Mt. Hamilton

My husband and I drove up to the observatory on Mt. Hamilton and took a few photos before being shooed out by the nasty old security guard there.

Puerto Rico - Day 2

When I awoke the next morning, one of the first things I thought of was the argument from the previous night. I wondered if he did complain to the inn's owner, but why dwell on such things?! I was Puerto Rico! Forget about that asshole! Have fun!!

After enjoying our complimentary breakfast, we were ready for the day's activities. What first? To the grocery store for snacks and beverages! As we pulled out onto the main road, we were greeted with a blatant reminder that we were in a rural place. Roaming the narrow road were horses! Three of them! They weren't startled by our vehicle and were used to grazing alongside the road. We drove by slowly and snapped a few pics as a reminder...


After that, we wanted to check out the beaches. Many of Vieques' beaches are named by color, for example, Red Beach, Green Beach, Blue Beach, etc. This was the US Military's doing. I don't know why they couldn't come up with more creative names, but whatever, that's what was on the maps. According to our research, there were a couple of beaches that deserve a visit, so of course we seeked them out. Frommer's suggested a secret gem of a beach so we checked it out. Disappointing.


After driving around and stopping at several places to see if we've come to the correct destination (another Frommer's recommendation), we finally made the right turn and arrived at Red(?) Beach.


This beach, one of their nicest, was alright. There was one thing I liked about it; it was secluded. I guess I've just been spoiled by the beaches of Thailand (specifically Similan Islands), but it wasn't really what I would expect from a Caribbean island. The sand was coarse and strewn with seaweed/kelp, the water was cold, and skies overcast. Of course you make do with what you have right? We plopped our stuff down on a smooth spot of sand and just... relaxed. There was a lot of talking, listening to music, picture taking, reading, a bit of drinking and some exploring. Nice and relaxing.


After about a couple of hours, it was time to head back. We had a busy evening ahead of us.

I'm pretty sure we had lunch, but don't remember where...

Oh yeah, and we received a note from the staff asking us to respect other guests while using the pool. Pft!

Anyway! An adventure was awaiting. We had booked a tour to first go kayaking through mangroves and then check out a unique and magnificent spot, Mosquito Bay. After meeting up with our tour guide Tom, a white guy with a blond ponytail, a slight surfer accent, and really cut shoulders, we were led to a hidden opening where we would board our kayaks and unknowingly start the extreme workout that was in tow for us. I paired up with my older sister, while my friend and little sis shared a kayak.

Off we went. We rowed along a wall of mangroves on our left and the open bay on our right. Mangroves are beautiful and creepy. Their sturdy roots grow above the water, many times intertwined with each other, and are topped with a headful of little green leaves.

I've gone kayaking numerous times, but never have I ever had to exert so much energy! Paddling through the mangroves should be relaxing and tireless, but it becomes quite frustrating if your paddle gets stuck between the meshed roots in narrow waterways. This happened to me and my sister several times. People in kayaks close by helped us as we tried to maneuver ourselves out of our little pickle. Thank goodness for them!


Those moments were frustrating and tiring, but my energy was completely drained as we rowed out of the mangroves and toward the open sea. Sea water was rushing into the bay as we were rowing out, which made for some grueling rowing. Our guide warned us to stay close to shore, otherwise, you may face the possibility of getting pulled out to sea by the current. But not too close! You may risk getting slammed into the rocks! As we rounded the rocky cliff, we finally saw the beach where we would shore our kayaks. It was so close, but getting there wasn't easy! We would ride the wave in, but then it'd carry us out. This called for some mean paddling, my friends. Finally! The base of our kayak hit sand, we clambered out, and trudged our way onto the fine sandy beach. My arms felt like jell-o, and I was hung-gry! After all the kayaks were beached, Tom served us our meal, vegetarian pasta salad. He hacked open a coconut and we all took sips from it. That was good to tie me over, but I needed more food. We all hung out for a bit and watched the skies change to hues of pinks and purples. It was a beautiful sunset. As the last shades of purple faded into the black skies, each kayaking pair were handed a glow stick. We would use these sticks to guide us to Mosquito Bay.


This particular night was a moonless night, the best conditions to visit Mosquito Bay. It sounds horrible like it's infested with mosquitoes, but it's not. The water here is full of micro-organisms that glow on contact.

