who do that every. single. day. I honestly am in awe of you.

On that note, I want to publicly thank the staff at Delta for being amazing on our flight out to New York. When the woman giving me bag tags for Lotte’s car seat and stroller saw that I was booked in a middle seat, she moved us so we had a full aisle all to ourselves.

What luxury!

On the flight, the flight attendants were so super helpful and sweet. They held Lotte for me while I went to the bathroom, gave me free food from the menu you’re supposed to pay for, and were so supportive when I walked her up and down the aisle for about 20 minutes until she fell asleep (for about 40 minutes :/). All-in-all, it was the best flight I’ve had with her so far, and this was Lotte’s fifth time flying. Thanks again, Delta!

Anyway, enough of that. Here’s what we got up to!

^^ Lotte loved Linus, my sister and Brian’s new pup. He was pretty good with her, too, even though you could tell they both were a little confused about who (and what) exactly the other was 😉

^^ On Friday my sister took off from work (thanks sis!) and we headed to Rye Beach, which was Lotte’s first beach experience. I would definitely recommend this beach, especially to people with kids. It was clean and had plenty of bathrooms, the water was super calm and it’s near an amusement park as well, if that’s your thing. It does cost a bit to go ($15 to park and $10/person for admittance), but if you stay long enough it’s definitely worth it. At first Lotte wasn’t so sure about the water and kept holding her feet up when I tried to put them in, but she got the hang of it and really loved hanging out under the umbrella. Carla and Fiona met us there and we actually got a good couple of hours out of the babes. I was pretty impressed!

^^ Saturday was my Uncle’s retirement party, which was a really fun time. They had it at Limoncello’s Restaurant, which always has good food, and we danced and ate cupcakes and had a merry, jolly good time!

^^ Every single time my grandmother and Lotte get to see each other it’s pretty much my favorite time ever.

^^ On Sunday Steph and Brian hosted a first birthday bash for little Lotte at their house! We had about 15 people and got lots of delicious food, and my sister ordered the most adorable cakes you’ve ever seen in your entire life. We had a swing and a little pool for the kiddies, and Lotte got some amazing presents. She’s one lucky gal, my daughter is!

^^ I ordered the sandwiches from Hannaford’s, and we were pleasantly surprised with how tasty and sizable they were. Would definitely recommend!

^^ My sister’s hydrangea bush is insane, so she brought some inside to decorate. How pretty are these?!

^^ Lotte sure does love a good splash around!

^^ These three <3

^^ Look at this cake! This was Lotte’s “smash” cake, which she was meant to just smash her hands into. At first she wasn’t so sure what to do with it, but once I gave her a taste of frosting with my finger, it was all I could do to stop her from eating the whole thing.

^^ And these bunnies, which are actually made of cupcakes, were the cutest! Our theme was “Some Bunny Is One,” and Steph smashed is out of the park with her surprise birthday cakes. Love you little sis!

^^ Facetiming Dad (who couldn’t take time off work for this particular trip) while we sang happy birthday!

^^ Success!

^^ Loves everything about it.

^^ Gift opening wasn’t necessarily Lotte’s favorite part of the party, but it was (one of) mine! Look at this adorable doll my sis and Brian picked up for Steph while they were on their honeymoon in Italy! The. Stinkin’. Cutest. Now I just have to hide it from her so she can’t actually play with it.

^^ The greatest family who made Lotte’s first first birthday party oh-so-special. I can’t thank you guys enough!

Lotte’s actual birthday is this Thursday, so my dad and stepmom are arriving tonight and my stepdad tomorrow, and we’re basically just going to have a week of Lotte fun time. Because you only turn one once, right?

Bis bald!

Wistful Nostalgia …

Published on February 4, 2015 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Can there be such a thing?

Well guys — Chris and I have been in Denver for about 3 1/2 weeks now, and while I’m not necessarily homesick, I would say I’m feeling a certain wistful nostalgia for all the plans we made last year and all the traveling we did. From South America to Australia to traveling cross-country — along with all the time we spent with my family at home in between — I loved every last second of it, and as Chris and I were just saying: we wouldn’t have changed one damn thing.

