So today was the annual Lab126 family picnic. The event again took place at Saratoga Springs and was just as fun as the one last August. The Panns also came this time, and our families had a great time talking. Another thing I noticed is that the ice cream stand wasn't closed after two hours, unlike last time. It looks like the complaints from last year didn't fall on deaf ears. :-)
One thing I noticed is that there were fewer people this year. Aside from the Panns and a woman from the floor above mine, I didn't recognize anyone else at the picnic this year. I guess most just aren't interested in these events. On the other hand, one cool feature this year was the miniature animal exhibit. I got to see an armadillo in person for the first time ever. That was really neat for sure.
However, there was a little mishap: we were about 10 miles from our house when I realized I had forgotten to bring my badge. That meant we had to spend almost half an hour driving back to retrieve it. Suffice to say, Dad wasn't exactly pleased. Oops!
Currently listening to: "Best Song Ever" by One Direction
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Sunday, August 21, 2016
2,300 skill total in RuneScape
I just got 2,300 skill total in RuneScape after getting membership again over the weekend. You can click here for the screenshot. The addition of the invention skill definitely made reaching this milestone a bit easier. :P
In other news...
Congratulations to my old landlady's daughter Anika on getting married!
Currently listening to: "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis
In other news...
Congratulations to my old landlady's daughter Anika on getting married!
Currently listening to: "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
cultural exchange, part deux
The past month was pretty busy as four of my aunt Jill's students came to visit from overseas. Our guests were Mark and Danny, and twins Johnny and Wen. Jill herself unfortunately couldn't come due to her stroke, so my parents had to look after them for three and a half weeks. This was no doubt really exhausting. On the other hand, all of us really enjoyed their company.
To let them see what the U.S. was like, we took them on a trip to Reno and Tahoe the day after their arrival. That was lots of fun even though the weather was a bit warm. I had to work during the weekdays, although my parents took them to San Francisco, the Stanford University campus and some local stores.
This was followed by an amazing trip to the Southwest U.S. the week after that. The trip was also exciting even though the temperatures were extremely high. Right after we got home, we went on a field trip to Salinas and Monterey with Henry's film club before going boating the next day.
Last week was also filled with activities as my parents took them to Santa Cruz, the UC Berkeley campus and Villa Montalvo. We also let the twins take classes at an archery range on Friday before going to San Francisco again on Saturday. The day after that, Dad took us to pay respects to my late maternal grandmother Pi-Tan (as the boys were morbidly interested in what cemeteries in the U.S. were like) before going out for ice cream and a hike at the Redwood Grove Nature Preserve.
The boys had such a great time at the archery range that they decided to shoot arrows in our backyard - for three days straight. They had heard that Mom was really good at cooking, so we treated them to dinner at our house twice. Oh yeah, and we also took them out to eat at lots of different restaurants throughout their entire stay.
There was no doubt something for everyone. Johnny says he really enjoyed Grand Canyon and Monterey while Wen's favorite part was doing archery at our house. Danny isn't so much a nature person but loved staying at the townhouse during our visit to Mammoth Lakes. Last but not least, Mark says the highlight of his stay was a tie between visiting Grand Canyon and going swimming.
Yesterday was bittersweet as the boys left the U.S. early this morning. It was really hard to say goodbye to them at the airport. We did so much stuff over the past week that I've lost count. I should mention that the boys gave us some nice presents before their departure. Mark bought me a nice Bluetooth-enabled mouse while the twins got some kitchenware for Mom and a gardening kit for Dad. We truly appreciate their generousity.
The thing about being a tour guide for three and a half weeks is that it can be very taxing, especially considering that Jill wasn't able to come. Though kids in general can be hard to deal with at times, traveling with other people always makes vacations more exciting. I'm going to miss our new friends for sure.
Currently listening to: "Love Me like You Do" by Ellie Goulding
To let them see what the U.S. was like, we took them on a trip to Reno and Tahoe the day after their arrival. That was lots of fun even though the weather was a bit warm. I had to work during the weekdays, although my parents took them to San Francisco, the Stanford University campus and some local stores.
