We’re leaving our heart in San Francisco

Posted on Sep 30, 2012 in Travel

We had a very busy day exploring San Francisco. Up early and on a bus all day viewing all the great areas and neighborhoods of the city by the bay. Tomorrow, its back to San Diego. I can say we definitely made the most of our time. 1,500 miles and more than 10 cities visited and hundreds of cool photos. That’s how you do a road trip and this one has been awesome.

The Palace of Fine Arts is a beautiful place and the most used place for Wedding Photographs in the Bay Area. You can see why. It was originally built as a temporary structure but later made permanent.

Outside of the Science Center in Downtown, Rinnie relaxes.

This is Alamo Park. At sunset the views of the city are incredible.

Rinnie at first thought the Haight Ashbury District was cool, but then the hippies and druggies started to get on her nerves.

We’ve been watching this guy play for years. He used to be on the Wharf, but now he is the Haight.

There is alot of angry people in the Haight Ashbury even though they put these peace and love signs everywhere. I find the place a bit hostile. This is a nice picture of Rinnie in one of the signs.

Tu is in the Rainbow.

Check out the Rinniebow

Golden Gate Park. What a beautiful place.

This was our home for the day- the Big Red Bus. This is the way to see the city.

Tu outside the science center.

Here is Rinnie posing in front of a big red sign.

At the Golden Gate Bridge it was completely fogged in, so we spent our time there taking other pictures.

A brief bit of sun burns off the fog so we could get this picture of Rinnie.

Tu posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jump Tu, at the Palace of Fine Arts

Tu walking up something that would appear to be stairs but they are planters. It was pretty scary up there.

Rinnie makes a wish.

Brrr.. it was so cold but we finally made it back to the hotel and warmed ourself by the fire.

In a tree, through a tree to Frisco

Posted on Sep 29, 2012 in Travel

Many hours of driving through Redwood Forest and windy roads and we finally made our way to San Francisco. On the way down, I got a text message that told me that the business meeting that was scheduled for two weeks from now in Ohio had been pushed up to Tuesday which meant that I had to be back in San Diego soon to pack for that trip. Well, the trip will be coming to an end soon but it was well worth it and we saw so much for only traveling for a single week. It’s not over yet. In fact our biggest adventures await us in San Francisco.

During the drive down the 101 we were amazed at the mile after mile of super tall Redwood Trees that lined the road. Every so often there were scenic turnouts and alternative short scenic drives that you could take of the freeway. We took advantage of them and found a desolate stretch of road that the sun shone through the high trees. One of the trees was hollowed out a bit in the middle so Rinnie stepped in side. It was amazing. On another scenic turnout we found another oddity – a Redwood tree that was tunneled through so you could drive through it. Now the tunnel was not big enough for modern cars – it didn’t seem like a great idea to try to get the SUV through it but Tu tried anyway. Well we didn’t quite make it through but that was alright – it was cool anyway.

One of the best parts of coming to San Francisco was that Suzy and Kenna came into the city to see us. We had such a great time and Suzy even drove us down Lombard Street – The most crooked street in the world. The night was foggy and windy and so every time we left the car we had to run back to it to get warm. San Francisco was supposed to be warm according to the weather but that just didn’t happen. Anyway, what a great day in Frisco.

Avenue of the Giants. These RedWood Trees are so big that Rinnie was able to crawl inside one for this picture.

Tu takes the car directly through a Giant Redwood. Wow.

We arrived. Here we are on the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fisherman’s Wharf for Crab was our first stop in the city.

This guy has a pot of boiling fresh San Francisco Crab and he would be happy to sort one out for you. Just say the word and you will have some fresh hot crab on your plate.

Rinnie at Fisherman’s Wharf. All bundled up like a fisherman.

Rinnie shows us her awesome photos.

Let’s get some Ice Cream. Tu and Rinnie love Ice Cream.

Rinnie stand in front of the Golden Gate. She was surprised that it was Red since it’s called Golden Gate.

Tu and Rinnie’s classic shot. Here they are now in front of the Golden Gate.

Bubbles. Bubbles everywhere!

Picture window at Pier 39.

