Greece

I've been so busy, that it's only now that I'm posting pictures from May. Yikes! So, rather than wait and maybe never post about this trip, here's at least something - we'll call it the condensed version. :o)

At the very end of April, Phil and I flew back east to celebrate Patty and Chris tying the knot. After a wonderful weekend, he flew to Michigan (to work, poor thing!) while I met up with Simone, her sister Melanie, and her friend Angela in Greece for a week, before heading off to London.

I caught up with them on Mykonos, one of the popular Greek Islands. That first day, the weather was cool and damp, I was exhausted from flying almost the entire day prior, and Angela was still recovering from a bout of food poisioning (caught in their previous stop, Turkey.)

So to start, the three of us (minus Angela) walked around town a bit, checked out the shops, and generally relaxed. It's pretty - but not cheap! There also weren't a lot of people around, and even when we went out at night, we found it wasn't as busy as we expected - perhaps it was still a little off-season?













The next day, we rented a car and drove around the island - checking out the interior and (most importantly :o)) the beaches. We went to Elia, Paradise, and... Super Paradise. Gorgeous!

On our final day, we ferried over to Delos for the morning:












The beautiful harbor in Mykonos:

The same day, we took an afternoon ferry ride from Mykonos over to Santorini, a picturesque island that formed out of a volcano. Here, we stayed at a little guesthouse that had the most amazing views.

From our balconey...







The first evening, we went out to a cozy restaurant for Italian food and had a large dinner. Unfortunately, as safe as this sounds, it gave Melanie and I food posioning (all night), and we spent the next day recovering.

Her and I only had one day to really see the island, which was a shame. But, so is life.

The four of us, outside the hotel:

Our next, and final stop, was Athens.

Changing of the guard:















Around the Acropolis...

And, just for kicks, Olympic Stadium:

Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, and Temecula (visting Danielle in California)

Danielle (my sister) was in southern California for January and February, so I decided to fly down and spend some quality sister-time with her. At least, that was the original reason, but by the time I was packing, it was clear that flying out of chilly Seattle and into seventy-degree weather wasn't a bad thing, either!

I arrived late Friday night, not realizing how small Long Beach airport is (hint: backage claim is outside.) That night, we slept at Kam's house and Saturday morning we drove out to Palm Springs. We were way too early to check-in at the Pepper Tree Inn, so we walked down Palm Canyon Drive a few blocks to the Blue Coyote Grill, grabbing lunch and delicious rasberry margaritas.

When we returned, it was still early for checkin, but the weather was great and the hotel property looked amazing. We changed into bikinis, soaked in the sun, and tested out the heated swimming pool and hot tub. Jealous yet?

On Sunday, we woke up early and drove out to Joshua Tree National Park.

The sky was sunny, but the morning was also cool and extremely windy, aborting our first hike attempt (up Ryan Mountain.) Instead, we drove through the park to Keys View lookout and then down Pinto Basin Road. We stopped to marvel at the ever-present and quirky Joshua trees as well as the interesting rock structures that have formed over millions of years.


Here's a close-up of a Joshua tree:

As one moves from northwest to southeast in the park, you actually cross over from the Mojave Desert to the Colorado Desert, and the incidence of Joshua trees dramatically decreases. Around this switch lies the Cholla Cactus Garden, where Bigelow (jumping) cholla cactus concentrate. We stopped to walk along the nature path and get close, but not too close, to these prickly plants.

After the Cholla garden, we continued along Pinto Basin Road towards the southern exit. At the Cottonwood Visitor Center, we detoured to the Cottonwood Springs area.

Luckily, both a decrease in wind and an increase in weather made for much better hiking, and we set out for Mastodon Peak. After climbing to the high-point, we continued on to Lost Palms Canyon, for a total of about 8 miles roundtrip!

Upon returning that evening, we were pretty tired, but managed to stumble into Hamburger Mary's, where (amusingly) neither of us actually had a hamburger. Still, the meal was enjoyable!

The next morning, we took one last walk through Palm Springs before we headed out. How I miss that weather!

To drive to Temecula, we used back roads, which ended up taking more time than expected. We were relieved when we arrived, and had fun stopping at a few wineries to try out the goods. I love wine, so obviously this was a real sacrifice for me.

Finally, we ended up at Ponte, where Danielle and Kam (newly engaged) had been thinking about having their wedding. We ate lunch on site (delicious) and toured the scenic grounds - I've included some of the photos I took below. Ultimately, after meeting with the events coordinator and reviewing dates, we put down a deposit! I'm very excited, I think it's the perfect place.

