Newark Airport, Classified February 23, 2018

Well we made it to the airport! We left the house about 4:30. The traffic was heavy, and it was raining on and off. We were very happy that it was not snowing. Then it would have been even slower. It took us 2 hours and 15 minutes. It seemed even longer. We were happy to have used a car service. No driving in the rain, and schlepping bags from the car park.

We checked our bags and got through pre check with out too much of a line. When we flew here another time the line went from downstairs to upstairs. This time it took us only about 10 minutes.

Since I was leading us we found the restaurant with out much problem. You enter through the restaurant called Saison. At the greeter station you announce your name, they look it up on the touch screen and you are escorted in. Through the restaurant we go. Through the secret door in the back of Saison. Then you see the sign for Classified. You also see the ladies bag who was behind us. I had to take the pictures quickly. The Restaurant is small. It only seats about 34 people. Not just anyone can get a reservation . There must be a special algorithm, and since I am a social media blogger of world renown (if only in my own special world!) I got the invitation. I tried to log into the website using Steve’s frequent flyer information, but was rejected! The waiter told us that he thought that selection was random. This information did not appeal to my vanity. If you used your United credit card and were the primary user you would get 20 % off

the bill not including tax and tip. Of course I left Steve’s United Credit card at home! However the very nice server told me if I tried to enter Steve’s frequent flyer account number I should get the discount. Will it work? Read on to find out!We were given an amuse bouche of something, that was quite tasty. It might have been artichoke on bruschetta. Since the restaurant is behind security lines, the knife was plastic. The fork was metal. Ordering was via touch screen. It took some getting used to. They requested you input your bar code from your boarding pass. It wouldn’t take the screen shot of our boarding pass bar code, even the server couldn’t get it to work. Finally I used my United App. That worked, and you can see what we ordered and that I got the discount! Yay! I love my discounts. Steve thought it was a pain, but I told him my $12.90 saving was worth it to me. I thought we were going to have a nice quiet evening in the restaurant. Ha ha. Of course a well behaved family sat next to us. Unfortunately well behaved families lead to absolutely no good dirt, or snark. And that’s why you read the blog, correct?

We each got a Caesar Salad. Steve got chicken as he is supposed to keep his beef levels down due to his hemochromatosis. I got the steak, as I love my red meat.

Medical lesson time. Hemochromatosis is the condition where your body stores iron. If you store too much iron you need to get blood removed from your body. They have to throw the blood away, it can’t be donated. Most females of child bearing age don’t have this problem, because, well , you know why. Steve shouldn’t eat iron enriched cereals, and he is not supposed to cook with cast iron pans.

Dessert were chocolates. Steve liked his, I was hoping he would take a bite and then give me the rest, but he ate all his. Insert grumpy face. Here is the proof that Steve got to be in the restaurant. This is the bathroom that I only peeked into. Steve had minor issues trying to find his way out of the restaurant. He was supposed to go-right, but he can’t see in the dark. He was lucky I was there to guide him out. I must admit that it was very dark. However due to my superior sense of direction and good memory I remembered that we needed to go right at the end of the hallway. This was the menu board at Saison. It was pretty much the same as Classified. Classified had dimmer lighting and no loud music playing. I enjoyed my dinner. Have you been invited to Classified yet? What did you think?

The Point, Saranac Lake NY 8/6/2010

Steve and I are not on my Excellent Adventures all the time, so I think I am going to have to go back to my vault of memories for other adventures that we have gone on. I don’t want to risk losing any of my 40 followers, do I?

I had heard of the Point in Saranac Lake for years. It was listed as a five star property in the Mobil Travel Guide as one of the top properties in the United States to travel to. It had been outside of our price point, but as Steve moved up the corporate ladder, I insisted on a treat for our 31st anniversary. He had made the mistakes of telling me to make plans…so I decided to see if there were any openings. Yay, there were!

So we loaded up the car and were off. The Point is a little over four and a half hours from our house. The majority of the trip is on the Thruway and the Northway. The last bit on secondary roads, seemed to take forever. The Point is a former Great Camp of William Avery Rockefeller II. It was completed in 1933, and was named Wonundra meaning “big rock” an Australian Aborigine word. In 2007 a group of investors bought the property and turned it into a resort that could host 22 guests at a time.

I was really excited about going, Steve not so much. The dress code was black tie on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Steve does not like to wear black tie at all. I love a formal look, especially my man at the end of the evening with his bow tie untied.

After following the expert directions we arrived at the call box where we announced ourselves. The gates were opened and we entered the grounds. The year before we arrived strong storms had hit the area causing a loss of old trees. The trees were replanted but Steve thought the grounds were especially spoilt. I not so much.

We were met and right away we were given a glass of champagne. What a way to start your stay! We given a tour of the grounds. It was a pretty expansive tour and by the time we were brought to our small cottage “Lookout” all our bags had been unpacked! Talk about service! The room was lovely. It had a king size bed, fireplace and great seating to look out at the lake.

The door to the left hid the bathroom and the door to the right was for the closet. I love a bed with lots of pillows, especially if I don’t have to make it, or get it ready for the evening!

We were informed that an unusual guest would be staying at The Point that weekend. The name of the guest was M. One name. M. was unusual in that during the day M.dressed as a man, and from cocktail time on as a woman. Okay, this was going to be interesting! We were told about M. as one time a guest remarked to M.at lunch that they had met his sister the prior night at dinner. After that guests were given a heads up!

