Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
All in Vacation
The rough plan for Friday was to spend the day at Turkey Run State Park and do some hiking and talking. The forecast called for not only rain, but a lot of rain.
The main reason for us taking this trip was to go to the Winkle Family Reunion, and this was the first day. Our plan was to pick up a car, go to Indiana Dunes National Shoreline, then head down to Parke County.
Our last full day in Chicago. The plan for the day was to start at the Art Institute of Chicago, have some lunch, then take it easy for the afternoon. In the evening, Melody would go to a concert in Millennium Park while I would go to the Dodgers/Cubs game.
Since the weather was supposed to be great, the plan for Tuesday was to go up the Willis Tower and do the Loop walking tour that we didn't do the day before. In the afternoon, we thought we would go to the Art Institute of Chicago for the afternoon, and then see how we felt about dinner.
Being our first full day in Chicago, we set out to try to do some sightseeing by boat, more by foot, and dinner with relatives. Fortunately, we had contingency plans in case of inclement weather.
We began our trip to the Midwest by flying to Chicago via Portland. After we checked in then grabbed a bite to eat, we were ready to call it a day.
On our last full day in Vancouver, we went to the University of British Columbia to walk around. We had been to the campus before, but mostly to look at the Rose Garden and visit the Museum of Anthropology. This time, armed with a walking tour, we took in much more.
Our first full day in Vancouver was going to involve quite a bit of walking around Stanley Park, but we got an unexpected treat in seeing a few orcas working their way out to the ocean.
Each year, Melody and I try to take a train trip to either Portland, OR or Vancouver, BC, since Amtrak offers coupons for reduced-price tickets. This year we went across the border for a few nights, and even fit in a quick walking tour after we got into town.
The only way to start a New Year is with o-zōni. Following that, we went to my cousin's house where lots of family gathered to talk, eat, and play games. The next day was when we returned to Seattle
Having had a few full days, we were ready for a less hectic one. We checked out this year's Downey entry to the Tournament of Roses Parade, then down to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The best way to end the day was with a New Year's Eve dinner.
An uneventful morning was just fine with us, as we checked out of the hostel and went to Griffith Park. At the end of the day it was time to celebrate my dad's birthday again at Dal Rae.
Monday started with a rude awakening, but most of the rest of the day was spent in Los Angeles at LACMA and the Farmers Market
Having finished making mochi, it was time to venture to other parts of Los Angeles to give Noël a taste of the surrounding area. First on the agenda was The Getty Museum, followed by Santa Monica.
Our usual New Year's trip to the Los Angeles area had a twist this year; Kellen and his fiancé Noël went along with us. Kellen had an opportunity to meet her family about a year ago, so turnabout is fair play.
On the day we traveled home, we had a couple extra hours to walk around the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens.
Our last full day in Santa Cruz, and we decided to take it more slowly than the previous days. We went to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum in the morning, wandered around the downtown area for lunch and early afternoon, then walked down to the Boardwalk for the late afternoon.
After spending the previous afternoon along the ocean, it was time to head inland towards Felton to go to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and the Roaring Camp Narrow-gauge Railroad.
After spending the morning in Saratoga and taking my mom to the airport, we drove down to Santa Cruz and walked around the water for the rest of the afternoon. It was a nice introduction to the city.
Melody and I are taking a quick trip to the Bay Area, in two parts. The first is in Santa Clara/San Jose where we met up with my mom for the first part so we could visit family and friends. After mom flew home, we started on the second part by driving down to Santa Cruz.
