Reflecting on the last ten years, I figured I must have matured (right?) and probably learned some lessons along the way. I don’t know who might benefit from this list, as I’m sure there aren’t droves of about-to-be-30-year olds subscribing to this blog, but at the very least, it’s to remind my future self what truly matters, and to avoid making the same mistake twice:

1. Being an uncle is the coolest role in the world.

2. Life moves fast, but it’s mostly unpredictable - don’t kill yourself by trying to plan every aspect.

3. Being kind is a cheat code.

4. Listening is underrated. I still suck at it, but am slightly better than I was.

5. Running a business is super difficult and more stressful than you think.

6. If you’re reading this, you have a 100% success rate in getting through tough days.

7. Taking action kills anxiety.

8. Morning routines are overrated. Living by some core principles and structure can help, but I’ve had some of the best days after sleeping past my alarm, and some of my worst days after a 6-mile morning run and a cold shower.

9. There’s no financially-rational reason to live in New York City, but through both jubilation and gut-punches it can provide (sometimes in the same day), the five boroughs is one of the best places to call home.

10. If adversity builds character, everyone should become a sports fan. Another 10 years with no Arsenal Premier League Championship, and no Winnipeg Jets Stanley Cup.

11. Ultramarathons are a completely different kind of fun from road marathons. Up and down hills, through canyons, climbing on all fours, trotting through streams, all while conquering more than 42 kilometers at a snail’s pace. If you hate running, try trail running!

12. The over-the-shoulder duffel bag is the ultimate carry-on luggage. I took well over 75 flights in 2025 and I will die on this hill. Expanded tips here.

13. Almost every situation in life can be viewed on a spectrum: very positively on one end, and very negatively on the other. Imagine you take the exit off the highway, you’re running late for your appointment, and you all of a sudden see a massive backlog of traffic. You can say “Oh jeez; that’s a ton of traffic!” or you can remark “Ohhhhhh jeeeeeeezzzz (hand slaps knee), that’s a TON of traffic!” Same words. Different outlook.

    Similarly, you see a long line to get into a restaurant you’d like to try, and you say “Dang, that’s a long line, it must have an awesome menu” instead of “Dang, that’s a long line, these people must take forever.” I’m convinced that the more positively you view the world (and people’s actions), the more you enjoy life.

14. There’s nothing quite like an airport beer.

15. Alcohol is bad for you - partake sparingly.

16. Friendship is the ultimate currency in this world. Meet and keep contact with as many friends as possible from as many locations, backgrounds, and walks of life as possible - you’ll be rich.

17. A walk around the block is one of the most underrated therapeutics for mental clarity, energy levels, and for not screaming at work colleagues through an electronic screen.

18. On a decade without eating meat: if you mix vital wheat gluten with water, olive oil and spices, boil it for 90 minutes in tin foil, then slice and fry it in a cast iron skillet along with garlic, vegan butter, and rosemary… it will still taste nothing like a ribeye steak.

19. It’s going to take longer than, and I can’t stress the enough, two weeks to flatten the curve.

20. Family vacations get better with age. One of the downsides of living away from your parents and family is that you normally spend your vacation days visiting each other’s homes. This year we disrupted the pattern with Italy and Greece, and now I want to travel with my parents and sister every year.

21. Reading doesn’t always have to be productive. I finally read a few fictional novels in my thirties and will continue to do so in my forties.

22. Spotify Premium is truly essential.

23. The New York City Marathon is the best day to be in New York.

24. If you’re feeling sluggish or unfit at any particular moment, the power of 20 push-ups, a couple times a day, for a couple days, can be immense.

25. If news outlets are a burning fire, Instagram reels are the gasoline. Keep a safe distance from both.

26. Particularly in the Western World, it’s best to take an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity into business or even community situations. There is more than enough to go around and most things aren’t zero-sum games.

27. Moving in with a girl is fun.

28. There are very few disputes that can’t be resolved with someone who you’ve met in person and shared a meal with.

29. I want to minimize the number of times I tweak my back from folding laundry. Either pay for wash and fold, or stretch more.

30. Age is just a number, but it’s important to moisturize.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Given how overdue it was, my dad and his brother (my Uncle Jon) decided that a Mediterranean vacation was the scratch for that itch - and I wasn’t complaining.

On August 20th, Lynn and I headed out from JFK on an overseas flight to Rome. We took the train into the city center and were met by Dan, Steve, and Finn, ready to begin our adventure!

After checking into our hotel in Central Rome, my mum and dad arrived an hour later, and we were all reunited around a delicious Italian lunch, complete with pizza, pasta, bruschetta, aperol, and Peroni. The next three days were jam-packed with tours through the Vatican and Colosseum, a walking Roman food tour, a pasta and tiramisu-making class, several epic runs and meals, and countless gelato experiences for Finn (and Lynn). Since nobody likes to read a detailed recap of every aspect of someone else’s vacation, I’ve tried to include as many photos below for your viewing pleasure.

Day one Rome highlights included lots of walking, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, a viral espresso, and some up-close viewing of the pasta-maker at dinner:

Day two Rome highlights included a donut for breakfast before an early Vatican tour (Finn was a hero), a Roman food tour through several areas including the Jewish Ghetto, and an amazing European dinner in the bustling Trastevere neighborhood.

Day three Rome highlights included waffles, a very kid-friendly Colosseum tour, soccer in Rome, and an unforgettable pasta and tiramisu-making class - so fun! Did you know Rome has fresh water fountains every 80 meters throughout the city!?!

After what are always exhausting days in a busy European city, with 20,000+ daily steps, we were off to Leo Da Vinci airport to fly to Crete; ready to unite with our England-based family (Uncle Jon, Aunt Sue, their three daughters Florence, Merry, and Eve, as well as Eve’s boyfriend, Seth) to truly launch the vacation.

A simple two-hour flight, followed by a white-knuckle 90-minute airport shuttle from Heraklion, along the northern coast of the island, and we were pulling up to our villa just outside of the town of Rethymno. I had been to Greece before, including Athens and a few different islands, but had never set foot on the massive island of Crete. It’s so far into the Mediterranean sea, that it’s nearly as close to Libya as it is to Athens!

When you arrive at an AirBnB, you never know if the photographer, or AI, were pulling a fast one on you, making the place look like Windsor Castle in the photos, when it’s actually more like a Winnipeg curling club in person. Luckily, in this case, the researchers (Dan, Dave, Jon) absolutely crushed it. This was by far the coolest, cleanest, and nicest rental I’ve ever stayed in.

The villa was built with two identical houses on the property, with a shared backyard featuring two pools, multiple tanning spots, a ping pong table, and a glorious view overlooking the sea. It was the perfect setup for relaxation, pool fun, and hosting dinner al fresco for 13 people each night.

The week in Greece was filled with incredible moments, many of which are sure to become core memories for all, especially Finn.

Luckily, we had rented three vehicles among us, which was essential in exploring all that Crete has to offer.

We enjoyed a seaside bar for happy hour, explored the intricate streets of the towns of Rethymno and of Chania, and also spent lots of time relaxing by the pool, swimming, reading, and catching up with each other.

We went out for two team dinners in Rethymno, and as you can imagine, everyone was pretty happy with the traditional Cretan (not just Greek) cuisine. What’s not to love about fresh vegetables, salads, seafood, and the odd meat platter?

Another epic adventure that I would suggest for anyone visiting Crete, was to hike the entire length of the Samaria Gorge. This was a 16km hike through the winding national park, beginning at 1250m above sea level, and finishing at the Libyan Sea on the south coast of Crete. Thanks to Dan’s precise planning, we were up early to catch a bus to the start, spent most of the day hiking, then enjoyed some time in the sea and a seaside taverna in the boat access-only town at the end of the trail. We took a ferry from there back to the bus, and finally back home about 14 hours after leaving. The long day was well worth it, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat to have so many laughs, wipeouts, twisted ankles, and good hiking conversations as we did!

There are two other day trips to call out, that I would highly recommend. Chania, the bustling second largest city in Crete, is filled with nice beaches, great restaurants right along the water, and tons of little shops throughout its maze of cobblestone streets. Merry, Florence, Finn, Dan, Steve, me, Dave, Dwenda and Lynn all drove out there - through some challenging narrow streets - and somehow found parking to enjoy a beautiful lunch, shopping, a walk to the lighthouse, and a swim in the Med.

The second was an authentic trip into the hillside that Lynn and I took with my Uncle Jon and Aunt Sue. We drove about 30 minutes from the house to a tiny, family-owned Cretan winery where we sampled olives from their property, along with several varieties of vino. The owners were beyond friendly and welcoming, which in reflection, was the case for all Cretans - dedicated to making sure we enjoyed our experience on their island. Truly great hospitality all week. The icing on the cake of the winery adventure, was grabbing a late lunch at the taverna just down the road. We sat down and noticed there were no menus. Two minutes later the server says “please come with me, into the kitchen and we’ll show you what’s available”. We head back, and there is a Greek grandma and her daughter (her grand-daughter was our server) walking us through the dozen or so dishes that were available for us to choose from. SO COOL. They plated our selections, and brought the feast out for us to enjoy. The deliciousness of the home-cooked food blew us away even more than the incredibly affordable price they asked for at the end. We bought a few of their in-house deserts and non-perishables to go, and were so happy we made the stop.

All in all, I’m very grateful I got to spend so much time with my family. Living far apart (as all of my cousins do) from our parents and other family members can be tough, so being able to reunite anywhere is a bonus, never mind in a place where you never see a cloud and you’ve got pools, tours, and unlimited Mythos to enjoy.

Until next time. Thanks for reading,

Mike

Dan and I have discussed personal development at length for more than a decade - sharing articles and books and podcasts on nutrition, sleep, exercise, mental health, work, productivity, management styles, the negatives of social media, and yes, alcohol.

Despite going dry for short periods of time (e.g., Dry January), and despite knowing that alcohol isn’t really serving any purpose, I’ve never committed more fully to exploring all of life through a clear mind. But it’s been so cool and inspiring to see Dan just crushing it over the last year, that I wanted to ask her about it.

I hope this interview-style blog is interesting, entertaining, educating, and resourceful for anyone thinking about their relationship with alcohol, or generally curious about challenging their misconceptions around sobriety. Thanks so much to Dan for the incredibly thoughtful answers - I loved your insights!

The Interview

Mike: If someone’s only reading the first paragraph of this blog - what’s your pitch for sobriety or taking a break?

• Dan: Sobriety is a superpower. This is our one wild and precious life, why go through our days feeling fuzzy, missing memories and feeling ill?

• It is always worth doing for even a short time. You’ll feel brighter, show up more consistently, and likely see some physical improvements like weight loss, clearer skin or brighter eyes.

• I asked Finn this question and I think he summarized it so well:

  • Because it makes you feel great, it makes other people feel great, and it makes your whole life next-level better. - Finn, Age 8

Mike: How would you describe your relationship with alcohol? How (if at all) did it change from your 20s to 30s to 40s?

• Dan: Like most people, drinking became a huge focus of my twenties. I wasn’t a typical problem drinker, but I think like many people, I had dark nights and knew that drinking was affecting my health, happiness and my relationships. As I got older I realized that drinking was on my mind a lot. Preparing for a night out, attending a wedding, or making plans to host in the afternoon, I knew there would always be drinks. I think as a society we imagine problem drinkers as a woman drinking alone in the morning just to get out of bed or a grizzled old man in AA struggling to get through that day without a drink, but alcohol is an addictive substance and many, many people have addiction issues that present in different ways.

• In the last few years, I cut back on the volume I was drinking. Although I still drank at every social event, I would have one or two glasses of wine whereas I’d drink 3+ before. I cut back because I was feeling physically bad after even one drink - fogginess, headaches, short-tempered. I think it’s also important to note that in the years post-COVID our social life has become smaller, with more dinners with friends or tickets to the ballet rather than post-work drinks and baseball games. This naturally led to a decrease in the amount I was drinking, and ultimately made it easier to quit without facing as many “tempting” events.

Mike: Did you ever try or consider a “limit”? Whether that be max 1 drink per night or max 2 nights per week, only on weekends, etc.?

• Dan: I tried limits and “rules” for years, and found it very difficult. When I was younger and very busy socially, there was always a reason to have a drink or a special event where I felt it would be too difficult to go drink-free. For about 6 months before I got sober, I committed to cutting back and aimed to limit myself to one drink when I went out, but found that a glass of wine at dinner inevitably turned into two or three. It wasn’t that one drink turned into a three-day bender, but it was difficult to limit and it was taking up a lot of brain power. I would spend hours thinking about whether this outing would be one where I would drink or if I’d want to have a few drinks, and even at the dinner I’d be thinking about getting a second glass, and weighing whether it was worth it. It sounds kind of crazy but I think a lot of people hold a lot of space in their heads for thoughts like these.

Mike: I know you have read and listened to a lot on the subject of sobriety / sober-curious. What are some of the best pieces of advice you received and leaned on?

• Dan: “Quit Lit” has really made a huge impact on me throughout this journey. I’m a big reader, so turning to books, mainly in memoir style, was a natural step for support. I read my first Quit Lit book years ago, Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker where I first learned about the freedom of quitting outright vs allowing drinking in moderation to take up more brain space (as per my notes above).

• Some key learnings that I will always carry with me from books:

  • You’ll probably want to leave early, and that’s OK. Parties aren’t that fun after midnight when you’re not drunk and full of excess sugar. You’ll get tired, and it’s important to have an exit plan. Luckily when you don’t drink you’re fine to drive home or make a clear-headed journey back on transit.

