Boreal Snow Day

After the last super-wet-and-windy trip, we expect when the cloud leaves it will leave fresh powder.  The weather predicts a cloudy day on Saturday so we made plan to go up on Friday evening.

Searching for hotel, I ended up pick one that is all the way at Sierra Woods Lodge in Emigrant Gap. The place was really nice.

But there was a spin-out while driving up there and it held the traffic for about 3 hours, from 7pm-10pm. We actually left early I took the wrong turn and ended up at 50 instead of 80, and we broke for dinner. We actually took highway 20 just out of fun and could have bypassed the place where the accident was. But the person directly the traffic told us that we cannot go thorugh, so we had to turn back and wait in the traffic. Based on the map, I think he was wrong though.

The next day we had breakfast at the Rustic Table Restaurant next door.  The price is actually reasonable, and the breakfast burrito was huge.  The serving was a bit slow, maybe because we were the first customer walking into the door.

We hit some more traffic but was able to get to Boreal around 9:30am and immediately hit the slope.

The snow and the weather was perfect.  Sun in the sky, with 11-inch recent powder, including 3 inches from last night.  We even hit trails that are still covered by fresh snow.

The way back was really bad traffic.  We stopped at Roseville for dinner at The Place. They don't take walk-ins but they allowed us order food at the bar table.  The artichoke heart I had was really interesting.

We got home after 10pm.

Blog Action Day

http://blogactionday.org/

Something hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4SDQu7Izrk

And something useful:

• http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/energy-environment-2007/environmental_myths_a1.asp?caret=3a
• http://blog.guidewire.com/blog/marcusryu/archives/2007/10/more_important.html
  

Seventeen-Mile Drive

With my in-laws in town help taking care of the mother-to-be, we decided to re-visit seventeen-mile drive, hoping for a better weather. I also wanted to take a photo of each vista point for this blog. As you can soon see, the weather turned out to be as cloudy as this place usually is, and so I just took some shots for this trip.

Shepherd's Knoll is the first place if you follow the direction. You are supposed to see all the way into the Monterey Bay and mountains on the other side of the bay.










Huckleberry Hill is really nice to go in and just walk around. You don't really feel that you are on top of the hill because of the bushes.



























Because of the cloud, we skipped directly to the ones by the ocean, starting with Spanish Bay. When we visited last time, there was a big dog running loose on the beach and loved to play catch.










The ocean is always like this at Spanish Bay, sometimes we wonder why there were never surfers. My guess is that $9 entrance fee.











Restless Sea. It is said that the sea looks restless because that the rocks in the water breaks the waves early.











Bird Rock. It is said that the birds are here for fertilization. Sometimes you can even hear the sound of the sea lions.











They are all over the places begging for food. Cute eh? I think they do get a lot of food because man are they overweight. On the other hand, I don't really think people are supposed to feed them.









If you google on "Seventeen-Mile Drive", this picture of Lone Cypress is probably what shows up.












Ghost Tree: I wonder what it will feel like to walk around here in the dark.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 7

Last full day on the island, we decided to go for a long walk. After checking the map, we noticed a state park on the other side of the island and decided to go there for a day.

The waterfall sure is beautiful. But I am afraid that is as good as it gets. There are no hiking trails around here and you cannot get to the bottom either. So much for all the preparation we made for the hiking.














We arrived home early than expected so we decide to sit outside and enjoy the sunset one more time.













We figured out how to work with camera to offset the brightness of the sun and took another one, which is even nicer with the shadow of the trees.















Last night on this nice island, we were just relaxing by the ocean, wishing we had one more week to go.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 6

Capt. Cook

We rented a kayak and paddle ourselves to this place, which is only accessible through the water. We also rented snorkel gear and had a lot of fun there. Shane even got a chance to swim right on top of a turtle for about 3 minutes! Too bad our camera was not water-proof so we didn't dare to take it with us.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 5

Heard of green sand beach? There is one on the Big Island. We heard from a co-worker, saw it on the Big Island map, read it on the tour guide.

Instead of going to farmers market to taste all the tropical, exotic, cheap fruits, seeing how macadia nuts are processed, we decided to find this place. so we walked, wanna quit, walked,
saw a lady who did quit, walked more, ready to give up, walked...






