Hi everyone! It's been a while since my last posts. We have been super busy between work and weekend trips. April and May were jam-packed months. At the start of April, we visted the botanical gardens here in Atlanta. That week I also had to go to Anchorage for work. We are completing a breakroom refresh project and I needed to complete a site visit to monitor progress and address some issues. I then flew back to Atlanta for a meeting and was off again to go home for a group birthday... or so I thought! My sister Brittny used it as an excuse to announce she was pregnant - what an exciting day that was. Hunter went to Jackson that weekend to move our car from the Jackson airport to the Idaho Falls airport. He had to dig it out of a block of ice with his brother Hayden. The following weekend Hunter and I went to Panama. That was a quick trip where we arrived late Friday, did a tour of the Panama Canal Saturday, and left early Sunday. It was a lot of fun. Check out my blog post on Panama for more details here! The following weekend we were invited to San Diego where our friends live. We stayed at a cool historic hotel called the US Grant and we went to the zoo which was incredible! I definitely want to go back as there is still so much we didn't get to see. The next two weekends Hunter and I went to Arizona. The weather was a bit crappy in Atlanta, so we headed back west to the nice dry heat. We also did some shopping at a really nice outlet mall too. Then, the following weekend, I went home for my brother Mathieu's wedding and Hunter went to Idaho for a doctor's appointment. Finally, after 6 weeks of non-stop weekend travel, we decided to hang out in Atlanta and rest, but not for long because the following weekend we decided to go to Boston with some friends as it was the long holiday weekend.
Visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens (April 2, 2023)!
Giant Troll Art
Me and a glass sculpture
ANC Breakroom (April 4, 2023)
Yummy pizza dinner at Moose's Tooth in ANC with my Project Manager
Mt. Rainier
Back home for the weekend with my Killer girl! (April 7, 2023)
Logan and Scott!
Brittny and Molly sharing snacks
Suprise photo Grandpa
Hunter headed to Jackson while I was in Canada to move our car from JAC to IDA
Our car was in about 8" of ice!
Hayden and Hunter got quite the workout
Hunter got some late season turns in
Hunter snapped this cool picture of our apartment complex on his way home from a work trip to CMH!
Moments before the big announcement!
Celebrating Sophia's birthday
On the way to Panama! (April 14, 2023)
Cool glass elevators at the hotel
Nighttime pool views
Midnight snacks!
Breakfast in Panama
The infinity pool
On the way to the cruise
Boarding the boat for our long canal cruise!
Big bridge
The Galliard Cut
The Bridge of the Americas
Locks
Heavy and strong trains guide the big shipping ships in the tight canal
Hunter and me at the Miraflores Locks
Sunset over the harbor
Ceviche for dinner
Cool lighting show on the way to San Diego (April 21, 2023)
Crazy night over AUS
We can never stop in CA without some delicious In N Out
FLOWERS! We stopped at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad
Olav and Selena!
Hunter's great photography
Delish chips and guac
Tacos!
Oceanside walk around Embarcadero area
USS Midway
Breakfast at the General Grant
San Diego Zoo
Aerial Tram
FRIENDS!
Special... friends...
Red Pandas
Dim sum lunch
Sea lions
Calamari starter at a nice seafood place bringing an excellent day to an end
Made Hunter a new suitcase sticker!
Pima air and space museum (April 28, 2023)
Hunter and the 747
Cacti blooms!
Lovely JW Marriott in Tucson
Sunset pictures at Gates Pass Tucson Mountain Park
Cactus Wren nest
Dinner at El Charro
Morning hike
Poolside rest
Tucson San Xavier del Bac Mission
Dinner at Bison Witches
Trying out a new Mexican restaurant in DFW called Pappasitos
Sheraton Grand at Wildhorse Pass (May 5, 2023)
Smokin Fins
Breakfast
Food truck deliciousness
OLAV'S FIRST LANDING (May 12, 2023)
Hunter had lunch in the DEN airport on his way home for the weekend while I also headed home (May 13, 2023)
Killer girl!
Mia aka Black Kitty
Sawyer
Jackson Elk Refuge looking for big-horn sheep
Mathieu's wedding (May 15, 2023)
Dinner at Truist park in ATL (May 18, 2023)
Weekend in Boston (May 28, 2023)
Lobster roll lunch
Delicious dinner!
Can't forget cannoli in Boston!
Our fav food back near home in Tyrone (May 31, 2023)
All of that brings us to now (June 2, 2023), where Hunter and I have both taken a week off work for a vacation. With a little coordination and creativity and one false start in LAX, we boarded a Delta plane in Delta One 5C and 5G to Shanghai (PVG) on Friday, June 2nd. We were a little apprehensive about the China visa requirements, but we followed the required rules and were on our way! The flight was around 13 hours long. We had dinner and then were both off to sleep. We have been going at 100% for way too long with all our travel, working full-time, and studying, so we were both happy to finally take a little break.
On our way to LAX, we passed Olav flying! In LAX, we spent the night and then headed to SEA in the AM
Made it!
Chinese menu
Western menu
Starters
Soup & salad
Hunter had the Agnolotti
I had the chicken breast
Chocolate cake
Ice cream sundae
Bedtime!
Arrival soup
First view of China
made it!