Later that evening we all gathered for cocktails around a pool table and mingled, “Where are you from? Have you ever been here before? Etc. etc. I noticed a small woman with dark hair and and a white sheer organza blouse with a black bra underneath. Was this the famous M? I didn’t get a chance to talk as she disappeared before I got a closer look.

We were then called in to the great room for dinner. Two big round tables were set up, and you could sit where ever you desired. Now this picture shows the Black tie crowd. I probably dressed nicely, but definitely not black tie for Friday night. Steve and I chatted with each other and then I saw a woman in a pink confection similar to an outfit that as a child I would have had my Barbie doll wear. Sparkly, skirt poofed out to there with lots of crinoline, it was a five year old’s dream dress!

“That dress is gorgeous” I related to Steve! “I’m going to go talk to her!”

“No, you may not!” Steve was definitely unsettled. Although he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. There would be no stopping Linda on a mission! I considered his remarks, and swiftly turned away from Steve and went off to confront Ms. Pink Frou Frou.

“Hi, I’m Linda, that has got to be the most amazing dress I have ever seen! Is it couture?

“I’m M., no it’s not couture, but I did have it designed for me”, and so the chatting begun.

“Where are you from?”

“Japan.”

(That’s a long way to travel.)

“How many times have you been here?”

“Seven this year.”

(Oh my. That’s a really long trip, and with that frequency. There must be a back story somewhere!)

“Well are you an actress or something? How can you afford to come from Japan that often?”

“A very wealthy woman adopted me.’

“Oh.”

And so it went on. Steve gradually approached and joined in the conversation.

Of course I arranged that we ended up sitting next to M. at dinner. Poor Steve, I don’t think that I ended up talking much to him all dinner. The conversation with M. was fascinating and varied, although I got annoyed when M. thought the US military were stationed in too many places. I think he thought “Yankee go home!The next morning we had our breakfast, and M. saw me and said “Good Morning!” It was difficult to reconcile the gentleman with short hair, a turtleneck, scarf and sunglasses as the woman I chatted with all night long! I am afraid I was a little bit curt, I had problems reconciling that M. as a male was still M. as a female!The Point had beautiful electric wooden boats that you could be given a tour of the lake. We did that and it was lots of fun. The location was really gorgeous and very quiet.

Lunch was held al fresco, but in an elegantly casual way.

There were bars everywhere. You stay included all your meals and all that you would wish to drink. Here is the bar by the fire pit. We were told the story that one night a group got a little too tipsy around the roaring fire. One of the guests was a male hand model. He got up from his Adirondack chair, tripped and fell into the fire. Lucky for him, he landed on his back and his hands were not singed. His NorthFace jacked was unfortunately destroyed. The next morning a new jacket was left for him at his door! Amazing service by staff! The event seemed to me a little bit too much like a Seinfeld episode!

Near the fire pit was a lean to. Here we have a bunch of happy winter hikers. During the summer you could sleep outside if you wanted to. One of the couples there that weekend did so. Piled high with cosy furs, pillows and blankets, it looked really decadent. I’m not to sure where the nearest bathroom was however!

During our stay I took some pictures, but unfortunately all my personal pictures from our stay have disappeared. I am going to make a public service announcement and remind people to print out some of your cell phone pictures before they get lost in the storage cloud!

One of the most popular rooms to stay in was “The Boathouse”. This was also the most expensive. Often it was booked a year in advance. It has been winterized, previously it was only available seasonally.

Here is another view. If we were to ever return, this is where I would want to stay.

By now it was Saturday night and it was time to dress up. It looks like this group is having a rollicking good time. I had mentioned that all my pictures have disappeared. These pictures are all form the website of The Point. If you want to make a reservation you can go to their website here. ThePointSaranac.com

Unfortunately we had two investment bankers and their spouses staying Saturday night. They did not know each other, but there did seem to be a case of “whose dick is bigger?”Conversations settled on number of Super Bowls attended, along with World Series attendance and whose box was closer to the field. One of the guys, although he had been a guest at The Point several times prior, refused to dress for dinner. In fact he remarked that he was thinking about wearing his scuba gear at dinner instead of the shorts and t-shirt he was wearing! The other gentleman was married to a woman that I thought was a professional in her prior life. Nails out to here, and bosoms fully inflated, she was a sight.

After the first course at dinner, we heard lots of scratching and yelping. Investment Banker One’s dogs had escaped and were circling madly in the dining room. I was horrified! This is just not right! The dogs were corralled by staff and locked in their rooms again. Second course, and the dogs escaped again!

It was unfortunately a bad evening. I abhor rudeness, and these guys had it in spades, between the oneupmanship and the out of control dogs. The ex-hooker wife would have been interesting, but she was the silent type. M. wasn’t sitting next to me, and Steve was silent as he hates investment bankers, so I didn’t get a chance to chat much.

After dinner we returned to the fire pit where we snuggled under blankets in our Adirondack chairs and had truffle popcorn. We had a delightful conversation around the fire – thankfully the investment bakers were the only rude people around and they hadn’t joined the group at the fire pit.We made sure to get out of our chairs carefully at the end of the evening.Life was looking a little bit better.