This was followed by an amazing trip to the Southwest U.S. the week after that. The trip was also exciting even though the temperatures were extremely high. Right after we got home, we went on a field trip to Salinas and Monterey with Henry's film club before going boating the next day.
Last week was also filled with activities as my parents took them to Santa Cruz, the UC Berkeley campus and Villa Montalvo. We also let the twins take classes at an archery range on Friday before going to San Francisco again on Saturday. The day after that, Dad took us to pay respects to my late maternal grandmother Pi-Tan (as the boys were morbidly interested in what cemeteries in the U.S. were like) before going out for ice cream and a hike at the Redwood Grove Nature Preserve.
The boys had such a great time at the archery range that they decided to shoot arrows in our backyard - for three days straight. They had heard that Mom was really good at cooking, so we treated them to dinner at our house twice. Oh yeah, and we also took them out to eat at lots of different restaurants throughout their entire stay.
There was no doubt something for everyone. Johnny says he really enjoyed Grand Canyon and Monterey while Wen's favorite part was doing archery at our house. Danny isn't so much a nature person but loved staying at the townhouse during our visit to Mammoth Lakes. Last but not least, Mark says the highlight of his stay was a tie between visiting Grand Canyon and going swimming.
Yesterday was bittersweet as the boys left the U.S. early this morning. It was really hard to say goodbye to them at the airport. We did so much stuff over the past week that I've lost count. I should mention that the boys gave us some nice presents before their departure. Mark bought me a nice Bluetooth-enabled mouse while the twins got some kitchenware for Mom and a gardening kit for Dad. We truly appreciate their generousity.
The thing about being a tour guide for three and a half weeks is that it can be very taxing, especially considering that Jill wasn't able to come. Though kids in general can be hard to deal with at times, traveling with other people always makes vacations more exciting. I'm going to miss our new friends for sure.
Currently listening to: "Love Me like You Do" by Ellie Goulding
Sunday, August 7, 2016
post-vacation weekend report
"Auntie, your job is to just scream." -- Mark to Mom during the surrey ride
The best part about coming home from a vacationon Friday evening early Saturday morning is that it gives us lots of time to unwind... or go more places. Case in point, my family took Aunt Jill's students to several more attractions over the weekend!
Saturday
Yesterday was pretty fun as we went to Salinas and Monterey with Henry's film club before exploring the latter on our own. Danny didn't feel like coming, so it was just six of us. The reason for the field trip was to learn more about author John Steinbeck and see some spots where the film Cannery Row was shot.
The plan was to explore the National Steinbeck Center first, but my mother decided to skip this part as we were really tired from all that traveling and didn't want to get up too early. Our party instead met after the tour before rendezvousing at John Steinbeck House, the boyhood home of the author that has been converted into a restaurant. The food there was really good. This was no doubt a very special experience.
Our group then met up in Monterey for a tour of the spots where Cannery Row was filmed. The boys weren't too interested in the tour, so Dad rented a surrey and took them out for a ride. I opted to stay with Mom for the tour as we had been on the surrey ride before. The tour was really fun, although we didn't walk too much as the area was quite small.
Dad and the boys picked us up in the surrey just as the tour ended. We rode about two miles through town before having dinner at a restaurant on the Fisherman's Wharf. This was something I had wanted to do for a long time. The dinner certainly didn't disappoint. On the whole, this day trip totally rocked. It was essentially an extension of our Southwest trip.
Sunday
All of us were really tired and so didn't do much in the morning. That said, my parents took the boys to a few more stops in the after noon. First up was the Googleplex in Mountain View. Dad and the boys just couldn't resist taking a joyride on the Google-colored bicycles, including the seven-seat Conference Bike. They were apparently reserved for Google employees because another family got kicked off them when they went to ride one. *whistles innocently*
The other major stop was Shoreline Lake as the boys were interested in going boating. Dad rented a Canoe and took Danny and the twins along. The rest of us stayed on the shore as the canoe could only hold four people and that Mom and I had always figured that canoeing was scary. Dad later told us that it was indeed scary when some water got into the boat. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Overall the weekend was pretty awesome.
Currently playing: Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66
The best part about coming home from a vacation
Saturday
Yesterday was pretty fun as we went to Salinas and Monterey with Henry's film club before exploring the latter on our own. Danny didn't feel like coming, so it was just six of us. The reason for the field trip was to learn more about author John Steinbeck and see some spots where the film Cannery Row was shot.