We landed around 3pm local (Saturday) and headed through customs where we got our 24-hour transit visa on arrival. We were lucky to be one of the first off the plane because it took a bit of time while the agents figured everything out and the line kept growing. I am glad we didn't have to wait too long. We also had to show proof of our exit flight in order to get this transit visa, so we actually booked cheap tickets to Singapore (SIN) on China Eastern, but planned to try zedding (staff travel) on an earlier flight direct to Bali. Once we cleared customs we headed up to the check-in counters and waited for staff to assist us with check in on our Zed. They informed us that there were no seats available as economy was oversold by 4, but business had 16 seats. Most airlines would upgrade people so non-revs could get on, or clear us into any available seat, but China Eastern was not playing ball with those ideas. We tried to convince them to help us out, but they said no, so we had to default to our SIN plan on confirmed tickets. We had to check our bags, but thankfully they made it to SIN. It really does seem like non-US airlines are much better with baggage since everyone is used to checking bags, but we don't have much experience with that as we try and avoid it as much as possible as we are always afraid of losing our belongings.
The lobby was pretty cool, even though we got offered to buy like 4 different iPhones.
Hot water dispenser
Chinese Coke Zero
Snacks!
The weirdest toilet ever! I think I will pass on the rectum cleaning.
Well worth reading the details
Off we go to SIN on China Eastern
I love getting fed on all the Asian flights we take! If only the US did meals for all customers on our flights.
Hong Kong Airport
Night Sight photo of Hong Kong
Arrival in SIN
Checking our bag to Bali because it was heavy. The Asian carriers have very small weight limits for cabin luggages.
The flight to SIN was a redeye. We were in seats 40A and B. After take off we had a quick meal, and then Hunter and I both slept as best we could. We landed in SIN around 5am (Sunday June 4th) and cleared customs, gathering our bags and starting the trek to Terminal 4. Neither of us had ever been, but like all of SIN's airport, it was lovely. Thankfully, there was a shuttle bus, but we had to wait nearly an hour for it to pick us up because it was on reduced overnight service. Once we got to T4, we headed to the Jetstar ticket counter to check-in. Initially, the agent said we were too early to check in, but Hunter and I asked if they could help us out so we could take a shower in one of the lounges and they actually did! We got given seats 30E and F. This time our ZED plan worked out! They made us check 1 bag, Hunters, but not mine. We are still not sure why only 1, but oh well. I needed mine because it had my shower stuff in it, so I was happy to keep it. We then went through security, headed to the lounge, and took much-needed showers. After getting cleaned and refreshed, we booked our hotel in Bali and ate some snacks in the lounge while waiting for our flight.
Real Trees indoors because Singapore
At 9:30am (9:30pm EST) we headed to our gate. We boarded shortly and were on our way on the short ~2hr flight. We did not get a meal on this flight as Jetstar is a low cost carrier, but that was okay as it was a quick trip. Landing into Bali we had beautiful ocean views.
We arrived into Bali at 1:40pm (June 4, 2023) and quickly deplaned. We needed to stop to get visas on arrival and we didn't want to have to wait in long lines, so we rushed as much as possible. Thankfully getting the visa was quick, but the lines for immigration were a bit longer. We waited around 20 minutes, then were cleared and went to get Hunter's bag. On our way out, we also got a few Coke Zero's!
Once out of the airport, we met the driver I had arranged to take us to our hotel for the week. He was very nice and gave us a description of the areas we were driving through too. We took the Bali Mandara Toll Road too which is a new elevated highway over the Gulf of Benoa. Our driver told us it was built 2017, but it was actually completed in 2013. There have however been many adjustments which is why he might have had 2017 in his head because they tried to improve its appearance before the G20 summit in 2022.
Finally, we arrived at our destination - the beautiful St. Regis Bali. This would be our home for the next 5 nights and we couldn't be more excited. Prior to arrival, we let them know that this was out 10 year anniversary trip (it was in March, but we didn't do much for it at the time), in hopes of getting an upgrade, and they did not disappoint. We were welcomed with arrival drinks and a seamless check-in process. We then got a tour of the grounds and were finally shown to our beautiful villa.
Our home for the week was villa 702 - a gardenia villa with a private pool. It was HUGE! Watch the video below and check out all the photos for an awesome tour!
Main lobby
Arrival drink
Welcome to our home!
A real orchid!
Our own pool!
The outdoor shower
No, no... we did not get married, it's just easier to tell international hotels we are
Snacks!
After taking in the amazing room and beautiful treats they left us, we quickly rinsed off in the outdoor shower and jumped into our pool! It was the perfect end to our long journey here and the start of an awesome vacation. After relaxing in the pool, we headed down to check out the beach. They had a bunch of comfy loungers where Hunter took a little nap and I might have rested my eyes briefly too. The sun set around 6:15pm and at 6:30 there was a sunset ritual at the entrance. It was quite the show and lasted ~30 minutes!
The beach
Enjoying the fresh air and being still with a little nap
Can you spot the crab?!
Look closely in the very middle of this picture
Heading back to the room after the beach
Fire show
Once it was over, Hunter and I returned to our villa where they had already completed the turndown service. I showered and then was quickly falling asleep. Hunter ordered room service to our room, but I was asleep before it came. He woke me up to eat, but I did not last long and went back to sleep after eating. Given the travel and time change (12 hours, completely opposite Eastern time), I was exhausted and ready for rest! Hunter was not up for much longer either, and we both snuggled into our comfy bed.
Hunter's delicious shrimp
A lychee fruit
Cake!
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DATE: June 4, 2023
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