The next morning we had breakfast on our deck and got ready to leave. Our bags were loaded into the car, with a box lunch and a beautiful tapestry pillow to remind us of our weekend.

The next day we got a phone call from the management inquiring about our stay. I mentioned how out of control the dinner was with the dogs running wild. I also asked if sometimes they told guests that they were all booked, so unruly guests wouldn’t return. Unfortunately, you can’t run a business that way, you need to accept all your guests. We ended up getting a letter a few days later offering us a complimentary future night’s stay. Unfortunately for me, Steve doesn’t want to go back. Too far, too much money, black tie on Saturday night, etc.etc.etc!

Was their any fishing you ask? No, Steve didn’t not bring any equipment with him. This was to be a Linda centered vacation. Since then, all of our vacations have tried to include fishing for Steve. I am not stupid.

Since our stay, The Point went into financial difficulty. The financial group that ran the property defaulted on their multi million dollar loans. The Point was purchased by a couple with deep pockets who had been guests numerous times and loved the place. From their website, it looks much the same as when we were there. Perhaps Steve will have a weak moment and agree to have us return for a stay. Here’s hoping that the new owners will accept my one night’s stay for free coupon!

Steve’s Como Maalifushi Fishing Narrative 2018

This is Steve’s description of his fishing experience on our vacation to The Maldives. As you can see, his writing style is much different than mine. I will insert some pictures to they story.

Linda and I took a trip to the Maldives in January, and I arranged 3 days of fishing at our second stop, Como Maalifushi, comohotels.com/maalifushi with guide Craig Richardson. Craig is a young South African with experience at other Indian Ocean locales including the Seychelles an Brandon’s atoll. He is exploring the fishing opportunities at the Thaa atoll, which is about 25 miles in diameter.

Craig explained that bonefish were scarce, having left the atoll to spawn in deep water for about a 2 month period, but that several species of trevally, triggerfish, and grouper, among others, were around.

This is a bonefish that Steve caught when we were in Abaco, The Bahamas; staying at Delphi-Bahamas.com.

The water temperature on the flats was above normal due to calm sunny weather, so on the first day, January 11, we ran 45 minutes to the other side of the atoll, where the water was 2-3 degrees cooler. We poled some gorgeous flats, but saw only a few small fast moving trevally’ I took a few shots and got a couple to follow but no hookups. In the afternoon, at low tide, we waded between 2 small islands in a shallow area with coral and eelgrass. Fish were working the area. In short order I caught a bluefin trevally,

a yellow spotted trevally and a needlescale queenfish, all 2-3 pounds. Then I hooked a big bluefin, which made a powerful run across a very shallow reef covered with coral. Craig held my line high and kept the fish from wrapping my leader and breaking off. He took at least 100 yards of line before tiring. Craig tailed him and we got some photos. He estimated him at 11-12 pounds, a beauty considering the maximum size in the Maldives is around 14 pounds.

Soon after releasing the fish, we saw a huge commotion about 200 feet away, probably a Giant Trevally (GT) attacking a school of mullet.

We grabbed the 12 weight and pursued him, but he disappeared. But we came upon scattered triggerfish. I found them very difficult to spot, unless they tailed, so many of my casts landed right on top of them and they spooked. I did get one take, but missed the strike.

Steve also caught a honeycomb grouper, but as this was a reef fish, and not a gamefish, it is not included in his narrative.

The next day was again sunny and calm, and the fishing on the flats was slow. I caught a small pipefish

and a small bluefin trevally. We spent some time dredging with a 700 grain 12 weight line in a deep channel with strong tidal current, but had no action. Craig said this technique produces very big fish, including tuna, sailfish and GTs.

With continued high water temperatures on my third day, Craig suggested we try jigging and popping with heavy spinning tackle outside the atoll. I caught a pretty peacock grouper on the jig,

Here is the closeup.

Steve also caught two immature peacock groupers.and either snagged the bottom or hooked a very big grouper before the hook popped free. He caught a lyre tail grouper and 2 yellow lipped emperors of 5-6 pounds on a big Sure Cast popper.

It was fun, but we did not see a GT. Craig’s engine began conking out every few seconds, and it was a good thing we had only a couple of miles to cover to get back. It was an interesting 3 days, with 9 counters of 6 species new to me, including a linker bluefin trevally.

Craig did post a picture on Instagram of a triggerfish a client of his caught after Steve and I left Como Mallaifushi. Steve was jealous.

Como Maalisfushi Wednesday January 17, 2018 Heading Home

Today was our last day in The Maldives, and it was going to be a long one!

We woke up to our last beautiful sunrise from our Villa. Then it was off to breakfast at Madi. I had the chocolate waffle again, and Steve had an omelette.

I tried to take a picture of the pool area just like the professional ones. With this angle you would think that I had one too many Mimosa’s! That was one thing that Como didn’t have that Gili did, champagne at breakfast. I have noticed in my travels that the further north you travel the earlier the drinking starts. When my darling daughter and I went to Scandinavia with her dance group I took detailed notes on the drinking. In Denmark I observed drinking at lunch. In Iceland the drinking was at breakfast!

Here is Steve giving me a worried look. He knows that I have plotting and scheming on my mind. I had noticed this couple at the resort. She was the most beautiful guest there. He was interesting. I had already told her that I thought she was quite beautiful. She reminded me of Megan Markle, but I knew that was impossible as he was no Prince Harry. Steve remarked to me “Are you pretending to take my picture?”