  • Bring your own drinks. I often show up with some NA Beer (Athletic Brewing and Guinness 0 for the win) or a cold Diet Coke so I can have a “fun” drink when everyone else is drinking. If you’re early in the journey and don’t feel like speaking about it, this helps to have a “drink” in your hand so you don’t get awkward questions.

  • You’ll notice some great improvements, but also some plateaus. The last book I read (The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley) referenced this, and it was so helpful because a lot of what you see and read is women losing 50 pounds and running marathons (seemingly) immediately after quitting. While there are some great immediate benefits, there are also some down times, some boring times, but then some longer-term gains that have been terrific.

  • Drinking does not help parenting. This may seem obvious but the alcohol industry is targeting women with the suburban mom vibes “Mommy Juice” or “There’s Wine in this Mug”. Drinking has been normalized for parents to “get through the days”.** While I never ascribed to that specific aesthetic, I did pride myself on continuing to throw parties, go out and be social (aka drink) while Finn was little. No one talks about how much more difficult bedtime is after a couple glasses of wine, those early weekend mornings with a hangover and 6:00 am loud wake-up, or that anxiety of rushing home from the park so you can start on dinner and that first glass of wine. A few of the authors I’ve read were very open and honest about this, and it eloquently described what I’d been struggling with for years.

  • You’ll want sugar. A lot of sugar. I had never considered this, but when you cut-out booze you’re also cutting back on so much sugar. I have never been a candy person, but in the first weeks after quitting I was craving candy at night (when I would normally have a glass of wine).

  • **I could talk about this for hours…

  • I’ve included some of my favourite books below!

Mike: How amazing has it been to wake up clear headed for an entire year?

• Dan: It IS amazing, probably one of the best parts of this experience. I’ve always been a morning person and now 8:00 am - 10:00 am on a weekend is my favourite time. It’s a relief to know I’ll be ready for action early in the morning, no matter what I have planned for a Saturday night. I regularly go to a 8:00 am yoga class, head out on errands or just enjoy a quiet coffee and book with the feeling of a whole bright day ahead of me.

Mike: I’ve noticed you have such honest and open discussions with Finn about alcohol. Talk about that a bit.

• Dan: I actually didn’t tell Finn about my sobriety for about three months after I quit drinking, as I wasn’t sure where I was going with it. But around 90 days I joined an app to track my progress (I love math but it was a lot to track the days and milestones), which was when I showed him and we started tracking together.

• Finn has been a huge support, and to be honest, his excitement and involvement has helped me stick to my sobriety. When my motivation dipped around seven or eight months, I would think about having to restart the tracker and tell him why, to remind myself a drink wasn’t worth it. I would never put that pressure on him, but it helps to keep me on track, and to hear his encouragement along the way.

• The best part of having Finn involved in my journey is the open and honest conversations we’ve had about alcohol. He knows that many other people still drink (including his dad) but we also talk about the negatives of alcohol, and why some people might choose not to drink. I think being able to speak about it openly will give him the tools to decide for himself whether he wants to drink when he’s older, and to navigate the social situations appropriately. He has also seen first-hand the positive impact it’s had on me, and I hope that will encourage him to make whatever decisions are best for him when he’s older.

Mike: What do you think people are really underestimating or are blind-sided by when they’re considering (but avoiding) taking a break from booze?

• Dan: I think people underestimate how much time they’re wasting with drinking and recovering from drinking. Without drinking, the days start earlier and you feel better, no recovery or buffer hours built in. The useful hours of the day can be so much more as well. There’s more time to catch up on things, spend quality time with your family, or even exercise at night because even after a dinner out you can jump into something when you get home. As you (Mike) have said yourself, you’re unlikely to come home from drinks out with friends and go to a yoga class!

Mike: We know “coping” with booze is not an effective way to deal with problems or struggles… but it’s often accepted by society as a valid solution. Of course acknowledging everyone is different, what suggestions might you coach someone with to use as healthier/alternative methods?

• Dan: This is a great question. I’m still working on this for sure - it’s such a normalized thing to grab a drink after a hard day or when you’re feeling anxious. I think we all know by now that alcohol increases anxiety, but it’s a hard habit to break!

• For me, these are some of my best replacement activities:

  • I’ve found exercising - yoga classes or popping out for a short walk - to be most helpful. It burns off some anxious energy, and I blast a 2000’s era angsty song to release some tension.

  • I really live for a short nap or if it’s the evening I’ll head to bed early - everything looks better when you’re well-rested.

  • I often make herbal tea as a bit of a comfort blanket. The process of brewing tea is relaxing and helps to focus on something else, and mint tea is truly delicious.

  • I’ve spoken before about my love of NA Beers, and luckily there are a few good NA wines and mocktails out there, so if you still want that feeling of a good drink, you can have it.

Mike: You’ve thrived alcohol-free through nearly every classic booze-fueled event (concert, vacation, family events lol, dinner parties, weddings, barbecues, birthdays, etc. ) Are there any that were particularly difficult? Are there any that stand out as “woah, I need to tell someone about this” or “this was so much better!”

• Dan: I stopped drinking shortly after starting a new job, and on my first work trip I worried that I would need to prove myself as “fun and cool”, especially without drinking at dinner. But of course, no one cares what I’m doing, as long as they have what they want in their own glass, and of course I know how to communicate without booze! :)

• The times I still find challenging are the casual get-togethers at someone’s house, or pre-drinks before a dinner, where I still miss that first glass of wine. In one of the books I read the author describes that hit of serotonin and dopamine that alcohol provides, and how much of the “fun” of drinking is in that anticipatory feeling, how peoples’ moods boost just by ordering a drink. I still want that happy feeling, but I know what comes after it (feeling bad, headaches, worrying about saying the wrong thing, being on edge, losing my temper) isn’t worth the 15 minutes of a boost.

• A truly “AHA Moment” was being on vacation, or at cottage weekends. It feels that I have endless possibilities without thinking about where to get drinks or what time we’ll start drinking or worrying about how I’ll feel the next day.

Dan’s Quit Lit Recommendations

These are very female-focused but would be great for anyone!

• The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley

• Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker

• We Are The Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen

• This Naked Mind by Annie Grace

Quit Lit Adjacent:

• Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls by Nina Renata Aron

• Nothing Good Can Come from This by Kristi Coulter

• Podcasts & Speakers on sobriety: Brene Brown, Dax Shepard

Thanks for reading,

Mike

The difference with 2025’s visit was a side-trip to Northern California with Lynn to visit wine country. This was my first time to Napa Valley, while Lynn was visiting for her ~8th time, so it was super fun to have someone who knows the area so well show me around. Although we’ve talked about visiting Napa for years, the catalyst for this trip was Lynn getting back on her run game and aiming to complete the Napa Valley Half Marathon - a race that’s famous for featuring stunning scenery, and a predominantly downhill course.

We flew from PSP to SFO on Friday after work, and drove our rental car 2 hours through traffic, over the Golden Gate Bride, and into wine country. We were armed with a jam-packed schedule for the next five days including the 13.1 miles, exciting restaurants, and many winery reservations. For those readers who have been to Napa, you’ll know what I mean, but it can be very overwhelming. It’s so cool how the entire region is centered around one industry. Once I saw how every acre of the land is covered with vineyards, I was even more thankful I had Lynn’s experience and passion for wine and planning to help guide us through the beautiful area.

The Race

The Napa Half Marathon runs south down the famous Silverado Trail, the eastern highway barrier of the valley. The first ten miles are on this road before diverting through some more residential areas towards the finish line.

Lynn crushed it. We woke up at 4:30am to catch our shuttle bus up to the start line. The gun went off at 7am and we were off in pretty much perfect weather, around 10 Celsius. I ran alongside Lynn the whole time, who expertly executed her game plan just like we practiced: run one mile, walk one minute, and repeat. After weaving our way through the beautiful countryside and talking about each winery that we passed, we crossed the finish line in 2:14:39, injury-free and smiles on our faces.

After a quick snack and shuttle back to the hotel, we took a 30-minute nap then had to promptly get ready for our first wine tasting of the day, scheduled for 12:45. I would definitely recommend this race to people looking for a fun race-cation. It’s in a beautiful spot, well organized, not too big, and a very comfortable course.

Our Hotel

After staying in the generic Marriott race hotel in the city of Napa for convenience, we moved up to Yountville, a super quaint town with essentially one main street filled with luxurious boutique hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants. We stayed at the Napa Valley Lodge, and would do so a hundred times over. Great service, good breakfast, a beautiful location, and fantastic pool/hot tub area with fire pits for a late night glass of Malbec.

The Wineries

Before the cabernet fogginess causes me to blend all NINE wineries that we visited together, I wanted to document the various spots based on experience (including the customer service), property (including the tasting room, vineyards, views, etc.), and wine.

1. Ram’s Gate

   1. Experience: 9/10; Property: 9/10; Wine: 9/10

   2. Ram’s Gate is the house wine in our Upper West Side apartment, which we’re forever grateful for. Lynn has been a member since one of her first trips to Napa, in 2015, so we get quarterly shipments, and it was such a fun experience for me to see where the magic happens. We headed there the day before the race so we could take our time. Their property is stunning, like the nicest golf clubhouse you’ve ever stepped into. The tasting occurred at a beautiful big bar that sits in the middle of a rustic building with a fireplace and plenty of tables and natural light. Afterwards, we took a walk through the property, down to their natural pond, and near the vines.

2. Laird Family Estate

   1. Experience: 8/10; Property: 6/10; Wine: 8/10

   2. We scheduled a tasting at Laird because it was started by a Georgia Tech grad (Lynn’s alma mater). Beautiful property and great location with fantastic wine and a very casual atmosphere. We just got one tasting between us, The Big Reds, sampling 5 of their popular reds. Excellent service from a guy who grew up in the valley and it was at this point that I realized they weren’t just pouring little tasters; it was a good 3 oz per glass. I’d definitely recommend Laird, and we left with 3 delightful bottles, a Merlot for Lynn’s parents, and a Malbec and Cab for us.

3. Alpha Omega

   1. Experience: 8.5/10; Property: 8.5/10; Wine: 8.5/10

   2. Although the name sounds fancy and the wine is expensive, the property was very approachable. They have a beautiful indoor wood bar for tastings, but because it was a delightfully sunny day, we sat outside on a comfy couch admiring the fountains and vineyards. Lisa, a retired local, was our host and gave us some fun restaurant suggestions in Yountville. We took our time here, surprisingly enjoyed their whites, and left with two bottles (one for us, one for Lynn’s parents).

4. Frog’s Leap

   1. Experience: 7/10; Property: 8/10; Wine: N/A

   2. Day two began with a quick stop at Frog’s Leap, specifically to grab one of their bottles of Petit Syrah that is only available on property. It gave me a chance to check out the vines up close, and after the lady at the front was a curmudgeon, her coworker came through, offered us a tasting of their crisp zinfandel and told us to stroll the property. They have a beautiful deck and are very environmentally friendly.

5. Quintessa

   1. Experience: 9.5/10; Property: 10/10; Wine: 10/10

   2. The winery that Lynn built up the most, did not disappoint. Driving up to Quintessa is like approaching an ultra exclusive golf club, mixed with a high-end spa. Gates from the road require you to buzz in, and the winding road takes you through the property up to the massive building that could be either the HQ of a well-funded tech company, or a Bond villain’s hideout. The tour took us on a 5-minute walk up the mountain to overlook the entire property. That was followed by a hike down to our own private tasting inside the most zen room of all time (think waterfalls and calming music). Quintessa makes one red wine each year. One. It’s $260 per bottle, and while that’s too much, it’s an absolute treat to taste. Would highly recommend, they know what they’re doing.

6. The Terraces

   1. Experience: 7/10; Property: 6/10; Wine: 6/10

   2. The Terraces was a roll of the dice, in pursuit of a family-owned winery, somewhere close to Quintessa, that Lynn had never been to. We were greeted by one of the owners who took us on a gator cart for a tour of the property, including the vines on crazy hills, the wedding venue they have maintained from the 1800s, and the balsamic vinegar barrel room. She then took us up to the tasting room, which was super casual (basically a living room with a kitchen), where we sat on a couch and she poured us wine. The husband (and co owner) popped in for a bit and we traded stories about NYC and the wine business. Lynn knew more about wine than they did, but they were super friendly, and we talked a lot about the grind of running a winery, and the alcohol industry in general. A great, homey experience, which I won’t soon forget. We bought one bottle.

7. Storybook

   1. Experience: 9/10; Property: 7/10; Wine: 8.5/10

   2. Storybook kicked off our Tuesday, with a long drive up highway 29, to the top of the valley in Calistoga. During the summer, it can be up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in Calistoga compared with the city of Napa. However, as we learned from the most in-depth tour we experienced, because Storybook is only 40 miles from the Pacific ocean, they get the benefit of the cooler, moist winds which create a perfect climate for Zinfandel grapes. In the sea of cabernets that the valley is famous for, this family-owned property has carved out world-leading Zinfandel that is far from the traditional fruit bombs that you think of. It’s got deep flavor and lower alochol than your standard Christmas zins. Our tour guide, Rick, had married into the family, and worked there since 2003. He took our group around the property and shared secrets of their agricultural process, regaled us with stories of the Napa fire in 2017 and the owner’s passion (who is now 87 and still picks every grape), and then finished with a tour of the cave, where he also hosted the tasting. Lynn loved all the facts about this place, and we left with four delicious bottles.