The plan was to explore the National Steinbeck Center first, but my mother decided to skip this part as we were really tired from all that traveling and didn't want to get up too early. Our party instead met after the tour before rendezvousing at John Steinbeck House, the boyhood home of the author that has been converted into a restaurant. The food there was really good. This was no doubt a very special experience.
Our group then met up in Monterey for a tour of the spots where Cannery Row was filmed. The boys weren't too interested in the tour, so Dad rented a surrey and took them out for a ride. I opted to stay with Mom for the tour as we had been on the surrey ride before. The tour was really fun, although we didn't walk too much as the area was quite small.
Dad and the boys picked us up in the surrey just as the tour ended. We rode about two miles through town before having dinner at a restaurant on the Fisherman's Wharf. This was something I had wanted to do for a long time. The dinner certainly didn't disappoint. On the whole, this day trip totally rocked. It was essentially an extension of our Southwest trip.
Sunday
All of us were really tired and so didn't do much in the morning. That said, my parents took the boys to a few more stops in the after noon. First up was the Googleplex in Mountain View. Dad and the boys just couldn't resist taking a joyride on the Google-colored bicycles, including the seven-seat Conference Bike. They were apparently reserved for Google employees because another family got kicked off them when they went to ride one. *whistles innocently*
The other major stop was Shoreline Lake as the boys were interested in going boating. Dad rented a Canoe and took Danny and the twins along. The rest of us stayed on the shore as the canoe could only hold four people and that Mom and I had always figured that canoeing was scary. Dad later told us that it was indeed scary when some water got into the boat. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Overall the weekend was pretty awesome.
Currently playing: Redneck Rampage: Suckin' Grits on Route 66
Saturday, August 6, 2016
an amazing Southwest U.S. trip
"What do brie and cheddar have in common?" -- me, to a couple that asked me to take their picture
Summer has been great so far as my family just came back from another awesome trip, this time to the American Southwest. We left on the 30th and came back early this morning. It wasn't just the three of us as we again took my aunt Jill's students along. Though the weather is really hot at this time of the year, the trip was still lots of fun.
Day 1: into the heat
The trip began a bit later than expected as there were a couple of things that needed to be done. Our first stop was Casa de Fruita in Hollister, where we bought some dried fruits and snacks. This was followed by a stop at the San Luis Reservoir. The smoke from the nearby wildfires made it hard to see the lake, especially considering that the water level was quite low due to the drought. The rest of the 400-mile drive to Barstow was fairly uneventful as none of us wanted to get out of the car too much due to the heat. The temperature actually reached 114° F at one point. Yikes!
It was pretty late in the evening when we arrived in Barstow. All of us were too tired to go anywhere to eat, so dinner consisted of some leftovers and fruit.
Day 2: the start of a grand adventure
Given that Grand Canyon is one of the incredible places in the United States, my parents figured we had to let the boys see what it was like. We first visited Grand Canyon West, which isn't part of the park itself. One notable stop was the Grand Canyon Skywalk in the western area. This was really cool, although it's certainly not for people with acrophobia. Aunt Jill is scared to death of heights and would undoubtedly have stayed in the car had she been able to join us.
No more than 15 minutes after we got in, the staff kicked people off the Skywalk due to an approaching thunderstorm. Had we arrived just a bit later, our party would have missed out. That was a close call!
Though the Skywalk was an interesting sight, the admission was a little high in my opinion. It's definitely not a place we are likely to visit again in the future. This was followed by a few more photo shops before we headed to our hotel in Tusayan. All of us were a little hungry at this point yet didn't feel like walking to any of the nearby restaurants as it was close to midnight. The three of us had some dried fruit and cookies for "dinner" before going to bed.
Day 3: native grounds
Grand Canyon is apparently very popular for early birds. The hotel's dining room was filled with people even though it was barely 7 a.m. when we went down there for breakfast. It was then time to see what the rest of Grand Canyon had to offer. Though we came here during our 2000 Southwest U.S. trip, the cold weather at the time prevented us from making many stops. The nice thing is that we got to see much more of the canyon this time.
