Santa Monica

Once the work part of the West Coast trip was over, my hubby flew to meet me and we spent a few days in Los Angeles. I had never been there as a tourist so it was fun to get to know the city and see the sights. And did I mention, that I totally LOVE the movie La La Land, which offered a lot of inspiration to see LA. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the greatest. It was raining a lot in a place where it never ever rains. I mean, Southern California is famous for the drought, right? Well, isn't that just my luck, that the city gets its biggest rainy season for ever when I'm there on a vacation... Well, we didn't let the rain dampen our mood... On our first day in LA we went to Santa Monica, and walked around the famous Santa Monica pier. 

The legendary In-n-Out burger. The burger lived up to the hype, the fries did not. 

California Flowers

It's been raining in California since I arrived, which is not great for touristy stuff, but it is great for the Californian drought. The nature is really green and the flowers so beautiful and vivid.

About Work Trips

Traveling for work is not always as glamorous as it may seem. Work trips are tiring, because you have to be "on" all the time; you have to do the work you went there to do, but you also have to do the work that you have to do back at the office, or at least some of it so you won't be totally backlogged when you get back. But it's not all doom and gloom, especially if you get to travel to some really beautiful place, like Laguna Beach where I traveled this week. The conference I attended was at the Montage, Laguna Beach, which is one of the most amazing hotels/resorts I've ever been to. 

This was the view from my room. I walked in and snapped a picture. 

Then I went out to get some provisions and take-out from the little strip mall across the street. It's hidden behind the trees... 

I came back to my room and watched super bowl while eating my take out and having a complimentary glass of champagne, courtesy of the hotel. 

The next morning I woke up early (body still on NY time) and went to the gym for a quick work-out. Even the rainy weather didn't dampen my mood. This is the prettiest view I've ever seen from any gym I've been to. 

And then, time to make the donuts.. or get ready and sit in hotel conference rooms for the rest of the day attending sessions, networking, and trying to absorb information.

  (I"m wearing Banana Republic pants, H&M blazer, Zara top, Cole Haan pumps, Gucci bag). 

Laguna Beach

As I mentioned I am in California for a work trip. The weather hasn't been the greatest, but in a stroke of good luck the rain ended for our afternoon break yesterday. First I took care of a couple of work issues, and then I headed straight to the beach... This is a picture overload, but I'm in a hurry and can't decide which ones to post so here goes all of them.

WICKED

Last Friday night I took my soon to be 9-year old to see the Broadway musical Wicked. The trip to the musical was my birthday present to her, and although I had bought the tickets a month ago, I surprised her on the Friday afternoon by telling her about the tickets to the musical. She got super excited (and I was excited too). I had managed to grab the 2-for-1 NYC Broadway Week tickets, which is a good deal especially since the Wicked tickets are never discounted at the TKTS!

I can honestly say that this was one of the best shows, if not THE BEST, that I've seen on Broadway. Everything was amazing, the sets and staging, the costumes, the music, the singing, the acting, the story, the message, everything. 

We had very good seats with a full view of the stage! 

The pictures don't do any justice to the amazing show. This is the scene where Elphaba (the "wicked" witch) sings the famous song Defying Gravity. One of the most memorable moments of any show I've seen. Jennifer DiNoia played the lead role and boy can she sing! 

My daughter was super happy and excited that she got to see Wicked, and she totally loved the show. I wouldn't recommend the show to a much younger child, but she was in a perfect age now to understand the story and enjoy the music. I was really happy that I was able to give her this experience, rather than some silly stuff for her birthday. 

Ski Trip to Camelback

I feel a little funny telling you about our ski trip sitting here in California with a view of the beach and palm trees from my room... (I'm here for a combined work and vacation trip).

However, I wanted to tell you about last weekend when I took the kids for a two-day ski trip to Camelback in Pennsylvania. I had planned to take the kids for skiing last winter but then my oldest messed up her knee (requiring surgery, etc) and it didn't happen. My children are now 6, 8 (almost 9), and 14, and I figured that it's now or never. It's much better to learn when you're still in that age window that you're not that scared and learn new things easier. So I did some research about good places with bunny hill and magic carpet for learning (two years ago we went to ski for a day in Shawnee, but  it wasn't an all out success). Based on reviews, and also a package deal that gave you lift tickets, equipment rental and a 90 minute ski lesson, I chose the Camelback ski area, which turned out great. It's a 2 and 1/2 hour drive, although we got stuck in traffic in the Bronx, and our trip took more like 4 hours, but we finally arrived on Friday around 2 pm and were on the slopes at 3 pm.

It took some time to get the right size boots for everyone. 

My daughter's friend was with us. First time on the skis and did great! 

While the kids took their lessons, I got to see if the muscle memory still worked, and went up on the ski lift.. I am not a great skier by any means, and haven't skied much in the past 25 years, but I grew up in Finland, so naturally I did ski a lot when I was a kid. I'm happy to report I came down the hill in one piece, although my thighs were burning. 

These two learned so much in two days. Next time we'll try the big hill! 

The teachers at Camelback were great. Funny and patient, and the group size is not too large. 

The 6-year old is in the perfect age to start skiing. 

She'll be better skier than me with little practice. 

The next morning we woke up to a gray sunrise in the Pennsylvania mountains. We stayed at the Inn at the Pocono Manor, and it was perfect for this type of a family trip. Will definitely go there again. 

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was amazing. 

We stuffed ourselves before heading back to the slopes. 

Day 2 was a Saturday. For future note - avoid Saturday morning/day at all costs. This picture is taken end of day, around 5 pm, when most the people had left. Next time, if we will go on a Saturday, it would be much better to get a twilight ticket. It's much cheaper, and the crowds are gone, meaning no wait for the lifts or the magic carpet in the bunny hill.