So I guess it’s a good thing that I haven’t had time to upload the photos from my camera since right after South America, then, because it afforded me the opportunity to relive November, December and the beginning of January all over again.

And I thought I’d share some of that here … you know, in case you wanted to partake in my wistful nostalgia.

^^ A big ole’ plate of ribs for Robert’s birthday. (I refrained, obviously, but I’m told they were delicious.)

^^ This. Face.

^^ This boy loves his trains.

^^ It’s Dad’s job to carve the turkey every year, and he only eats about half of it while he’s doing so 😉

^^ Chris and I managed to make it back to the city in between hanging with fam, too. We even made to my favorite place in the entire world to ice skate — Bryant Park.

^^ A blurry but still beautiful Grand Central.

^^ Mom and I made some gingerbread cookies that, much to my surprise, turned out pretty fabulous!

^^ These Connor boys … too cute!

^^ Beautiful Sydney in the background.

^^ So grateful for these Sydney friends of ours! (And so excited to meet their little baby, coming in just a few months now!)

^^ Watson’s Bay waves.

^^ Sydney blues.

^^ Chris and I were lucky enough to be able to spend a whole week with his sister and her boo in Canberra. Kate took the week off to hang with us, and it was pretty much the best ever. This little pooch hung out with us while we did some wine tasting at a vineyard in the area.

^^ Pssst…it really wasn’t. Because it was hot. And there was no snow. But it was still one of my all-time fave Christmas’ ever!

^^ Kate works at Old Parliament house, and we were lucky enough to get an insider’s tour.

^^ I couldn’t agree more with this saying on display in one of the rooms at Old Parliament House.

^^ The Australian Coat of Arms at the new Parliament House.

^^ Bro and sis … duh!

^^ I call this one “Me, Kate and the Kangaroos.”

^^ After Canberra Chris and I headed off to Coolaman to visit one of his besties from college. While there we took some time to visit the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory (where I simply had to snap this photo because comeon!! Do these two not remind you of Lucy and Ethel working at the chocolate factory?! Simply the best.) We also ….

^^ Had a seriously amazing seafood feast that included these babies — which are pretty much a staple in my diet any time I’m in Australia.

^^ After Coolaman we drove to the Taronga Zoo in Dubbo. This zoo is amazing, folks. We rented bikes (which I highly recommend), and rode around catching all the shows that we could. With over 4,000 animals and more than 20 keeper talks every single day, there is so much to see here. And the wide open zoo plan means that the animals are as close to their natural habitat as possible. It’s really pretty amazing.

^^ The Galapagos Giant Tortoise!

After the zoo we headed back to spend our final week — Christmas week — in Bathurst with the fam.

^^ The original Connor Clan.

^^ You can’t quite tell, but there’s a Nannan being hugged under there 😉

^^ Nannan with most (not all!) of her grandkids and great-grandkids!

^^ An impromptu game of cricket in the park … nothing more Aussie than that.

^^ These two.

^^ Andddd now we’re on to St. Louis! That’s Chris there, that teeny, tiny blob on the bottom right.

^^ Me in the teeny, tiny pods that carry you to the top of the St. Louis Arch.

^^ The view from the top = spectacular.

^^ Dred and Harriet Scott statue in front of the courthouse.

And that’s it, friends. Nothing like a walk down memory lane (and a rockin’ blog for documenting it all) to make you feel better, right?

Bis bald, friends! And here’s to future plans and travels and adventures that are just as exciting as those of our pasts.

Our Final Days in South America: Escazu, San Jose and Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Published on December 8, 2014 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

^^ This was the view from our first Costa Rican hotel, with the city of San Jose in the background.

So I’m writing my final post on our four-week South American trip, and it’s making me sad, friends. The only positive here is that I’m posting it on the same day that we’re flying out to Australia for three weeks, so a gal can’t be sad for too long, ya know!

