Sunday, December 16, 2012

Japan-land

September 10, 2012
I left my house early in the morning and headed to Renee and Sean's house in Belingham.  I picked them up and we headed to SeaTac for our flight- which was already delayed before I left home.
We parked and caught the park and fly bus with our 5 suitcases and 6 carry on bags- yikes.  We checked in and headed to the gate- for our 2 hour wait. Renee met some people at the gate who were traveling to Asia from Egypt- expats- making friends along the way.
Eventually we boarded and as luck would have it- I had a free seat next to me.  Thank goodness as 10.5 hours is a long flight!  I watched 2 movies- Safehouse and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  We were served an early dinner and then the blinds were all drawn, as we were flying towards tomorrow we never had darkness.  After a few hours sleep I was awoken to ice cream bars being handed out- weird but okay, I'll have one.  I managed to lie down and get some more zzz's.  Before I knew it breakfast was being served.  An hour later we landed and it was 6:30 Tuesday evening!
We arrived into Narita airport, had to go through customs and we were expecting hustle and bustle when we go there-but it was very quiet.  We sorted out Sean's school papers, organized delivery of his air freight and got him a cel phone.  We then headed to the airport bus limousine and awaited the bus- outside- oh boy it was humid.  The bus arrived and we traveled for 83 minutes on the bus- really not seeing much as it was dark.  We arrived at the hotel Otani and then had to catch a taxi (remember 5 suitcases, 6 carry on bags and 3 of us!). Thank goodness we only had to go about 3km's (820yen's worth), bungee trunked and front seat piled high.  Eventually we arrived at the Jal City hotel at about 10 at night. Exhausted and jet lagged we went to bed.  Wednesday would bring new sites, smells and sounds.




That was the beginning of 9 amazing days in a city I can't wait to return to.  Tokyo had sites to see the likes of which I never new.  We went to Akihabra- Manga crazy and electronics heaven; Harajuku- girls you have the coolest look; Shinjuku (where we stayed) amazing eats and treats; Shibuya temples that were amazing and so much more.  Cannot wait to go back to this amazing city!

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Summer is almost here...

We had a great start to Summer- waaay back in April. We got a ton of yard work done and the gardens look amazing thus far. We even managed to get a few bike rides in and some fun family hikes. Then the craziness that is May and June began. May is busy with getting ready for summer and school stuff coming to an end. June is crazy with year end activities and trying to enjoy each moment of sun (if any)! Plus we have so many family and friend birthdays in June it is crazy. Last weekend we managed to get a great hike in with friends. We caught the ferry over to Bowen Island and did a 3 hour hike/walk around the lake there. We had never been to Bowen so it was a great adventure and fun to be a tourist in our own town.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

So Cal


Saturday morning we left a very soggy Vancouver and headed to Seattle for our flight to LAX! This was the first time we had flown Virgin airlines and it was a great experience. the girls got to sit in the captains seat and see all the buttons which was too cool! Each seat had its own tv and we got to watch tv for the entire flight. Landing in LA the sun was shinning and it was nice and hot. When we arrived at Thrifty car rentals that was not a great experience they were very rude and told us we were stuck with a mini van- this was not going to work for us as we were going to be doing a lot of driving and we needed something small for parking purposes up in Manhatten Beach. After an hour of arguing we had to pay $100 more for a compact Ford Focus! An hour later we headed south to Escondido- we arrived at about 7 checked in then headed in to town for dinner! After driving around for a good 45 mins we eventually found an Applebee's and had a so so dinner! The we went to Von's and stocked up for the week. We eventually got to our condo at about 9:30- we were exhausted!

Sunday
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and decided to spend the day at the pool! The pool at our complex was closed so we headed up to the Boulder Springs clubhouse and the huge pool and water slide up there! The girls were in their element, me too as I got to relax and read my book(Dreams of Joy!)! After a few hours of sun we were crispy. We headed back for lunch and then took a walk up to another clubhouse for ice cream sundaes. Sunday afternoon we chilled, had a BBQ dinner and then some family pool at the kids clubhouse after - what a great start to our holiday.


Monday
Another gorgeous day greeted us, we decided to head to the beach! So we drove to Oceanside and took a long walk on the long pier. It was beautiful, with tons of surfers and at the end of the pier we say a few pods of dolphins- awesome! We then drove south to Carlsbad and lunch time. We had a great lunch at Swamis and the headed down to the beach? It was so nice and warm we all chilled for a bit. Then we decided we needed some retail therapy. The Carlsbad outlet mall was close and off we went. Frank found some good deals but they were missing a lot of good stores. We shopped for a bit and then headed home. After a full day no-one felt like cooking so Pizza Hut it was. Another great fun packed day!

Tuesday
It was a little cloudy today and Frank and I had to attend a timeshare presentations- not sure how we were roped into that. It was too long and they were giving us the hard sell- so we left. The girls int he meantime had a great time at the kids club and had made tons of origami and had a good lunch too. We then drove to Mission Beach and Belmont Park, the girls each got a wristband and went on all the rides. Danica went on the roller coaster about 6 times- she liked it a lot. After a few hours we headed to the soft serve ice cream stand and each had a massive ice cream- yum. Then we took a walk down the beach- it is so nice and relaxing down here. After a few hours in Mission Beach we headed to Point Loma- Karen had told me about this and it was an amazing site to see. All the white crosses in memory of fallen soldiers- truly a site. We could also see all the way to Mexico too- what a great place to visit- too bad we were too late to go to the museum at the point. Then it was home for a pasta dinner.

