KK - Coast to Coast

Over a ten day period in late July/early August - I was officially a jetsetter. Between pleasure and work, and then a little bit of both, I flew coast to coast and my schedule looked a little something like this (start July 25) Den --> San Fran --> Den --> NYC --> SLC --> Den (end Aug. 4).

The trip started in San Francisco. Well, the trip actually started with a jaw ache but we'll get to that. Miranda, Lindsey Jones and I landed in San Francisco (only my second time) the evening of July 25th. Thanks to a recommendation from Marissa, we headed to dinner at Beretta in the Mission. A bottle of wine and the light Italian meal was the perfect start to our girl's getaway weekend.

Friday brought a trip over the bridge and through the woods with Cory, as he invited us over for mimosas, a drive through San Fran and a walk through Muir Woods, all ending with a cider-filled lunch at the Pelican Inn. Aside from the obvious, it was the highlight of the trip for me and I was so happy to get to spend time with a man that I have always admired - starting with once upon a dance floor. Thank you, bub, for showing us one of your (and now one of our) favorite places and, more importantly, for your friendship that is sure to last a lifetime. 

Friday night was something I never thought I would experience. In fact, when it was 'rumored' to be happening, I thought it must not be true because it was just too good. And I mean, I've been a good person, tried to live a good life throughout these 30 years but this? This I felt I did not deserve. And then somehow, it was true - The Legends of Summer Tour was announced. Tickets were purchased in February for Candlestick Stadium and the countdown began. Somehow on top of that, it exceeded my expectations. I'd wrap it up for you here, but this post from BuzzFeed pretty much has it down. It was good that I avoided the headlines/show setup before we attended because had I known how much they would perform together (and that Justin would be the cop on '99 Problems') - I would have had a heart attack and never would have made the show. But alas, some things are just M2B - and it just so happens that myself, JT and Jay-Z are one of those things.

Saturday and Sunday were spent spinning around the city with friends we're lucky enough to have there. Thank you to Lee and Kevin for taking us out for a night of laughs and dancing in the Castro and thank you to Marissa, for one, joining us for the concert (of a lifetime), and for two, spending our last day with us complete with a mimosa-filled brunch and a few hours lounging at Dolores Park. Love you. Love your hair. #leavingoutthepartwherewealmostmissedourplane

In the blink of an eye (and one dentist chair), I was back on a plane bound for NYC. Staying true to my (cursed) tradition, I was only in the city for about 22 hours. Thankfully, it was enough time to see my PY, Audrey, snap a few pictures, eat a few meals and pitch 26 media outlets for their holiday gift guides.

Tuesday, I was headed to the great state of Utah. There, I worked the Outdoor Retailer Tradeshow until I talked to so many people that I thought my jaw was going to close permanently #spoileralert; saw Action Bronson/Mac Miller (for the former); had lunch with a fellow Benneton member; drank whiskey; saw some old familiar faces; enjoyed a patio brunch; laid by the pool; spent so long at a restaurant that we were asked to give up our booth; took a walking night tour of the city - and all while getting to see two of my favorite faces, five days in a row. Ann, Chris. Your patience, understanding and care-taking of me throughout what was one of the most (physically) painful weeks of my life, can not be praised enough. You both are amazing and I thank Mark Johnson for opening a little store called HotCats and allowing you two to walk into my life. Heart. Full.

So yes, I was dealing with a living nightmare (when I say that, you have to realize that the whole teeth thing, mostly falling out without any control, is the only recurring nightmare I have). What started out as a little headache on my jaw from grinding in preparation of the above), turned in to a cracked tooth, which turned into my jaw locking on July 29 (Pep's birthday!). The entire left side of my face/jaw area looked like I had swallowed a golf ball and my mouth was shut tight at about 5mm. I've seen four doctors since the whole thing began and have been on seven different medications. The worst of it was definitely NYC & SLC. Mostly because I didn't know what was wrong. In fact, I still do not have answers to all of my questions. Is it TMJ? Probably. Apparently, I am a very unique case as I never showed any signs of TMJ prior (no cracking or popping, and only started grinding about two years ago). We think that my right disc has slipped out of place and that my left side shut down from over compensating for those muscles for so long. Basically, my jaw muscles are in spasm (and have been for weeks now). At first we thought surgery but thanks to muscle relaxants and a heated rice sock, that might not be the case. Although still locked, I can open to about 25mm now (thanks to Sean for measuring me in the back of Scream daily). I go back on Tuesday to determine next steps.

