Oregon Trip

"If you show somebody their future, they'll have no future.
You take away the mystery, you take away hope."

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged. I've been really busy with other things that I didn't get a chance to update my blog. I guess that only tells one thing... I spent less time in front of the computer and more  outdoors. That's right!!! It's summer! The sun doesn't set until 8:30PM, I will take advantage of the sun as much as I can. Well, let me start talking about my trip to Oregon. If I were to describe Oregon in one word in the month of March, I would say...."FREEZING". But I enjoyed it since I don't really get to experience 12inches of snow and zero degrees temperature. 

I am not sure if I can remember every single detail that happened during the trip but I'll try my best. The trip was scheduled from March 30 - April 3. The night of March 28th, I looked in the mirror and had the urge to shave my head. I stared in the mirror for a few minutes and finally opened the cabinet, grabbed the hair clipper, a mirror and began cutting my hair. But of course, something had to go wrong!!! I couldn't line up the back of my head. Here's the bad news, the bad news is that the time was around 10:30PM. The barbershops were all closed! The good news is... I just saved a bunch of money by switching over to Geico! LOL.. Here's the real good news, my friend Jeff was still awake and he agreed to fix my hair! So I drove to his place so he could fix my hair. It looked really nice except I looked like a thug from the projects. Even I got scared! LOL. But that's not the point of this blog, so I'll stop talking about my hair and begin talking about my trip.

- The night of March 29, Richard and I drove up to San Francisco.. Okay, I'm not gonna lie, he drove! lol. 

- We left at midnight and arrive at his brother's apartment around 7AM. We had a few stops.

- We rested for about an hour and got in the car and off to Oregon.

- The drive was about 7 hours but I slept most of the time.

- We got a little lost but after about 30 minutes, we finally found the place we were staying. I forgot the name but it's something that ends with Creek. lol

- We started unloading and we decided to checkout the little restaurant across the street from the cabin. Their pies were amazing! Richard had Boysenberry pie (He got it because it started with Boy. LMAO)

- We checked out the creeks around the cabin. I felt at home! Lots and lots of trees! I like the great outdoors so I really feel relaxed when I'm outside surrounded by trees. 

- After about an hour, we decided to head back to our cabin. 

- Our cabin had no cellphone reception! No Internet! at least most of the time!

- The next day, we decided to go snowmobiling. I've never been on a snow mobile so this was really fun!

- At first, the guy renting out the snow mobiles didn't want to rent it to us since it's a bit dangerous. The weather was unpredictable and the snow was really thick and mostly powder. He was scared that we might end up in the lake. So he told us that the only way he'll rent out the snowmobiles was that if we had a tour guide. So we all agreed since we were already there and wanted to get on a snowmobile. 

- Our tour was about 3 hours, I think. I can't remember but I know it was pretty long! (that's what she said!. lol)

- Our tour guide was really good! He allowed us to free play in the meadow for about 40 minutes. He also let us borrow his snowmobile. That thing hauls! I went all the way up to 50mph. I was scared to go any faster since it felt like I was going 100mph. The snowmobile can go up to 120mph.

Here are the pics of our snowmobiling adventure!

Oregon Snow Fun

This is getting pretty long so I'll have a part 2 of this trip :)

Mt. Baldy Hike

While you are young,
While you have time,
While you have energy,
When you have the opportunity, try it!
even if it's not for you,
the important thing is you are trying.

We planned this hike within a week and we really didn't know what to expect but a 7 hour strenuous hike to the top of Mt. Baldy through a trail called "Devil's Backbone".  Anyway, we had a few drinks the night before and planned on going home early to get some rest and also get our stuff ready for the hike the next day. But did it happen? lol.. Nope, we ended up coming home around 1:30am. The first thing I did was emptied my Camelback and packed it with some warm clothing, first aid kit, knife, survival kit, warming blanket, and water proof matches. I also went online and searched for Topographical maps of the San Bernardino Mountains. The maps I found were a little bit blurry but it's better than nothing right? haha. Then I looked at the clock and it was already 3:30am.. I needed to get up in a few hours. I setup my alarm at 6:30am so we can be on the road by 8am.

