Hi! It has been a busy holiday so far (Happy belated Xmas) but I just haven't had much time to update the blog. I thought it might be nice just to include a couple of pics to show you all how things have been going since I got back to Hawaii.
Exhibit A:
Plate lunch from Pearl's. Meat jun, bbq chicken, garlic roast potato salad, shoyu potatoes, long rice and choy sum. Ah, nothing quite beats the food here.
Exhibit B:
I narrowly escaped the wrath of the major storm that has hit California...only to be subject to the constant rain that has hit Hawaii. As a result, I have seen lakes and waterfalls pop up around town that I have never seen before (case in point, the water features pictured above appeared at the Blaisdell Center). At least I am much, much warmer here in the islands!
Anyways, I hope everyone has a lovely holiday season. More pics to come at a later date!
Hello, hello. Firstly, I'd like to thank those of you who contributed to my Movember fund. Though it's debatable whether my facial hair growth improved this year, I did improve on my monetary showing from last year. Thanks to Harrison, Mari, Scott, Claudia & Kurt for your donations. As annoying as that mustache can be sometimes, it's nice knowing that its growth helps in some small way.
Merci!
Anyways, I had the privilege of joining Grant & Co. on a trip to Lake Tahoe to hit the slopes (my first trip in over five years). The rust showed and I have the achy joints and a bruise or two to prove it. I didn't take many pictures but I would like to share a few of the ones I did get.
Grant & I taking a short break after my horrible first run (more like rolling down the hill really) and a couple of runs down some green slopes (with all the kids).
We hit the slopes at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort and despite not getting the big storm some forecasts had predicted, there was plenty of snow and it was plenty cold.
Squaw!
Grant & I in the Squaw Valley village. Despite the light rain and chilly breeze, we braved the outside in order to enjoy a smoothie and toasted bagel by the outdoor fire.
A rough day on the slopes deserves a hearty meal in order to help ease the hunger (and a little bit of the pain). I cooked up course number one, consisting of sauteed veggies (mushrooms, capsicums, onion & courgette) alongside a grilled NY Strip steak. Yum!
Brian & Grant combined forces to cook the second course with homemade macaroni & cheese, roasted potatoes and cornbread. After eating this second plate, I felt pretty damn full!
We stayed at a lovely cabin with plenty of space, high ceilings, a well-equiped (and stocked) kitchen and a chess board (Grant & I won one game each against each other). I apologize for the lack of cabin photos which was due in part to the constant state of clutter which detracted from the photographic appeal. I also apologize for the lack of scenery photos, especially since it was a gorgeous day today (sun & clear, blue skies); a stark contrast to the heavy rain that greeted us on our return to the Bay Area. I'll get some more pics the next time I make it up there to Tahoe. Until then, I'll let my ski injuries heal up nicely! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well. Roll on December!
So, I've finally got a minute to share a few of the pics from my NYC trip a couple weeks ago. Check it out:
I arrived at JFK around 10:30 pm and immediately hopped into a cab headed for Manhattan. After meeting up with Kurt, Traci, Travis & Dorothy at the Fat Buddha, we ended the evening by stopping by the Tuck Shop for Aussie meat pies.
Me, Travis, Traci & Kurt (apologies for the darkness) just before eating our food.
Nothing like a late night (2am) ride in the subway. And, yes I did see a rat in the tunnel.
We ate lunch on my first day in NY here. Oddly, my first two meals in NYC both included meat pies. We headed to Brooklyn to try out Dub Pies, known for their NZ/Aussie style pies.
Amongst those pies we tried: steak & mushroom, steak & cheese, potato top and a sausage roll. Can't quite match the pies I'm used to eating (e.g. Bernie's) but pretty damn good.
After ingesting a bunch of pies, we took a leisurely stroll through Prospect Park (conveniently located next to the pie shop) and enjoyed the lovely weather. I lucked out by being in NYC on a relatively warm weekend!
Grand Army Plaza where we ended our journey through Prospect Park. We even caught the end of a small farmer's market. Very, very cool.
Next up, a subway ride back to Manhattan to cruise around a few of the museums. Here we find ourselves outside the Guggenheim.
And the Guggenheim from within. Beautifully quirky building (Frank Lloyd Wright FTW). As we didn't have too much time, we didn't get to view any of the exhibitions as we headed straight on down the street to the Met.
Temple of Dendur at the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met).
This ipu pic is for you Mum. Ho'o ma kau kau!
Maori tiki also found in the Met's Oceania collection.
Some funky looking furniture in the collection.
