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Birthday Weekend-La Porte/Michigan City, Indiana

July 2, 2013 Andi Leave a comment

This past weekend Don took me on a surprise getaway for my birthday…this has sort of been the tradition for the past 4 years haha. Do I expect it…sorta…haha. He is the best.

We left Friday (June 21) after work around 6:30. The drive wasn’t too bad and it only took about an hour and a half or 2 hours. The destination was a bed and breakfast in La Porte, Indiana called Arbor Hill Inn. We arrived around 8 and checked in. The place looked very nice. The outside of the B&B looked cool. We were very hungry so we decided to go out and eat.

When we left Arbor Hill Inn I could see there was a very large lake nearby. The lake was called Pine Lake. There are a whole bunch of lakes in La Porte. We decided to eat at Mexican restaurant nearby that had very good reviews. It was called La Bracero. The food was great.

When we came back to the B&B there was dessert waiting for us. This was one of Don’s surprises. There was a cheesecake and a chocolate mousse type of thing, it was the Arbor Hill Special.

The next morning we woke up and went to breakfast around 8:30.

Breakfast was sausage, fruit, and mini waffles. I am usually not a fan of waffles but these were delicious.

After breakfast we went to Stone Lake. We hung out for awhile and relaxed. Then we decided we would grill here. Don of course brought a ton of stuff to grill haha so we were grilling for awhile.

At around 3 we decided to go over to Indiana Dunes State Park. It was about a 20 minute drive. We stopped at Mount Baldy. Mount Baldy is a big sand dune. We hiked around it to get to Lake Michigan. Usually you can climb up to the top of Mount Baldy but the trail was closed off. It was really cool looking and Lake Michigan was beautiful as always.

Then we went back to the B&B and got cleaned up. We wanted to check out a Polish Festival in town. There wasn’t much at the festival but we each got a Polish Sausage and a beer. Then we decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Blackhawks/Boston Game 5. The Blackhawks won so that was great! It was a really good game.

On Sunday we woke up and had breakfast about the same time. Breakfast was french toast with sausage and fruit. It was okay. We got all of stuff and checked out of the Arbor Hill Inn. Then we drove over to Michigan City so we would try Shoreline Brewery. We first stopped by an outlet mall near the brewery and Don got some new dress shoes.

We got a beer flight at Shoreline.

Most of the beers were pretty good. And there was enough in each glass for us both to try them. We then ordered Fried Pickles and the Scotch Egg appetizers. Both were great. I think the Fried Pickles were some of the best I’ve had. Then we had the Fried Calamari because it was different, it had feta and banana peppers in it. We also ordered the pork sliders. The pork sliders were not as good as they sounded. Overall though I was happy with Shoreline Brewery. We got carrot cake for dessert. It was a little too big but good.

That was how we ended our weekend getaway…..can’t wait for the next one!

Food Blog, Reviews, Travel

Last Day Heading to Airport…

April 19, 2013 Andi Leave a comment

Today we had breakfast at our hotel. We were able to pack and relax. Don’s dad and brother picked us up around 12 because this was when we had to check out. They told us that they were not planning on picking us up until 2 because they thought this was when check out was…

So then we picked up Tita Remy and Pong again. It was good to see them again, we had thought last night would be the last time. Then we headed to Angeles City to get lunch. In my head I was hoping and craving for something American. When we got to Angeles City (it was about a 20 minute drive) I saw a lot of Western Style Restaurants. In my head though I was thinking…we won’t be eating that.

I was wrong. We went to a restaurant called Rumpa. There were white people there! hahaa. It was American style food. And it was pretty good! I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Don got fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Pong had barbecue and it was very good. We all tried each other’s food. It was a nice change of pace.

After we ate we all got back in the car. We then drove around and went by a mall. I did not want to go in the mall….ugh I hate shopping! For some reason we didn’t stop. We drove by Clark Air Base. It did not look like much. There were a few old airplanes on display. You could see the barracks where people lived. The area looked very American.

We were going to stop at a place called Nayo Ng Pilipino. It was basically people dressed up and showing the different cultures in the Philippines. We didn’t do it though because it was already 2 pm and it was so hot!

So on the way back we did stop at the mall. Don looked for a case for the new Samsung. We didn’t find one. Basically no one bought anything. It was so crowded and I was afraid someone would step on my injured toe. I was happy to leave the mall.

