So only 9 days after going to the zoo for the first time, we headed back with our memberships in hand. We still had about half the animals left to see and wanted to see some of the others again like the polar bears and the hippos. We arrived around lunch time and took the air tram across the park and began working our way back to the front. We started with the polar bears and gazelles. If only they knew they were so close to each other. The line for the pandas was huge so we didn't get to see them again, but instead got to spend our time with the meerkats, elephants, and giraffes. We went back to the hippos, and met some camels on the way. I was wicked excited about the large cats but it was hot out so they were all sleeping and we couldn't see most of them. We spend a nice long exhausting day at the zoo for almost 6 hours. The pictures for those are right here. --> San Diego Zoo: Part II.
A few days later we finally got to go visit the USS Midway. I learned about it really early in the summer and after numerous attempts to go we finally got our act together and went. The Midway is a retired Aircraft carrier that was built in 1945 and active in almost every US war since. It was stationed in Japan for 17 years but now resides permanently in San Diego harbor as a museum. It became a museum in 2004. The Midway has numerous helicopters, airplanes, and jets you can check out on their self guided audio tour. Plus you get to go down into the ship's bowels and see how the officers and enlisted men slept, ate, lived, and worked. You can see a clear hierarchy between the enlisted men, and even among the different levels of officers in terms of where they ate, the quality of their food, how much space they had to sleep, and where they got to spend their down time. Most of the ceilings were about 6 feet high which made things interesting as I had to crouch everywhere I went. It was really cool to see though and I'm glad we got to go. The pictures are pretty cool so check them out. We got some dinner nearby and watched the sunset. The pictures for the Midway are right here. --> USS Midway
In terms of the road trip we leave bright and early tomorrow morning at 8am. Here is a brief rundown of our itinerary.
Day 1 - Drive from San Diego to Zion National Park in Utah. Sunset at the park.
Day 2 - Morning in Zion. Drive to North Rim, Grand Canyon. Sunset at the Grand Canyon.
Day 3 - Morning at the Canyon. Drive to Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
Day 4 - Day at Mesa Verde.
Day 5 - Drive to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.
Day 6 - Day at Carlsbad Caverns.
Day 7 - Drive to Austin, Texas. Spend night with Mo's friend Zach
Day 8 - Day in Texas.
Day 9 - Drive from Texas to Natchez Mississippi.
Day 10 - Day in Natchez checking out their antebellum houses and history. Drive to Birmingham, Alabama to spend the night.
Day 11 - Drive to Nashville, Tennessee. Spend night with my Aunt Beth.
Day 12 - Day in Nashville.
Day 13 - Drive to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Day 14 - Day in Williamsburg.
Day 15 - Drive to Washington, DC.
Days 16 & 17 - 2 Days in DC.
Day 18 - Drive to New York and spend the night with friends.
Day 19 - Drive home to Westborough, Massachusetts.
Day 19 is Monday September 15 and Mo will be hanging around for another 2 weeks. Keep checking back at the blog as I plan to try and update everyone as the trip goes along. Not everywhere we go has internet and I plan on being exhausted but I will do my best. Stay tuned.
Farewell, San Diego.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Balboa Park & San Diego Zoo: Part I
It seems my laziness has gotten the best of me and despite all kinds of free time and plenty of pictures to share, it has taken me nearly 2 weeks to get this post going for our Balboa Park and San Diego Zoo adventures.
Update! Mo is done working at the Children's Museum as of Saturday and I never got to continue working for her dad as things never really got sorted out with the bank. So for the past three weeks I have been doing road trip research, grad school research, and the most fun of all, job searching. History jobs are few and far between and the few applications I have sent out seem to have fallen on deaf ears. I am slowly learning about history masters programs as well as the dreaded GRE. In terms of our road trip we have yet to decide all the specifics such as departure date but we have chosen a route. We will be leaving San Diego, and stopping in Zion National Park (Utah), Grand Canyon National Park (North Rim, Arizona), Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico), Austin Texas, Natchez Mississippi, Birmingham Alabama, Atlanta Georgia, Colonial Williambsurg (Virginia), Washington DC, New York City, and then Home. The trip covers a little over 4000 miles and about 17 days. We have friends in Austin, Atlanta, Washington, and New York who we thank in advance for easing the budget of the trip. My guess for an arrival date would be somewhere around September 15/16 as we hope to arrange the trip so a weekend lines up with DC and NY. Anywho, I will keep everyone updated as the plans are clarified. On to the pictures!