I will be celebrating with a fajita/sandwich/sticky candy party. Date TBD. In the meantime, it's good to be home.

Aloha 30

In celebration of my 30th year, my mom invited me to join her and Sam on their annual summer trip - this year, it just happened to be in Hawaii. 

Now if you know me, you know that Hawaii is my ultimate. I am a beach girl through and through. You give me a towel, a book and some sunscreen (and maybe a mimosa or two) and color me a happy (and tan) girl. There, of course, was slight hesitation on my part - I'd just gotten back from London and hadn't been to Iceland yet and my travel funds were quickly depleting (oh wait, that would mean I saved, I mean growing at a rapid pace) but it was HAWAII aka PARADISE. My mom was offering the present of a flight and a place to stay (!!!) so I just had one last question - can Lauren join? The minute she said of course, I was out bikini shopping.

We arrived in Kona (coolest airport ever, all open space) the morning of June 21 after a long (and cold!) flight over from Vegas. After a slight hiccup at the rental car place, we headed to Lava Java to fill ourselves with Kona Coffee (the best!) and croissant sandwiches. Off to the beach from there for Lauren and me which (no surprise) is where we spent the majority of our time. We've always been the best of beach buddies (hence the immediate request to bring her along) and for us, this was Nirvana.

That night, our very first night, we were welcomed with a Luau which I just ATE UP. Apparently, you give me a few Mai Tais and put a fire thrower in front of me and I am just giddy. The Kalua Pork was delicious and the hula girls were sooooo beautiful! A perfect start to our week in Hawaii.

On Monday, I went with my parents to Hawai'i's National Volcano Park where we saw an active volcano, devastation trail and a lava tube. I was surprised how much of Kona reminded me of Iceland - with all of the lava, they looked similar (although I much prefer Hawaii's weather to Iceland's!). The lava tube was my first underground cave so that was definitely the highlight for me. Sam, my biologist stepfather, was fascinated by the volcano though, so it was a good day trip for all.

Tuesday was our trip up to Waipio Valley where we rode horseback through the rain forest. Camel the Horse was my ride as we trekked through trails, water and took in the views. An absolutely amazing experience that I would highly recommend if visiting the Big Island. I even saw my first pink lotus (and dream treehouse!).

Wednesday, Lauren and I spent some time at the beach where we made friends with sea turtles before hustling back to the hotel to grab Sam before our Manta Ray Night Snorkel. Audrey (PY) had shared with me, when I told her about our plans to visit Hawaii, that the Manta Ray Dive was one of the most magical things she'd ever seen so this was top on my list of things to do and it did not disappoint. Even with a slight asthma attack in the beginning (I suppose I should have said that I'd had a snorkel mask on my face, once, six years ago, for about 15 minutes in Newport Beach while on vacation with my ex and his family rather than I've snorkeled!), it was up there with seeing the Northern Lights for me. We started with an evening snorkel to see all the coral reef and colorful fishies, we even swam above some dolphins! This snorkel lasted about an hour and I'm glad we did it so I could get the asthma attack out of the way before we got in the dark sea after the sun went down for the manta ray portion. We were on the (small) boat for about an hour between the dives - which wasn't ideal since it was cold and rocky but we learned a lot about the mantas and heard some really cheesy jokes. Come sundown, we got back in to our wetsuits (awful awful awful) and were back in the water. This time, there were about 80 other people in the water (it's the #1 night dive in the world and one of the top ten snorkel experiences). We saw five mantas that night with the largest being Koie, a 12-foot female weighing in at about 1200 lbs. It was such an incredible experience to be that close to sea life - I could have chest bumped with Koie at one point, she was that close to me. The photos below are from our actual dive because I'm the sucker that spends $52 immediately following the experience to get the video and photos I wasn't able to capture.

The rest of the trip was really spent lounging on the beach with Lauren (our secret beach and Hapuna were our favorites), taking in the GORGEOUS Kona sunsets, drinking Mai Tais (thanks, Don's!) and eating delicious meals with my family. One thing we were really surprised about was the lack of fresh fish to be found in Kona (apparently the poke is all the rage but I'm not a raw girl) - but one night, Pep went searching and found us some fresh Ono and per my request, put some parmesan crust on that bad boy and that, with a side of rice and some fresh green beans, was the best meal I had there. #homecookin

Come Friday, we did not want to pack our bags but come to find out, you can't stay in Paradise forever. Even though Lauren and I tried coming up with ideas while we were there - for the record, and more, I still think "Kinda Watchin' Your Kids, LLC" still has a ring to it.

Aloha!