I am a fall weekend of high school celebrations. "Trish, will you go to the dance with me?"
Our month away is quickly ending. Tomorrow morning we'll be taking a cab the the Acapulco Aeropeurto to board a flight that will eventually take us to Seattle, WA. In the interest of not shocking our system too much with going home all at once, and to facilitate a few purchases without duty we'll stay an extra night in Seattle. We've been trying Priceline out a bit lately, the service where you name the price you'll pay for a certain star level, but not having luck there we went with our other recent favourite travel website, Hotwire, to secure our nights lodging.
What's the best thing about leaving your home for a month? Well... nevermind the fact that we don't technically have a home right now... The best thing is just relaxing and rejuvenating yourself.
27.4.07
25.4.07
Acapulco Dreams
Some seem to think that Acapulco isn't safe, and granted, during high season, the main drag which is lined with night clubs (aka discotheques) could be a bit harry, but as with any major city if you keep to yourself and keep your street smarts about you there's nothing to worry about. Keep in mind that after dark, you should make sure to use a taxi when travelling off of the main streets.
Now on the the good stuff... Acapulco has some great history as it's fairly close to Mexico City and was heralded as a destination for the elite back in the 60's. We're staying at one such establishment, the Villa Vera. The Villa has hosted numerous stars and even been featured in an Elvis Presley movie!
What I have enjoyed most about Acapulco has been the modern architecture. I assume that given it's historic nature as a place to be, it's close proximity to Mexico City, the constant influx of American investment, and also the limited variation of weather has all contributed to the areas love of cutty edge design. I'll have to post more design related pictures later on my Flickr page... stay tuned.
Okay... the pool is calling. :)
Now on the the good stuff... Acapulco has some great history as it's fairly close to Mexico City and was heralded as a destination for the elite back in the 60's. We're staying at one such establishment, the Villa Vera. The Villa has hosted numerous stars and even been featured in an Elvis Presley movie!
What I have enjoyed most about Acapulco has been the modern architecture. I assume that given it's historic nature as a place to be, it's close proximity to Mexico City, the constant influx of American investment, and also the limited variation of weather has all contributed to the areas love of cutty edge design. I'll have to post more design related pictures later on my Flickr page... stay tuned.Okay... the pool is calling. :)
16.4.07
Maui Uber Post
No educated editorial banter here, just a journal-style rambling of our activities of the last week.
We've taken it pretty easy but done a few specific things, I guess. Tuesday evening we went into the 'big' city of Kahului and did some shopping, picking up a few items needed for the condo and we got ourselves some inexpensive tennis rackets. Wednesday was pretty relaxed, don't think we really did anything specific other than our first tennis match.
Thursday was our first day sans-friends and we went out to the area I really like snorkeling at, Ahihi Bay, but this time we went past it into the Laparouse Bay lava fields that are now a nature reserve. We parked and then hiked about a half-mile down the road and then at 45 feet before the second to last telephone pole before the poles switch to the other side of the road we took a trail about a mile across the lava fields to a great little spot called 'fish bowl'. The 'fish bowl' was almost entirely protected from the ocean and had very little waves which made it great for Tricia especially. We saw a couple things we hadn't yet seen, like some pencil (sea) urchins, and a few crazy fish, names TBD.
Friday was our big surfing day. There was a $10 savings per person if we took the lesson 30 minutes away in Lahaina. Since Lahaina happens to be quite close to Ka'anapali, another nice resort area where we had spent our last night on our previous trip, we thought we'd take it there and make a day-trip out of it. We packed out lunches and drove up there right after the market close. We started with some souvenir shopping at the Whaler's Village for gifts and such, and then we walked along the beach for a little snorkel at Black Rock, sans flippers which makes it quite challenging. After our snorkel we sat on the beach for a bit, at our sandwiches, and enjoyed the view with our toes in the sand. Before we knew it it was time to motor on over to our Surfing lesson.
The surfing lesson was fun, our instructor Lucas was from Brazil and a real riot. Knowing that I had surfed a bit before he decided to make me go on the big waves, but his instruction helped a lot and he was able to point out what I was doing wrong, etc. Trish also did really well and it was a good intro to surfing. Our lesson seemed to start a bit late, maybe it was on island time, and potentially went a bit long as well. In light of that we didn't get back to our car until about 5:23pm and we had a reservation for dinner at 6:30pm.
Normally this wouldn't sound like a challenge, however we were approx. 45 minutes away from the condo, quite salty and sandy, and then another 10-15 minutes from our dinner reservation. Trish decided we could rise to the challenge and after 3 minute showers and lightning-quick ready-getting we made it to our reservation only a few minutes late. The mai-tai for two that the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a served seemed to do a great deal of calming. The lovely sunset, rushing waterfall in the background, and 40,000 gallon fish filled salt water lagoon probably also influence our calmness.
