Gotham Gal

Canyons

Today was our last day skiing/boarding the Canyons.  What a treat.  This is the first time we have ever gone to the Canyons.  I have never been a fan of Park City.  I don't really like the mountain.  Although I do like Deer Valley, the whole vibe but snow boarding is still a no no.  One of the last holdouts for no snowboarding is Deer Valley the others being Alta,Snowbird and Mad River Glen. I admit it is hard to board and ski on the same mountain.  Different traversing makes way for more accidents.  Alas.

The Canyons happens to be the third largest mountain in North America.  The other two are Vail and Whistler.   The far left side of the Canyons is an area called the Colony which eco-friendly.  Won many awards because of it.  Beautiful homes among the trees and trails.  Fantastic tree skiing with bumps all around.  Incredible surroundings. 

Presently, The Canyons is for sale.  Lots of speculation out here on who is going to buy it.  The present owners sold off their other 6 properties and the Canyons it the last left.  The Talisker Company (who owns Deer Valley) is supposedly going to buy it but there were some glitches through the courts.  In the long run, if Talisker bought The Canyons they could actually connect Deer Valley to the Canyons.  When you ski up to the last lift in the Canyons, far left, you can see Deer Valley.  Will Deer Valley then open to boarders?  Who knows.

There is a lot of real estate being built in the Canyons.  An entire mountain that is connected to the Canyons will possibly be developed this year for more skiing/boarding.  This would expand the Canyons to be perhaps the largest mountain in North America.  Lots of cranes are around and many homes as well as condos to sell.  Yet, I believe they are a little late to the party.

For us, the beauty of Utah is how many flights leave daily from NYC  to SLC.  Also, your flight generally makes it.  Whereas Aspen can be a nightmare.  Only if the gods are with you, do you make it in with out any hassle to Vail and Aspen.  Utah is pretty much a no brainer and the mountains ( Deer Valley, The Canyons and Park City ) are each five minutes apart and only about 40 minutes from the airport.  It is pretty sweet.

I am going to keep an eye on the real estate up here.  There is no doubt in my mind that 10 years from now this area will be bigger than the Vail/Beaver Creek area but as I said earlier, they are a bit late to the party.  Whoever ends up owning the property is going to probably want to get a better deal than the original $100M that has been on the table.  Prices will most definitely drop in order for them to finance the completion of all the new properties.  I suspect at least a 30% (if not more) deduction in price over the next few years.   There is also a need to put money into the property from the restaurants to the lifts.  High speed chairs would be a big help and also some new runs to make it easier to get down the mountain from high traffic areas.  All costs money and right now I don't see a lot of cash flowing in based on the economy. 

I am looking forward to returning to the Canyons.  Really nice mountain with lots of potential down the line.
Will be an interesting place to watch over the years to come. 

It's Snowing

It was dumping out this morning.  Fred, Josh and Jess went in to the back country while Emily and I contemplate our day. It is still questionable what we will do.

CNN is on mute while I watched Hilary make a speech today in North Carolina.  I admit, I voted for Hillary in the primary but at this point, I've had enough.  Enough of the every day polls that say Hillary supporters will vote for McCain.  Spare me.  I want to know what is truly happening in the back rooms at the DNC.  Is Schumer or Dean (where is he?) pressing for unity at this point?  How many months are the American people going to have to watch this contest which I believe is over.  The country has been through enough turmoil over the past 7 years.  Where we stand today is proof.  Bush continues to talk about how fantastic he is and how everything is just A-ok.  We can't afford the war we are in, we are in debt up to our eyeballs, the rest of the world is not that happy with us, the dollar sucks, we are falling into a recession...need I go on?

Now is the time for unity within the Democratic party.  I hate to tell Hillary but she isn't going to win.  Obama is going to be the Democratic candidate and hopefully be the next President of the United States.  Please don't let this go until the convention.  We need unity now not only for the party but for the people of this country.  The endless backstabbing (coming mostly from the Clinton party) does not look good for anyone and it looks even worse for Bill's legacy, at least in the short term. 

Hillary and Obama need to stand on a stage together and acknowledge the support of each other's candidacy's.  Take off the rose colored glasses and realize who is the front runner and move on.  The numbers point directly to Obama and the chances of Hillary winning now are slim to none.  I do not believe the slim part is worth the destruction that is being left in its path.  The newspapers can't even afford to keep reporters on the daily trail anymore.  Let's unite and move on.  Make it grand and glorious and do it together on one stage.  Hillary must get out there, accept her loss, acknowledge Obama and hit the trail making sure he is the next President of the US.  Either Obama should pick Hill as his VP or pick someone who has a true understanding of global economics to get this country back in gear, such as Mike Bloomberg.  But for everyones sake, lets move on.

