TEMECULA
Temecula is the Napa Valley of Southern California. I don't have any pictures to share because, quite frankly, we were all pretty hammered and the pictures are mostly blurry messes.
Just keep this in mind: a limo bus, 22 nurses, 24 bottles of wine, and 24 full hours off from work. I'll let you fill in the blanks......
Monday, December 18, 2006
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Last week, Kendrah and I made the trek from San Diego to LA to visit Universal Studios. We figured we should get some of the touristy stuff out of the way before we headed home for the holidays. Totally cheesy, but good fun, nonetheless.
The "Jaws" shark. Talk about dwarfing the rest of us.
Who-Ville (from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas)
The War of the Worlds set. This is one of the houses they use in Tom Cruise's neighbourhood -when he comes up from the basement after hearing the plane crash. On the left was a real Boeing 747 (I think?!? I'm totally guessing at what type of aircraft it was...all I know is it was huge) that they tore apart to make it appear as if the plane had really crashed. There was even smoke coming from different parts of the plane. It made for an eerie landscape.
The crew of the Apollo 13. I got to snuggle with Bill Paxton. Ahhhhhh, so cute. And I mean "Apollo 13 Bill Paxton cute" not the new "Big-Love-Where-I'm-Now-Middle-Aged-And-Looking-A-Little-Saggy-Bill-Paxton" of course. I have some standards people!
GRRRRRRR! Who's the real Ogre?
Okay, so I'm being a little inappropriate. But do you see him complaining?
Last week, Kendrah and I made the trek from San Diego to LA to visit Universal Studios. We figured we should get some of the touristy stuff out of the way before we headed home for the holidays. Totally cheesy, but good fun, nonetheless.
The "Jaws" shark. Talk about dwarfing the rest of us.
Who-Ville (from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas)
The War of the Worlds set. This is one of the houses they use in Tom Cruise's neighbourhood -when he comes up from the basement after hearing the plane crash. On the left was a real Boeing 747 (I think?!? I'm totally guessing at what type of aircraft it was...all I know is it was huge) that they tore apart to make it appear as if the plane had really crashed. There was even smoke coming from different parts of the plane. It made for an eerie landscape.
The crew of the Apollo 13. I got to snuggle with Bill Paxton. Ahhhhhh, so cute. And I mean "Apollo 13 Bill Paxton cute" not the new "Big-Love-Where-I'm-Now-Middle-Aged-And-Looking-A-Little-Saggy-Bill-Paxton" of course. I have some standards people!
GRRRRRRR! Who's the real Ogre?
Okay, so I'm being a little inappropriate. But do you see him complaining?Sunday, December 10, 2006
RYAN'S FIRST VISIT TO SAN DIEGO
We were finally about to organize our schedules (and get straight in our heads which weekend was the American Thanksgiving and therefore NOT a good one to travel, since they all become raving lunatics when confronted with mass crowds of tired, cranky people just like themselves) and Ryan came for a visit the first weekend in Dec.
It was busy, and far too short, but we managed to pack quite a bit of sightseeing into the days he was here. And I've got pictures to prove it (minus the kayaking ones, which I have yet to develop, but promise I will in the near future)
Our first stop on Friday morning was La Jolla, where we spent the afternoon exploring the caves in our kayaks. The sea lions were out in full force, swimming around the boats and playing on the rocks. I tried to get a picture of the one who thought it was fun to pop up randomly around my kayak and then splash around and disappear again, but my heart nearly stopped the first time he did it. I never managed to get my camera out quick enough after that. Those things are huge up close!
It was a warm day....until the sun went down behind the cliff. After that, it was a race to the shore, because our fingers and toes were so numb we could barely hold onto the paddles any more.
That night we went out for sushi, which was delicious. There is something about being on the west coast that makes it taste that much better....or the "Left Coast" as my cousin Jamie calls it.
Our first stop on Sat morning was the ZOO where we lucked out and found the pandas, giraffes and the jaguar out on exhibit. It was even "snow day" and the polar bears got to play in the fresh snow that had been brought in especially for them.
In front of the panda exhibit
The apes and orangutans were the most interactive of the animals that day. They liked to show off in front of the humans by rolling around and showing off their bums.
That part made me giggle.