Anyway, Costa Rica. After three weeks of hiking and snorkeling and walking and swimming, our thought about Costa Rica was that it should be a relaxing place for us to chill for a couple of days before heading back to the states. As such, we booked three days at Posada El Quijote (you can find the site for the actual hotel here) in Escazu, Costa Rica (right outside of San Jose), and then a full week at Barcelo Langosta Beach, an all-inclusive resort in the beach town of Tamarindo.

Let’s start with Posada El Quijote — it’s adorable, to say the least. The hotel is a tiny boutique one nestled in the town of Escazu, which is one of the richer towns in Costa Rica. (Our cab driver told us Mel Gibson bought a house here. Not sure if that’s true, or if it’s even a draw, to be honest, but there it is.) Anyway, the included breakfast is a HUGE draw for the place — it’s some of the best breakfast we had on our entire trip, as was the view from the backyard, where Chris and I took to having some drinks after sunset every night, watching the twinkling lights of San Jose in the background. Some highlights of Escazu for me (besides the hotel, which I would highly recommend), was eating at both Tiquicia (with its amazing city views as well) and La Casona de Laly , and taking a tour of the city of San Jose.

About San Jose itself, in my opinion I’d highly recommend not staying directly in the city if you can avoid it, because other than a few good museums and a gorgeous concert hall, the rest of the city is really pretty much chain restaurants and concrete. (Check out this Lonely Planet review before making your final decision, is all I would say. In our case, staying outside of the city and taking a half day trip into the city itself to check things out was more than enough.)

^^ They were having a family day when we took our half-day tour in San Jose, so the main town square was alive with all kinds of activity. How awesome is this tight-rope little lady? You go girl.

^^ We caught this view on one of our walks around our Escazu neighborhood. Gorgeous.

After three relaxing days in Escazu, Chris and I packed up our stuff again and loaded it onto a bus headed for the coast of Tamarindo and the Barcelo Langosta Beach resort. The bus ride turned out to be longer than we had hoped (five hours!), but once we were off the main highways and driving through the smaller towns, I really enjoyed seeing the homes and shops and some of the average Costa Rican way of life.

^^ Stopping at the halfway point on the bus and happening upon this gorgeous animal refuge zoo with these beautiful Toucans was definitely a benefit of the bus ride.

^^ These parrots were wild, which was pretty amazing.

After what felt like forever, we finally arrived at Barcelo Langosta. If you’ve ever stayed at an all-inclusive before, you won’t be disappointed with this one. The staff was very friendly, and offered many of those all-inclusive activities most people enjoy (water aerobics, dance classes, live music on certain nights, beach volleyball, etc.), and the buffet was pretty great for all-inclusive food, especially since they switched up their theme every night to keep it fresh. They also have one restaurant on the grounds, which if you stay for longer than three nights is included in your price, and that was super tasty. We saw tons of wildlife around the resort, too, like two different kinds of monkeys, green lizards, land iguanas, birds and more. The beach is public, so it can get a bit crowded, and it’s not the best beach for swimming because the waves tend to be rougher there (which makes it perfect for watching surfers!) and there are a lot of rocks. But the sunsets were some of the most gorgeous ones we saw on our whole trip, and to not have to think at all about what we were going to do about eating during the days made it a lot more laid back for us, as well.

^^ We watched the sunset from the beach every night, and Chris even joined in to play beach volleyball most nights, too. He took a surf lesson, as well — although I’m not sure how much that’ll come in handy when we move to land-locked Denver, Colorado 😉

^^ We went zip lining with Pura Adventura while we were in Costa Rica, and it’s seriously my new favorite thing! You can’t imagine the feeling of gliding through the air, feeling completely weightless, watching the most amazing views unfold before you. Unless, of course, you’ve ziplined before, then you absolutely can imagine it 😉 This was our amazing crew.

^^ Sunset facing the resort. Not too shabby!