I, for one, have had enough.

More on hitting the slopes

There is really nothing like a day of skiing/boarding.  Being outdoors all day, flying down the mountain, working the muscles and just enjoying the fresh air.  Frankly, I'm exhausted.

Fred and I ski like we are still 18.  Big mistake.  I have figured out how to hit the moguls on a board and I hit a winner today and landed so hard I will be lucky to walk tomorrow.  Fred flew face down a few moguls today after "going for it" and he is concerned about his knee.  Do we sound old?  Too bad we aren't the types that enjoy the pace of the blue runs all day.  No, we actually think we can keep up with our kids.  Ha!

One of the most unfortunate places about Utah is that after a hard day at the slopes you really would like a stiff drink.  Not in Utah.  You can only get one and a half ounces at a time.  It used to be an ounce but they passed a new law this week upping the ante for another half an ounce.  My sister in law and I ordered martinis at dinner and we got barely half a glass.  I considered ordering two at the same time but they don't react favorably to that.  So when in Utah, order bottles of wine. 

Had dinner at Ruth Chris's tonight.  My arteries are clogging up as I write the post.   Tomorrow I am putting on a pair of skis, bagging the board and hitting the slopes.  Looking forward to it. 

This picture is my favorite.  We got back to the room and Josh and my nieces hit up the computer to video chat with Josh's friends.  Gotta love it. 

Skiing Utah

We have a hit a new high.  Everyone can put on their own equipment and board the slopes without us.  Truly beautiful.

When we got in yesterday, I was shattered.  The kids wanted to hit the slopes asap but Fred and I were thinking about getting groceries and taking a nap.  It worked out for everyone.  They are coming in tomorrow.

The place we are staying is perfect.  Good accommodations, free wi-fi for all and comfy.  We are at the Lodges at Deer Valley.  My sister in law chose it because their kids are at Deer Valley ski school which is fine with us.  Everything is very close.

We headed out to Mustangs for dinner last night.  Good meal, huge portions and loads of butter.  A little too many creative liberties but it worked.  We played a killer round of Apples to Apples and headed home for a good night sleep before hitting the slopes.

Honolulu

How could we not stop in Honolulu on the way out.  We had a driver pick us up at the airport, haul us around town all day and then back to the airport.  Made life quite simple and we got to see a lot of the island with out much hassle. 

First thing was Pearl Harbor.  It is really important to get there early.  You stand in a line where they give you a ticket which tells you what time you get to see the USS Arizona.  We got there at 1045 and our ticket was for 2pm.  That gives you an idea of how many people are there.  You can check out other things in that area but we decided to leave and return for the 2pm event. 

We drove over to the Dole Pineapple factory which for all intensive purposes doesn't really exist anymore.  They own lots of land and there is a small train tour and a huge maze and of course the retail area but picking pineapples and canning them in Hawaii is a dying business.  Every pineapple is grown and picked by hand, no machine.  Labor costs are too high and a few years ago the Government stopped subsidizing pineapple farming.  Needless to say we had a variety of conversations around subsidizing and what we each thought about it.  In the end, we decided that subsidizing is something that should be in a five year plan.  Help create other businesses in the area but not pull the plug one random day but have some type of Grandfather clause built in.  Maybe it does work that way but we weren't sure.  The question is what is Dole going to do with all the property that they own.  The land is worth plenty.  Time will tell.  We basically took a walk through the gardens, bought some pineapple goodies and got back in the car.

We drove over to the North Shore where serious surfing goes on when the waves are high.  Today, the waves were dead, actually like a bath tub.  The area is like a step back into the 60's.  I said the area was very organic, Jess said it looked like they smoked a lot of pot.  I think she was right on the money.  A very mellow part of the world.  One guy has a store where he paints surfboards and cranks out music with his kids.  Our favorite spot was the local shrimp buses.  Shrimp, supposedly local at one point but doubtfully now, is served up in a variety of ways from local buses that have been written all over.  We went with the shrimp with lemon sauce, 5 corn and an Oaju bowl which was granola, sliced bananas and a mixed ice berry sauce.  All very good.  Loved the local vibe too.

