Recent trips, part 2: France

Where do you begin a blog entry about a week-long trip to a beautiful country during which each day was filled with notable sights and experiences? It seems to me a person needs to either write a whole bunch or else not even attempt to describe it. Well, I already filled quite a few pages in my handwritten travel journal and I prefer not to repeat myself, so this entry will probably fall somewhere between the two extremes.

Let me start with some negativity. About two hours into our voyage to France, right about the time we arrived at LAX, I realized I forgot the fourth and fifth most crucial things I needed. Here's a list of the top five:

1) Passport
2) Wallet
3) Camera
4) Camera battery
5) Camera battery charger

At the last minute of packing I had swapped camera bags and forgotten to move my battery and charger to the new one. Of course an SLR isn't powered by something as widely available as, say, AA batteries; I needed a specialized item that they don't sell in an airport. And since we arrived in Paris on a Sunday morning, there wouldn't be any stores open to sell me anything for at least 24 hours. Factoring in charging time, this ordeal amounted to about two days without my SLR and about $150 in replacement costs. Luckily, I had brought a back-up, point-and-shoot camera to cover those two days, but it's an older one and was really hard to revert to after using a more sophisticated piece of equipment for a few years. I'm still kicking myself over missed opportunities at the Louvre, the Seine, and Notre Dame... Grrrrr.

Okay, enough about that. I had to get it off my chest. The truth is we ended up with some great shots anyway and, more importantly, we had a wonderful time on our vacation.

We spent the first half of the week staying a few blocks away from the river in the Saint Germain district of Paris. It was great being within walking distance of some major attractions. Plus, we were also absolutely surrounded on all sides by wonderful cafes. We stopped in many of them for some petit dejeuner (a typical breakfast consisting of coffee, juice, and a ton of delicious bread in various forms) or an occasional espresso/tea in the afternoon. The waiters over there do not rush you out, so it was nice to sit as long as we wanted, do some people watching, and talk about baby stuff :-). Paris in general seems set up for and very conducive to long discussions, deep thinking, and even romantic moments (couples tend to sit side-by-side rather than across the table from each other over there). I like it.

One event I'd like to mention (mainly because we don't have any photo coverage from it) is the Jónsi concert we attended while in town. He is the lead singer of the band Sigur Rós but is currently doing a solo tour. We missed him when he came through California, but it worked out to catch him on our second night in Paris. He put on an amazing show that made use of a backdrop video not totally unlike the project I put together last year, at least in concept. Of course Jónsi's stuff reached a higher level of professionalism and included a more elaborate set with multiple display screens, but I really enjoyed seeing -- objectively this time -- what effect some high quality visuals can have on live music. It was a memorable concert, one that inspired me to consider working on another backdrop video one day, although not any time soon. Those puppies are a lot of work.

The second half of our trip was spent traveling around the Normandy countryside. This included stays in Honfleur, Saint Germain des Vaux, and Mont St. Michel. The first two are sleepy little towns along the coast where we got to relax away from the bustle of the city, soak up some of the local culture, and eat some more excellent food. There were some adventurous seafood outings where we didn't quite know what was being served to us (anybody up for some pentacles?). There was also some hot chocolate that could only be compared to the hand-made stuff we had at a chocolate plantation in Costa Rica. Yum. Oh, and one morning we had what I've been referring to as "the absolute best French toast I've ever had without any doubt." I had no idea French toast could be that gooey and flat-out delicious. It's fitting I'd have to go to France to find it.

If there was an absolute highlight from the trip, it had to be Mont St. Michel. This place just blew me away. I felt like we were staying in a castle from The Lord of the Rings. It's actually an abbey built on a rock island that juts out of what is otherwise very flat land. We could see it in the distance as we approached by car, and then it kept getting bigger and bigger. During the day the place is overrun by tourists, but we were lucky enough to spend the night within the walls of the commune. After the sun set we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We walked around the maze of elevated passages and tunnels, over drawbridges, through cemeteries... this was my kind of visit.

R did such a great job of planning this trip. We saw some city, some country; some old, some new; some rain, some sun. We dove in and experienced another culture and another language. I was able to detach from the rest of the world for a while (and it's not an easy task to get me to forget about work). We celebrated my lovely wife's 30th birthday and also got away one last time, just the two of us, before we hunker down and wait for our baby girl to join the party. I hope she enjoys the story one day of how her mom noticed some of her first kicks while riding on a boat down the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in view.

Be sure to check out the pics in our gallery. They are my only souvenir from the trip and were worth the trouble of tracking down a battery.

Recent trips, part 1: Washington state

We recently took two trips, and I've been wanting to write about each individually, even though at this point they are both starting to feel like old news. In fact, I've got a back log of about five blog entries and counting that I'd still like to write, so bear with me if I end up a month or two behind real time.

If our second trip this season took me out of my comfort zone, then the first trip was squarely in it. We traveled to an area of our country that has appealed to me for a long time: the Pacific Northwest. My interest in this region has sort of manifested itself over the years in the form of Twin Peaks, but it didn't start there. It began during a trip to Washington I took with my parents while I was in junior high. The place was inspiring to me then; it's inspiring now; and when I discovered Twin Peaks sometime in between, the mystery and the mood that inspired me were directly tied to the location.

R was attending a conference in Seattle at the end of May, so we decided to extend her stay and fly me up for Memorial Day weekend. We spent our first full day exploring the city (Space Needle, Pike Place Market, underground tour) and the two days after that in and around Snoqualmie, a small town where "a yellow light still means slow down, not speed up". This is where they filmed much of the pilot episode of Twin Peaks and quite a few exteriors that were used throughout the series. Keep in mind the show was made over 20 years ago, so things have changed a bit. It's also a little deceiving when you recognize the outside of a building and then you walk in and realize an entirely different set was used for the interior scenes.

