Author: Keith Klein

Barbados – February 20-28

Disembarking from Sea Dream I, we made a two night stop in St.Thomas. The island was still pretty thrashed from the devastating 2017 hurricanes (Irma and Maria). Few hotels had re-opened and there was still a lot of devastation. Virtually every local we spoke with told us that their homes had been destroyed. And pretty much the same story. They tried to ride out the storm in their home and the entire roof got ripped off by the wind. Steel and concrete were no match for the power of Irma. Then, two weeks later, Maria blew in – this time at night, and with an immense amount of rain causing even more severe damage. If you were lucky enough to have insurance, you could rebuild – and a lot of that was happening. If you didn’t have insurance and had good credit, the U.S. government was providing very low interest loans. If you had neither, we understood that you could get a $2,000 grant, but were pretty much out of luck beyond that. In any case, most of the people were very happy to be under the umbrella of the USA and were confident that things were going to get back to normal. But in February 2018 the tourist business remained extremely slow and the island’s economy was hurting.

One highlight for us was a dinner at a place called Mafolie (mafolie.com). High above St. Thomas, where you can’t see things up close, everything looked pretty great!

One thing we’re learning about travel is that you should figure out how your going to get to places before you book them. To get to Barbados from St. Thomas you need to take a flight to Miami first. That’s like flying from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas via San Francisco. But, its all good cuz Barbados is awesome!

We’d only been here one time before. 1993-ish on a cruise. On that trip we had about 6 hours of island time and really didn’t remember anything. That was our loss. Barbados is a remarkable island. The people are super nice, humble, family oriented, great looking, well dressed and very proud of their island.  While walking through historic Bridgetown, we saw a huge parade of Girls Scouts, Camp Fire Girls and Brownies.

Due to the island’s extremely unique geology, the water supply here is one of the world’s purest. The island is composed mainly of limestone – otherwise knows as coral rock. As the rain falls, it gets filtered through these coral sheets into creeks and aquifers.

This geology lesson is courtesy of Harrison’s Caves, one of Barbados’s biggest attractions (www.harrisonscave.com). The caves are explored by a tram that goes 160 feet deep.

Awesome stalactites and stalagmites too. More fun geology – stalactites hang from the ceiling (note the “c” in stalactite) and stalagmites come up from the ground (get it, there’s a “g”). The caverns themselves are pretty awesome and you get to see all the coral filtered water running through them.

Our Airbnb was located on the west side of the island which faces the placid blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Most of the exclusive resorts and restaurants are located on this coast.

Weather patterns – and hurricanes – come from the east, which keeps the west mostly tranquil. The less developed east coast faces the Atlantic Ocean and can get pretty rough.

Best move in Barbados was to meet up with a cool cab driver named Michael Jackson. Yes, that is his real name. Great for marketing. It’s a name you don’t forget. We hooked up with him on our third day and he became our guide for the week. If you need a driver in Barbados, we suggest you call or send Michael an email at 1-246-850-7902 or mjacksonz1420@gmail.com

After Harrison’s Caves, he suggested going to the east side of the island to visit Bathsheba, known for its ferocious rolling waves. There’s a surf spot called the “Soup Bowl” which hosts annual international surfing competitions with the best surfers in the world. And more exciting geology – the waves carve these rocks into cool giant “mushrooms”.

Also at Bathsheba is a great restaurant called “The Round House” which sits just above the pounding surf (roundhousebarbados.com). If you visit you’ll get great food and awesome views. Taking a walk down closer to the beach we were pelted by heavy wind and warm rain.

Michael also took us to St. Nicholas Abbey, a sugar plantation, rum factory and museum which was built in 1658. Very cool example of old-school island wealth from England. (Stnicholasabbey.com) If you’re in Barbados, we recommend a trip here for a taste of culture.

Another super cool attraction is the Barbados Wildlife Reserve (barbadoswildlifereserve.com) Kind of a cross between a zoo and a park. After a small admission fee, you tour around and see monkeys, deer, turtles, peacocks and other animals walking freely.  In secure areas, you can see cool tropical birds, iguanas and gnarly snakes (which is weird because they say that there are no snakes in Barbados, so why would you bring some there?)

