O Port Alfred. The Kowie River winds through this oceanfront town on the Eastern Cape of Africa and when you stand still by the river you can feel what my friend Allo calls ‘The Kowie Breeze.’ It was beautiful to be by the sea and I love seeing Allo, a great friend and mentor, with his new wife Kris so happy and at ease in their new hometown. So much newness and the refreshing waves of the ocean bringing a calm within me that resembles the second layer of the ocean just below the waves. So much to learn about love on this trip as I felt so grateful to share South Africa with Pidge for the first time – one of the most special countries I have been to many times supporting my friends Allo and Liza with their non-profits.

Pidge and I had just spent a few days in Johannesburg and while it was eventful to meet up with old and new friends there, it felt restrictive and tense. We were told not to walk anywhere alone and it felt very fenced off, more so even than as I remember it being when I had visited in the past. The intensity of the security guards everywhere made it ironically feel less safe as there was tension in the air. We did enjoy meeting up with my friend and mentor Liza Lightfoot and seeing some of the work in Alexander township of her non-profit Kidlinks.

Flying from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, we could see only blue as we landed near the ocean, and we were met by my friend and mentor Allo after we landed! He drove us to Port Alfred and checked us into an Airbnb with a beautiful view of the river. We did need to remove a picture off the wall and place it outside as there was an ant trail to and from it, and it turns out a large ant rave behind it. We thought it could have been interpreted that we really didn’t like that piece of art as our host messaged later asking why this particular piece of art was outside 🙂 A great point of reflection about love; the art in the frame, although framed, is sometimes less important to focus on than the art being actively created around it and the ant rave behind it. Tu sabes?

It was a joy to be with Allo and Kris. Pidge and I were able to go with Allo to his organization Global Leading Lights Initiatives new GLLI headquarters, meet the team, and go visit a few of the neighborhood centers that they support. Then we had dinner at Nick’s restaurant (just learned that it is not called Nick’s restaurant actually Graze by the River – which was a special restaurant because it was where Allo and Kris had their wedding reception just a few weeks ago. Nick, the owner, made a show out of bringing out each piece of the menu and presenting it in dramatic form. The food was as delicious and as fresh as the presentation.

We really loved having this time all together, enjoyed some slow meals, nice walks, and time by the water. Our time together culminated in a safari trip to Addo Elephant National Park. On the way there with Allo driving, we must have drove by about 1.2 million lemon trees and when you have that many lemons it is tempting to make some lemonade. By this I mean that we finally arrived and we did a safari together and when Kait saw her first elephant (who was in must), she cried – one tear. It was magic. Seeing so many elephants, zebra, kudu’s, and even ostriches in the wild was well…wild. It was such a joy to be there all together and enjoy the experience of being in nature.

Before heading to the airport, Pidge and I had time to do one more safari together and we ended up getting surrounded by a whole herd of elephants and at some point we felt like we were looking at ourselves out there…

Iceland. The land of fire and ice. It delivered – both! The first right as we were flying in. Pidge and I looked to our left and then to our right and we could see lava spewing out of a volcano right outside of our plane window!! It was literally wild.

And then we were out and about exploring a country that at first made me feel that it was the closest to feeling on another planet. And by the end of the trip it really was the closest I had felt to being on this planet. Iceland was a delight, especially coming from the business of NYC, in that the human ‘footprint’ was small and on the periphery. Nature took center stage. It really made you feel small – in a good way. To make room for the emotions of awe and appreciation of the wildness of our planet and how fortunate we are to be a small part of it all.

We went from the hot pools of the Blue Lagoon to ‘chasing waterfalls’ across the countryside and watching glaciers slowly retreat (very slowly but if you pay close attention it’s happening). Pidge and I found ourselves immersed back into the conditions and it was refreshing. As we watched the night sky for the northern lights, we found the light from our hearts lighting up the sky of our love story (or something like that!)

We also found time to visit the Icelandic Phallological Museum the only one of its kind in the world. A place to reflect. A place to plan…our wedding! After we finished viewing penises from across the world, across species, and history it felt only right to sit down in the penis café and discuss our future plans. We did a drawing on the back of napkins of what we thought each other’s dream wedding would look like and then discussed them to begin planning together our dream future. Just saying Iceland was inspiring.

Tulum. We went there. We stayed at Holistika Tulum a jungle wellness retreat center just a few miles from the beaches of Tulum. The center included an organic restaurant, juice bar, a decadent pool, and tons of yoga + spiritual wellness classes offered in a jungle environment. What else could you ask for?!

Within 1.43 minutes of checking in we saw that there was a tantric couples yoga class – which Pidge just said as I am writing this recollecting on it that “O yea that sounded like it would be a sexy yoga class but then you just ended up acting like a gorilla.” And that is true. Well, one of the practices that the teacher offered was for us to be playful (imagine someone telling Pidge and I to try out being playful in our relationship – we met playing and play is a core way of being for us) and how this was a critical element of love (totally agree) because to play takes feeling safe and to feel safe enough in your relationship to each let your inner child out is what love liberates. Anyway, it was a great class.

Then we did a lot of things. When at Holistika Tulum why not utilize ALL the wellness retreat center amenities? We ate at the all vegan restaurant ‘tierra’, drank some juices at the juice bar, did a sweaty yoga class in our underwears (well I did), relaxed by the pool in hammocks, and even left the wellness retreat center for a bike ride to the beach which was beautiful – couple of corona’s, couple of tacos, couple of dips in the ocean you know (wouldn’t recommend biking though as there is no bike lane and lots of cars).

