So excited!
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Planeguage
"The language of traveling by plane" (Delta's blog)
Delta airlines came up with a series of animated shorts to convey a humorous spin on plane etiquette. I have to say they a right on! Check them out for a smile :)
A season appropriate video called "Miracle"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsmGJdLYyYI
To view all the videos go to YouTube ("Shady Lady" and "Kidtastrophe" are awesome) (http://www.youtube.com/user/planeguage)
Monday, December 03, 2007
Thanksgiving (pt 2)
The weekend after Thanksgiving was spent in the [cold] mountains of Asheville. We decided to stay somewhere different and choose the Bent Creek Lodge. It is listed as a "Bed & Breakfast" but it is a wonderful, semi-rustic, cozy mountain lodge just south of Asheville (address is Arden). If the weather had been warmer/dryer and Paul's bike wasn't broken, it would have been the perfect place for us to mountain bike. We stayed in the "tree room" and enjoyed sitting by the fire, watching birds and eating the amazing breakfast. If you're looking for an alternative to the overpriced, under impressive hotels in Asheville, check out the Bent Creek Lodge.
Paul enjoying the fire & reading materials in the common room
While in Asheville, we did the usual things - eat at Apollo Flame, Tupelo Honey (buy honey to take home), walk around the Grove Arcade, visit UNCA, pay $6 to park/visit the NC Arboretum, you know the usual things we do. It's more fun to say it with pictures:
Interior of the Arcade
Exterior of the Arcade
Paul at the riveting NC Arboretum exhibit (the history of flowerpots, seriously)
Mom & Dad at the quilt garden
Yews are serious plants (ha!)
Bonsai Garden (the cold wind was sucking the life out of us, but it was an awesome garden)
Gates at the Bonsai garden
Size perspective
Can you tell we liked the Bonsai?
Visiting the Alma Mater (it has been 5 years since we graduated!) - check out the new science building being built next to the library - it is a MONSTER!
The University Seal - me squinty
Our different meal was SUSHI! with mom & dad. We ate the Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse in Biltmore Village. Their sushi was ok, nothing like our neighborhood sushi joint, but it sorta hit the spot. Mom, Paul and I split "sushi for 3" which means it comes out on a BIG BOAT (dad stuck with hibachi shrimp).
And our trip to Asheville wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Grove Park Inn. This time of year they host the "National Gingerbread House Competition" and it is one of my favorite things to go and see. This year did not disappoint. They only had the "top winners" on display at the Inn (other entries were around town, like at the Grove Arcade). I'm testing the slide show for these photos (let me know if it works for you and if you like it/not).
Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn (and other superfluous photos of us and the parents)
Want to see more pictures of the gingerbread houses? Go here (they aren't mine and show a little more detail)
Paul enjoying the fire & reading materials in the common room
While in Asheville, we did the usual things - eat at Apollo Flame, Tupelo Honey (buy honey to take home), walk around the Grove Arcade, visit UNCA, pay $6 to park/visit the NC Arboretum, you know the usual things we do. It's more fun to say it with pictures:
Interior of the Arcade
Exterior of the Arcade
Paul at the riveting NC Arboretum exhibit (the history of flowerpots, seriously)
Mom & Dad at the quilt garden
Yews are serious plants (ha!)
Bonsai Garden (the cold wind was sucking the life out of us, but it was an awesome garden)
Gates at the Bonsai garden
Size perspective
Can you tell we liked the Bonsai?
Visiting the Alma Mater (it has been 5 years since we graduated!) - check out the new science building being built next to the library - it is a MONSTER!
The University Seal - me squinty
Our different meal was SUSHI! with mom & dad. We ate the Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse in Biltmore Village. Their sushi was ok, nothing like our neighborhood sushi joint, but it sorta hit the spot. Mom, Paul and I split "sushi for 3" which means it comes out on a BIG BOAT (dad stuck with hibachi shrimp).
And our trip to Asheville wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Grove Park Inn. This time of year they host the "National Gingerbread House Competition" and it is one of my favorite things to go and see. This year did not disappoint. They only had the "top winners" on display at the Inn (other entries were around town, like at the Grove Arcade). I'm testing the slide show for these photos (let me know if it works for you and if you like it/not).
Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn (and other superfluous photos of us and the parents)
Want to see more pictures of the gingerbread houses? Go here (they aren't mine and show a little more detail)
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Thanksgiving in the NC Mountains (pt 1)
Sunrise on Thanksgiving morning
This year we hit the road, with the other 11 million Americans, for Thanksgiving. We headed west on interstate 40 in the early morning hours of Thanksgiving morning. We were rewarded for waiting to travel - traffic was light!
