Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Santa Maria, Solvang, California, Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Airport/Liberty Station, San Diego Zoo, Parfait Paris, Liberty Public Market, Liberty Station, Balboa Park, Japanese Friendship Garden, Old Cactus Garden - Balboa Park, Cesarina, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Old Town San Diego, Old Town Market San Diego, La Jolla, La Jolla Cove, Warwick's of La Jolla, George's at the Cove, Cork Fire Kitchen, Beverly Hills, California, La ong Beverly Hills, Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles Westside, TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Hollywood Walk of Fame- Los Angeles, California, In N Out, Marina Del Rey and Casa de Reyes Restaurant. (Original post, backup link)
My personal glimpse into the first half of the 21st Century for some yet to be known future
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Sunday, December 10, 2023
San Diego Adventure
December 11 - 20, 2023 with Alice enjoying a fun trip to San Diego and other SoCal destinations.
Labels:
Life Events,
Photo,
Vacation
Location:
San Diego, CA, USA
Friday, May 15, 2020
Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 4)
Even with the current world crisis, and the lack of things to do regardless of where you might go, it was great being able to stay in the Colorado Springs area to see the wolves at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. It was also great to explore the Garden of the Gods for an afternoon. That said, our original plans included a bit more. There are still places to explore. We'll be back.
Places we missed this time due to covid-time, that we'll try to do next time we are in the area:
- Pikes Peak
- Manitou Incline and other natural trails near Manitou Springs
- Colorado Springs Downtown
- The Broadmoor Seven Falls and restaurant
- Royal Gorge
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 3)
Wolves don't really need an excuse to howl. Strange noises from humans? Let's do this!
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 2)
Originally, Allie and I's trip to Colorado Springs was meant to include an extra evening from the day before our adventure at the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. With the world crisis underway, however, we just decided to drive down a bit later on Thursday. Our time at the Center was scheduled for Friday morning. This left Friday afternoon for exploring other local attractions.
Afterwards we found a good Mexican restaurant that was on the way back to Colorado Springs, called Crystal Park Cantina. We ordered by phone and then went to pick up our takeout order. We were pleasantly surprized by our dishes when we ate them after we got back to our hotel. We might return to this location next time we are in the area.
We explored the Garden of the Gods. The drive around the park was fairly straightforward. We stopped of at the Kissing Camels, Siamese Twins and Balanced Rock.
Kissing Camels |
Siamese Twins |
Balanced Rock |
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Of Wolves and Rocks (Part 1)
Allie and I travelled to the Colorado Springs area this weekend to explore the area and meet some wildlife at Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. Our travel itinerary was made before the current world crisis. As such, many plans were changed or cancelled. In Colorado, there are state restrictions, which are being phased out right now. However, there's little consistency from one region to another since individual cities have set their own rules. So, we didn't know for sure if our visit to the Center was even going to happen until a week prior. We had to change our hotel and cancel all restaurant reservations. It was also fruitless to try to explore Colorado Springs downtown.
Navi and Tala are the pair of wolves that we next met. I don't know if the photos truly capture the size of Navi. When you are face to face with him, looking at him in the eyes, you get a real sense of the power and grace embodied by these awesome canids.
Tala greeted Allie at first, but was generally aloof. She knows she's beautiful and has little time for us humans. (Actually, she did enjoyably interact with us for a time, but none of the photos are well-posed.)
Fortunately, the Center was able to open as of May 1. So, in addition to some everyday strict clothing requirements, the Center implemented proper face mask and social distancing for guests and staff.
We had the Ultimate Alpha package. This includes meeting two pairs of wolves and also foxes, and 50 photos of the interactions. My only critique of our experience is that the quality of photography was lacking, as you'll see below. If you compare our photos with what is presented on the website, there's a world of difference. I did touch up the photos to fix as much of the issues as possible.
We first visited the foxes. The foxes were rambunctious. They actually kinda reminded me of racoons. While we were in their enclosure, there was no question that Rhett and Scarlett viewed us as the source of their kibble, and nothing more.
Scarlett |
Rhett |
Rhett and Scarlett |
Being greeted by Tala and Navi |
We were able to start a pack howl. It wasn't hard. They live for howling. |
Navi and Tala |
Finally, we met with Orenda and Isha.
A wolf only sits when it wants, and the treats only provide passive enticement. Orenda only half sits for the promise of a kibble.Orenda kinda sits for kibble. |
Friday, May 08, 2020
Monday, January 20, 2020
Hobbyco window display at Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia - Nov 2019
Sorry, no cho-cho noises.
Tuesday, January 07, 2020
Maui Snorkelling - Kapalua Bay - April 2018
Please forgive the potato quality of this video which was apparently caused by overcompressing by upload and subsequent download to/from Instagram. This video was taken with my phone using an underwater case, and not an underwater camera. The original video has much better quality, of course.
