A San Francisco Treat!

We just returned from a spring break trip to San Francisco with Hector & Camille. Riding a cable car seemed appropriate...

Hector's first trip to The City by the Bay, so we did it all; Fisherman's Wharf, a Bay Cruise, Golden Gate Park, Union Square, China Town, Thai Food galore, Wine Country, The Muir Woods, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

We were blessed with the best weather on record; blue skies, light cooling breezes, and amazing visibility. Flowers were blooming in profusion at Golden Gate Park. What an amazing place!

We kept trying to explain to Hector that San Francisco is normally not like that at all...but we've fibbed to him so many times before he's just not buying it!

We had a great, relaxing time. Our hotel, the Park 55, was 1/2 a block from the BART station, and the same distance from the Powell Street Cable Car turn around near Market Street. Perfect location! Highly recommend the hotel to anyone staying on the Union Station side of town!

The weather turned nasty as we caught the BART train back to SFO for our flight home. Otherwise, just an amazing weekend!

Ahhh, the Carribean

Ok, so we've been to the Carribean before. This time, we hung out in a balcony cabin on a cruise ship for a week with 5 other LDS couples. We flew to San Juan, and then cruised to Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and back to San Juan. Our head water, Pochra, was Thai, so we immediately became fast friends. Food flowed like water. More shrimp? More lobster? More filet? Try this dessert! You've got to have this appetizer...

Our ship, the Adventure of the Seas, was really a floating city, with a mall, movie theaters, performing theater, ice skating rink, rock wall, multiple restaurants, spa, fitness center, pools... the list goes on and on.

As for the ports of call: Buy the March issue of Carribean magazine, because we hit many of the major beaches/offshore islands mentioned there. My Favorite? Curacao's beaches were uncrowded, pristine, and superb. I know, Trunk Bay on St. John is awesome, but so were the crowds! Isla Pinel on the French side of St. Martin was wonderful, but we had a tough time with the topless swimsuit crowd. Usually, the women who shouldn't, do, and those that could, don't. On Isla Pinel, well, they all did.

While we enjoyed the cruise, we're used to spending more than a day in each port. We spent so much time on the beach in a couple of places -- Curacao in particular -- that we just didn't have time to shop. And driving a 12 passenger van all over unfamilar, narrow island roads...wow! So next time...cruising with friends is fun, but hanging at a favorite port of call for a few days to really enjoy yourself is high on our list as well.

DC in Winter. Always entertaining!

Been a while since our last blog. Here's an update from our winter trip to DC.

We spent time at the usual places; Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, The Smithsonian Museums, etc. Did I mention shopping?

We also happend to notice that a new President had been elected. The euphoria of that event had not yet subsided; the evidence still hanging everywhere...

Of course we also visited our congressional delegation, most of whom actually met with us. Who didn't? Why, Harry Reid of course! I must admit, however, that the original picture of George Washington hanging in his outside office (circa 1790) was worth the trip...

A brief story: as we walked off the Mall towards a metro subway station, two ladies stopped us to ask directions. Within 30 seconds they asked if we were LDS...as were they...and found out we all new Scott & Jan Hoffman. I'm still wondering how they figured out so quickly that we were LDS. My angelic smile? The JS tract Dana tried to pawn off on them? Maybe we need to look a little meaner, or less approachable...

The Atlantis in the Bahamas...tolerable I suppose

These are some shots of our trip to the Bahamas. Camille and Michelle happened to join us for this excursion, and seemed to enjoy themselves.

I took them for a walking tour of Nassau, which included the fort at the top of the hill ... very warm, and very humid!

Bartering for goods was a lot of fun, especially when we ran into a lady we had gone to church with earlier in the week.

It looked like fun, so I traded her for a while and sold stuff to tourists. "Hey, pretty lady, like to buy some earrings?"

Great Britian is pretty great!

So we went to England to visit the queen ... actually, I took a course at the Business School at Oxford, and spent a week in London enroute. We asked these two Bobbies to pose with Dana near #10 Downing Street, where the PM lives. On to Parliment and Big Ben!

I tried to explain to Dana that the Red Box was not a public restroom but a phone box...I hope she believed me!

While in Notting Hill (think Portabello Road market), we stumbled accross our name emblazened on a pub accross from the tube station. Naturally, we had to stop by and amaze the staff, and have a bite to eat.

I'll post some of the more touristy shots later for you vacation purists.

Disneyland is for Kids...

So, Disneyland is for kids, right? So why are my son-in-laws smiling?

Hector, in particular, felt like a...king.

Of course, my grandchildren seemed to be enjoying themselves too.

Halloween in Disneyland is fast becoming a family favorite, and gives us all an opportunity to connect, wear costumes, and generally goof off.

Thailand Excellent Adventure Part Two

Ok, so I thought I'd throw in some of the actual Thailand shots you'd rather see. Here are some from Ayudttya, an ancient capital of Thailand that was sacked by the Burmese in the 1600s (don't take the dates as gospel). The Burmese descecrated their temples by beheaded all of the Buddha statues, and there were plenty of them!

The Buddha head wrapped in the roots of a tree was one such image; it has become a revered icon in Thai Buddhism. It has been photographed thousands of times, and professional copies are available at many websites. I like mine better. :-)

The intact Buddha figures are from the only temple to remain safe from the Burmese incursion, and give you a glimpse of what the others may have looked like before the damage.