I am proud to say we spent two nights at the Salish Lodge, pictured at he top of the waterfall above, which is a key spot in the show. And, as cheesy as it sounds, having a cup of coffee and a piece of cherry pie in the Double R Diner (called Twede's Cafe in reality) was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, despite the changed decor (Tweety Birds hanging from the ceiling?). You could say being there was the realization of a dream for me.

It's hard to complain about the weather in Santa Barbara, but maybe I needed a change because I found myself welcoming the rain we experienced in Washington. It was more of a steady drizzle that bounced off you than any sort of downpour. It enlivened the greens and provided the tree tops with some haunting mists. We saw a lot of this during a hike to Rattlesnake Ledge on our last afternoon up there. R once again impressed me by handling the four mile round trip and 1200 feet elevation gain quite well at about 19 weeks into her pregnancy.

As usual, our photos go into much more detail than I could ever describe. Check them out here to see more about our weekend getaway.

Valentine wine

R and I drove north to Sonoma Valley last weekend to spend a few days away from our regular lives; to see some more of this beautiful state; to indulge on some excellent food and wine; and to celebrate Valentine's Day, just the two of us. Maybe it was foolish to drive seven hours to get to a wine region when there's a fantastic one right here in Santa Barbara County, but on the other hand it was time to pay our respects to the birthplace of the California wine industry and see what all the fuss is about. Needless to say, this trip helped deepen our immersion into oenological snobbery. It was also great fun.

Feliz Navidad

Our Christmas vacation was pretty incredible this year. It started with six days of visiting family in Minnesota followed by seven days of touring Costa Rica with our friends S&Q. We went from freezing cold to sticky hot; from flat, barren land to lush volcanic jungle; from feeling native to we-don't-even-speak-the-language alien... Yes, the two places are quite a contrast from each other. Our home in California falls somewhere in between, and I think it's safe to say we were ready to return to it by trip end.

I'm really glad we were able to see our families. (Photos here.) It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without them. We're lucky everything worked out travel-wise considering the massive snowstorm that hit the day we left. The drive to the airport was a slow one and we doubted the timeliness of our itinerary every step of the way, but we made it, flying away just before the weather worsened even more.

I could probably write about Costa Rica all day, but perhaps it's best left in our travel journal. In short, the trip was fun and adventurous. We went canyoning, ziplining, and rafting; saw a bunch of animals in the wild; toured a chocolate plantation (sampling the product at every stage of making it); relaxed in hot springs and in hammocks... Maybe you should just check out the photos. All of this talk about vacation is making me lazy.

Sequoia

R and I spent two nights in Sequoia National Park about a month(!) ago. I would have posted this entry sooner, but I've been business traveling since then (more on that in a future entry) and didn't have access to photo editing software while I was away. And an entry like this absolutely requires photos posted along with it.

The camping trip was great. I'm surprised it worked out as well as it did, considering how spontaneously we planned it. We went in the middle of the week -- pretty late in the fall -- which made for some serious solitude. We passed only two other people during the five-mile hike to Emerald Lake, where we spent our second night. The campsite was at 9200 feet, making for some brisk weather and great views.

I've been trying to expound on the trip, but I find myself restarting again and again. Maybe too much time has passed and my thoughts have lost focus. The bottom line is I enjoyed being out in the woods again. The mammoth features of the rugged terrain, the unpredictable weather, the howling of wild animals... it makes a person feel powerless to nature, yet rewarded for surviving a few days among it. The experience was quite a contrast from my urban weeks that followed. I think maybe that was the point.

More photos from the adventure are posted here.

P.S. We saw the largest tree in the world (not to be confused with the tallest tree in the world). Apparently Sequoia trees are the larger ones in terms of mass, but Redwood trees actually grow taller. Those are at another park.

Marblehead

We flew to the other side of the country last weekend to attend the wedding celebration of S&Q, whom we became good friends with during our time in Delaware. When you move away from friends you sometimes wonder if it's worth the effort to keep in touch. With S&Q, it is. They are a fun couple who appreciate art and adventure in a way similar to us. It was great seeing them, along with some other old friends and some new ones too.

Our red-eye landed in Boston at 8:30 Friday morning and then we drove north to the little coastal town of Marblehead, Massachusetts for an eventful weekend. The ceremony itself was exclusive to immediate family and the wedding party, but there was no shortage of activities to keep us occupied. We took a ride on a lobster boat, participated in a scavenger hunt (we won!), competed in a newlywed game (we won again!), lounged by a pool, ate some good meals, danced to live Irish music, and even had the chance to explore some neighboring towns (e.g. Salem and Gloucester). It was well-planned and well-executed weekend thanks to Q and my lovely R.

Here are a couple other notable occurrences from the trip:

1) We ran into a girl who lived on R's floor during their freshmen year of college. I knew her too. She just happens to be married to one of the groom's best friends from high school. So let's get this straight... We went to school with this girl in Minnesota. She now lives in San Francisco, CA, but she was attending a Massachusetts wedding for a couple her husband knows from Delaware. Not sure if you followed all that... the bottom line is that we couldn't believe it was her. This was definitely a situation that called for the overused "small world" statement.