And that was pretty much our Costa Rica experience, my friends. Although I’m glad that we went zip lining and Chris took surf lessons and we had time to relax, if/when we ever do make it back to Costa Rica, I’d be sure to plan a few other things that the area is known for, like checking out the rainforest and the cloud forest and a volcano or two. Still, I feel lucky we were able to see the animals we did see, just from the resort.

And that’s it in a nutshell, ya’ll! South America in four weeks — Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. I want to add Brazil, Chile and Argentina to my list of must visit places now, because South America is so vast and beautiful and has so much to offer — I would just highly recommend to anyone who loves adventure travel to get out there when it’s possible. You won’t be sorry!

Okay friends, so we’re off to Australia now! We’ll be gone through the holidays, and we start our drive out to Denver pretty much as soon as we get back … so … wish us luck!

And happy holidays to all of you! May your days be filled with friends and family and lots of love and laughter. And snow!

Bis bald!

The Galapagos Islands: Back When I Was Fulfilling a Dream of Mine

Published on December 5, 2014January 30, 2017 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

So, how exactly do you blog about a trip that has meant so much to you for so long? It’s hard to know where to start, friends, I’ll tell you that much.

Let me start from the beginning. When I first started out in college as a bright-eyed freshman, I went in as a biology major, since I had had the dream of becoming a vet for oh-so-very long (nevermind the fact that this dream eventually gave way to my one of being a journalist … let’s skip that part for the purposes of this story). During fall semester of my freshman year, I became obsessed with a school trip to the Galapagos, where we would be following in the footsteps of Darwin, making amazing discoveries and partaking in fascinating experiments.

Not to make things dramatic (who are we kidding — I’m nothing if not dramatic), but my parents wouldn’t let me go. So it became a goal of mine to, at some point, make it to this beautiful, interesting, historic place.

And a few weeks ago, I did, friends — I accomplished the goal. Go me! And it was way, way, way more than I ever could have hoped it would be. Little did I know what adventures awaited both me and Chris when we signed on for the 5-day Aida Maria cruise in the Galapagos (which, by the way, was booked by Southern Explorations on our behalf as part of our whole Ecuador package). Little did I know that we would fall in love with our tour guide (a Galapagos native named Reuben who walked around everywhere barefoot), or snorkel 2-3 times every single day with everything from sharks to sea lions, or see penguins and owls, as well. (Penguins, for goodness sake!).

If you’re an animal lover, you must add the Galapagos to your list, because there is no place on earth like it, my friends. So far in life I’ve had the great opportunity to snorkel in some pretty amazing places (the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Great Barrier Reef, to name a few), and nothing even came close to snorkeling here. (Sorry, Barrier Reef. You were awesome and all, but the Galapagos has my heart.)

Let me start by explaining our boat to you. The Aida Maria is a small-ish sized yacht that fits up to 16 guests, and we had 15 on board for our trip. Lucky for us, Southern Explorations booked our trip early enough so that we got a top room (there were only two available, and we were told they’re booked on a first-come, first-serve basis), because it really helped make the cruise special to be able to open our bedroom door every morning to gorgeous Galapagos waters. The size of the ship also means that space is pretty limited, and while we had bunk beds in our room, Chris and I used the top bunk to store our luggage and we slept together on the bottom bed. I’m honestly not sure what people did who didn’t share a bed, because there would have been very little floor space for luggage.

In terms of our itinerary and the islands we visited, here’s what we did:

Sunday:
AM: Baltra Island
PM: Bachas beach (and our first snorkel!) on Santa Cruz Island

Monday:
AM: We woke up after cruising all night in the midst of Genovesa, a shield volcano in the eastern Pacific Ocean
PM: The Barranco (aka Prince Phillip’s Steps and the place where we found owls!) at the top of Genovesa

Tuesday:
AM: Bartolome Island
PM: Sullivan Bay and its insane lava fields on Santiago Island

Wednesday:
AM: Daphne/Black Turtle Cove
PM: Cerro Dragon (a trail that runs through three different environments even though it’s just 1,600 m long) on Santa Cruz. It’s named this because the northwestern side of Santa Cruz Island is home to an impressive population of Conolophus subcristatus, or Galapagos land iguana. We also had our final (and my favorite) snorkeling excursion on this particular outing. It was here that we saw sharks again, and I had one playful little sea lion who swam in circles around me while I snorkeled, waving her cute little fin at me the whole time. Oh Galapagos — you slay me with your magical moments.