8. Girard

   1. Experience: 5/10; Property: 6/10; Wine: 5/10

   2. Easily the worst experience and wine we encountered on our escapades. If you’re heading to Napa, don’t worry about this place. Pretty lame customer service in a so-so setting, and the wines were forgettable.

9. O’Brien Estate

   1. Experience: 10/10; Property: 9/10; Wine: 9/10

   2. Before driving back to San Francisco to catch our flight back to Southern California, we stopped in at O’Brien for a private tour of their property, including their own bottling process - they do everything on-site, from grape to glass. One of the coolest parts about this place was the sustainability practices they have in place, including a bunch of animals from roosters to dogs to lambs to goats. Our guide, Logan, took us around the vineyard, then set us up in the family’s backyard (their house is right on the land) for a lovely tasting. The owner, a former tech entrepreneur, Bart, came out to say hi, and we left with a brand new membership, committing to 12 bottles per year, shipped right to New York. I highly recommend O’Brien if you find yourself in wine country.

      

Aside from the wineries, we had some lovely meals at Oakville Grocery, Gott’s Roadside, and Ciccio’s. Oakville Grocery became a daily stop for us as they sling out some incredible sandwiches and salads, perfect for refueling while on the go between tastings. Gott’s is a famous burger drive-in where you can enjoy your meal on some picnic tables on their roadside lawn. Ciccio’s was a highlight dinner for us, flavorful Italian cuisine, hosted in a quaint little storefront on Yountville’s main street.

If you haven’t been to Napa, hopefully this paints a picture of what wine country is like in Northern California. If you’re going (like I will be again), maybe this can serve as a bit of a map to simplify the journey. Overall, I was totally impressed. It wasn’t too commercialized like I thought it would be, it wasn’t too pretentious, and the people were all fantastic. If I were to offer a couple additional tips: plan ahead - you need reservations at restaurants and at wineries; don’t over-extend - two wineries per day seemed like the perfect balance; pack food - most tastings don’t include food, so plan accordingly and take food on the go. As an aside, we now have way too many (80) bottles of wine for our tiny NYC apartment, so if you’re thirsty, please swing by.

Cheers,

Mike

Highlights

Hosting: our little NYC apartment welcomed tons of visitors in 2024, with both friends and family willing to cram into a small space. Dan, Steve, and Finn kicked the year off right with the first of their three visits during my birthday in January. We had Chad and Stacey bunk with us for an action-packed Memorial Day Weekend in the city, and Tim and Kate took the air mattress for their annual visit in November. Kaveri also made an epic appearance from Boston to surprise Lynn for her birthday; and Lynn’s parents stayed with us for just over two weeks during the US Open, which is always a treat. Matt Sacks, Nora, Nik and Erin, Carlee, and several other visitors came through NYC to say hi, even if they didn’t stay in our Upper West Side abode.

Fitness: I had a pretty good year in my running shoes in 2024, logging 1,020 miles. For the first time, I completed an ultra marathon with the HAT 50km run in Maryland, completed the NYC marathon for the second year in a row, and ran my third installment of the 4x4x48 challenge. I also ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, DC for the first time with a bunch of friends; that was super fun to make a weekend out of.

Sports: Another great year in the books where I was able to witness some amazing live sporting events. When Nik and Erin visited in November, we attended the NY Jets game in beautiful fall weather. The same week, we got our usual crew together at Madison Square Garden to watch the Winnipeg Jets beat up on the NY Rangers. Me and my parents took Finn to watch the Coachella Firebirds play hockey in the desert. Dave and I bought last minute tickets to support Team Canada in the Copa America Tournament and got to see Messi play live in the process. Baseball-wise, Chad and Stacey’s visit called for an impromptu trip to Citi Field to watch the Mets play on a lovely Saturday afternoon; separately, I hadn’t stepped foot inside Fenway Park for years, but got to see the Red Sox play in that magical stadium during a work meeting in August. We attended the US Open (Tennis) once again in Queens, this year Lynn even scored tickets for us to the men’s semi-final! Finally, to cap off the year with our European adventure, I got to join my British uncle and cousins to see Arsenal win at Emirates Stadium just after Christmas.

Trips: The boys golf trip was alive and well, bringing 7 of my best friends together for a week in Palm Springs, which I tacked onto some fun family time in the desert. Summer included a couple lovely vacations: we traveled to Cap d’Agde in France to relax and hang with Lynn’s parents before driving to Barcelona for two days in an amazing city that I’d never experienced. I joined my sister’s family at Nora’s cabin outside Toronto to properly celebrate Canada Day! I got to experience my annual Winnipeg trip at home in August which is always a perfect mix of family, friends, golf, and chill. Scottsdale in October with Ryan and Andrea was also a major 2024 highlight - we had so many laughs along with great drinks, food, and accommodations. Finished the year visiting Luxembourg for the first time ever to see where Lynn grew up, then flew over to London and Lewes, UK on the way home to explore pubs, watch Arsenal, and enjoy the English countryside.

Work: I ended up having a pretty good 2024. I was promoted in the summer, grew my team, and they ended up achieving most of their aggressive goals, so no real complaints. Work travel was non-stop this year, but I continued to enjoy jumping on planes to Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Austin, Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Louisville, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and probably a bunch of others I’m forgetting. I’m excited to celebrate some of the achievements at our upcoming team retreat/offsite in Miami.

Room for Growth

Looking back on the year, I’m grateful that I was able to experience this highlight reel of trips, places, and events with the people I love the most, but there’s always room for improvement, and a few areas come to mind.

Fitness: Running is easy for me - I can always force myself to get out the door for a couple miles, and it’s become a very good habit. However, I’m not getting any younger and I know how important it is to try and maintain muscle mass as you age, so I’d like to incorporate more resistance training, body-weight exercises, and mobility into my routine.

Writing: I compiled three pathetic blogs in 2024, and it shows - I’m less comfortable typing this, and the quality is lacking. I’m going to improve upon that cadence with shorter posts, quicker updates, more hot takes, and get back to using this “newsletter” as a journal to look back on in the future.

Me: There’s a lot of “I did this” and “we did that” in the highlights section above. That’s okay to some extent, but I want to put more time, energy, and money towards helping others. Whether it’s people in my New York community, helping with charities, or just offering a hand to friends and family more often, I’m not exactly sure. But being of service is really the name of the game, and I can do better there.

Family: I only saw my parents twice this year, that’s not cool. I’m going to do a better job of tacking on to work flights to go to either California or Winnipeg, depending on the time of year. If I’m already traveling, it’s easy to add on a weekend here or there - it doesn’t have to be a long trip. Finn is also changing by the day, and while we have a great uncle/nephew friendship, I can always increase the frequency at which we get to hang out. Time with family is all that matters.

Either way, I’m proud of 2024 and look forward to a productive, fun, friend and family-filled 2025. Hope you all have a healthy and happy year ahead!

Thanks for reading,

Mike

A few of the best moments from the last ~4 months include:

• Attending the Canada vs. Argentina semi-final match in the Copa America at MetLife Stadium. Unfortunately Canada lost, but it was an unreal experience to be so outnumbered in the stands, and to see Lionel Messi score in person was a check off the bucket list.

• Hosting Chad and Stacey in our small NYC apartment for a memorable weekend of food, drinks, Mets game, boat cruises in the New York harbor, breweries, and countless laughs

• Traveling to DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin, and Boston for work trips

• Visiting Lynn’s parents for a week in the south of France where I ran every day, consumed untold amounts of baguettes, and even had a visit from my Aunt and Uncle who have a summer home less than an hour away. We capped that trip off with two unforgettable nights in Barcelona, one of my new-found favourite cities.

• Visiting Dan, Steve and Finn in Toronto and spending 4th of July long weekend at Nora’s cabin in beautiful Muskoka, Ontario

• Running the 4x4x48, tackling four miles every four hours for 48 hours through the streets of NYC. This was the fourth successive year of conquering the sleepless endeavor, raising over $3500 for Roads to Success - an NYC-based charity that supports underprivileged youth with programming, mentorship, tutoring, and college prep.

• Welcoming Dan and Finn to NYC, which I always love. We bopped around, took Finn to parks and shops and experiences, and had a really enjoyable catch-up. I especially loved the coffee hangs and walks through Central Park with Dan. It’s so fun to see how Finn experiences the city differently as he grows.

• Heading home to Winnipeg with Lynn to visit my parents and friends, while overlapping with more family (Dan, Steve, Finn, and my uncle Keith were all in town at the same time). This annual trip never disappoints and was filled with lots of laughs, catch-ups over runs, cycling, golf, fantasy football, and beers.

• Hosting Lynn’s parents from Europe in our tiny apartment which is actually a ton of fun (and happening right now). They are super chill, fun to be around, and we make incredible food, experience the US Open, and get tons of steps throughout New York.

Now I find myself just 8 weeks out from the 2024 New York City Marathon, and while training hasn’t been going great, I was feeling reasonably fit and ready to take on the high-mileage weeks ahead. I even bought the new Nike Pegasus 41s which are a perfect everyday shoe to slog through long runs with.

Unfortunately, I came home from a 7-mile run before work on Thursday (where I met up with a friend who is much faster than me) and felt a pain in my achilles heel. This has only gotten worse over the last three days, to the point where walking, particularly downstairs, is quite painful.

I haven’t been injured in what seems like forever, and I’ve consistently been running over the last 6 months (see 50km race and 4x4x48 challenge), so this is super concerning, and most of all, frustrating.

It’s a painful reminder that health is truly at the top of the totem pole (both physical and mental). This is pretty much the only thing I can think about right now, and when it impacts every step you take, you’re constantly reminded that nothing else really matters if your own shop isn’t in order.

My goal now, which I also lean on at work and in management, is to control what I can control. Ice, stretch, and rehab as much as possible to give myself a fighting chance to get back on the pavement in the next couple of weeks and avoid this becoming a chronic issue. This will also require me to step up in the other aspects of my health. When logging lots of miles, I don’t have to worry too much about what I eat or drink because I know I’m burning lots of calories. That won’t be the case now, so it’s a good chance to hold myself accountable to prioritize sleep, lower inflammation, and make a challenge out of recovery.

If anyone has any tips for mentally getting through an injury that significantly cuts down your physical limitations (and therefore messes with your emotions), I’m all ears. Otherwise, I hope you put your health first - we all take it for granted until we lose even a piece of it; then we’d do anything to get it back. Just ask Achilles.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Do Hard Things

Easily the most physically difficult thing I’ve accomplished in 2024 occurred back on March 23, 2024. I joined a former work colleague to compete in the HAT 50k in Susquehanna State Park in Maryland, which features a 50km (~31 mile) trail race with over 4000 feet of vertical climb.

Every one of my previous marathons were traditional road races on pavement; this couldn’t have been more different. It followed a single-track trail through the woods for the vast majority of the race, mixing in a few open field runs, some very steep climbing, stream crossings, and a couple miles on pavement.

Back in January, my friend invited a few of us down to stay with him and try out the route. The course map follows a 3-mile trail which loops back to the start, followed by a 14-mile loop which you run twice! During that January trip, we ran the 14-mile trail with a group of his training buddies. It was a blast and a completely new experience as trail running involves a MUCH slower pace, usually walking up hills to conserve energy, and being very careful with ever step. The uneven terrain means there is a potential rolled ankle at every single turn off the side of a rock or a weird hole in the ground. I really enjoyed it, and I got lucky with the first pair of trail-running shoes I bought which helped me with stability and never caused an issue with my feet, even when going through water.

The actual race weekend was completely different from training. I took the Amtrak train down the Northeast corridor on Friday afternoon, about 2 hours from NYC, and Brian picked me up to get our race bibs. The race was to begin Saturday morning at 8:30am, and constant rain began around midnight, which didn’t stop until the last couple miles of the race!

Obviously rain sucks, but because of the design of the course (repeating the big loop), going through it the second time was an exercise of slogging through muddy trails, trying to gain any sort of traction with your step, and slipping, sliding, and falling all over the place.

Another major difference with HAT compared to the large-city marathons I’m used to: there were only ~300 participants. By comparison, the New York City Marathon has 50,000 athletes toe the start line! I lined up with the other 299 crazy people in the pouring rain in a field, and we were off to the sounds of a live bagpiper.

With no headphones, and a focus on each and every step (looking down, 6 feet in front of you, rather than out in the distance like on the road), the miles slowly rolled by, with the pitter patter of rain acting as a substitute for my normal angry rap music.

One of the coolest parts was the aid stations. While few and far between (only about ever 4-6 miles), they’re really fun when you arrive. Volunteers had trays of French fries, peanut butter sandwiches, chips, pretzels, and Gatorade and water. Basically anything with salt is a go. One of my personal favorites was the salted, boiled potatoes – a trail-race classic.

After the first 14-mile loop, I stopped at the home base to refuel with pretzels and sandwiches, and realized a few of the people we had trained with were there at the same time, so I was keeping reasonable pace. Several of them (not my host, Brian), ended up calling it after those 17 miles. They knew how vicious the terrain was getting and how slippery and, frankly dangerous, it would be on the second loop. Because they all had major races in the weeks to follow (e.g., the Boston Marathon), the risk didn’t seem worth the reward. Totally understandable.