It is a huge understatement to say that there are tons of great beaches here. Far too many to mention. But highlights for us were Bottom Bay where Shawn found some coconuts and Mullins Beach where the bartender made me his very special whiskey cocktail.

Restaurants here are also top notch. We had four great meals. A terrific lunch at Lobster Alive (www.lobsteralive.net). On Sunday afternoon there is live jazz and huge lobsters on the beach in Bridgetown.

Lunch at the super exclusive Sandy Lane resort (www.sandylane.com ) – which was just up the street from our Airbnb – was also terrific.  Several cabbies told us – so it must be true – that Tiger Woods rented out this entire resort for his wedding. Other prominent guests include Simon Cowell and everyone’s favorite Bajan (meaning “of or from Barbados”) Rihanna.

BTW, Rihanna is a Bajan treasure. Apparently she recently played a huge concert in Barbados. When it was done, instead of leaving in a limo bristling with security, she got in a small SUV by herself and drove away. Just like a local. In any case, lunch was awesome and the resort itself is spectacular. If someone else is paying – cheapest room is $1200 per night – this is the place to stay!

We had a great dinner at CinCin (cincinbythesea.com) which was walking distance from our place. Great food and a very elegant place to see an amazing sunset.

Our favorite meal was dinner at restaurant in Holetown called The Tides (tidesbarbados.com). Recently remodeled and super elegant, it sits directly on the water and is fabulous. If you are going to Barbados, a stop here is a must.

Best day in Barbados was a five hour cruise on a 56 foot luxury catamaran called Cool Runnings IV (coolrunningsluxury.com). They limit the number of guests to 18 and the chef prepares a spectacular lunch along with snacks, appetizers and a tremendous dessert. Open bar is another nice feature 😎. The boat makes several stops to dive in the warm, pristine water – including one where you can swim with a bunch of sea turtles. The crew (picture below in the cat’s salon) are young, energetic and cool. It’s a great day. If you have only one day in Barbados, I would choose to do this!

Overall, Barbados is an amazing island. Probably our favorite in the Caribbean.

Now we are off to Bogotá, Colombia for the start of two months in South America!

Sea Dream I

February 10-17

Tammy Cane is a great travel agent – and a super friend. If you need some high-end travel, she’s your ticket (email her at tammycanetravel@gmail.com).

We had a week open in February and she suggested a booking on Sea Dream I departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its a small ship – they call it “yachting, not cruising” – with about 90 well seasoned passengers and 100 crew.

After one night in Old San Juan, where we picked up some cool Panama hats, we made our way to the ship.

Check-in was a breeze. Cocktails flowed freely and the Thai masseuse team generously doled out the backrubs. But it was a bit nerve-racking. With everyone checking each other out, Shawn said “this feels just like sorority rush!” But an hour later as the boat motored out of the harbor and the bartenders lured us in for a couple of chardonnays and a Pain Killer (that’s an island cocktail, not oxycontin), its all good. Actually, way more than good!

There are the mandatory sailing rituals which can be attended to after opening wine in your state room.

First the safety briefing. Then, a presentation of the ship’s itinerary by Gopher the Chief Purser and a greeting from Captain Stubing and this voyage is off and yachting.

The Sea Dream was first commissioned in the 80’s and in some ways it shows its age. But what it lacks in youth is made up in class and superb service. Every chair and lounge cushion looks new. The furniture is high quality and in great shape. The crew is as friendly and service oriented as I’ve ever seen. They know your name after one day and – oh, excuse me, they are just bringing around another tray of shrimp – will get you pretty much anything you’d like.

Did I say that drinks are complimentary? Again, pretty much anything you’d like. Except for high end wine, which they do have for an extra (not obscene) charge and top shelf scotch or even a caviar splurge (seen below) , its all included. By the way, the complementary wine selections which change each night are quite good and the food is excellent.

