At Home in Nicaragua

I grew up a military brat, more specifically, an Air Force brat. My early claim to fame (so I've been told) was being the first boy born at the new hospital on Dover Air Force Base. Supposedly, my mom beat the odds and won $50 from the OB nurses (seems all previous births had been girls). We lived for a short time in Lewes Beach, Delaware, a quiet coastal town connected to New Jersey by the Cape May Ferry. 

Like most military families, we didn't stay long in any one place. Dad was transferred to Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, Cigli Air Station in Izmir, Turkey, Langley AFB in Tidewater Virginia, and Andrews AFB in Maryland. Being good troopers, we fell in line behind the Colonel and marshaled on.

Stacy grew up a nomad as well. She was a computer brat (yes, a made up term). Her dad was there during the halcyon days of office computing, when computers filled entire rooms and the United States landed a man on the moon using the total computing power of a five-function pocket calculator.

Various sales positions with companies such as Singer and IBM moved them from Cherry Hill (NJ) to Cincinnati to Moraga (CA) to Atlanta. Stacy's family finally settled in Houston where her dad opened his own computer company just before the dawn of personal computers.

Houston is where Stacy and I would meet, fall in love, and get married--all in very short order. In our first 12½ years of marriage we moved from Houston to Stockton, CA to Brea, CA to San Antonio to Austin to Chicago. We would often joke that after six months in a new place we longed for the smell of corrugated cardboard and the sound of box tape!

During the second 12½ of marriage we have lived in one house on one street in one community in West Michigan. Our friends who visit from other cities call East Grand Rapids "Norman Rockwellville." Truly it is a great place to live and an even greater place to raise a family. Very soon it will be the new home of little Rebeca and Rosalinda.

We expect that the transition will be overwhelming at times for the girls. Stacy and I can kind of empathize. On a much smaller scale and for a much shorter time, we have been transported to and transplanted in an unfamiliar country that has a unique culture where people speak another language. New smells, tastes, sights, sounds, etc. It's not bad... just different.

If our short time here has convinced us of anything, it's that our girls need to experience Nicaragua (their current home) before beginning a life in the United States (currently our home). Moreover, we know that our three biological children need to visit the homeland of their sisters. I fly home soon but plan to come back with Kate and Sam in May, joining Stacy and the girls closer to the time the adoption is hopefully finalized.

Our oldest, Ryan, already spent a week with us here in Nicaragua over his spring break. The night before he returned to Miami, he commented that his stay here was different than taking a vacation. A big reason was the time he spent in the orphanage with his little sisters and the other children. Ryan played the role of big brother well, demonstrating the patience of Job and the playfulness of Tigger. Another reason was that he lived, shopped, conversed, and (most importantly) ate "como Nica."

Stacy and I have agreed that we must come back as a family, early and often. We can easily see ourselves spending a month here each year or every other year. We love the people, the culture, the land, the history, and the food. Most importantly, part of our family is from here and that makes it a little part of all of us.

About the author:

Bill Oechsler is the principal for Xler Consulting, a marketing and brand consultant firm based in Grand Rapids. He lives in East Grand Rapids with his wife, Stacy, and their five children.

A Day in the Old Medina

The author with her host mom in Fes

Hello, my name is Sarah Hollemans and I am currently living in Morocco serving with the Peace Corps. Since arriving to this beautiful country in September I have been very lucky to visit many ancient cities and to explore an amazing culture. The city I was living in for a few months was just outside of one of Moroccos’ oldest cities, Fes. I traveled there a few times and on one of those occations I was able to explore inside its old medina with my host mother. She grew up in Fes and the maze of streets and alleys that make up the old medina was well known to her.

         

The medina is very old, but as you enter you are greeted with the sounds of construction and the modern equipment to go with it. Most of Morocco is like this. Everything is deeply rooted in tradition and history, but the modern age is slowly creeping in, trying to change it.

My host mom and I spent a few hours exploring the narrow streets and the deep alleys. She is a seamstress so we spent most of our time in the fabric and textile areas of the medina. The quality of fabrics and hemming and clothing and shoes that one can find in the medina is just amazing. The colors are very bright and beautiful and stand out against the stark grays and browns of the medina walls.

Set into the walls are the little niches that are the shops. They are not large rooms but ample space for the seller to display his goods. There are many different products to be sold, some focused on the artisan and the local Moroccan resident, but as time has past, more and more of the shops focus on goods for the tourist and at exaggerated prices. One must be well prepared to bargain and haggle to receive and honest and fare prize.

