And more pictures of cornhole, pig, football, and beer, if you're interested.
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Tailgating at Tulsa
Pig roast!! Football!! Beer!!
And more pictures of cornhole, pig, football, and beer, if you're interested.
And more pictures of cornhole, pig, football, and beer, if you're interested.
SCV and Mike Trout's Angels Debut
(Visited July 7-10, 2011.) I'd almost forgotten about all the fun times on this trip! We gave Andrew a trip to Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) and tickets to an Angels game for his graduation present. I never bother to take pictures of SCV, so this partially explains why I forgot, but Foursquare remembered!
We spent the first day at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, where Chris lost his glasses. We had to go to the mall to get them replaced at LensCrafters. (Awww, remember Valencia Town Center? Well, it's a Westfield mall now.)
Sadly, he couldn't get them repaired in time for the evening's Angels game. We had awesome seats behind the Angels dugout.
More crucially, we watched Mike Trout's Angels debut. At the time, he was baseball's most promising prospect, and now, two and a half years later, it turns out it wasn't just hype!
The next day, we went boogie boarding at Zuma Beach, and later met my parents for delicious Peking duck for dinner at Duck House (after sitting through something like two and a half hours of traffic to drive from the beach to Monterey Park...forgot about that L.A. traffic at dinner time). Yummy duck though! This is one of my dad's favorite restaurants.
We spent the first day at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, where Chris lost his glasses. We had to go to the mall to get them replaced at LensCrafters. (Awww, remember Valencia Town Center? Well, it's a Westfield mall now.)
Sadly, he couldn't get them repaired in time for the evening's Angels game. We had awesome seats behind the Angels dugout.
More crucially, we watched Mike Trout's Angels debut. At the time, he was baseball's most promising prospect, and now, two and a half years later, it turns out it wasn't just hype!
The next day, we went boogie boarding at Zuma Beach, and later met my parents for delicious Peking duck for dinner at Duck House (after sitting through something like two and a half hours of traffic to drive from the beach to Monterey Park...forgot about that L.A. traffic at dinner time). Yummy duck though! This is one of my dad's favorite restaurants.
Trampolines and Santa Cruz
(June 24-26, 2011) In the summer, Andrew came out to visit us, and if I remember correctly, we got a Groupon deal for Sky High Sports in Santa Clara.
We also went out to Santa Cruz for tacos and tide pools!
Andrew's Graduation
(Attended May 13-16, 2011.) Well, Andrew at this point already has his master's degree, so it's somewhat lame that I'm only now writing about celebrating his bachelor's degree, but here it is anyways! Congratulations Andrew!
Our recreational activity of the weekend was golfing at the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve. It took us like two hours to finish maybe four holes? Thank goodness there weren't many other people out playing that day!
Andrew hit a car. Well, the ball hit the road and then bounced up to hit the bottom of the car, and this is where it ended up.
To his credit, he played it from that spot!
And later, there was a wild goose chase!
Most of us had to leave early to drive to the airport, but Andrew finished the course and I think ended with a respectable score.
See more pictures from Andrew's graduation weekend.
Our recreational activity of the weekend was golfing at the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve. It took us like two hours to finish maybe four holes? Thank goodness there weren't many other people out playing that day!
Andrew hit a car. Well, the ball hit the road and then bounced up to hit the bottom of the car, and this is where it ended up.
To his credit, he played it from that spot!
And later, there was a wild goose chase!
See more pictures from Andrew's graduation weekend.
Tongariro (Not) and Waitomo Glowworm Caves
(Visited March 17-20, 2011.) Tongariro starred as Mordor in the Lord of the Rings, and we definitely wanted to say that we "simply walked into Mordor" despite Boromir's dire warnings. This might have been funnier in 2011, but still, the scenery on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing looked amazing.
I was super depressed that we didn't get to do it. The weather was terrible, and apparently the pass is dangerous in high winds, and therefore closed to all hikers. We should have allocated a couple more days to wait for the clouds to pass by, but instead, we decided to head to Taupo. Hopefully we go back to New Zealand and try Tongariro National Park again someday!