2) Maya Rudolph (from SNL and Away We Go) showed up poolside at the bed & breakfast we stayed at. R and I were the only ones out there when she and some guy -- possibly her director husband, Paul Thomas Anderson, who was disguised in shades and a hat -- walked out to take a photo of the courtyard. Maybe he was scouting locations or something. According to the IMDB, Maya is in Marblehead shooting a new Adam Sandler movie. Anyway R said to her something along the lines of "Do you want me to get out of the way [of the photo]?" And Maya, standing right over R's shoulder, replied by saying she was trying to get out of the way too. It's funny how our brushes with celebrity typically happen when we're away from southern California.

I didn't go crazy taking photos during this trip, but you can see what I have here.

Mist trail

This weekend we’re dealing with the weather being too dry (see my previous post). Last weekend it was too wet. I guess that’s the difference six hours in a car can make.

We were looking for adventure last weekend, and that’s exactly what we found. We also fulfilled one of our goals for 2009 by succeeding at an overnight backpacking trip. In retrospect it was a modest goal, but the idea of sleeping in the woods -- far enough away from our car to make the situation slightly dangerous – requires a certain set of equipment and knowledge (not to mention an open weekend) that we simply didn’t possess until recently. It didn’t hurt that we camped with some friends, at least one of whom really knew what he was doing.

We drove up to Yosemite National Park after work last Thursday night and got there pretty late. We set up camp near the car and hit the sack. It started raining shortly after, but we stayed dry that night thanks to a sea-worthy tent.

It took us a while to get going the next morning because we wanted to cook a big breakfast and had to pick up camping permits, rent bear canisters, etc. We were on the Mist Trail by late morning. The first few miles were strenuous and included passing by two huge waterfalls that gave the trail its name. The spray of the falls soaked us first… and then it started raining.

Our plan was to hike 13 miles to Merced Lake on that first day and then spend the next two days hiking back, with a few detours, at a more leisurely pace. Well, about 10 miles in we realized we weren’t going to make it to make the lake. The rain was really coming down. Setting up camp and making some dinner before nightfall was becoming increasingly important, so we found a place next to an absolutely roaring river and pitched our tents in an all-out rainstorm.

Each of us was shivering that night (maybe SoCal is softening us up). We cooked dinner in our tents’ vestibules, which is not advisable because of the bear situation but necessary because we had already skipped lunch and we needed to put some calories back in via a hot meal. Afterwards, the dishes were done in a mad dash to the river in an attempt to keep the last of our warm clothes dry. What a night it was! I felt so miniscule in the dark, surrounded by the enormous rock structures and the constant power of white water. Nature could have just wiped us off the face of the earth.

Sleep was sporadic. Our self-inflating mats seemed a little low on air. I had to flip my body over every half hour or so because that's about how long I had before the ground made me sore. R ventured out of the tent at one point to use the ladies room and found there was fresh snow on the ground. I'm surprised I didn't notice a sound softer than rain drops hitting the tent during that time. It was a long night, but I sort of enjoyed it -- it gave me time to think. And how often do we get time to think anymore?

We would have kept going on the track to Merced Lake if the weather had been sunny the next morning. All of our clothes were quick-drying and would have been fine by that night, but the rain was still coming down as hard as ever. We packed our wet tent into our wet backpacks along with our wet clothes. One of my shoes was half-filled (half-empty?) with water. I put it on anyway. It’s easy enough to stay warm as long as you’re moving, so we moved the 10 miles back to the cars.

Facing defeat wasn’t easy, but that’s what we did. It was a rewarding trip in its own right, but I would feel more satisfied if he had made it to the lake. That’s still hanging over us, and I think it will be worth making another attempt one day.

I did still have an awesome time. Yosemite is an amazing park, on par with New Zealand in sheer breathtaking-ness. As usual my photos don’t do it justice -- partially because it’s hard to be an agile photographer with a backpack on, partially because the moisture kept me from pulling out the camera as often as I would have liked, and partially because there is no way to truly capture a place like that with anything other than your own eyes.

You can see the fragments I did capture here.

Desert excursion

The specific Joshua tree that inspired U2’s album by that name is actually located in Death Valley, but that didn’t stop R and me from playing the album a few times while driving to and around Joshua Tree National Park over the weekend. The park is located southeast of LA, making for about a 4 hour drive for us if you include a stop for lunch along the way.

We arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, set up our camp, and hiked to 49 Palms Oasis. This was pretty cool… a group of towering palm trees growing in the middle of the desert thanks to a fault-created spring. Following that expedition we got back in the car and drove around the park, stopping at a few sights along the road and eventually at a star-gazing party. I wish we could have stayed there longer, but we gave into our hunger and went back to the campsite for some chicken sausage, couscous, and a bottle of red wine that disappeared way too quickly. We’re still trying to decide if the bottle tipped and we didn’t realize it or if we were just really thirsty from the dry air. My money is on the latter.

We didn’t quite have the courage to try an overnight hike yet, especially in an arid climate we knew very little about, so instead we slept next to the car in a campground. The idea of carrying everything we need for a night or two on our backs and finding some solitude appeals to us; being attacked by a coyote/snake/scorpion does not. Thus backcountry camping will have remain a goal for 2009 a while longer. We’ll get there.

On Sunday, we broke down the camp and drove to Key's View, from which we could see as far as the Salton Sea. Then, before beginning the drive home, we got out for one more hike, this one up Ryan Mountain. The scenery really was amazing and very distinct from any land we’ve seen before. There were huge flats littered with the namesake trees and other little bushes. Wildflowers are in bloom this time of year, making for colorful little highlights over the otherwise dry land. There are number of outcroppings of what R so perceptively called “cartoon rocks” because they look like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon. The rounded, cracked boulders were easy to climb, and I had some fun clambering on them, as you’ll notice in our photos found right here.

