Posted by David Porter on October 27, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Ventana Inn and Spa – I tend to produce short photo journals during our travels. I have found that if I attempt to take the 6-8 hours that it takes to produce some of our video posts, I would never get to experience the wonderful places we visit.
Therefore, when we get back home, I will have more than a week’s work of production time sitting in my Herman Miller Aeron (the chair that saved my butt).
The Ventana Inn & Spa has recently weathered a horrific series of events that threatened its very existence. First, there was the Big Sur Basin Complex Fire which caused evacuation and damage, followed immediately by a kitchen fire (video here) which destroyed the resort’s posh restaurant.
To add to the drama, Ventana Inn and Spa had just started a $26 million property-wide renovation.
Phew! What a tough year for the Ventana Inn and Spa team!
Well, I’m happy to report that there is absolutely no evidence of all this travail. The place looks spectacular and the setting is utterly magical.
One of the daily morning events that we have really enjoyed is the resort’s daily complimentary continental breakfast. Each morning we enjoy fresh squeezed juices, unbelievably fresh fruit, house-made granola, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and a variety of fresh-baked breads and pastries.
Here is a photograph of Carol enjoying her breakfast at Ventana Inn and Spa with a Pacific Ocean panorama behind.
After a few hours of work in our room, The Restaurant at Ventana had invited us to enjoy lunch on their patio with incredible long-range Big Sur vistas.
Look at this setting!
We enjoyed the resort’s Chicho’s Chicken Enchiladas which have evidently been a favorite here for 30 years!
After lunch, we then proceeded to the pool to relax, enjoy a good book, and take advantage of the resort’s Japanese hot baths.
Note: this photograph is courtesy of the Ventana Inn and Spa
Of course I can’t let another day go by in beautiful Big Sur without presenting you with another of my dramatic coastal photographs.
How’s this?
After sunset, it was back to Ventana Inn’s Japanese hot baths to watch the incredible display of stars through the open roof.
What a perfect day!
Posted by David Porter on October 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Definition of Hell on Earth: (‘hel ‘on ‘erth) – being trapped on a two week travel adventure with friends who are demanding, self-centered, irritable, whining, and who are all-around so miserable that you consider jumping off a cliff rather than spend another day in their company.
Have you ever been in this very uncomfortable spot?
Carol and I will never forget a past trip with friends where our #1 travel story was about how big an arsehole one of our travel partners turned out to be. After only three days we seriously considered leaving the trip for home.
After this experience, we promised each other that this would never happen again.
Here are our 6 Critical Steps to Avoiding Relationship Problems When Traveling With Friends:
- Choose Travel Partners Carefully – if you have friends who are somewhat of a challenge to be around for a few hours at dinner, then it is very likely that it would be very difficult to deal with their drama for a prolonged period of time. Imagine spending a long day traveling, peppered with a dash of hunger pangs, where all you want to do is hit the bed, take off your shoes, and chill out for a while. If you are traveling with folks who cannot control themselves in such situations, then you are headed for “hell on earth”.
- Start Small – don’t make your first adventure with friends hiking across Africa’s Serengeti. First tackle a short weekend trip to see how the four of you blend together. If there were no nuclear explosions leaving behind radioactive fallout, then begin to take on longer excursions together.
- Create a Basic Daily Itinerary – there is nothing worse than getting to a travel destination a little weary from travel, and then trying to decide amongst the four of you what you plan to do at this location. Have a travel planning dinner, uncork a nice bottle of wine, and make these types of decisions before you even leave home. Having these decisions agreed to ahead of time will save yourselves from great amounts of stress. Think: manage expectations.
- Create Space – make certain that each day allows for a little space between couples. Perhaps one couple wants to relax and read a book while the other wants to pursue further activities. Make some free-time in your itinerary to give yourselves some breathing room.
- Be Flexible – there are a great many things that can send even the best-laid plan spiraling to disaster. Weather, illness, out-dated information, crowds, changing of the mind, etc, etc, etc,. When traveling with friends, you simply must be willing to give up on your top desire if the group seems to desire something different. Three happy people and one sad-sacked moaner does not a happy trip make. Be honest, share your feelings, and make a group decision. Once the decision is made – don’t look back.
- Have Fun – it is a well-known fact that baby boomers enjoy traveling with friends. Therefore, make certain that you understand why you are taking this trip with friends in the first place. Exploring the world with great friends, deepening relationships, and having a blast! Right?
We are currently seven days into a 10-day road trip with great friends from Michigan and we’re having a blast. We are deepening our friendships, visiting incredible resorts, gobsmacking at incredible panoramas, and all-around having a blast.
If you follow these simple six steps, you will too!
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Posted by David Porter on October 26, 2010 · 2 Comments
Big Sur’s Ventana Inn & Spa – Today we awoke to sunshine! Yaaay! I was beginning to think that we might never see the sun on our 10-Day Coastal California road trip.