This first set of pictures comes from our trip to Balboa Park. Balboa Park contains numerous art museums, history museums, international houses, plus all kinds of other funky things. The best thing I can compare it to might be the mall in Washington DC with all the Smithsonian museums and monuments etc. We were drawn to Balboa Park because, not only is it famous and a required tourist destination, but each Sunday one of their international houses gets a festival complete with ethnic food, dancing, and celebration. We were drawn by the tango dancing promised by the Argentinia house which turned out to be dissapointing. We still had a great time though and we plan on going back to see all the things we ran out of time for. The highlights for me were the gigantic koi pond and the model train museum because they reminded me of home and being a little kid. Most of the pictures are from those two things so check 'em out! The link for those pictures is here. --> Balboa Park: Part I
The second set of pictures comes from our trip to the world famous San Diego Zoo! Getting a late start on the day we headed to the Zoo for the evening, planning to stay until they closed at 9pm. We checked out the reptile house with all their snakes and lizards, and then headed off towards the gorillas because we had dinner reservations near them. We passed flamingos and other monkeys on our way and after eating hung out with the bonobos, gazelles, polar bears, and pandas who were adorably asleep. They have a nightly half hour show called Talamasca with singing, acrobatics, and storytelling by some of the animal keepers who have interesting stories. And of course they had adorable pictures of almost every baby animal they had at the zoo. The show ended at closing and we hadn't seen half the zoo so we plan on returning to visit the rest of the animals. Admission was $25 and becoming a member was only another $20 so, since it was cheaper just to become a member, Mo and I both became members of the San Diego Zoo. I'm wicked excited to go back, which we are doing tomorrow! The super awesome pictures from the Zoo are right here. --> San Diego Zoo: Part I
Stay tuned for further updates on our road trip and for pictures of our return trips to the Zoo and Balboa Park. Plus we still hope to get to the USS Midway one of these days.
Update! Mo is done working at the Children's Museum as of Saturday and I never got to continue working for her dad as things never really got sorted out with the bank. So for the past three weeks I have been doing road trip research, grad school research, and the most fun of all, job searching. History jobs are few and far between and the few applications I have sent out seem to have fallen on deaf ears. I am slowly learning about history masters programs as well as the dreaded GRE. In terms of our road trip we have yet to decide all the specifics such as departure date but we have chosen a route. We will be leaving San Diego, and stopping in Zion National Park (Utah), Grand Canyon National Park (North Rim, Arizona), Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico), Austin Texas, Natchez Mississippi, Birmingham Alabama, Atlanta Georgia, Colonial Williambsurg (Virginia), Washington DC, New York City, and then Home. The trip covers a little over 4000 miles and about 17 days. We have friends in Austin, Atlanta, Washington, and New York who we thank in advance for easing the budget of the trip. My guess for an arrival date would be somewhere around September 15/16 as we hope to arrange the trip so a weekend lines up with DC and NY. Anywho, I will keep everyone updated as the plans are clarified. On to the pictures!
This first set of pictures comes from our trip to Balboa Park. Balboa Park contains numerous art museums, history museums, international houses, plus all kinds of other funky things. The best thing I can compare it to might be the mall in Washington DC with all the Smithsonian museums and monuments etc. We were drawn to Balboa Park because, not only is it famous and a required tourist destination, but each Sunday one of their international houses gets a festival complete with ethnic food, dancing, and celebration. We were drawn by the tango dancing promised by the Argentinia house which turned out to be dissapointing. We still had a great time though and we plan on going back to see all the things we ran out of time for. The highlights for me were the gigantic koi pond and the model train museum because they reminded me of home and being a little kid. Most of the pictures are from those two things so check 'em out! The link for those pictures is here. --> Balboa Park: Part I
The second set of pictures comes from our trip to the world famous San Diego Zoo! Getting a late start on the day we headed to the Zoo for the evening, planning to stay until they closed at 9pm. We checked out the reptile house with all their snakes and lizards, and then headed off towards the gorillas because we had dinner reservations near them. We passed flamingos and other monkeys on our way and after eating hung out with the bonobos, gazelles, polar bears, and pandas who were adorably asleep. They have a nightly half hour show called Talamasca with singing, acrobatics, and storytelling by some of the animal keepers who have interesting stories. And of course they had adorable pictures of almost every baby animal they had at the zoo. The show ended at closing and we hadn't seen half the zoo so we plan on returning to visit the rest of the animals. Admission was $25 and becoming a member was only another $20 so, since it was cheaper just to become a member, Mo and I both became members of the San Diego Zoo. I'm wicked excited to go back, which we are doing tomorrow! The super awesome pictures from the Zoo are right here. --> San Diego Zoo: Part I
Stay tuned for further updates on our road trip and for pictures of our return trips to the Zoo and Balboa Park. Plus we still hope to get to the USS Midway one of these days.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Double Dip
Sorry for the 2 week layoff. I just haven't gotten around to posting. To make up for it I have a double dose of pictures!