Deep inside to medina there is one of Fes’ oldest mosques. It is open to tourists now, but I am told that it is still a working mosque.

The medina has seen many changes over time. The items and the people inside have changed with the years. But, as people walk by with their tour groups and their backpacks taking pictures of everything and buying over priced souvenirs one may all of sudden be reminded that this is still a developing country and have to quickly jump out of the way as a large horse parades through the already cramped streets carrying good for its owner. It is a weird thing to see. I laughed the when I first saw a horse walking through the shops and people. To me it seemed so strange, but my host mom told me it was very normal.

I had a great time exploring the insides of the old medina in Fes with my host mother. It has so much history and holds so much to be explored. I was only able to spend a short amount of time there, but hope one day to be able to go back and see more of it. 


About the author:


Sarah Hollemans is serving her first term in Morocco with the Peace Corps. She hails originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

        

A Quixotic Stop in the Napa Valley

After college, I moved to the Napa Valley because I wanted to know what it was like to work on a vineyard and I couldn't get a Visa to work in France fast enough. It was one of those arrangements – a friend introduces me to a friend in the business and then “Poof!” I found myself in the Quixotic world of Napa, working in one of the most amazing wineries (and best kept secrets) of Stag's Leap District – Quixote – as executive assistant to the proprietor, Carl Doumani.

Quixote's design reflects the personality of its owner. Carl Doumani commissioned Viennese architect, F. Hundertwasser to design the winery. Complete with a gold-leaf onion dome espoused for its affects on creativity, Quixote is subterranean and its curves trace the lines of the rocky outcrop of Stag's Leap that towers behind the estate. But the main event isn't the winery, its Carl's grapes – from the rocky soil, Quixote blends together a solid petite syrah and cabernet savignon. Also reflective of the owner's persona.

Now, Carl Doumani, to which many Napa Valley icons can attest – is a bear whose roar is far worse than his bite. Of towering stature and short temper, I found myself feeling slightly inept as the executive assistant to a very detail-oriented and successful businessman. It almost became a joke for us – “Lisa, bring me your list,” he would call from his office. “List?” I would think to myself, “What list.”

Who were we kidding? I am a terrible secretary, but Carl somehow had extreme patience for me... I want to believe he found it amusing that I could tolerate (and even rebuke) his gruff and sometimes rude mannerisms, but who knows really why he didn't fire me outright. While certainly a functional assistant, I wasn't really good. Little did I know exactly how valuable a good assistant is until I had a few myself.

That said, I didn't last very long working as Carl's assistant. Though, we did become good friends. “What do you want to do with yourself,” he'd ask. Of course, being right out of college, I had no real plans. Apparently, he saw some talent in me … One day, Carl asked if I was interested in the restaurant business, and I nodded. On the spot he dialed his daughter, Lissa Doumani, Propietor and Chef of Restaurant Terra. Restaurant Terra is a Napa Valley institution located in St. Helena. She needed someone to manage the reservation books – so of course I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of her Front of House staff. I then found myself working at the winery in the mornings, and the restaurant in the evenings.... with some time in between to volunteer. I loved it.

Carl continued to help me make connections all over the Bay Area, and introduced me to his dear friends Alice Waters and Marcia Guerrero. Alice, of course, is famous for her restaurant in Berkeley, Chez Panisse. But more important to my story, Alice and Marcia are both known for their work in creating The Edible Schoolyard, at Martin Luther King, JR Middle School. Here, I saw children learning to grow and cook food – and care for each other – as part of their urban middle school experience. I began volunteering, often 3 times a week – and it changed my life.

As my life unfolded, I moved back to Michigan, knowing that I wanted to help people connect to their food like the kids do at The Edible Schoolyard. I may end up having that winery after all, someday. Maybe a restaurant, too. Who knows? We are all on Quixotic journey, and I will always remember Carl Doumani fondly for being such an important Quixotic character in my own story of chasing windmills.

About the author:

Lisa Rose Starner is the principal for Soil Water Sun Grow Creative. The "Foodie Chefs" of six one six nicknamed her the "Kitchen Alchemist" for her passionate and instinctive approach to cooking. She is one of the true champions of the sustainability movement in West Michigan. She is also a mother of two beautiful kids. This is her second guest post on My Hotel Life.

Cliff Diving in Jamaica

Spontaneous was the theme of a 2006 trip to the island of Jamaica.  In the first week of May, friends called to invite us to accompany them on a trip to Jamaica at the end of the month.  There was no reason for the trip other than to get away and have some fun in the sun with friends.  