The weekend went way too fast, but it was great to get away. This was a brief, initial visit that we made without any advance preparation. Heading back to the park for a more in-depth exploration sometime in the future is a must.

New Zealand: one year later

[Photo by Christine]

[Photo by Don]

[Photo by Karen]

[Photo by Karen]

I've been thinking a lot about our trip to New Zealand lately, probably because this month marks our first anniversary of being there (here's the post from then). Among other things, it was an adventure that inspired us to do more exploring of the outdoors. As a result, we camped more in 2008 than any other year in our lives (if you exclude R's summer as a camp counselor), and we are planning to get out even more in 2009. Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Big Sur are on the list... and that is just this spring. The goal is to try more overnight hikes as well. We're gearing up so that we can carry everything we need for a couple of days on our backs, leaving the car and associated crowded campgrounds behind. California is a good place to attempt it.

Speaking of CA, the trip to NZ was what first seeded the idea of living here in our heads. I remember talking to my dad afterwards and telling him how we were "California dreamin'." This was even before transfering here for R's job was a known possibility. A number of the people in our travel group were from CA and spoke highly of the place. One of them, from Pasadena, was in charge of hiring some engineers for his company. R checked into it at the time. That opportunity didn't work out, but when we she was up for re-assignment in the spring and luck placed Santa Barbara on the list of potential locations, we pushed for it. It meant leaving some great friends, giving up my membership in the Delaware Independent Filmmakers club, and having to spend a lot more money to buy a smaller house... but I, for one, have not regret the decision, as you I'm sure you can tell. In fact you're probably tired of reading how much I love it here.

The photos above were not included in our original gallery from the NZ trip. They were taken by other people in our group and were sent to us after our own photos were organized. So I'm posting a few of them now for an alternate perspective of an amazing country. If you ever have the chance to see the place for yourself, I highly recommend going for it.

Mammoth weekend

Where do the days go? This week seemed particularly short because last weekend stretched through Monday. We spent three nights about six car-driven hours northeast of here in the ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes, CA. This was my first time skiing outside of Minnesota, and I must say the difference is significant. The weather was warmer, the runs were longer, and the views of mountains were astounding. I brought our old point-and-shoot camera on the hills with me and grabbed a few shots. Check them out here.

One advantage to the point-and-shoot over our DSLR is it takes video, and since one of my goals is to post more "informal video" (as opposed to more polished ones like the music video I've been working on), here's a rough little "moving picture" of R tearing it up on the slopes:


It was a nice weekend away. We stayed in an old lodge next to a frozen lake. In addition to the two days of skiing, we went out for one really tasty dinner and one mediocre one, watched a DVD (Charlie Wilson's War), and drank some wine by the fireplace in the lobby. Ah, life is good.

There's lots of stuff going on these days, possibly too much. Stay tuned.

Dream beneath a desert sky

Whew. December is off to a busy start. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with work and with life in general right now. Don't expect much blogging from me this month because there are so many other things to finish up before the holidays. I wouldn't be surprised if I don't even touch my video project this month, which is a bummer since I'm getting so dang excited to share it with you.

At least the next few weekends are looking relatively uneventful. Last weekend was sort of our final hurrah before we buckle down and face the weeks before our Christmas vacation in Minnesota. We drove out to Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with my grandparents and then up to Zion National Park in Utah for some hiking and camping. If you've been following me on Twitter, Facebook, or email, then this is probably not news to you, but I feel the need to document it here anyway simply because it was such a wonderful extended weekend.

It was pouring rain when we left last Wednesday morning. We cruised across the desert in an unexpected fog, arriving on my grandparents’ place mid afternoon. That evening the four of us hit a buffet, where I showed great restraint and managed to avoid getting the hiccups! It occurred to me while I was there that the first time I ever got what I call the "Killer Hiccups" was after eating at a buffet during my last visit to Vegas (I was thirteen or fourteen at the time). At the wise old age of 29 I finally overcame them by simply not eating so much. I wanted to stay at the top of my game when it came to playing computerized BINGO. That's right -- they have machines that do all of the work for you now. The numbers are still read aloud, but there’s no need to daub cards with ink anymore. Your only responsibility as a player is to yell the word when the machine tells you that you won. So in our case, we had no responsibility at all. Oh well, it was fun to get an inside perspective of my grandparents' night life. They appear to be some sort of BINGO royalty at Boulder Station.

The next day was Thanksgiving. My grandma made a turkey and all of the fixings, and it was very tasty. I was glad to be with family after spending the holiday alone last year. After dinner and some good old-fashioned relaxing, R and I went off to explore the city. This was her first time seeing The Strip and it had been 15 years for me. The place has changed a lot and so has my perspective. We walked a long way, in and out of casinos, stopping in a few shops and for a drink in the Eiffel Tower. Of course we had a good time, but after seeing this town that is all surface we couldn’t help but appreciate the real Eiffel Tower or the real New York City or the real Michelangelo’s paintings more. Maybe that’s the point of Vegas. The façade itself is impressive, but it leaves me with a sleazy, empty feeling. It's a good place for wild night life, but as you all must know, that's not really what I'm looking for.

We got up on Friday and drove northeast to Zion National Park in Utah. Ideally we would have had enough time to see Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon as well, but Zion was plenty for two days. It’s quite a spectacular place, a deep canyon carved out of sandstone. Camping was cold, but we had a couple of fires and bundled ourselves up pretty well inside our sleeping bags. We took three separate hikes, the highlight of which involved following a narrow spine with 1500 foot cliffs on both sides to Angels Landing. It was a little daring and quite outstanding. We really fell in love with the park. The only disappointing aspect was high volume of people present over the long weekend. It’s hard to revel in the glory of a landscape when there are screaming kids on the trail ahead of you or a big group of people rushing you out of the way so they can get a photo in front of the vista on which you are gazing.