Check out this photograph I snapped on the Big Sur Coast Highway, California Route 1 today.
Stunning, isn’t it?
Today was also a day of transitions as we moved from Carmel Valley’s Bernardus Lodge to Big Sur’s Ventana Inn & Spa.
Ventana Inn & Spa is situated on 243 acres, 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean on California’s Central Coast and is renowned for its tranquil setting, rustic sophistication and romantic allure.
The land was originally owned by the Post family, which built a home that housed several future generations and still stands today at the entrance to Ventana Inn & Spa. Writer Lawrence A. Spector built the Inn in 1975 with the money he earned in the late 1960s from the film, “Easy Rider.” The famed Inn became the haven of movie stars such as Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, and remains a favorite for those who come to relax rather than be seen.
The setting is luxurious, yet rustic, with stunning landscapes everywhere you look.
Here’s a photograph of our suite.
Since its opening in 1975, Ventana Inn & Spa has received numerous awards and honors from some of the country’s leading magazines and travel services. Here is a look at just some of the awards the property has received:
- “The World’s Very Best Hotels & Resorts”, ForbesTraveler 400 – ForbesTraveler.com, 2008
- “Top 100 — Best in the World” Reader’s Choice Awards, #45 in the U.S. – Condé Nast Traveler magazine, 2008
- “The Best Places to Stay in the World,” Gold List — Condé Nast Traveler magazine,2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 – 1998
- “The 500 Best Hotels in the World”—Travel + Leisure magazine, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004
- “Top 10 U.S. Luxury Spas” — SpaFinder.com, 2007
- “Hideaways/Escapes-Tops for Pursuits and Pleasures” — selected by readers of Gourmet magazine.
- “Top 100 Hotels in the U.S.”—Travel + Leisure magazine, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1999
- “Luxury Resorts,” #21 Ventana Inn & Spa — Departures Magazine, 2004
- “Top 20 U.S. Resort Hotels”—Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report, 2000
- “Four-Star” ranking for Cielo Restaurant (now named The Restaurant at Ventana) — Mobil Travel Guide, 2000-2004
- “Top 79 Spas” (Reader’s Poll)in the U.S., Mexico, Caribbean and Canada – Condé Nast Traveler , April, 2009
Well, we’ve got some work to do exploring this resort. Stay tuned!
Posted by David Porter on October 25, 2010 · 3 Comments
Carmel Valley, California – Well, it’s another rainy day on our 10-Day Coastal California road trip.
So, what’s a body to do?
Wine tasting of course!
Here’s Carol with our Michigan friends Bob & Karen Schroeder as we sample the delicious wines at Bernardus Winery.
In this photograph we were sampling their Chardonnay, but we really liked the 2004 Bernardus Marinus red blend. YUM!
I didn’t realize that Monterey county had such a wonderful wine region. Check this out from the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association:
“Monterey Wine Country boasts over 175 unique vineyards. Winegrowing mostly takes place in a 90-mile-long valley, with only eight primary viticulture soil types. The northernmost areas of Monterey, deemed as on the edge of being too cold to grow winegrapes, are held in high esteem for their exceptional production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Yet, the valley experiences a “thermal rainbow™” spreading north-to-south, cold to warm, providing diverse ever-warming micro-climates supporting forty-two fine wine varietals.
Within the world-class designation of Monterey County, the region has nine American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) that have been identified as truly one-of-a-kind winegrowing districts: Monterey, Santa Lucia Highlands, Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, Hames Valley, Chalone, Carmel Valley, San Antonio Valley, and San Bernabe. These areas are referred to as “appellations” which is a term that identifies the winegrape’s place of origin.
Ancestors from over two hundred years ago knew that the Monterey Wine Country region had the potential for growing amazing grapes. There is a lot of rich vineyard history that dates back to the Franciscan friars. At the Spanish mission in Soledad, friars planted the first crop of wine grapes. Those vines withered and, sadly, no trace remains today of what was to become of this important region.
Rediscovered in the ’60’s – It was not until the early 1960’s that the full potential of Monterey County, as a wine-producing region, began. In 1960 Professor A.J. Winkler, a viticultural authority from the University of California at Davis, published a report classifying grape growing districts by climate. Monterey County was classified as Region I and II, comparable with the premium regions of Napa, Sonoma, Burgundy and Bordeaux.”
Who knew that this area was classified and comparable with the premium regions of Napa Valley. I sure didn’t.
If you really want to impress your oenophile friends, you can find some very interesting facts about Monterey County wines here, and here.
Posted by David Porter on October 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Ray Villafane is the two-time winner of the Food Network’s Outrageous Pumpkins Challenge Show and is considered by many America’s favorite pumpkin carver.
I thought you might enjoy sharing his many pumpkin carvings with your friends.
Just hit one of the social media buttons below to share this with a friend.
Here’s the link.
Enjoy!
The Roaming Boomers