Before I got too comfortable in the tent, I ventured back out with my last paper cup of french fries in hand, and started again. As you can imagine, that part is pretty demoralizing knowing you have 14 more miles to go, and you’re running through all the parts that really sucked in your head, knowing you’ll have to conquer them for a second time.

During the second loop, when I arrived at the second stream crossing, I realized the waters had picked up steam (and height) so the volunteers rerouted us via bridges. I later found out that somebody had a pretty bad fall in the water, and another participant was basically dragged away in the current. I can attest; one of the crossings was easily at my knee height and during the first loop I rolled my ankle on a rock under-foot that I couldn’t see because of the depth of the water.

Because several participants had stopped after the first 14-mile loop, it was even quieter out on the course; almost meditative at times. I was able to get into a nice flow state, reflecting on all sorts of things in life (that I can’t remember now if I tried), all while trying not to fall - which I did three times.

Despite the rainy, cold, and extremely muddy conditions, it couldn’t have been more fun, and crossing the finish line was so dang satisfying, especially with several people who hung around to cheer me on. I’ve never run that far (31 miles) or for that long (6h13m), but it was an absolute blast. The community and camaraderie around trail-racing is next level, and it was so fun to meet so many people during training and on the course.

I’m not sure when my next ultra-marathon (anything longer than 26.2 miles) will be, but I hope to sign up for one soon with a bunch of friends to experience it together.

Thanks for reading, more spring/summer recaps to come!

Mike

Rather than pick sections of the past quarter to describe in detail, I’ll try and summarize some of the places I’ve been, things I’ve experienced, and thoughts I’m having.

Places I’ve been

Work travel has been fairly steady (which I like), and since November I traveled to:

• Miami - team offsite meetings

• Dallas - sponsoring a partner’s team meeting

• Boston - lunch with a partner

• New Orleans - our all-company offsite which was incredible as always. This even included our own parade through the French Quarter and I spoke on stage in front of our whole team!

• Orlando - partner sales conference

• Chicago - our company was hosting an event

• Dallas - partner sales conference and dinner with partners

  

Personal travel was just as exciting as I was able to catch up with friends and family and spend time with Lynn. Since November I went to:

• Toronto - over US Thanksgiving we got to hang with Finn and the family, catch up with friends during some great hangs at Dan and Steve’s, check out a fantastic plant-forward restaurant, and take Finn to a 4-year-old birthday party!

• Connecticut - surprised my buddy Dom for his birthday party which was so much fun, then stayed over at their place and enjoyed catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in years!

• Jamaica! Lynn and I escaped the cold for a few days over Christmas to an all-inclusive in Negril, Jamaica. The food and drink were excellent and I was completely shut-off from work for 4 nights which was much needed. We worked out every day, met some cool people, traveled to local bars, went waterskiing and experienced a catamaran cruise. Overall an amazing vacation.

• Boston - we took the train to stay with friends in January and had a fantastic weekend in their Cambridge townhome. We explored downtown Boston on foot, walked through MIT in Cambridge, went to a couple great restaurants, did a blind wine tasting, and shared a million laughs.

• Maryland - I took the train for a weekend to hang with work colleagues in preparation for an upcoming race (more to come).

Things I’ve experienced

• The New York City Marathon - this was one of my major highlights from 2023. I completed the marathon alongside 51,000 other runners, through all five boroughs of NYC, in 3:21. I had high hopes going into the race, but those expectations were far exceeded on the day. Nothing can prepare you for 26 miles of crowds that are 2-3 people deep and everyone is cheering and in good spirits. It really said something about this city and made me love it even more. I was able to see several different friends along the route which made it even more special, and capped it off with beers near the finish line in my neighbourhood of the UWS! I can’t wait to run this thing again.

  

• New York at Christmas - some locals find this time of year annoying because there are so many tourists, but if you don’t take a moment to appreciate living in a place that so many people want to experience, I think you’re missing the point. Lynn and I did a good job of making a “Christmas NYC checklist” that included Pete’s Tavern, Fifth Avenue, Charity Walk (handing our $$ in our neighbourhood), 30 Rock Christmas Tree, and more. This made the season that much more special and when you lean into the festivities, you don’t care about the little annoyances.

  

• New Years Eve in NYC: hung out at our friends’ beautiful apartment in Brooklyn and enjoyed homemade, five-star dining and wine pairings that still amaze me two months later. Their 50th floor views also allow for a nearly 360 degree view of NYC which provided a vantage point for several fireworks shows at midnight.

• My birthday with family - Dan, Steve, and Finn all visited the first weekend in January which not only gave us something to look forward to after coming home from Jamaica, but definitely filled my heart as they took me for dinner on my birthday to a delicious plant-based Korean restaurant. Finn was his usual NYC-trooper self throughout the visit. We hit a Paw Patrol exhibit, trekked to Brooklyn for brunch, played lots of cards (I may or may not have taught the 6-year-old blackjack), crushed the playground in Central Park, and ate at excellent restaurants. Dan, Steve, and me went on our traditional monsoon-affected pub crawl through the Upper West and laughed the entire time.

  

Thoughts I’m having

• Running 50km - I’m signed up for my first “ultramarathon” on March 23rd in Maryland. It will be running 50km (~31 miles) through trails in the Susquehanna State Park. I’m thinking about this a lot because my training has been a bit lacking since the NYC marathon. I had one great weekend exploring those trails in Maryland, but the longest we did was 14 miles, so there’s a LOT more to go on race day. I’m going to train hard over the next six weeks and just try to enjoy the race day weekend with work friends. To give you a sense of how different trail running is than marathon road-running, check out this video:

• Health is everything - I’ve been sick the past few days, and although I’m rarely sick, every time it happens I’m reminded that without your health, nothing else matters and everything is a struggle. It’s good for perspective and will help me appreciate making healthy choices in the future as I’ll remember just how frustrating this is.

• Friendship is key - I continue to be the most energized when I’ve been social with different groups of friends. Whether it’s catching up with work colleagues, or walking the city with friends and Lynn; that fills my cup and I’ll aim for even more of that throughout 2024.

• Palm Desert - I’m going to visit my parents for a MONTH this winter. Obviously I’m so lucky to be able to do this, and it’s going to be a nice combination of seeing family, friends, working remotely, running, and golfing. Part of that month will be a one-week off-the-grid vacation with 7 buddies from Winnipeg for our bi-annual golf trip. We’ve finalized the schedule and details and we’re all super excited. With a week to go until I leave, seeing my parents, experiencing the sunshine, and hanging with Finn by the pool are rightfully taking up a lot of mindshare.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Boston Friends

We planned to take the train out to Boston to visit Kaveri (former consulting colleague and good friend) and her family for a relaxing weekend in their beautiful suburban house to close out July.

What we didn’t know was that the festivities would begin a day early when Kaveri’s work travel was re-routed through New York. We met her in the West Village late Thursday night for a couple night-caps, then she stayed at our apartment and we all worked together on Friday before grabbing the 3.5 hour train to Massachussets.

It was great to catch up, play soccer with her son, explore the Boston Seaport district, and enjoy a delicious fancy brunch at The Langham.

Walking the Length of Manhattan

Although it’s become a bit of a social media trend over the last six months, walking Manhattan from tip to toe is something I’ve always wanted to do.

In August, our friend Allison was visiting NYC and was down for the adventure so we took the subway up to 215th St. station in the Inwood neighbourhood. We grabbed some bagel sandwiches from an Inwood deli to fuel our day, and we began walking south.

Roughly 9 hours later, after many snacks and water bottles had been consumed, we arrived at Battery Park, staring at the Statue of Liberty. The entire trek was about 17 miles of walking, stopping along the way to see the sights, take pictures, grab a patio beer, and anything else that entered our minds. It was an exhausting but super fun experience.

Trip to Winnipeg

Lynn had a bachelorette party to attend in Georgia that conflicted with this trip, so I entered the homeland alone and was excited to take the week off work. It allowed me ample time to hang with my parents, see friends, play golf, and attend my friend’s beautiful backyard wedding. Dan and Finn also came to Winnipeg for the second half of my visit, so as always it was so much fun hanging with them.

A few highlights from Winnipeg included:

• Hanging at my parents’ condo, relaxing on the balcony, and catching up on all the adventures they have planned.

• Taking Finn to the zoo

• Attending the Manitoba Children’s Hospital Foundation HQ for a tour and cheque presentation, celebrating our Fantasy Football League’s contributions over the past couple of years

• Attending our Fantasy Football draft to catch up with all my buddies

• Playing in the Breezy Bend Member Guest with my dad

• Playing Wednesday night men’s night with the boys

• Catching up with a few friends over a run (rather than just food or drink) - thanks Bevy and Yacine!

Parental Visitors

Upon returning to NYC from Winnipeg, it was a quick transition into hosting mode. Lynn’s parents arrived four days after I returned and, despite a wonderful two week visit, my Luxembourgish remains at the level of a newborn elephant. We walked endless miles, made delicious food, analyzed wine, and watched the US Open Tennis both live and on TV every single day. It was super exciting as Ben Shelton (the son of Lynn’s university coach) made it all the way to the semi-finals. Lynn’s parents went to the Open 4 times, Lynn twice and me twice, which is always a blast.

A week after they left, Dave and Dwenda arrived for a three night excursion in the city. We also walked a ton, explored Central Park and our local wine bar, toured the MoMA (which was actually really cool), had some NYC street food, made martinis, and capped it off with a fantastic broadway show: & Juliet.

Twin Cities

Lynn and I headed to Lake Elmo, Minnesota for the last weekend of September for a long overdue hang with friends from our time in consulting. Jake and Grace are expecting their first baby and just moved into an amazing new house, so it was fun to experience their life for a weekend. They hosted a chili cook-off for some of their friends which was really fun, we went for several walks around their man-made lake, played with their dog, and enjoyed barbecuing and catching up over beers.

North Carolina Wedding

Four days after returning from MN, I took off Thursday and Friday to attend a wedding for one of Lynn’s good friends in Highlands, North Carolina (I had never heard of it, either). We flew into Asheville and got a sneak peak of that city by renting a car, and grabbing lunch at a local restaurant/brewery in West Asheville. I definitely want to go back to Asheville; it’s one of those cities with the perfect combination of landscapes (mountains, trails, forests), breweries, and passion for outdoor activities. It seems really similar to a Portland, Oregon or an Austin, TX in that sense; and I love that hipster-vibe type of city.

After lunch we drove the two hours to Highlands which is in a beautiful area. While not in the Rockies, the main street in the town reminded me of a Banff or Clear Lake. Cozy local coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, and shops.

As we unpacked and got ready for the Thursday night welcome dinner, I realized I left my suit bag (containing my suit for the wedding and my blazer for the rehearsal) ON THE PLANE! Lynn acted quick as always and we were able to get ahold of someone at the tiny Asheville airport, then coordinate with one of Lynn’s friends to pick it up before they came to Highlands. It all worked out in the end, but caused a bit of stress and was a classic Mike Arnold amateur move, despite it being my ~40th flight of the year.

All three festivities (the welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner, and wedding) were fantastic. Beautiful venues, great couple and company, and lots of laughs.

Work Travel Updates

August included a manager training here in NYC which was awesome to catch up with so many friends across the company, including those from Israel. I also went to Hartford for some meetings in early August which ended up being both a great professional experience and a hilarious flood of memories, being back in downtown Hartford for the first time in years.

September included a hosted event in Providence, Rhode Island, then I went to Chicago for a team meeting, charity dinner, and the Chicago Heart Walk.

After the wedding in North Carolina, I went straight from the Asheville airport to Las Vegas (my 21st trip to Sin City) for the largest healthcare technology conference of the year. Again, it was great to hang with our entire partnerships team, meet a ton of people on the conference floor, and host some of my existing partners at our night events. Yes, it was work, but it included a concert in a night club, and a hosted after-party on floor 108 at the top of the Strat hotel! Feeling lucky!

I now have two weeks to buckle down until the NYC marathon, and to get ready for a bunch more work travel to close out 2023 strong! I’ll try and make these blogs more frequent so I don’t need to distill each fun experience down to a single paragraph.

Thanks for reading!

Mike

May Wedding

I attended my second NYC wedding in late May to see my good friend Matt Briggs get married. We’ve become close friends ever since we started at Deloitte the same day (and we both moved to New York to start the job) back in 2019. Lynn and I have hung out with him and his now wife, Paula, tons of times and it was so fun to watch them get married at an amazing venue in the Lower East Side of Manhattan - the Public Hotel. The wedding weekend consisted of a bachelor party on Friday night (dinner in Manhattan, drinks at Matt’s in Brooklyn, and a nightclub which I’m too old for in Williamsburg); hanging at a Brooklyn brewery most of the day on Saturday, meeting Matt’s family and hometown friends; and the Sunday wedding.

Dan and Finn take on the UWS

It was great to have my sister and nephew return to stay with us in our apartment and spend a fun-filled, yet chill weekend in New York City. Finn continues to be a trooper when he comes to the city, somehow out-walking all of us with his little legs. Highlights included the mandatory bagel runs, tons of hangs and soccer in Central Park, brunch in SoHo where Finn lost a tooth, dinner in the West Village, an interactive toy store at Columbus Circle, and Finn reuniting with his friend Nobu at the Central Park playground. Literally, he ended up running into the same kid he met a year ago, on the same playground!