Taupo turned out to be a fun, if touristy choice. We signed up for a "blackwater rafting" trip through Waitomo's glowworm caves. We chose the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company, and I believe I bought a CD of pictures from them, but...we'll need to look around for that, oops. (I didn't attempt to use my already water-logged camera here.)
Anyways, we (unexpectedly) had a blast, because:
I was super depressed that we didn't get to do it. The weather was terrible, and apparently the pass is dangerous in high winds, and therefore closed to all hikers. We should have allocated a couple more days to wait for the clouds to pass by, but instead, we decided to head to Taupo. Hopefully we go back to New Zealand and try Tongariro National Park again someday!
Taupo turned out to be a fun, if touristy choice. We signed up for a "blackwater rafting" trip through Waitomo's glowworm caves. We chose the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company, and I believe I bought a CD of pictures from them, but...we'll need to look around for that, oops. (I didn't attempt to use my already water-logged camera here.)
Anyways, we (unexpectedly) had a blast, because:
- The glowworms were really cool, like a starry sky inside a pitch black cave.
- We rappelled down a 200-foot hole, even though we've never done anything like that before (they gave us lessons and a couple practice runs before we did the real one).
- We jumped off a big cliff into the underground river (we had inner tubes).
- We rode a short zip-line in the light of the glowworms (otherwise totally dark).
- We climbed up a waterfall to exit the caves.
Climbing up the waterfall was one of my best memories, simply because I was so completely terrified when I first looked at it. I thought there was no way I could do it, but the guides talked me through exactly where to put my hands and feet, and underground caves, which have no sunlight, also have no algae, so nothing was slippery. I was so thrilled that I did it!
Sorry for the text-heavy post, but hopefully I'll eventually find the CD and share some pictures.
The one picture we do have is from driving through Taupo. We stopped by the Honey Hive, a honey store, and bought some of New Zealand's famous Manuka honey (as well as some honey whisky and honey mead).
The one picture we do have is from driving through Taupo. We stopped by the Honey Hive, a honey store, and bought some of New Zealand's famous Manuka honey (as well as some honey whisky and honey mead).
Coromandel
(Visited March 15-17, 2011.) Coromandel was another memorable high point of the trip. After departing the fern-filled rainforests and glacier-carved fjords of the South Island, we headed back up to the North Island for some beach fun. Coromandel is apparently where the locals go for their vacations.
We stayed at a terrific bed and breakfast called Hahei Oceanfront. This was possibly my favorite bed and breakfast ever. The house was right on the beach, and they loaned us a kayak to row around in, as well as a shovel so we could dig ourselves a hot tub at the nearby Hot Water Beach. I remember the breakfast being delicious, and also walking distance from the cliffs where they shot scenes from the movie, Prince Caspian. This is the house from the back.
The Hot Water Beach is a hot spring underneath the beach that becomes accessible at low tide. Being fairly popular, we didn't really need our shovels because there were plenty of pre-dug holes, but the water was very nice and warm. (In some spots, the water is maybe too hot, so be careful!)
We stayed at a terrific bed and breakfast called Hahei Oceanfront. This was possibly my favorite bed and breakfast ever. The house was right on the beach, and they loaned us a kayak to row around in, as well as a shovel so we could dig ourselves a hot tub at the nearby Hot Water Beach. I remember the breakfast being delicious, and also walking distance from the cliffs where they shot scenes from the movie, Prince Caspian. This is the house from the back.
The Hot Water Beach is a hot spring underneath the beach that becomes accessible at low tide. Being fairly popular, we didn't really need our shovels because there were plenty of pre-dug holes, but the water was very nice and warm. (In some spots, the water is maybe too hot, so be careful!)
Milford Track
(Hiked March 9, 2011 - March 13, 2011.) The Milford Track was actually the main reason we decided to vacation in New Zealand. Well, that and being nuts about the Lord of the Rings. I saw an article in the New York Times ("A Walk Through New Zealand's Watery Wild") and immediately gave it the top spot on my bucket list.