Longtime friends Angela and Mark would be leaving for Jamaica from Miami, we left from Chicago and would all meet at Sangster International Airport.  We flew down on Air Jamaica, arriving in Montego Bay where the family's driver, named Shorty for obvious reasons, was there to pick us up and drive us to our friend Victoria's home in West End, Negril.  Victoria's Parents, Tom and Sandy, owned a bar just down West End Road called the Pirates Cove.  Tom and Sandy have since sold the Pirates Cove to the Rock House Hotel where it is now called the Pushcart.  The bungalow was situated on the rear of their property, directly oceanside leading to a fourteen-foot rock cliff to the Caribbean ocean.  The sunsets here were phenomenal and the starry sky was as I've never seen before.

Our days comprised of hanging out locally in West End.  We visited the LTU pub where we had the most delicious banana pancakes.  We also had breakfast at one of Sandy's favorite breakfast places.  It was a small, family affair, consisting mostly of a shack on the roadside and a couple of tables outside.  The owner's two young daughters joined us for breakfast, as did their chickens.  I had the traditional Jamaican breakfast consisting of Ackee and Salt fish with Fried Dumplings.  It was served with delicious Jamaican bananas and Blue Mountain coffee.  It was here that my wife and I first had sweetened condensed milk in our coffee, a practice we continue to this day. With Victoria's parents owning Pirates Cove, we spent a good deal of time there eating and hanging out.  I've not always been a fan of fish, but in keeping with the spontaneous nature of the trip, I was up for anything so my first dinner was Escovitch Red Snapper.  The jerk was phenomenal as well.

The cliff diving here is world renowned and after some prodding, I did make the jump.  I learned here that if you tip the boys who hang around the cliffs and dive for show (and for profit), they will give you a tip on how to survive your first cliff jump.  Through another friend of the family, we were taken on a wonderful guided snorkeling adventure that started out at Xtabi and continued through to Rock House Hotel.Trips into West End for shopping and local flair had us visiting the Two Sevens Clash bar and a raucous night of fun at Alfred's Ocean Palace and another night at the Jungle Nightclub and Dancehall

In all, we had a wonderful six days in Jamaica and are looking forward to a time when we can return to Jamaica.  In the mean time, we enjoy our once a year trip to Island Fest in Kalamazoo, and monthly trips to the only place in West Michigan to get authentic Jamaican food: Jamaican Dave's.

About the author:

Ted Droski is an account manager for the Heart of United Way of West Michigan.

A Picture Perfect View

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park in Auckland. Frames like this one are installed at regional parks in New Zealand

New Zealand

Auckland, on the north island was beautiful, but a bit chilly and rainy while we were there. Downtown Auckland is home to the second tallest man-made structure in the southern hemisphere at 328 meters high. Auckland had some nice markets shopping areas with a great exchange rate in our favor compared to what Australia had been! However, the real reason to go to New Zealand is the beauty of the nature and the wineries. Auckland Regional Council has created large structures framing the views seen at many regional parks such as Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. New Zealand is also home to black sand dunes and beaches, like Titirangi, where the iron in the sand turns it a sparkly black. Part of the movie The Piano was filmed at Titirangi, and scenes from Power Rangers were filmed at some of the waterfalls we passed on our hike to the beach. One of the best parts of New Zealand we experienced was the wineries. We went on a winery tour which included tasting at Monkey Bay, which many Americans should be familiar with. It was a beautiful location and the wine seemed to taste better because we were actually there!

Fiji

One of the biggest parts we learned about Fiji is that there is not much outside of their touristic resorts. It is a very poor country and they love their tourists. We had wanted to see more of the local living, but the part of the island we ended up at was very difficult to get out and explore. We stayed at a beautiful Outrigger Resort that had everything we could want. The people were wonderful and were so curious about Americans. We had multiple delicious meals of fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh fish and spices. The island was beautiful, but unlike Australia and New Zealand, I think one Fijian vacation is enough for me.

About the author:

Perri Neirman spent a semester in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji while majoring in Hospitality at Grand Valley State University. While as a student, Perri worked as a server at six.one.six restaurant at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids. She is seeking to relocate from Michigan to Texas before the end of the year to continue her hospitality career.