The wallpaper in our hotel is quite bright.

Fog City Diner with Suzy. The food here is so good. We loved it.

There they are. Suzy and Kenna. Thanks for making the long drive to see us.

The gals are looking good.

This is quite a fancy Vietnamese Sandwich place that we found.

Tu looking cute as always in the hotel lobby.

Rinnie. Table for one at the Fog City Diner.

Traveling the Oregon Coast

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 in Travel

I got up at 7am and looked outside the hotel curtains. We were in Coos Bay and the fog covered the bay and all around our hotel. I decided to take a little walk. It was freezing and beautiful as I walked around the bay. The town I discovered is where Tug Boats are manufactured. I passed by lots of tug boats and factories as the sun started to burn off the fog. It was a great morning and I managed to get some nice photos of the beautiful bay.

When Tu and Rinnie woke up later in the morning, we hopped in rental car and hit the road for a long day of driving and beautiful scenery. We saw Coos Bay, Bandon Beach, Redwood National Park and lots of things in between. We ended up in Eureka California (a small Gold mining town) that appears to have been built up in the 1800’s during the California gold rush. We’re staying at the beautiful Red Lion Inn again – that’s two nights in a row.

So we’ve made it through two states and are back in California. We’ve seen some amazing things along the way. If all goes well, tomorrow we will be in San Francisco to show Rinnie the city by the Bay.

The morning tradition, coffee and planning our day. Rinnie drank a coffee that made her stomach hurt later in the day.

I found some really cool tug boats and other boats around Coos Bay. The fog was lifting by the time I took this shot.

Coos Bay is quite large and there are many docks that line the bay. Turn after turn we ran into beautiful scenes along this wonderful Oregon Coastline.

Tu, relaxing on a beautiful beach that we found right off the freeway. There was no one on this gorgeous secluded beach.

Coos Bay is a place that harvest millions of oysters it appears. There were tons and tons of empty oyster shells near factories. We wandered in these mountains of shells. It was quite crazy how many there were.

We ended up in Bandon Beach and found the cutest Fish Place right off the Jetty. We ordered clam chowder and crab sandwiches. What a wonderful little place it was and the food was incredible.

Bandon Beach Oregon has one of the most iconic lighthouses in the world. We found the lighthouse and it was just gorgeous. It must get very windy here.

Rinnie is bundled up. She was freezing but she loves the cold weather. She loves to be cold.

The 101. It’s been our home for the last couple of days.

Rinnie and Tu having fun on the Oregon Coastline.

So free. Jumping to the sun.

Rinnie, sitting in front of a massive rock on the beach.

Hello Redwood Forest.

These trees are hundreds of years old. We could not believe how big they were.

Goodbye Earth, Hello Portland

Posted on Sep 27, 2012 in Travel

Portland is a great, if not extremely quirky city. When you spend a couple of days in Portland (Downtown) you realize a few things: a) everyone seems to ride bikes, b) everyone is asking you for change and c) there is a Starbucks literally on every corner. This is a coffee culture in Portland and we could not count the number of Starbucks that we saw while walking around the city.

The morning started off quite cold (probably less than 5o degrees as a heavy cloud bank seemed to hang over the city. By the afternoon however, the clouds had lifted and it was sunny and over 75 degrees. We left the hotel in jackets and by the afternoon we were in T-Shirts. We spent the morning and afternoon cruising around downtown trying out the awesome food in many of the food trucks that are stationed in sites around the city. Portland is unusual since they gather all their food trucks and put them in parking lots throughout the city. I think that Portland must have the most food trucks per-capita of any major city in the US.

We spent the early afternoon in one of the most beautiful Japanese Gardens I have ever seen and that includes in my travels to Japan. The Portland Japanese Garden is a must see and it is the most authentic Japanese style garden in the US (maybe the world – outside of Japan.)

We spent the late afternoon and early evening making the long, long, long drive from Portland down to the beautiful coast of Oregon – Coos Bay. The trip was pretty incredible and we passed through very remote towns including 1 ghost town that was quite scary. We even saw Elk that were wandering around a reserve. It was quite a remarkable and beautiful drive. Tomorrow we will make our way down the Oregon coastline and end up somewhere in California. Where we go remains to be seen but we will be somewhere by this time tomorrow.