This particular trail has been called "the finest walk in the world". We hiked 33.5 miles over three days, with an extra two days for transportation to and from Queenstown. (Well, there was a bit of hiking on the first day, but as I recall, it was negligible, probably less than a mile.)
Despite how famous the Milford Track is, only a limited number of people are allowed to start this trail each day (100-ish?), and everyone is required to hike in the same direction. This means that if you keep enough spacing from the people behind and ahead of you, it's extremely peaceful and quiet, often to the point where you can imagine you have the entire gorgeous national park to yourself.
The Milford Track is open to both independent hikers and guided hikers, although the two groups use different lodges. We took the guided option with Ultimate Hikes (the only company authorized to run guided tours for the Milford Track) and thought it was a great experience. All we had to carry was our own clothes; they took care of hot meals and logistics!
I don't know how I can do this segment of our trip justice, except to start posting some of my favorite photos.
Day 1: The majority of the first day was spent driving and boating to the trailhead. We arrived at our first lodge, Glade House, fairly early in the afternoon.
Day 2: We started early, by crossing the suspension bridge.
There's not a ton of large wildlife in New Zealand, and the animals they do have tend not to be overly worried about predators, because there are no predators native to New Zealand. This means even the birds aren't very afraid of people. We saw a "cheeky" thrush that will come and sit on your shoe, if you drag your heel in the mud and make it think worms might be available. Wish I'd gotten a sharper picture, but here's one sitting on Chris's boot!
More pretty scenery from the second day:
Our destination on the second day was the Pompolona Lodge.
Day 3: The weather was gray and rainy on the third day, which was both kind of sad and kind of awesome.
When we reached the highest point at the Mackinnon Pass, our guides made us hot chocolate!
My favorite wildlife sighting came on the third day too. We saw a weka, a chicken-sized bird often mistaken for a kiwi, but much more common. If you recall, New Zealand birds didn't evolve a healthy fear for predators, so like the thrush, the weka walked right up to us, and started attacking my shoelace, presumably because it looked like a worm! Not a very bright bird, but very persistent; it stayed for several minutes pecking my toe with great force and repeatedly tugging at the shoelace.
Later on, we had another sighting. We're not particularly good at spotting birds in general, but these guys apparently liked to walk on trails.
The forest was strikingly more green and lush on the other side of the pass.
Day 4: We finally saw the waterfall that's on all the marketing, Mackay Falls!
And finally, we reached the end of our 33.5 miles, at Sandfly Point. Sandflies are like mosquitos, and there were clouds of them at Sandfly Point. The legends say that the gods made sandflies, because people would become too spoiled living in such a perfect paradise without some form of annoyance. I remember us being bitten like crazy while this picture below was being taken. (Yeah, my smile does look a little forced doesn't it?)
We ended our day with a boat ride to our final destination, the Mitre Point Lodge on the Milford Sound.
Day 5: Done with walking! We took a boat ride around the Milford Sound, which was stunning, but my broken camera really didn't capture it well, except for this one shot of Chris by one of the waterfalls, complete with the New Zealand flag waving in the wind.
A pod of dolphins later visited our boat too!
Overall, the Milford Track was a wonderful experience. We highly recommend both the trail and Ultimate Hikes, and we'd love to do some of the other "great walks" someday too!
See more pictures of the Milford Track (there are lots and lots)!
This particular trail has been called "the finest walk in the world". We hiked 33.5 miles over three days, with an extra two days for transportation to and from Queenstown. (Well, there was a bit of hiking on the first day, but as I recall, it was negligible, probably less than a mile.)
Despite how famous the Milford Track is, only a limited number of people are allowed to start this trail each day (100-ish?), and everyone is required to hike in the same direction. This means that if you keep enough spacing from the people behind and ahead of you, it's extremely peaceful and quiet, often to the point where you can imagine you have the entire gorgeous national park to yourself.