Thursday:
AM: The Charles Darwin Station, where we saw giant tortoises! We were a bit bummed as we left that we hadn’t seen these awesome animals in “real” life, but as we were driving back to the airport we saw three or four them along the side of the road — so check that off the list 😉
PM: It was back to Baltra to catch our flight back to the mainland Ecuador

Something else that was really cool about the trip is that everyone’s itinerary was planned by the National Park Service in order to keep as few people as possible on the islands at the same time. So for example, even if we were docked at an island with two or three other ships, we were never doing the same activity at the same time as the people from the other boat. If we were hiking, they would be snorkeling, and vice versa.

The last night of our trip we even got to go out to a bar (which was a good thing because the ship ran out of booze!) with a couple other young people from our boat and our tour guide (there were some restaurants, shops and bars at Puerto Ayora, which is where our tour guide was from. We even got to meet his adorable wife and 5-year-old son!)

Now let’s get to the fun part — the photos!

^^ This (not so) little guy is a land iguana. We came across another one later in our hike that walked a good 100 feet towards our group of 16, bobbing his head in warning the whole while, before getting a couple of feet in front of us and turning around. I think he made his point, though 😉 Land iguanas are pretty territorial, but they’re also pretty harmless.

^^ Pink flamingo!! Look at this scenery — does it not look like another planet?

^^ Clawless lobsters at the fish markets in Puerto Ayora.

^^ A marine iguana just hangin’ out. Watching them swim in the water is pretty amazing.

^^ How cute are the giant tortoises?! They can live to be between 120 and 150 years old, so you just know they’re super wise 😉

^^ These bright red crabs against the black lava? Amazing.

^^ Being in the water snorkeling was amazing, but watching sunsets from the back of the boat wasn’t too shabby, either.

^^ The sea lions would get so close to you! And our tour guide would say, “Just see what happens.” Animals on the islands are super curious, and because humans aren’t their predators here, they are just fearless. It’s pretty cool.

^^ A lava heron (which we concluded looked shockingly similar to a grumpy old man, no?!)

^^ A few minutes after this photo was taken this sea lion would take a big ole’ dump in the water while I was snorkeling, totally bringing me back to earth (and out of the water!) from the surreal moment I was having. See the one in the background, too? With his nose in the air? I always wondered what they were thinking when they did that. So cute!

^^ The blue beaks on the red-footed boobies are simply beautiful.

^^ This was a view from Cero Dragon on Santa Cruz island.

^^ Penguins! Can you believe the Galapagos has penguins? What doesn’t this place have?

^^ Look at our cute little boat — oh how I miss it!

^^ Chris took this photo of me at Sullivan Bay on Santiago to demonstrate how far and wide the lava fields went. And our tour guide went barefoot on this! Poor Reuben — his feet were too big for standard Ecuadorian mens’ sizes, so he grew up not wearing shoes most of the time, and now his feet are tough as nails! (As was demonstrated on many, many, many occasions on this trip.)

^^ The site of one of our many, many snorkel adventures.

^^ “There’s a blue-footed booby on the rocks!” This was an inside joke amongst everyone on our boat, since we came to realize that we could listen carefully for Reuben to call out loudly when we were on hikes or outings and he spotted some wildlife he really wanted us to see. His enthusiasm was seriously contagious. You could tell he loved his job and loved the Galapagos and just wanted to teach us everything he could, and that was just the best.

^^ Pelican in flight.