Sunday - April 18, 2010

- My alarm went off at 6:30am but just like any other day, I hit the snooze button. Finally got up around 7am.

- Called everyone to make sure they were awake and ready to go. Their phone rang a few times before they picked up. Except for Vera! WOW!!! 

- I took a shower and got ready within 15 minutes. It was around 7:30.

- I double checked my stuff and checked the weather report and said that it was going to be in the 30s and low 50s

- Around 7:40, I received a call from Richard asking if we had already left. If not, he will be joining us.

- First person to arrive was the last person I expected to show up... guess who?.... Vera! Wow... again.. haha... 

- A few minutes later, everyone arrived at my house and ready to go.

- We ate breakfast at Jack and the Box.. We wasted a good hour eating at this place I think.

- After that, we headed to 7eleven to get our snacks, water, etc.

- Finally on our way to the mountains. I think it was 50miles away from Burbank. 

- After 40 minutes of driving, we finally arrived at the Visitor's center to purchase our mountain adventure pass. 

- Here's where the bad news came... The ranger had informed us that we are not allowed to go up to the top of Mt. Baldy unless we have crampons and ice picks. The Devil's Backbone trail is the size of a regular table and if it's full if ice, it is going to be slippery and dangerous!!! Luckily, there were alternate routes we could take to get to the 2nd highest peak, which is the Ski lodge/restaurant. I think it was a 4 mile hike one way with an elevation gain of almost 2000 ft. from Mankers flat (the parking area).

- Since we were already there, we might as well make the best of it and go wherever we can go.

- We finally arrived at the parking lot at Mankers Flat.

- We grabbed our gears and started hiking towards San Antonio Falls

- After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the falls and took pictures. My socks got wet but oh well, that's expected going to places with water. 

- After taking a few pics, we started our journey to the top. There were snow patches on the trail but we were determined to get to the top.. haha. "If there's a will, there's a way!"

- After hiking up for 5 minutes, "some" of us needed to take a break since "some" of us are not used to hiking. lol. I'm not pointing fingers...i'm just saying. 

- I think we took close to 10 snack breaks before we reached the Ski lodge. (We could have taken the ski lift going up to the lodge but we were there for the exercise and the experience so why take it right?)

- After a couple of hours hiking up, we finally reached the top.. by this time, all of us had taken the extra layers of clothing we had earlier. I was wearing shorts and a tank top. 

- Here's the funny part, we couldn't find the exact trail to get to the lodge so we made our own trail. We ended up at the slopes where people were snowboarding, skiing, and tubing. Everyone of them were wearing jackets, gloves, ear muffs/beanie and we were wearing tank tops and shorts. hahaha.. Only in California!!!

- We finally sat down at the restaurant and ordered our food. The price of food was expensive!!! I think a can of coke was $3! and a burger was $12.. Oh well, we needed to fuel our body to go back down.

- We got there just in time to see the last few minutes of the Lakers game. They won! yey!

- Then we took our time eating and by the time we finished, it was already 4pm. So we decided to head back down. 

- We took a different trail on the way down. The trail was very steep and slippery but it saved us a lot of time. It must have saved us at least 30 minutes of walking. 

- After an hour and a half of walking (maybe more), we finally reached the bottom and headed home. 

The hike was definitely fun! It's nice going with a bunch of people because it makes a difficult hike easier because everyone is having fun. My goal for 2010 is to hike as many mountains as possible. In June, we are going back to Yosemite but this time we are hiking the half-dome. No excuses!.. That hike should give us enough practice to hike Mt. Whitney in October. I also plan on doing a few local hikes in the San Gabriel Mountain within the next few weeks if my schedule permits.