Later that same day, I took Kendrah and Ryan to an Aztec football game. It was held at Quaalcom stadium, the same place where the Chargers play. It's literally just down the street from my house and when they set off fireworks, they're so loud they sometimes make me jump out of bed. Unless I've had a couple of cocktails (read: ceasers and sleeping pills in one gigantic, delicious, mind-numbing combination) and then I can usually sleep through anything.
For those of you who like football (don't count me among the obsessed fans) the Chargers are good and the Aztecs suck. Hence the 1/2 empty stadium. But they were the only team playing that game and hey, a football game is a football game. Give people enough beer and they'll watch just about anything.
The half-time show. It was the highlight of the game for me, as I hardly paid attention to anything else that was going on.
We were finally about to organize our schedules (and get straight in our heads which weekend was the American Thanksgiving and therefore NOT a good one to travel, since they all become raving lunatics when confronted with mass crowds of tired, cranky people just like themselves) and Ryan came for a visit the first weekend in Dec.
It was busy, and far too short, but we managed to pack quite a bit of sightseeing into the days he was here. And I've got pictures to prove it (minus the kayaking ones, which I have yet to develop, but promise I will in the near future)
Our first stop on Friday morning was La Jolla, where we spent the afternoon exploring the caves in our kayaks. The sea lions were out in full force, swimming around the boats and playing on the rocks. I tried to get a picture of the one who thought it was fun to pop up randomly around my kayak and then splash around and disappear again, but my heart nearly stopped the first time he did it. I never managed to get my camera out quick enough after that. Those things are huge up close!
It was a warm day....until the sun went down behind the cliff. After that, it was a race to the shore, because our fingers and toes were so numb we could barely hold onto the paddles any more.
That night we went out for sushi, which was delicious. There is something about being on the west coast that makes it taste that much better....or the "Left Coast" as my cousin Jamie calls it.
Our first stop on Sat morning was the ZOO where we lucked out and found the pandas, giraffes and the jaguar out on exhibit. It was even "snow day" and the polar bears got to play in the fresh snow that had been brought in especially for them.
Too bad they were more interested in playing in the water than in the snow.
In front of the panda exhibit
The apes and orangutans were the most interactive of the animals that day. They liked to show off in front of the humans by rolling around and showing off their bums.That part made me giggle.
We also explored Seaport Village, a tourist attraction downtown just east of the main marina. There was a hot sauce store there that sold stuff so hot there was a warning label on the bottle and they kept it locked up. Probably to prevent drunken sailors from purchasing the stuff and destroying their intestines in a vain attempt at proving their manhood.
Okay, so this sand sculpture is gorgeous and totally cool to look at. But....look closely....what exactly is in his mouth?
He he....dirty minded, aren't you?
He he....dirty minded, aren't you?
Later that same day, I took Kendrah and Ryan to an Aztec football game. It was held at Quaalcom stadium, the same place where the Chargers play. It's literally just down the street from my house and when they set off fireworks, they're so loud they sometimes make me jump out of bed. Unless I've had a couple of cocktails (read: ceasers and sleeping pills in one gigantic, delicious, mind-numbing combination) and then I can usually sleep through anything.
For those of you who like football (don't count me among the obsessed fans) the Chargers are good and the Aztecs suck. Hence the 1/2 empty stadium. But they were the only team playing that game and hey, a football game is a football game. Give people enough beer and they'll watch just about anything.
The half-time show. It was the highlight of the game for me, as I hardly paid attention to anything else that was going on.
That night, we went out to Shout, a piano bar I've been to before. There are dueling baby grand pianos and the pianists (can we call them that?) will play just about anything, if you tip them enough. Everybody sings (even if they can't carry a tune, like the 3 of us) and no one cares how bad you sound. It's probably one of my favourite places in the city to visit.
Sadly, I don't have any decent pictures from the bar itself...probably because I spent the entire night with a drink in my hand, singing my heart out.
Sadly, I don't have any decent pictures from the bar itself...probably because I spent the entire night with a drink in my hand, singing my heart out.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
USS MIDWAY
Once in back in San Diego (and over the 14 hour time difference between here and Bali) I dragged Kendrah to the downtown pier to tour the USS Midway.