Rowing back into the bay was a thousand times easier than rowing out for the current pushed us along. We continued paddling across the now pitch black waters below the pitch black skies, trying to follow the blinking light that was Tom's kayak. We started bumping into other tour groups so knew we were close to our destination. Someone else noticed it first. I heard excited oohs and aaahs from another pair and I look into the water. The environment here is truly breathtaking. As you glide through the water, you can see a trail of tiny little lights following you. Every time you dip your paddle into the water, a splash of lights appear and just as quickly fades away. I dipped my hand into the warm water and cupped a little water in my palm. There was a few sparkles, but soon disappeared.

Tom told us we could swim in the water if we wanted to. Just make sure the kayak is tethered to his. As people started jumping into the water, of course, Mae with curious nature, took that opportunity as well. I was reluctant to go, but with a little coaxing from my little daredevil friend, I slipped off the kayak and into the water. Wow. The water was warm like bath water, and with every little movement, a burst of light would appear and trail off to nothing. I'd lift my arm from the water, and hundreds if not thousands of lights blinked at me. It was magical. Something I could never have imagined, but am so glad I experienced.

Since it was so dark, I wasn't able to take any photos of these incredible moments, but here are a couple from the site where we booked our tour. www.biobay.com These photos weren't manipulated in any way. This is how it actually looks.

After much time enjoying ourselves in the warm glowing waters, it was time to row back to shore. When we got back, we thanked Tom and all of our tour mates for such a wonderful time. Everyone was so nice and helpful. It wasn't only in the mangroves where we encountered some difficulty, but in Mosquito Bay, things got a little hectic as there was so much movement from the people and the kayaks. Some got hit in the head, another fell off... I think my little sister got kicked in the face while trying to help someone who was having trouble getting back into the kayak! It was a little insane.

The four of us climbed back into our car in our soppy clothes. All but Mae. She was smart enough to bring an extra set. By now, it was pretty late. I don't remember if we tried looking for a restaurant that was still open, but I recall not having any dinner that night. The three of them snacked on cookies and chips. I think I had an oreo or two, but they were stale. We were certain we'd be famished the next morning since we haven't had a real meal since that morning. After showering and rinsing out our soiled clothes, we chit-chatted for a while. We even exchanged wardrobe. They got a good laugh out of my wonderfully fashionable water shoes.

World Without End

I just finished reading Ken Follett's "World Without End" sequel to "The Pillars of the Earth". If you have read my mini-review of "Pillars...", you'll know that I absolutely loved that book and gave it 5/5 stars. I'd give its sequel 4.5/5 stars only because of one reason: I think Follett perhaps tried to tie the two books together a little too much. During the first couple hundred pages, I was constantly confused with all the characters, and the introduction of new characters seemed never ending.

So what's this book about? Like Pillars, a great deal of the story revolvs around architecture and the plague outbreak plays a big part later on. And like Pillars, the characters don't bore you. They are good, evil, conflicted, manipulative, ambitious, sexual, violent... Once you get past the insane amount of names mentioned, it's an easy read that you'll look forward to every single day. And when the end is approaching, you'll be sad that your book affair will soon be over...

Backyard Gems

The flowers on our orange tree smell incredible!


Of all of the bulbs we planted in our backyard, this is the first bloom! An iris!

I can't wait until it's full of flowers!! It's incredibly exciting to see something you've given birth to actually grow and blossom!

Earth Day 2010

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Let's make every day an Earth Day, not just one! Remember to conserve, reuse and recycle!!

Fact of the Day: Did you know that less than 2% of plastic bags are recycled?!

Puerto Rico - Day 1

I took a trip to Puerto Rico with my two sisters and a great friend in May 2009, nearly a year ago, but never recounted our days there and am beginning to regret it. I've forgotten soooo much, but I'll do my best to remember. Here goes!

Day 1
We all hopped on a plane from SFO to Puerto Rico's capital, San Juan. Directly from the airport, we boarded a taxi to the Fajardo station to get to our final destination, Vieques, a small island just short of an hour's ride by ferry. I think it was a holiday or something, so there were fewer ferries running that day. Our wait at the station was several hours long and we were all left with nothing to do. A couple of us flipped through magazines, some slept, and my little sister Sandy guarded her phone by the power outlet for most of the time. Why? I really don't know!

People finally started arriving, and rows of plastic chairs started filling up. From this station, you can catch ferries to the two eastern islands of Puerto Rico, Vieques and Cullebra. They both seem to be fun, beachy, party islands because many of the locals carried large ice chests and bags of food with them. They seemed to be able to keep themselves occupied while the four of us continued to flip through mags and just chit chat. Finally, after several hours from our initial arrival, the ticket booth opened and a large crowd gathered in front to purchase tickets. The ferry arrived shortly after, but the wait continued as those passengers debarked. At last, we got on the ferry and were on our way to tropical paradise.