We drove back down to Pearl Harbor after lunch and were there about 15 minutes before check in.  Just enough time to check out the museum.  This is probably one of the best memorials that I have ever been too.   Believe me, growing up I went to plenty.  My father worked for and in the navy and I saw my share of boats and memorial.  Pearl Harbor was really well done.  First you see a short documentary to give you the history of the actual day and what happened leading up to it.  Then you get on a boat and go out to the actual memorial.  The memorial looks like a the bones of a white open hull that is about to be closed in and turned into a big ship.  It is set on top of where the USS Arizona sunk.  The USS Arizona has never been moved, all the people who died there, stayed there.  Inside the memorial there is also a wall with every persons name who died that day on the USS Arizona as well as other people who served on that ship that requested to be buried there.  Very moving and really well done.  Talking about WWII with the kids afterward and then talking about what is happening in Iraq now is food for thought.  Young men were signing up during WWII to serve for their country, the US came together and we moved out of the worst economic downfall.  Now we are entering a questionable economic period with a war that has and is costing us millions and nobody wants to go because we aren't exactly fighting for our freedom.  Love hearing the kids talk about this stuff.

When the tour ended, we got back in the car and drove over to Waikiki beach.  A beautiful park that buts against the beach with high end shopping ( think Madison Avenue ).  The water is so packed with swimmers, surfers, sailors, etc that is looks like a playground.  Very cool.  We hung out at the hotel which is owned by Westin but the hotel is over 100 years old and had a drink on the water.   Lower right hand pic.

We left and drove up past Waikiki and into Diamond Head.  You can drive up to the park.  From afar Diamond Head looks intense but once you drive in there you see a huge crater where a park resides.  Really beautiful.   We also got to drive through some of the highest end real estate on the island.  Sweet spot.  See picture below.

At this point we had bagged all the Hawaiian fare and went decided to go to Sasbune for dinner.  We had dinner there before in Los Angeles and New York.  Unbelievable sushi, we went for the omikase.  I could go on and on but the high point was calamari that had been stuffed with Brazilian crab meat, sliced into pieces with a ponzo sauce and toasted sesame seeds over it.  A total wow wow wow.  Each piece of sushi was better than the next.  Well worth the experience.  Ambiance, forget about it, it is a hole in the wall but the sushi is unforgettable. 

We got on a plane out at 945 pm and headed to Salt Lake City to spend the week with my brother, his wife and their brood to hit the slopes.

A great week.  Relaxing and different.  Not racing back but glad we checked it out.    The word of the week, was Maholo.  Here is the sign which I couldn't resist and take a picture of.

Aloha and Maholo.

Sansei...last dinner on the Big Island

Sansei is a family style Asian/sushi restaurant.  The food comes out really quick.  Almost as quick as ordering Chinese food to be delivered in NYC.  I swear they can feel you calling and know what you are going to order based on how quick they come.  It is frightening. 

We decided to go with the flow and order some of the specialties as long as garlic wasn't part of it.  As a whole, the food is not bad but don't go for the ambiance, there is none.  A big huge overly lit fern barn. 

First thing up was the special mango crab roll which is wrapped in lettuce and served with a spicy Thai sauce.  It was quite good and creative.  We ordered another one after we polished off our first round.  Wasn't as good the second time.  You know how that is.  We also had the butter fish which was excellent.  First time we ever had butter fish was in South Africa.  Very rich white fish that they had marinated in miso and grilled.  Delicious.  We ordered a second one which was still a hit on round two.  Seaweed salad was served in a martini glass - classic simple and light.  The special of the night was carpaccio hamachi with a slice of spicy red pepper on top served in a ponzu sauce but under each piece of fish was a mayonnaise glob which was so not necessary and didn't come off so easily.  Thumbs down on that.   Had a few classics, eel roll and yellow tail roll.  The fish was fresh and tasty.  I actually tossed in when nobody was looking a spicy crab roll just to try and I would pass on that next time around.

As a whole, the food was OK and the place was comical.  There are a few Sansei's throughout Hawaii.  Think Italian family style but Asian food instead. 

Not vaccinating your kid?

In the New York Times today was an article about parents who have rejected to vaccinate their children.  Why?  Stupidity would be the first thing that comes to my mind but I am not sure that is it. 

