The last month of the year has come and gone. We’ve been all over the world this month and yet when it is all said and done there truly is no place like home.

RECAP OF THE MONTH

Somewhere in Dubrovnik Jenn and I were sitting and having a meal and we started talking about what the next four months looked like. We both had some significant milestones at work along with a lot of travel. I had three more Europe trips, Jenn had three more work trips, and a trip to California in October for my Mom’s 60th birthday. It was always going to be a lot, but the icing on the cake was December was going to be the busiest of them all.

It began on the 2nd of December when we boarded a chartered United flight from Newark to Orlando for my company’s anniversary party in Disney World. The planning was completely out of our control (handled by the company) so we just showed up grabbed our seats on the plane and headed to Orlando. When we arrived we skipped the provided bus and instead grabbed an Uber to take us to the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes. When we arrived we were given some delicious drinks and chocolates and showed to our beautiful room. After taking in the great room and cool gifts we grabbed our theme park passes and made our way to the pool to have lunch.

One of the biggest breaks we got was being able to book a spa appointment. Immediately after receiving the hotel confirmation, I made both Jenn and me 50-minute massages and we got a few of the last slots. It was the perfect way to start a weekend getaway. After the spa, we got ready for the evening’s festivities, a welcome reception on the lawn between our hotel and the JW Marriott. We originally thought about going to a nearby Benihana’s for dinner but instead opted to go to the party early and introduce Jenn to some of my colleagues. The party was like something from a movie with acrobats, dancers, drone shows, and entertainers everywhere along with as much food and drink as you could consume. The party ended at 10 PM to give us time to have Epcot to just my company. We grabbed an uber with my friend Sam and got there right as they let us in and immediately made a run for Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the best rides I’ve ever done. We finished the night with the test track ride (a lot less exciting) before making our way back to the hotel.

If Friday wasn’t enough, Saturday was something I’ll never forget. We woke up early to get the Magic Kingdom right as it opened after wolfing down some room service. We arrived a few minutes after opening and made our way to Splash Mountain which had almost no wait and then to Thunder Mountain which had only a 15-minute wait. Within 30 minutes of being in the park, we were able to check off two of our favorite rides. From there we waited about 30 minutes for an inferior version of Pirates of the Caribbean before making our way to Space Mountain to use our Genie+ pass to skip the line. Jenn couldn’t ride Space Mountain without immediately getting a churro and popcorn right after. We finished up our time at the Magic Kingdom by walking the entire park and using our last Genie+ pass of the day at The Haunted Mansion. We had contemplated going to Hollywood Studios after the Magic Kingdom but by 2 PM we were exhausted and ready for a nap. We grabbed an Uber and took a nap before getting ready for the big party of the weekend at the Orange County Convention Center.

We arrived at the convention center a little before 7 PM and by the time we went up the escalator were whisked away into the massive convention floor that was wall-to-wall food, acrobats, and drinks. It was like something from the movies. It was much harder to find people at the convention center but by the time we were able to the first of three musical acts began with Carly Rae Jepsen. You could tell that outside of her main hit (Call me Maybe) most people were not aware of her other hits. She put on a great show but it wasn’t overly memorable. The evening shifted at 10 PM when Chris Martin took the stage and for the next hour, Coldplay played what I’d consider being the best concert I’ve ever seen live. We were maybe 15 rows from the front of the stage and for an hour the band played all of their hits. There were over a dozen times I’d look at Jenn and mouth something along the lines of “I cannot believe this is real life.” When they played their last song I felt like I had just witnessed something I’d never forget. There was a third act (Diplo) but after the highs of Coldplay, both Jenn and I decided that was where we would call it a night. I haven’t stopped playing Coldplay music since this concert.

We didn’t get back to our hotel until after midnight and immediately fell asleep. When we woke up we were much slower to get going, once again ordering room service, but this time packing our stuff up for our trip home. Before going home though we had a full-day at both Universal Studios Parks ahead of us. We dropped off our bags at the designated hotel drop off point and made our way to Universal Studios where we started our day at the Island Adventure park. We walked through the Dr Seuss land before getting to Harry Potter world. With our tickets we got to use their faster lanes and went on a small rollercoaster and then went on a motion simulator ride where you flew through Hogwarts. Jenn didn’t hold up very well on the ride and got super nauseous. Even the popcorn, churro, and butter beer wasn’t enough to shake the feeling.

It took a few hours but eventually, we rallied and made our to Universal Studios where we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and walked around the park. There aren’t a ton of rides at either park but it was such a beautiful day that walking around this sunny December day was great. We left the park at 4 PM, grabbed our bags at the hotel, and made our way to the Orlando airport to take our United chartered flight home. We were incredibly fortunate that our entire experience was flawless (not the case for everyone), we arrived home on time and were able to check Orlando off our list.

Less than 24 hours after getting back from Orlando I was about to take off for Paris again. Before I left we sent out our beautiful Christmas Cards and officially retired our ten-year-old Samsonite suitcases that have been with us to nearly 40 countries. It was sad to see them go but they just don’t have another trip in them. I left for an 11 PM Air France flight to Paris and slept the entire time. When I arrived in Paris it was incredibly cold but I still made the long walk to the Eiffel Tower and Lourve before going to dinner and getting sleep. The next day I had a full day in the office and a holiday dinner at the same restaurant Jenn and I was at in April, David Toutain.

