random thoughts from an unplugged(ish) vacation...

This time last week I was on the Big Island of Hawaii drinking Birthday Girl Martini's (who knew they made cake-flavored vodka?!? I *think* this is the recipe) at "Hawaii Four-0" (aka my friend Katharine's 40th birthday party at the lovely home of her parents, who are lucky enough to live in paradise).

I decided while I was there I was going to actually relax, be in the moment and attempt to unplug / wean myself off of my social media addiction. I did pretty well... according to Facebook I didn't personally post more than once per day (except on Monday). But I couldn't stop my brain from thinking in 140 characters or less(ish). So instead of plugging in, I wrote all my random thoughts in a notebook (old school!) and am instead posting them here, after the fact and with pretty pictures, like this great intro photo I found while walking on the beach :)

Day 1:

In reading the EW fall movie preview, I've just realized that, with the exception of Last of the Mohicans and Age of Innocence (which I never saw), I really hate every movie Daniel Day Lewis has ever been in. 

Cloud creatures seen from 10k feet above the Pacific: an elephant sitting with its trunk in the air, a crocodile, duck, a worm and a dragon.

All the rock stars I loved as a kid/tween/teen were legally named either John or Richard. I've just now realized the Richard part of this statement while reading Rick Springfield's bio on the plane.

I can't escape work! Within two hours of landing on the island, Bob Iger and his family appeared at the Resident's Beach House at the Four Seasons where we're having sunset cocktails. Here's the sunset :)

Day 2:

Woke up at 5:30 am. Ugh. Stayed in bed tossing till 8am.

Things I forgot to pack: my glasses for reading when my contacts are out (like at the pool), an extra set of contacts (note to self: do not go in the pool or ocean with contacts in), workout clothes.

The walls/doors in my hotel (Waikaloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa) are thin, but the rooms are really nice. And housekeeping is super fast! I was gone for an hour to walk to Starbucks and buy souvenirs and when I came back at 9:30, they were done!

My hotel room with a super-comfy bed I wish I could have slept in more. Jet lag sucks.

The view from my balcony

It's really windy in Waikaloa

RIP Neil Armstrong, a true hero

There is a crazy Hawaiian girl living at the tables outside The Whaler General Store at the Kings Shops. She was there at 9am this morning and still there at 3pm this afternoon.

I know seven people with birthdays this weekend (just Saturday & Sunday). Happy Birthday Jodie, JPI, Shane, Erin, Barrett, Niki and Katharine :-)

The stories are true! There really are chickens running wild in Hawaii! There was a rooster and two hens blocking the driveway when I pulled up to Katharine's parents' house for Hawaii Four-0. And the house is lovely. Check out the party set up... can you tell Katharine likes pink and orange ;)

Getting caterers and a bartender for parties is the way to go. Photo booths are super fun too...  planning for the best-ever Kim's Christmas Cocktails starts now!

                         

Big families with siblings who get along and nieces and nephews are fun.

Katharine's dad has a lot of Hollywood history in his head and on the walls of his "wing" of the house.

It rained while we were partying. I like Hawaiian downpours better than Floridian downpours.

Day 3:

Still can't sleep past 7am. Woke up at 2:20am, 5am, and 6:23am. I blame the cake-flavored vodka :p

Walked 2 miles on the treadmill and then 1 mile around the resort paths, beach and over to the Lava, Lava Beach Club (yes, that's its real name ;)

Beach house at Lava Lava 

Spent mid-day laying on a lounge chair on the beach, reading and trying not to sunburn. Here was my view... ahhh.

Lost my new Hawaii pen on the beach :( Also accidentally let my empty ziplock bag (that held my mixed nuts) fly away at the beach... into the nature preserve pond on the resort. Oops. :(

Finished the Rick Springfield bio I started on the plane. He is a seriously f'ed up man-whore, but I still love him ;) Have since I was 9. Oh, and his wife should be nominated for saint-hood.