The Milford Track is open to both independent hikers and guided hikers, although the two groups use different lodges. We took the guided option with Ultimate Hikes (the only company authorized to run guided tours for the Milford Track) and thought it was a great experience. All we had to carry was our own clothes; they took care of hot meals and logistics!
I don't know how I can do this segment of our trip justice, except to start posting some of my favorite photos.
Day 1: The majority of the first day was spent driving and boating to the trailhead. We arrived at our first lodge, Glade House, fairly early in the afternoon.
We definitely weren't roughing it! To give you an idea, this is what our room at Glade House looked like:
This is the view of the river and the first suspension bridge, from the front yard of the lodge:
With plenty of daylight left in the day, the tour guides took us on a short nature walk where they taught us about the local plants. I'm very sad not to remember more about them, but the guides were really knowledgeable and funny and if I remember correctly, we even ate a couple of the plants notable for their pungency and prank potential. This is a picture of us on the nature walk:
Day 2: We started early, by crossing the suspension bridge.
There's not a ton of large wildlife in New Zealand, and the animals they do have tend not to be overly worried about predators, because there are no predators native to New Zealand. This means even the birds aren't very afraid of people. We saw a "cheeky" thrush that will come and sit on your shoe, if you drag your heel in the mud and make it think worms might be available. Wish I'd gotten a sharper picture, but here's one sitting on Chris's boot!
More pretty scenery from the second day:
Our destination on the second day was the Pompolona Lodge.
Day 3: The weather was gray and rainy on the third day, which was both kind of sad and kind of awesome.
It was sad because this was the day we reached the highest elevation, but we didn't see much of the view due to the fog.
It was awesome because we were surrounded by thousands of tiny waterfalls coming off sheer cliffs, and the forest was beautiful in the rain.
When we reached the highest point at the Mackinnon Pass, our guides made us hot chocolate!
My favorite wildlife sighting came on the third day too. We saw a weka, a chicken-sized bird often mistaken for a kiwi, but much more common. If you recall, New Zealand birds didn't evolve a healthy fear for predators, so like the thrush, the weka walked right up to us, and started attacking my shoelace, presumably because it looked like a worm! Not a very bright bird, but very persistent; it stayed for several minutes pecking my toe with great force and repeatedly tugging at the shoelace.
Later on, we had another sighting. We're not particularly good at spotting birds in general, but these guys apparently liked to walk on trails.
The forest was strikingly more green and lush on the other side of the pass.
Possibly too green and lush. My camera was really struggling with all the rain and mist by the time we reached Quentin Lodge. The display was starting to fizzle out, and then I tried to dry it out with a hair dryer, which turned out to be a terrible idea, because afterwards, the screen was completely fried (and never recovered). So the remainder of the pictures from the trip were taken using the old-school tiny view finder, and at the time, we weren't even sure the pictures were really being taken. (Turns out they were, thankfully! But many of the pictures get more blurry or dark from this point forward.)
Day 4: We finally saw the waterfall that's on all the marketing, Mackay Falls!
And finally, we reached the end of our 33.5 miles, at Sandfly Point. Sandflies are like mosquitos, and there were clouds of them at Sandfly Point. The legends say that the gods made sandflies, because people would become too spoiled living in such a perfect paradise without some form of annoyance. I remember us being bitten like crazy while this picture below was being taken. (Yeah, my smile does look a little forced doesn't it?)
We ended our day with a boat ride to our final destination, the Mitre Point Lodge on the Milford Sound.
Day 5: Done with walking! We took a boat ride around the Milford Sound, which was stunning, but my broken camera really didn't capture it well, except for this one shot of Chris by one of the waterfalls, complete with the New Zealand flag waving in the wind.
A pod of dolphins later visited our boat too!
Overall, the Milford Track was a wonderful experience. We highly recommend both the trail and Ultimate Hikes, and we'd love to do some of the other "great walks" someday too!
See more pictures of the Milford Track (there are lots and lots)!
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