There it is! A secluded area with green sand! Not many people know about this place, or they just simply give up for walking about an hour.














The warning sign said precisely that you can't take sand home. What we got out of this? Sun burn, near dehydration, dirty foot, and satification!

Vacation on Big Island, Day 4

We decided to take a little break and stayed in town that day. In the morning, we had an exciting parasailing experience.













In the evening, we went to a Luau up north. Here is the photo that I took when they digging up the cooked meat.














The hightlight of the whole evening would be the this one. These are the shots that I grabbed from the film that I took.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 3

Wash up the dirt and sweat from the volcano exploration, It is time for some water activities.

Pier of Kona coast. Later on, we learned this is a great snorkeling place as well. Actually, you can see some of the tropical fish near the shore without getting wet.









Since neither of us was good swimmers and scuba diving is not an option, we took the submarine tour to get deep into the sea.

The sunk ships always gather lots of fish in the sea.


Later in the afternoon, the boat took us to snorkeling.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 2

View from our condo patio we stayed. June is the rainy season. The sky is crystal clear and blue in the morning, and clouds start to built up in the afternoon, and clear again during the night.











Hawaii Volcano National Park is two hours away from Kona. It is on the east side of the island.

Our goal for the day is to hike to where that "big hole" is.










Lava tube cave is where fluid lava has flown over the surface. This is the largest and most vertically extensive lava tube in the world. Only a small portion of this lava tube has been developed for tourist. With a flashlight and some snacks, you can start an advantage and explore the remaining on your own. Too bad we didn't bring our flashlight which is safely packed in our suitcase.













1920's lava. Pile of rocks indicate directions. Without them, we won't know where we are going in some cases.

There were not many foot traffic on the lava and in the rain forest. Most of the sightseeing areas are accessible via car.

Vacation on Big Island, Day 1

From June 3rd to June 10th, we went to Big Island, Hawaii for a week long vacation. Big island, as stated in its name, is the biggest island in Hawaii, and still growing in size.

We arrived in the afternoon, and this is the Kona airport. Later on, we learned that there is at least three airport on the Big Island.

It is pretty unique how the waiting areas are constructed. With the tent like buildings with open end, palm trees and exotic flowers, we feel like stepping into a tribal environment. Well, ignore the big airplane and the noises of course.








Once we settled in our condo, we enjoyed delicious Hawaiian BBQ and smooth Macadamia Martini with the ocean view, and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

See the Lei we bought in the airport, only costs $4. The aromatic scent of the lei is bit strong for Lianxin though.

Castle Rock Hiking

Castle Rock is one of our favorite state parks around Santa Cruze Mountain area. Even though it is an hour away from where we live, we still manage to visit it from time to time.


Saratoga Gap trial has a good mix of features. We enjoy the view of mixed evergreens and redwood forest and the breezy air around us.















A breath taking view of the endless Santa Cruz mountains.










There are many rock formations in the park. The caves and pockets are carved due to the weather.














Along the trail, you get to climb some rocky slopes, which are fun as well



















Wildflowers are everywhere. We believe this one is a family of orchid.

Luo Dai Village

During the labor day holiday, I went and visited my father in Chengdu. Two of us took a day and visited a little Hakka village close to Chengdu.

The Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of "Han" in China with very interesting history. You will find more information about them simply by searching "Hakka" on line. This village, Luo Da, is one of the Hakka settlement in Sichuan province.

After over two hours trip, we were a bit tired and not yet ready to dive into the crowd again. So we find a nice place on top of the little hill facing the town and enjoyed some tea, fruit, along with the nice scene and breeze.










We even took a walk up the hill and visited the other side













OK, now let's get to the crowded street to see what this town is all about.













The Hakkas treat written words as something sacred, to the extend that any paper with words written on it should not be handled carelessly. So here is the tower where all the paper with words being destroyed, by burning.

















Lunch time, as usual, we went for something unusual. Each bow cost about 1 to 2 yuan (one quarter), and each person orders at least two of them. Because of such popular demands, you have to carry all the bowls out ourselves. It is amazing that no one tipped it over and made a mess during the time that we were there.









There were so many customers that the restaurant ran out of tables.