Click the album below to see the rest of the pictures

Mt Baldy Hike

Crocker Club - Michelle's Birthday Celebration

"When you were born, you were crying and everyone else around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone else is crying."

The Crocker Club is located in the basement of the former Crocker Citizens National Bank building in the corner of Spring St. and 5th St. This place reminds me of those old gangster movies. 

I usually write a lot of stuff but I don't feel like writing today. I just went through 400+ pics and edited 146. 

Most of the pictures were repeats and some of them were blurry! If there's alcohol present, expect some of the pics to be a little bit blurry and if your friends get a hold of your camera, expect to see some photos that umm... yeah. haha. 

The Crocker Club definitely challenged me in getting the right camera settings. This place is dark!!!! But I am glad the pictures came out nicely and not over/under exposed. 

 Click on the album below to see the rest of the pictures in higher resolution:

Crocker Club - Michelle's Bday

See What's Coming!

"We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered. "

- Tom Stoppard

I am finally back in town and let me tell you... I had an awesome trip! I thought I was going to get sick since I went from sunny Arizona to blistering cold Oregon. If you think that the panoramic picture of Crater Lake above is beautiful, imagine standing on the crater and looking at the view with the cold wind blowing on your face and a little bit of snow fall... and most of all, it is a very quiet place. Not so much when we were there though. haha. Snow shoeing was definitely fun! but that's not the highlight of the trip. The best part was getting on the snow mobile and letting it loose and go as fast at 65mph. I will tell you the rest of the story when I upload those pics.

I have taken so many pictures and I really need to find time to edit those and share them with you. We also stopped by San Francisco for two nights and I had an opportunity to take pictures of the city and the Bay Bridge.

Here's a picture of the city at night!

Check back in a few days! I should have the rest of the pictures uploaded!

Lake Havasu

 LONDON BRIDGE | LAKE HAVASU, AZ

We all tend to trust things that are known let downs.

We trust consuming manufactured products with unknown ingredients. We trust the consumption of beef when cows have been known to go mad, pork and chicken when facts support influenza.

We trust to live by the letter of the good book (bible) that has all along been written by men of historical failures, swearing that their influences are heavily supported. We trust that a baby's breath doesn't stink. We trust our world leaders to not let us down when they're only human just as we are. We trust in our hopes and doubt our faith.

We trust animals of the wild to be our pet. We trust the boarding of an aircraft to soar the skies or the engine in a car fueled by an explosive product. We trust the air we breath, being polluted daily by factories creating more things for us to trust in. We trust doctors to make the right diagnosis or the surgeon to have a steady hand. We trust medicine. We trust electricity but fear lightening.

Believe in yourself and all your capabilities and abilities. Believe in YOU!"

One thing we tend not to trust in is ourselves. I encourage you to TRUST in YOU. Each of us was born with a gift of trust and trust coming from yourself is a sure guarantee. Believe in you and all your abilities. Trust yourself without thought or doubt, just trust in you.

My friends and I went to Lake Havasu in Arizona for the weekend. It was our second visit and I think we had more fun this year than last year. First, we didn't crash a jet ski.. Second, there were more of us.. Third, we found out that the casino sells Corona's for $2.75!!!!.. That's right!!! $2.75!

I will be going to Oregon this week to see one of the world's clearest lake, Crater Lake. I will bring my camera with me so check next week for the pics from my trip. 

I took plenty of pics from my trip this past weekend but I will not be able to upload them until next week so check back soon. 

In the mean time, click on the links below for a little history lesson on:

History of London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ

Crater Lake National Park in Oregon

Here's another view of the London Bridge:

Las Vegas

"Truth: You can bend it and twist it...You can misuse and abuse it...But you can never change it! "

It's been a while since I've taken pictures of the hotels in Las Vegas so I decided to bring my camera on my last trip (about 2 weeks ago). I didn't get to walk around to take pics of all of the hotels so I only have a few from Bellagio, Mandarin Bar (part of the new City Center), Aria, and Paris.