Titirangi in West Auckland

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park

Malta's Nightlife

Malta's nightlife is unique and exciting, with a large choice of venues in close proximity and offering a new clubbing experience from what you're used to back home. Nightlife in Malta consists mainly of clubs concentrated nearby St. Julian's (in the Central/North part of Malta), referred to as Paceville, and open air clubs that are particularly popular on Friday and Saturday nights.  Paceville (St. Julian’s area) offers a wide array of clubs and bars to suit most musical tastes. All clubs are concentrated in the center of Paceville and the area’s always full of party people on weekends and radiates with energy. There’s something for everyone: trance clubs, R&B and hip-hop joints, salsa bars and alternative/rock bars. Besides clubs you’ll also find other kinds of entertainment in Paceville, including Malta’s largest cinema, a bowling alley, sports bars and gentlemen’s clubs.


About the author:


Ruth Azzopardi is a Revenue and e-commerce Manager for a five star hotel in Malta. 

The Streets of San Miguel de Allende

It was 1994 and my wife and I had just moved to Monterrey, Mexico to begin my two-year expatriate assignment with Amway de Mexico.  We'd been married for less than a year and were excited about the opportunity and hoping for a little adventure.  Fortunately Mexico never disappointed.  In fact, the first "adventure" became the benchmark for every trip we have taken since. It was like a first kiss: magical, memorable and bit chaotic.

On September 16th, we left Monterrey with eight new friends from the office, around 8:00 am, piling into in a Suburban. It was at a least a ten hour drive to our destination,  San Miguel de Allende,  to experience a traditional Mexican Independence Day celebration featuring an authentic  El Grito de Dolores.

I left the driving to my friend Rafa.  Barreling down Mexican highways in an over stuffed Suburban is best left for experts.   There were virtually no shoulders on the road and we were constantly passing (and being passed) by speeding semi-trucks, with their drivers chewing pequin chiles to stay awake, (at least that was Rafa's story). For two folks from west Michigan, it was white knuckle all the way!  As stressful as the trip was, it made the safe landing in San Miguel even more satisfying.

We arrived around 8:00 pm, and after checking into the hotel, we wandered to the town's center and were immediately in the heart of a crazy fiesta celebrating Mexican Independence Day, September 16, 1994.   The cobble stoned streets were packed tight, with the occasional vehicle plowing through the crowds, honking it's horn as it bulled forward.  Soon fireworks were lit. Some seemed to explode a bit early, some late, it did not matter.  Firecrackers were flying, flags were being swung and the crowd was cheering. I don't think we walked  as much as being absorbed in the crowd and just floated through the streets.  It was a wild, unforgettable night.

San Miguel de Allende is part of what travel guides call Colonial Mexico.  For many tourists, this region is not as popular as the resort destinations like Cancun, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, but for my money, it is an absolutely amazing region full of charm, history and magic.    It was truly one of the few places I ever traveled to that I felt transported to another era.  Historic churches, murals, cantinas, wonderful food and drink, street vendors, musicians and gorgeous folk art and antiques celebrating the Mexican culture.

After recuperating from too many Independence Day toasts, the next afternoon, we took a short drive to the village of Dolores Hildago.  This is literally ground zero for Mexican Independence as it was the location where Father Hidalgo made the first El Grito de Dolores.   This historic little village was full of unique shops and talented artisans.  Dolores is very famous for the beautiful Talavera pottery.  We bought several items that we treasure to this day.

We spent another two days exploring San Miguel before we had to head home.  Then the adventure began.  Still riding high, Rafa convinced everyone we should try to find the legendary "ghost town" of Real de Catorce . We were in the "neighborhood", so why not?  Real de Catorce, once a mining boom town is now a world treasure.  Tucked in between two mountain ranges and only accessible through a long tunnel, it is the most surreal place I have ever been.  When we arrived, a pilgrimage was taking place, and we could not drive through the tunnel as hundreds of people where in pouring out, many on the knees, some on burros, after paying their respect to a local saint.  Instead we enlisted a young boy to pull us in a cart through the tunnel.  If we had not had another eight plus hours on the road, we would of experienced Real de Catorce for much longer!  To this day, I have a hard time describing this city and visit.

During our two years in Mexico we visited other colonial parts of Mexico including the famous silver mining town of Zacatecas. We also spent a great deal of time in Mexico City exploring neighborhoods like San Angel and it's famous artisan market.   We also experienced two other wonderful traditions in Mexico City, the Day of the Dead and a traditional Mexican Christmas celebration,La Posada.

Even though it has been 13 years since we lived in Mexico, I've never forgotten the beauty of many of the colonial cities, the art, the wonderful food and music and the kindness of the people.  My wife and I have an ongoing list of places to visit, and a return to San Miguel de Allende is very near the top.   It's an experience we would like to share with our children too.  In a very modern world, the contrast and vibe of these historic cities and villages are both awe-inspiring and impossible to replicate unless you put your feet on the ground.