Disney World

M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E.
I'll admit it: I was a little skeptical when Phil brought up the possibility of a long weekend in Florida, to be spent entirely at Disney World. Images of screaming children, long lines, and fried foods kept creeping into my head. But I went - his father had just had a birthday and, as he would be in Florida already for a conference, had decided to check out mouse headquarters. We would fly down and surprise him there to celebrate. And that sounded like fun.

Friday night we boarded a red-eye (a connecting flight at that!) and finally arrived in Orlando around 9:30am. Luckily, the Disney "magic" started immediately. We literally walked off the plane, out of security, and to the Disney counter. They took our baggage claim stickers, put us on a bus, and took us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we had reservations. It was too early for check-in, but we were still given keys (which also serve as credit cards) and general information. We hopped on a bus to the Animal Kingdom, where we spent the nice few hours. On the bus return, we called to get our room number (negating the need to stand in line at checkin again) and upon arrival, our bags were patiently waiting for us, already in the room. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was to not have to deal with baggage claim, especially after such a long flight.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge was gorgeous, with high ceilings, a huge and open great room, fire pits along one side, and beautiful decorations.

Spending Saturday at the Animal Kingdom park was perfect - Phil's parents were already there, and it's on the smaller size (great for when you're exhausted from flying all night.) We walked around, especially within Asia and Africa, checking out the Tree of Life, a tour with the Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Expedition Everest.

We also ate lunch, where I was pleased to find out that Disney serves food that's above the standard amusement park fare. Turkey wraps, carrot sticks, grapes, and tomato salad were all in that first meal - and the options we found there were indicative of the menus across Disney. Yum!

Of course, we also met up with Phil's parents and were able to surprise his father (who did not know we were going to be there.) It was wonderful.

For dinner that night, we ate at the Lodge while catching up with his parents, and then woke early on Sunday to visit Epcot. Arriving early at the park was the best way to avoid lines: between 9am and 10am, you could easily do 2-3 rides, whereas a few hours later, you'd be lucky to get one ride in. So that's what we did - the four of us walked in as the park opened and immediately raced for the popular rides in Future World.

That morning we were able to ride/see Test Track, Soarin', Mission Space, "Honey, I shrunk the audience", and even the Seas w/ Nemo and Friends! We also went on the Spaceship Earth ride, which showed just how far rides have come in the last few decades.

We spent the afternoon walking around the World Showcase, checking out the different country exhibits and rating them. We began with Norway's ride Maelstrom - where visitors board a Viking-style boat and travel along in a convulated story with trolls and fjords. Afterwards, there is a film about Norway. Perhaps if the film had been wonderful, the ride would have appeared folksy and quaint, but instead the film jerked around from one scene to the next in an "artistic" but not quite successful fashion.

China, our next stop, had an amazingly intricit building, which lead into a 360 degree movie room. Here a Circle-Vision film about the county was shown, and although the film might have been older, you would have never known it. We left wanting to visit China! This was probably one of the most successful exhibits, and later that evening we also caught Chinese acrobats performing outside.

We continued around the World Showcase Lagoon, checking out most countries as we went past, eating (and watching belly-dancing) in Morocco, and watching Canada's Circle Vision film as well. If you think Canada has a lot of birds, does not contain Quebec, and is sort of "off", then this is the movie for you! After we had been around the lagoon once, Phil's parents left for the Magic Kingdom, while Phil and I went back to see Mexico, drink wine in Italy, and stroll around Paris. We had a great time, and visiting Epcot was definately one of the highlights of my trip.

When you stay inside the Disney park, you qualify for extended magic hours; even though it was almost 9pm, we left Epcot and headed to the Magic Kingdom (against traffic - yay!) The two of us met Phil's parents there, grabbed a bite to eat, and hit up the rides we were interested in: Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, and - of course - Space Mountain and "it's a small world." We all had fond memories of riding Space Mountain years ago, although I must admit it's gotten a little less scary over time. ;o)

On Monday, we awoke early and headed to Disney / MGM studios for our last day. Although the rides in all the parks were good, especially because Disney really nails the immersive details, I liked the rides here the best. The Rock 'n' Roll roller coaster and the Tower of Terror were the most adreneline pumping (which I love), and we also had fun on the "One Man's Dream" tour, the voyage of the little mermaid, Star Tours, and Phil's favorite, Muppet Vision 3D. The only disappointments were the Narnia journey (thrown together and more of a trailer than anything else) and the Great Movie Ride, the latter only an issue because our guide had a slightly screetchy voice.

As we were leaving, a parade of characters began floating by, motivating us to stop and watch. That night, we ate dinner at the Lodge again, which was a wonderful way to end the trip. Such fun!

New camera

I finally bought a digital SLR! After months of pining away (and drooling every time my coworker Eugene came in with yet another amazing photo,) I broke down after the holidays, found a good price, and plugged in my credit card number.