The dinner didn’t end until almost midnight and the next morning I had an early train to London where I had a full work day ahead of me and another holiday party that evening. By the time I got back to the Andaz that evening the McDonald’s near my hotel was packed and I was able to beg the hotel to send me a Caesar salad before the kitchen closed for the evening. The next morning I was back at Heathrow and flying home to Jenn. I slept almost the entire way home on my Virgin Atlantic flight which meant I was beyond excited to see Jenn and Frasier when I got home.

Unfortunately, it was only two days after I got home that Jenn was boarding an Alaska Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco to join her Leadership team for their year-end offsite in Half-Moon Bay followed by her team’s offsite in Napa. Frasier was off to Far Fetch for his holiday stay while I met Jenn in Napa on Friday, December 16th. When I arrived Jenn had developed her third rash of the year (same as when she originally had COVID, and again in Copenhagen) and was feeling OK but not great. It was hard to tell how much of this was her being exhausted from the last few weeks and how much her body was fighting something. We slowed down our original plan in Napa and went to Ad Hoc an hour after I arrived in Napa with our rental RAV4. They are known for their Friday fried chicken as part of their daily tasting menu so along with a beautiful salad, steak, and dessert we added the fried chicken for a beautiful feast.

From there we went to our only winery for the day, Domaine Carneros where we had their sparkling wine-tasting flight with some small Spanish bites and a charcuterie board. It was a ton of food and alcohol and I think we were both more tired than we realized as we didn’t finish any of it. We left at around 4 PM and came back to Andaz Napa to rest for the rest of the evening. I’m not sure either of us has slept harder than we did that night.

Saturday we had two wineries lined up, but before we went there we went to Acacia House, a beautiful breakfast spot at the Alila hotel where Jenn and Amy had breakfast in September. I had their breakfast Sandwich and Jenn had the Chilaquiles. It was such a great breakfast and the perfect way to fill up before two exquisite wine outings. Our first winery was the Chateau Montelena where Jenn booked us the Library tasting. We got there a few minutes early so we walked the beautiful grounds before having this exclusive tasting. We had two Chardonnay, one Zinfandel, and two Cabs (one nearly 20 years old). The wine was exquisite and if we had room in our suitcase I would have really thought of buying one of the wines, but alas we had to just enjoy them while we were there.

We had some time to kill before our second tasting so we drove nearly 30 minutes to the closest In-N-Out to grab lunch before going to our second winery of the day, Far Niente where we had the estate tasting. When we parked the valet asked our names and when we gave it, he gave us two glasses of white wine that we could walk with on our way to our tasting, a nice touch. What I don’t think either of us realized was that Jenn had booked a private tasting, so our tour guide (the name I didn’t write down) took us to a private room where cheese and wine were already prepared for us. For an hour we got to try some of their finest wines and learn about their property. This is a rare time I didn’t get involved at all with booking the wineries and it’s no shock that Jenn decided that meant we could only do the most expensive tours possible. It was so worth it though.

We finished the evening at Torc a restaurant near our hotel. We started with some devilled eggs and both had pasta for our main. We were so food/wine out at this point that we kept it light before calling it an evening.

The next morning we packed up our room in Napa and drove to San Francisco for one night at the JW Marriott. We didn’t have any major plans for the day but thought it would be nice to be in San Francisco before heading to Southern California. The universe had other plans for us, after we checked in we noticed that Jenn’s rash was getting worse and she was slightly swollen in her neck. She wasn’t feeling bad but also not 100%. We decided we’d hold off making any decisions and walked to lunch at Wayfare Tavern. Jenn had the Egg’s Benedict and I had the Croque Madame. It was good, not great. From there we walked the streets of San Francisco, stopping at a bookstore before making our way to Fisherman’s Wharf. It was far more underwhelming than we remembered it and decided we would Uber back to our hotel.

When we got back we talked about it for a while and made the incredibly difficult decision to cancel going to Southern California and head home the next day. We were incredibly fortunate that everything we booked was refundable (we did that on purpose) and we were able to get flights from San Francisco home the next day. This would be our first time not home for Christmas, something that neither of us took lightly but we were extremely concerned about Jenn’s health. We let everyone know and booked doctor appointments for the day after we got back home. Our flight home from San Francisco was uneventful and when we got home we both fell asleep almost instantly.

The next day we had a few doctor visits with her primary care doctor and her dermatologist to look at the rash. The rash no one seemed overly concerned about but she did get an x-ray later that day on her neck and collarbone which a day later didn’t show any abnormalities. She did test positive for Scarlet Fever at the doctor’s office and her blood showed infection as well. As of this writing, she is feeling 100% and her rash/swelling is all but gone. We do not know why this has happened twice since she had COVID, and will have to do more doctor visits and tests in the New Year. For now, we’re just very grateful she’s feeling better.