One nice thing is that the temperatures luckily weren't too high. Our party first checked out several of the vista points and got some great pictures. The boys wanted to go on one of the helicopter tours, for which my parents bought tickets. I wasn't interested at first due to the prices, but Mom figured I'd make a good tour guide. The helicopter ride was really awesome and easily my favorite part of the trip. It actually made me wish people could fly. If only someone would invent an arc reactor suit. :-)
A rain started shortly after the tour ended. The rain soon turned into an intense hailstorm. This was quite unexpected, especially in the middle of summer. It seems the climate in the desert is very dynamic.
We visited a couple more photo stops before stopping at the Cameron Trading Post for dinner. Due to the lack of restaurants along the route, none of us had anything to eat except for some junk food. As you could imagine, all of us were pretty hungry at this point. The food wasn't too bad, though!
The final destination of the day was St. George. The route took us through Zion National Park in the evening, although we didn't get to see anything as it was completely dark outside. The winding roads meant we couldn't drive fast without being unsafe. It was well past midnight when we got to the hotel!
Day 4: a dam hot day
Hoover Dam was another place we wanted to show the boys. The landmark hadn't changed much when we came here around 20 years ago, although security was now really strict. The tickets for the full tour were sold out, but the power plant tour still available. It was largely similar to the one we went on back in 1996 but still pretty informative otherwise. We were then free to explore the observation area on our own. The weather had gotten extremely hot again, but there were luckily some cooling stations around. Those were nice for sure.
The evening ended with a little mishap: the clerk at our hotel in Las Vegas gave the boys the wrong room number. Yet their key was somehow able to open the door. Imagine their surprise when they saw a stranger laying in "their" bed. I'm glad they didn't walk in on more... intimate... things.
We were fortunately able to clear up the confusion with hotel management. The seven of us had a quick dinner before going on a drive on the Strip before checking out some malls and the fountains at Bellagio. One unusual thing is that Las Vegas was extremely crowded this time. I wonder whether it's a summer thing.
There was another mishap: Dad missed the exit leading to our hotel as he was exhausted from all the traveling. The fact that U-turns weren't allowed in many places didn't help the issue. It was well past midnight when we got back to our hotel!
Day 5: far from civilization
The first half of the day was spent on the road as the next two destinations were pretty far up north. Our journey brought us to Great Basin National Park in the afternoon. I had looked forward to visiting this place and finally got the chance to do so. The plan was to go on the Lehman Caves tour, but the last one had already ended. On the other hand, the views from the vista points were amazing.
Not too far from Great Basin was the ghost town of Osceola. Due to the lack of clear signs, it took us quite a while to find out how to get there. We arrived only to find that there was nothing more than a few buildings. There was a road leading further into the ghost town, but we decided not to continue after a guy told us there was nothing more than a cemetery. Yikes.
Our final stop of the day was Ely. There weren't any good restaurants in the area, but luckily we had bought some food at Costco earlier in the afternoon.
Day 6: it's pronounced "ee-lee"
All of us were kind of tired from all the traveling and wanted to rest for a bit before starting out. Dad and I went on a drive around downtown Ely and got some gas while Mom and the boys relaxed at the hotel.
One notable attraction in the area Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. The site wasn't that far away, but the rocky gravel road made it hard to drive fast without damaging the tires. The ovens were much larger than I had imagined. There were a few trails leading from the area, although we didn't hike on them as it was getting hot outside. We instead went to a nearby trading post for snacks before continuing on.
The rest of the day was uneventful as we had a long drive to Mammoth Lakes ahead of us. It was really late when we finally arrived in town. On the other hand, we had a nice dinner at the villa where we were staying. This was actually my first time trying elk meat!
Days 7 and 8: a mild disappointment
Mammoth Lakes was one of our favorite stops when we went there 18 years ago, but the time constraints meant we couldn't really explore the town. So we decided to head to Mono Lake, which my parents figured was more interesting. It was fun to explore the lake shore, although it was a little gross due to the mud and stench.
We then headed west to Yosemite as it's arguably the best-known national park in the west. One thing that makes Yosemite famous is the many beautiful waterfalls. Yet most of them barely had any water due to the drought. The huge amount of people also made it hard to get around. To be honest, this visit was somewhat disappointing.