Well yes, I was. He reminded me of a movie star, I couldn’t remember who. Bradley something or other? I texted my girlfriends back home. They snorted back NO!

Scruffy beard was correct as was head angle. However ears stuck out too much. Oh well, maybe we’ll run into a movie star on our next vacation. We did run into Anthony Daniels who played C3PO from Star Wars in South America, however he was gone before I realized who he was!

After breakfast we went to the gym and then back to our villa for the final packing.

Goodbye fancier villas that we didn’t stay in .

Goodbye fish swimming near our jetty.

Packing all done, and final lounging under our sala we returned to Thia for lunch. This time I got the breadsticks without Steve’s fingers in the picture. Steve had the burger and fries. He told me to “Hurry up and take the picture” as he hates cold fries. As a result the picture was a little shaky.

I requested the Caesar salad with grilled fish and traditional dressing. I got the Green Goddess Avocado instead.

Now that almost looks like a professional picture!Now after lunch we went to pay our bill. Here is Reception totaling the damage. Ouch!

Steve admired the wall decorations. They were wood.

I don’t think that I showed you the 360 view from our deck. It was pretty awesome!

Here is Steve asking if I am done yet. “It’s time to go!”

Steve was ready to leave. Here he is pacing. Did you know that he can measure with his pacing? It’s a family trait.

Here we are with S and A. One last picture before we go home. The two of them were very lucky it was our last day together. I didn’t get a chance to ask all my questions.

1. Do the men’s head wear in the sheikh robes have any significance?

2. When do men wear the traditional robes or western street wear?

3. Which is better Emirates or Etihad first class?

4. Can I house sit your house in Malibu?

5. Oh my God! Is that a Hermes Birkin bag?

Well, of course I did ask the last question.

Here I am on the speed boat, holding the Birkin! S didn’t even ask me to wash my hands first! It took her 5 years on the list to get one! Lucky S!

Here is the staff waving us goodbye! Please come back again and spend your money with us!

We meet the boat and prepare to board the plane. You can tell who the pilot is can’t your? He is the one with no sandals on!

I grabbed the front seat. I wanted to see everything!

Here we all are on the plane. Steve looking happy, first leg of trip to commence. A is going me that look, “See if you can behave!”

Let’s take off shall we? Whee!

This map gives you an idea where The Maldives are located. Tourism is a big industry here! All the resorts have to have at least 50% of their employees as Maldivians.

We reached the airport and prepared for landing.

Maldivian Airlines Seaplanes at the dock. Unfortunately or fortunately for S and A their flight on Emirates was to depart before ours. After hugs goodbye, and a stern “Behave” from A, Steve and I waited in the lounge.

After two hours of waiting we got in the shuttle to head to the main airport.

I found it amazing how close the airport was to the ocean. This is on the access road.

Goodbye Male! That white building on the right is a cruise ship, not a building!

That must be A and S’s airplane! I am sure they are sitting in first class!

Here we are in the scrum waiting to go through the luggage x-ray. That must be a surfboard in the orange and black bag.

Now that’s what I call no line!

This was the lounge for business and first class. I only had a bottle of water. No reason to try some food and get ill on the way home. Smart I am!

Finally our flight was called for boarding!

A refreshing lemony mint drink with cool towel before lift off!

This would be the flight path for our trip to Qatar. We would leave around 8:20 and arrive in Male at 11:40 local time (really 1:40 Male time. I don’t even want to think what time it was Como time, that was an hour different from Male time.

Here is one of the flight attendants in one of their four wardrobe changes. I noticed their suitcases in JFK, they were really big!

These are only a few of the named atolls in The Maldives!

I had a glass of tea with my warm nuts.

I wanted to eat lightly during this long trip. I had the lentil soup.

The Arab Mezze plate.

Followed by the pasta. I only ate one. Too gloppy for me!

I even only had two bites of the dessert!

Almost there! A and S are probably in their own beds in Dubai, after going through their mail!

Steve noted this about the flight map. It would show the direction of Mecca, for those who wanted to pray.

We finally landed in Doha. This airport was hopping, even at 1 in the morning!

We boarded the flight at 1 something and waited for everyone else to board. Nothing like watching some champagne bubbles! My plan was to stay awake until 5 in the morning and then sleep as much as I could. The flight was to be 13 hours long and we would be landing at JFK at 7am local time. I wanted to adjust myself as soon as I could to east coast time. Something that is always hard to do.

Not sure what this was. Ah yes, breakfast. Scrambled eggs with chives. After a 10 hours flying you really don’t know what is going on.

Almost home! Look at all that ice on the JFK approach!

After an exceptionally long drive (never land at JFK during morning rush hour), we finally made it home. This is our side yard.

I will have one last post about the trip, giving Steve’s fishing accomplishments the coverage that they deserve!

Como Maalisfushi, Tuesday January 16, 2018 A very rainy day!

I am going to start out today by wishing Steve’s and my son, E a very happy birthday. He turned 28 today! That means I am very much middle aged! Steve, is a year younger than I am, but he is catching up to me!

No breakfast pictures today, as you have probably already seen them all. Here is a picture an artfully rolled up towel and my ginger tea that I brought back from the spa. Steve went to the spa today to have a taksu massage. It involved deep tissue and also some stretching. No where near as painful as a Thai massage.