Enough about the ship. Or is it a yacht? Somewhere in between I guess. A rough ride out of San Juan – one of the roughest we were told, which caused Shawn a bit of yacht sickness – leads us to the first port of call, St. John, USVI. We take the tender off the “yacht” and end up at The Hideaway – a little beach bar – where we try to get our bearings and another Pain Killer. We meet a very nice couple from upstate New York that tell us to somehow get to a bar/grill called Skinny Legs on the other side of the island in Coral Bay. It’s roof was blown off in Hurricane Irma and Kenny Chesney had just bought them a new one. Guess we had to go, right?

So we look for a cab, just like tourists, when a local guy name Alphonso whispers – “hey mon, you need a car”. So, hoping there really would be a car to rent, we followed him down an alley to a little fast food place that, in the back, had a sign saying Happy Trails rent-a-car. About twenty minutes and $60 cash later, we were driving a Toyota with every “needs service” idiot light on the dashboard illuminated. The island is only about 12 miles long, so we went with it.

Driving out of Cruz Bay you pass by several beautiful beaches and bays. Caneel Bay, Hawksnest Bay, Maho Bay and more. You can see the blue water, bright white powdered sugar sand and lush palm trees. We drove by a particular very private development called Peter Bay with huge homes perched on cliffs above the light blue sea. If you ever get invited to Peter Bay, I suggest you go. Super blingy!

After about 30 minutes on winding roads, Shawn gets us to Skinny Legs in Coral Bay. It’s just like you would think. A small bar that will make you any kind of drink you want as long as it has rum in it. And will serve you any kind of food so long as it’s a cheeseburger.

After the gourmet experience, we got back in the Toyota and headed to Hawksnest Beach for the water, palm trees, white sand – and some donkeys.

Next port was Anguilla. That’s an-gwee-lah. Like Hava Nagilah. Gareth, the Club Director was leading a bike ride to Shoal Bay – so we decided to go. 16 miles total. Not the most scenic trip through the middle of the island. But the finish line at Shoal Bay is pretty impressive. A great beach bar and beautiful resorts on another amazing white sand beach.

That night we set sail for St. Barths. On the way, Gareth told us that the next day would be the island’s Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras celebration – and that they took it pretty seriously. BTW – St. Barths is a standout in the Caribbean. Gustavia, the main port is very glitzy. This is where the big blingy yachts park. Designer shops line the streets along with awesome bars and restaurants. Jimmy Buffet has a house overlooking the harbor and they say that he wrote “Cheeseburger in Paradise” while sitting at Le Select.

After Shawn did some quick and decisive shopping – all the shops were closing at 1:00 for the festivities – we settled in at a bar right on the main thoroughfare. Shawn started a conversation with the cute twenty-something girl next to us because they had both been eyeing the same skirt at a nearby shop. She told Shawn that a boutique around the corner also had some good stuff but she better get there fast because they were about to close.

While making a beeline for the exit, Shawn bumped their table and knocked over her drink. We both offered to buy a new one but were rebuffed with a smile. “No need”, replied the thirty-something kid from New York next to me. “But why don’t you buy us all a round of shots?” And that’s how it started.

Shawn returned to a table of five empty Patron Silver shot glasses. And we were now best of friends.

The two young guys were brothers from New York who had been coming to St. Barths’ Mardi Gras for the last fifteen years. They said that their parents send them and their girlfriends to this particular bar every year to hold one of the street side tables before the Fat Tuesday parade revs up. So, it seemed, we were in a good spot.

Then they decided to return the favor with a second round of Patron shots. About 30 minutes later their parents showed up – probably a little concerned about the lurky fifty-somethings hanging out with their kids – and they bought another round of shots. I think there were a couple more rounds of shots and we were ready for the parade. The bar was packed. The street was rocking. Lots of costumes, music and just a great deal of fun. I could write more, but I think the pictures tell the story better.

 

The next couple of days were spent in Nevis and St. Kitts. We didn’t see too much of them, just some great beaches and bars. Again, we never missed a meal or a complementary wine or cocktail!

We met a bunch of cool people on the boat. We hung out with Mickey, Vikki, John and Stephanie from Virginia. And Sylvia and Junior from Sao Paolo. Also Adnan, the extraordinary waiter and the staff of the on-board Thai Spa which we sampled a few times. Great massages and facials!