Wanting to make the best of the situation, Dad took us to Glacier Point for pictures. The views here were better, and a local astronomy club even let visitors look through their telescopes to see people on Half Dome. That was a cool experience for sure. We then made a quick stop at the Yosemite Village before beginning our drive home.
Due to the speed limits, getting out of Yosemite took around two hours. As we were all pretty tired, we didn't make any other stops on the way home except a Carl's Jr. for dinner.
Conclusions
This trip was super exciting as it was our first time visiting the Southwest U.S. in 10 years, not counting our trip to Las Vegas in 2012 for the CES. The scenery and the local culture make the Southwest one of the most fascinating places in the world. The Grand Canyon helicopter tour was by far the best part of the trip, although the other places we went to were also super awesome. The fact that we traveled with four other people made the trip even more exciting. It's definitely an adventure that will be talked about for years.
Currently listening to: "Hello" by Adele
Summer has been great so far as my family just came back from another awesome trip, this time to the American Southwest. We left on the 30th and came back early this morning. It wasn't just the three of us as we again took my aunt Jill's students along. Though the weather is really hot at this time of the year, the trip was still lots of fun.
Day 1: into the heat
The trip began a bit later than expected as there were a couple of things that needed to be done. Our first stop was Casa de Fruita in Hollister, where we bought some dried fruits and snacks. This was followed by a stop at the San Luis Reservoir. The smoke from the nearby wildfires made it hard to see the lake, especially considering that the water level was quite low due to the drought. The rest of the 400-mile drive to Barstow was fairly uneventful as none of us wanted to get out of the car too much due to the heat. The temperature actually reached 114° F at one point. Yikes!
It was pretty late in the evening when we arrived in Barstow. All of us were too tired to go anywhere to eat, so dinner consisted of some leftovers and fruit.
Day 2: the start of a grand adventure
Given that Grand Canyon is one of the incredible places in the United States, my parents figured we had to let the boys see what it was like. We first visited Grand Canyon West, which isn't part of the park itself. One notable stop was the Grand Canyon Skywalk in the western area. This was really cool, although it's certainly not for people with acrophobia. Aunt Jill is scared to death of heights and would undoubtedly have stayed in the car had she been able to join us.
No more than 15 minutes after we got in, the staff kicked people off the Skywalk due to an approaching thunderstorm. Had we arrived just a bit later, our party would have missed out. That was a close call!
Though the Skywalk was an interesting sight, the admission was a little high in my opinion. It's definitely not a place we are likely to visit again in the future. This was followed by a few more photo shops before we headed to our hotel in Tusayan. All of us were a little hungry at this point yet didn't feel like walking to any of the nearby restaurants as it was close to midnight. The three of us had some dried fruit and cookies for "dinner" before going to bed.
Day 3: native grounds
Grand Canyon is apparently very popular for early birds. The hotel's dining room was filled with people even though it was barely 7 a.m. when we went down there for breakfast. It was then time to see what the rest of Grand Canyon had to offer. Though we came here during our 2000 Southwest U.S. trip, the cold weather at the time prevented us from making many stops. The nice thing is that we got to see much more of the canyon this time.
One nice thing is that the temperatures luckily weren't too high. Our party first checked out several of the vista points and got some great pictures. The boys wanted to go on one of the helicopter tours, for which my parents bought tickets. I wasn't interested at first due to the prices, but Mom figured I'd make a good tour guide. The helicopter ride was really awesome and easily my favorite part of the trip. It actually made me wish people could fly. If only someone would invent an arc reactor suit. :-)
A rain started shortly after the tour ended. The rain soon turned into an intense hailstorm. This was quite unexpected, especially in the middle of summer. It seems the climate in the desert is very dynamic.
We visited a couple more photo stops before stopping at the Cameron Trading Post for dinner. Due to the lack of restaurants along the route, none of us had anything to eat except for some junk food. As you could imagine, all of us were pretty hungry at this point. The food wasn't too bad, though!
The final destination of the day was St. George. The route took us through Zion National Park in the evening, although we didn't get to see anything as it was completely dark outside. The winding roads meant we couldn't drive fast without being unsafe. It was well past midnight when we got to the hotel!