I have decided to post some beautiful pictures from Instagram and the resort’s Facebook pages. This is the sea plane and dock. Look at that beautiful water. I’m not sure if @con_fession uses filters or not, but it is a gorgeous picture!

This is one of the spas treatment rooms. I didn’t have one of the bath treatments, nor did I get to sit in one of the chairs. Guess I’ll have to come back next year.

Our room never had the doors open to the outside like this room. We like air conditioning too much. I wonder if the photographer of this room bumped his head on the light fixture.

Looks like the couple that stayed in this room, opened the doors all the way, and didn’t have junk strewn all over.

I couldn’t take this picture as I would have fallen into the Indian Ocean. I’m not sure how they were able to take it!

Steve and I decided to have lunch at Thia. Here is Steve trying to nab a bread stick before I took the picture! Bad Steve! You know you have to wait until the picture is taken! We shared a pizza and a Caesar salad. The salad was not as good as yesterday’s, as it had Green Goddess dressing, and too many anchovies! And here I was commenting the other day that I didn’t come all the way to the Maldives for pizza! No pictures, as I forgot to take them!

We were going to hang out at the beach by the pool after lunch, but it started to sprinkle. So back to the villa where we watched the rainstorm. It was our only rainy day. We heard some people went in their plunge pool during the storm. We’ll have to do that next time also!

For dinner we were going to join A and S at the Japanese Restaurant. They promised to take us under their wing and choose food that we would enjoy. We started with the bottle of Tattinger that was the gift of our travel agent. Thank you Linaratravel.com

A and S ordered us some canapés. Fried oyster, raw tuna tacos, and endame. They were all very good. Steve doesn’t like oysters so he skipped his. We went inside to watch the chefs in action. I only asked a few questions. I had heard that you are supposed to sit down, shut up and just eat what the chef wants to give you. These guys were very friendly. The gentleman on the left is from Nepal, he speaks many languages.

Here is a little video for you.

A beautiful tuna presentation. Steve and I didn’t eat this at the fish was raw. Not sure why we would eat the tuna taco and not this. Maybe because the tuna taco was more like a ceviche.

All sorts of stuff go into making the sushi. I don’t remember what any of it was besides rice, sea weed and fish.

Let’s watch some more of my movie. Do you think I can get a job in Hollywood? Ha ha! Chef was making an avocado roll. You can hear S in the background asking if Steve and I were getting tempura.

This fish looked like salmon, but it wasn’t. It was Kingfish.

For people who wanted their fish cooked for the Nigori, it was blowtorched. They did this for the beef also.

Presentation all done.

A lot of shaping was involved.

The first course that Steve and I had while A and S had their sashimi was tempura. We love Tempura.

I’m not sure what was in these, we didn’t eat them either.

These were orders all set to go to some of the diners’ tables. We were the only ones at the Sushi Bar, every one else was eating outside.

Our entree was something that looked like chicken fried rice. It was good. I wish I could remember what it was called so I could order it elsewhere. S highly recommended the green tea ice cream. It was light and refreshing. I am going to look for it in the ice cream section at the grocery store when we come back home. I had it in a dish, I also only had one scoop. I was hoping not to gain weight this trip.

Steve and S had it in cones. You could get three flavors of ice cream if you wanted to, or all three of the same flavor.

A had the blueberry dessert. I would have tried some of his if I had known him one more day. We left A and S to go to the bar, Steve and I went back to our room. I think that A subsidized our meal. It was very sweet of them to do so. They wanted us to have a good experience at a Japanese restaurant, and we did!

That’s all for Tuesday. Tomorrow is Wednesday, and that is the day that we leave. Sob!

Como Maalisfushi Sunday January 14, 2018 Just chilling at Como.

What adventures would today bring? We started out with another nice breakfast. I had a cherry danish and white dragon fruit.

We each had two cappuccinos.

Steve had an omelette.

I had the French toast with passion fruit curd, banana and coffee nectar. Have you ever had coffee nectar? I couldn’t really taste the coffee.

Instead of a massage, I decided to explore the fruit plate. I thought the pear shaped ones were interesting.

Unfortunately they were not very tasty. Wet, but no flavor. I have no idea what they were.The little nut one was very goopy, I think that it was past its prime.

Steve went to the spa and had a deep tissue massage and a half hour facial. He had never had a facial before. I told him that he looks ten years younger! Ha ha!

Days that Steve doesn’t fish he gets a little bored. So after his massage we ordered a Caesar salad delivered to the room. Now room service is something that I NEVER do, but Steve did it, so it doesn’t count. I did share it. It was very yummy.

We asked the staff if we could bring out unopened bottle of Tattinger that was left in the room to enjoy while watching the sun set. Here’s Steve lounging already, while I am exploring the best camera angles.

There was a DJ on the beach. He picked some really soothing tracks. The music was not too loud, I complimented him on the volume and choice of songs. I told him he was a blessing, and he was quite touched. He blessed me also.

Hat and Sunglasses off, or hat and sunglasses on. Which do you prefer? I think I like the hat and sunglasses on. I look more like a movie star waiting for my closeup. Steve’s skin looks really good, doesn’t it?Here we are for the presentation of the champagne.