For those of you who don't know, the Midway was the longest serving aircraft carrier in US Naval history. She served for just over 47 years and has now been turned into a museum, complete with crew quarters (with lifesized, slightly scary-looking dolls), helicopters and retired fighter jets.
Okay, enough of a history lesson. On to the photos:
Kendrah, making herself comfortable in one of the very cozy bunks on the ship
He he, looks like he got caught!
Performing surgery
Once in back in San Diego (and over the 14 hour time difference between here and Bali) I dragged Kendrah to the downtown pier to tour the USS Midway.
For those of you who don't know, the Midway was the longest serving aircraft carrier in US Naval history. She served for just over 47 years and has now been turned into a museum, complete with crew quarters (with lifesized, slightly scary-looking dolls), helicopters and retired fighter jets.
Okay, enough of a history lesson. On to the photos:
Kendrah, making herself comfortable in one of the very cozy bunks on the ship
He he, looks like he got caught!
Performing surgery
Thursday, November 16, 2006
MY TRIP
Yes, I realize it's been ages and ages since I last posted. In fact, it's been more than a month. But I have my excuses for my laziness and delayed postings...which mostly consist of working, sleeping and drinking my way through the week.
At least I'm honest, people.
So, on to something slightly more important: my trip. My friend Jessica (from back home in London) has been teaching at a private school in Jakarta where the children are fluent in English. She teaches advanced English Lit classes for students who will (frequently but not always) head to schools in North America once they graduate. It's a busy and challenging job, but (as expected) she's excelling and loving her time there.
Anyway, Jess had a two week break for the Ramadan holiday, so she invited me to come visit Jakarta and then play on the island of Bali. It was a looong 22 hour flight, but totally worth it in the end.
JAKARTA
Riding the Ojek
This is how Jess gets around -you hire an Indo, and they drive you anywhere you want to go. Yup...that's me riding a motorbike without a helmet...
This was the quality of the shopping at the mall near Jess' house. Had to take the picture, given that I knew Kendrah would be drooling over the very thought of the beautiful shoes.
This is the hotel room we had when we stayed in a hotel in Jakarta. It was called the Hotel Mulia and it was 5 stars all the way. They even had someone to drape your napkin over your lap every time you sat down in a restaurant. We went for their Champagne Brunch one morning and it was incredible: champagne (duh!) and sushi and pasta and bread and cheese and oysters and....
You get the picture. Amazing.
Our rooftop pool. This was directly beside the spa, where we splurged (a relative term, since our entire stay was still well under budget) on 2 massages during our 3 day stay
One of the ways that Indos earn money. There isn't any social assistance or welfare there, so everyone has some type of job to earn their living. You've got to give them credit for their creativity, as they manage to fill every niche imaginable. This guy walks up and down the highway selling water and fruit to passing drivers.
My friend Jessica
We went to this restaurant called Koi one night. It was a fusion of Asian and European food. An interesting and delicious meal.
We went to the "Premiere Theatre" when we were in the city. It's only slightly more expensive than the regular theater, but your (HUGE) armchair fully reclines and you're given a pillow and a blanket to cuddle with throughout the movie. Plus, the staff bring snacks and drinks directly to your seat. Not a hard way to spend the night!
After the luxury of Jakarta, it was onto the raw beauty (and excessive drinking) of Bali....
Yes, I realize it's been ages and ages since I last posted. In fact, it's been more than a month. But I have my excuses for my laziness and delayed postings...which mostly consist of working, sleeping and drinking my way through the week.
At least I'm honest, people.
So, on to something slightly more important: my trip. My friend Jessica (from back home in London) has been teaching at a private school in Jakarta where the children are fluent in English. She teaches advanced English Lit classes for students who will (frequently but not always) head to schools in North America once they graduate. It's a busy and challenging job, but (as expected) she's excelling and loving her time there.
Anyway, Jess had a two week break for the Ramadan holiday, so she invited me to come visit Jakarta and then play on the island of Bali. It was a looong 22 hour flight, but totally worth it in the end.
JAKARTA
Riding the OjekThis is how Jess gets around -you hire an Indo, and they drive you anywhere you want to go. Yup...that's me riding a motorbike without a helmet...
This was the quality of the shopping at the mall near Jess' house. Had to take the picture, given that I knew Kendrah would be drooling over the very thought of the beautiful shoes.