Check out our photo gallery from the trip. We took 350 shots, kept 150, and posted 80. Many of the shots were scrapped because the light had either too harsh a contrast or was too dim. An improperly exposed sky or a little unwanted blur is sometimes (but not always) enough for me to hit the delete button. But I guess it works out because if I posted a gallery of more than 80 photos, it would be too overwhelming for anyone to view entirely anyway. If I made you wade through a bunch of garbage, you'd surely miss the few decent shots. That's the value of editing.

Bay area

Don’t get me wrong: San Francisco is an exciting place to visit with plenty of attractions for the weekend tourist, but being in a crowded, bustling city again after five months of “easy living” in laid-back, sunny Santa Barbara gave me a sense of relief that R’s latest corporate relocation did not bring us there or somewhere similar. Driving through Silicon Valley on the way up last Thursday evening did make me think the place could do wonders for my career (we even spotted the Oracle mothership along our way), but, at least for the time being, I’m happy hiding away down here and being done with my work day by 3 or 4 o’clock most days. In case I haven’t mentioned it enough yet, I am really happy with my life right now. I still don’t have as much free time I want, but I’m beginning to think having enough is an unattainable fantasy. I’ll take what I’m getting now, despite the fact that weeks still go by without the chance to open up Adobe Premiere and dig into my latest editing project.

Before I get any further off track with additional long-winded reflection, let’s get into my purpose for this entry: to cover our mini-vacation in the bay area. If you’d like an accompanying visual, see our photos here.

We spent three nights in a very cozy (i.e. small) room at a hotel downtown. Our location at 4th & Market Street was perfect for hopping on a cable car, a bus, or the BART, all means of transportation we made use of. My buddy from college, L, and his new wife were also in town and staying two blocks down the street until Saturday morning. We hung out with them all day Friday at Fisherman’s Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, and various other scenic hotspots around the city that you would probably recognize from the opening to Full House if nothing else. We had some lunch next to the water and a dinner out at an unpretentious place with motorbikes hanging from the ceiling. I enjoyed seeing these folks again, and it was helpful to have them show us around, being that they had already been visiting for a while and knew the city better than us. I’m so glad we were able to meet up and continue staying in touch with some friends from back home.

On Saturday, R and I were on our own. Since the tourist scene was starting to wear on us, we got off of the beaten path a little bit (but not too far). First we checked out the famed Haight and Ashbury district followed by a walk through the park to a Japanese tea garden where we sipped green and jasmine tea in an exotic setting amplified by a surrounding mist. Then it started raining. After a stop at the hotel to pick up some warmer clothes, we took the train out to UC Berkley and enjoyed a walk down the one-of-a-kind, funky Telegraph Avenue. Somewhere in there we also had a chocolate sundae at Ghirardelli Square and visited Chinatown, where I bought my only souvenir, a San Francisco T-shirt for $1.88. (Now that I think about it, Chinatown happened the night before, but it just doesn’t fit into that paragraph). The night was capped with a late, indulgent meal at an ultra swanky place called Ame. This is where I realized I didn’t pack appropriately because I felt severely under dressed in khakis and button-down shirt. Luckily R classed it up enough for the two of us and we enjoyed some of the finest Rice-a-Roni in the world :-).

We hit the road early Sunday morning, taking the slower but more scenic coastal route down and stopping for lunch in Monterey and a few other spots to take in the view. It would have been nice to have more time to explore this area. We will have to return sometime and maybe do some camping in Big Sur. Speaking of Big Sur, I want to leave you with some Mason Jennings lyrics from his GREAT song by that name. This is the kind of stuff we had playing as we drove along the rugged coast:

Forty miles south of Monterey and the San Lucia hills
The sunshine shone me to sleep, and I dreamt I was alive
I sang myself a song, it went, know what you know
Stay when you stay, and go when you go
And I call it intuition, flowers bloom and hummingbirds fly
Yes, I call it intuition, it gets me by

Ouch

We just plunked down a grand on two plane tickets home for Christmas. That doesn't even include the rental car or the cost of parking at the airport for a week. Good thing Christmas in Minnesota is worth it. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Montaña de Oro

What a terrific little getaway we had last weekend. We originally considered taking a couple of days off and driving the six hours up to Yosemite, but it didn't happen mainly because we've both been busy at work and didn't want to leave it behind (maybe "want" isn't the right word). So instead we spent one night at Montaña de Oro state park, which is about two hours north of here. Hiking along the rocky coast and up the treeless peaks was amazing. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. We also enjoyed cooking dinner--and drinking a bottle of wine--in front of a campfire, under a bright Milky Way. I didn't even attempt to capture that magic with the camera.

Oh, and you can see R's new haircut in the photos too.

Yellow watermelon

Feeling adventurous, we left for Los Angeles on Saturday morning without so much as a map (although we did stop at a tourism office along the way and picked up a stack of maps and guidebooks, so that's probably cheating). We've met a number of people who "escaped" LA and moved to Santa Barbara for the slower pace and others who claim the trip down to the City of Angels is more bother than it's worth. Even Mason Jennings warns he "will stay away from LA" in a favorite song of ours. Nonsense. If the center of the world's entertainment industry is just down the freeway from us, we're going to see it. We've been in Santa Barbara for going on two months now and hadn't gone more than 10 miles out of town. It was time to explore.