Champagne at sunset, a wonderful end to a lovely day.

Smoked salmon canapés with caviar on cucumber anyone? Yes please, I’ll eat half of Steve’s. A toast to all my friends.May your lives be filled with blessings.

Como Maalifushi Saturday January 13, 2018 Steve fishes, I do a Thai Massage

Good Morning! The posts will probably go faster now that I have covered the details of the grounds, spa and rooms. We won’t have many dinner pictures as they were all al fresco except for the dinner that you will read about on the 16th. I still have four days to cover until then, so hold on!

I had the full English breakfast on Saturday. This time the bacon was extra crispy as requested. We still haven’t gotten a Rosti as good as the ones at Blanket Bay in Glenorchy, New Zealand.

Steve had a dish that you would never get in a diner in the United States for breakfast. Obviously, some people thought this would be a great dish for breakfast as it was on the menu!

I though that you might be amused by these salt and pepper dishes. They crystals were so large, that you couldn’t get your food properly seasoned.

I decided to take a stroll to the gardens to observe. I was a wee bit scared to get too close to the vegetables and decided to head to the beach for a rest. This was the beach at 11:00 a.m. I remember posting on instagram saying “where is everybody?”

Soon 12:45 rolled around and it was time for me to head back to the spa for a Thai Massage. I had a Thai Massage once in Washington D.C.. It was somewhat uncomfortable, but my back and shoulders are still so tight, that I thought the stretching might help me. I was given a beautiful set of Thai pajamas to wear. This is the last time I would look so happy, until my massage was over. How was it? Let’s just say that massage did start with a soothing foot soak. Then we moved to the cushion on the floor. Unfortunately I can not lie face down for longer than five minutes before my neck and shoulders starts rebelling. So I moved to the massage table, where my head could stay cradled. The therapist did a lot of stretching. There are no oils, in a Thai massage, just firm stokes of the hand, wrist, elbows and knees. Then she asked me to flip over and lie on the floor. More stretching of body parts, that didn’t really want to go where she was trying to put them! My 90 minutes of treatment ended and I was free to go. I had originally thought to have another massage on Sunday, but we agreed that my body was going to be really sore the next day and maybe another massge would not be a good idea.

So while I had my spa treatment what was Steve doing. Well, Steve was fishing, while his guide Craig, had what is called mechanicals. Now every boat owner knows that the first day you buy your boat is the best day, and the second best day is when you sell it. There might be some good days in between when you have a great day fishing. The worst are days are mechanicals, when something goes wrong with the boat. Now Steve and the kids used to play a board game when the kids were young called ‘Fishing Time”. Most cards said, “Nice fish, two pounds, throw it in the live well. The greatest was when in you would draw a card that said that you caught the biggest fish of the day, and the game was over. Playing Fishing Time you would draw a card almost every fifth time-Go to Cranky Hank’s, which was the boat repair shop. Steve’s new boat has worked out pretty well so far but his last boat went to Cranky Hank’s too often.

Here is the pipe fish that Steve caught on his second day. Steve likes to see his fish pictures, so to make him happy I will post this one again.

Steve caught two of these yellow lipped Emperor fish. Isn’t this a beautiful fish?

In between Steve catching a fish or two, the boat motor would stall every three to five seconds. Craig surmised that “dirty fuel” was the problem. Steve thought that maybe the octane level was incorrect. No, “dirty fuel’ meant fuel that actually had sticks and grass and other junk in it. This totally screwed up the engine and Steve would not be able to go out the next day.

Steve also got a immature peacock grouper , and and another immature peacock grouper..

This picture of the fish on top is of the immature peacock grouper. The mature peacock grouper is on the bottom. They are mirror images of themselves. The adults are quite territorial and would drive the young away if they had the same colors. By looking differently as young, they are not driven away by the adults. Steve also got a lyretail grouper, but I haven’t gotten a picture of that fish yet.

While Steve fished, I rested under the Sala.

For dinner Saturday night, we decided to have a drink and watch the sunset at the bar in the Japanese restaurant, Tai. I ordered a drink that sounded right up my alley, and that looked delicious. Unfortunately it was the saltiest drink imaginable. The bar tender tried to doctor it up for me by adding sugar, but I don’t think anything would have saved it! We met a lovely couple at the bar, and had fun talking to them. They live in Dubai and also Vancouver. I had asked them about flying Emirates and Etihad, and had they ever flown in the Apartment or Residence. These are the super first class seats of those airlines, you know, the ones with the showers, and cost tens of thousand of dollars to be in. They had! Well by now, you know I was just about vibrating. I was so excited to meet actual people who had flown in these seats. They just about broke my heart when they said that the flights weren’t really that special, and a waste of money. You know me, I was hoping we would be able to see each other again the next day, I wanted to hear more stories. This was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in Real Life! I joked with them that Steve would be slipping them a $20 bill for telling me that the seats were not anything special, and that the Business Class seats on Qatar that we were flying were really quite nice.

Here is a picture of the sunset. People were holding the parasols so they wouldn’t be bothered by the glare. Every few minutes they would peak around the parasol and pose for selfies.

The fish were circling under the restaurant and I had to jump up to video them. I did a lot of jumping around this vacation!