This is the hotel room we had when we stayed in a hotel in Jakarta. It was called the Hotel Mulia and it was 5 stars all the way. They even had someone to drape your napkin over your lap every time you sat down in a restaurant. We went for their Champagne Brunch one morning and it was incredible: champagne (duh!) and sushi and pasta and bread and cheese and oysters and....You get the picture. Amazing.
Our rooftop pool. This was directly beside the spa, where we splurged (a relative term, since our entire stay was still well under budget) on 2 massages during our 3 day stay
One of the ways that Indos earn money. There isn't any social assistance or welfare there, so everyone has some type of job to earn their living. You've got to give them credit for their creativity, as they manage to fill every niche imaginable. This guy walks up and down the highway selling water and fruit to passing drivers.
My friend Jessica 
We went to this restaurant called Koi one night. It was a fusion of Asian and European food. An interesting and delicious meal.
We went to the "Premiere Theatre" when we were in the city. It's only slightly more expensive than the regular theater, but your (HUGE) armchair fully reclines and you're given a pillow and a blanket to cuddle with throughout the movie. Plus, the staff bring snacks and drinks directly to your seat. Not a hard way to spend the night!
After the luxury of Jakarta, it was onto the raw beauty (and excessive drinking) of Bali....
BALI: PART I
After Jakarta, we headed to the island of Bali for some fun-in-the-sun. A total cliche, I know, but definitely true in this instance. We spent our days laying in the sun, by the pool and the beach, shopping, eating and reading some satisfyingly-cheesy beach books. Our nights were spent sampling the local restaurants, the local drinks, and dancing the night away at the tackiest bar I've seen since....
....hmmm.....
....there is simply no comparison.
Our first hotel had a rooftop infinity pool. After we got crispy our first day at the beach, we spent our second day on the island laying by the pool and cooling our aching skin. That's me, reading one of my mindless novels while admiring the
Indian Ocean
Jess and The Brit
"The Bounty Discotheque"
The cheesiness factor should be pretty apparent by this picture. A moment later, we had a full view of his bottom, as the underwear came sliding off. Kind of reminded me of the many episode of Queer As Folk that I've been obsessed with watching.
This was the bar where we spent the majority of our nights. It was a huge attraction for people our age from all over the world. We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Sweden, etc. Funnily enough, we didn't run into any other Americans or Canadians there. Guess the 22 hour flight is a big enough deterrent to keep them from the party island.
Our second hotel was slightly more rustic than the first. We had one of the penthouse suites -the rooms on the top floor- but things were still designed Indo style....meaning our bathroom was outside.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You walked outside of the room to get to the bathroom. It had shoulder-high walls, and rocks in the shower, and you could get a lovely view of the night sky while laying in the bathtub. Only in Indonesia would the penthouse suite feature an outdoor "luxury" bathroom!
Some of the views from our hotel room
Relaxing in the pool.
The peace sign is our little tribute to the Koreans we saw on our trip. At our first hotel, there was a group of 20-somethings and every single time they took a group photo (and they took plenty!) every last one of them would make a peace sign and flash it at the camera. It's got to be a cultural thing...cause we just didn't get it
We went out for dessert and drinks one night at a different bar -trying to avoid showing our faces too much at the Bounty. Little did we know this elegant bar would quickly turn into an "I'm old and shake my ass kinda funny but I still think I should be able to pick up hot young Indo girls" dance bar.
It was painful to watch
We amused ourselves by taking multiple pictures of ourselves....much to the annoyance of the couple next to us. But it kept us entertained all the same
Our seafood dinner on the beach.
We watched the sunset while they cooked us fresh seafood of our choosing. We had lobster and crab (still not as good as the stuff from the Wharf in San Fran though!) and shrimp and....I'm sure there was something else, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Either way, it was delicious, but far too much food!
After Jakarta, we headed to the island of Bali for some fun-in-the-sun. A total cliche, I know, but definitely true in this instance. We spent our days laying in the sun, by the pool and the beach, shopping, eating and reading some satisfyingly-cheesy beach books. Our nights were spent sampling the local restaurants, the local drinks, and dancing the night away at the tackiest bar I've seen since....
....hmmm.....
....there is simply no comparison.