This cocktail drink has 24k gold sprinkled on it: 

At Bellagio:

Here's a link to the album:

Las Vegas 2010

View from Mulholland Drive

"You will get there but it is up to you and you alone. It is what you are willing to do and how you are willing to get there. It has to be relentless, you must never deviate, and pursue at all costs; so that one day, you will bring your dreams to life"

Every time I go up to Runyon canyon to run, I see a lot of tour buses going up Mulholland drive and stops at this one particular location with a parking lot that fits maybe 6-8 cars. Around May of 2009, I decided to bring my camera to snap some pictures. I really didn't know how to work my camera that well at that time so my pics came out over exposed. Fast forward to two nights ago, I decided to bring my camera at the same place and took some pics. Here's a pic I took two nights ago:

and here's a link to my old Flikr album: Click here to see my old pics

New York Trip - Part 5 (Last part)

"If you’re always thinking about the things you could do or would do then you’re not actually doing the doing. So stop thinking and start doing! Disappointment can only come from thinking about what you could or would do! Live, dream and most importantly DO."

Our trip has finally ended! It has been a good 5 days away from work and away from everything else. Experiencing the east coast weather was definitely the highlight of our entire trip. Snow, rain, cold, coffee, wet socks, food, etc... were the words that constantly came out of our mouth! But everything was definitely worth it! New York, you've been good to us! We will definitely come back and visit soon but only after I finish planning my trips for this year... but then again, plans always change, so we'll see...

Day 5 - February 28, 2010
- Woke up late!!! We got up around noon and we were supposed to get up around 8am so we can at least visit the Empire State Building.
- We got ready really fast and skipped the Empire State Building and went straight to the Grand Central to meet our friends Cindy and Vince.
- Destination.... Little Italy!
- We got lost and so we walked an extra mile to get to our destination.
- After walking for 30 mins, we finally met with our friends.
- They showed us around Little Italy. I noticed that Italian restaurants have "sales" man standing outside their doors to bring in customers. Some of them are really entertaining.. One of them should seriously consider stand up comedy! I forgot his jokes but he made me laugh....but then again, I'm a happy person and I laugh at everything :)
- The time is already 2:00PM and our flight is at 6:15... We really need to rush and find a good place to eat!
- Cindy took her iPhone searched for nearby restaurants and sorted it by ratings! She found a place that's 2 blocks away from our current location. *Clicked Navigate* iPhone GPS started to direct us to the place...
- Found the place and quickly ordered so we can move on to other places...
- The food was delicious! I ordered some green pasta.. I forgot what they're called but it was good! umm umm...good..
- After an hour, I suggested that we have some Gelato.... so we had to walk about 4 blocks to go to this really good bakery/ice cream place.
- Ordered our Gelato and started walking towards Lombardi's pizza.
- DId I mention that the weather that day was cloudy and in the high 20's? oh and with a little bit of wind, maybe 10mph.
- After walking a couple of blocks, I started getting cold and my hands were starting to get numb. But I did not want to throw away my Gelato!... in short, I finished it but my body started shaking!... "My mind was telling me No....but my body....my body was telling me yes!!!" - I don't know why I started singing that song in my head.. lol. For those of you that are lost in the sauce like a meatball... that was R Kelly. lol
- We finally got to Lombardi's and got seated right away...Ordered our pizza and waited...
- after 5 minutes, our orders came but I wasn't really that excited to eat the pizza since we just ate.. It has only been 30 minutes since our last meal! lol.. but somebody wanted to eat at Lombardi's *cough*myson*cough*... I can't mention his name but *cough*myson*cough*. lol.. I'm kidding dude, we all wanted to try it! haha
- After 20 mins, we decided that we needed to get back to our hotel so we can head to the airport.
- We said our goodbyes to our friends.. Cindy and Vince, take you guys for taking your time out of your busy schedules to take us out! We enjoyed your company and we hope to visit you guys soon! I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Almendras brothers for making this trip possible. They arranged everything from booking the plane ticket and hotel reservations to our daily itinerary. Thanks guys!.. *sniff sniff* haha.
- The time is now 5PM and we just got back to the hotel to gather our luggage.
- Got in the cab and asked the driver to take us to airport as quickly as possible.
- Our driver was Haitian and he was very entertaining! He had all kinds of story from when he was single to the time of his marriage. He gave us lessons about women. He basically said that the longer you are married, the less time you spend time talking. haha. He said that women always win the argument! He reminded me of something that Chris Rock had said from one of his shows. - Chris Rock talking about Married life. LMAO. See below