And now I am the proud owner of a Canon 350D (otherwise known as the digital rebel xt.)

Two initial observations:

1. It's a good thing I initially deceived myself into thinking the camera would be the big purchase, because this could be just the beginning of a love that threatens to suck every last penny out of my bank account. No, the camera isn't cheap. But that pales in comparison to the sum of the accessories I'll ultimately want: a wide-angle lens, polarizer, macro lens, extra batteries and CF cards, carrying case, cleaning kit... oh, and a new computer to digitally edit the images on.

2. My cats probably already hate this new toy. Why? Because they are the perfect models for me to practice on. "Oh, isn't Clark cute when he sleeps like that?" Click, click. Flash of light. "Wait, let me try it this way!" Another click, another flash. Don't get me wrong - I feel little guilt. The boy gets to (and does) sleep a good 80% of the day. But I'm sure they'll grow weary of having a big black box shoved in front of their face only to be blinded by the light that it emits next. In fact, Clark already is learning to close his eyes when he hears the camera auto-focus...

Maui - part 2 - relaxing on the beach

After our three day trek through Haleakala, we drove across Maui island to Ka'anapali Beach in Lahaina. The weather was beautiful: sunny, clear, and warm. Our resort, the ResortQuest Ka'anapali Shores, turned out to be even better than expected, and we were given room 249, a one-bedroom, one-bath which rivaled my apartment in Seattle for square footage. It had a nice kitchen, king bed, and deck facing the "garden" (otherwise known as a pretty footbridge, trees, and pool.)

That evening we purchased some groceries and crashed early. We spent Wednesday on the beach and by the pool, resting both legs and eyes, and drove that night into Lahaina. Just south of Ka'anapali, Lahaina has a beautiful and completely fascinating banyan tree (and many stores and restaurants.)

Originally, we had planned to go snorkeling Thursday, but high winds and a small craft warning led to the cancellation of the trip. Since we were up early, we decided to drive to Hana. The Road to Hana is famous: it's over 30 miles each way, windy, and full of one-way sections and bridges. Expedia (who was all over our hotel, but not in an annoying way) had a free CD we borrowed for a "guided" tour.

Unfortunately, it rained. Now, I've heard it always rains on the way to Hana - you're practically driving through a rain forest - but when I say it rained, I mean it poured! We could not step out of the car without getting soaking wet, and puddles formed along the road.

It was also chilly, and between the rain, the mud puddles and the brrr factor, we decided to skip the side hikes you can take along the way. At the same time, it was still beautiful to drive along and take the occassional road detour.

After arriving in Hana, we had lunch and the weather cleared a little. I was hoping to continue to the Oheo Gulch (Kipahulu) section of the Haleakala National Park, but that area was closed in October due to an earthquake and heavy rains and has yet to reopen.

By the time we arrived home that night, I was sick of driving! We had a pleasant dinner at the resort restaurant and sat on the balcony drinking wine and listening to the many birds chattering away outside.

Friday, we took a long walk along the beach, down to the Black Rock area. It was still windy, but the sun was out in between the occassional cloud. Ka'anapali has a lot of nice resorts - just walking by I liked the Westin the best - but they can be very expensive. I think we hit the jackpot with our place. :o)

Saturday was our last day, and we spent it on a Pacific Whale Foundation snorkel cruise to Molokini and to another site off Maui (the Lanai' part was cancelled due to winds). This was a lot of fun, especially because the boat only was at half capacity (again, due to weather.) However, it was sunny, the water wasn't cold, and we had good visibility. We also were able to glimpse a mother and baby humpback whale pair in the distance (early for the season.) However, I liked the trumpet fish and the green turtle we saw up close the best!

Maui - part 1 - hiking in Haleakala

It was snowing in Seattle a few weeks ago: some freak weather pattern left the city in an icy grip. I was freezing, cars were crashing, and no one could believe it was only November. And then Phil and I went away to Maui. The sunny, warm, tropical Hawaiian island at first had been a quick substitute for the Chile trip we lacked the time for. But with the snow and ice in Seattle, it dawned on me how wonderful it would be to get away to the sun, to the beach, and the mountains (yes, unlike normal people, we went backpacking on Maui.)

Our trip began with a lot of rain. After flying into Kahului airport, we picked up our rental car and tried to navigate to Peace of Maui in Hali'imaile (our lodging for the night) and ended up detouring around lakes of water that had formed in the streets due to heavy rains. Luckily, the puddles disappeared quickly, and we spent the night relaxing before our three day, two night camping trip in Haleakala National Park. Peace of Maui was comfortable and surprisingly pleasant for the cost ($60!), and the owner kindly allowed us to store our luggage at the house instead of leaving it in the car while we were hiking.

