From East to West... & In-Between

Hi friends! Long time no write, but I’ve been off collecting airline miles while taking business trips to Irvine, Milwaukee, and Miami. If you’ve ever wondered what those three cities have in common, I used to not be able to identify any commonalities, but now the one similarity is my flights to each were delayed this past week. After 20 years of smooth sailing (or should I say flying), I think my karma finally caught up with me. So if I’m on a flight with you anytime soon, apologies in advance😉

Aside from being a bad luck charm, I’ve spent the past few weeks immersed in some pretty cool travel. So I decided to keep you updated as I fly back to Seattle with some great activities and spots to hit up if you find yourself in one of these three cool but unexpected areas.

As far as Irvine, California, I have to say that I seem to have been unnecessarily harsh on California for no reason these past years. After a few trips to Hollywood growing up, I convinced myself that CA was super overhyped- everything from the rusty, overcrowded walk of 90210 (though the show is still great if you haven’t seen it) to In and Out (Shake Shack is better, don’t shoot the messenger). Turns out though that while the bougie neighborhood of Beverley Hills, complete with the dirty, outdated walk of fame, is a bit unassuming, CA’s orange county – Irvine, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, has California breathing its life back into me.

While there for business, we did a number of market tours at my -shall not be named but is so inherently obvious- job, where I saw some pretty cool grocery stores (including the one Kobe Bryant shopped at, which was pretty cool) and got to see how the different demographics within OC live and shop every day. I even saw a $5000 bottle of whiskey, but I stayed far away because knowing me, just looking at it the wrong way would be enough to somehow smash it to pieces. I wonder how people who spend thousands of dollars on alcohol feel right before opening a bottle? Do they just crack it open and hope they get drunk enough to forget the price tag on it? And how do they go about selecting a special occasion worthy of drinking it? As a mikes hards’ and barefoot wine kind-of-girl, I think that those episodes of “guess which is richer” would backfire immediately.

Anyway, we also got a chance to check out the Newport Beach area, and I immediately fell in love with the beautiful boats (straight out of real housewives, literally) and homes all on the most beautiful pier. We got a chance to ride a duffy boat out on the water, which if you aren’t familiar, are small boats that fit around 10 people and give you the perfect speed to blast some music and take in the beauty. We also indulged in some authentic CA Mexican cuisine, and that really set In and Out back a few paces. If you’re in the Newport area, I loved Newport Landing restaurant and bar, which has a beautiful patio and oyster bar where you can sit and eat, overlooking the boats quietly passing you by.

Next to Milwaukee, the forgotten, underachieving middle sibling of Orange County and Miami. This one was a pleasant surprise, as I’ve only visited Milwaukee once as a high school sophomore and can only remember the Cheese Mart, which in all fairness is still the highlight of the town where I’m concerned. If you consider yourself more of a risk-taker then the occasional Babybel/string cheese at the grocery store, I’d highly recommend checking this spot out- it’s located right in the heart of downtown. Also at the heart of downtown is the hotel we stayed in, the Aloft. A short but passionate plug for my favorite affordable hotel chain, as I’ve now been to both their Chicago and Milwaukee locations and was left extremely happy. They’ve got live music, they’ve got the most comfortable beds, and they’ve got a relaxing atmosphere, which is a win in my book. Hey Aloft, I know there are much better uses of your money, but I still say you sponsor me**

While in Milwaukee, my fellow Sales Associates and I explored downtown, checking out Bucks Bar and Grill, Ian’s and Harp’s, which were all great places to socialize and unwind after work. But the true highlight of Milwaukee (and dare I say Wisconsin) was Meder’s. Despite arriving to Wisconsin with no idea that it is apparently known for German food (at this point, why even travel when you can just hit up the Midwest), after my flight was delayed, my parents and I got dinner at Meder’s, the most star-studded and well-known German hotspot of them all. And huge shoutout to my parents for picking me up from O’Hare and professionally ubering me to my hotel in Milwaukee. Even though I forgot to tip them!

Anyway, Meder’s is really authentic and the food is delicious. On top of the Oktoberfest outfits and the 2 LITER BOOTS OF BEER available, they’ve also got a wall of fame with pictures of some pretty star-studded people who have now chomped on the same Bratwurst as me. I won’t spoil all the big name reveals but as a sneak peek: JFK, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, and Audrey Hepburn. Any restaurant that can get Ronald Reagan and Justin Bieber in the same place must be truly worthwhile, right? And I hear they are adding my name to the list…. Coming Spring 2065.

I spent the weekend back at home in Chicago, where I got TO SEE ED SHEERAN LIVE IN THE PIT (pretty epic concert, despite knowing like three songs post Ed Sheeran 2016 era) and also watched Barbie with my best friends. I loved this movie! I think everyone should see it, and I think once I give some time for spoiler cancel culture to settle down, I will do a little Barbie commentary post in a few weeks.

Then it was back on the tarmac, as I traveled to Miami for my second national sales meeting. It is crazy to me that I actually reported on this one exactly a year ago when I had been working for just a few weeks, and now I’m basically a veteran (just kidding). If I have some advice on Miami, its to not go here in August, unless you like your hair to poof up like you’re in the Madagascar movies or you enjoy feeling like a sticky piece of gum. Despite the rain and gloom, the sun did come out, in the form of getting together with some of my favorite people at work and being in a beautiful area. From checking out the Aventura mall to our evening nights, I loved every part. I discovered what Miami Vice was during a Havana Nights themed night (I guess that makes me super young according to my coworkers so please validate me) and we partied through the rain at The Wharf, an awesome area in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed in the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry, which with a waterpark and beautiful resort area, I can’t recommend enough for families and young kids (or you know anyone that isn’t just doing a conference there ha ha ha).

Then we closed out our Miami adventure by spending an astounding 7 hours in the Miami International Airport, awaiting four delays and finally a cancellation. I now consider myself the expert on this airport so if you need any airport advice, I can be your gal.

12 hours later, as I fly home to Seattle, I am ready to put the bow tie on yet another truly special couple of weeks. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: How is it already August. And as we all know, August slips away like a moment in time….. so enjoy the remainder of the summer and live your best life.

I’ll have more next week for you – when I’m feeling 22!