I am a little leery of Japanese food. I didn’t enjoy the experience at Gili Lankanfushi at all. I have been to Japanese restaurants where they put on quite the show, with knives flying and food being tossed into pockets, hats and plates. I ordered the tempura udon soup.Steve had fried dumplings as his starter.

For dinner I had the very American grilled lamb chops with mashed potatoes and shaved apple. Have you ever eaten mashed potatoes with chop sticks? I challenge you to do so!

Steve had fried rice with wagyu beef with an egg on top. For dessert we had ice cream cones. Then off to bed, we had a big day of nothing to do but relax as the boat was busted and Steve couldn’t go fishing anymore.

Enough for now. Next post will be Sunday. Maybe you’ll get to explore a beautiful yacht.

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Como Maalifushi Friday January 12, 2018 Dhoni Boat

Part of our arranged packaged was a sunset cruise in a Dhoni boat at Como Maalifushi. You have previously seen pictures of the dhoni boat floating calmly in the water at each of our resorts. When we arrived at the resort our itinerary only showed champagne and canapés at sunset on the beach. While Steve was off fishing and before I did my spa treatments I inquired about the discrepancy. I had brought confirmations with me in case there was a problem, and although the current packages from our travel agent as of the first of the year do not include a sunset dhoni cruise we would get one after all. So it was arranged that Friday evening would be the time of our cruise.

We arrived promptly at the beach at six, in order to board the dhoni. The marine biologist showed us to the boat. I was thinking about wearing a dress or long skirt for this festive occasion, but decided on my black Chico’s travelers pants. It was a good choice as we needed to wade to the boat to board it!

So here we are, reclining in our dhoni. Vacation hair at it’s finest!

So long Como Maalifushi! I hope that we return in time for dinner!

Here is our bottle of Tattinger, and the canapés that I had ordered.

Here is our captain, adjusting the sails. Like every sail boat that we have been on we ended up motoring most of the way as we always seem to be becalmed.

More boat rigging.

Bored captain.

Me showing how shallow the boat was. I think it was about six inches deep. I have a wee bit of anxiety and was constantly trying to tell my self, “Stay in the boat, do not jump over the side. This will be over by seven.”

Here you also see my three carat fake diamond ring. When traveling not only do I like to stay at places nicer than my house, I like to wear big diamonds. I got this one at Home Goods/Marshalls.

Now our captain was getting even more bored. I think he was checking the cricket box scores.

The sun was starting to get lower and we started to turn around and head back. Our Tattinger and canapés remained untouched.

“Steve, do you think you should ask the captain if we should open the champagne?” I was nervous about this, as every time we adjusted ourselves on our cushions the boat rocked.

Yes yes. Can’t you dolts tell that I am busy with the boat? This is something that I spoke with management after the cruise. If the marine biologist at the launch had told us to serve ourselves we would have. We were waiting for instructions.

So what was inside the containers? Fried vegetarian spring rolls with Saucy Susan sauce.

Cheese, nuts, fruit and bread. And of course the Tattinger’s.Here is my he man. He is giving me quite the saucy look isn’t he?

Sun going down even more.

Selfie with our captain. I really need to do something about those age spots.

Saucy thoughts over, Steve contemplates all of the beautiful fish that he caught. He is also thinking about the next days fishing.

In case we would have problems this boat would have rescued us.

Safely back to the resort, Steve says lets go to dinner!

Alright, alright. I will pose for another picture.

When we got off the boat, we met a family of Canadians who were inquiring about the dhoni boat ride. They were enjoying their last sunset. They had a long way home tomorrow! They had been at Como Maalifushi for two weeks. Two adults and two teenagers. The daughter looked happy, the son looked like he was eager to get home to his friends. Imagine their bill!

I told them all about it, and then mentioned the couple I saw earlier getting their pictures taken with all sorts of poses. So here I am with my fancy posing of us with a half empty bottle of Tattinger. Steve looks so happy and relaxed.

I had to do one last pose of us kissing. The gentleman taking the picture said “That was more like you kissing him!” He was right! I’m a tad aggressive! I do need to work on the gut sucking in, and proper bottle turn for optimal label placement, though!

The dhoni all ready for the next day’s excursions.

Goodbye last rays of the sun.

The Madi Restaurant all lit up at dinner. It was really romantic.

That night Madi had a special seafood buffet dinner. We ate from the regular menu as we didn’t feel like paying the $65 per person up-charge. I took a picture for you of the seafood, it did look really good!

Last photo of the day was Steve letting one of his fish swim away to be caught another day. That was the beautiful bluefin trevally.

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Como Maalisfushi, Friday January 12, 2018 Linda goes to the Spa

Well you didn’t think that I would just sit under my thatched sala reading and doing blog posts while Steve fished did you? I found out that canopy was not the correct term for that delightful spot on our deck. Those aluminum canopies that you see at soccer games and the beach have really nothing in common with the thatched Salas here at Maalifushi. So from now on, thatched sala it shall be.

I last left you waiting in the spa lobby with my cup of hot sweetened ginger tea. Between my soak in the steam room, sauna and the hot tea, my muscles and pores were ready for action. There was a coupon in the room for a half hour treatment followed by a facial or body scrub. I elected a deep tissue massage followed by a facial. The paper work asked what you wanted out of your facial and I sweetly wrote done, “My husband loves my face as it is, I’m not asking to look any younger!”I was assigned treatment room number one. There are eight treatment rooms available at the Shambhala spa here at Maalifushi.