Monday, January 06, 2020
Friday, January 03, 2020
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Monday, December 23, 2019
Thursday, December 05, 2019
Sydney 2019 Vacation
Alice and I had a great time in Sydney, Australia. Originally, we planned to use our 9 days in Australia to visit a couple of areas. That plan changed as we became aware of just how much Sydney itself offers. So, we spent all 9 days in Sydney. We were able to visit many points of interests and other locations.
Afterward, we had a terrific lunch at Otto Ristorante on the Finger Wharf. Then, we walked around Farm Cove to Sydney Opera House. We had dessert at Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe before taking the ferry to Manly, where we found an interesting Christmas Tree that seemed a bit lost.
After returning to Circular Quay, we explored The Rocks and Darling Harbour, including a light dinner at Pho-mo in Barangaroo. Heading back, we passed by a large all-white outdoor dinner event at Tumbalong Park. Passing by Paddy's Markets, we headed back. I don't know the exact number of steps, but I believe Michael's pedometer app counted well over 23K for the day. Thank you Michael for the Grand Tour!
Favs!
Our favorite places for this trip are Featherdale Wildlife Park, Scenic World (despite its unimaginative name), The Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney ("botanic" and "garden" are not typos) and Taronga Zoo.
All of these locations should be at the top of the list when planning a vacation to Sydney for the first time.
Sydney Opera House Nonoperatic Concert
We enjoyed Peter Bence's concert at Sydney Opera House (What's on in Sydney: November 30 - December 1 (backup link), Peter Bence Tour (backup link)), called "Peter Bence: The Awesome Piano Tour". Alice was originally concerned about seeing a concert by a pianist, but now feels this is one of the most enjoyable concerts that she has experienced. It was an awesome surprize.Dinner Cruise
We also thoroughly enjoyed our "Sydney Harbour Sky Deck Gold Penfolds Dinner Cruise" (backup link). Because I upgraded the experience to "Gold" level, we had a particularly special night, including a priority boarding, welcome reception on the upper deck, special window table, our own dedicated maitre d' and a specially prepared 6-course dinner with wines to compliment each course. Even without the Gold level status, this would've been a very enjoyable evening. That said, we were the only Gold level passengers for this particular cruise, so this made things seem even more special for us. We were literally the only passengers at the upper deck welcome reception. For a short period, we had an entire deck to just ourselves.Michael's Tour
My friend Michael Lord joined us for almost a whole day to show us around town on an incredible walking tour. I can tell Michael loves his hometown! We met up at Queen Victoria Building and then stopped by at Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park, St. Mary's Cathedral, The Mint, Parliament of New South Wales (no one chained themselves to the fence on this particular day), and The Domain before visiting Art Gallery of New South Wales.Afterward, we had a terrific lunch at Otto Ristorante on the Finger Wharf. Then, we walked around Farm Cove to Sydney Opera House. We had dessert at Guylian Belgian Chocolate Cafe before taking the ferry to Manly, where we found an interesting Christmas Tree that seemed a bit lost.
After returning to Circular Quay, we explored The Rocks and Darling Harbour, including a light dinner at Pho-mo in Barangaroo. Heading back, we passed by a large all-white outdoor dinner event at Tumbalong Park. Passing by Paddy's Markets, we headed back. I don't know the exact number of steps, but I believe Michael's pedometer app counted well over 23K for the day. Thank you Michael for the Grand Tour!
Shopping
Alice and I shopped at many locations, and there are many more that we missed. Just to name a few places where we shopped: Market City, Queen Victoria Building (and adjacent underground and aboveground shops), Westfield Sydney, Westfield Bondi Junction, Central Park Mall, The Strand Arcade and Circular Quay. For mementos, we really tried to focus on buying "Australian Made" products, just because it seems silly to buy non-Australian made products on a vacation in Australia.
Other Points of Interest
Sydney Tower Eye was a good diversion one morning. The entry point can be hard to find within the Westfield Sydney mall due to contradictory direction signage. We also found ourselves exploring the mildly interesting Museum of Contemporary Art one afternoon.
Walkability
Sydney is a very walkable city, with several well-placed T (train) stations. Since our hotel was near Central Station, it was easy to get out and around town. One thing to mention is that the railway public transport cars aren't friendly to large luggage (if you are travelling from or to the airport), particularly during busy hours. So, if you don't rent a car, you still may wish to use Uber for the airport. Other than that, you can walk most of the time. We only used Uber when we were under specific time constraints, such as our dinner cruise and the concert.
Other Restaurants of Note
Basket Brothers has quirky breakfast choices. Peacock Gardens has some great lobster dishes.
Labels:
Family,
My Life,
Product Review,
Vacation
Location:
Sydney NSW, Australia
Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Monday, December 02, 2019
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