I would like to boast that our Stavert family of four is usually up on what is new and happening in the world of technology. However, somehow we missed the Zus Smart Car Charger memo, but as luck would have it, they found us!
Orange County is a very popular summertime destination, however, springtime is also the perfect season for a weekend visit to Newport Beach and Balboa Island because the crowds of summer have not yet arrived and the temp is most likely hovering around 74 degrees or higher. With so many lovely beaches, great shopping and fabulous restaurants, it is difficult to choose where to go next. There are many amazing hotels and resorts to choose from, but one of our favorite places to relax and unwind, is the Hyatt Newport Beach.
We raised our family in Orange County and fortunately have had decades of experiences and adventures here. Now that our kids are grown and we are empty nesters, my husband and I have recently moved to Pasadena, (about 60 miles north of the OC) to begin a new adventure. We still come south to visit often and pretend we are tourists! I am happy to share my tips with you!
I know many of your heads are nodding and you are silently saying “I told you so”, but we do have a slight delay of our home renovation. We cannot blame it on El Niño, we cannot blame it on the contractor, we cannot even blame it on me.
Please welcome our newest Guest Adventurer, Kathy Gottberg. She is the author of five published books and writes and blogs at SMART Living 365.com (http://smartliving365.com) where she shares ideas about creating a happy, healthy, and meaningful life every day of the year. And obviously she also loves to travel!
The Pantry is a community kitchen in the charming Seattle neighborhood of Ballard and the cooking classes are popular as well as a red hot commodity. They offer a variety of classes that focus on traditional food crafts and technique, culinary camps for the kids, and other creative ideas that bring people together to eat great food and to learn.
The Pantry Classes fill up very quickly and a spot is not that easy to get, so when our foodie daughter (SeaTownBites.com) asked if we wanted to reserve a spot for the Bad Ass Bartending class three months in the future, we said yes without hesitation.
Sitting in the quiet of the early morning, with a big cup of tea, Craig and I spend an hour catching up on what’s new on the Web. We each share with the other anything that would pique our interest. Craig actually discovered a couple of these links for today’s post.
I don’t know about you, but I find a plethora of fascinating ideas, posts, news stories, photos and inspiration from hopping around the Web. Throughout the week I receive updates and posts from various news sources and from other bloggers. When you subscribe, the articles that are sent to you are literally custom made for your interests. Ah, the convenience of technology!
The Academy Awards are my Superbowl. Before the telecast begins, the snacks are prepared, champagne is on ice and my cell phone is on silent. I love the pageantry, the fashion, the movies, the direction, cinematography…all of it! Craig and I try to see all if not most of the movies nominated. This article from Visit California did a great job highlighting some incredible Oscar-worthy hotels with some additional clever commentary. Have you stayed in any of these spectacular California hotels? I live about two miles from The Langham in Pasadena, it is extraordinary.
7 Oscar Worthy Hotels California Hotels by Visit California
I should not be disappointed in our activity level, we actually have done quite a bit of exploring and Craig reminds me of this daily. However, we had not yet been to Seward Park in Southeast Seattle, so on a recent sunny weekend day, we grabbed Rocco and drove the six miles to the prodigeous park.
Unfortunately, those days are over because on March 1, 2016, the 49-year-old Century Plaza in Century City, CA will no longer exist. So sad but true. The unique property has been sold and there are tremendous redevelopment plans ready to begin. There will be new towers, a new lobby, new owners and I am sure it will be extraordinary, just not the same as it always has been. It is time to say goodbye to a glamorous icon and hello to change. Change is inevitable, but it makes me sad that such a special place will now be gone forever.
I look forward to Saturday morning for a multitude of reasons. The best reason is that my husband Craig has returned from a week of travel and we spend the early morning catching up on our online reading. We sit drinking large cups of our favorite hot tea (Lord Bergamot by Steven Smith Teamaker) stirred with lots of honey. Our view of the Puget Sound off the coast of downtown Seattle is spectacular and we are even able to see the ferries on their journey across the water.
Thank you to Fisher Investments for sponsoring this post which allows me to share our planning ideas for creating adventure in midlife. All opinions are my own.
The kids have grown up and moved out of the nest and it is now our time to find adventure. We are no longer focusing on our children on a day to day basis, it is time for our personal adventures to begin!
We look for ways to create meaningful experiences to enjoy in our new found “freedom”. We ask questions, look for referrals and rely on others to help us make these plans.
Craig and I have learned a great deal in the past four years and we like to think we are experts in encouraging others to find adventure in midlife! However, we need to pay for these adventures as well and have learned some valuable lessons over the years that help this process.
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