Here is Chandra, my therapist beckoning me in.

The treatment rooms are incredibly large here. This room could be used for a couples massage. Steve was out fishing, and I couldn’t find anyone suitable to join me, so I was alone with Chandra! I hope you snickered at that comment! Steve knows that I prefer my massages solo, I can’t stand hearing the therapist talk to anyone else in the room.

The treatment began with a foot soak, followed by a scrub. It puts you in the right mind frame from the get go.

The massage room was on the same side of the island as our room. Our views were very similar. You could see the pounding waves as they hit the outer wall of the atoll. Did you know that there are about 60 islands in the Thaa atoll? Now you do.

The music was just right, and the air conditioning was set at a perfect temperature. I enjoyed the massage immensely although at several points my mind would wander to what I might write about in my blog. I had to constantly bring my thoughts back to zen, and what was happening to my body. The deep tissue massage was great, and I enjoyed the facial also. At one point Chandra put a mask on my face and I was going to ask her to take my picture for the blog. I had a moment of sanity and my gooped up face is only in your imagination. Spa treatment over, I returned via buggy to our villa to await Steve, wondering if he would think I looked years younger!

He did not. He was more excited about telling me about all the beautiful fish that he caught. I think that in editing this post he will try to make up for his faux pas and will spend the rest of the day gazing at me adoringly with goo goo eyes as is most proper.

Until later kids!

Como Maalifushi Friday January 12, 2018 Steve fishes and I go to the Spa.

So I last left you with Steve off fishing, and my enjoying life beach side.

Steve caught another beautiful peacock grouper, or perhaps this was the same one, but from a different angle. My what sharp teeth he has!

I had decided that I had enough laying about and was off to explore the gym and spa. Down the garden path I went admiring the landscaped grounds.

I removed my designer Croc sandals and entered Como Shambhala, the spa.

Here we have the reception desk. You could get earphones, and locker keys here.

There was a fresh fruit display, and cold water or piping hot sweetened ginger tea was offered to you. The ginger tea slightly burned my throat, but in a good way. I could feel healthier by the minute!

If you forgot your designer yoga outfit, you could make a purchase in the gift shop at the spa. I had brought enough Lululemon workout gear of my own, so I didn’t buy anything. There were yoga mats provided in your room. Complimentary yoga sessions were held once a day, I didn’t take any classes.

The spa treatment rooms were located in these villas along a small jetty. The first building on your left was the yoga pavilion. Would I try a treatment? You have got to be kidding me, of course I did! How many is the question, and you will have to wait to find out the answer!

This is another view of the spa lobby. You would sit here while you waited to your treatment.

The locker rooms, indoor yoga studio and gym were down this walkway. Their were shallow pools of water interspersed with sculpture. All very soothing.

This is the indoor yoga studio. Several mornings during my stay a number of the female staff were practicing for a dance to be performed on Como Maalifushi’s anniversary. I forgot to mention that there was a performance by several of the male staff our first night. The little kids loved to run up to the dancers, and try to steal the drums that they were performing with.

Let’s now enter the gym shall we? On the right is a sign in table. I think that Steve and I were the only ones to sign in. Steve told me that that stack of gym weights was very expensive. How he knows that type of stuff I don’t know.

There were treadmills, an elliptical and a recumbent bike (Yay!). I rode the bike every day that we were there from Friday on!

This is the view in the other direction. The gym also had a number of weight machines, and balance balls.

More of the gym and the expensive weights. They were in kilos, so I couldn’t use them. Ha Ha!

I tried to use some of the weight machines. I couldn’t figure out how to get on, off, or move the seat positions of the machine in the top middle of the page. I don’t think that anyone else could figure it out either, as it remained in one position our whole stay!

I am done riding the bike, so lets go see the changing rooms. Males to the left and females to the right. What an interesting piece of driftwood on the wall.

The opening to the left leads to the steam room and sauna. There was a soaking jacuzzi in the background. I used it commando, I didn’t read the sign on the wall that said “Please wear a bathing suit!” Uh Oh,

Here are the lockers. I got a different locker every time, and got quite confused remembering which locker was mine. As I fumbled with my key once too often I realized that the keys had numbers on them. My life suddenly got a whole lot easier! Inside the lockers were sandals, towels and a fluffy robe with sash. When Steve went to the spa his robe was too small as he is so powerfully built. They had to get him an extra large from storage!

This is the ladies toilet. There were these hoses in all the bathrooms. I wasn’t sure what they were for. I didn’t ask. Sometimes I really don’t ask questions, hard as that is to believe!

This is the shower. Along with two toilets, there were two showers.

Here we have another view of the jacuzzi. It was kept a little too cool for me. But I do enjoy a waterfall edge!

Part of my thorough investigation led me to try the steam room. Yes, it was quite steamy!

The sauna of course was dry heat, so you could see inside.

Here is the interior of my locker. I sure can fill up a small space with my junk can’t I?

Steam room is ready, so I’ll see you later. Would I see the treatment rooms?

Would this yellow lipped emperor be the last fish that Steve would catch? How many fish would he catch for the trip? Would the guides’s boat have mechanicals? Would I have a massage? Would I meet an interesting couple? Stay tuned kids, it’s only Friday and we’re here until Wednesday!

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