Me, Kurt & Traci enjoying our trip to the Met.
Seen in the Modern Art gallery.
Kurt.
More from the Modern Art collection.
Weird. Kurt & I as reflected by Anish Kapoor's mirror. Made of tiny hexagonal mirrors arranged in a concave manner, you get quite a view when you stand at the appropriate distance and gaze upon yourself.
Ah, Monet. One of these days I promise I'll make it to see your work at the l'Orangerie...and Giverny.
We entered in the late afternoon and exited in the early evening in darkness. The façade of the Met looks lovely lit up like so.
Sunday afternoon called for some Dim Sum at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown.
USC represent! Kurt, Travis, Dorothy, Gigi (sorta) & I after eating a ton of yummy food.
And since they ran out of egg tarts at the dim sum place, we walked over to a nearby shop to grab some tasty ones before walking on over to SoHo for a bit of window shopping.
Dorothy & Travis stopped at a cart to pick up some of their favorite nougat.
Dinner at Max Restaurant in Tribeca with Phil, Traci & Kurt. Great Italian food.
What better way to begin the last day of my whirlwind NYC trip than with a stop at the 5th Ave flagship Apple Store!
Followed by a trip to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for some awesomely modern artwork. Van Gogh's Starry Night!
And Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel. Ah, readymades...
Disappointingly, one of the works I wanted most to see, Dali's Persistence of Memory, was loaned out the day I visited. If only I had come a day or two earlier. :-(
Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans kinda started to make me hungry...
And this lovely shot of the center space of the MoMA. Visible at the bottom is a large (though looking relatively small in this pic) Kara Walker work.
Finished off my trip with a quick lunch at Takahachi with Phil & Gigi who both work nearby. You can see Gigi's black cod above and my Katsu don (I copied Phil's order) below. Yummy food, great company.
And finally back to JFK to fly back to the Bay Area. Farewell NYC. Until next time!
I am greatly indebted to those friends I had the opportunity to hang out with during my brief trip to New York. Travis, Dorothy, Gigi, Kurt, Traci & Phil, thanks a bunch and I hope I can see you guys out there again sooner rather than later. After having been away from NYC for over 9 years, I hope my next trip to the area won't require such a long wait!
Just got back from a trip to NYC where I had the privilege of spending time with a great group of friends. Much thanks goes out to Dorothy, Travis, Gigi, Phil, Traci & Kurt for hanging out (and the last three specifically for providing shelter). Enjoy this pic of the Gugggenheim and the clear blue sky behind it until I have a chance to post all the glorious pics from my short vacation.
I spent the weekend on a car camping trip w/Nick & Diana (and friends) to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur (down the California Coast). While the weather looked like it might threaten our enjoyment of the weekend, it actually turned out to be quite pleasant. Observe...
Pretty damn beautiful if you ask me. The vast Pacific Ocean meets the rocky California Coastline. I hope you like these kinds of pictures...
Bixby Bridge built in 1932. Diana in particular wanted to get some photos here.
Nick obliged using his Canon dSLR...
And we also took one together with the Bixby Bridge in the background.
When we finally got to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, we quickly setup camp and went out for a little hike to a lookout. Above, you can see the defining feature of this State Park: a single waterfall spilling out onto the beach and into the ocean. Mother Nature welcomed us to this lovely locale by giving us a bit of sunshine and clear sky. Amazing.
The three of us enjoying a spectacular afternoon in Big Sur.
Another view of the waterfall scene (you can see it a bit more clearly than in the previous picture). The campsites at this park, while not numerous (or visible in this picture), can be found in the wooded area above and behind the waterfall (more specifically, just behind that last clump of trees to the right of the waterfall).
On the trail above our campsite, we had a clear view out to the ocean and, therefore, an unobstructed view of the sunset.
And we took full advantage by lining up to watch the sun sink beneath the horizon with cameras in hand.
You don't get to see these colours quite so vibrantly every day. Wish you could've been here with me.
And, nearly there... Au revoir le soleil.
Our modest campsite in the quickly vanishing twilight.
Dinner time! Grilled corn, sausages and fish balls (Asian!!!) cooking in the fire.
Talking story 'round the campfire: Xiaomin, Shel, Diana, Me & Nick.
Breakfast in the morning! Whole wheat pancakes with flax & blueberries. Nom nom nom.
We did get some rain while we packed up but managed to dodge the heavy stuff (which we encountered during our drive back north). Thanks for inviting me out. I'm definitely hoping to get out camping a bit more often despite the quickly cooling temperatures. If not anytime soon, I always have next spring/summer to look forward to!
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