^^ We took the dinghy’s out one morning to Black Turtle Cove and saw all manner of animals, from the blue-footed boobies above to this green turtle, to mating sea turtles to sting rays and sharks.

^^ Mating turtles, oh my!

^^ Shark!

^^ Four stingrays in a row, right in front of our boat.

Honestly, we took about a gazillion photos here friends, as I’m sure you can imagine, and culling them down into just a couple is really hard. But I think what I’ve included here gives you a good indication of what the Galapagos is like — and it’s simply a heaven on earth.

So after our five days on the boat we caught a flight back to Quito and Jorge dropped us back off at La Rabida for what turned out to be only a couple of hours, since our flight to Costa Rica was super early in the morning and we basically had to be picked up at 2 a.m. to check in and such.

We leave for Australia this Monday (ah, I can’t believe it!), but I’ll be sure to get my final South American post — Costa Rica! — up as soon as possible next week. So bis bald for now, my friends! I shall see you all again very soon!

The 52 Project: November 24

Published on November 24, 2014 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

^^ Well friends, this is the fourth and final photo that I’ll be posting for the ’52 Project’ series from our trip to South America. We saw this little guy when we were about halfway through our bus ride from Escazu to Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and he pretty much embodies what I think of when I think of Costa Rica. Vibrant. Lively. Fun. Pura Vida, baby! As I type this I’m sitting at my mom’s dining room table back in upstate New York. We arrived home from our trip around midnight last night, and I’m looking forward to going through all the photos and posting some more in-depth info from the trip which was, without a doubt, the trip of a lifetime.

Marathon Key … Tomorrow!

Published on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Hiya friends,

Things here have been a bit … hectic! We were in Pennsylvania this past weekend for our nephew’s first birthday party, which was so cute and fun :

^^Photographers who can wrangle kids into taking awesome, synchronized photos deserve a medal.

^^ But the mayhem is fun, too 😉

^^ The best we could do 😉

Until Sunday night when my whole family started to drop like flies as we one-by-one contracted pretty much the same stomach bug.

Yuck.

Anyway, we’re moving on from that, because thank goodness I’m better for tomorrow, when I fly out to Marathon Key! I’ll be gone for 10 whole blissful days (yahoo!), and my best friend and I plan to do nothing but lay in the sun, go out on the boat, snorkel and drink tasty drinks the entire time, with maybe a little hiking thrown in here and there.

I’ll be back in early April (holy cow, April!) to update you on the happenings in Marathon Key. Until then, bis bald, my friends!

Vacation on the Horizon …

Published on March 19, 2014 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Hi friends,

So winter is apparently determined to drag on. And on. And on and on and on. I mean …. I’m just about getting a little sick of it. In my mind, if it’s not going to snow (don’t be mad at me, I’m know you’re all sick of the snow, too!), then there’s just no point in having cold weather.

The point is — thanks goodness I’m headed to the Keys next week with my best friend! If you’ll recall, I was in Key West a couple years back with my lovely sisters …

This time I’ll be heading to Marathon Key, which I’m super excited to check out. Then, only one short week after getting back from Florida, Chris and I will head to Colorado (Boulder, Breckenridge and Denver) with my sister and her boyfriend to check everything out.

Ah, the thrill of upcoming travel. It really does give us something to look forward to, doesn’t it?

Bis bald, friends!

Our Final Day in Iceland

Published on February 18, 2014January 30, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Last Monday was our last day in Iceland. (A tear.) We had had an absolutely amazing time up until then, what with making friends and seeing the Northern Lights and watching a geysir explode and eating some delicious food. But we had something on tap for Monday that, if I’m being completely honest, was high up on my list of reasons why I wanted to visit Iceland in the first place.

The Blue Lagoon.

Let me tell you a little bit about this place, my friends. According to their website, “the Blue Lagoon was accidentally formed in 1976 during operation at the nearby geothermal power plant. In the years that followed, people began to bathe in the unique water and apply the silica mud to their skin. Those with psoriasis noticed an incredible improvement in their condition. Over the years, the Blue Lagoon has been innovative in harnessing this gift of nature to develop different spa services and products. Today, Blue Lagoon is recognized as one of the wonders of the world.”