Anyway, LOL.. Let me finish what I was saying...

- Finally got to the airport and checked in...
- Waited for 10 mins and boarded the plane.. Our flight is about 6 hours! sigh....
- 2 hours on the flight, I heard somebody snoring... I looked back and it was Edgar. LMAO... IT WAS FREAKIN' LOUD!
- Landed in Burbank and went home :(... ahhhh.. what a fun trip!

If you haven't seen the pics I've taken from the trip. Click the albums below:



New York Trip - Part 1




New York Trip - Part 2

New York Trip - Part 4

"What is the most important thing in life? Necessity. People do whatever is most necessary to them at any given moment."

Our trip was nearly ending and we still had so much grounds to cover. We wanted to wake up early but our body did not want to move out of the bed. Andrew even tried to wake us up as he was trying to get our tickets ready for the following day's trip back to L.A. As I recall, he woke us up around 10am.

Anyway, we planned on going to one of the most depressing site of NY, Ground Zero. The place where 7 world trade centers used to stand. We also planned on going to Brooklyn Bridge since it's just a few blocks away from Ground Zero.

Day 4 - February 27, 2010
- Woke up around Noon. Even though we had enough sleep, we still felt really tired.
- The snow finally stopped falling but it was still cold outside. I think it was around 30 degrees.
- And to get our day started, we had............................not coffee. Instead, we had lunch!
- We decided to go to the Grand Central Terminal dining area as one of our friends had suggested that serve some really good food.
- Edgar and I decided to have Indian food and let me tell you...... the curry was just delicious! The chicken tasted like chicken.. like how it's supposed to!
- Myson and Andrew had some Cuban sandwiches. They gave up rice for lent. Too bad guys! You had to sit next to us enjoying our curry with rice!
- After eating, on our way back to up to the substation, a man in his 50's asked us if we were tourist.. Geesh, I don't know what gave him that idea but I was thinking it was my camera. I was taking pics of every corner of the station. LOL.
- Anyway, he showed us a really cool thing right underneath the station by the dining area on Lexington and 42nd. It's called the "Whispering Wall". Basically, he asked me and Myson to stand in opposite corners of the large arched entryway. He told us to face the corner and whisper........WOW!!!! I heard his voice as if he was right next to me!
- Because we were both excited, we called Andrew and Edgar told them about the cool thing we learned! We all went to our separate corners and started whispering. LMAO. Imagine four grown men standing in 4 corners faced against the wall whispering. Hahaha.
- And off we go to ground zero!
- After a 20 minute ride, we finally arrived at the WTC location. First thing we noticed was the new building! It looks really good.
- After walking down the steps and on the street. We met a very nice gentleman holding books and a tip jar. We originally thought that he was a regular bum but later learned that he was actually one of the survivors.

"We met a gentleman in his 60s while looking at ground zero and he stood out of the crowd because he was loud and wanted to be heard. He looked at us and asked "How many buildings are there in the World Trade Center?? How many?" Myson answered: Seven! There were 7 buildings! The man approached us with a smile and said, "Correct! There were 7 buildings! 

Him: Where are you guys from?

Us: We're from L.A.

Him: My west coast people!!! I am glad that you guys know this as some people who live in NY don't even know that there were 7 buildings. They've always thought there were only 2.