Coming home early meant Frasier also came home early and we were able to spend the holidays as a family. We ended up making Chicken Parmesan and watching The Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, and Christmas in Connecticut on Christmas Eve. It reminded me of a few years ago in Newport Beach during COVID where we didn’t have to be anywhere but home on Christmas Eve which made for a very special evening. The next morning we opened each other’s gifts (we ended up buying them when we decided to fly home) and had a champagne brunch before calling both of our families over FaceTime to wish them a Merry Christmas. For dinner that evening I made sous vide steak with a red wine sauce and Jenn’s Mom’s famous mashed potatoes along with cupcakes from Huascar Bakery in midtown. It was so much food but a perfect way to cap off a ver relaxing Christmas at home as a family.

The rest of the week was spent at home together. Jenn get’s the last two weeks of the year off automatically and I took the time off so it was one of the rare times when we just had time to rest. It almost felt like a summer vacation in High School and College. We slept in, went on long walks with Frasier, played Mario Kart, watched movies, and just relaxed. I’m not sure the next time we will ever have this much free time but we didn’t take the opportunity lightly. We only went out a few times to go see Ohio State Muders on Broadway, have dinner at Felice in the UWS, and a trip Downtown to see Avatar: The Way of Water at IPIC. But otherwise, we kept the entire week as restful as possible.

The year ended with us going to Central Park on the morning of New Year’s Eve a tradition I guess Jenn started when we came to NY in 2018 but I wasn’t invited until Frasier was. It was a wet and foggy morning but Frasier took that as his opportunity to play in the mud and run wild. Jenn was able to give him a quick bath when we got home and we spent the rest of the day resting, watching the Lord of the Rings, and gathering our energy for a late dinner at The Modern to ring in the new year.

Last year we also rang in the new year at The Modern but did their first seating and were home by 9 PM. We vowed after that that to close out 2022 we would try the later seating. We made reservations at the Magic Kingdom for the 8:30 PM seating. After getting ready, and taking Frasier out, we grabbed an Uber to take us to The Modern inside of MoMa. It was a rainy NYE so the streets weren’t super busy with tourists which made getting to the restaurant quite easy. We were whisked away into the main dining room where for the next three hours we had an exquisite 8-course meal with an insanely talented band singing classics throughout the night. I love the food here. The “eggs on eggs on eggs” dish with caviar is something that I would think would only be possible in heaven. It’s one of my favorite dishes of all time. We started with cocktails, Jenn a French 75 and me a Vodka Martini, and then moved into wine where Jenn got a half glass of white and then red, while I stuck with red. But really the star of the show was Jenn. I’m not sure she’s looked as beautiful as she did this evening since maybe our wedding day. She was glowing in her Tory Burch dress that looked like it was hand sewn for her. She is always the light of my life but on this evening she made the entire place glow.

By the time we were closing in on 2023 and finishing our dessert we made our way to the dance floor and got a couple of songs in with the growing crowd. We decided earlier in the meal that if we were able to we’d try to get home and take in the New Year with Frasier. It just so happened that we paid our bill and were able to get an Uber to take us home. We arrived at our building a few minutes before midnight and just as the clock hit midnight the New York skyline erupted in fireworks. And thus ended an amazing NYE and one that I will never forget.

TV WE WATCHED

Even with all the time off we actually watched less TV this month and more movies. However that isn’t too say we didn’t finish two incredible shows, The White Lotus (Season 2) and Fleishman is in Trouble, both of which will end up being quite high on my top shows of the year.

BOOKS I READ (OR LISTENED TO)

I surpassed my goal of reading 35 books this year by finishing off the year with the very short and dark book, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the first Tolstoy I’ve ever read. It was quite the book to end on and probably not the uplifting fun read I should have gone for. Luckily Remarkably Bright Creatures a very light and easy book was the second to last book I read and that was far easier and more fun.

MOVIES WE WATCHED

We watched more movies this month than any other month in 2022. A lot of that was on the multitude of flights we took and the Christmas movie staples.

The highlights though were Glass Onion which we liked more than Knives Out and for me All Quiet on the Western Front which was an unbelievably dark and gruesome war telling that I will never watch again but was worth a watch.

THEATER WE SAW

We only got one show this month and it was only because we came home early from California. We were able to snag tickets to Ohio State Murders a poignant and depressing tale that was pretty close to a one-woman show starring Audra McDonald. There were a few other characters but 95% of the show was her giving a performance that made us hold our breath for almost the entire 80-minute run time. It wasn’t our favorite show of the year but we’re extremely glad we saw it.

GAMES I'VE BEEN PLAYING

I actually spent far more time this month restarting Red Dead Redemption II. As of this writing, I am on the 4th of 6 chapters in the game and could finally see myself finishing the game. It’s hard to predict with work starting in a few days but I’d love to roll credits on what I consider to be one of the best games ever made.

2022 GOAL TRACKING

Goal #1: Read 35 Books: I've read 36 books and exceeded my goal for the year!

Goal #2: Keep Weight Under 140: I've yet to go over 140lbs

Goal #3: 12 Monthly Recaps: 12 for 12.

A Look Back - December 2022