After a week on the road, it is always nice to be back home. Today’s return was a little rougher as I saw the Golden Gate Bridge packed in fog. Gone was the hot, sunny summer weather of the past week’s trip.
Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
Returning home
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009Driving the Oregon Coast
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009From Portland, I headed to the coast and it’s a lot farther than I expected. Once at the coast, the first part of the drive is super-touristy with lots of windsock, fudge, magnet, salt water taffy stores. After suffering through that section, the drive becomes much more scenic.
One of the coolest parts was watching the ATVs and dune buggies racing around on the giant sand dunes.
Exploring Portland
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009The main focal point of the trip to Portland was food. It started with dinner at Del Inti, a Peruvian restaurant, and then the next day with donuts from Voodoo Doughnuts. Here’s a shot of the famous maple-bacon bar.
And here’s a lineup of the street food carts…
A quick stop at Multnomah Falls
Friday, August 21st, 2009From Hood River, I headed down highway 84 and the Historic Columbia River Highway toward Portland. There are lots of beautiful spots to stop with one of the most popular being Multnomah Falls. While most people hike to the top of the waterfall, maybe take a few pictures, and relax for a while, I went right up and took this photo, then ate an ice cream sandwich and was back in the car.
Exploring the Columbia River Gorge
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009Since there was no wind and no windsurfing today, I went off to explore the other parts of the Columbia River Gorge. I checked out the Columbia River Discovery Center and then drove down the Historic Columbia River Highway between Hood River and The Dalles.
I also followed a route known as the Fruit Loop past all the orchards and farm stands in the areas. One stop yielded some delicious cherries and pears. Another stop produced some cool photos of an abandoned fruit packing plant.
Click on the photos above to see more pics in the gallery.
Virginia countryside
Sunday, April 5th, 2009
Finally, back at home
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008We arrived in Dallas, and made our way through customs, then arranged for an earlier flight to SF through Orange County. The flight arrived late by less than 5 minutes into Orange County but it was enough to make us miss our connection to SF. After waiting 2 hours for next flight, we board our last flight home. Finally, we arrive in SF after 30+ hours of traveling.
Dec 31st headed home from Argentina
Monday, December 31st, 2007Today was the last day of the trip. After wandering around Palermo one last time, we stopped to get some lunch. It was blazing hot (about 38C) and we were happy to find a place with air conditioning. Today’s lunch consisted of a tray of deli meats and cheeses. On the way back to the apartment we stopped in to a wine shop to check out the Argentinian wines and found a bottle of Syrah to take home. The owner of the apartment came over to return our security deposit and pick up the keys.
After that, we were off in a taxi to the international airport. We had been advised to leave for the airport well in advance of our flight time and when we got there we found out why. The check-in area consisted of one very long line for each departing flight (Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York). Our line to Dallas ended up taking 3 hours for us to get to the counter to check in. The airline attendant advised us that the customs line could be a lengthy process as well and that we should get there as quickly as possible. We took her advice but then found out that the only restaurant after security was already closed and there was no food for us. Then, after boarding the plane, the captain informed everyone that we would be delayed. The cause of the delay – no fuel. The company that fuels the planes had decided to go out of business only 2 hours previously. So, we ushered in the new year sitting in the plane on the ground in Buenos Aires.
Dec 30th San Telmo street fair
Sunday, December 30th, 2007Today we headed to San Telmo to check out the street fair. Apparently this is the tourist thing to do. The street was packed with people walking.
There were lots of vendors set up along the street and in the square selling handcrafted goods, antiques, and all sorts of other stuff.
The main event was the tango dancers in the square.
Dec 29th Recoleta and Congresso
Saturday, December 29th, 2007Today we went back to Recoleta to check out the weekend street fair that is set up right outside the cemetery. We met photographer Pablo Maino and purchased one of his photos.
Then we headed over to Avenue 9 de Julio, the widest avenue in the world, 18 lanes.
We also checked out the Congress building that had been modeled after the US congress building.