After telling us a brief history of the WTC's and what had happened. He told us that on 9/11 at 8:46am, he was working in the building next to the twin towers. When the first building was hit, his gut instinct automatically told him to get out of the building and go pic up his son from school. He hurriedly left the building and ran towards the Brooklyn Bridge. By this time, I can see and feel the man's emotions and I just gave my undivided attention (For those that know me, it is really hard for me to do this. lol. I tend to go from one topic to the next and interrupt with questions. haha - but this time was different). He then continued his story when he heard the next attack and he noticed that a lot of people were going towards Manhattan and they were going underground to take the subway. During that time, all trains were halted to a complete stop and so people were trapped and had nowhere to go. When people panic, some know exactly what to do but most people freeze and breaks down. He then told us the worst part... When the building collapsed, a lot of people were underground and as we all know, these underground tunnels were not built as a bomb shelter. I think you guys know what happened there is no need for me to go into details. The man was in tears and I closed to giving in but I had to control myself.. I was in public! lol. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the man's story and he thanked us for listening to him and to keep "representin' westcoast".. lol.. His exact same words, I swear!. "

- After listening to the nice gentleman, we went to ground zero preview site where they have a nice model of what the WTC would look like in the future.
- By this time, we were tired and needed coffee. So, we headed over to Starbucks and learned about the earthquake that hit Chile and the Tsunami that is going to hit Hawaii and other countries near the Pacific.
- We then walked to Brooklyn Bridge to take some pics. We only went to the first arched foundation since they all looked the same anyway. lol
- After about an hour, we decided to head back to our hotel to get some rest since we are going to have a long night.
- After resting for a few hours.... We met up with Amy and Marc to have dinner at a nice hidden Japanese restaurant called "Saka Gura".
- After dinner, we decided to walk to a bar a few blocks away and had a few drinks. At first I thought I was at the MTV show "Jersey Shore". People were fist pumping all over the place!.. I gotta say though, the music was good that I started doing it too! I was dressed for it!... Tight shirt that I got from baby gap.. it was size 6-12 months.. lol.. I sporting a spike hair and got a nice tan.. All I needed was to find a dolled up girl to dance with me and it was Jersey Shore dance off!... here's what I noticed though.. Why is it that men that work out tend to wear the smallest shirts! I saw this guy picking his shirt at baby gap!..... okay I didn't, but it would have been funny! lol.
- After a night of drinking, we decided to have some pizza at some place a few doors down the bar.
- After dinner, we decided to call it a night and go back to the hotel.

I have one more day to blog, so keep checking back! Goodnight :)

Click the album below to view our pics: Part 1 and Part 2

New York Trip - Part 1

New York Trip - Part 2

New York Trip - Part 3

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

So I finally finished editing the pictures from the NY trip. I think I spent about 10 hours editing those pics or maybe less, lol.