It’s now time to disembark Sea Dream I, just as we’re starting to hit our groove in the Caribbean. We’re off to St. Thomas for a couple days and then Barbados till the end of February.

 

 

Turks & Caicos – February 1 to February 8

I didn’t know where Grand Turk was. Who would? It lies just south of the Bahamas in the Caribbean sea. If you want to go somewhere off the grid and relax on soft white sand, this is the place for you. If you are looking for night life and end up here, you have likely selected incorrectly.

Grand Turk is mainly known as the site that Columbus may have first landed as he searched for the “new world” and as the place Colonel John Glenn splashed down in 1962 after being the first man to orbit the earth in a space craft.  It is amazing that someone would agree to hurtle through space and land in the ocean in this tiny sheet metal capsule.

Damage from last year’s hurricanes is still pretty evident, but the island is resilient. The natural beauty, however, trumps all. Dawna, the owner of our AirBnB met us at the airport with her golf cart and two of her dogs, Ducky and Indie. She was a bit shocked that we had so much luggage, but we managed to all pile in (with the dogs) for the short ride in a golf cart to her place.
After a 10 minute drive – on the wrong/left side of the road, cuz its the British West Indies –  we arrived at Dawna’s place which is beautiful. It’s very modern, has a great kitchen, nice living room and an air-conditioned bedroom with a comfortable king size bed. There is a fully screened in porch which allows us to keep the ocean-facing doors wide open. Past the screened porch, there is another deck with lounge chairs. Beyond that deck there is a pristine white sand beach. The water is a iridescent light blue and is super clear for about 200 yards out. At that point it turns dark blue. The light blue is a shelf and the dark blue is an underwater wall which drops off about 7,000 feet creating the third largest coral reef in the world.

The deck is west facing and each night the sunsets have been incredible!

 

The diving here is pretty spectacular. Dawna hooked us up with Blue Water Divers. Henry, Kristen, Lani, Josh and Kendry took us on four awesome dives over two days. We saw big manta rays, sea turtles, huge crabs, and tons of fish. The whales migrate near here and they told us to listen for the whale sounds while underwater. I didn’t hear them but Shawn did. Super cool!


Our dive masters – who were in their late 20’s and 30’s and from Australia, England and Canada – invited us to their “deck” (seen below) for beers at sunset. The “deck” was right on the beach and had a awesome view of the sunset. Was really fun hanging out with them.


We also met some other “travel friends” while diving and the group of us met at a place called the Bohio Resort to watch the Super Bowl. That was pretty fun too.

There are lots of dogs here called “pot cakes”. They are super friendly. The story is that they used to eat the food that was stuck to the bottom of the cooking pots after the families had eaten. Also, we’re told that only the most friendly would survive, so the one’s that are left are pretty lovable.


Our Brompton bikes have been a huge hit here. We’ve ridden them every day. The island is only 7 miles long so we bike everywhere. Everyone wants to know, “Where you get your fine bike, where can I get one and it’s expensive man….?”. They think we are sorcerers when we fold them up. So far they’ve been incredibly fun and worth the carry.


The few restaurants here are not particularly great. Our best meals, by far, have been cooked at the AirBnB. Shawn went to the place where the fisherman bring in their catch at the end of the day – which is about 200 yards up the road – and bought a big fish for $25. There was a very loud and animated 20 minute “discussion” amongst the fishermen when she asked for it to be filleted. But they finally did it and we made great fish tacos.

Our week in Grand Turk went by really fast.  Dawna was a great host.  She made sure our place was clean, hooked us up with great diving, took us to the super market (which was still having trouble from the hurricanes keeping fully stocked), made us great homemade spaghetti sauce and cheesecake, and just in general made us feel super welcome!  We’d recommend this place to anyone visiting Grand Turk.

Next stop for us was Providenciales.  Provo is where the action is in Turks & Caicos.  We stayed one night at the Villas Del Mar in Grace Bay – which is absolutely gorgeous.  Beautiful white sand, Carribean blue ocean and fabulous resorts.  Our one day here was great – except for when Shawn beat me at Scrabble 262 to 261.

