Gili T Getaway

With a Monday holiday and neither of the boys having classes the Friday before, it was clearly the time for us to get away for a long weekend!  Matt still had to take some calls and work on Friday, but a 5:45am flight got us to Lombok bright and early.  We had great views of Mt. Rinjani on the way in. It's the second tallest peak in Indonesia at 12,000+ feet.

We had never gone north on Lombok and were so impressed by the beautiful coastline on our 90-minute drive to the marina.

It was door to door (or boat) service when the car drove right up on the beach and dropped us at our boat. It was just a quick hop over to Gili Trawangan.

The three most popular Gili Islands (Trawangan, Meno, and Air) and so small that they don't even have motorized vehicles. Everything is done by bike or horse buggy, called a cidomo. It's completely charming, especially because a lot of the horses have bells and it sounds like Santa is coming!

We were really pleased to see how beautiful Pondok Santi looked when we arrived.

A fresh welcome drink is always a good start!

We were there early but still thought maybe our rooms would be ready.  We have yet to see a full resort during Covid travel but for some reason, we still have to wait for our rooms.  After our early wake up, we were ready to settle in and relax.

The grounds were lovely and everything felt so spacious and green.

We were so happy once we got in our villas.  We had two side by side and they were spacious and comfortable.

Ours even had a little private plunge pool in the outdoor bathroom!

The double showers in the greenery were pretty cool!

Our porch looked out toward the ocean and the hills of Lombok.

The boys had a huge room!

The boys and I grabbed some bikes and started exploring while Matt worked.  We made it about 75% of the way around the island but turned back when the road got too sandy.

We've grown used to seeing Bali quiet and deserted, but Gili T felt like an absolute ghost town in places.  We never saw it at its peak but we knew it was wildly popular and seeing crumbling hotels and overgrown selfie spots was heartbreaking.

We spent the rest of our afternoon lounging and soaking up the beautiful surroundings.

Alex picked a different hammock for his nap.

Dinner in the sand next to the waves was amazing! Some of us had better luck at cards than the rest of us...

Saturday morning was a wet one but still not a bad place for a warm cup of coffee.

The clouds rolled away and we got a lovely morning to go out exploring.

We cruised down the beach and hired a boat to take us out snorkeling.

The glass bottom was pretty fun! It was handy because Alex got a terrible headache after the first spot and didn't get out of the boat again, so he could at least see into the water this way.

Our guide made some pretty cool bubble rings.

The submerged statues are pretty famous and the water above was packed with people trying to get pictures.

Matt went down for a better look.  I was taking pictures with my phone and pretty impressed that so many turned out, but lots were blurry too because it couldn't decide which fish to focus on.

The Gilis have lots of sea turtles so Matt was on the lookout as we moved from place to place.

We found some beauties! This one was huge...probably a good 5 feet long and so unconcerned about us swimming around him.

We followed the last one up to the surface and his head popped up right between me and Ben!

We stopped for lunch on Gili Air at the one restaurant that was open.  Lunch was a little slow in coming but delicious.

The rain came back in the afternoon, which was perfect timing after we got off the boat.  Matt even got to surf a small break out on the beach.

Another lovely dinner on the beach! The restaurant had great food and we ate every meal there.  So many places were closed and some of the other ones that were open looked a little too quiet for our liking.

Breakfast was really nice as well! They let us order the night before so we could show up and everything would come out right on schedule.

We biked the entire island, which took maybe an hour and a half with some stops to swim or take pictures. It's really beautiful.

The tourist information booth wasn't terribly helpful.

The main street was the busiest, but we still can't imagine what it must look like during normal times. Gili T is known for being a party island and there were lots of clubs and bars, mostly all closed.

Waiting to get our antibody tests to fly home...barefoot with sandy feet! I love island life.

Matt and I walked around the corner to enjoy the sunset and we were thrilled to see baby black tip sharks patrolling the waters there.

Also thrilled to realize we could see Bali! Mt. Agung was beautiful next to the sunset.

Lombok was so picturesque at any time of day.

Monday morning was the lowest tide we'd seen and so perfectly calm.  I walked out in the sea grass admiring critters and fish until it was time to leave.

It was a fun and relaxing getaway! We were so happy to have enjoyed a place we've wanted to visit for years and it was the perfect time to do it.  We reversed our arrival transport - horse buggy, boat, car, and then plane to get home.  One last look at Rinjani from the Lombok airport!

