Pacific Inn of Mountain View

... park. Highway 101 is absolutely beautiful and green in this part of the country. With the redwoods on my left, and the ocean on my right, it's a wonderful drive. Things dry out though as I head south. By the time I hit Eureka, it looks like the California I know, arid and sunny. While stopping to enjoy a view, I met a group of Croatian electrical engineering students. I stopped ...

... items (sweater and jacket) easily accessible in case I get cold, but it doesn't take up much space or weight, so I figure it's worth an experiment. Clothes take up the biggest amount of real estate in the backpack, so that's the first place to set limits. Here is the full extent of my travel wardrobe: 1 pr jeans 1 pr Nike black spandex workout pants (these will do double-duty as "dressy" pants, and workout pants if I ...

Already well into the month of January, and we are contemplating what destination(s) we have planned for this year. For the past few years, we've been traveling to the Caribbean and Europe. In between those trips, we do an annual trip to the east coast to visit family too. Last year we had traveled four times (I know that doesn't seem a lot; I didn't include all the places we visited on my travel blog). Unlike most of the travelers on ...

the morning is still among the city buzz. But within the hour, the stampeding feet of excited children will fill each room, hockey pucks will blaze by faces, games will be scattered across the floor and lego fortresses will be proudly built. But now the building hangs as silent as the morning fog that lingers through the city streets. In these moments I have learned the power of silence and centering prayer. That in even these five minutes, my mind is re-focused ...

... to the next round. Bertoli won over #1 seeded Justine Henin-Herdenne to play against Venus Williams in tomorrow's finals. Andy Roddick lost to Richard Gasquet who will tomorrow face Roger Federer in the semi-finals. After watching all that tennis, Tito Larry and I decided to hit the court once more; and since it is part of their condo ...

... perhaps more than a city of grand icons. The details of San Francisco: The bums along carnivalesque Haight St are studded with piercings and wear leather jackets, which are worth a lot more than the dollars they are begging. They tell jokes and hold up funny signs, and spout streams of abuse if you don't donate. Dollar bills are blowing along the street between people's feet and no one, even the punk-bums, have bothered to stoop and pick them up. With a shout ...

... the city it could well be blazing sunlight. After a couple of days, I caught my next and final flight before my final one back home from Boston, this time to Seattle. It was a tough call between a 20 hour bus ride and $20 more for a flight. The plan's to spend a couple of weeks up in Seattle, getting everything ready before the off. photo links: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=6 7991&l=0ed57& id=222300048 http://yorkuk.facebook.com/album.php?ai d=68005&l=3b92b&a mp;id=222300048

... inside the gift shop which are taken on perfectly clear, unobstructed sunny days, with a camera boasting eight times the resolution of my own, by professional photographers who go around taking pictures of national treasures for a living and selling them to the postcard companies. And I even bought a postcard with a phenomenal photo of the bridge. But I took a picture anyway. But what I liked taking a picture of was Becca on the bus that ...

... I went for a Burger King. Went back through security (the full on body search again, everyone else was just walking straight through!) and got to the terminal in time for my flight to find out that it had been delayed due to a mechanical failure. It was due out at 2.05pm, it had now been changed to 4.30pm, then 5.30pm, we actually took off at about 6.45pm by which time i'd had 3 more full body searches as I got bored and went for walks. I was a tad cheesed.