Upon arrival, we got into a taxi and were joined by a bunch of other travelers wanting to get dropped off at their final destinations. We were the last ones to get off, so we got a good taste of what the island looked like. Vieques didn't look like what I would expect. I didn't know what to expect really, but what I saw took me aback a little. This is a rather small island with about 10,000 inhabitants. The inner city areas are lined with small colorful houses, many of the streets barely wide enough for two-way traffic and littered with garbage. Around plazas, there are usually larger buildings, probably libraries and government buildings, designed with a Spanish influence. As we rode through the island, the sight of buildings were being replaced by lush vegetation. We were getting closer to our hotel.

After many hours of transport and waiting, we finally arrived at Hacienda Tamarindo, one of the only upscale accommodations in Vieques. This property is very quaint, with iron barred windows, round arches, palm trees, lots of tropical flowers, and a beautiful pool that looked out into the Caribbean Sea. Our room was a one bedroom suite with a pig theme. There were statues of pigs, paintings of pigs, even a pig bench! We also had our private patio area and hammocks close by.


On our first night, we wanted to check out one of Frommer's recommended places, Chez Shack, an outdoor Caribbean BBQ restaurant with a live band that sat in the middle of the jungle. When we finally found it, we found out that it was temporarily closed because the chef had quit or something. So we went for another choice on our list, but that was closed because it was getting late! By this time, all four of us were starving so settled on anything that was open. We chose a steakhouse with beautiful outdoor seating. It was a great way to start our trip; eating good food with good company.


After filling our bellies with steak, wine, cheesecake and coffee, we drove back to the hotel via one of the lampless roads winding their way through the jungle. By the time we got back, it was around midnight and because a staff member told us the pool was open 24 hours a day, we decided to go take a dip in the pool.

A few minutes into our pool time, I noticed a man standing at a hotel balcony, a couple hundred yards away. He yelled at us and told us that he's trying to sleep. Oops. All of our laughter and talk died down, and we reverted to whispers. Minutes later, I emerged from the water, and saw a pair of legs standing in front of me. That same man stood there, glaring at us. I don't want to get into the details of the argument, but he basically wanted us to immediately get back into our room, and we wouldn't. Of course we were in the wrong and shouldn't have been out there that late, but he could have been a lot nicer about it! I still hate him, stupid Steve Orwitz. I hope something fairly bad happened to you since then, like you slipped on dog poo and ruined your favorite clothing item. Grrrr... After he left us with threats, we finally went back into our room, pissed. What a way to end our first night on our vacation. I hate Steve Orwitz. We tried to lift the mood a little once in our room by telling dumb jokes. Pretty soon afterward, we said good night hoping our next day will be better.

Yosemite April 2010

My husband and I have been itching to make a trip to Yosemite, so on Saturday, we left before the sun rose and headed to our favorite national park. The waterfalls are beautiful at this time of year, but the crowds is something I prefer not to remember. Here are some memories we came back with.

Bridalveil Falls: The sight was beautiful, but the spray was treacherous. It was freezing!!



We stopped on our way up to Vernal Falls. I saw a huge boulder with a strip of moss running down one side and thought it was so beautiful.


Water from snowmelt making its way down the Merced River.


Lower Yosemite Falls: I've always wanted to hike up to the top of both Lower and Upper Yosemite Falls, but that day wasn't the day for it. No time. So I made do with snapping away at the foot of the lower falls. The spray here was freezing as well, but my hubby bought me a beanie anticipating I'd get another headache from the cold and that made life a thousand times more bearable during those few minutes. Thanks, hubby. :) The amount of water pounding down is shocking and certainly very powerful. I can't even imagine being caught in that current. If you've never been here before, you may not have a good idea how tall this is. There's a little red dot on the middle of the right side. That's a person. Using that as a point of reference, you can get a good idea how wonderful this site is.


And here's a photo of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. They are massive and absolutely breathtaking.


I wish I could experience Yosemite without the crowds, without the cars, without the roads. I wish I could see it in its natural state. I wish I could have experienced what John Muir had experienced. "He was overwhelmed by the landscape, scrambling down steep cliff faces to get a closer look at the waterfalls, whooping and howling at the vistas, jumping tirelessly from flower to flower."*

(Marquis, Amy Leinbach. (Fall 2007.) "A Mountain Calling", National Parks Magazine, retrieved on 23 October 2009.)