Sunday we drove up Crater Road and entered Haleakala National Park. Haleakala means "house of the sun" - legend has it that the demi-god Maui climbed to the 10'k summit of the dormant volcano, snared the sun with a lasso, and negotiated a longer day before releasing it. We checked in and convinced a really nice German couple to help us to the top, so that we could leave the car where we would exit the trail. The summit was chilly - luckily it wasn't raining, but it was completely overcast.

We began hiking along the Sliding Sands trail: from the Keonehe'ehe'e Trailhead we walked 9.2 miles to Paliku, our camp for the night. Because we were a little late starting out, we didn't stop much, and completed the hike in about 4 hours. It is almost completely downhill, which makes it easier, however the ground is sandy and gives your muscles a good workout. The hike begins "on the moon"... or at least it feels that way. As far as the eye can see, there is a base of grey-black sand; streaks of copper sand sometimes snake through the floor, metallic rocks catch the light, and occasionally a plant grows (from what I do not know.)

After about 3 miles, life gradually unfolds: plants appear together, hues of orange, rust, and green enter, and we see birds and a few bees. (It was about this time that we passed The Kapalaoa campground and stopped for a quick meal.) Towards Paliku, plants become more and more abundant, until we notice we're now walking through what feels best described as a prarie.

When the 9 miles were finally up, our calves were relieved. The cabin we've reserved through the National Park is situated just under a towering cliff. The cabin itself is convenient: our tent, a stove, and other misc gear stayed in Seattle; provided are both wood and gas stoves, bunk beds, "mattress" pads, an outhouse already equipped with toilet paper, and even soap. Paliku was a bit dirty, but the ease and comfort of staying in a cabin greatly outweighed any negatives.

We awoke early, made granola for breakfast, and packed and cleaned up. Nene were hovering just outside the door, but we were already aware not to feed the nene! Nene are endangered birds that sound a lot like calfs. I swear!

The next day, we had a 6.3 mile hike to Holua cabin. Unlike most of our hiking trips, our quad muscles weren't sore, but our calves were. This was Monday: it was sunny and warm (I finally felt like I was in Hawaii!) We backtracked the first mile, and then veered off onto the Halemau'u Trail. As we bore west, we gradually gained altitude (a few hundred feet) and lost the lush green flora. By halfway, the trail was beginning to resemble the rock and cinder of the crater once more. Check out the photo of Phil (to the left) and compare it with the photo of the trail about two hours later (below right.)

We continued hiking, past Kawilinau, a 65' deep fissure. Once known as the Bottomless Pit and believed to only end at the ocean, the park service has since measured the hole and now uses its original Hawaiian name. Unfortunately, the drop itself is fenced off.

Just afterwards is Pele's Paint Pot, where a mix of reds, oranges, and golds color the slope of a cinder cone.

Only a mile from Holua is the silversword loop. With almost no appreciable gain in distance, it's a no-brainer to take the loop. Silversword are beautiful plants with narrow, silvery leaves; now protected, they are endemic to Hawaii and appear throughout the park. They flower only once in their lifetimes and then die: we saw only a few actually in this state, but many post-flowering.

After completing the loop, we easily trekked the rest of the way to the cabin at Holua. About a dozen German tourists were lunching there, the most people we had seen in the park so far. (We barely saw anyone else unless we were very close to a trailhead.)

Holua cabin was similarly equipped as Paliku, but much cleaner. We arrived about 1pm, allowing a lot of time to unpack, relax, and play cards before the sun went down. It also allowed the Nene a lot of time to (unsuccessfully) beg for food from us. That night, there was a bright, full moon that we could see from the bunks.

Tuesday morning, we woke up just before sunrise, and watched the sky change while drinking hot cocoa (warm inside the cabin.) Although it was cold, as soon as the sun hit, everything (including us - yay) heated up. We cleaned up, packed up, and headed out. This was our final day: we had a 3.7 mile hike to the Halemau'u trailhead, mostly uphill, but not too bad.

We started out flat, but about a mile from the cabin the trail passes through a ranch gate and begins to climb. A series of switchbacks works its way to the rim of the crater, a thousand feet above.

Although it was hot, it didn't take too long, and we finished with tired, but happy feet.

Chicago

Phil and I flew to Chicago for a long weekend to attend his good friend's wedding. Since I had never been to Chicago before, this was pretty exciting.

Although we skipped the architectural tour due to rain, we had fun walking around the city, checking out the waterfront, Millennium Park, and walking the Magnificent Mile. One evening we went up to the Signature Room, atop the John Hancock Center, for drinks and dessert (and of course to check out the view from the 96th floor!)