There has been much speculation in the past years about autism being tied to vaccinations.  Many pediatricians have said that the onset of autism actually happens at the time when kids are entering the age where they are being vaccinated for multiple things.  I remember when the kids were young being amazed at the vaccination schedules.  These are one of many things you learn about being a parent.  I always thought it was fascinating how out of the womb comes this perfect human being who is completely untouched and then over the process of the first few years of their life they are inoculated  from a variety of harmful diseases that could harm them.  Historically many of these diseases such as small pox, measles, tuberculosis and now even chicken pox have medications that will hopefully make sure that nobody gets these harmful diseases again.  Actually it is quite brilliant.  The downside is as we inoculate ourselves against disease, other diseases crop up. 

I made the decision to inoculate the kids against chicken pox because every time I tried to expose them to chicken pox they never got it.  As more and more kids get inoculated against chicken pox, the chances of them getting it gets smaller and smaller.  Chicken pox is a no brainer as a kid except for itching yourself like crazy but as an adult it can be quite serious.  Leaving yourself open as an adult to get chicken pox is not smart.  I also had the girls take the latest vaccination which prevents cervical cancer.  This particular virus is one that many women had and did not even realize it.  It didn't turn into cervical cancer but it was definitely a hindrance for some women trying to get pregnant. 

There was a recent case of a young girl who was awarded by the courts ( through her parents)  that she became autistic after taking a vaccination.  Supposedly this kid had a very rare virus that reacted to the vaccination.  Maybe there could be a simple way for every kid to be tested for this prior to their vaccination so parents feel safe. 

I was vaccinated as a kid and my generation did not see as much autism as there is today nor did we see as many kids being allergic to peanuts.  Why?  My guess it has to do with what we have been feeding ourselves over many years.  It is not easy to feed as many people as we do without using drugs in our food.  Everything is cyclical. We see many people returning to organic food and local green markets.  Whole Foods defines the times. 

The amount of information to be read on the web is probably another reason people have decided not to vaccinate their kids.  Articles about possible side effects, etc.  But, in the end, I firmly believe that not vaccinating your kid is not only harmful to others in the community (case and point that you need to prove your kids vaccination charts when entering the school system yearly) but it is wrong.  To me, it is a form of child abuse.  How can you raise a kid without vaccinating them against disease that the medical community has worked so hard to prevent. 

The picture of these nice looking organic mothers in the New York Times makes me want to scream out loud ( it is the one on this post).  There are different laws state by state but there should be a federal law that one must vaccinate their child based on the Food and Drug Administrations schedule. 

I take it back, parents not having their kids vaccinated are just stupid. 

Last day on the Big Island

Today was the last day on the Big Island.  Jessica was really hot to go surfing again so we drove down to Kona.  We had breakfast at Java on the Rocks.  The best coffee I have had on the island, hands down.  Really rich.  I started with a double espresso but I really need my basic cup of Joe.  Fred got me one.  They asked him how I liked it, regular or strong.  Strong.  It was really delicious.

You order food at the counter and they bring it down to your table which is sitting in the sand overlooking a harbor.  Very mellow place  Food is nothing to write home about but I like the vibe there.

I dropped Jessica and Fred off at surfing and Josh and Emily and I went exploring.  First to Borders to get me another book and then to the local farmers market.  The farmers market is small.  Maybe 15 booths in all.  A few had fresh fruit, others had local Hawaiian fare from hula skirts to jewelry to honey.  I bought some really spicy honey made from the Macadamian flowers.  We also got our nieces some leis and necklaces.  We are going to see them in two days and never like to come empty handed. 

We picked up Jessica and went back to the resort for the final chill.  The resort is really fantastic.  Josh and Fred played golf one morning but decided they weren't in the mood for the rest of the trip.  There is plenty of tennis which we really don't play.  A few different pools based on your needs, one for kids, one for adults, and one for snorkeling.  A variety of restaurants on the premises.  A great spa that you can use daily which we did for a steam and sauna.  My guess is plenty of people come here and don't leave the premises.  A really nice place to come and recharge your batteries which we all did.

Dinner tonight and off to Honolulu tomorrow for a day of activities.  More later...

Kenichi

I asked if anyone was up for another activity.  Helicopter over the volcano?  Get a four wheel drive down to the Valley?  Waterfall exploration?  Everyone basically said no, except for possibly Jessica who was happy to do whatever the crew wanted to do.  In the end, the crew just chilled.  It is tough for this crew to chill.  We are such doers and explorers that life at a resort isn't the norm for us.  What can I say, we're better at city life than nature but doing very little has been good for everyone.  Lots of sleep, reading and sun.  How bad can that be?

