Browse Category: outta here

New Plane, Better Trip

In planning for our Thailand trip, I did some research on our flight, our seat assignments, etc. First of all, they changed our 20-hour flight with one stop in Japan to a 16-hour non-stop flight!! Excellent. Secondly, Thai Airways upgraded their fleet of planes to the Airbus A340-500. I didn’t really know what that meant for us but after doing a little more research I found out that it’s awesome! Of course their “Royal Silk Class” will be sleeping on flat-reclining seats and Premium Economy will have slightly more legroom. But in ECONOMY, we’ll have in-seat personal entertainment featuring on-demand movies, video games, and music. It’s like JetBlue! I also read that each seat will have a PC Power connection to keep your laptop charged the whole way! Woohoo!! We are ghetto-ing-it-up in style!! Brother, Daddy, Jes…if you’re reading this, I think you need to get up out of your seat right now and do a happy dance. Ready? 1-2-3…go!
Ok, time for the daily recap. I essentially had a half-day of work today since our usual afternoon Staff Meeting was cancelled. Yippee! So, I made a date with Marie and Cole. We went out for lunch. We went shopping at IKEA. We even went to Mitsuwa Marketplace! Fun times for us all…even for Taku-chan. He was in a good mood all afternoon and didn’t cry or fuss until the very end as we drove back to my house. Phew!

Where’s the snow?

We were in Tahoe this weekend for our annual camping trip with the SF melters. Jes and I flew to SacTown on Friday morning and got picked up by the Bangs. We then drove to Ryan’s mom’s ranch in Auburn for a little pool party. That’s where we met up with Ryan, Michelle, Sohail, and Amina who were already there. I met Sunny, a very friendly horse and Ayla, a 12-year-old doggie who still has occasional bursts of energy when she feels like it. The pool was refreshing and Ryan and Sohail chopped enough firewood to last us the weekend and then some.
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On our way to Tahoe, we almost ran out of gas in Vyl’s car but luckily stopped in time to fill-up. When we got to the Tahoe area, it seemed a bit depressing. I couldn’t help asking, “Where’s all the snow?” I also couldn’t help feeling just a bit gypped (yes, that’s how you spell it) because I wasn’t going to be skiing this weekend. So I told myself, “OK. Change gears. You’re camping this weekend. Forget that you’re in Tahoe.”
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Our campsite was at Emerald Bay and the weather couldn’t have been more pleasant for car camping. Our site was HUGE and all 5 tents went up with lots more room to spare. We got set-up by dusk and started the fire. Victor and Susie left the Bay Area after work so they didn’t arrive until about midnight…glad they finally made it.
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The weekend consisted of the usual fare: pork products, Coooors Light, and guac. We also had carne asada one night and even Tandoori chicken and naan another night. The girls went for a short hike on Saturday while the boys drank beer, farted, and played Poker. Later, we all went down to the beach and swam/rinsed off in the lake.
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Highlights and Stats: No one got burned by the fire…however, Bang nearly twisted his ankle while dodging a firey log. Much gas was expelled and shared. Many grapes and rocks were thrown. One tent suffered an unfortunate puncture…booooo. Marshmallows were roasted and chocolate was melted in various ways. Scary stories were told and one Sohail got left in the dark by himself. Overall, it was another great camping trip but I’m glad to be home and showered.

Finally.

We had a rather laid back Sunday today. I slept in for the first time in weeks. We had some brunch at a nearby cafe. Jes worked on his computer for most of the day while I uploaded photos and did some laundry. Koa even got to run at the dog park today. The best part of the day was that we finally booked our flight to Thailand. We’ve been trying to go for the past 4 years and have finally committed. We’ll be going from December 27th to January 10th. I can’t wait!

Tastes like feet!!