About the author:

John Rumery is an entrepreneur and champion barbecuer living in Allegan , Michigan. Visit his BBQ website grilladelic.wordpress.com. 

The City of Crystals

The author is posing on a typical Prague sidewalk - mosaic tiles with intricate

design patterns

My mother and I ventured out on a mother-daughter European trip this summer, making our first stop in Prague, Czech Republic then touring Germany and the Netherlands.  I had heard of magical things about Prague and had to know what all the hype was about.  Well, let me be the one to tell you, this isn’t a city you can miss out on.  This is the one city in Europe that Hitler wouldn’t allowed to be bombed, if that tells you anything.  It is one of the few places where you can see pre-war architecture at its finest.  The people, the culture, the beer, the food, the castle, the intricate cobblestone streets and the mesmerizing views from the Vltave River are straight from the history books, only much, much better...   


About the author:


Ashley Cole resides in Heritage Hill in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Besides running her interior design business, Ashley Cole Design, she enjoys modeling, traveling the world, yoga, dance, photography and being a student of life.

View of the Stare mesto  from the Vltava river. The famous Charles Bridge is seen in the background

Prague is know for its crystal. Above is what seems to be a stained-glass window,

but it is made of crystals

Whitefish Point Bird Observatory

In April 1978, as part of an ornithology class at Central Michigan University, I went on a field trip to observe the spring bird migration at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, just north of Paradise, MI.  This is the northeastern-most tip of Michigan in the upper peninsula and it's proximity to the Canadian shoreline makes it a natural fly way for tens of thousands of migratory birds.   The observatory is especially famous for the spectacular concentration of hawks, falcons, eagles, falcons and owls.  The field trip was everything it was billed to be.  The sky was peppered with birds all day, making their way from Canada to the south.  I saw my first bald eagle, golden eagle, peregrine falcon and osprey that day.  We also were able to watch wildlife researchers use their mist nets to capture owls in the woods so they could be banded and let loose for a variety of studies.   It was a memorable experience and it was the catalyst for my life long fascination with birding, especially raptors.  

Fast forward 30 years, my birding expeditions were few and far between.  My son Jack had just begun his birding studies at Goodwillie Environmental School, an awesome program in the Forest Hills School District.   I dusted off my old Peterson Field Guide to the Birds and out dropped my birding list from my 1978 trip to Whitefish Point.  It couldn't been more obvious if I had opened a Chinese fortune cookie and found a message; You will leave on Saturday for Paradise!  After a couple of phone calls I had a hotel room and received the good news that the migration was peaking.

A week later we left immediately after an early morning soccer game under grey skies. About six hours later we were nearing Paradise and the fun began. Cars were randomly pulling off the road and there were people with binoculars spread out in fields and by the many marshes and rivers.  In the water were various waterfowl and wading birds, taking a break from the strains of the  migration.  In the sky you would see sharped shin hawks zip by and higher up would be the eagles and ospreys loping around, sometimes circling a few times before straightening out and heading south.

Although I love birding, I am far from an expert and rely on my guidebook and the kindness of strangers to help identify the many different species.  We spent the next two days driving between  Whitefish Point, Paradise and the beautiful Tahquamenon Falls  Stopping often to identify a bird.  While at the Observatory we participated in a hike through the woods with field naturalists.  A highlight being able to observe through a spotting scope,  a long-eared owl tucked away in tree branches, just chilling out.   Besides the Observatory, which sits right on Lake Superior, the Great Lakes Ship Wreck Museum and the Whitefish Point Lighthouse Station  are at the same location. Fascinating history, especially with the cold wind and waves whipping over Lake Superior and the frequent passing of giant freighters out in the lake. Although we ran out time, about ninety minutes away is also a premier wildlife and birding destination, Seney National Wildlife Refuge.  Many of the folks we met were making the drive to Seney for more birding and hiking.  Maybe next time.

As icing on the cake, the weekend we visited, the  Tahquamon Falls Brewery and Pub had just opened for the season.  Can you imagine?  A day of birding and hiking followed by dinners at a micro-brewery located in the heart of a state park?  Yes, I was in Paradise.   It's been my experience that rarely does a second attempt of capturing the magic of a long ago trip happen.  But this was an exception.  Sharing a weekend with my 11 year old son, in a beautiful natural setting, and recapturing my love for birding,  surpassed anything I could hope for.  


About the author:


John Rumery is an entrepreneur and champion barbecuer living in Allegan , Michigan. Visit his BBQ website grilladelic.wordpress.com.