Episode 70: April – June 2015
Highlights:
- Spring Break in Costa Rica;
- 5 Boro Bike Ride in NYC;
- Los Angeles…Twice!;
- Girls Weekend in Hilton Head.
The quarter was marked with quite a bit of travel. Work and work-related travel kept Deb busy,
but she was grateful to be able to take the opportunity to visit friends of
ours around the country on her multiple stops: seeing our friends, Freedom and
Jason, and their daughter, Isabelle, in Georgia; visiting Jen and Darin and
their daughters, Anna and Alyssa, in Texas; catching up with Cristi in
Philadelphia; and meeting new acquaintances, Mary and Valerie, in New York
City. Our dear friends, Dave and Renee, came
to Midland this quarter also, and it was great to hear all about their
adventures since moving to Ohio a couple of years ago. We also caught up in Midland with our friend,
Boyd, who happened to be passing through Midland with his father-in-law as part
of a charity bike ride from Ann Arbor to Mackinac Island.
On the work front, Deb’s new role has facilitated some really
interesting introductions and meetings for Deb – from politicians to business
leaders – and has significantly expanded her public speaking opportunities. Rarely a week goes by without her needing to
address a large audience or do the keynote speech for an event. It’s a nice match with Deb’s big, outgoing
personality. One of her most memorable
meetings this quarter was meeting Prime Minister Abe from Japan to discuss
trade and other opportunities to broaden Dow’s presence in Japan.
As for my work life, it started to normalize a little bit. At the end of the quarter, we finally
announced the signing of a major divestiture project that I have been working
on for the past nearly two years. What a
relief! I had literally devoted
everything to work over the past year, and it was great to see that all of the
work did not go to waste.
But work was not our sole focus this quarter – there were plenty of
adventures outside of work. We once
again treated ourselves to a Spring Break vacation to get away from the cold,
this time a week in Costa Rica. Because
of my uncertain schedule, we had to make a last-minute booking, but the
spontaneity served us well. We stayed in
a hotel on the Guanacaste coast, close to the Liberia airport. After spending a few days of down time
soaking up the sun at our resort, we bravely got in our rental car and ventured
out, vising the restaurants and sights in nearby Tamarindo. We ventured farther into the country, one day
going to a national park to take a boat ride up a river that was literally full
of crocodiles and other wildlife. On
another day, we took a long (and very bumpy) ride to the rainforest area of Monteverde,
which is most famous for its exhilarating zip-lining adventures. We did it, and it was awesome! We criss-crossed across canyons and between
treetops, all at what felt like terrifyingly high speeds. It was well worth the four-hour drive to get
there. We found Costa Rice to be a beautiful
country, with the only downfall being the limited road infrastructure (making
driving distances longer and more adventurous than they could otherwise
be). We definitely recommend the country
to others planning a vacation to Central America.
Our second big adventure of the quarter took us to New York City where
we met up with Deb’s sister, Carol, and our friends from Michigan, Ed,
Michelle, Ward and Rebecca, for the weekend.
The main purpose of our trip was to join the 5 Boro Bike tour – a 40-mile
bike ride through all five boroughs of New York City. With all the roads blocked off for the 35,000
riders, it was an exhilarating way to see the city, and the atmosphere was hard
to beat. The ride was casual, and there
were plenty of rest stops along the way, and even live musicians along the
route. In addition to the ride and
exploring the city on foot and on city bikes, we have a few noteworthy culinary
moments. We managed to sneak in some dim
sum in Chinatown, dinner in Little Italy, and a much-anticipated visit to the three
Michelin star restaurant, Per Se. That
last one was incredible – very creative courses, amazing flavors, and more desserts
than one could ever imagine (or should have).
On the heels of that trip, Deb, Carol, and I headed from there across
the country to Los Angeles where we met up with Deb’s other sister, Candace, and
all spent a few days with Tony and Julie.
I spent a day working at home while the Borg’s reacquainted themselves
with their inner children on a trip to Disney World. Deb’s high school friend, Nat, drove up from
San Diego to join us for a night as well.
Overall, it was a great trip and an unexpected Borg family reunion.
Soon after getting back from Los Angeles, Deb hit the road again, this
time to join her girlfriends for a long weekend in Hilton Head. I am told there was dancing, drinking, biking
to explore the sights, and boat rides (courtesy of one of Deb’s friend’s sister
and brother-in-law, who own a place on the island).
For our final act of the quarter, Deb and I found ourselves on the West
Coast again for a weekend – Deb had a meeting in Los Angeles, and we decided to
make a weekend of it on the back-side of the trip. This time Tony and Julie were out of town, so
Deb and I played tourists in Los Angeles.
We stayed fairly close to the beach and ventured out to explore Malibu,
Beverly Hills, and Venice Beach. We
found that Los Angeles is a great city, with a lot of really interesting
neighborhoods. But, as you may have
heard, the traffic is atrocious. We also
spent a great day walking up and down Malibu Beach, followed by a shopping
afternoon on the hip stretch of Abbott Kinney Boulevard. And of course, we indulged in a few great
culinary stops along the way, visiting Ink and Hinoki and the Bird.
Back at home in Midland, our friend, Stephanie, moved back to Michigan,
resulting in lots of catch-ups. We
bought Deb a new car, and Lexy (a Lexus hard-top convertible) joined our
family. As for me, I had a minor
accident in my car (got rear-ended by someone).
Fortunately, no one was hurt, and I was back in my car a couple of weeks
later. We also both celebrated our ninth
wedding anniversary, as well as our respective birthdays. Deb surprised me by having our friends join
us for a private chef’s table dinner at a local restaurant. I pride myself on sniffing these kinds of
surprises out, but I had no clue – she did a great job of hiding the details
from me. The food was great, but the
company was what made it a memorable experience.
It was a busy quarter, for sure, but we loved living life to its
fullest. Here’s to continuing the
adventure streak into the next quarter!
Until then, take care.