And then we ended up on a highway in an ATV…well okay here is the story – it was secretly, officially, low-key, under the radar… Pidge’s birthday!! And I thought – wow gotta make this special. Trip to tulum (check), yoga wellness retreat center (check), and a new experience! ATV riding!! I just looked up what ATV stands for and it stand for All Terrain Vehicle. So, it began like any ATV ride covering some of the basic terrains – driving super slow down the back roads of Tulum. Then we went towards the beach route on more of the main road (another terrain) to find a cenote and this one just so happened to have alligators. Apparently, we were told these alligators had a good track record for the past 30 years. Pidge and I were like nope.

So, we hopped back on our ATV and were on the way to another cenote when we got stuck in traffic. A quick look on the map and we realized we were pretty close to get to a group of cenotes called Tortuga’s (turtles). We made the first turn to get there and found ourselves on the main road of Tulum which then slowly turned into a highway!! Yup, chus on this little ATV on a highway. It was a few miles and with guard rails no exits and a speed limit that kept increasing, we had many thoughts of figuring out how to turn back, worrying what if we run out of gas, and then just trying to get there. It was a little terrifying even though all the cars were super respectful keeping their distance from us. We finally got there, recovered from the white knuckle ride at this amazing buffet lunch we couldn’t enjoy yet because of the recovery time needed from the stress of being on the highway in a little ATV and knowing we would most likely drive it back.

We then got to relax and enjoy these amazing cenote’s – jumping in crystal clear turquoise water, swimming through caves, and Pidge even jumped off a medium sized cliff into a cenote! We got back on our ATV and pretty quickly got it back to our retreat center to return it. No more ATV-ing on highways for these Ostriches! That night after a delicious dinner we went to a much needed rest oriented restorative yoga class in which Pidge seemed to almost fall asleep in immediately. And then woke up just for a second to transport a bug out of the yoga class and then back to sleep. As Pidge snored in deep rest pose I thought about how grateful I am for her birth, and to be her partner/fellow flyin ostricheseses, and for that day adventuring together and how I want to make sure next year’s birthday celebration has less highway driving 🙂

Then we went home.

I have a theory that the biggest buildings of a place show what is valued there – the biggest buildings in Europe are churches, in the US typically banks. In Detroit, it is the Renaissance Center. Rebirth, The Detroit ethos of “out of the ashes” is personal to me and the spirit of resilience and grit is in my blood. Detroit is home to me. The sparkle of the sun on the Detroit river has always calmed my heart with this feeling of connection and belonging that only makes sense being born in this beautiful city and growing up here.

I have a theory that the biggest buildings of a place show what is valued there – the biggest buildings in Europe are churches, in the US typically banks. In Detroit, it is the Renaissance Center. Rebirth, The Detroit ethos of “out of the ashes” is personal to me and the spirit of resilience and grit is in my blood. Detroit is home to me. The sparkle of the sun on the Detroit river has always calmed my heart with this feeling of connection and belonging that only makes sense being born in this beautiful city and growing up here.

Detroit is a growing hub for entrepreneurs, innovators, and artists who are redefining what is possible. I love being a part of the remote lyfe community in Detroit and have been a part of the Hunt Street Station co-working community and Bamboo Detroit. Detroit is a uniquely tight knit community where it feels like everyone knows everyone, and there is incredible diversity and people feel down to earth here. There are also tons of great third spaces like coffee shops, which Pidge will be covering below, and poetry speak easy spots. The riverfront has been increasingly growing to be a world-class international community space, and the city is riveting with its music, culture, food, and festival scene. I have loved being a Detroiter and owning my small cube of a condo in the Detroit RiverHouse Co-Op community. Detroit will always be a special home in my heart as Pidge and I migrate east to New York for our next nest and new opportunities to grow and spread our wings 🙂

Wow, officially Detroit. The city where I explored almost every coffeeshop and got to endlessly revisit the ones I loved. The city where I truly got to kick off my remote working lifestyle and learn the ropes. 

Well, Detroit has so much to offer and will always have my heart in the projects I completed and meetings I took. Detroit’s remote working scene is rather smaller, but the people for sure love to meet for networking and to catch up with friends at the coffee joints. Finding seating sometimes gets a little more difficult as the morning goes on as remote workers know where to go, but I would warn more on parking that anything. Detroit will ticket you for anything. So pay attention to your parking times and spots. A few $45 tickets adds up-yikes. 

Pidge’s favorite Detroit Coffee Shop Locations:

Cafe Sous Terre-445 W Forest Ave

One of the newer ones nuzzled in Midtown that transforms into a speakeasy. Great coffee and a great remote worker secret in the mornings.

Red Hook- 2761 E Jefferson Ave

I spent the most time at our local Red Hook location. Solid coffee with lots of windows and great remote working.

Congregation- 9321 Rosa Parks Blvd

One of our favorites trnsfered from an old chrirch into the community hub. My favorite latter with with a bar.

Seasons Market-4125 2nd Ave.

Such a cute spoit in Midtown with a garden outside. the whole upstairs is for the remote workers which has a cabin feel. Fantastic cafe food.

Kitab- 2727 Holbrook Ave.

Amazing bookstore vibe for coffeehouse with great coffee and cafe menu with deletable sandwiches.

Honorable Mentions*

Cafe 1923- 2287 Holbrook Ave

Almost one of my favorites

Cafe Boulangerie– 15215 Kerchval Ave.-Grosse Pointe Park

Always very busy and shorter hours, but awesome menu

Craig’s Coffee-412 Peterboro St

Just opened with fantastic coffee, but the space isn’t ideal for remote working. 

Morning Side Cafe-16369 E Warren Ave 

Just opened in the East Side. The coffee was good, but the baked goods side needed some love. 

Morning Glory-85 Kercheval Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms

Technically in Grosse Pointe, but solid bakery located in this shop.

Drifter Coffee-770 Woodward Ave., Ferndale

Technically in Ferndale, but 100% worth the drive. Great seating and inviting for all identities.