TravelStream™ news feed for member johnrandall on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/johnrandall en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:04:35 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243094640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243094640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243094640/tpod.html Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:04:35 -0400 Greece 2009

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San Francisco, California, United States

Gather 'round folks and experience the excellent adventures of John Randall and Hao Zhong in Greece.



Our story begins in a modern airport terminal at SFO...



So we got on a plane Friday afternoon with big happy grins on our faces, looking forward to Athens and the magical Greek isles. The flights to Amsterdam and Athens were uneventful, except they were total cattle cars! The leg room between seats was so close, I couldn't even sit straight with my knees forward! With such a long flight (9+ hours), everyone reclined their seats so you got squashed at the top too. Picture 400+ people "spooning" in a 747 and you get the idea.



Arriving in Athens, we took the bus into town as the metro terminal was getting renovated. When we booked the trip with the agency, we took their recommendation for our Athens hotel (Hotel Amaryllis). Roaming the streets of Athens looking for our hotel, we stopped to ask some police officers for directions. Once they saw the address of our destination, they promptly warned us that it was unsafe for tourists as it was a shady illegal market area! Of course, we thought this might be cool so pressed on undeterred and found the hotel in a back alley with raw sewage running down the street (can you spell STINKY?). Just as we were about to enter the portal of this "fine" establishment, we got to witness the police perform a street raid on all the "vendors" lining the block. This consisted of three enduro type police motorcycles blazing down the sidewalks and forcing the undesirables to flee for their lives lest they be run over! We checked in to our room, but immediately called back to the states to cancel the reservation and find new accommodations. No way we were going to stay at this dump! : P The agency agreed to refund our room costs but had no other bookings available. Hao wipped out his iPhone and immediately found five hotels in the area to check out. We got lucky and the first place we checked (Hotel Akropol Classico) could take us for all four days. Saved! : )



Now that we were safely situated, we could relax and enjoy our stay. Since it was evening by this time, we took a walk up the street to a recommended restaurant and had dinner. The food was pretty good; stuffed squid, salmon, and seafood risotto. Not very "Greek", but filling. There was supposed to be a live band playing, but they never showed. : (



We were so severely jet lagged, we hit the sack early.



Finally arrived. Nighty-night.



~JR~
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Mykonos, Cyclades, Greece

Mykonos is a very different place than Santorini. It is a low-lying island with gently curving hills, small secluded bays, and BEACHES. We had heard that this was a "Party" island, and so wanted to have a little fun before heading back to Athens. Hao found out that the most popular beaches were called Paradise and Super Paradise. After finding our hotel in the village or Ornos (short drive from Mykonos harbor), we jumped in out little rental jeep (Suzuki Jimny) and headed to the other side of the island. Mykonos isn't very big, but it took us a while to get to and find Super Paradise Beach. Right away we knew something was up, the parking lot was jammed and music was blasting from the beach club. Walking in, we were immediately shocked to find a full scale beach party (more like a riot and orgy combined) going on as crazy as any spring break bash! Music blasting, half naked bodies dancing, total mayhem choreographed to thumping house music. SWEET! ; P Did I mention all the HOT girls too? Awesome! However, being the old geezer that I am, I simply enjoyed the sights and sounds for a bit and dragged Hoa out of there so we could get some food and rest. You can bet Hao is planning a return trip to scam on those babes though! ; )

Since we missed out on seeing ancient Akrotiri on Santorini (Closed due to structural damage), I wanted to visit the ancient temple island of Delos. This is a special island park close to Mykonos that is just a short boat ride away. We spent a half day there and took a guided tour of the ancient temple complex and town. Delos is similar to the well know ancient Roman city of Pompei in Italy as a well preserved site that has been excavated in detail. I loved the ancient mosaic tile designs from the homes and public buildings.

Returning to Mykonos, we spent the rest of the day kicking back on the beach in Ornos. The beach is set up European style with rows of palm umbrelas and lounge chairs to relax and catch your fill of rays. Five Euros buys you a seat for the whole day, with bar service included. The water wasn't summer warm yet, but it was crystal clear and refreshing. There were several private sailing yachts anchored just off the beach. Hao and I took a swim out and around a nice sailing schooner with Singapore registry. The best part was that as we swam up, we noticed that the name of the boat was "Thek Wini"! We died laughing and almost drowned.