We spent Thanksgiving Day in Marion with Paul's family. I had the honor of cooking with Margie - mixing/making the stuffing, chopping lots of fruit and roasting asparagus. Thanksgiving dinner was SO GOOD. After our meal, Paul and I took a walk around the property where he showed me all the old trails he and his brothers had made.
"The trail goes this way - no wait - that way - or over there..."
Quick picture taken before heading back up the house - an odd howling in the woods kept getting closer and closer...
Cool green stuff that covered the ground
We took a quick ride out around town and Paul showed me something new; the 1-lane Vein Mountain tunnel. We don't have such nostalgia in the big city.
Going in - waiting for the light to change
Coming back - a little like the twilight zone.
Sunset in Marion
On Friday morning we headed up to Asheville - once again traffic was fairly light and we saw some snow on the mountains.
Going up Old Fort Mountain - some color left on the trees
River Ridge exit of I-240
More to come! Christmas decorations and spring bulb planting calls!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Vacation! (a month ago)
Yeah, so we've been back for a while now, but I still wanted to share a few pictures from the family vacation last month.
We spent a week at Folly Beach, SC, a.k.a. the "Edge of America," in a nice townhouse on the waterway. We = mom, dad, Justin, Paul and I (and Baker for a night or 2). The townhouse = 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 levels, with views.
On our first full day of vacation, Paul celebrated his 30th birthday.
Mom and I decorated the walls with silly banners and signs that read "lordy mercy look who thirty" and the like.
We grilled out a steak dinner and had a lovely cheesecake birthday cake for dessert. We were kind and kept the candles to a minimum ;)
We attempted to enjoy the beach. It was a little too hot to really enjoy being on the beach for more than an hour or so, but we had fun. Here's Justin just chillin' on the beach (um yeah, you've got a bit of molten chocolate on your chin man)
We cooled off at the pool - while watching dolphins swim up and down the adjacent waterway
And of course we ate - that's what vacation is all about! Eat! Eat! Eat some more!
Mexican dinner at the Taco Boy (in Folly Beach)
A 'haunted' dinner at Hyman's Seafood (in historic Charleston)
Dinner at the [flipped] Charleston Crab House (why "flipped"? check out our favorite tv 'flipper's,' Trademark Properties - more on them later too)
Yummy sweets at Sonic
There was much more feasting, but in order to protect the innocent, I'll refrain from posting additional glutenous photo evidence.
What we did on vacation (besides eating, sleeping and melting in the heat)
Despite EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS, we took a trip out the hottest place in ALL of Charleston, Ft. Sumter. Why? Because we're history junkies how could we have NOT gone?
On the boat getting read to make way for the Fort. We're happy. We're just a little warm. We have no idea the torture that awaits us, see, we're smiling?!
Approaching the Fort on the lovely SpiritLine boat (at 9:30am - it was already 89 degrees with 89% humidity!)
Are we melting yet?
We desperately needed protection from flying/biting insects of all kinds... mom spraying Justin down.
You'd think the 'sea breezes' coming in off the ocean would make it feel a bit more pleasant. Well, they did not. Mom and I, trying to catch some [slightly] cooler ocean breezes
Honestly, not much of what you see if really from the Civil War era Ft. Sumter. It was bombed and blasted to bits in 1865 (check it out here - seriously). Looking down on the parade grounds and back towards the city of Charleston
We are seriously melting. This is 2.3 seconds before I discovered the AIR CONDITIONED museum a few steps away. Needless to say, I wasn't the only one to discover this cool spot.
"Can we go now?" (just before jumping back on the boat to return is to [hopefully] cooler places)
"Bye Fort!" (mental check - been there, don't have to return!)
The Bridge & USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier
Paul and I ended up spending the afternoon at the SC Aquarium (it was slightly cooler)
Then we ALL (mom & dad included) went to see Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (in 3D!) at the IMAX. Justin is now a fan, mom and dad are now throughly confused (this was their FIRST Harry Potter exposure)
You'd think we'd had enough of the hot and steamy weather to stay indoors and just play the Wii, but no, mom and I were determined to do some walking around downtown Charleston. I wanted to take some photos for a project I'm doing at home and apparently mom is just as crazy and I, so we headed out for a day of sightseeing and melting [again].
