Quality Assurance Senior Manager Ryan Hoag celebrated five years at Arthrex (and his 40th birthday) with a low-key (no pun intended) trip to one of his favorite destinations.
“My wife and I have always enjoyed the relaxed island vibes of the Florida Keys,” Ryan said. “I think it’s amazing that such a great destination exists so close to home.”
Having traveled to Islamorada on several different occasions — most recently for their first family vacation after their son was born — Ryan and his wife, Sarah, decided to use his Trip of a Lifetime to spend some time in Key Largo.
“We wanted to try Key Largo since we’re always driving through there, but never really stop to do any exploring.”
Ryan used the money from his Years of Service benefit to rent a three-story condo he and Sarah found on Airbnb, which provided enough space for Sarah’s sister and brother-in-law (and their new baby) to fly down from Michigan to join them.
“It was fun watching the babies interact with each other,” Ryan said. “And it was nice for the adults to be able to unwind and spend some quality time together.”
Their long weekend was made even better by beautiful weather allowing them to swim in the pool, walk on the beach and relax overlooking the saltwater lagoon behind the condo — advertised in the Airbnb listing as a great place for swimming, kayaking and (because it is full of tropical fish) snorkeling.
“Mostly we just enjoyed the lagoon for the ambiance it provided,” Ryan said, “especially when it was lit up at night.”
Their weekend also included Super Bowl Sunday.
“We’re all Detroit Lions fans, so we didn’t really have a vested interest in one team over the other,” Ryan said, “but my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are great cooks, and they made some good game-time snacks.”
Among Ryan’s favorite outings were the Florida Keys Brewing Company and the Islamorada Brewery and Distillery, where they celebrated his birthday (with the onsite food truck’s popular fish dip).
“The fish dip was so good,” he said, “we went back a few days later to get it again.”
Snooks Bayside (and its fish tacos) also received honorable mention from Ryan, who said the restaurant’s patio would have been an amazing spot to watch sunset (if there hadn’t been two babies who were ready to go back to the condo).
Good food was a recurring theme of the trip, with Sharkey’s Sharkbite Grill also earning two separate visits.
“I had a pretty awesome meatloaf sandwich at Green Turtle Inn, too,” he said.
Not ready for their getaway to end, Ryan and Sarah decided to extend their trip by an extra night, going back to the Cheeca Lodge and Spa on Islamorada, where they had stayed on their last trip to the Keys.
“Thanks to the Trip of a Lifetime — which really is an amazing and unique benefit — I had the extra time off available,” Ryan said. “We managed to celebrate a lot in one long weekend, and it was nice we were able to share the experience with our family.”
For every five years of employment with Arthrex, employees are eligible for a company-paid Trip of a Lifetime to recognize their dedication. Look for more Trip of a Lifetime highlights on the Arthrex Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.