Wake up and you’re in Portland. Rinnie stops off at Starbucks to get a Chocolate Smoothie – that is what she calls it but it is officially called a Frapacino.

Tu holds up a picture taken the day before in Seattle. Trying to plan out the day and reviewing what we did the day prior over morning coffee at Starbucks.

First stop is the Japanese Garden. How do you get there? Well just ask your Iphone 5 and Siri gives you driving directions. She usually tells you that you are pretty close too.

It’s 10 am and Tu and Rinnie are hungry so they went to get Hot Thai Yum Sum soup and Hot Fried Rice. The food trucks in Portland are amazing and you can get everything. It’s a really great city for food.

Eat up ladies. It’s going to be a long day.

Rinnie relaxing on a bench in Portland while traffic whizzes by. Portland is a pretty relaxed city where most people take public transport or ride bikes.

We stayed in the beautiful Benson Hotel in Downtown Portland. As you can see it is old and historic. We got the place on Priceline for $100. Priceline is great and this hotel was really cool.

Rinnie sits like Royalty on the beautiful coaches in the lobby of the Benson Hotel. Later pictures in the blog will reveal a less than regal “jumping on the beds” and wrecking the hotel room.

Rinnie and Tu practice their synchronized bed ballet. They nailed it.

We did not jump in this picture, we were levitating above the beds. It was incredible.

The Japanese Tea Gardens were tranquil and just the place we needed to capture some natural beauty after all the driving. This place was so peaceful.

A leaf on the eye and searching for truth deep within the soul. Did she find it?

Hello Kung Fu Panda Express

Awesome day in Seattle, now on to Portlandia

Posted on Sep 26, 2012 in Travel

Another long day of travel and fun. We started at 7pm and finally ended up in our hotel in Portland by 9 pm. The drive from Seattle to Portland is about 3 hours and we hit the road after spending a full day taking in the best of Seattle. The only downer of the day was that I dropped and broke my favorite 85mm lens. Well that’s what happens when you use your lenses and camera almost everyday – you’re bound to break some equipment.

This is Seattle from the top of the Space Needle. This is the highest and one of the most beautiful points in Seattle.

Tu is relaxing at a place called Kerry Park. There are beautiful homes in this area that have an awesome view of downtown Seattle.

Tu and Rinnie relax on the grass in front of the Space Needle.

Tu and Rinnie in the Space Needle with the Seattle skyline in the back.

Tu and Rinnie at the Glass Museum Park

Tu inside the glass museum with the Space Needle in the background.

Rinnie and Tu is front of some fine art work.

Tu is flying like a space ship in front of the Space Needle.

Rinnie took this great shot of Tu and I. Thanks Rinnie.

We took a tour of Underground Seattle. This is one of the urban caves we were in.

Rinnie poses in front of more murals and wall art.

Rinnie exploring the urban caves. They were kind of spooky, but interesting.

Rinnie being artistic.

We’re in Seattle

Posted on Sep 25, 2012 in Travel

Day 1 of the West Coast Road Trip kicked off. On Saturday, we decided to hop on a plane to Seattle, rent a car and then head down the entire west coast catching most of the major cities along the way. It will take about 1,500 miles of driving to accomplish in the next few days but we are determined to carry out the little adventure and show Rinnie a good time while she is here in the US. We got to Seattle about 3pm and checked out the mandatory places like Pikes Place market and explored the long harbor and waterways.

Seattle is a pretty nice city, almost the complete polar opposite of San Diego in some ways but in many ways similar – two smaller US cities with younger populations and a laid back lifestyle. I think Seattle is a great city and what a way to kick off your road trip. Tomorrow we finish exploring and then we are off to Portland Oregon.

Can you go to Seattle without seeing the first Starbucks Coffee ever? I think not, and that is why we came here right away.

This hideous but beautiful looking wall is all gum. It’s called the gum wall and it is located right beneath Pikes Market. The wall is covered with people’s left over chewing gum.