Now we are off to San Juan via Santa Domingo, and Tortola to catch Sea Dream I for a cruise through the Caribbean!

 

Manhattan Beach, CA — Time on The Strand

Sometime in mid-2016 we decided to travel for a year. It was discussed and discussed amongst ourselves and friends. At the end of all that we determined it was something we just wanted to do.
OK, so I may have missed a step. In late 2015 we received a major cash infusion (and immediate unemployment) from a liquidity event at a biotech startup that I’d been with for a while which made it all a bit more palatable. But it was still a big life change that required a lot of thought. And then a lot of planning. But that is all behind us now so we won’t belabor those details. You know how it worked out.
We decided that Shawn would need some time to wind down her psychology practice so we wouldn’t embark until January 2018. It was early 2017, but we were still kind of in denial that it was really going to happen. In late spring, June Emerson told us that if we wanted to sell our house in Agoura by the end of the year, we’d better put it on the market right away. So we did and it sold in a week. It turned out to be superb advice.
So we closed on our house in August, packed our stuff in two giant storage units, and then Leslie Chalmers magically hooked us up with Dr. John and Carol Stratton – owners of 2404 The Strand, other wise known as THE Patio™️. Surrounded by three story mega-mansions, it’s one of the last cottages left on The Strand. Built in the 20’s (I think), its 1,000 square feet happily retain that eras character and charm. And it’s on the best part of the beach. The best waves are there. Incredible volleyball right out front by some of the best players including, by my observation, at least two Olympic Gold medalists and an NBA MVP.
I went to meet with Carol within hours after Leslie hooked us up and signed a lease through December 31 (the Stratton’s would later graciously allow us to extend a month after we realized it would be idiotic to try and move during the holidays). Shawn had a lot of questions since she hadn’t seen it, but I assured her it would be OK. Easy promise to keep.
The Strand is a magic place. All day long the promenade rolls on by. It’s the social hub of the South Bay. Everyone runs into everyone on The Strand. Great looking people. Even better looking dogs. And for the most part, everyone is smiling.
Between the picket fence and the Pacific Ocean lie a walking path, a bike path and about150 yards of perfect beach. The ocean is mesmerizing. Always different. Always awesome. And every evening the sun sets right out the front window. Having good friends over for wine, cheese and a front row seat to an ocean sunset never gets old. Super addictive.
Over the past 6 months Shawn and I have experienced Manhattan Beach in the best way. Our fall and winter was 97% sun. Paraphrasing an SNL parody of LaVar Ball – “nevva not sunny, nevva”. Terrific events as well. The Ladies Sunset Cocktail Party, Hometown Fair, Bars on Bikes, the “kids come home from college ‘epic’ – per Grant Chalmers – day before Thanksgiving party”, Christmas Pier Lighting Festival, Holiday Fireworks (that one is particularly good – especially when its 75 degrees at 8:00pm). Did you know that Santa cruises the streets of Manhattan Beach in a fully decked out sled pulled by a truck and stops on pretty much every street with spot lights so you can sit with your family and friends and take photos?

I did not know that.

And just a ton of great days, playing beach tennis, stand up paddling, riding bikes to PV, Venice and mostly just on the Strand. Also so fun running into old friends we hadn’t seen in a long time. Perhaps the best part was just hanging out on The Patio at sunset eating the very best cheese plates from the Shawnee the “CheeseMaster” herself.
But before we knew it, our embarkation date of February 1 quickly approached. The Walsh’s had us over for an awesome bon voyage dinner in Agoura. And the Chalmers honored us with an “over the top” bon voyage extravaganza in MB. So strange to get so much attention for just going on a long vacation. But we felt the love and appreciated it to the core.
Sold our cars (well, not the Porsche) and packed the rest of our belongings in our storage units. A couple more amazing sunsets on The Patio, and before we knew it we were “ubering” to LAX at 12:30am on Feb. 1 for the red-eye to Miami and then Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos. We each have a suitcase (49.9 lbs each) and a Brompton bike. Not sure how the bikes are going to work out, but they seem like a good idea right now!
Out for now, but hope to have a full report while “breezin on” from Grand Turk.