Our Best of 2022 Wrap Up and Travel Awards

Little Sister – Fat Girl in a little safe. One of the best laughs ever.  Because leave it to me to be completely oblivious to the fact there’s other people on this planet with me, as I start singing to myself, not realizing the entire room on the other side of the door can hear me.  Yeah, I was trying to be funny, to entertain my sister, not a room full of people. The Lock, Las Vegas

Big Sister – My main man Ray. We took a quick little trip to Kansas City this fall and stayed at the 21c Museum Hotel – this chain was completely new to us but we loved it. One of the unique perks are these giant plastic penguins (each city has a different color). You can take them to your room or bring them with you to the bar, whatever! Of course, we took full advantage or ours, who we named Ray.

Little Sister –  Not just a favorite giggle, but one of the weirdest things to ever happen to me in a bar (well, besides that whole women’s room incident in 1992, but we don’t talk about that).  A random old guy in a Kansas City bar, offers to share his BBQ ribs with me, you don’t say know to that. . .but you do carry them around in your pocket all night, in case you need a snack.

Big Sister – During our family trip to Maui, we took a Celestial sunset cruise. Over cocktails and pupus we watched whales, witnessed a beautiful sunset and listened to a celestial navigation expert teach us about how ancient Polynesians navigated by stars. It was such a cool experience but we were induced into fits of giggles as she kept referencing how the sun doesn’t “go down” but the Earth “rolls back”. Is it funny now? Mildy. Was it funny then? Yes! Especially combined with the ancients’ practice of Testicular navigation.

Little Sister – Ninamu Pearl Guesthouse in Tahiti.  We scored this amazing deal on a hotel, realizing it was not on the beach, but up in the hills.  The room was great, but you walked out the sliding glass door to the pool, which then overlooked the ocean from a perch high above it all.  We ended up staying at the hotel for dinner, and had an amazing sunset.  It was gorgeous.

Big Sister – The Eiffel Tower. This might not have been the “most beautiful” (that would be Santorini) or “most breathtaking” (the coastline of Molokai) but this was my favorite! It was an emotional event; one that I had been looking forward to my whole life. It was everything I had hoped that this iconic view would be and that feeling will always stay with me.

Little Sister –

A-5 Wagyu Beef at Morimoto Maui, Hawaii. It was our 8^th anniversary dinner, we love Chef Morimoto, so we decided to splurge on dinner while we were in Maui.  I prepped my husband ahead of time, that A-5 was on the menu, and it was spendy, so if he wanted to get it, know it comes at a price ($35 an oz!).  It was ridiculous.  It is brought out and served on a hot stone table side.  And it was the most amazing, melt-in-your-mouth bite of steak I have ever experienced.  All that marbled fat, all that love, all that perfection in one simple bite.

Big Sister – In a year full of tasty bites, it was really hard to choose. But we both agreed that the Bagel and Lox Cone at Jose Andres Bazaar Meat should be at the top. The Jose’s Way tasting menu was full of incredible dishes but these little cones of dill cream cheese and salmon roe were the most delicious, flavor-packed little bites.

Little Sister – I am a huge fan of Dim Sum for breakfast.  We found Neon Kitten through online recommendations, and it was one of our best dining experiences all around.   The service was fantastic, the entire staff was fun and engaging.  The food was amazing, we sampled a whole lot of dumplings, Shu Mai, gyoza. We shared the Pork Belly Benedict.  And then found out the special was the Matcha French Toast, so we split that too, knowing we couldn’t not taste it, and it was perfection in breakfast!!  And the cocktails, Whoa, don’t even get me started on the cocktails!!!

Big Sister – Brunch is my favorite! Brunch shared with family and friends is even better. And on a beach…just the best! Our brunch at Duke’s in Kaanapali, Maui was the perfect start to our last day on the island. My daughter, her husband and baby Beckham were there; we had great food, lots of laughs and beachy views.

Little Sister – I am not a whiskey girl (although I’ve also claimed not to be a shot girl in the past, so hey, take that with a grain of salt), but the Whiskey Bar in Boise, Idaho had me going back for seconds (maybe thirds) on their “Whiskey Pancake” – Maple bourbon, pecan and orange bitters, burnt sugar syrup.  Heaven!!

Big Sister – This is so difficult to choose. I narrowed it down to less than 5 so that is an accomplishment. Since Patti is forcing me to choose, I will go with an off-menu, bartender’s choice creation from The Mercury Room in Kansas City. The whole night was magical and so was the cocktail.

Little Sister – On a solo trip to Bali, I splurged! Top rated restaurant in Bali, based on only locally sourced, sustainable food.

Locavore was mind-blowing! I even loved the roasted watermelon in tomato consommé, and I hate watermelon AND tomatoes!

Big Sister – The closest we got to a Michelin-starred restaurant this year was Jose Andres Bazaar Meats. Jose Andres has 2 other restaurants with Michelin stars and he is an incredible humanitarian. That said, this is a “wild and wonderful celebration of the carnivorous” and it was an absolute treat. We highly recommend this splurge in Vegas.