Wednesday
The sun was out this morning so we decided to have a chill day- we headed up to the pool and spent a few hours there- I discovered the adults only hot tub at the pool and spent a bit in there. The girls had a great time in the massive pool. We had an easy lunch followed by a nap. Then we woke up and had to go to Von's for some food items. Frank dropped me at Ross to do some shopping and headed to the Whole Foods nearby. Coming home we got caught in the traffic and we worried we would due late for the 7pm Illusionist show we had fix too. We dashed in - had a dinner of leftovers and made it in time to the Welk Theatre for the Anthony Hernandez show. It was an impressive show- there were birds and bunnies and ladies cut in half, even an underwater Hodini escape. The girls were mesmerized and got toe meet Anthony after- not bad for a free show.

Thursday
The fog was abound in the morning so we headed to the beach. Our first stop was the wine town of Temecula- a great little town, with lots of antique shopping and wine tasting. I had an olive oil tasting- which was a little weird as they don't use bread- but the oils were delis and I ended up buying a few bottles- will be a challenge to fly home I am sure. After a few hours here we continued on our adventures for the day and stopped at the Mission Lui Del Rey- one of the many missions in So Cal. It was lovely to see - the architecture was beautiful and the church so restful. They have the oldest pepper tree in North America planted here- pretty huge.
Next stop was the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad- wow! Frank and the girls had a blast here- surprisingly I was not bored- there were great displays and many instruments to play. i really liked the electric harp the most. The girls each got a mini harmonica necklace here too- cute. across the street for the museum were the ranunculus flower fields- they were lovely and colourful- a great site to see. A quick stop and at Starbucks and we were headed back to the resort. The girls got to go swimming too- fun packed day was had by all.

Friday
It was pretty cloudy today and so we headed to Balboa Park and the Nat-The National History Museum. There were huge dinosaurs in the lobby so we knew this would be good. The first floor had water etc in california, the next level
showed dinosaurs and how lad masses move- relevant to what Dani is learning in school now so that was great. The top level had skulls- so many different sizes and shapes- they also had a display of how they clean the flesh off the skulls- maggots!! The lower level was my fav- it was all about gems- there were some impressive diamonds and other stunning rocks down there.
We popped in the Spanish Arts Village after the NAT- we saw how they make fimo beads- we can do that!! Then lunch and off to Las Americas mall for shopping. This mall is 2 miles from the Mexico border- in fact there parking lot backs on to the border and you can see Mexico across the fence. We did some damage to our bank account here that was for sure- but the deals were great. Danica who is growing like a vine- go the most followed by Frank and his shopping habit. After a few hours- we were pooped and headed back north to the resort and dinner at Chilis. Frank was so hungry he finished off his meal- half my burger and the girls chicken chunks- must have been all that shopping. Then we had to go back and pack up to leave the next morning.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Goodbye 2011



2011 was a bad year for a lot of people around me, but for me it was a pretty good year. I had started a new job at the end of 2010 and was well into it at the beginning of 2011, although working from home was getting a little lonely. Spring Break was awesome- we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks- one week on Oahu- where we go to spend time with the Liquorish Ohana. I haven't seen Wes in over 20 years and to get to meet his amazing wife and delightful girls was such a treat. We also hung out in Waikiki for a few days- that was pretty amazing. I think the highlight was seeing an episode of Hawaii-50 being filmed- too cool. After a week we flew to Maui and spent a week with the Chandlers in paradise!


Then Frank and I got to go to England for a week. Frank was asked to be the best man at his good friends wedding. So we left the girls here in good hands with family and headed to the UK. We had an amazing week, first hanging out in Somerset with the bride and groom and all the wonderful sites to see in the country. I think Wells Cathedral was my ultimate fav. We also spent 2 days in London with my cousins- that was so incredible to see everyone- lucky us.

The summer was a whirlwind as always - Oregon was fun and Camping at Golden Ears was great. The Freers lived with us for 2 months too- between houses. The weather was great for these adventures although the rest of the summer left a little to much rain in its wake.

Back to school was good- Dani went to middle school - which was a giant step for us parents. Boo's into grade 3 with Mrs.Chu- she was happy.

November we headed to Cali and Disneyland for a surprise trip with the Quinn's. It was a brief but great trip. We flew from Seattle to Santa Ana airport and stayed at the Red Lion. We spent the first day in Disney and managed to make it through the park in 11 hours or so!! Saturday we headed to California Adventure. It was a pretty cloudy, cool day so we had no line ups to deal with- awesome- hence the need to go on the TOWER OF TERROR 4 times! Ugh! Sunday was Dani's birthday so we went back to Disney for the day- followed by a swim in the pool at the hotel and dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. What a great birthday treat. Monday we rented a car and spent the day in Santa Monica- then it was home.

Before we knew it December was upon us and all the fun festive activities- what a great year it was!