Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
The only thing we planned for Saturday was a hike up Neahkahnie Mountain. That took most of the day, and the great weather yielded lots of views.
We went a bit south to Tillamook County to a couple capes. And since we were in the area, we stopped by the Tillamook Creamery.
We decided to take a long weekend to go to the north part of the Oregon Coast before the crowds start to show up, so we packed up the car and headed south. We looked at a shipwreck near Astoria, visited Fort Clatsop National Preserve, and walked a bit along the Seaside Promenade.
It’s become a tradition for me to record something for my mom’s birthday, and this year it’s a Chopin Prelude, Opus 28, No. 6, Lento Assai, in in B minor.
Seeing a performance at Benaroya Hall, it's hard to miss the banks of pipes surrounding an organ console raised to be in the middle of the stage's back wall. Almost a couple of decades after the organ was installed, we finally got to hear it a couple weeks ago, but not with the piece you would expect.
Every year the Seattle Times holds their Pictures of the Year event, not only celebrating favorite photos and videos for the previous year but also highlighting two staff members who can talk about not only the past year but the path which led them to their current career. This year the presenters were long-time photographer Alan Berner and videographer Corinne Chin.
Traditions can come and go, but one that has been going for more than a half-century is my family gathering to make mochi for the new year. Melody and I also manage to play tourist for a day, and this year we walked along Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards.
For our last full day in New Orleans, Melody finished up her conference while I went to Audubon Park and the neighboring zoo.
Melody was once again in her conference for the day, and I finally made it to the National WWII Museum. Ended up not doing very much for the rest of the day, deciding to take it easy.
Melody had a full day at the conference, and I had a full day of playing tourist. I had planned to spend a good chunk of the day at the National WWII Museum but ended up going to the Aquarium, doing a walking tour of the French Market, and walking a bit from Loyola back to Carrollton.
Melody's conference didn't start until the afternoon, so we did a walking tour of the Garden District in the morning. In the afternoon, I went to Jackson Square, walked along the waterfront, visited the Insectarium, and met up with Melody for dinner.
This would be the only full free day before Melody’s conference started so we booked a couple tours. We started with a swamp tour, then went on a plantation tour. We then navigated down Bourbon Street on the way to dinner and ended with a ride on the streetcar.
The last trip in a travel-packed October is to New Orleans where Melody is attending the American Translator’s Association conference. I tagged along since I’ve never been to the city (Melody was last there a few months after Katrina.) Monday was a travel day which started very early.
Celeste being in town, we drove across the state to Spokane to visit Neal, their uncle. Rockwood had changed quite a bit the last time we were there, so we were looking forward to how much else was different.
Melody's sister Celeste came into town, so one of the things we decided to do was spend a few days in Vancouver to give her a taste of the city. It was a packed trip.
It seems that almost every time we're eating a meal somewhere near Hot Cakes we end up getting dessert there. Since there are a lot of good eateries in both Ballard and Capitol Hill, that means we have several opportunities to go there. Good thing, since we don't tire of either their standard fare or their seasonal selections.
Having heard a professor Melody knew at WSU passed away this spring, we made plans to go to a memorial service for him in Port Townsend. We decided to arrive a couple days early to spend some time in the area, including hiking along Dungeness Spit.
My dad’s family started doing family reunions a while ago, and each time it’s great to see everyone. At the last one, I was talking with one of my cousins about having a get-together with the cousins, which would be a smaller group. We could plan a long weekend and recapture the bond the cousins have had since we were all younger. Everything came together and this past weekend seventeen of us gathered in Chicago, spending time together and reconnecting during our first Cousins Retreat.
It's that time of year again. Today is my mom's birthday, so here's me playing Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, the first piece in Debussy's Children's Corner.
On our last full day in New York, we went down to the Financial District and to Chelsea to check out the High Line and Chelsea Market.