As our last night on the island, we wanted to go downtown and have a nice dinner. We found a fantastic harbor-side restaurant with a view of the old port and sunset. It seemed like the whole island had gathered on the spot to see the setting sun. As we were eating, this ultra cool yacht pulled in and dropped the hook for the night.

We spent the next morning crawling throught the fantastis back alleys and maze-like walkways of the old port town. We checked out the shops, cafes, and little churches hidden in the secluded district. Every balcony had beautiful boughanvillas flowing down the walls and spring flowers everywhere. It was different than the cliff dwelling alleys of Santorinin, more homey and intimate. You felt like you lived here.

Unfortunately, we had to catch the boat to Athens that afternoon. The hell of it was, that we had landed (and rented our car) in the old port, but had to hike over three kilometers to reach our return ship in the new port! DOH! Well, we needed the exercise anyway. : )

So back to Athens we go and our last night of the trip...






]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243440480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243440480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/2/1243440480/tpod.html Thu, 28 May 2009 17:34:25 -0400 Greece 2009

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Santorini, Cyclades, Greece

Running like crazed waddling ducks with all our luggage, we jump off the metro at the port of Peraeus just in time to catch the ferry ship from Athens to Santorini. This ship is huge! Picture a cruise ship that has a tailgate to load cars, RV's, and big tanker trucks and you get the idea. We were finally off to the islands. It's a long trip, Santorini is the furthest major Greek isle and it takes almost eight hours to get there! Besides the Acropolis, the images of Santorini with its cliff side dwellings in blue and white hanging over the Aegean Sea are what I imaging Greece to be. On the way, we make a few quick stops at the ports of Paros and Naxos. These ferry ships make this run every day and are a model of efficiency. It only took about 10-15 minutes at each port to dock, unload vehicles and passengers, and be on our way again. Cool!

So after a long voyage, we arrived at the volcanic island. Santorini is a volcano that blew up thousands of years ago and the crater filled with water so the island is cresent shaped with othe small islets that outline the rest of the old mountain. Compared to the other islands, it's very dramatic. The sheer cliffs rise hundreds of feet straight out of the water. There are actually several towns perched along the knife edge ridges.

We rented a cool little two seat Smart Car at the port and zoomed up the steep road that zigged and zagged up the mountain to the town of Fira. Trying to find our B&B was a challenge. Hao wipped out his trusty iPhone and used the GPS to locate the general area, but we still needed to make several calls for directions and through trial and error finnaly got there. Fira is the "Capital" of the island, but the most picturesque town is called IA (eee-uh), this is the place that all the famous pictures are from. Of course we drove there immediately. Our timing was good and we got there just before sunset and stayed for the suns show.

We were instantly blown away by how beautiful the city is. All the colors, the fantastic shapes of the homes, and the crazy location. Awesome! We came back bright and early the next morning to explore in more depth. We were hungry and looking for a place to get some breakfast. All the cafes and restaurants were closed. We found a nice place to eat, but the shop was being cleaned. By sheer persistance, Hao got them to open the doors for us and we got the bet patio view in the place all to ourselves. The food was great, a real slice of heaven.

The next day, we had arranged to take an afternoon sail and sunset cruise on a sweet catamaran. The wind had been dead the day before, but we lucked out and it was really pumping (20+ knts) that afternoon. Instead of doing some cheesy beach tours, we took advantage of the wind and did some real sailing. Rippah! The boat capitain was from Serbia and the Crew/Cook was a former CTO for a tech company in New Jersey. You meet the neatest people, in the strangest places. We had a fresh seafood dinner of grilled squid, prawns, pork steaks, and veggies. Besides the wine, we capped it off with some local white lightning. Yowzaaah!

We only had two days on the island, but they were amazing. We move on next to the island of Mykinos. On the morning we left, we had breakfast in Fira at "Mamas House". Mama was a little Geek fireball who kept calling us, crazy sex bums! : P Turns out, she lived in San Jose for years just down the road from Hao!

Well, on to more adventures...