Day 4: a dam hot day
Hoover Dam was another place we wanted to show the boys. The landmark hadn't changed much when we came here around 20 years ago, although security was now really strict. The tickets for the full tour were sold out, but the power plant tour still available. It was largely similar to the one we went on back in 1996 but still pretty informative otherwise. We were then free to explore the observation area on our own. The weather had gotten extremely hot again, but there were luckily some cooling stations around. Those were nice for sure.
The evening ended with a little mishap: the clerk at our hotel in Las Vegas gave the boys the wrong room number. Yet their key was somehow able to open the door. Imagine their surprise when they saw a stranger laying in "their" bed. I'm glad they didn't walk in on more... intimate... things.
We were fortunately able to clear up the confusion with hotel management. The seven of us had a quick dinner before going on a drive on the Strip before checking out some malls and the fountains at Bellagio. One unusual thing is that Las Vegas was extremely crowded this time. I wonder whether it's a summer thing.
There was another mishap: Dad missed the exit leading to our hotel as he was exhausted from all the traveling. The fact that U-turns weren't allowed in many places didn't help the issue. It was well past midnight when we got back to our hotel!
Day 5: far from civilization
The first half of the day was spent on the road as the next two destinations were pretty far up north. Our journey brought us to Great Basin National Park in the afternoon. I had looked forward to visiting this place and finally got the chance to do so. The plan was to go on the Lehman Caves tour, but the last one had already ended. On the other hand, the views from the vista points were amazing.
Not too far from Great Basin was the ghost town of Osceola. Due to the lack of clear signs, it took us quite a while to find out how to get there. We arrived only to find that there was nothing more than a few buildings. There was a road leading further into the ghost town, but we decided not to continue after a guy told us there was nothing more than a cemetery. Yikes.
Our final stop of the day was Ely. There weren't any good restaurants in the area, but luckily we had bought some food at Costco earlier in the afternoon.
Day 6: it's pronounced "ee-lee"
All of us were kind of tired from all the traveling and wanted to rest for a bit before starting out. Dad and I went on a drive around downtown Ely and got some gas while Mom and the boys relaxed at the hotel.
One notable attraction in the area Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park. The site wasn't that far away, but the rocky gravel road made it hard to drive fast without damaging the tires. The ovens were much larger than I had imagined. There were a few trails leading from the area, although we didn't hike on them as it was getting hot outside. We instead went to a nearby trading post for snacks before continuing on.
The rest of the day was uneventful as we had a long drive to Mammoth Lakes ahead of us. It was really late when we finally arrived in town. On the other hand, we had a nice dinner at the villa where we were staying. This was actually my first time trying elk meat!
Days 7 and 8: a mild disappointment
Mammoth Lakes was one of our favorite stops when we went there 18 years ago, but the time constraints meant we couldn't really explore the town. So we decided to head to Mono Lake, which my parents figured was more interesting. It was fun to explore the lake shore, although it was a little gross due to the mud and stench.
We then headed west to Yosemite as it's arguably the best-known national park in the west. One thing that makes Yosemite famous is the many beautiful waterfalls. Yet most of them barely had any water due to the drought. The huge amount of people also made it hard to get around. To be honest, this visit was somewhat disappointing.
Wanting to make the best of the situation, Dad took us to Glacier Point for pictures. The views here were better, and a local astronomy club even let visitors look through their telescopes to see people on Half Dome. That was a cool experience for sure. We then made a quick stop at the Yosemite Village before beginning our drive home.
Due to the speed limits, getting out of Yosemite took around two hours. As we were all pretty tired, we didn't make any other stops on the way home except a Carl's Jr. for dinner.
Conclusions
This trip was super exciting as it was our first time visiting the Southwest U.S. in 10 years, not counting our trip to Las Vegas in 2012 for the CES. The scenery and the local culture make the Southwest one of the most fascinating places in the world. The Grand Canyon helicopter tour was by far the best part of the trip, although the other places we went to were also super awesome. The fact that we traveled with four other people made the trip even more exciting. It's definitely an adventure that will be talked about for years.
Currently listening to: "Hello" by Adele
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