Saturday was another pretty relaxed day for us. We spent some time by the pool, some time in our place, and sometime at the beach. We BBQ'd some Ono (a white fish) for dinner and had a fairly chill evening.
On Sunday we again went back to Hope Chapel, our friend's church. We really enjoy the worship and the pastor's quite funny. If we were ever to be in Kihei on a more extended time frame we could certainly make that our home. After that we grabbed our day stuff and headed up to Pia'a on Maui's North Shore. We decided to have breakfast at Charley's a famous eatery that serves one of the most massive buttermilk pancakes I've ever seen. Once we were thoroughly stuffed we went over to Hokipa Beach to watch the windsurfers for a little while. Their speed and skill is quite amazing. We didn't see any kite-boarders this time, which is good, since there wouldn't be any thing visual to tempt us into it. It'll have to wait until SouthEast Asia. Since the North Shore is so windy we decided to just head back over to Kihei to hit the beach, especially since it was about 1pm and we like to try to stay out of the sun during the sun's hottest rays. After chillin' for a bit we grabbed some beach chairs and hit the beach to partake in the locals regular weekend activity... sitting on the beach. For dinner we BBQ'd a couple teriyaki chicken breasts and enjoyed some beverages but then I ate too much and felt sick. Boo.
As for what's on store this week... who knows? But the weather forecast has been getting better each day, so far so good. We'll have to see if our last couple of days turn out nice or not.
We've taken it pretty easy but done a few specific things, I guess. Tuesday evening we went into the 'big' city of Kahului and did some shopping, picking up a few items needed for the condo and we got ourselves some inexpensive tennis rackets. Wednesday was pretty relaxed, don't think we really did anything specific other than our first tennis match.
Thursday was our first day sans-friends and we went out to the area I really like snorkeling at, Ahihi Bay, but this time we went past it into the Laparouse Bay lava fields that are now a nature reserve. We parked and then hiked about a half-mile down the road and then at 45 feet before the second to last telephone pole before the poles switch to the other side of the road we took a trail about a mile across the lava fields to a great little spot called 'fish bowl'. The 'fish bowl' was almost entirely protected from the ocean and had very little waves which made it great for Tricia especially. We saw a couple things we hadn't yet seen, like some pencil (sea) urchins, and a few crazy fish, names TBD.
Friday was our big surfing day. There was a $10 savings per person if we took the lesson 30 minutes away in Lahaina. Since Lahaina happens to be quite close to Ka'anapali, another nice resort area where we had spent our last night on our previous trip, we thought we'd take it there and make a day-trip out of it. We packed out lunches and drove up there right after the market close. We started with some souvenir shopping at the Whaler's Village for gifts and such, and then we walked along the beach for a little snorkel at Black Rock, sans flippers which makes it quite challenging. After our snorkel we sat on the beach for a bit, at our sandwiches, and enjoyed the view with our toes in the sand. Before we knew it it was time to motor on over to our Surfing lesson.The surfing lesson was fun, our instructor Lucas was from Brazil and a real riot. Knowing that I had surfed a bit before he decided to make me go on the big waves, but his instruction helped a lot and he was able to point out what I was doing wrong, etc. Trish also did really well and it was a good intro to surfing. Our lesson seemed to start a bit late, maybe it was on island time, and potentially went a bit long as well. In light of that we didn't get back to our car until about 5:23pm and we had a reservation for dinner at 6:30pm.
Normally this wouldn't sound like a challenge, however we were approx. 45 minutes away from the condo, quite salty and sandy, and then another 10-15 minutes from our dinner reservation. Trish decided we could rise to the challenge and after 3 minute showers and lightning-quick ready-getting we made it to our reservation only a few minutes late. The mai-tai for two that the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a served seemed to do a great deal of calming. The lovely sunset, rushing waterfall in the background, and 40,000 gallon fish filled salt water lagoon probably also influence our calmness.Saturday was another pretty relaxed day for us. We spent some time by the pool, some time in our place, and sometime at the beach. We BBQ'd some Ono (a white fish) for dinner and had a fairly chill evening.