Day 3:
- Woke up and it was still snowing. 
- Got ready, put plastic bags in our shoes...lol. Ghetto but it works! (We couldn't find rainboots for men! They all had pattern on them. I was going to get the Zebra patterned boots but the lady wouldn't sell it to me :(.. haha) - Went to Starbucks to get our daily caffeine fix.
- We started looking for a place to eat nearby our hotel and found a Thai restaurant.
- The food wasn't that good.. I still liked the Thai restaurants here in LA.
- After eating, we started walking towards 5th Avenue and it is freezing!
- I really got shutter happy this day and took a lot of pics! There was so much stuff to to see!
- Then we got a call from Vince and he invited us over to his place. (He lives with his gf, Cindy... Thank you guys for showing us around town.)
- His place is nice! You can see Central park, Jersey and Time Square from his rooftop.
- Went to Central Park and just walked around to see the beautiful scenery.
- I took a couple of panoramic shots of Central park (I posted them in Part 1)
- After about an hour, our hands were freezing and we needed to go somewhere to keep us warm.
- Cindy and Vince decided to take us to Angelo's Pizza. The best pizza i've ever had!
- We didn't want to eat a lot since we are also meeting my friend's cousin for Dinner at 9. We finished eating around 8. lol.
- Walked to Broadway and something.. Close to Radio City.
- After walking for 30 minutes, a plate of food doesn't sound so bad.
- We met up with Amy, Marc and their beautiful daughter Trinity.
- Went to a Brazilian restaurant and stayed there for about an hour or so, then we decided to have some dessert.
- On our way to the place to get dessert, we walked on Broadway and saw this guy with a bunch of girls taking pictures with him. I didn't know who he was but for some reason, the little girl in me started screaming and my man body didn't know how to react but to approach him a take a pic with him!. LOL. I found out later that it was Corbin Bleu, a star from High School Musical. I gave him an excuse that it was for my sister but the truth is.... it was for the little girl in me. LMAO.
- Myson and Andrew got jealous so they both decided to take a pic with him.. I guess everyman has a little girl in them screaming to get out. lol
- Back to my story.... after walking 10 blocks we finally ended up at the place. (it was on 3rd and 36th i think?)
- I got a slice of a very chocolaty chocolate cake! I couldn't finish it and I was feeling guilty eating it. lol
- By this time, I think it was already 1am so we all decided to call it a night.
- Walked back to our hotel and rested.... ahhh, what a day... ZZZzzzzz....

Check back soon, I have 2 more days to cover.


Click the pic below to go to my Album (NY Trip - Part 2)

New York Trip - Part 2

New York Trip - Part 2

View from the Brooklyn Bridge

"Never judge someone unless you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, if you piss them off, they're a mile away and they're barefoot."

I am still in the process of editing the pictures but I just wanted to blog about our 2nd day before I forget and also share one of my favorite pictures. (see image above)

Day 2:

Woke up around 8am and it was snowing!!! It was reported that 17 inches of snow dropped before 8am! We were excited and got dressed in a hurry. We were going to see the statue of liberty.

- Went out, walked to Starbucks to get our day started.

- Went to the Grand Central Terminal and got on the train to Battery Park.

- We got off the train and it was still snowing with a little rain. Our shoes are now getting wet and my socks got wet. 

- On our way to ferry, we got approached by a man in a raincoat and this is how the conversation went: 

Him: Hey guys, are you going to see the statue of liberty?

Us: Yes!

Him: okay, that's gonna be $13 each

Us: *Thinking* Is he trying to hustle us?

Myson: How much is it inside?

Him: It's the same

Andrew: Do you accept cards?

Him: Yes I do *pulls out a credit card machine*

Me: *laughed* What else do you have there? Where's your booth? Man, they're making you work hard out here man. What else are you selling? You got coffee? 

Him: Hahahaha.. Man, you are funny.

- He seriously looked like a bum! lol.

- Security inspection was ridiculous! an inconvenience but it's for everyone's own safety.

- Roamed around the statue, played in the snow, took pics, ate and bought souvenirs.

- Our socks are wet!.. 

- We missed the last boat to Ellis Island! arggg.. 

- We were really tired so we went back to our hotel and got some rest.

- After getting some rest, we got ready and headed down to the lobby and met a friend that recently moved to NY.

- We went to Lower East Side to have some ramen.. Ippundo NY has the best ramen!

- The wait time was over an hour for the ramen so we decided to have some hot dogs from Crips (it's a hole in the wall type of place but it was good!

- Here's the crazy part! In the hot dog place, there's a phonebooth and when you pick up the phone, somebody will answer and door in the phone booth will open! Through that door is a bar! It's supposed to be a secret! Speaking of secrets, why do people with bad breath always have secrets? They always want to get close to you! lol

- We finally finished eating so we decided to hit up a few bars. 

- Walked in a snowstorm and it was fun! This was probably the reason why we didn't get drunk even though we drank a lot.

- After hitting a few bars, we decided that it's now time to end the night and get some rest for the next day.

To be continued... Day 3, 4 and 5 will soon follow!