As you may notice in our photos from the trip, we took the coastal highway down through Malibu and then cut up through Beverly Hills and into West Hollywood. We saw the Walk of Fame, ate lunch at a Polish place in Atwater Village (which has another story behind it), drove by Paramount Studios, took in the view from Mulholland Drive, walked a pier in Newport Beach, and had a milkshake during sunset in Laguna Beach. We drove the Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica Blvd... all kinds of iconic streets. LA, at least the parts of it we visited, seems to be much more accessible of a city than New York was from Wilmington. We didn't even have to pay for parking the whole day.

Some quick observations: Hollywood is a little more run-down than I expected; Laguna Beach, a little more posh; Newport, a little more wild. The LA area as a whole seemed oddly smaller than it appears on camera and in my imagination and memories from 13 years ago (when I made a trip with my parents). And contrary to popular belief, there are not famous people walking all over the place. Rather, there are simply people all over the place. Yeah, we weren't the only tourists in town.

I'd definitely go back. Maybe next time we can see some TV show tapings or check Venice Beach off our list.

Our final destination on Saturday was actually Carlsbad, CA, which is about halfway between LA and San Diego. This is where R's uncle, aunt, and niece live. They were at a wedding on Saturday afternoon, so we met up with them later that night and spent it at their house. R's grandparents from Jersey and another uncle from Alaska were in town for the wedding too, so we were able to visit with the whole bunch on Sunday while we ate some excellent food, most memorably some king salmon straight from Alaska, Lee's amazing homemade pies, and, lastly, some bright yellow watermelon. Have you ever heard of such a thing? When you cut it open, it doesn't look how you'd expect watermelon to look, but it tastes great all the same.

White knuckles

I confronted one of my fears over the weekend: driving a car in midtown Manhattan. R, C, The Fonz, and I drove up to a friend's place in Queens and the route took us through the Lincoln and Queens tunnels with a stretch of dense city in between. The directions looked pretty straightforward on a map, but when we came above ground on the island there were roads going in every direction and swarms of cars and pedestrians abound. We got off course a bit and had major difficulty getting onto the needed 42nd St. No matter where we zigzagged across it, there were no turns allowed onto that street. Some aggressive driving and cutting in front of fleets of cabs later, we made it across the island and placed the car in park for the rest of the weekend. Whew. We took an alternate route home, this time going through the less busy SoHo district aiming for the Holland tunnel. It went off without a hitch.

Our two-night stay was pretty low-key. Having a baby around is a handy excuse for not staying out late. Who would have thought we'd go to NYC for the weekend and actually get caught up on our sleep? My main purpose there was just to soak up the city one last time before we leave the east coast. We walked around a lot, ate some authentic New York style pizza, and visited with some friends. R and I split off of the group on Sunday for a look through the MOMA. There was a lot of cool stuff there. I'm a sucker for seeing the famous/iconic works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, etc. And R likes to ponder upon the occasional black square.

The baby did surprisingly well on the streets of New York, as long as somebody other than me was holding him. It's true -- I'm not yet comfortable with holding babies (and they know it). I'm counting on my paternal instincts kicking in before we have one of our own. Anyway, The Fonz is a trooper. It took me 20-some years to get to NYC; he's doing it within his first 3 months.

Speaking of the little guy... his acting debut will be posted here tomorrow night. Be sure to check back then!

Anniversary #3

Happy anniversary to us (on Wednesday). Three years in, and we're going strong. It's great having such a lovable, loving, intelligent, goofy wife. I can be myself around her more so than when I'm by myself. We get to be constants for each other; it makes facing change and new situations so much easier to always have my best friend near by -- somebody to bounce ideas off of, somebody who understands me, somebody to share inside jokes with. She's a real fish... I mean a catch. (Have you noticed that fish seem to be recurring motif on this blog?)

To mark our special occasion, we spent last weekend hiding away at a bed & breakfast in New Hope, PA, a small town north of Philly. The town is on the Delaware River, near where George Washington crossed one fateful December 26th morning. We crossed in the same spot, only higher in the air (see here).

We biked quite a bit. In order to make a loop we even faced some closed trails. I literally said, "closed schmosed" when we saw the first sign posted. Soon after, the trails degraded into a washed out mess of rocks and trees. The activity became what we like to call "hiking with bikes" for a stretch or two. Oh well, we weren't in a rush, which was nice for a change.

We had a tasty dinner out on Saturday night. It was at a BYOB, so we brought our own bottle of Cloudy Bay. This is a well-known New Zealand wine that we were too cheap to try in New Zealand. It was actually pretty good, as far as whites go. The food was good too, although the portions were almost too big. We're used to places like this serving just the right amount, leaving us satisfied but not so weighed down. I have this problem of needing to eat every last bit of whatever is in front of me, especially when bringing leftovers home isn't an option. I had a steak; R had the fish (there it is again!).

Sunday we got up, visited a small museum in town, toured some country roads and bridges, checked out the view from a tower, and returned home in time to edit some video. It was only two nights, but it was a relaxing get-away, a chance for some quality time together minus the usual stress of day-to-day life.

Just because I have them online, here are a few more shots from the weekend: [1] [2] [3]

Oh, and if you are wondering if any of this is the "big news" I alluded to last week... keep waiting.

Upsidedown Orion

It's a challenge to pick out only a few photos from our trip to New Zealand to post on this blog. We snapped about 900 of them (although about 200 were duplicates or didn’t turn out well). When you take that many, you're bound to get some decent ones, even if none of them do the actual sights justice. Anyway, check out our gallery to see some more of our favorites:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrfinc/NewZealandFavorites

The bullet train that was our two-week trip rolled through the month of February and left us looking back with wind through our hair. Add in the pre- and post-trip crunches at work, and there's a large portion of the year gone before we even had the chance to get used to replacing 2007 with 2008 in applicable online entry fields (the modern day equivalent of forgetting to write the new year on checks).