So then we made our way back to San Fernando. There was so much traffic! We dropped off Tita Remy and Pong and said our goodbyes. Then it was me, Don, Fiona, and Sean in the backseat again. Off to Manila to the airport. I don’t think I have ever been more ready to be back in the US. This was a long trip. I think it felt especially long because for the last half of it we were just being driven around. It was very nice of Don’s dad and his brother to take time off and drive us around everywhere. We saw things that would have been difficult to see on our own. And we were able to see family easily. I am appreciative of that. But it felt like weeks haha…I was ready to be back in my own bed and eating things without worrying.

Ahh…but the ride there was so long. The traffic in Manila is unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it in the US. It was also hard to see the poverty in the Philippines. It was very eye opening.

Once we got to the airport it was about 7 pm. Korean Airlines were not open yet so we got in a line. We were about 3rd in line and we were told they would open around 830 pm. So much waiting! The airport was crazy crowded.

We met a guy from Maryland. He talked a lot, so that passed some time in the line. Finally at 830 we were able to check in. Then we went through security and tried to find a place to eat. We had to eat right when we entered after security because there were no restaurants at the gate. We found a crowded restaurant and got some food. I had a chicken noodle soup that was actually pretty good. Don got some pork rolls that we shared.

We went to the gate around 10 and waited because our flight was not until 1145 pm. We finally boarded…on time and left. 4 hours and we would be in South Korea. We had the tv screens again so I put on some documentary and tried to fall asleep. I don’t think I slept much though. It felt like a long flight…

Bloggings, Food Blog, Snorkeling, Travel

El Nido-Island Hopping Tour B

April 12, 2013 Andi Leave a comment

Today we went on Island Hopping Tour B. There were 5 other people with us.

The first stop they just let us jump off the boat and snorkel around. I believe it was Pangulasian Island. There were a lot of jellyfish here, but it was a good snorkeling site. There were a lot of fish and coral. I did feel like I was getting stung though but I didn’t think I got near a jellyfish, maybe it was all in my head.

The second location was Snake Island; this is also where we had lunch. There was a little trail you could take up to the top of Snake Island. It took about 5 minutes to get to the top. The view was so pretty.

Then we walked back down and got in the water. There wasn’t much to see, it was very clear but mostly grass and rocks. After swimming around for awhile we had our lunch. The island was really beautiful.

The next stop was Cudognon Cave. This was very cool. We started out by going through a small opening into the cave.

Once inside there were some really cool rock formations. I think there were bats but we didn’t actually see them…

After we came out of the cave we were able to snorkel. We saw a lot of fish here.

The 3rd stop on the tour was Cathedral Cave. We didn’t actually stop here we just floated by in it the boat very slowly. Unfortunately I didn’t get very good pictures of the interior of the cave. You could see it open up into a big room from the boat, but the pictures did not turn out.

We were able to see the the Lagen Resort on the way to the last stop. It is very expensive to stay here…maybe someday. We are more budget travelers right now…haha.

The last stop was Pinagbuyutan Island. This was probably one of the most beautiful islands/beaches I have ever seen. There were palm trees every where and some of the softest white sand I have ever seen and felt.
The island looked very cool. We were able to do some snorkeling here and there were some pretty cool fish. The snorkeling was pretty good and maybe my favorite spot in El Nido. It was a great way to end the trip to El Nido.

This fish was very aggressive. I followed it around for awhile. If I got too close to whatever it was protecting it would come at me. It was funny.

I loved this island….

I got a good photo of our resort, Stunning Vistas, on our way back.

They left us a nice design on our bed…

Tonight we decided to watch the sunset. I don’t know what it is about watching sunsets…I’ve never really done it or had an interest in it, but we did it in Santorini and Mykonos and it is quite relaxing. I think the sunset at El Nido was probably the most beautiful one we have seen…

While we were watching the sunset we talked with Alex and Yan. We talked about all the things we had done. They had rented a kayak one day and kayaked to one of the near islands. Yan snorkeled while Alex laid out on the beach. Later there was a man pointing a gun at her telling her the island was private. She got Yan’s attention and they told the guy the didn’t want any trouble. He said it was fine they just had to leave…they got a picture with him and left! hahaha crazy. They did recommend a place in El Nido town for dinner. It was a pizza place. Yan said it was some of the best pizza he ever had. Now we had ate pizza in the Philippines and it had been absolutely disgusting so I was skeptical. Although it sounded really good by the way they were describing it.