To update everyone I am temporarily on a break from working. The short version is that the bank who pays Mr. Myers in his receiverships, and thus pays me, was taken over by the FDIC! And so, without a guaranteed payment in order, all work has ceased until further notice. Mo is still working at the childrens museum but even more hours than before. This week and next she is working 40 hour weeks whereas before she was only working around 25. I bide my time at home sleeping in, enjoying the nice weather, doing my best to relax and just hang out. We are currently formulating our trip home. Unlike Bill's and my adventure of 6 days, Mo and I are planning a trip that will be more around 10-14 days, budget permitting. So far all we know is we are going through Vegas to the Grand Canyon and will eventually wind up visiting friends in DC and New York. How we get from Arizona to DC is still up in the air. Suggestions are welcome as we are debating between a mid-america route (colorado, kansas, missouri) much like Bill and I did, a southern-america route (new mexico, texas, alabama, tennessee), or some mixture of the two. Mo is done working August 15 and we are spending a week or two in San Diego to hang out. A rough departure date would be around September 1 and rough arrival date 2 weeks-ish later. Either way, whenever we arrive back in Westborough, Mo will be hanging around until her flight home on September 29.
The first set of pictures comes from the Taco Fiesta I mentioned in my previous post. Mo's brother Alex left for his study abroad semester in Santiago, Chile on the 22nd and so on the 20th we had a party in his honor to celebrate both his going away as well as his 20th birthday which falls in September. Mo will also argue the party was in honor of her 22nd birthday (May 26) and her graduation from college as well. However, the real reason was because Lili wanted to have a party. That's the only reason needed. Anyway, approximately 60 guests were invited. A local taco company catered with delicious beef and pork tacos while mariachis played in the background. Lili even picked up a bartender from a previous party and paid him to mix up what turned out to be the most delicious margaritas and mojitos ever. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. I got to see a few of the Myers' friends who I already met and made a few new acquaintances who were good company. The few pictures that exist are from the beginning of the party before the guests arrived. Alex dressed up in his mexican gettup and we posed with the mariachis. The link to those pictures is here. --> Taco Party
The second set of pictures is from when Mo's uncle Mauricio and three little cousins Liat (14), Ronit (11) and Thalia (7) visited. Mauri is Lili's younger brother and lives up in LA. They came down and crashed in the pool house for a few days so they could hang out with the family and see grandma Dudu. They stayed from Wednesday through Friday. On Wednesday night we all had a nice dinner but turned in early as we all day work the next day. On Thursday, Mauri and the girls ventured off to Sea World for the day and out to dinner with Dudu that night. On Friday Mo and I got home from work early and spent hours in the pool with her cousins having a great time before sitting down for dinner. The pictures come from our fun day on Friday. Make sure you check out the picture of Dudu and her 90 year old boyfriend Ed rocking flamboyant sunglasses they were peer pressured to wear. It was a nice end to the week before the stress that has been this week (for everyone but me) began. The link to those pictures is here. --> Halmos Visit
Make sure you stay tuned as in my final month out here we have yet to venture to the San Diego Zoo or the USS Midway. Pictures from those and other adventures will soon follow!
To update everyone I am temporarily on a break from working. The short version is that the bank who pays Mr. Myers in his receiverships, and thus pays me, was taken over by the FDIC! And so, without a guaranteed payment in order, all work has ceased until further notice. Mo is still working at the childrens museum but even more hours than before. This week and next she is working 40 hour weeks whereas before she was only working around 25. I bide my time at home sleeping in, enjoying the nice weather, doing my best to relax and just hang out. We are currently formulating our trip home. Unlike Bill's and my adventure of 6 days, Mo and I are planning a trip that will be more around 10-14 days, budget permitting. So far all we know is we are going through Vegas to the Grand Canyon and will eventually wind up visiting friends in DC and New York. How we get from Arizona to DC is still up in the air. Suggestions are welcome as we are debating between a mid-america route (colorado, kansas, missouri) much like Bill and I did, a southern-america route (new mexico, texas, alabama, tennessee), or some mixture of the two. Mo is done working August 15 and we are spending a week or two in San Diego to hang out. A rough departure date would be around September 1 and rough arrival date 2 weeks-ish later. Either way, whenever we arrive back in Westborough, Mo will be hanging around until her flight home on September 29.