~JR~
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Athens, Attica, Greece

We started our first real day in Athens with a half day city tour via bus. This let us get our feet wet and also see the lay of the land. Athens has four million people living in it and the city is spread very wide over the rolling landscape. There are no high-rise skyscrapers or cityscape to be seen, the tallest buildings are only 10-12 stories tall. There are isolated hills dotted around the city, but the Acropolis hill is the center piece. All the major ruins and historic structures are either on the Acropolis or surrounding it. The original Greek city and later Roman development are within walking distance of the hill. An unexpected benefit of the tour was a visit to the old Olympic stadium. Built in the late 1800's to host the first "modern" era games, it's built entirely of local marble and is gleaming white. According to our guide, marble is cheaper than wood here, so everything is marble! We also got a tour of the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the old Parliament building. Since it was Sunday, the honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was wearing their traditional Greek uniforms and giving a great show of their very stylized marching. Cool!




Acropolis: This is the whole complex of temples, theaters, and governing structures on the hill. Of coarse, the most famous is the Parthenon! There is a lot of restoration work in progress on many of the buildings and also a brand new modern museum set to open in June. The place was crawling with tourists from all over the world, but for some reason there was a huge number of German visitors and in large groups. The Parthenon had scaffolding on three sides and is fenced off so you can only get as close as 30 ft. to it. I won't go into gruesome detail about the temple, but for those interested, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon Needless to say, "It was AWESOME"! The cradle of western civilization no less.

Agora: After touring the Acropolis, we made our way down the hill to the ancient Greek town section. This has many artifacts and ruins scattered about and also a nice museum with collected sculptures. The best structure is the Temple of Hephistos (a.k.a. Vulcan, god of Fire and Blacksmiths).

Plaka: After the Agora area, we walked into an area called the Plaka. This is and old area of the city with narrow streets, charming plazas, old Orthodox churches, shops, restaurants, and lively street-life. This is the place to hang out! The weather has been hot (85 - 95 deg. and sunny) so after walking about all day, you want to rest your weary dogs and have a refreshing beverage (Ouzo is the local poison, and is growing on me). One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the food, it rules! Sooo fresh and tasty. Practically every chef and cook in the place is the mama of the restaurant owner! Grilled octopus, fresh fish, Greek salads, pastas, wonderful stews, on-and-on. Every single meal has been fantastic!

National Archaeological Museum: With all the amazing Greek history, you need a place to house it's cultural treasures. Here is where all those beautiful marble sculptures, bronze statues, ceramic jars, and gold jewelry and ornaments are housed. So many of the most famous examples which I've seen in books or watched documentaries on are right here. I was just watching a history channel show on the Antikythera mechanism, and here it was. ( Now I can tell all my friends, oh wait, I am telling you!) ; )


We took a ride over to Lykovitoss hill to get a nighttime view of the Acropolis. You have to either hike up a steep trail or take the cool Funicular car. The view is stunning with a 360 deg. panorama of the city.
Three days have gone by quickly and now we're catching the ferry to Santorini tomorrow morning, bright and early. Get ready for some beautiful island action!

~JR~
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238095140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238095140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238095140/tpod.html Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:22:09 -0400 Road Trip 2009

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Temecula, California, United States

I've been lazing around these past weeks so I needed a real workout. I signed up for a day of fun at the Oceanview Gem Mine in Pala, California. This is the last operating mine in the Pala mining district. I saw this place on a show called "Treasure Hunters" some time ago and have always been interested. This mine is famous for its gem quality Tourmaline. You get to work the tailings pile from the main mine operation and you get to keep anything you find! Check out their web site if you are interested in checking it out for yourself: http://www.digforgems.com/
Pala is in rural hill country between San Diego and the L.A. Metro area near the town of Temecula. Pala is also an Indian reservation and of course, it has an historic Franciscan mission church (I promise, this is the LAST one). : ) I first came out to this area back in the 80's when I was in the communication trades to work on the local Wells Fargo branch. This is a very picturesque area, reminds me of Italy or Spain with hills covered in Olive trees and vinyards.

Well, after four solid hours of back breaking shoveling and sifting, I didn't have much to show for it, but I had great fun! : P A cool part of the experience is that you get to take a tour of the working mine! It's really neat to see how they locate and blast out the crystal deposits. Later that same day, they planned to blast out a new section but, we weren't allowed to hang around. : (

After such an amazing trip, this will be my final adventure. It's time to push on home and prepare for my big move.
I have one last blog entry to make and this will mark the final chapter in this epic tale. ; )

~JQ
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238383800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238383800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/johnrandall/1/1238383800/tpod.html Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:34:40 -0400 Road Trip 2009

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San Jose, California, United States

A funny thing happened on my way to Morro Bay; I had soup!