Canada Day Weekend

We were fortunate to be invited up to Canada for Nora’s annual tradition of hosting friends at her cabin in Muskoka, ON for the Canada Day long weekend. The fourth of July was on a Tuesday, so I took the Monday off and Lynn and I flew up to Toronto late Thursday night. We worked Friday morning before driving out to the lake with Dan, Steve and Finn. As always, the cottage was the perfect amount of relaxation, conversation, activity and laughter. Highlights included tubing with Lynn and Finn, practicing our various dives off the dock, and preparing and eating three amazing family style meals. Big thank-you to Nora for organizing everything and being the chillest hostess.

Connecticut Hangs

Following the Canada Day weekend, I had a jam-packed three day week at work, capped off with a train ride on Friday afternoon up to New Haven, CT. There, our friends Dominic and Jen picked us up from the train station (my golf clubs in tow), and we grabbed a drink and dinner in New Haven, before driving back to their beautiful home in East Hampton, CT. Saturday morning, Dom and I golfed, then came back to the ladies to enjoy some pool time in the afternoon, before grilling some burgers and enjoying a lovely dinner together. It’s always nice to relax at their place, play some golf, banter relentlessly, and not feel completely exhausted after the weekend.

Britni and Eric Visit NYC

After the Connecticut weekend, Lynn and I got our apartment in order for a couple more visitors - this time it was my lifelong friends and happy couple Britni Baron and Eric Johnson. Due to the pandemic and the birth of their kids, this visit was long overdue, particularly for EJ who had never been to NYC.

Britni arrived late on Thursday, July 13, so we quickly caught up before bed, then took her on a long stroll through Central Park with some coffee on Friday morning. Eric arrived Friday afternoon and we jumped straight into some tacos and margaritas at our local Mexican spot before hitting a wine tasting, a cocktail bar, and an Italian Dinner on our corner. Saturday started with bagels, then the 9/11 museum which people always enjoy experiencing. We followed that with a long walk through battery park (seeing the statue of liberty from a distance) then Wall St. and Chinatown before stopping for a refreshing sangria in Little Italy. After that, we grabbed a slice of pizza in the Lower East Side at Sauce (8.8) - this was Eric’s highest rated slice of the trip. We capped off Saturday afternoon with Eric getting a haircut at my old barbershop (including two shots of whisky on the house), and headed back to the apartment to prep for dinner.

At night we hit a Mediterranean restaurant in Greenwich Village before walking up the street to the Comedy Cellar. As always, it’s fun to be in the world’s best comedy club, despite the chaos and the fact there weren’t any celebrity sightings. We finished the long day with a quick walk through a busy Times Square at 1am so Eric could experience the grime of Midtown in the city that never sleeps.

On Sunday we crushed a pizza tour through Brooklyn so Eric could live out his dream of rating famous slices: Pauli Gee’s (7.5), Upside Pizza (7.8), Screamer’s Pizza (7.0 - Britni), Joe’s (8.6), Fini (7.8). Then we walked the 2.2km Williamsburg Bridge back to Manhattan, took the subway up to Central Park and Citi biked the loop of the park, which Eric hadn’t before entered. We changed at the apartment after our bike ride for one last fancy dinner and speakeasy nightcap, and the trip was over.

I’m always grateful when friends and family come to visit. I know it’s not easy with multiple flights and nothing is inexpensive here, so the extra effort means a lot.

Coming Up

The back-half of the summer includes weekend trips to Boston and Minneapolis, a week of holidays in Winnipeg, and parental visitors to our tiny Upper West Side apartment. All of this while really starting to bear down into marathon training - only 13 weeks left!

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Like the location you were in when you heard about 9/11 for the first time, I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the moment when I saw the email on my phone with the subject line “Your Ticket Application Was Selected”. I literally stopped in my tracks while walking to a business meeting in downtown Chicago in July of 2022. My application was selected for two tickets to the Monday practice round on April 3, 2023.

Receiving that email set off a chain reaction of events that resulted in one of the most memorable days of my life set in the middle of an unforgettable golf trip.

Winning two tickets made the decision easy - I would take my dad to the Masters to see Augusta National. We’re obviously both big golf fans, but also massive fans of the Masters, having watched it religiously every year.

After sharing the news with him in-person during a visit to Winnipeg in August 2022, he dashed to the storage room and came back with a paper map of the United States to first identify where Augusta, and really, Georgia, was located. From there we decided we would build a father-son golf trip around the day at the Masters, and logistics discussions occurred for the next 7 months.

Getting to Augusta

We flew from Vegas to Atlanta on Saturday, April 1, having just enjoyed Sin City for my sister’s 40th birthday. We picked up our golf clubs in ATL, picked up a rental car, and drove through bumper-to-bumper traffic at 9pm ET to the Moxy Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. The “check-in” was literally part of the lobby bar and I had to yell at the front-desk attendant/bartender to get our room keys due to the DJ blaring rap music throughout the room. Great setting for two old white guys hauling golf clubs.

After a friendly burger and beer at a local pub, we woke the next morning and headed east to Athens, GA, home to the University of Georgia bulldogs. We played the University course, checked out the campus, randomly sat next to a world-class, knighted pianist at a popular campus restaurant, then drove further east to Aiken, South Carolina to rest up before the big day.

The grounds to Augusta National Golf Club open to patrons at 8:30am. I woke up like it was Christmas morning, around 6. It was 25 minutes from our hotel in Aiken to the course, so we hit the road around 7:30am.

Driving to the course as the sun was rising, we listened to the local radio station for all the latest traffic tips related to the tournament. Once we arrived on Washington Road, about a mile from the course, it became stand-still traffic. This gave us a chance to see the equipment trucks parked across the street from all the major golf companies, and it allowed me to peak down the famed Magnolia Lane (players-only entrance).

The Augusta National Golf Club

The instant we turned into the grounds and left the care of the Augusta police directing traffic, everything changed while under the design of ANGC. For the next ~7 hours, we were part of the greatest crowd-organizing I’ve ever witnessed, coupled with the best customer service ever experienced at a sporting event.

Once we parked our car in a field of vehicles as far as the eye could see, we left our phones in the glove box (no phones allowed) and walked through the North Gate. The first thing you notice is the expansiveness of the property. We were inside the grounds, parking among thousands of cars, and still nowhere near the most famous 18 holes in America. There are tons of different buildings, secret roads built through the bushes, and probably a bunch of other structures/pathways that we’re not even allowed to see.

Walking through the gates, checking our tickets, and a quick security scan gave us the first sense of the day we were about to have: Tons of open lines, no waiting, and plenty of “welcome to the Masters” greetings.

We walked the long path passing the administration building and the new press conference center, towards the clubhouse. The first thing golf-related we walked by and saw was the practice area including the driving range and practice bunkers. As we approached, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Fred Couples, and Tom Kim were leaving the area to go play the back nine. Mind blown.

Aside from the expansiveness of the property, the other thing that’s amazing is just how pristine the conditions are. It always looks majestic on TV, but there truly is not a blade of grass out of place. The beautiful green of the fairways and rough, rolls into the perfectly-laid brown pine straw.

We arrived with very few goals for the day. Your first time at Augusta is much more about seeing the property, rather than any particular golfer, so we didn’t care to follow anyone. Instead, we approached the first tee and decided to walk all 18 holes. As we walked up the hill to the first green, there was one person - Tim Mickelson, Phil’s brother and caddie, dressed in the full caddy uniform, dropping a half-dozen golf balls all over the green to witness the slopes and then scribble notes in his notepad.

As anyone knows, the greens are what make the golf course so difficult, and seeing them in person is pretty wild. Most of the greens are quite small, and the number of severe slopes they have on such a tiny surface is very intimidating. I can’t imagine how many putts an average golfer would have if they were to play a round in tournament conditions.

We walked the rest of the front nine and saw the area where Louis Oostheuzen holed his second shot for an albatross on hole 2, saw the famous drive-able third hole with a ridiculous green, saw the slope off the sixth tee box where patrons bask in the sun below the players teeing off, saw the seventh green completely protected by bunkers, and saw my new favorite hole, the eighth. The tee box is kind of stranded in the middle of the property, and if it wasn’t for ropes setup for the tournament, you might not realize it’s a tee box.

The tee shot on 8 goes down hill and then the second shot is blind, up a massive hill and around a corner to the very narrow green. We’ve seen Tiger hit an unbelievable approach there in 2011 for eagle during his final day rally, and it’s just such a fun hole.

During our opening nine viewing, we had to check out the concessions, famous for having a small menu, low prices, and great service. It did not disappoint.

Aside from the prices, the logistics are incredible. Because of the small menu, everything is pre-packaged and laid out like a cafeteria, so you walk through, grab what you want off the shelves, walk to the end, pick up your beers that are already poured in the Masters cups, and go to one of 40 check-out lines, tap your card, and done. Zero waiting, great service, happy patrons.

After slugging a couple morning beers, naturally we needed to find a bathroom. Again, with at least 30,000 people in attendance, you’d think lineups would be standard. Nope. First, every bathroom is a fully-constructed building with dozens of urinals and stalls. Every volunteer attendant is smiling, happy to be there, and greeting you like you’re entering a Michelin-star restaurant rather than an outdoor restroom. When directing traffic, the order was simply shouted “if you need a stall, stay on the wall”.

At 11am, we took a small break and watched the players on the range. It’s always a treat to watch the best players in the world hit balls, and at that venue, it’s even better as you can sit on the bleachers and admire the purity of their swings. Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, and many more.

After walking past the practice putting green (you can get super close) and saying hi to Justin Rose, it was time to walk the second nine.

Everyone speaks of the hilliness of Augusta National and it’s absolutely true. The clubhouse is kind of at the top of the property, and from there down to the lowest point at hole 16, the elevation drop is equivalent to that of Niagara Falls! It makes for a challenging and walk and Dave and I were both grateful we didn’t have to haul the heavy staff bags with which the caddies are burdened.

The second nine offers so many amazing spots. The tenth hole has the famous cabins down the left side that house out-of-town members (we overheard that Condoleezza Rice was staying there that week), and that Rory’s errant tee shot found in 2011. The approach shot uphill to the tenth hole is super difficult, and from the ropes on the left side of the green, we saw a group of patrons hovering around the “Bubba spot” in the right rough where he hit the hooking pitching wedge in 2012.

A really cool experience was walking back behind the tee of hole 11, the hardest on the course. The 500+ yard par 4 is incredibly intimidating and kicks off the all-important Amen Corner. Conveniently, our crappy digital camera ran out of batteries right as we got down to the 12th tee, but soaking in that spot with the thousands of patrons is so cool, you can see why it’s so popular. Not only can you watch approaches to 11, all of 12, and tee shots on 13, but you’ve got grandstands, concessions, and restrooms all in the same area (though you wouldn’t know it from television).

We watched Tyrell Hatton hit 13 in two, walked up the bunker-less 14th, and then saw Collin Morikawa play hole 15. The shallowness of the 15th green makes you really appreciate how the players can hit hybrids in there with complete accuracy and still hold the green.

Sixteen was the highlight of the back nine for me and we actually saw it earlier in the day so I was able to snap a picture. Obviously it has so much history, and when you’re there and see where it’s nestled, right between 6 and 17, you can see why the roars are so impactful on a Sunday. We walked up to the green on the opposite side of the water, a very popular spot for patrons to place their chairs. There, we learned that patrons can place their official Masters chair in designated seating areas, and leave it there all day. Throughout the day, if nobody is sitting in a chair, you’re welcome to sit with the understanding that if the owner comes back, you get up. The cool part about this section to the left of the pond on 16 is that on TV, I always wondered why people sat there when it seemed so far from the action. However, being there in person, you realize the pond is quite narrow so you’re close enough to the green, and because the green slopes so viciously towards the pond, you have a great view of the hole while players are putting.

We walked the very difficult 18th hole with Dustin Johnson, Kevin Kisner, and Gary Woodland, and then walked to the famous oak tree behind the clubhouse. That’s a famous spot to meet people if you’re lost (remember, no cell phones), and we were able to catch up with my buddy Matt Sacks who was there with his dad and uncle.

From there we walked past the par 3 course on the property, then around to the front of the clubhouse where they take your photo at the end of Magnolia Lane.

We crushed the pro shop by picking up some great Masters apparel, then walked all the way down to Amen Corner one more time to soak in the memories before heading out.

If you’re into golf, I can’t emphasize enough how you should try to get to Augusta in your lifetime. As I reflected upon the experience, I realized that everyone goes to the tournament and the course for the first time with the highest of expectations, and I have yet to meet someone that hasn’t had those expectations surpassed. It’s just the best, and they’ve thought of everything to make it as enjoyable as possible.

The rest of the trip featured more driving, golfing, eating and drinking in the Charleston, SC area. We played three more rounds, explored the historic city, and enjoyed playing the Cougar Point course at Kiawah Island, followed by lunch on the patio at the Ocean Course on Masters Thursday (the final day of our trip).

It had been about 22 years since Dave and I took a golf trip just the two of us, and this did not disappoint. It was so fun spending some quality time, exploring a new area of the US, and experiencing Augusta together.

If you made it this far in the blog, I’m impressed. I’m excited to read this post years from now, and I hope I get to attend the Masters again.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Similar to the past two years, I’ll be dedicating a weekend to running the streets of NYC, at all hours of the day and night, with the hope of raising funds for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

When my friends and I (The Aces) started a fantasy football league in 2021, we decided to not only dedicate time to needless research on running backs and punt returners, but also dedicate time, energy, and money to this charity. Our impact has slowly grown ever since, raising over $11,000 last year as a team.