February Fun

I would have never expected it, but Omicron didn't make a huge dent in our lives in February.  Sadly the school went back to 50%, but since High School was only seeing half of the kids come to campus anyway, they let everyone who wanted to attend in person come every day.  Alex started doing a few days online each week. We were still able to get out and have fun with our friends instead of suffering through another lockdown!

We celebrated Katrice's birthday with a beautiful tea at the Fairmont.

The cutest way to deliver our food!

Happy birthday, Katrice!

The McCulloughs had booked a table at the newest and hottest restaurant in town and we were so excited to go to Tom's at the Langham.  We even met up beforehand and split up into a girls car and a boys car, because sometimes it's more fun that way!

We had the chef's table in the kitchen and it was pretty awesome.

The entire hotel and restaurant were beautiful and there were thoughtful touches everywhere, but I was pretty dang impressed with the ice cubes that said Tom's.

We split some massive steaks between the 8 of us and a few of the guys enjoyed the leftovers on the t-bones.

The whole gang together!

Even the lobby is beautiful.  We spent a little time wandering around after dinner.

There is no Super Bowl Sunday in Jakarta, but there is a Super Bowl Monday Morning pj party for anyone willing to get together at 6am for the big game!  The Americans were much more excited but we brought in a few newbies and taught them football watching protocol. We even allowed people to show up at 8:30am for halftime.

I LOVE that Jennie showed up in her dad's old referee uniform! We threw flags on one another all morning.

We had an amazing breakfast with pancakes, biscuits and gravy, real breakfast tacos, and of course chicken wings for the game. The pool for squares was paid up and our colorful pile of money went to several happy ladies.

When you really want to have a good time in Jakarta, you call in a masseuse as well! We took turns relaxing in his chair.

Sadly, this is going to be another year of goodbyes.  There was a mass exodus when Covid first started and then most people stayed put the following year.  The farewell events started early when Jennie's husband got a job in the US and they were heading out mid-semester. We had a booster hut brunch to thank her for her years of volunteer work.

Jennie was also my workout buddy with our trainer Uchin three times a week.  They kept me fit and sane throughout the covid years!

And one last fun Pokeeno with Jennie! She was the longest active member and after 10 years in Jakarta, she will be dearly missed!

At least I won a really awesome shirt that night to make the goodbyes a little easier.

Alex's big news for the month was that he got his braces off!  In just 13 months, his bite was corrected and he was pretty thrilled to be done.

I love this smile!!

We also got some adorable little parakeet babies.  We made it up to 3 and the biggest one was standing and growing feathers, until the mom had enough and turned on all of them one night.  So sad.

Making Lemonade

Right as we returned to Indonesia, Omicron gained a foothold and we knew it was only a matter of time until the next wave disrupted life in every way again.  Along with some fun friends, we decided to enjoy everything to the fullest for as long as possible!

Several of us had a fantastic private lunch at Henshin on the top of the Westin for Asha's birtday.

The restaurant opened just for us and served an amazing set seafood lunch. I already want to go back!

It was also a pretty cool view as rain rolled in and the skies opened up. We suddenly realized we could see the ocean!

Someone suggested another Happy Puppy night, and I'm never one to turn down that kind of fun.  With just a few messages, we quickly had a group of 7 fun couples ready to sing and laugh after dinner together. I'm so grateful for our tribe here that's always up for a good time!

I love all these happy couples making memories together!  Jennie (who swore she wasn't going to sing) and Chris (a natural on the microphone)

Katrice and Luke, who have fun everywhere they go

Jenny and Erik, who killed their duet from a Star is Born

The song list may change but some of the videos never do.  We had to sing some Garth Brooks with our favorite video and we were shocked that the Aussies and Kiwis had never heard Friends in Low Places!!

It was supposed to close at 9pm but we managed to talk them into letting us stay until 10.  Good fun with a respectable bedtime...what a perfect Friday night!

I love the rainy season orchids that are blooming everywhere.  These flowers at the golf course are my favorites.

It also seems to be kitten season this year.  I finally remembered to put cat food in my golf bag so I can help the sweet kitties around the course.

The other thing I enjoy at the golf course is spotting the monitor lizards.  Finally learned that they're called biawa and they're generally all over if you just look close enough.

It's been an odd rainy season with a lot more clouds than rain, but we've enjoyed some nice weather and beautiful sunsets.

Can't leave the kids out of the fun - we had a mom and kid's night when a lot of the guys were traveling and the middle schoolers ended up having their own karaoke in the living room!