For years, it's been my tradition to stop and have the famous pea soup at Anderson's in Buelton, California. http://www.peasoupandersens.net/ After the gem mine, I was hungry and it was perfect timing for dinner when I got to Buelton. I've never ordered anything else but the "Traveler's Special" since I was a teen because it's just that good! As I was sitting at the copper counter and slurping my soup, it just hit me; I'm done! I want to go home now. I had made reservations at the Morro Bay State Park for a night but just decided to pass on by. I put the peddle to the metal and kept on going through the night until I reached San Jose. It was sooo good to finally be back home and sleeping in my own bed!

Now that the trip is over, I was reflecting back on events and had some parting thoughts for you. Traveling is great! (what a revelation goober!) Sure, it's fun, exciting, adventurous, interesting, etc. but I mean it does great things TO you. Opening yourself up to new things invariably changes you. Having new experiences, meeting new people and cultures gives you a better appreciation for what you already have right in front of you. It opens your eyes to other possibilities and helps you be less close-minded. Travel will help you to be more tolerant toward yourself and others. So I say, "Get your butt out there people"! Travel makes better people, and that can only help make this a better world. My Mom sent me a great quote from Ghandi, it goes "Be the change you want to see in the world". Fantastic! : )

So about that...

One of my bestest buddies and travel companions, Hao Zhong, just invited me on a new adventure. Just before I start school in June, we are taking a trip to Greece. Awesome! My mind is still reeling. It's one of the top five places on my list of travel spots. Ten days to see Athens, Santorini, and Mykonos.

So the road leads on to new adventures. I'll start a new blog for that when the time comes, but anyone who wants to get off the bus has the option of unsubscribing. You can reach me anytime via my regular email address at: johnkrandall@hotmail.com or on my Facebook page.

Thanks to all my family and friends for your support!

~JQ has left the building! ; )
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San Diego, California, United States

I didn't realize that San Diego was so cool! There is so much to see and do here. I briefly visited the California Mission Church here (what a surprise!) years ago but didn't check out the city. I camped on the beach at Silver Strand State Beach for the three days I was here. This is in the middle of the peninsula that creates the San Diego Bay. The park is surrounded by military installations and the quaint town of Coronado. The "campground" is pretty basic, just a parking lot with no amenities really, you need to be self contained and no tents allowed. Can't get any closer to the beach though unless you drive on it and it goes on for miles! I've camped on both coasts this trip, how cool is that!

I've always heard about the "World Famous" San Diego Zoo, so I had to check it out. Nobody told me, but the park is situated down in its own ravine and you have to hike up and down hills all day long, FRAK! It was pretty hot that day and all the animals were either hiding in their caves or practically passed out. When this zoo opened 20 years ago, I think it must have been innovative with the more natural surroundings for the animals, but frankly, I think it was a little dated. It was great to see some exotic animals that are pretty rare, but I don't think I'll be returning anytime soon.

After that ordeal, I needed a break and headed for the Hotel Del Coronado. What a great place! This hotel is filled with history from visits by the most famous Hollywood stars and political figures of the past 120 years. This place is really posh, with rooms starting at $250 a night. If you're really well heeled, you can get your own private villa on the beach! The restaurants are nice and the bar is really cool. I enjoyed it so much, I came back the next day and spent the entire day on the beach there and just hung out at the bar!


I really just wanted to relax, so I'll save the other attractions for later visits. San Diego is just five hours from Phoenix. Speaking of which, on the way here I passed by the historic Territorial Prison in Yuma, Arizona and also through the Imperial Sand Dunes. Neat!

Well, I've got two more stops along the way up the coast till I reach home. Stay tuned for more fun!

~JQ
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Phoenix, Arizona, United States

JQ here, signing back on after some time off with the family in Phoenix. Things run a bit slower here in Sun City as you can see. It was great to hang out and sleep in a "real" bed after being on the road, not to mention HOT showers too!

