Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Venice Beach

Spent some time in the Venice Beach area this weekend. Quintessential Venice sunglasses, the skate park on the boardwalk, my favorite - the guys who fly the gianormous kites, a nightime shot from the balcony, yellow powder coated table here and this awesome watercolor poster by David Hockney from the window of a shop on Abbot Kinney. Too cold for May, but being by the ocean is good r & r no matter what. Will be back for warmer temps when it's really summer...

Friday, May 14, 2010

more around Manila


Picture of my Lola (my grandmother), grade school classroom in Liliw, handwoven paymapay (fan) in Greenhills, hot pan de sal and queso (hot bread and cheese) before breakfast, my uncle's collection of chinese miniature statues, election time banners (update: Nonoy Aquino wins presidency).

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

kiput hike

When we visit my mom's provincial hometown, we always have a big lunch and eat with our hands off big banana leaves at the farm. The farm was developed on the land my mom and her siblings inherited from my grandfather. He loved to hike this land. When we were young, he would lead all of us down to the river for swimming and eventually a bath at the end. Good times. These days, we all hike down to an area called the kiput were there is a narrow but deep stream. I love this hike. It's so green and lush. My aunt added steps to the path so that the elders could get down to the quiput too.

Philippines 2010

Just got back from a 10 day trip to the Philippines. Caught some spectacular views. The last mystic photo is from the airplane window over Incheon Airport in Seoul.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

the desert








A good friend wished us much peace before leaving for the desert this weekend. I think we found it. Enjoyed a little spa action, stood amidst nature, lunched with these cool kids and these, and ended up at the photo booth ... maybe a little too relaxed :)

Monday, August 17, 2009

Washington DC

Spent an August week in DC. The hot and humid weather was brutal, but boy do I feel quite patriotic.

The first thing I noticed in the city - the Evacuation Route signage (little blue sign) all along Pennsylvania Avenue. This immediately put things in perspective about where I was, especially with this administration. Damn.


The first museum to hit was the National Archives to find the original Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, Constitution (above you can see "We the People..."), Bill of Rights (freedom of speech...), Emanciption Proclamation that abolished slavery, and the document that gave women the right to vote. Being the product of immigrant parents, if suffices me to say that we are absolutely so privileged here.


My side project was to check out weaving books at the Library of Congress. Got my own library card, found the books I wanted from the online card catalog, submitted the catalog numbers using these sort of old school carbon tickets, got some lunch, and came back 45 minutes later to pick up my books. The Library of Congress is not a lending library so you could only go through your books at a desk in a reading room. I sat at desk #682. I checked out about 13 books that I looked at over the course of two afternoons. The myth is that they have every book ever published, but this is not true.


Super refreshing gin and cucumber cocktail at Vegetate in the Adams Morgan area.


Foods that Meso American Indians ate - hominy, rice, and grilled corn with cojita cheese at the Mitsitam Cafe in the National Museum of the American Indian. They also had bison and wild salmon grilled over a fire the way the indians used to do it.


Subway Tunnel/Bomb Shelter deep under the city.


My nephew with Eva from the Wall E movie. He was so happy he happened to be pointing at the plant inside Eva :)


As close as we were going to get to the White House. Kids around me kept asking if Obama was in there. I had read in the paper that morning that he was visiting Yellowstone. It was still a rock start moment for all of us standing there.


Standing at the Lincoln Memorial looking at the Washington Monument... realizing that this is where Martin Luther King did his I Have a Dream speech. Pretty cool. I caught the monument glowing from the sun for a brief moment.


One of the seating areas in the Donovan House lobby. It's a floral pattern cut from wood adheared on glass to make it appear as if it is floating. I love hotel lobbies.


Sunset on the Potomac River that connects Virginia, Maryland, and DC.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Big Sur




Big Sur is one of those majestic place where you are this tiny blip in all this earth! We spent a weekend at Treebones free of the internet and phone reception and did some serious relaxing with a few easy hikes, time in the pool, and playing backgamon. Lots of fog, but that added to the mystery and grandeur.

1. view at one of the turn outs 2. could not get enough of the colors in dried eucalyptus leaves 3. one of the Treebone yurts with the view of the ocean 4. hiking to see the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns Park 5. one of several ladders you could climb over to walk down to the water (thanks Adam for the tip!).

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Santa Cruz snaps





Summer is definitely here in Santa Cruz! Dream Inn, clever recycling basket, Soif, sea lion, and the pier...