In other words, friends, the Blue Lagoon is straight up magic. The silky blue water is just warm enough that you never want to leave, but not so hot that you can’t stand bathing in it for hours on end. (We were there from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.) The silica mud — placed in little containers around the outskirts of the Lagoon that you can spoon out and spread on your body — makes your skin feel like perfection and gives you a glow that lasts for weeks for come. There is a swim-up bar with smoothies and wine and beer, a waterfall that you stand underneath whose pressure feels like the best shoulder massage you’ve ever had in your life, a steam and sauna room and so, so, so much more.

Oh, and it’s friggin’ beautiful …

^^ Us after spending four hours in that ridiculousness. See? Aren’t we resplendent 😉

You can get lockers as part of your Blue Lagoon package (there are a bunch of different package options … we picked the cheapest one), and there is a space to store your luggage. The Blue Lagoon is about 20 minutes from the airport, and about a 40-45 minute ride from Reykjavik, making it the perfect activity either directly after arriving in Iceland or right before heading back home. You can book a package, like we did, that provides transportation to and from the airport and or your hotel.

A word to the wise when it comes to the Lagoon — this is no place for modesty, friends. Full showers are required both before entering the Lagoon and after, and this means sans bathing suit showering. Lots of naked people are gettin’ about in these Lagoon locker rooms, my friends, and there’s no use feeling awkward about it, because you’ll just be out of place. Another tip is to load your hair up with as much conditioner as possible — and leave it in, don’t wash it out — before heading into the water. Even so, you’ll probably end up leaving the Lagoon with a mess of mangled, salty hair, but it’s totally worth it.

And so that was about it. After four hours of relaxing in the Lagoon and the steam room, after smothering our bodies in what could only have been pounds and pounds of silica mud and after eating delicious smoothies, we headed back into the locker rooms to shower and dress and catch our bus to the airport to head home.

Iceland. Oh, Iceland. I had an idea of how amazing you were before I visited you … but I never in a million years could have imagined the impression you would leave.

If it’s within your ability to do so, I would highly recommend making the trip. Believe me … you’ll thank me later.

Bis bald, friends! A quick last-minute addition to my travel list for this year is a trip to Marathon Key with my bff for my birthday in early April. It’s a 10-day trip using her parents’ time share … and yes, I do believe I am one of the lucky ones.

Okay, now bis bald, friends!

Travel Alert — Our South American Trip is Planned, People!

Published on February 4, 2014 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

So after much, much, much planning, research, debate, blood, sweat and tears on our part, Chris and I have finally locked down a South America itinerary that we’re — well let’s just say it — absolutely ecstatic with! Here’s how it goes:

We’ll arrive in Cusco, Peru a couple days ahead of our 5-day tour of the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu with Cusi Travel. That tour looks a little something like this:

Day 1 – Cusco City Tour
Day 2 – S acred Valley Tour
Day 3-4- I nca Trail/Machu Picchu 2D/1N
Day 5 – flight to Quito

In Quito we’ll connect with our second tour group, Southern Explorations, for our 12-day tour of the Galapagos Islands (I can’t breathe when I type that I’m so excited) and the Amazon Rainforest. That tour includes jungle walks, butterfly sanctuaries, canoe rides, bird watching, canopy walks and zip lines in the Amazon, as well as walks along Darwin’s Way, snorkeling with Galapagos penguins, sea lion, giant tortoise and Blue-footed Booby meetings, and so much more, in the Galapagos.

We’ll end the trip with a little over a week at a n all-inclusive beach resort in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

I don’t think I really need to tell you guys just how excited we are for this trip. It’s the trip of a lifetime, and we feel more than a little lucky to be able to go on it.