We just got back from our trip up north late last night. We flew up on Saturday morning and Victor and Susie picked us up. We got to stay at their new apartment this weekend, which is pretty cool and right by the water! They have a view of the bay and the Coke bottle at PacBell Park. Since the wedding in Napa wasn’t going to start until 5:30, we went for a 5-mile run along Embarcadero. Susie, Vyl, and Bang joined us and it was really fun! We all started in front the the apartment and Jes and I ran all the way to the end of Fisherman’s Wharf (2.5 miles) and turned around. Susie, Vyl, and Bang turned around at the beginning of Fisherman’s Wharf and completed 4 miles total.
The wedding was for Albert, one of Jes’ old co-workers, who was marrying a girl he met in Business School last year. I always wondered what a Napa wedding would be like and it was cool. The wedding took place at Nicholson Ranch in Sonoma. We were about 90 mins late due to traffic all over the place. Apparently there was a NASCAR event also in Sonoma that weekend. The funny part is that we didn’t miss much since the ceremony lasted for a whoppin’ 10 minutes!! Jes got to hang out with his old buddies from his dot-com days and it was funny seeing him interact with them again. Unlike his quiet, laid-back self, he was the leader of the pack –instigating all the hijinx and being the center of attention.
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On Sunday, we went back up to Napa for a day of wine tasting. Vyl planned a whole itinerary of events for us…it was sweet. First stop was Nickel & Nickel where we had to have an appointment. It was like going to someone’s house, sitting in their dining room, and tasting wine with a bunch of friends. There were 7 of us: Vyl, Bang, Susie, Victor, Michelle, Jes, and me. There was also one other couple from Florida and of course, the hostess. We tasted 5 different single vineyard wines and they were all good. It was a really fun tasting…very different from past experiences. We had a good time laughing as we swirled our glasses. In fact, we were such a fun crowd that morning that they actually comped us the $30/person tasting!! The next stop was Rombauer where we tried to buy a really yummy Chardonnay but they sold out. Lunch was a picnic at V. Sattui and then we were off to Cakebread. The wines there weren’t very impressive and most of them, as Vyl likes to say, “taste[d] like feet”. I think all the yummy stuff we tasted this morning at Nickel & Nickel really set some high expectations for all of us and set us up for disappointment for the rest of the day. We actually ended up back at N&N to buy some of their wine. The day and weekend ended with some outlet shopping and a flight back to LA.

Monterey – Day 3

On Monday, Day Three, we got up early and went for a 3-mile run along the water. It was such a nice day…it was sunny, a little breezy, and there was so much to see! Afterwards, we packed up, had another free breakfast, and drove to Pacific Grove to check out the coast (see photo on left). I had an interesting time trying to take scenic photos over there. It took forever to get a decent shot due to the many joggers/walkers along the path and the huge tour bus loaded with people with their own picture-taking agendas. Luckily we found a quiet spot where buses weren’t allowed down the street.
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The drive home was OK. We decided to take the scenic route down the 101 this time. The ride was smooth all the way down until we got to Santa Barbara…stupid accidents. Once we got out of that fiasco, we stopped at the outlets for a bit of shopping and finally got to Cerritos to pick up the dog by 8. *sigh* It’s back to work on Tuesday.

Monterey – Day 1

We went to Monterey for Memorial Day Weekend this year. Day One, Saturday, started out bright and early. Got on the road by 4:30 in the morning and luckily didn’t get pulled over. There were so many cops on patrol this weekend! We arrived in Monterey around 10, had breakfast, and met up with Bang and Vyl at the bike rental at noon. Our original plan was to rent bikes and ride them to a winery. It turned out that it was way too far and dangerous to ride there.
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So, Plan Two was renting a 4-person surrey. If you don’t know what a surrey is, imagine two side-by-side tandem bicycles welded together like a horsecart with a nice plastic cover to shade you from the elements. Nevermind the dangerous chain that can lop off a toe or the rickety seats that can throw you off at any time. Fortunately, the surrey was so much fun…in fact, it was quite hilarious. We had to try out best to pedal together, avoid running over small children, avoid the cars, and try not to fall out. We rode to the end of the bike path, which was only 2 miles away, and ate lunch there. We had a picnic at Lovers’ Beach where we illegally drank a really good bottle of Chardonnay that Vyl had been saving up and enjoyed the view. Good choice, Vyl!
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Later in the evening we drove to Chateau Julien where we tasted some so-so wine and some facial gymnastics performed by Vyl, the wine snob. We also had some meager pours but got a second helping of the Gewurtztraminer. Dinner was at Passionfish in Pacific Grove. My escolar was yummy and so was Jes’ duck. We also tried some more wine there, which was just the beginning of our own little “Sideways” experience this weekend. To be continued…