As mentioned in previous blogs, it's spring training for Baseball, and now that I'm in Phoenix, I had to go see a local game. Phoenix has gone stadium building crazy these past years and over a dozen Major League teams now practice here. It's practically an entire league (Cactus League) but the games are so much more enjoyable and low key.

This time off has helped me to reflect on the changes going on and what my future will hold. I've always wanted to finish my college education, and have decided to go back to school full time. With the proximity to family, low cost of living, and great schools, I've decided to relocate to Phoenix and get a Business degree from Arizona State. With a Trifecta like that, I can't go wrong. I'm really going to miss my friends and the life in the Bay area, but this is a golden opportunity that rarely comes along. So I've enrolled in the local JC to get things rolling for the Summer session and will transfer to ASU later.

Well, my parents are probably getting tired of me hogging up the hallway bathroom, ; ) so I'm headed West to kick it on the beach in San Diego for a few days. After that, I'll work my way up the coast and home, but not before a few more adventures. This epic journey is coming to a close, and the future awaits.

Heading for the setting sun...

~JQ
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Winslow, Arizona, United States

This section of Arizona is pretty bleak. Other than Petrified Forest Nation Park, this area is desolate. That is the reason it was easy to find the crater in the first place. Surprisingly, there are only a dozen or so known meteor impact craters in the world. This crater is the first scientifically proven impact site. It was thought to be a volcanic steam crater but the famous astronomer and scientist Gene Shoemaker proved it to be made by a meteor impact in the 60's. This is a neat place and a nice little side trip, it's the best $15 I've spent to see a big hole in the ground. ; )

Prior to visiting the crater, I spent the night in the town of Winslow, Arizona. Yes, it's THAT Winslow, Arizona from the Eagles song "Take it Easy". The center of Winslow is on the old Highway 66. The original "Mother Road" that used to stretch from Chicago all the way to L.A. To commemorate the famous song (and to attract more tourists), the town created this great little park called "Standin' on the Corner". Check it out, they have there own domain and web site: http://www.standinonthecorner.com This is without a doubt, the coolest road art I've see in the country. Sweet!

On to the Parentals pad...

~JQ
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Grants, New Mexico, United States

WOW, what a great place! The Acoma Pueblo is really special. I was starting to get bummed by missing out on the Taos Pueblo and also seeing how badly the other local Pueblos were kept. It's disheartening to see how poor or neglected some of these unique cultural sites are. Acoma was a pleasant surprise. First of all, the location is unique being on a remote mesa in a secluded dessert valley. To be fair, the Acoma reservation has a casino which has provided funding to establish a beautiful visitor center and employed all the tribal members. So many other tribes are less fortunate and the condition of their environment shows it.

The Spanish moved into the area in the 1600's and established a mission at the pueblo. Like all the pueblos in the region, the Indians resisted the conversion and loss of native practices. In 1680, the pueblos of the New Mexico region revolted and threw out their Spanish rulers. For 12 years, the Indians had their freedom but the Spanish eventually returned and regained control. The Spanish demolished the tribes seven circular ritual Kiva dwellings so the Acoma tribe rebuilt them in secret as square dwellings to disguise them as regular homes and continued to practice their native religion.

The mesa top village does not have have running water, electricity, or sewage. Only about 20 families live full time in the pueblo, with the majority of tribal members living in modern homes in the balance of the reservation lands. The tribe is a matriarchal society and all property is owned by the women and lineage is determined through the mothers bloodline. Many of the members are artisans and the tribe is famous for its pottery. I got a chance to meet several of the potters and bought a few pieces directly from them out of their homes on the mesa top!

The visitor center and museum has great examples of the tribes pottery through the different eras and famous artists. One annoying thing is that the tribe is really guarded about photography. I had to buy a camera permit to take any pictures and had restrictions on what I could photograph. I had to ask permission of any tribe member to take their picture. Technically, I wasn't supposed to take any video footage, but I at least waited until I was off the mesa. (Hope I didn't offend the local deities) : P

The tribe takes great pride in their culture and heritage, and it really showed in how well taken care of the Pueblo was. The environment, geology, and landscape were fantastic. Add all this together, and you have a real treasure.

Well, it's on to Arizona and the family in Phoenix. On the way, I want to check out Meteor Crater. I've seen the crater in so many movies, I have to see it for myself.

~JQ
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