Yesterday our big outing was dinner.   We went to Kenichi which is located in the Shops of Mauna Lani.  Sushi.  We just ordered dumplings and sushi.  Very good dumplings and the sushi was quite good too.  The service was comical.  Our sushi came out before the dumplings.  The sushi trickled out.  First two of us got what we ordered, then two more, then I was the last.  We waited and waited and waited.  We saw it and at one point considered going to get it ourselves but passed.  It was a tad strange but the food was good.   

We came back to the hotel hoping that there would still be some s'mores available to make.  There were and we got the last of it.  It really is nice to sit on the beach, make a s'more and hear and feel the ocean lapping against the shoreline.  Pretty sweet actually. 

Merrimans

I thought it was a good idea.   Fred enjoyed himself and so did I.  This activity might go down in family lore as "what was Mom thinking"?  I was thinking.  I believe I read about Merriman's restaurant and farm tour in Food and Wine.   We are all foodies so wouldn't it be interesting to see an organic farm and then eat dinner there afterward? 

The farm is 2800 feet above sea level so the weather up there is drastically different than the weather on the coast.  We were sort of prepared but not completely.  We all wore long pants, sneakers and sweatshirts but it happened to be raining off and on and was unbelievably windy.  I was happy to wear the yellow windbreaker that the tour guide provided and use the umbrella but everyone else didn't.  They stood under my umbrella and shook.   

We started out at the farm.  3 acres.  They sell about 160 lbs of veggies a day.  We learned all about how everything is planted.  The majority of their cash comes from selling spinach, mixed salad and lettuce.  They also do root veggies but those three things are the most profitable.  We tasted as we went through the tour.  Everything was really good.  They sell at the local farmers market every Saturday and have been doing so for 17 years.  The land that they farm on is part of the Government's land which is leased only to people who are half Hawaiian.  The farmers mother is half Hawaiian which is how they use the land.  They have a 199 year lease. 

After we did the farm area we drove down the road to her mother's other farm area where she grows flowers for market.  At one point the land was just grass but now it is a jungle of beautiful flowers.  Her mother is into lei making and has had two books published on the art.  Some of the flowers that she grows are specifically dedicated to lei making. 

At the end we saw the husbands passion for collecting old cars.  One of them was a model A which is part of the model T genre.   That was quite cool. 

The tour guide then took us to a livestock farm.  Cattle is one of the biggest industries on the island.  Who would have thought?  The land was beautiful.  Rolling green hills high in above the water with Mauna Kea in the distance.  We had rainbows everywhere.  After the rain settled and the sun came in.  I have never seen so many huge and magnificent rainbows. 

We came back into town for dinner at Merrimans.  Much to the kids demise, actually mine too, we had dinner with the group.  We didn't get to order off the menu but it was a planned meal which had all been grown at the farms we saw.  The menu looked really good so we were all bummed but in the end, the meal at Merrimans was hands down the best thing we have had on the island.  Really delicious and creative.

We started off with a salad gazpacho soup.  Chunky vegetable gazpacho soup in a bowl and over that is a large lettuce leaf, sliced strawberries, sliced radishes and chunks of cut up tomatoes.  I believe the additions to the soup had been mixed with a light citrus vinaigrette.  It was delicious.  They also served with this warm whole wheat bread which was hot, thick and tasty.  Main course was a bit of a combo that didn't necessarily work together but it gave us the opportunity to try different food.  Sliced lamb over a mushroom risotto and sauteed spinach.  All good.  The lamb was particularly delicious.  A corn salad served next to grilled mahi-mahi that is served over a whipped potato vegetable mixture and grilled eggplants on the side.  The fish was fantastic.  Simply grilled, juicy and tasty.

Dessert was a passion fruit mousse with marinated strawberries on the side and a nut shortbread cookie.  I am not a huge passion fruit fan but this tasted more like pineapple.  It was excellent. 

We all loved the meal.  I'd consider going back up there for another meal but it is a 45 minute drive from the hotel.  On the way back we were reminiscing about favorite travel actitivites which is always fun but asking ourselves why can't the resorts cook like this?  The makings for good food is obviously available on the island.  My guess is the next few nights won't be as good but Merrimans is worth the journey.  The farm trip, I liked it but it might not be for everyone.  It certainly was not for the kids but again time will tell on that one.