The first set of pictures comes from the Taco Fiesta I mentioned in my previous post. Mo's brother Alex left for his study abroad semester in Santiago, Chile on the 22nd and so on the 20th we had a party in his honor to celebrate both his going away as well as his 20th birthday which falls in September. Mo will also argue the party was in honor of her 22nd birthday (May 26) and her graduation from college as well. However, the real reason was because Lili wanted to have a party. That's the only reason needed. Anyway, approximately 60 guests were invited. A local taco company catered with delicious beef and pork tacos while mariachis played in the background. Lili even picked up a bartender from a previous party and paid him to mix up what turned out to be the most delicious margaritas and mojitos ever. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. I got to see a few of the Myers' friends who I already met and made a few new acquaintances who were good company. The few pictures that exist are from the beginning of the party before the guests arrived. Alex dressed up in his mexican gettup and we posed with the mariachis. The link to those pictures is here. --> Taco Party
The second set of pictures is from when Mo's uncle Mauricio and three little cousins Liat (14), Ronit (11) and Thalia (7) visited. Mauri is Lili's younger brother and lives up in LA. They came down and crashed in the pool house for a few days so they could hang out with the family and see grandma Dudu. They stayed from Wednesday through Friday. On Wednesday night we all had a nice dinner but turned in early as we all day work the next day. On Thursday, Mauri and the girls ventured off to Sea World for the day and out to dinner with Dudu that night. On Friday Mo and I got home from work early and spent hours in the pool with her cousins having a great time before sitting down for dinner. The pictures come from our fun day on Friday. Make sure you check out the picture of Dudu and her 90 year old boyfriend Ed rocking flamboyant sunglasses they were peer pressured to wear. It was a nice end to the week before the stress that has been this week (for everyone but me) began. The link to those pictures is here. --> Halmos Visit
Make sure you stay tuned as in my final month out here we have yet to venture to the San Diego Zoo or the USS Midway. Pictures from those and other adventures will soon follow!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Aquarium
Well, there's not too much to write. I'm still doing work for Mo's dad and she's still working at the Children's Museum. We keep busy and then relax on our days off. Mo's been sick with a cold the past couple days so we've been pretty low key.
A little more than a week ago however, we went to the Scripps Aquarium. They are an oceanographic institute much like Woods Hole for those of you familiar with the Cape. It was small but a lot of fun. We took plenty of pictures too of all the weird and exciting fish and sea creatures on our Aquarium voyage! The link for those pictures is right here. --> Aquarium
The Myers' are having a taco party this Sunday as essentially a going away party for Mo's brother Alex. Alex is studying abroad in Santiago, Chile this fall semester and leaves July 22. I doubt there will be many exciting pictures as the party will consist of 60 or so people I, and thus you, do not know. Nonetheless I am very excited and just hope Mo will be feeling better by the time it arrives. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my goings on.
A little more than a week ago however, we went to the Scripps Aquarium. They are an oceanographic institute much like Woods Hole for those of you familiar with the Cape. It was small but a lot of fun. We took plenty of pictures too of all the weird and exciting fish and sea creatures on our Aquarium voyage! The link for those pictures is right here. --> Aquarium
The Myers' are having a taco party this Sunday as essentially a going away party for Mo's brother Alex. Alex is studying abroad in Santiago, Chile this fall semester and leaves July 22. I doubt there will be many exciting pictures as the party will consist of 60 or so people I, and thus you, do not know. Nonetheless I am very excited and just hope Mo will be feeling better by the time it arrives. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my goings on.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Fourth of July
Sorry It has been so long since my last post but life has become consumed with non picture worthy happenings. Since my last post, Mo has started her internship at the San Diego Children's Museum in downtown San Diego. Although Mo is "from San Diego" she lives in Rancho Santa Fe, a small town about 40 minutes from downtown. To fill the void while she is off playing with the young children of southern California, I have begun assisting her parents, Michael and Lili, with their work. Michael is a lawyer and a court appointed receiver. Don't ask what that is. Either way it involves all kinds of obnoxious stuff I get paid to do! I'm earnin' my keep.