New York Trip - Part 1

"When you were born, you were crying and everyone else around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone else is crying"

New York trip was definitely a success! We covered so many places in very little time, thanks to NY's fine subway system. It was an experience for all of us since it was our first time in NY. One thing I noticed is that people don't follow street signs. Green means walk, yellow means walk faster and red means Run! lol. Oh, and New Yorkers are really friendly!

Day 1:
- Still in Burbank, we arrived at the Burbank airport at 6am. Ate a breakfast burrito and boarded the plane.
- Sat in the back of the plane but couldn't sleep. We were too excited to fall asleep so we made noises and kept ordering food and beverages. The flight attendant kept asking us if we needed anything else since every time she walks by we ask for something. haha

- Finally arrived at the airport and got a cab to our hotel (Hotel Hemsley NY on 42nd and 3rd). We each had our own bed to be comfortable and we are thankful that we did.
- It was around 30 degrees and a little windy.
- The hotel is newly renovated and the staff were really friendly.

- Walked to Time Square and ate at Brooklyn Diner. That placed sucked! It was expensive too.
- We decided to walk back to our hotel to get some rest so we can hit up a few bars.
- Woke up around 10:30 and got ready. Me and Myson tried to call Andrew but he fell asleep. So we decided to go to a bar nearby.
- Went to a bar called "Flannagans" - not sure if that's how it's spelled. We had a good time. Bar tender gave us a shot of Red Label...
- Got hungry and looked for places to eat but everything was closed.
- We ended up at Wendy's. haha..
- And we saw steam coming out of the man hole. lol.. Things we see in movies! Yey!

Here's a link to the NY pics. I haven't uploaded everything as I needed to edit every single one of them. I took about a thousand pics :( So keep checking my blog.

New York Trip - Part 1

Malibu Creek Hike

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the things I look forward to on the weekend is being able to spend time outdoors (hiking, walking, running, biking, etc.).  Spend more time with mother nature and less time in bed so I can appreciate the things that surrounds us.

Before I ask you all to view the pics I took yesterday, here's a quote from Miss South Carolina: LOL

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future, for our children"

Here are some of my favorites: 

 

Click the album below to view the rest of the pics:

Malibu Creek Hike

Downtown L.A. Night Shots Part Duex

"Become addicted to constant and never ending self improvement." - Anthony J. D'Angelo

A view of downtown L.A. from the Water and Power district near the Disney Concert Hall.

I seriously can't wait to go to New York and take pics! Only a few more days and my memory cards will be filled with pics from NY. I have always wanted to go to NY to see what the fuzz is about. When I think of NY, I think of "Sex in the City" and I seriously remember the time that movie came out and every woman I know talked about it! They even dressed up just to go see the movie! I didn't get it at that time but after seeing the movie... Yes, I saw the movie out of curiosity and I really think that Carrie should stop hanging around with her friends, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda! and stop asking them for advice! That's like asking a blind man to walk another blind man..

Anyway, here are the pics I took earlier:

Click the album below to view from my Picasa Album

LA Night Shots 2

Wine Tasting @ Solvang, CA

"Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it."

 

I figured I'd start with a quote since yesterday was Valentine's day. :) The last time I went to Solvang was 7 years ago, nothing really changed in that little village except for maybe the ridiculously priced cookies!!! $3 each for a cookie that is a little bit bigger than a fortune cookie!!!

I don't drink wine but I really enjoyed wine tasting on Saturday. It wasn't the wine that I really enjoyed, it was the company of friends that I really enjoyed (awwww...). It doesn't really matter where we go, as long as I am with my friends, I am happy. -- I have a toothache now... this is so sweet.. haha..

Sometimes when I'm bored, I send my friends text messages that goes like this:
Me: Knock Knock
Them: Who's there?
Me: It's me...your friend, John.. I just wanted to let you know that i'll always be here for you. LMAO.

Click the link below to view my album

Wine Tasting @ Solvang

The pictures below are the ones that I really like: