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.