Little Sister – GGX, Auckland, New Zealand. A beach bar, not a Tiki Bar, in the middle of New Zealand.  Décor reminiscent of an air force fly boy crash landing on a beach, and setting up for cocktails.  Fantastic drink selection, fantastic ambiance, I was sold!  It was small, it was unassuming, it didn’t even have a big sign out on the street announcing its presence, that’s how I knew it was going to be good!

Big Sister – Another almost tie between 2 fantastic speakeasies but the winner is Here Kitty Kitty Vice Den in Las Vegas. The entrance was fun and unique. The interior was my vibe (duh…it has vice in the name)! It is dark, edgy Asian alley meets sophisticated lounge. Yes, I made that up. The drinks were outstanding and creative and it is very much worth a trip to Resorts World.

Little Sister – The Virgin Hotel Dallas sold me on the Virgin brand.  Every employee was so friendly, and really seemed to love their job.  The room was amazing, the attention to detail showed in so many ways.  It was clean, it had fluffy pillows, it had a great hotel bar, and a coffee bar that had Bailey’s for your morning coffee.  And when you sign up for their In the Know loyalty program, they leave you a welcome basket tailored to your preferences.

Big Sister – Villa Isabella, Paros, Greece. Paros was my favorite stop in Greece and part of that credit goes to Villa Isabella. This lovely little hotel is located in Noussa, just steps above the charming seaside town. When our driver pulled up out front, Isabella came out to greet us with hugs like we were long lost friends.

Our room was wonderful but the view from our private patio is what really makes this special. The patio had incredible sunset views and the most serene place to have breakfast every morning.

Little Sister – On the island of Oahu, the Kualoa Ranch is where a lot of the Jurassic Park scenes were shot (original movie, when they are caught in a Stampede:  Kualoa Ranch).  So as a Jurassic Park franchise obsessee, I was dying to go on a Kualoa Ranch tour.  I struggled for a while about whether to do the generic movie tour, on the bus, at the ranch, or the Jurassic specific ATV tour.

The ATV won out, and it was a great day, full of stops at various movie locations, including a drive-by of the Indominous Rex pen (the generic movie bus tour does stop at this point, hence the struggle to chose a tour).  The Kualoa Ranch as several other tours including a horseback tour, and bikes.  As a side note, many movies have been filmed at this location, including 50 First Dates, and King Kong Skull Island.

Big Sister – My first ever Helicopter ride. When in Maui this year, I took my first Helicopter ride (doors off!) across the West Maui mountains and over to Molokai’s wild, rugged coastline. It was breathtaking and possible the best adrenaline adventure I’ve ever taken.

Little Sister – This was a difficult decision for me, because we also saw Pearl Harbor in 2022.  But ultimately, the JFK tour was more fun, and personalized. So it won out over the solemn, group trip out to the USS Arizona.  We learned a lot on our JFK tour, the background, the minute-by-minute events of the day, and the conspiracy theories of what really happened.  And now I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to all things around the topic of the assassination of JFK (like during our visit to the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, when they had a display linking JFK’s ties to the mob).

Big Sister – It’s hard to find an ancient site as culturally and architecturally as impressive as the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. This site is visible from most of the city but no matter how many times you see it or from which angle, it is captivating. Our first night in Athens, we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant and I’m sure the staff thought I was crazy when I actually cried when we first saw the view of the Acropolis as it neared sunset. Pure awe.

The next morning, we hiked to the top and marveled at the 3300 year-old ruins. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Little Sister – As soon as we decided to go to New Zealand, we knew #1 thing to do was go to Hobbiton.  I married a Lord of the Rings nerd.  We have seen the entire series more times than I can count.  I booked a day tour to Hobbiton with Cheeky Kiwi Tours, and they did a great job.

The Alexander Farm where LOTRs was filmed does the Hobbiton part of the tour.  Meet at the gift shop, bus out on site, and then it’s a walking tour through Hobbiton.  Complete with a stop at the Green Dragon Inn for a pint at the end (They come in pints!).  The scenery was gorgeous, the tour had great film trivia, and it was really cool to see the attention to detail and the thought put into creating movie magic.

Big Sister – I was able to check two items when I took a Viking Cruise on the Rhine River with our mom in November. It was my first cruise; and I’m sure I set the bar too high with Viking but it was fantastic. Second, to visit the charming French towns of Colmar & Riquewihr – bonus that it was during the Christmas Markets.

I am still dreamily remembering the charming blend of France, Germany and Switzerland culture in the Alsace region. And the Christmas markets were truly magical.

Little Sister – New Zealand. I fell in love.  We only hit the North Island, but that gives us a reason to go back and see the South Island. I loved Auckland, loved Hobbiton, the scenery, the bars and restaurants, the culture, the entire experience.  There is nothing I didn’t love about New Zealand, and I can’t wait to go back!

Big Sister – Greece wasn’t even on my radar but I am completely and utterly infatuated. I loved the beauty of the islands, the history, the people and the laid-back culture. We spent time in Athens, Mykonos, Paros and Santorini; Paros was my favorite! I cannot wait to see more of the Cyclades and hopefully a trip to Meteora!