Fourth of July weekend was a nice break for everyone. Michael's old business school friend Jimmy and his wife Shirley spent the weekend and with Jimmy's friend Jack, his wife Louise, Mo's grandmother Dudu (nickname) and her boyfriend Ed, we had a nice little gathering. A few of us went to the Rancho parade on Friday afternoon and that evening all gathered for a nice bbq. The pictures from our festivities (courtesy of Lili) are located right here. --> Fourth of July
Stay tuned for pictures of our adventure to the Aquarium!
Fourth of July weekend was a nice break for everyone. Michael's old business school friend Jimmy and his wife Shirley spent the weekend and with Jimmy's friend Jack, his wife Louise, Mo's grandmother Dudu (nickname) and her boyfriend Ed, we had a nice little gathering. A few of us went to the Rancho parade on Friday afternoon and that evening all gathered for a nice bbq. The pictures from our festivities (courtesy of Lili) are located right here. --> Fourth of July
Stay tuned for pictures of our adventure to the Aquarium!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Knott's Berry Farm
On Wednesday, Mo and I woke up bright and early, around 8:30, and headed north towards Los Angeles to go to Knott's Berry Farm, America's First Theme Park. Originally a farm, Knott's Berry Farm has everything from big coasters, to kiddie coasters, thrill rides, games, and good food. I should advertise for them or something. Anyway we showed up around 11 and immediately hit up their two big coasters Silver Bullet and Xcelerator. Both were wicked awesome and we eventually did each one a second time. If you ever happen to go its worth the wait for the front car on both coasters. We hit up a few kiddie coasters. Mo made friends with the little kids in line and made them feel better by telling them I was really nervous too. Lili had packed a nice lunch for us so we left the park around 2:30 to grab our food from the car and after eating went back in for a second round of rides. We even posed for an old time photo dressed up as a cowboy and saloon girl. It made Mo's day. We had so much fun we didn't leave until 8pm and at only $30 it might be worth going back at the end of the summer. There are some priceless photos and the link to those is right here. --> Knott's Berry Farm
In case people hadn't figured it out yet there are 2 good ways to view the photo albums on Flickr. One is to click on the pictures and scroll through them yourself. The info/description for each photo is below it when you do this. Or, you can view them as a slideshow by clicking on the slideshow button in the top right. When you do this you can click on the photos to display the info if you desire, or just view them without the descriptions. Most of the photos in all the albums have descriptions. Also, you don't have to subscribe or anything to comment on these posts, all you need is a google, live journal, or aim username. So comment away!
In case people hadn't figured it out yet there are 2 good ways to view the photo albums on Flickr. One is to click on the pictures and scroll through them yourself. The info/description for each photo is below it when you do this. Or, you can view them as a slideshow by clicking on the slideshow button in the top right. When you do this you can click on the photos to display the info if you desire, or just view them without the descriptions. Most of the photos in all the albums have descriptions. Also, you don't have to subscribe or anything to comment on these posts, all you need is a google, live journal, or aim username. So comment away!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Surfing!
While Bill was still around, Mo brought us out surfing at La Jolla shores where the surf company she used to teach lessons at (Surf Diva) is located. Dawning her stylish red mesh trucker hat she grabbed us some wet suits, boards and rash guards. As you will see in the pictures, the rash guards are the pink and peach colored gettups we wore over our wet suits to designate our inferior student status. With my larger than average frame and lack of skill when it comes to athletics, I had some difficulty standing up on the board. Bill on the other hand was a pro and we got some good pictures of him where he looks like he actually knows what he's doing. The same day we attempted some snorkeling at the same beach which supposedly has leopard sharks. Leopard sharks are vegetarians and thus safe to swim with so there are a couple pictures of us in snorkeling gear as well. Sadly, the sharks weren't there so we just spent all our time surfing. No complaints tho.
The next day we went boogie boarding and brought the underwater/waterproof camera with us to finish off the last couple pictures. Boogie boarding was much more succesful for me than the surfing and we all had a blast catching some pretty big waves. And despite the fact some of the pictures look gloomy, it was a very nice day. The link for these pictures is located here. --> Surfing
Up next are photos of Mo's and my adventure to America's first theme park Knotts Berry Farm. So stay tuned.
The next day we went boogie boarding and brought the underwater/waterproof camera with us to finish off the last couple pictures. Boogie boarding was much more succesful for me than the surfing and we all had a blast catching some pretty big waves. And despite the fact some of the pictures look gloomy, it was a very nice day. The link for these pictures is located here. --> Surfing
Up next are photos of Mo's and my adventure to America's first theme park Knotts Berry Farm. So stay tuned.
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