It rained again today.

Got a really expensive pedicure at the hotel spa. Totally relaxing, but not worth the cost.

Writing in this notebook every day has confirmed what I knew but didn't want to admit: my elementary school award-winning penmanship now totally sucks. I totally skip letters when I write. I could claim shorthand I suppose, but I think it's my brain being confused in a land between longhand and web-slang. I am even skipping letters in my own name... granted I have a long name when I spell the whole legal thing out.

Both True Blood and The Newsroom's season finales (which I watched on HBO Go on my iPad in the hotel lounge on wi-fi because I have no patience) were great tonight! I always knew Eric Northman would save the day (sort of). Waiting for that to happen is the only reason I kept watching this season...

Day 4: 

Woke up early multiple times again. But this time it wasn't jetlag. There was some guy singing outside -- either on the lawn or on his balcony -- at 1:30am. I finally got up at 7 and went down to the concierge to book our helicopter tour today... finally! Yippee! I'm finally going to see the volcano and some pretty waterfalls. Whoo-hoo!

Finished my second book of the trip... Wifey by Judy Blume, which I started like three months ago. I did not love it.

Got an email from the Kings! The Stanley Cup and I now have an up-close-and-personal date on Wednesday, September 12 at 8pm. Whoo-hoo!!

In the car on the way to the volcano helicopter tour, Bon Jovi's "What Do You Got" bonus track from their Ultimate Greatest Hits limited edition LP is playing on the car radio. That's a sign -- it's going to be an awesome day!

Synopsis of my thoughts from the helicopter tour today: Nature is amazing. Helicopters spinning around quickly for good photo opps and the resulting motion sickness are not.

Here are photos from the "Hawaii Experience" helicopter tour of the Big Island, which was amazing... minus the part where I almost threw up all over Shawn ;)

Lava-land turning into lava cliffs

Molten lava! Yep, that's all of it right now

Pretty greenness! Looks like Italy near the Pacific

One of many, many waterfalls

Exiting waterfall valley

The Waikaloa Beach Marriott Resort from the air

Shawn, me, Katharine and Rob, after surviving our helicopter ride

First Mai Tai of the trip on my last full day in Hawaii...

Gorgeous sunset as seen from Huggo's in Kona

Day 5 (aka my last day in Hawaii... sniff sniff)

Finally able to sleep in past 7am today. Figures....

Walked 2.15 miles on treadmill in 35 minutes. Only burned 206 calories. I need to get back to Pop Physique.

Found my Hawaii pen I thought I lost on the beach! It was clipped inside my bag. Yay!

The Four Seasons is awesome! Katharine checked in there today and got upgraded to an ocean view room. Here's the amazing view from her balcony...

Also amazing was my 80-minute Hualalai island stone massage... they started me face up, laying on the stones, then placed the stones on me, in my hands and between my toes. Totally fabulous! Lucky for me, there is a Four Seasons in Westlake on the way to my parents' house. I foresee Relaxing Sunday Spa trips in my future... followed by puppy play sessions :)

Having a friend with a brother-in-law who bartends at the Four Seasons doesn't suck.

My last Hawaiian cocktail, prepared by LJ. Little Green Alien loved it :)

Sitting in economy on a red-eye back to the mainland, after a super-relaxing massage and lots of fruity cocktails, does suck.

Wish I was still here napping on the beach like Mr. Turtle....

planning adventures in my own backyard

Last Saturday, I decided to make my "Mom's Awesome Italian Tortellini Soup" (yes, that's its official name + photo at right to prove I "cook" ;) and invite some friends over to watch screeners. But instead of movies, we got to talking over the last two issues of Los Angeles Magazine -- February's Classic LA and January's Best New Restaurants. We've actually been talking on and off for eons about all the things we want to do around LA that we never actually get around to. People from all over the US come here to vacation and experience all the cool things this town has to offer, and we really take it for granted most of the time. So we decided to actually make a list of all the things we want to do. It goes like this...