Here's a few of my favorite shots of homes/gardens/etc in historic Charleston
(doh! I just discovered that my favorite shots haven't been uploaded and are sitting on our external hard drive at home, trust me, I've got some beautiful pictures of homes and gates along the Battery)
And for good measure, here's a few random parting pictures. Needless to say, we had a great time and we were not ready to return home.
On the beach one last time
They always think they're so funny (right?)
Trademark Properties downtown Charleston retail shop - recently seen on TV (The Real Deal or The Real Estate Pros on TLC)
Their James Island office and car (yes! I am a dork - I had to check them out as we drove by this office everyday!)
Haunted? St. Philip's cemetery at night (oooooo, spooky!)
And finally, the lovely downtown Charleston from the water
We spent a week at Folly Beach, SC, a.k.a. the "Edge of America," in a nice townhouse on the waterway. We = mom, dad, Justin, Paul and I (and Baker for a night or 2). The townhouse = 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 levels, with views.
On our first full day of vacation, Paul celebrated his 30th birthday.
Mom and I decorated the walls with silly banners and signs that read "lordy mercy look who thirty" and the like.
We grilled out a steak dinner and had a lovely cheesecake birthday cake for dessert. We were kind and kept the candles to a minimum ;)
We attempted to enjoy the beach. It was a little too hot to really enjoy being on the beach for more than an hour or so, but we had fun. Here's Justin just chillin' on the beach (um yeah, you've got a bit of molten chocolate on your chin man)
We cooled off at the pool - while watching dolphins swim up and down the adjacent waterway
And of course we ate - that's what vacation is all about! Eat! Eat! Eat some more!
Mexican dinner at the Taco Boy (in Folly Beach)
A 'haunted' dinner at Hyman's Seafood (in historic Charleston)
Dinner at the [flipped] Charleston Crab House (why "flipped"? check out our favorite tv 'flipper's,' Trademark Properties - more on them later too)
Yummy sweets at Sonic
There was much more feasting, but in order to protect the innocent, I'll refrain from posting additional glutenous photo evidence.
What we did on vacation (besides eating, sleeping and melting in the heat)
Despite EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNINGS, we took a trip out the hottest place in ALL of Charleston, Ft. Sumter. Why? Because we're history junkies how could we have NOT gone?
On the boat getting read to make way for the Fort. We're happy. We're just a little warm. We have no idea the torture that awaits us, see, we're smiling?!
Approaching the Fort on the lovely SpiritLine boat (at 9:30am - it was already 89 degrees with 89% humidity!)
Are we melting yet?
We desperately needed protection from flying/biting insects of all kinds... mom spraying Justin down.
You'd think the 'sea breezes' coming in off the ocean would make it feel a bit more pleasant. Well, they did not. Mom and I, trying to catch some [slightly] cooler ocean breezes
Honestly, not much of what you see if really from the Civil War era Ft. Sumter. It was bombed and blasted to bits in 1865 (check it out here - seriously). Looking down on the parade grounds and back towards the city of Charleston
We are seriously melting. This is 2.3 seconds before I discovered the AIR CONDITIONED museum a few steps away. Needless to say, I wasn't the only one to discover this cool spot.
"Can we go now?" (just before jumping back on the boat to return is to [hopefully] cooler places)
"Bye Fort!" (mental check - been there, don't have to return!)
The Bridge & USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier
Paul and I ended up spending the afternoon at the SC Aquarium (it was slightly cooler)
Then we ALL (mom & dad included) went to see Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix (in 3D!) at the IMAX. Justin is now a fan, mom and dad are now throughly confused (this was their FIRST Harry Potter exposure)
You'd think we'd had enough of the hot and steamy weather to stay indoors and just play the Wii, but no, mom and I were determined to do some walking around downtown Charleston. I wanted to take some photos for a project I'm doing at home and apparently mom is just as crazy and I, so we headed out for a day of sightseeing and melting [again].
Here's a few of my favorite shots of homes/gardens/etc in historic Charleston
(doh! I just discovered that my favorite shots haven't been uploaded and are sitting on our external hard drive at home, trust me, I've got some beautiful pictures of homes and gates along the Battery)
And for good measure, here's a few random parting pictures. Needless to say, we had a great time and we were not ready to return home.
On the beach one last time
They always think they're so funny (right?)
Trademark Properties downtown Charleston retail shop - recently seen on TV (The Real Deal or The Real Estate Pros on TLC)
Their James Island office and car (yes! I am a dork - I had to check them out as we drove by this office everyday!)
Haunted? St. Philip's cemetery at night (oooooo, spooky!)
And finally, the lovely downtown Charleston from the water
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