On Sunday we again went back to Hope Chapel, our friend's church. We really enjoy the worship and the pastor's quite funny. If we were ever to be in Kihei on a more extended time frame we could certainly make that our home. After that we grabbed our day stuff and headed up to Pia'a on Maui's North Shore. We decided to have breakfast at Charley's a famous eatery that serves one of the most massive buttermilk pancakes I've ever seen. Once we were thoroughly stuffed we went over to Hokipa Beach to watch the windsurfers for a little while. Their speed and skill is quite amazing. We didn't see any kite-boarders this time, which is good, since there wouldn't be any thing visual to tempt us into it. It'll have to wait until SouthEast Asia. Since the North Shore is so windy we decided to just head back over to Kihei to hit the beach, especially since it was about 1pm and we like to try to stay out of the sun during the sun's hottest rays. After chillin' for a bit we grabbed some beach chairs and hit the beach to partake in the locals regular weekend activity... sitting on the beach. For dinner we BBQ'd a couple teriyaki chicken breasts and enjoyed some beverages but then I ate too much and felt sick. Boo.
As for what's on store this week... who knows? But the weather forecast has been getting better each day, so far so good. We'll have to see if our last couple of days turn out nice or not.
8.4.07
Fuel Efficiency? The complete measure?
It's a good question: should the environmental impact of a car measured solely by its fuel efficiency?! I would say no.
I recently read an article that compared the impact of a Toyota Prius --the ultimate green car according to many environmentalists-- to a Hummer H2, the enviro arch nemesis.
Surprisingly enough the article stated that when considering more than just the fuel efficiency but taking into account things such as waste produced during manufacturing, fuel efficiency, length of drivability, end waste, etc., that the Hummer is approx. 40% MORE efficient than the Prius.
At the end of the day simple, single-engine internal combustion vehicles such as a Smart car or Toyota Yaris are among the most enviro-friendly cars one could own... or a Hummer.
Article Link.
I recently read an article that compared the impact of a Toyota Prius --the ultimate green car according to many environmentalists-- to a Hummer H2, the enviro arch nemesis.
Surprisingly enough the article stated that when considering more than just the fuel efficiency but taking into account things such as waste produced during manufacturing, fuel efficiency, length of drivability, end waste, etc., that the Hummer is approx. 40% MORE efficient than the Prius.
At the end of the day simple, single-engine internal combustion vehicles such as a Smart car or Toyota Yaris are among the most enviro-friendly cars one could own... or a Hummer.
Article Link.
7.4.07
Maui Waui
Okay, I really don't have time to say much at this point. We're having fun with our friends from home enjoying the company, water, beaches, etc. So in the meantime check out Tricia's Blog and I'll try to also update my Flickr page soon too. :)
23.3.07
Update 2: Munich, London, Customs, etc.
Tricia's put another update on her blog. Sounds like she had a pretty interesting time. Her blog is here.
21.3.07
Munich
Munich is definately a great city. As with many cities the public transportation is incredible. The systems in Europe really put most of the North American ones to shame. Vancouver's no exception in that area. So, when we arrived we jumped on the S-Bahn directly to the main station, Hauptbanhof (or something like that). The train was easy... the purchase of the tickets through the non-English speaking/communicating machine was nearly impossible. Thankfully, after far too long we found a desk manned by real people that spoke English. English speakers sure are demanding, eh?!
The character of older European cities is hard to imagine and fully understand and appreciate coming from North America. The picture included here is of the glochenspiel (sp?) above the Rathaus (city hall) in the Marienplatz (city center square). The part housing the tower and clock is only about 250 years old. The rest of the building is 400-500 years old! And that's just in the Marienplatz, there are many, many, many other very old, historically significant buildings scattered throughout most of the city. The other interesting contrast is the German affinity for ultra-modern design. The contrast is very interesting and I'll have to upload some more photos to my Flickr account when I have a chance.
But the architecture and history is only part of the story. The passion of the German's for all things German (and some not) is quite something. It's not really a stereotype that Germans love their beer, at least not regarding Barvarians. There's a beer for every occasion, different beers in different seasons, and countless micro-breweries. There's even beer that's especially for breakfast! Weis beer (wheat beer) is eatin' with white sausages and pretzels, but it's only served before noon so you have to make sure you're up early.
The passion Germans have for sport is quite something. Their passion really makes Canadians' hockey passion quite pathetic. I didn't get a chance to attend a football (soccer) game at Allienz Arena to get the full affect, but I did attend a Muenchen playoff hockey game and it was great! Nearly half the fans had the home-teams jerseys on and many other's had scarfs representing the home team. The chanting and constant noise was electrifying and yet there were only 2300 people in attendance at the Olympic Zentrum. Every time the home team scored a giant flag, bigger than the infamous Canadian flags that have been smuggled into Olympic hockey games in years past, was passed over the crowd as chanting and screaming abound. Of course there was beer and wine at the game, the wine was called bluwine, or something, and was a warm, mulled wine.
More to come...
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