JustinTI

The Alila Ventana Big Sur. Lots of outdoor options in that area, and the hotel is all inclusive. Not the easiest to get to, but not too bad. Finding point availability can be tough if not booking right when the schedule opens. Another option in that area is the Hyatt Carmel Highlands. I would also think some of the ski properties have good summer hiking options (Vail, Beaver Creek, Park City).

Did a Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica cruise a couple years back. Had a blast. South Georgia is one of the most naturally beautiful places I've been and has an astonishing amount of wildlife. Antarctica is notably different but also awesome. Enjoyed the Falklands, but we were only there for a day.

What operator and vessel are you traveling on? Preview of some sites below:

Anyone have upcoming Hyatt stays through the end of February? I have a suite upgrade cert and 2 guest of honor certs expiring 2/28/2025 that I won't make use of and will gift to anyone that can benefit. I don't believe you can apply a suite upgrade and guest of honor to the same stay. Leave your email if so.

Saw the Monday show at MSG and thought it was awesome. No surprises there as Gilmour is my favorite, and this was my first time seeing him live.

Gilmour obviously has some age on him, but he stills sounds great and plays guitar as well as anyone to do it. As is typically the case with Floyd/Gilmour, the visuals were also fantastic. Going into the concert, I was probably more excited about the first set because it had several of my favorite Floyd songs - and it was fantastic. That said, I enjoyed the second set every bit as much. Sorrow, Piper's Call, A Great Day for Freedom, and In Any Tongue started it off and were great live.

He "finished" (pre encore) with Scattered, which seemed a little anti-climactic to conclude with a new song when I first saw the setlist, but he crushed it with that one. Could be recency bias/seeing it live, but that is probably my favorite of his solo songs.

Overall, I'm super happy I made the trip and would not hesitate to go see him again if he has another tour in him - which I think he may. He seemed to be really enjoying playing with his daughter and mixing in a lot of the new/lesser played songs.

Speaking of the new album. I too listened to a single or two when released, then kind of forgot about it. But I started listening to it prior to going to his concert, and it really grew on me. As noted, I think Scattered is great and A Piper's Call is probably my next favorite, but they're all worth a listen. It's Gilmour, and it definitely sounds like him...but if you like Gilmour, you should give it another shot if you've moved on.

Here is Comfortably Numb in MSG and Scattered at the RAH. Neither does being there justice, but it gives you an idea. I suspect he'll release a DVD eventually as well.



Scattered:

Youtube Link

I have a 48" RNB Blue Star all burner range and absolutely love it. Some thoughts:

We like and have frequently put to use the two ovens on our range. The big side absolutely fits a full size sheet pan, which is enormous. The small side fits a half size sheet pan, which is a pretty good size as well.

I would definitely go with the all burner setup again. You can put a griddle on top over multiple burners if you want, and I personally don't have much use for the charbroiler. The burners are much more versatile.

Speaking of which, the burners put out substantial heat. I went with an oversized high powered hood (54", 1200 cfm) and think that is an absolute necessity if you don't want your kitchen always smelly/smoky. I have enjoyed having a proper hood as much as the range. Definitely don't cheap out on the hood/hood ventilation.

You had mentioned dual fuel. That is something Bluestar has added since I bought mine. I would lean to the all gas version as the simplicity and lack of electronics is one of the main things I like about the oven. It should last and be relatively easy to fix over the long run. If you really want an electric oven, you can get a countertop one or a built in stand alone oven/microwave combo...or steam oven if you really have cash to burn.

Happy to answer any other questions you have, but I would buy my range again without hesitation if I were doing it over after ~5 years of use.

That's a bummer on having to head back early. How many days were left on your trip? Unfortunately, it seems that happens more than you would think.

Also, how were the landings with a ship that size? With only 100 people being able to go on shore at a time, I'd guess one ~1-1.5 hour landing a day.

Fun trip but definitely a financial and time commitment. We did the Falkalnds, South Georgia, and Antarctica. Had an awesome time.

Appreciate the feedback. Out of Vail and Park City, it will be Vail this trip...with one more consideration. I had ruled out Snowmass because of how expensive the lift tickets are, but I'm willing to reconsider. We can do the Ikon base pass plus - which is way more expensive than a 5 day epic pass. But, we are also going to Niseko in 2025, and that is covered by the base pass plus. The base pass plus would still be a couple $100 more per person than buying a 5 day pass to Vail and Niseko separately, but I can eat it if that will be a better option. The Hyatt option there is Top of the Village, which is supposed to be ski-in ski-out. We'd fly into ASE.

Anyone have thoughts on which of the following two options to pick for Mardi Gras 2025 (early March)? I'll be using Hyatt points for lodging and miles for flights - flying into SLC or EGE - so cost of that is not a consideration. We are a family of 3 with one pretty good skier, one intermediate skier, and what will be a 10 year old snowboarder on his 3rd trip (would probably take a couple days of lessons). We may eat out a night or two, but would also go to the grocery and cook some meals at our room.

1. Vail in Lionshead at Montaneros.

2. Park City at the Hyatt Centric in the Canyons.

None of us have skied either location. I'm leaning Vail, but the direct flight to SLC is tempting. We all generally stay on piste, so not looking for a ton of off trail terrain.

My wife and I have a trip scheduled in January to Paris and Courchevel. She's only been skiing once and is lukewarm on the trip because she is not a very comfortable skier. I'm having second thoughts because it's expensive, logistically difficult, and poorly timed for work/childcare relative to other trips we have done and are upcoming. Also, we have a trip scheduled to Beaver Creek in March with our son, so we'll get some skiing in regardless.

Anyone been? Is it worth it? I'm taking advantage of points, but it is still pricey and a whole lot of points. I love skiing, but we can ski much easier in the US. Don't necessarily want to cancel, but we'd probably do 10-14 days in Argentina instead in fall 2024 if so.

I wanted an advanced panel because it provides more, better information - which should help you decide whether to take a statin or not. All current research points to Apo-B being a better indicator of potential cardiovascular risk than any of the traditional measurements. Standard panels provide zero information on Lp(a) levels, which are shown to affect risk.

In my case, the standard panel showed I was a borderline case of FH. The advanced panel put my markers as much more mixed - some in range, some just barely out of range. Again I prefer to have more and better information in any situation...but especially here at a relatively minor cost compared to all the money spend on health.