So Don and I walked along the beach looking for a place to eat. After no success we decided to go into town and give this pizza place a try. We had some idea where it was so it wasn’t too hard to find. You could see them making the pizza dough right in front and you had to take off your shoes in the restaurant. We left our shoes downstairs and went up to the restaurant. It was awesome looking. Nice wooden floors, a good looking bar. A great atmosphere, unlike anything we had experienced in the Philippines. The food around us looked amazing. People were just ordering whole pizzas for themselves so that’s what we did. I ordered a Margarita Pizza. Don ordered the Prosciutto Pizza because Yan raved about it. We also got a calamari salad for an appetizer. It was so good! The pizzas were amazing. I think it was probably the best Italian style pizza I have ever had. Amazing…great way to end our stay in El Nido. The place was called Altrov’e. If you are in El Nido and craving pizza this is the place.

Bloggings, Food Blog, Travel

San Juan Puerto Rico

October 6, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

Today we woke up around 5 am and quickly got ready. We ran to kinkos real fast to print another luggage tag for the cruise. We decided to check a bag with our fins. Then we got in a cab to head to O’hare.

We had a some breakfast and then had about an hour to spare before boarding. We started boarding on time at 8 am. Once we started moving and getting ready to take off though we sat in one place for a long time. Finally the captain said we had to go back to the gate to get a mechanical issue checked out. That was annoying to hear but also scary.

We went back to the gate and sat. Why is sitting in an unmoving plane so much harder to do than when you are in the air? I get so irritated. Luckily the problem was fixed quicker than I thought it would be. We finally took off around 930 or 10.

The flight was about 5 hours. I hate long flights! We sat next to a family that had 3 young kids. They were cute and luckily they were also well behaved. We landed around 3:30 pm, an hour later than scheduled.

We got outside in San Juan and it was hot! We got a taxi to our hotel. It took about 20 or 30 minutes to get there. I was so tired and hungry.

Our hotel looked very cute when we got here. It’s called Casablanca Hotel. We picked it because we could get a night here free through Hotels.com. The guy at the front desk is from Indiana. He asked how the weather was in Chicago. We found out our room was on the 3rd floor and no elevator. We are used to that by now. I was shocked at how small the room was. It is probably the size of our living room if not smaller with a bed, couch and a tiny tv. It looks nice though.

I quickly changed into some more weather appropriate clothes and got ready to go out. We started walking around Old San Juan. The area is very cool looking and everyone walks. Things are very close. We saw where the cruise ship will take off from.

We were having a hard time finding a place to eat so finally we asked these 2 guys. They gave us 2 restaurants that were authentic Spanish food. We decided on Mojitos. It was pretty good. We had a mashed plantain appetizer. I had skirt steak with fries. Don had a pork chop with rice and beans. The food was good, I ate all of it!

Then we started walking around more. We went down by the water and came to a plaza that had vendors selling food and purses. We got a bag of churros. They were delicious. Then we sat down for awhile because it looked like a concert was getting ready to start. But after sitting for a long while we decided to go back to the hotel because we were tired.

Now we are just chilling in the room. Not really sure what we are doing tomorrow before we get on the ship.

Bloggings, Food Blog

One Year Anniversary

September 24, 2012 Andi Leave a comment

Last week on September 17th we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We had been thinking for awhile about what we should do to celebrate. About a week before I showed Don some restaurant ideas I had came up with. He then told me he had already made reservations somewhere and it was a surprise.

I got out of work a bit early on our anniversary. I was supposed to work until 730 but I left around 7. We both got a little dressed up. It was a nasty rainy day and our reservations were not until 8. We walked around a little bit and then Don decided we would go to the place and see if we could get in early.

We went to the Signature Room inside the Hancock Building on the 95th floor. I was surprised! I didn’t know where we going. When we got up there Don asked for a table by the window but they told us it would be about a 20 minute wait. That was okay because we went to the bar. We both got martinis. It was starting to clear up outside and you could see the city more.

About 20 minutes later our table was ready. There was a rose sitting on my plate and a little card that said Happy Anniversary. There was also champagne, which was really good.

We both ordered a soup. Don had lobster bisque and I had some kind of carrot soup. It was pretty good. For our main meal I had the NY Strip Steak with mashed potatoes and Don had a seafood dish. The steak was very good. All of the food was very good. After the meal we were just sitting there talking and taking pictures. We got on the subject of the best desserts we have had and of course the peanut brittle ice cream pie from Belize came up. We kept talking about it and then all of the sudden the waiter brought out this chocolate pie with peanut brittle and ice cream in the middle. I couldn’t believe it! Don said he asked them to make it. It was huge! After we took some pictures of it the waiter took it back and brought us each a slice while he boxed up the rest. The pie was okay, nothing compared to Belize. But it was just so funny that he did that. Only my husband would do something like that hahaha. We then brought all of our boxes home.

I feel so lucky to be with my husband. He makes every occasion so special.

GarbledSyntax