Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
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.
Kokeshi (こけし, which literally translates as "limbless wooden doll") is a kind of Japanese doll collected by many. The one I have has been around for quite a while, and I haven't seen another one like it.
Chopin's Waltz in D♭ Major, Op. 64, No. 1 is titled Valse du petit chien is better known as the Minute Waltz. I decided to try to record it for my mom's birthday.
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.
Last night, Melody and I went to a recital at the University of Washington which had two parts. The first was Robin McCabe playing Ravel, and the second was a set of pieces for eight hands and two pianos.
Melody and I play the piano a bit almost every night, and while that's not really a lot of use, it's enough to warrant having it tuned a couple times a year. Sometimes, however, a bit more work needs to be done.
Today we said goodbye to my Aunt Teru, the middle child of my dad's family. She passed away on February 1st, a couple months shy of her 95th birthday. Auntie lived in Norwalk for over a half century, after which she went to Ohio to be with my cousin Arleen for the past seven years.
For the last few years we've gone to the annual Seattle Times Pictures of the Year presentation at the downtown Seattle Public Library building. Each year the work of a couple staff photographers are highlighted, and they get to tell the story behind some of their favorite shots. This year's event was a couple nights ago, so of course we went.
We celebrated Noël's birthday last night, the most recent occurrence of our birthday dinner tradition. While the details change every now and then, the central idea of us getting together to share a meal on the occasion of a family member's birthday.
While we were in the Los Angeles area last month, Kellen, Noël, Melody, and I did a lot of playing tourist, which involves a lot of taking pictures. Kellen took a few of me, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to show his photos, what I was photographing, and say why I eventually didn't decide to use the shots
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.