Our first hotel had a rooftop infinity pool. After we got crispy our first day at the beach, we spent our second day on the island laying by the pool and cooling our aching skin. That's me, reading one of my mindless novels while admiring theIndian Ocean
Jess and The Brit
"The Bounty Discotheque"The cheesiness factor should be pretty apparent by this picture. A moment later, we had a full view of his bottom, as the underwear came sliding off. Kind of reminded me of the many episode of Queer As Folk that I've been obsessed with watching.
This was the bar where we spent the majority of our nights. It was a huge attraction for people our age from all over the world. We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Sweden, etc. Funnily enough, we didn't run into any other Americans or Canadians there. Guess the 22 hour flight is a big enough deterrent to keep them from the party island.
Our second hotel was slightly more rustic than the first. We had one of the penthouse suites -the rooms on the top floor- but things were still designed Indo style....meaning our bathroom was outside.Yes, you read that correctly.
You walked outside of the room to get to the bathroom. It had shoulder-high walls, and rocks in the shower, and you could get a lovely view of the night sky while laying in the bathtub. Only in Indonesia would the penthouse suite feature an outdoor "luxury" bathroom!
Some of the views from our hotel room
Relaxing in the pool. The peace sign is our little tribute to the Koreans we saw on our trip. At our first hotel, there was a group of 20-somethings and every single time they took a group photo (and they took plenty!) every last one of them would make a peace sign and flash it at the camera. It's got to be a cultural thing...cause we just didn't get it
We went out for dessert and drinks one night at a different bar -trying to avoid showing our faces too much at the Bounty. Little did we know this elegant bar would quickly turn into an "I'm old and shake my ass kinda funny but I still think I should be able to pick up hot young Indo girls" dance bar.It was painful to watch
We amused ourselves by taking multiple pictures of ourselves....much to the annoyance of the couple next to us. But it kept us entertained all the same
Our seafood dinner on the beach.We watched the sunset while they cooked us fresh seafood of our choosing. We had lobster and crab (still not as good as the stuff from the Wharf in San Fran though!) and shrimp and....I'm sure there was something else, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Either way, it was delicious, but far too much food!
BALI: PART II
Despite our multitude of days on the beach, we managed to squeeze some cultural days into our trip. We visited some rice paddies, a monkey forest, and and a temple in the sea. There were many more temples and tours we could have done, but this was what interested us, and still left us enough time to lounge in the sun before we had to fly home and re-enter the real world.
THE RICE PADDIES
The rice paddies
The farmers dry their rice on the side of the road on bamboo mats
THE MONKEY FOREST
That would be the over-eager monkey!
THE NASTY SURPRISE
This fantastic toilet cost me $1000 rupiah to use. The equivalent of about $0.10 USD.
I should have held it.
THE TEMPLE IN THE SEA
This is a Hindu temple that is actually IN the sea. During low tide, you can walk across the rocks and wander around the base of the temple. Monks live here, so the temple is closed, except on religious holidays, when Hindus are allowed to bring gifts for the gods. When high tide comes in, the temple becomes it's own island. At night, tourists gather to watch the sunset and the rising tide.
Despite our multitude of days on the beach, we managed to squeeze some cultural days into our trip. We visited some rice paddies, a monkey forest, and and a temple in the sea. There were many more temples and tours we could have done, but this was what interested us, and still left us enough time to lounge in the sun before we had to fly home and re-enter the real world.
THE RICE PADDIES
The rice paddies
The farmers dry their rice on the side of the road on bamboo matsTHE MONKEY FOREST
We walked through a monkey forest on the island where we were allowed to feed them. I was enjoying it....until one tried to climb up my leg. And given that Jess is scared of the monkeys, we hightailed it out of there pretty quickly afterwards.
That would be the over-eager monkey!THE NASTY SURPRISE
This fantastic toilet cost me $1000 rupiah to use. The equivalent of about $0.10 USD.I should have held it.
THE TEMPLE IN THE SEA
This is a Hindu temple that is actually IN the sea. During low tide, you can walk across the rocks and wander around the base of the temple. Monks live here, so the temple is closed, except on religious holidays, when Hindus are allowed to bring gifts for the gods. When high tide comes in, the temple becomes it's own island. At night, tourists gather to watch the sunset and the rising tide.
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