Places to Eat

• Church and State
• Hungry Cat
• Musso & Frank
• The Original Pantry
• Osteria Mozza
• Pizzeria Mozza
• Yamashiro

Places to Visit in LA

• Angel's Flight
• Art Deco Tour of LA
• Daryl's Tour of LA 
• Forest Lawn Museum (as in art, not dead people)
• Getty Villa in Malibu
• Gold Coast iPic Theater in Pasadena (with the reclining chairs and waitress service)
• Griffith Observatory (to actually look at the stars, not just the view)
• Lake Hollywood
• LA Library - Ansel Adams Exhibit

Places to Visit in CA

• Big Bear
• Carmel
• Hearst Castle
• Lake Arrowhead
• Lake Tahoe
• Ojai
• Palm Springs
• Paso Robles

Places to Visit Near CA

• Grand Canyon
• Yosemite

Do you have suggestions for yummy food places, historic/unique places to visit or beautiful nature spots to experience? Leave a note in the comments and maybe I'll add them to my list :)

"une délicieuse cuisine" above la

I have a big birthday coming up in three weeks and everyone has been constantly asking me, "What are we doing for your birthday?" The pressure! So in an effort to find a unique, fun place to hang that also has good food, my dear friend Cwennen and I went out last night on a reconnaissance mission to check out two places in Downtown LA.

The first stop was Perch, a French bistro and bar "perched" on the roof of a 15-story building near Pershing Square. The view of downtown on a clear, January night (that had been 80 degrees during the day) was beautiful! This photo doesn't do it justice...

We sat out on the patio, on the side of the building facing the Square, near a fire pit occupied by a bunch of friends chatting over cocktails.

Our lovely waitress Carlina was magnifiquès! She gave us great drink and appetizer recommendations, answered questions about the space/who to contact for private events and checked in on us often. We had read about some amazing-sounding blue-cheese poppers on the website. Sadly, that was on the old menu with the old chef. Carlina apologized but recommended a new starter -- baked Brie cheese sticks with a (what I think was) raspberry sauce. They were awesome! She also helped Cwennen choose a "Jacques Collins" (gin, lemon juice, soda and saffron) over a "French Maid" (cognac, lemon juice, simple syrup w/muddled cucumber & mint) cocktail. I went with the "My Fair Lady," a French cosmo (of course) with quinoa vodka, cranberry, lime and crème de peche. It was sweet, but good. Not too weak, not too strong.

For my entree, I went with the new chef's Steak Frites, which wasn't on the online menu either (Carlina noted they really need to update that!).

My medium-cooked steak was topped with grilled onion and a patty of blue cheese that eventually melted all over my meat as I sliced. It was really, really tasty! As were the perfectly cooked (crispy on the ends, soft in the middle) "frites."

Cwennen had the Bonbon Risotto of sweet corn and pea tendrils with a parmesan crisp. It was also yummy, but could've used a little more greens... we decided small pieces of asparagus would be perfecto!

Overall, the dinner was delish, and the restuarant has a really relaxing, cheerful vibe... accented by the French music (my new, make-me-happy music of choice over the last month since watching Midnight in Paris) playing at just the right volume over the sound system outside.

Perch is a definite possibility for the birthday extravaganza. There is a huge parking lot across the street, as well as two metro stops nearby (either 4th Street or Pershing Square), so transportation should be easy for people. Next I just have to email and get the scary quote on reserving either part of the patio or the safer (since my birthday is in the middle of winter and there is no guarantee it will be 80 degrees that day ;) inside performance space that Carlina says people can reserve from 7-9 for private events.

Souhaitez moi bonne chance! (That's "Wish me luck in French" ;) Because the other place we went to after Perch -- The Edison -- while in a very cool, underground, industrial space with a fun roaring '20s vibe, was just too loud and too crowded for my liking.