In short, the trip was amazing. I won't type you through the complete itinerary. If you are interested, here's a copy of it from the tour company's website (although we did the loop in reverse). Yes, we took this trip with a tour group, which can sometimes be a bust, but I think it worked very well for us. For one thing, we saved so much time not having to plan where to sleep every night, where we would eat, what trail we'd hike, etc. They made the decisions--good decisions--for us. They also saved us from learning how to drive on the left side of the road and from getting lost constantly, which is what usually happens, at least when I'm in charge of navigation.

There were 16 people in our group, half of them were younger than 40, all of them were fit and active. We had some awesome guides as well that were very knowledgeable and basically catered to us 24 hours a day. They got us awake and moving at sunrise every morning and we kept busy until sunset. We'd spend a few hours traveling in the van here and there, but mostly we were outside hiking, biking, or kayaking. And they were good about taking us off the beaten track and avoiding hordes of tourists.

I'm not convinced there were hordes of tourists. The country is very much un-developed... and, discounting the sounds of the birds, strangely quiet. The biggest city on the south island, Christchurch, was not very big. The pristine lakes didn't have houses surrounding them; they rarely had boats or water-skiers on them either. Excluding the people in our group, with whom we quickly became close friends, we felt alone and secluded, and that's the best way to see the gorgeous scenery that dominates the land. The city of Queenstown was hopping, but by the time we got there it was a welcomed change. It made a night out on the town more fun.

R and I kept a travel journal during the trip. Here are a few adapted notes from there:

• There are 10 times as many sheep as there are people in NZ.



• You can drink the water directly from almost any river or creek in NZ... and it all tastes really good. We tested the theory and also added glacier water to it.



• The wine is good too. We drank some almost every night, including the nights during our three-day backpacking hike. On the other hand, the beer wasn't nearly as impressive.



• I was bit by an eel. We went swimming the first night of our three-day hike. R jumped in off the dock. Being less brave, I sat at the end and dangled my feet in the water for a few minutes... until I felt a nibble on my big toe. It didn't break the skin; I just assumed it was a fish. I mentioned it to one of the guides who was there with us and she pointed a flash light at the water. "It's just a trout," she told us. I wanted see this thing for myself, so I grabbed my glasses and came back. That's when I noticed the guide was lying to us, probably to keep R, still swimming out a ways from the dock, calm. It was an eel and it was about a meter long. "Whoa... that's a smaller trout than I expected," was my vocal response. The guide whispered to me about how eels have a way of biting down and not letting go. "R, why don't you come out of the water now…" We managed to get R out safely and then broke the news. That didn't stop our other guide from jumping in the water right over the eel. We kept on eye on the thing with our flashlights (it seemed drawn to the light)while the guide cooled off . A few minutes later it disappeared under the dock. We told the swimmer and--SPLASH!--he was out of the water quick. I did not make it into the water that night.



• I did go swimming the next afternoon in a mountain lake. I am claiming it was the coldest swim I've ever taken. My feet turned numb while attempting to get in. But both R and I did go under, however, and swam around for a little bit. It actually felt good after the day's arduous hike, and it was as close as we were going to get to a shower.



• It was hard to get a sense of scale around some of the massive mountains and wide open spaces. While kayaking, we had a waterfall in front of us that was three times the height of Niagara Falls. It didn't look it because of the enormity of the mountain behind it. There was another waterfall that we guessed was about a kilometer away. It turned out to be 9 kilometers away. Our photos are even less representative of the actual scale.



• We arrived home 30 hours later than scheduled. Our flight over the Pacific was turned around over an hour into it due to a weather radar problem. They weren't able to reschedule the flight until 22 hours later. The good side was that we got an extra half day to spend in Auckland, a city that was otherwise excluded from our tour. When we got on the rescheduled flight, the same problem was still occurring (at least it was noticed before took off this time), so we had to switch planes. The airline gave us $50 each to spend in the duty-free shops while we waited for the other 747 to be prepared. R let me use her voucher to buy a new set of ear buds with the combined amount. Thanks, R!



• I finished The Kite Runner a few days into the trip (R, being the speedy reader she is, finished well before me). It was an entertaining enough read, but it's far from classic literature and ultimately quite forgettable. I hesitate to write that because I know the novel is loved by so many people. Getting a peek into the harrowing state of affairs in Afghanistan was fascinating; I just think the author should have spent less effort creating unbelievable plot coincidences and more on adding dimension to his characters. Up next for the book club (for those of you following along at home): The Human Stain by Phillip Roth.

All right, let's wrap it up.

During regular life, R and I spend just about all of our energy on getting through the work week. When free time comes around, we need it just to recover. In New Zealand, we were able to focus our energy on having fun. There was something about the fresh air, the increased physical activity, and good nights of sleep that brought out our strength and renewed our enthusiasm for facing a new day. I can honestly say I went through entire days without thinking at all about my job. That's a remarkable feat... and the sign of a good vacation.

Koru

A koru is the Maori name for an unfurling fern that symbolizes new life, growth, strength, and peace to their culture. Yes, folks, we have returned from our trip to New Zealand. All I'm going to give you is this teaser for now, but there are more photos and notes on the way. I want to take some time and let the experience soak in before I blab too much. Check back again after life settles down some.