I’m ready to burn some calories, ruin my sleep cycle, and exhaust my legs to kick-start the 2023-24 fundraising season and support sick kids in need. I’ve seen the amazing work done by this foundation, and waking up in the middle of the night to run a few miles is nothing if it means providing a few extra dollars so the hospital can continue to care for those kids.

Donate Now

If you have the means, please consider donating. Every penny counts and goes a long way to making a big difference. If you’re not already, follow me on Instagram (@mikearnoldmath) to witness the suffering all throughout the weekend.

Thanks as always for your support!

Mike

The genesis of the trip occurred during a random Sunday in New York City when Lynn and I were out wandering through the Upper West Side. We stopped at a local watering hole around 3:21PM to enjoy the July sunshine, knowing that patio season didn’t last forever.

We began discussing Christmas over a couple of New York pilsners when I realized I had no real plans during the holiday season. I had always been drawn back to the frigid prairies during Christmas to see my Granny, so this year was different. Plus, knowing I’d see my parents in Palm Springs in February, we were left to decide where to vacation and potentially ring in the new year.

Then we remarked how weird it was that Lynn, a born-and-raised European, had never traveled to London, one of the premier cities in the world (and one of my favourites). Naturally, she started looking up flights, and I started looking up Arsenal’s schedule for the upcoming season. What I Googled was almost too good to be true. Arsenal had a home match in North London on Boxing Day (a very busy day in the Premier League Season), and an away match at Brighton & Hove on New Year’s Eve!

Coincidentally, my Uncle Jon and Aunt Sue live just a 7-minute train ride from the Brighton stadium so the stars were aligning. After a couple emails and Zoom calls with my uncle, we booked flights a couple weeks later.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve in NYC and we woke up to the coldest day (no exaggeration) I’ve experienced in my four years in the city. It was -20C with the windchill and our flight left JFK at 7pm. After shivering through a walk to lunch, we headed back home and Ubered to JFK to take advantage of our lounge access (thank you consulting, for the flight status). After a few friendly beverages, snacks, and meals (the JFK Virgin Airlines lounge is incredible), we were off.

We landed at Heathrow just before 7am on Christmas Day, which is a strange experience. England still takes Christmas and Boxing Day very seriously, in fact, the tube (London’s underground) is completely shut down on Christmas Day. This blew my mind as I was picturing the chaos that would ensue in Manhattan if the subway ever shut down for a full day. Thankfully, we quickly hailed an Uber and when we arrived at our boutique hotel near Tower Bridge in Central London, our room was available and we could nap off the jet lag.

We woke up at 4pm and knew that was going to be horrendous for our sleep for a few days, but we felt more rested. We walked along the Thames, admiring all the closed restaurants and pubs, then finally settled on the bar in our hotel for a nice Christmas dinner!

Ironically, I opened my eyes on Boxing Day feeling like a little kid on Christmas. I hadn’t seen Arsenal in person for 18 years! Looking back, I may have seen the Club during the pinnacle of its 137-year history when I saw their final game of the 2003-04 season at Highbury, capping off a record-breaking season that saw them go undefeated to win the league. But I was ready for a new introduction – I hadn’t even been to the new stadium that they’ve played in since 2006!

The ticket acquisition process for the two games I attended deserves its own diversion from the blog. For those of you not familiar with English football (soccer), it’s generally regarded as the best, most wide-reaching, league for the world’s most popular sport.

For some context, I’ll use social media as an imperfect gauge on demand: we all are aware of America’s obsession with the NFL, where a team like the Dallas Cowboys (one of the most popular in the country) has 4.4M Instagram followers. Despite the US having five times the population of the UK, Arsenal has 25.5M followers, just shy of the official NFL Instagram account (27.2M) for the ENTIRE LEAGUE!

With that sort of reach, and only 19 home league matches per season at Emirates Stadium which houses 60k supporters, the demand for tickets is crazy. It’s even higher (obviously) when the team is doing well, and I happened to show up as they were top of the league. In fact, they’re still top of the league as I write this.

All things considered, I’m extremely lucky to have my dad’s cousin, Peter, as a long-time season ticket holder to navigate me through the ticket procurement process. During this trip, unfortunately Peter and his family were away from England for the holidays. From a visiting standpoint, that was very disappointing as I hadn’t seen them since 2014, but from a football standpoint, he was gracious enough to offer me his season ticket to the home match and set us up with one of his friends for the away match at Brighton. Thank you, Peter!

Lynn likes Arsenal, or at least hopes they do well so I’m in a nice mood, but the Boxing Day ticket was a bit extravagant for her fandom, so I took the tube to the Emirates Stadium to experience Arsenal on my own. Kickoff was at 8pm so I arrived in North London around 6pm to absorb all the pre-match festivities. First up was the Tollington Arms. Just around the corner from the stadium, it’s one of the classic spots to grab a pint before the game; in fact, you actually need a ticket to be let in on match days!

It’s hard to explain the atmosphere, but I’ve been telling people this: I’ve lived in Toronto which is hockey-crazy for the Leafs, particularly considering the media presence and pressures. I’ve been in bars outside the Leafs arena, even when they’re doing well, and this doesn’t even compare

First of all, the Tollington was packed. The bar is huge, but it was jammed. Every person in there was a fan (like I said, you required a match ticket for admission), and the majority of the time you’re chanting the various Arsenal songs in unison, while trying not to spill your beer. In addition, EVERYONE is talking about Arsenal and football. In all the conversations I joined or eavesdropped on, the only topics I heard were tactics, lineups, match schedules, and reminiscing about past games against this opponent.

About an hour before the match, I walked over to Emirates Stadium. It’s a magnificent structure, standing out like a spaceship in an otherwise-residential area of North London. Its presence sends chills down the spine as you walk through the gates.

Peter’s seats are in Club Level which includes a fancy restaurant for diners before and after the match, beautiful seating and suites, and some incredible concessions. Walking into his seats was mind-blowing: they’re right on the half-way line, with a “better than tv” viewpoint of the entire pitch. I was in heaven. To my right, using Peter’s second seat via the ticket exchange, was a man from New Delhi who had flown over to attend his first two Arsenal matches that week. To my left were Peter’s friend and his son who occupy those two season tickets, as I came to learn.

Another great thing about English football is that you can’t drink in the stands. This adds to the fact that everyone who is in attendance is there to focus on the match. It heightens the intensity and the drama of each kick of the ball, compared to an NFL game which is slow and boring and only tolerable while slugging Bud Lights in the stand and half-heartedly watching some plays.

Arsenal were playing a fellow London team, West Ham United, and actually went down 0-1 due to a penalty kick in the first half. During halftime, I was a bit concerned, but still confident given how much Arsenal had been dominating possession.

Sure enough, in the second half, they came out firing, scoring beautiful goals in the 53rd, 58th and 69th minutes, eventually winning 3-1. My heart was full, my voice was sore, and I was on top of the world!

After leaving the stadium, I poured out into the Islington streets with the other 60,000 fans, trying to find public transportation to the West End where Lynn and her brother - who flew over from Luxembourg - were having dinner.

Following a double-decker bus ride and a couple tube stops, I met Lynn and Dany at a restaurant near Chinatown and brought my enthusiasm and energy from the big win. We grabbed a couple pints at a nearby spot and I regaled them with what I had just witnessed across town. It was great to see Dany and catch-up since I last saw him in France in June.

The next three days included “full English” breakfasts at our hotel, sight-seeing all over London, shopping, eating and drinking. We explored along the Thames, Shoreditch, Carnaby Street, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, Westiminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Houses of Parliament . We ate vegan food from an incredible market of local pop-ups inside container ships, and shopped with the tourists on Oxford Street.

A major highlight was a delicious restaurant called Kerridges inside a swanky London hotel that we didn’t know was so fancy until we arrived. After a delicious dinner, we grabbed a nightcap at the hotel’s speakeasy which offered live jazz and an incredibly artistic cocktail menu. On our last night together, we walked to the local pub near the hotel and experienced a proper English pub night: good beer, homey setting with candles and comfortable furniture, great home-cooked food, and awesome service, all wrapping up by 10:30pm. We even grabbed one of their many board games on hand to elevate the experience.

On Thursday, Dec. 29th, Lynn and I bid adieu to Dany from London Bridge train station: he was off to Heathrow to fly back home, and we were off to Lewes! More to come!

For anyone who’s never lived in the US, one of the greatest advantages is the two-day holiday that is Thanksgiving. It’s observed during the last full weekend in November, and it truly kicks off the season of “that’s a next year problem” in the working world.

I work at a startup so we literally can’t afford to allow that to happen, but the time off is still an absolute treat. In my past years in America, I’ve gone to Connecticut, to Toronto, or even to Winnipeg during Thanksgiving. But this year, it happened to nicely coincide with a good friend’s bachelor party, naturally it was happening in Vegas!

Stage 1: Las Vegas, NV

Most of the guys went for four nights, but in my old age and maturity (lol), I went for three nights and flew across the country on Black Friday (Nov. 25th) to meet 13 friends at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip.

The trip - my 19th time to Vegas - was unbelievable. We enjoyed a couple nice dinners to toast the groom-to-be, laughed non-stop during an 18-hole round of golf where we decided to play two-man scrambles across the groups, and of course experienced the highs and lows of gambling in Sin City.

Golfing in Vegas is amazing. I will always vote for that as an option on future trips. Not only do we all love golf and it’s a fun way to explore the region, but it gets you away from the tables for at least five hours. That alone is guaranteed to save you money, regardless of the drinks cart bill. The groom’s brother found an unbelievable service that will cause us to never bring our clubs to Vegas again. For a flat fee, they covered the green fees, dropped off rental clubs to our hotel the night before, and picked them up the day after our round. This means that degenerate golfers like us could inspect our sticks, and more importantly, fill our bags with High Noons, White Claws, and IPAs before we even left for the course. The service also sent a limo bus to our hotel to transport us to the course and back!

Since 70% of the bachelor party forged their deep relationship on the golf course in Manitoba, it was really fun to re-kindle that on a completely new track.

Sunday was our final day as a team in Vegas, and boy did we make it count. It began with an 8:30am kickoff for Canada in the World Cup. My main connection with the groom actually began through soccer, so there were a good chunk of guys on the trip who were extremely passionate about Canada’s match in Qatar. We hauled our corpses out of bed and took cabs downtown to, what ended up being, our own private bar in the Sahara hotel. This resulted in one of the most fun 5 minutes of sports I’ve experienced. Less than 2 minutes into the game, Alfonso Davies heads home a goal for Canada and the 12 of us in attendance went ballistic. Not only were there no other patrons, but the entire staff had no clue what we were doing, especially since it was an NFL Sunday.

That launched us into a Sunday to remember. Canada got murdered 4-1, but that didn’t ruin our vibe. Shortly after the match ended, we found out our “reserved” cabana at the pool party at Sahara was non-existent, and the pool wasn’t even open!

We improvised by taking the high from the Canada lashing, and parlayed that into a booking at supposedly the best swim/sports party in Las Vegas – Stadium Swim.

Stadium Swim is the result of someone saying “why don’t we consider the interests of those guys who love gambling, sports, swimming, people (read: women) in bathing suits, and drinking?” This place was heaven and here’s a short video that I took.

We bet some NFL games, played some nearly-swim-up blackjack, filled our cabana with chicken fingers, nachos and beers, and had so much fun. The highlight was cheering like crazy when the Ravens covered our one bet while 9 of us were in the pool – we splashed and yelled and probably ruined the day for several other tourists. What a great way to spend the last day in the desert!

Stage 2 – Dominican Republic

I landed back in New York from Vegas on Monday afternoon (took the day off) and then had two busy days of work before packing back up to head to the Dominican Republic with Lynn on Thursday. My good friend and former Toronto roommate, Marc Henry, was getting married in Punta Cana, so it was great to travel somewhere warm in December and celebrate their wedding in style.

We stayed at an all-inclusive with tons of friends who were invited to the wedding, including Dan and Steve, plus a bunch of beauties from Winnipeg and Toronto who I hadn’t seen in a while. We spent time on the beach, in the pools, at the hotel bars, on the tennis courts, and most importantly in the sunshine. The wedding was at a gorgeous venue overlooking the ocean. We danced the night away to some traditional Dominican music, and then mixed in some University memories back on the resort by playing flip cup with ~20 wedding attendees!

What’s even more wild about this trip was that the wedding was on Saturday, December 3, and my company offsite was scheduled for Monday, December 5th through Thursday, December 8th…. also in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic!

So after four great nights at one resort, catching up with friends and celebrating an awesome wedding, I jumped in a cab on Monday morning and drove 40 minutes up the island to another resort for our offsite. Obviously it’s pretty amazing to have a company meeting in a tropical destination in December, and I still can’t believe that was “work”.

The way they structure the event is amazing. We do strategy sessions in the morning, then grab lunch, and head outside for afternoon team-building activities (one day was an obstacle course of carnival games on the beach, and one day was a water-park adventure and Tik Tok challenge). Then there’s a short break, where we usually just hang out in the pools and drink beers or fruity cocktails, before heading to dinner followed by some sort of night event.