Oh, and in other news … we leave Thursday for our trip to Iceland. That snuck up on us! Can’t wait to share all that info and the photos here with you guys when we’re back. As a heads up, we’ll be taking a Northern Lights tour, as well as a Gulfoss and Geysir Express Afternoon tour and a trip to the Blue Lagoon.

Bis bald, friends! Here’s to really livin’ it up in 2014!

Photo courtesy of Cusi Travel

Using Travel Agents (Plus a Big, Fun Announcement!)

Published on January 9, 2014 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

^^ You know Christmas is over in New York City when you start to see
this sad little sight on every street corner.

Hi friends,

So January — and the new year in general — feels like it’s solidly in place now, wouldn’t ya say? We’ve packed the Christmas decorations away, the tree (which we lovingly named Mr. Big) is laying sadly on the curb outside our apartment awaiting its final destiny, the credit card bill with all those Christmas presents on it has arrived and the 2014 goals are written and action is being taken to fulfill them. (I’ve already read one whole book — wahoo! That’s one of my goal 14 for the year down …)

Anyway, travel destinations are always on my resolution list, and this year is no exception — with one big exception. While nothing is set in stone yet, Chris and I have big plans for this year. After a deluge of weddings every weekend in September and in the beginning of October (so fun!), the plan as of right now is to head to South America for a couple of weeks right after, come home for the Thanksgiving holiday, and then — are you ready for this? — move to Colorado.

Oy. It’s a big step friends. This plan is one of the main reasons why I’ve been trying to make the most of the city recently, particularly during what may very well have been our last Christmas season here.

I may start crying right now.

Don’t get me wrong — I do believe this will be a good move for us, it’s just … while we’re still here, it’s sort of hard to imagine not living here, you know?

Anyway, all of this moving stuff is for another day. The point of today’s post is to say that I’m in full-on planning mode for our South America trip, because nine months is certainly not a long time to have to plan for a multi-week, multi-destination trip. There’s health and travel insurance to think about. Travel visas. What to do with our stuff (not to mention our pets!) while we’re gone. Oh and cash flow — that’s a big one, too.

The South America itinerary at this moment in time includes, in no particular order:

The Galapagos Islands (Wahooo!!! I get to check something off my Bucket List!)
Machu Picchu/Peru
Costa Rica
Brazil
Argentina

While I’m thrilled with the prospect of traveling to all these amazing places, the thought of planning this trip was daunting. Then I had a brilliant thought — travel agents. The only time I’ve ever dealt with a travel agent was when my cousin was getting married in Jamaica and he used one. According to him, having this person help out with all the planning and documentation really took a lot of the stress off of him.

That seemed nice to me.

So I reached back out to her. And while we’re still in the very, very beginning stages of planning, I will say that so far it’s been going pretty well. There are a lot of emails back and forth, but I’ve given her the basics — budget range, desired locations and timeframe, type of travel we’re hoping to do (active, leisure, etc.) — and she’s working on putting something together.

Now I do know that there are some pitfalls to using travel agents. While some agents charge an upfront fee for their services, this particular woman I’m working with right now doesn’t, because she’s paid by the hotels, etc., that she sets up for us during our trip. That of course means that she works within a set group of hotels, etc. I’ll have to do a little bit of research once we hear back from her to be sure that the places she uses are the types of places we’re looking for — but at least it will be a good starting point.

So that’s it, friends. I’ll definitely keep you updated throughout the year as this process moves along. I can’t believe that we’re actually making moves on this South America trip — I feel like we’ve been talking about it forever. Then after that will come Colorado.

But that’s a story for another time, friends.

Bis bald!

The Year 2013: A Review

Published on December 31, 2013August 27, 2019 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Hi friends,

Well it’s that time of year again — the one where everyone takes a couple minutes to take stock of how the past 12 months have gone? This year has been a particularly important one for myself and Chris. It was our first year of married life. It was a year spent celebrating our marriage around the world with family and friends. It was a year that we made some pretty big decisions about our future (not yet shared here!), and one that had a lot of amazing traveling in it …

Continue reading “The Year 2013: A Review” →