Honduras holiday special

We have a special guest writer on Jeblog today. My wife, R, is taking the reins to record the details about her recent trip to Honduras. Enjoy the read! -Jeff

Early Thanksgiving morning Jeff dropped me off at the Philly airport to begin my long day of travel to Honduras. I arrived in San Pedro Sula that afternoon, cleared customs with no problems and waited for luggage that seemed to be last off the plane. C met me at the airport and together we took Tela Express bus to Tela on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. We arrived after dark following a slow, long ride in the rain on an old, crowded bus. A good conversation with C made the time fly by. We checked into hotel Maya Vista at the top of a hill in Tela. We enjoyed a shrimp dinner at the hotel restaurant with nice ambiance, candles, friendly staff. We hit the hay early in the Azul room of the hotel, excited to see the rest of the town in the morning.

Bright and early we walked to the top of the hotel to check out the view and get the lay of the land. A beautiful view of the ocean and surronding area awaited. The hotel is on top of a hill and is a very tall hotel with many layers, balconies and hammocks to view the ocean from. We walked into Tela and bought some rambutans (or lychees) to eat on the street near the town square. Tela is a busy city with lots of people, cars, trucks and buses about. After some shopping at a small department store we found a tour company that offered guided tours of the national parks and forests the next day. We signed up for a kayak tour of Punto Izopo National park. In the afternoon we took a cab out of the city to the nearby lush and rainforest-y Lancetilla Botanical Gardens (complete with rain and mosquitos). It was a nice walk in the fresh air with lots of beautiful plants. We ate pizza for dinner and went on a long walk across the bridge to see Tela Neuva and then had an early night in.

Early the next morning we met out tour guide, Melvin, and our four travel companions; a couple from Idaho, a Brit and an Aussi. We all piled into a small pick-up truck and travelled down a long, muddy dirt road through a Garifuna village and to the park. Being the rainy season, the road stopped at a river where we were ferried two at a time across by a woman in a dugout canoe. We hiked for 20 minutes down the rest of the road to the river (Rio Platano) and carried the kayaks for the last 100 meters. During the 1-2 hour tour we saw howler monkeys, birds (the Bujaja) and some alligators. Then we had lunch of shrimp, beans, rice and salad at the Guarifuna village on the beach under palm frond huts. We lounged on the beach and waded in the surf until it was time to head back into town on the long, winding mud road. Back at the hotel we showered, changed and headed out to dinner at El Presidente restaurant with a fellow teacher A, her mother and brother who were also staying at the Maya Vista. A good meal with some good people.

The next morning we took the 7:00am Tela Express back to San Pedro Sula. We had baleadas at the main bus terminal and hopped on another bus to La Entrada. The bus was stopped by the police along the way, who zeroed in on the Gringas to ask for passports and that's when I realized I had left mine in Tela in the hotel safe! C finessed the policia and we continued on our way. Once in La Entrada we borrowed a friendly bus driver's cell phone (C's battery was dead) and worked with the Maya Vista to determine the best option was to send the passport to the Hedman Alas main terminal in San Perdo Sula for pick up on Tuesday morning. The ride from La Entrada to Copan, while the shortest distance traveled that day, took the longest with lots of stops to drop off/ pick up more passengers. We arrived in Copan Ruinas that afternoon and went to C's apartment to freshen up before going out to the Mayan ruins. The ruins were impressive, a slice of history. There were many enormas Cieba trees there, the national tree of Honduras and a soul recharger according to Mayan tradition. A lovely walk around the ruins in the cooler mountain air of the Copan region. C cooked a nice spaghetti dinner with the fellow teachers who live upstairs that we enjoyed together. A walk to a nearby ice-cream store for desert topped off a lovely evening in Copan Ruinas. It is a beautiful town in the mountains with cobble stone streets, and many restaurants, cafes, hotels and places that cater to the gringo tourists that flock to the area to see the impressive ruins outside of town.

The next morning, bright and early, we headed off to school. I was a helper in C's second grade class at the Mayatan School. The children were full of energy and excited to show Miss R things they had found on a nature hike. They were able to practice their English skills on me and I was impressed with their enthusiasm. They were learning about how to add three numbers, the verb "to have" and different animal habitats. I met some of the other teachers C works with, they were all very friendly, some from the US and some native Spanish speakers too. The school is very open with two or so classrooms in each building separated by open grassy-courtyard areas. There were flowers around the edges of the buildings and C's building is up on a small hill overlooking the rest of the school. The children ate lunch at a small cafeteria that served baleadas and other foods I did not recognize but looked tasty. After school that day C and I took the motorcycle to the hot springs, about 27km outside of town along a mountain road into the forest. The hot springs were divided into a two parts, one was more expensive than the other, and we chose the spendy option, which was beautiful! We were first led on a tour of the expansive grounds and all 20 or so different soaking options. There were multiple huts with chairs and tables to enjoy a picnic and two swinging bridges, many stepping stone crossings, terraced pools with paths through the jungle leading to each area. We found a pool suitably cool for the baby and stayed there until it got dark. I tried out one additional pool that was much hotter but did not seem to have a bottom (that I could find any way!). Then it was back to Copan in the dark, out for dinner at a local place where they (sometimes) carry the food (or drinks) on their heads and then home to bed.

I had a very early wake-up call, at 4:00am to catch the Hedman Alas bus back to San Pedro Sula to claim my passport and catch a plane back to the U.S. The bus ride was uneventful (I slept) and I arrived in San Pedro by 8:30am. Thank goodness my passport was there, as specified and I was able to buy an ticket to the airport from the terminal. I did not have C with me, so communication was difficult as I speak little to no Spanish but I managed. I got to the airport about 5 hours early and spend time there before flying back to Miami and then to Philly, arriving back in Delaware at 2:30am. And I did make it work the next day! I had a good trip and was glad to be home.

For more pictures of the trip, go here.