It's both super inspiring to hear about the future plans for the company, but also exhausting from the late nights on the dance floor! Like last year, when we went to Mexico, it amazes me how well I get along with the 170+ co-workers I now have. Over the course of three nights, it was nothing but laughter, good food and drinks, and catching up with work friends. Oh, and karaoke plus hours of dancing and jumping (the last night was a dance party on the beach, which is basically a workout).

Needless to say, it was an amazing two-week run to head into late December. I was able to recover just in time to fly to England for the holidays. But that’s for another blog.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Wednesday, October 26

I arrived early on Wednesday morning without a flight or customs hiccup. When I arrived at their house, Steve was working from home and Dan had gone into the office. I caught up with Steve for a bit before getting to work - I used Dan’s fancy office and received many compliments about my much more aesthetically pleasing Zoom background.

By 5:30pm it was time for us to walk down the block and pick Finn up from school / aftercare. Maybe my favourite part of the whole trip came when he saw me through the classroom window and yelled “Uncle Mike!” and ran around to let me in the door and gave me a big hug!

We walked home and Finn immediately wanted to play so we ran through a couple chapters of Storytime Chess. Then we fed him dinner and got him ready for bed. I read him his bedtime story, before saying ‘hi’ to Dan and heading to bed.

Thursday, October 27

It was an early wake up (a trend over the trip) with Dan and Steve leaving to catch their early flight. I got Finn’s breakfast ready and got him out the door to school around 8:15am. I really enjoyed the walk together as he likes to let you know everything that’s going on in that curious little mind of his. After dropping him off, I grabbed a coffee from a local shop near their house, then headed back to work for the day.

After walking home from school at the end of the day, Finn and I went right into the backyard so I could witness his updated soccer skills. We always like kicking the ball around, and their backyard is the perfect mini field for his little legs. We also played a bit of tee ball - it was super fun to see his new hand-eye coordination and it’s priceless hearing him giggle as he runs the bases.

For dinner, I attempted to throw some vegan influence his way with plant-based chicken nuggets, seasoned cauliflower, and avocado hummus. As I read those words back, it’s not surprising they didn’t get rave reviews. This is where Finn told me I should “study more” so I know what he likes and doesn’t like.

Friday, October 28

Same routine in the morning in getting Finn off to school: bathroom, clothes, cereal, shoes, backpack, jacket, out the door. Since I last saw him, he now fully gets dressed and ready on his own so my job was pretty easy - just watch the clock and tell him if he’s doddling too much.

By mid-day, Matt Sacks arrived - a good buddy of mine who used to live quite close to me in Toronto. He now lives in Vancouver (his hometown) but we’ve done a good job keeping in touch and we always have a blast catching up. He happened to be in Toronto at the same time, so he and Nora (another great friend who now lives in Hamilton) came over to hang with Finn and I after school.

It was so nice having them around. We picked up Finn from school, he got to play with Lenny (Nora’s hilarious dog), we all played soccer in the backyard, and kicked off the weekend with some delicious Greek food. Finn got to stay up a bit later with us, drawing, playing games, and prepping LEGO for Saturday, before he went to bed. Another new development is that he seems to now prefer reading alone in bed rather than being read to. Fine by me, and it’s so cool to see how much joy he gets out of reading and the challenge of learning new words in fun books.

Saturday, October 29

The awesome chats that Nora, Matt and I had to end Friday night, picked right back up over coffee on Saturday morning. During breakfast, Finn and I made a “list” of ALL the things we had to get done that day (see below) :)

I took Finn to his dance class up the street, and because it was Halloween season, we got him dressed up as a vampire (his costume from last year). I painted his face and eyes and mouth so he really looked the part.

After dance I gave in to his request and got him McDonald’s for lunch. As a good reminder that I potentially preach too hard and that kids (especially Finn) hear everything: apparently a week after I left, Dan told me that Finn said “Uncle Mike says this isn’t real food, but we can still have McDonald’s just not too much”. That cracked me up!

Then we did some LEGO, building a new firetruck - I pretty much just offered moral support as Finn easily handled the intricate pieces and the instructions.

It was a beautiful day so we played a bit more soccer in the backyard before I had to take him to get his COVID booster. The guy was a brave champ and didn’t even flinch with the needle. We then chilled in the afternoon with a movie and some popcorn, then I made him some tasty pasta for dinner, which he really did enjoy.

Sunday, October 30

It was the day before Halloween and the day Finn’s parents got back so we had to make the most of the day and finish our list! Instead of the usual breakfast routine, I suggested we head to the nearby diner, and Finn liked that plan. We had a nice little hang as he took down some chocolate chip pancakes and I crushed coffee.

When we got home, we started our Happy Halloween sign which was going to be hung up in the house for perfect picture-framing (see below). Finn decided to do one letter per sheet of paper - his colouring and writing is really coming along!

We then raked some of the leaves in the backyard before walking nearly a kilometer to the nearby park to play some sports. We took the baseball bat, ball and glove and had a hilarious time throwing and catching and batting and running the bases.

By the time we got back, it was snack time, and then Dan and Steve arrived home. We ordered pizza for dinner and Finn updated them on everything we had done in the past few days.

Monday, October 31 - Halloween

Finn was of course excited about Halloween from the moment he woke up, so he dressed up in his costume (Calvin), and I walked him to school along with Hobbs (Steve). The best decision I’ve made recently was to take off that Monday, and Dan and Steve did the same so we truly just had an incredible catch-up. Something about taking a Monday off instead of a Friday - it feels even more freeing.

We started with lots of coffee while discussing life and just catching up and reading, which was all so relaxing. Then we walked a good distance to one of my favourite Toronto restaurants, Fresh, for a tasty lunch.

We continued the afternoon hangs by stopping in for a pint at a local brewery, before going back home to finish Finn’s Halloween decorations and set up the projector TV with some scary movies.

At night, Steve and I took Finn trick-or-treating, and despite the intermittent rain, he pulled in a HUGE haul and got plenty of “oh that’s so cute” compliments around the neighbourhood. The costume really had it’s full effect when a dad-sized Tiger was following Finn up and down the block.

Following the sugar rush, Steve and I hung out watching Monday Night Football over a pre-Steve-birthday scotch, and then it was off to bed and I flew out the next day.

The trip was a great reminder of how fun it is to observe the way kids experience the world around them. Unfiltered joy, curiosity and an overall desire to play and explore are things we should try and grasp onto, at least once in a while, as adults.

Thanks for reading!

Mike

1. Work life balance. Management consulting is fairly well-known for demanding long hours (well beyond the actual hours you end up billing the client, by the way), and it’s a common belief that you will have a better “work-life balance” once you leave consulting and move into “industry” - the umbrella term for working for a company with its own product or service, rather than for a client-services firm. While I’ve never really tracked hours, and still don’t, what I’ve realized is that work-life balance is a silly term to use with anyone outside of yourself because it’s subjective and highly dependent. You may have the same “work” as your co-worker, but you certainly don’t have the same life, so why compare the balance of the two? They should be imbalanced! Anyway, the big difference I’ve noticed in this role is that I actually like working, so if I end up working late or logging some hours on a weekend, or taking on a tiring travel schedule, it isn’t met with regret or resentment, because I’m choosing to do these things. Bottom line, if you like the work, believe in the mission, and are given autonomy, you’ll figure out the right balance.

2. Interest. When I was in consulting, I was so anxious about staying in my lane, getting my work done, and making sure there was internal approval on my work product. Now, at a much smaller company, I feel much more connected to the company offerings, and as a result, I’ve become more interested in the industry. I never used to read much on the developments in the healthcare space, but now I find I’m carving out time to understand industry trends, read plenty of articles, and take part in discussions and forums to further my knowledge. Seeking out industry knowledge seems to be a good barometer for measuring your happiness with work.

3. People. It’s amazing how much you can enjoy work if you enjoy the people you’re working with. I’ve been lucky throughout my career to get along with most of my co-workers, but it’s certainly the case today. I’ve also realized that as the company grows, people (and managing them) becomes an even more important driver of the company’s success.

4. Team building. This is the hardest part of business in my opinion, but the most important. Leadership is difficult, but having a team that is happy, motivated, aligned to the same goals, and highly productive is absolutely essential in reaching ambitious goals. In my current company, I’ve been given the responsibility to lead a team, and I don’t take it lightly. I’m going to continue to ask for feedback and improve in that area.

5. Digital health is the future. The cost of treating chronic diseases and other common health-related issues is going to continue to rise. Because of this (and other factors), it’s been interesting to see the shift towards digital health solutions to help healthcare companies lower their costs, improve access to care, and make people healthier. Helping people get healthier is not an easy task, but it’s cool that even the largest healthcare companies in the country continue to partner with small scrappy startups who make it their mission.

6. The benefits of consulting experience. Items one through five on this list might make it sound like I hated consulting and would never recommend it for career growth. That’s far from the truth as my previous posts can confirm. In fact, with the benefit of hindsight, I’m able to see the many advantages that my nearly 3 years in management consulting provided. When you’re in consulting, you’re surrounded by colleagues who are also in consulting (shocker)! Because of this, it’s not until you leave that you realize the many skills that are instilled in you, and accepted as commonplace during your time at those firms - but aren’t actually common in the broader corporate working world. Examples might sound basic or intuitive, like preparing for meetings, following up with next steps, taking notes, presenting on calls, etc. These skills are super helpful in almost any job you pursue - so much so, that it’s become a preferred criterion in our recruiting efforts.

Here’s to year two!

Mike

I also want to add that even though I’m providing a highlight reel of the chaos of summer, in between the flights, concerts, weddings, and visiting friends, I’ve really been enjoying work. I’m getting deeper ingrained in our go-to-market team and I’m enjoying the excitement of trying to close business and help the company grow.

Anyway, after Lynn and I returned from the Italian wedding on Sunday, June 12, we had one week in New York before getting back on an airplane for a combination of fun and work. To help get through the stories and updates, I’ll attempt a bullet-point format with a picture (or two) for each main segment.

• Friday, June 17: Dave Mowat surprises me with an extra Lumineers ticket as they were playing their NYC tour-stop in Queens at an incredible venue: Forest Hills Stadium - the former home of the US Open Tennis Championships. The concert was amazing, so much so that, I had to take Lynn to their final tour stop later in the summer.

• Saturday, June 18: Rather than get some rest, Lynn and I headed to JFK airport for a 5.5 hour flight (we got upgraded which made it easier) to Las Vegas, NV in the middle of the summer heat. The reason for the trip was that Lynn had a conference at The Wynn from Tuesday through Thursday, so naturally I suggested we tack on the weekend. Plus we had the Monday as a holiday (Juneteenth). This way, Lynn got to experience a sliver of what “Vegas Mike” means, we hit a couple awesome restaurants, walked all over the strip, experienced the Wynn pool, and even did a little gambling during my 18th official trip to the City of Lights.

• Monday, June 20 - Tuesday, June 21: I flew out of Vegas Monday afternoon to Minneapolis, then connected to St. Louis, MO for a conference I was attending for work. I got to my hotel after midnight, woke up for some early meetings, then checked out and went to the conference until 4pm when I rushed out of there back to the airport. I barely caught my flight back to MSP and then onto Winnipeg, where I landed near midnight. A crazy ~30 hours!

• Wednesday, June 22 - Sunday, June 26: I came home to Winnipeg for a family-based trip, but fit in some additional friend hang-outs as well. On Wednesday, I worked from my parents, Dan and Finn flew in, and then I joined my buddies for 9 holes at Breezy Bend before going back to Britni and Eric’s house to hang with all the couples. On Thursday I worked and then picked up Lynn who flew in from Vegas very late. On Friday, I spoke at my Granny’s funeral alongside my sister which was a really special moment I won’t forget. On Saturday, I took Finn to the playground and then the whole family headed out to rural Manitoba (Glenora, to be exact) for my cousin Josh’s wedding. It was nice to see everyone together in a part of Manitoba in which I’m quite confident that no other Luxembourger has ever set foot. On Sunday night, my buddy Derek (Lanks) and his wife Kate had all the high school guys and WAGs and kids in the backyard for a potluck. It was the perfect way to end a quick, family-oriented trip before flying out early Monday morning. Thanks to everyone who made it memorable.

• Friday, July 8 - Sunday, July 10: After a couple chill weeks in New York, we were lucky enough to be invited by Dave Mowat and his fiancee Leonie Stevens to their lake house, just outside Danbury, CT. It’s a beautiful house in a gated community, sitting high in the trees above a peaceful, man-made lake. The weekend featured some great conversations, some wine journeys, incredible team-based cooking (homemade pasta night, and a Mediterranean grill night), and some fun activities like swimming and tennis. They are such gracious hosts and have become such good friends of ours - can’t wait for their wedding in October!

• Wednesday, July 20 - Friday, July 22: The final trip of July was a work trip where I joined our sales team in Chicago. It was actually more of a coincidence as I was heading there to meet with some senior leaders from the partnership I manage, and it just so happened that Hello Heart’s sales team was doing a training / team-building during the same few days. They were kind enough to invite me to join their social events at night which featured snacks and beers at a pub followed by improv at The Second City on Friday. Then we went on a beautiful sunset boat cruise on Lake Michigan on the Saturday.

More to come in summarizing August, but if you have any questions, comments, or reactions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

As promised, I owe you a recap of the final leg of our European trip in June. After the incredible week in the South of France with Lynn’s parents and brother, we were Italy-bound to attend a friend of Lynn’s wedding in Florence/Tuscany. Her friends live in Miami now, but went on their first trip as a couple to Florence years ago and fell in love with the city and region, so decided to have their wedding there.

Our trip started with a bit of a travel hiccup as our flight from Montpellier to Paris (then to Florence) was cancelled due to a strike at Charles De Gaulle. We scrambled and called Air France (thanks Lynn for the solid French-speaking skills) to adjust to fly from Montpellier to Rome, take the Metro into Rome, then a high-speed train north from Rome to Florence. Despite the multiple stages and a new language that Lynn doesn’t speak, it actually went very smooth, and we checked into our incredible Florence hotel (thanks Marriott points) about an hour before the first welcome reception. Sidenote: the train from Rome to Florence flew through the Italian countryside at 285km/h. Why we don’t have trains like that in North America is beyond me

.After checking in, we quickly changed and hopped in an Uber to a private residence at the top of this hill in the middle of Florence, overlooking the entire city for a sunset cocktail event. This was the moment I realized we weren’t at any other wedding, and it quickly became apparent to me that I was about to experience the most extravagant 3-day event I’ve ever been a part of. Let’s hear it for “plus ones”!

After meeting the bride and groom for the first time, I enjoyed some delicious Italian wine, met lots of Lynn’s tennis friends from her days in Atlanta, and had a great time soaking up the views. As the night was winding down, Lynn and I headed back to our hotel to get some rest knowing we had a big Friday planned.

With the next wedding event not scheduled until Friday night, Lynn and I had scheduled (by recommendation from friends in NYC) a private wine tour through northern Tuscany. Around 10am Friday, we were picked up by our guy Stefano, a sommelier who started his own tour company. He drove us through the hills of Tuscany, about 50 minutes to our first stop: a small, family-owned winery that also grew olives, and garlic, produced a dozen wines, 30-year-aged balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and other specialties. The tour guide at the winery was awesome, answered all our (my) questions, and ensured we left full and buzzing.

We stopped at two other wineries and continued to ask questions of Stefano along the way, learning as much as we could about the region, the history, and what type of Super Tuscan pairs well with tofu.

We were dropped back at the hotel around 4pm, and it was time to get dressed for the official “rehearsal dinner”. I put it in quotations because it wasn’t one of those situations where the rehearsal is limited to close friends and family, or to people from out of town. Instead, everyone with an invite to the wedding was welcome to this insane dinner setup right on the bank of the Arno river running right through central Florence. While the walking paths along the river are raised up high at the street level (~5 metres above the water), there is one spot on the bank, underneath a famous museum, that has a beautiful grassy piece of land carved out specifically for events.

This event was awesome as I met more of the international folks attending the wedding, who we ended up being sat with during the actual reception dinner the next night. We also got to experience a private gondola ride underneath the famous bridge from which jewelry shops and small residences hang ominously over the water.

At this point in the three-day event, I could only imagine what the actual wedding venue was going to look like (the couple kept this a secret from the guests).

Saturday morning arrived, so Lynn and I walked through the streets of Florence, grabbed a nice Italian pasta lunch and then walked back to the hotel to prep for the main event.

The groom comes from a Greek Orthodox family so the ceremony was held at a small Greek Orthodox church in the middle of Florence, Italy which is somewhat ironic. After the ceremony (they said ‘I do’) they had shuttle vans pick up the ~90 guests from the church and drive us outside the city through winding countryside roads to an incredible estate overlooking the rolling Tuscan wineries and housing a ridiculous castle/mansion that had been converted to an event space.

For the cocktails, we were outside in the garden, sipping champagne and enjoying hors d’oeuvres, while taking a picture every 20 seconds of the breath-taking views. Once the couple arrived, we were literally paraded via drum-line and trumpets around the venue to the front door where we were greeted by some sort of flag-throwing dance team that performed a ceremonial routine for ~10 minutes. The scene was difficult to describe but needless to say we felt like we were attending the wedding of the Prince of Monaco.

Once the flag-throwing ceremony was complete, we were slowly walked through the entrance of the castle and through various rooms of the event space, all completely dark save for a few candles lighting up the single musician(!) in each room. We walked by the first room with a violinist, then a pianist in the next room, and a cellist in the final room before being escorted into the main dining room, which, you guessed it, was bananas.

Lynn and I took our seat and enjoyed the next 3.5 hours at that table. We had a great group of guests so conversations (and wine) were flowing nicely. Included in this span of time was a gourmet 4-course meal, a couple speeches from the families, an Italian opera singer dropping a couple Andrea Bocelli numbers, and even a private fireworks show launched from the lawn outside the windows to celebrate the couple! I wouldn’t have been surprised if desert was served by saber-toothed tigers restrained by 24-karat-gold leashes. Finally it was time to hit the dance floor.

They hired an awesome band so we enjoyed the party for a while but given how insane and exhausting the three-day Italian adventure had been, and with the looming cross-Atlantic flight in the morning, we figured we’d take a shuttle back and get some sleep.

The next morning, we checked out, flew Florence to Amsterdam to New York and our summer European adventure was complete. Thank you to Kelsey and James for inviting me to your magical wedding celebration, it was so much fun exploring Tuscany and meeting some great people!

Cheers,

Mike

Back in February, after being with my family in Palm Springs, Lynn and I planned a trip to go see her family in the south of France, and aligned it with her friend’s wedding to be held in Florence, Italy - Tuscany region, to be exact – tough life, right?

With work becoming super busy leading into the summer, we were both in desperate need of a vacation. My boss even noted it during our 1x1: “when was the last time you took PTO?” I don’t think I was completely intolerable at work, but I was certainly pushing up against burnout as the long hours and the pressures of sales season were starting to mount. A relaxing European getaway was exactly what I needed.

On Wednesday, June 1st, we left the Upper West Side of Manhattan in an Uber around 5pm. 90 minutes later (yep, NYC traffic) we were going through security at John F. Kennedy International Airport. From the many miles built up over our consulting years, we gained access to the Air France lounge where we officially kicked off the vacation with champagne and pasta.

Seven hours later (including 1 glass of champagne, 1 glass of red wine and 1 Heineken for Mike; 4 hours of sleep for Lynn) we were landing in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle. A quick layover and connection, and we landed uneventfully in Montpellier around 2:30pm local time. Lynn’s parents graciously made the 45 min drive from the coast to pick us up.

For those who don’t know, I met her parents once in 2019 when we were simply coworkers and friends. Me and my dad went to the US Open Tennis Championships in NYC and Lynn was there with her parents for their annual tradition. It was nice this time around to experience life on their turf.

A couple initial observations from the drive to their place: 1) Her mum does ALL the driving; 2) My Luxembourgish is rusty.

A beautiful drive through the rolling hills of Languedoc (one of the highest-value areas for wine in the world) region, and we arrived in Cap D’Agde - a quaint little beach town that’s a popular destination for French vacationers.

Their small beach house is only a 5-minute walk from the extremely blue and warm Mediterranean Sea, and they live life accordingly: everything is centered around food and wine.

There’s no over-indulgence, but everything is based on quality and spending time outdoors. Relaxation, combined with exercise, exploration, and cooking was the theme of the week. I was completely disconnected, and it was the perfect location to be shut-off from work. Here’s the daily routine they follow that I absolutely fell in love with:

• Wake up around 8 or 8:30 and immediately get ready to head out

• Bike (I would run alongside their bikes) the 4km to their favourite bakery

• Purchase bread for the day: I ordered once to see if my grade 7 French could hold up, and very sketchily told the baker “quatre pointeaus sil vous plait” (pointeaus are a thicker, shorter version of a baguette). She laughed and provided 4 loaves which were still warm.

• Bike / run the 4km back to the house and set the brunch table on the patio

• Eat brunch - every day this consisted of pointeaus and spreads! Lynn’s mum kindly purchased a delicious vegan herb cream cheese ahead of my arrival, they make homemade jam (both apricot and strawberry), there was olive tempenade, and plant-based butter. Lynn’s dad also takes his coffee making very seriously and we enjoyed delicious french-pressed coffee each morning, unless you wanted an espresso which was also readily available to order :)

• After smashing several slices of bread, it was unofficially “alone time”. Everyone sort of does their own thing between say 11:30 and 2. This would usually consist of reading for me and Lynn, Internet research by Lynn’s dad and brother, and 300 chores by Lynn’s mum. She rarely sat down the entire week, reminding me of my mum. Prepping vegetables, running the dishwasher, folding laundry - she refused to let me help and provided amazing service the entire time I was there.

• Around 1:30 or 2, we gathered for some sort of physical activity. Throughout the week this ranged from a 3-hour family walk through the town and beaches of Cap D’Agde, to an 8-mile run/bike, to a 2-hour bike ride where I got a flat tire and had to run alongside my bike for the last kilometer. Their attitude is that they need to earn their glass of wine in the evening, which I thought was so cool - her parents are very conscious of their health and it shows in their intentional movement and food/drink portion control.

• 4pm back at the house - snack time. Appetizers are a big part of the meal because lunch doesn’t really exist. Olives, chips, homemade bruschetta would come flying out of the kitchen, we’d crack a cold beer, and play some cards ahead of dinner. Around this time, Lynn’s dad would slowly move the BBQ into place or pull out the electric grill based on what was on-menu for dinner. The wine of choice (if red) would also be opened around this time to start breathing

• 6 - 7pm: dinner time. Meals were so fun to make as a team and the menus ranged from some of their classic dishes (always based on what’s in season from the farmer’s market) to a bit of Mike Arnold influence as I introduced them to a few vegan specialties. Another beautiful characteristic of the dinners was that their garden is filled with every major herb you can imagine, so if you need some oregano or thyme or basil, Mr. Blau would just grab his scissors and carefully snip what’s needed. Because 70% of the conversations throughout the week were focused on what was for dinner each day, I will list out each meal so you can see the delicious variety (I didn’t eat the meat portions):

  • Night 1: Sole, baguette, fava beans in lemon and butter, peas, tomato salad

  • Night 2: Chicken thighs, grilled tofu, green beans, tomatoes, peas, cucumber salad, potatoes

  • Night 3: Eggplant parm, grilled zucchini

  • Night 4: Homemade pizza cooked on the pizza stone on the BBQ

  • Night 5: Asparagus, grilled veggies, rice, hollandaise (Mike’s vegan version vs. their restaurant-style store bought)

  • Day 6: Mike made his famous breakfast sandwiches for the family including tempeh bacon, eggs, garlic aioli and arugula

  • Night 6: Paella

  • Night 7: Plancha dinner with chimichurri (this is a shared grill, almost like a hibachi station where everyone cooks their own meat/tofu/veggies)

• 9pm: after the dinner is complete, we would finish our glasses of wine, and me and Lynn’s brother (and sometimes their mum or dad) would enjoy a night cap of whisky, alongside the odd slice of cake that would appear from the local bakery.

In addition to spending most of the time in their back garden on the patio, we explored the area a few different times. Not only on our bike rides and runs, but Lynn and I went to the beach one day and enjoyed the beautiful water. I also got to experience the “Naturiste” Village of Cap D’Aged (Google it) - a ‘free-spirited’ community featuring tons of bars and restaurants and a great area to post up, grab a beer, smoke a cigar and people watch. The whole family took the 10-min drive there to enjoy an entertaining Saturday evening, which I’ll never forget.

We also went to visit a winery in the region, about 40 minutes from their place. Local wineries in southern France are not commercialized or setup like your typical North American winery for tours, but instead, offer a rich history and local flare that are even more interesting. We drove up to the “Chateau” and the family’s house is actually right on the property. We parked near the “cave” and the owner came out of the house and down the driveway to meet us. Being in the French countryside, she and her husband didn’t speak a lick of English, so I let the Blau’s do most of the talking.

She took us into their tasting room and poured us a few samples of their white, rose and reds before allowing me to check out their production. We walked into the cool cellar with the massive tanks filled with their various vintages where the husband was checking temperatures and discussing strategies with one of his workers. It was so cool to see the building that was probably 300 years old, where they were still use some of the old concrete tanks (in addition to more modern stainless steel ones).

Lynn played translator as I had so many questions about their production, their process, and the history of the winery. She crushed it with her French considering she rarely gets to practice! Finally he showed us the barrel room, her parents bought 40+ bottles for their inventory (not exaggerating), and we were on our way home!

I really got on well with Lynn’s family and feel like I have a new friend in her brother Dany. He’s a very intelligent and curious 29-year-old who’s super interested and well-educated in finance and investing. He also understands the startup world and we follow many of the same authors, blogs and podcasts. He also enjoys football (soccer) so we, along with their dad, had some fun debates over the current transfer rumors.

Overall, the week in Southern France was nothing short of extraordinary. I felt rested, healthy, and reinvigorated as we said our goodbyes at the Montpellier airport. Lynn’s family is so much fun to hang out with. Her parents are kind, relaxed, sarcastic and funny, while simultaneously being each other’s biggest supporters. It was so nice to see their family together as it had been nearly 5 years since that occurred - I know it meant a lot to her parents. It was also awesome to know that, according to Lynn, after the first day with me there, they were as unfiltered as they would be without me there, so it was nice to know I fit right into the conversations (even if some of my comments had to be translated into Luxembourgish by Lynn). I’m very grateful for them taking me in and offering me an open invite anytime I want to come back!

I’ll save the Italian wedding for the next post because it couldn’t have been more different than the time in France, but for now, enjoy some of my favourite photos from a magical vacation on the Mediterranean. Thanks again to the Blau’s!