All posts filed under: United States

Exploring Maui underwater

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If water sports are your thing, Maui is the place to do it.  Unlike the Big Island, Maui is a lot more remote and quiet – perfect to reconnect with nature and take in all the beautiful sights the island has to offer. Snorkeling We snorkeled with Four Winds II and it was an incredible experience. Originally we were supposed to sail to the beautiful crescent shapped Molokini Crater to snorkel, but conditions became rough and we had to head towards another part of the island. Which actually was not a disappointment at all because we saw a TON of tropical fish and even a few turtles! It was amazing how close we got to them… and all the beautiful coral that lived under the ocean. Its another world beneath the surface. Four Winds provided all the equipment, served breakfast and lunch and an open bar. Paddleboard/Surfing This was my first time paddle boarding and it was a lot harder than I thought! It’s easy to get knocked off balance by the waves and because we were …

3 Day Itinerary in Yosemite

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Yosemite – so beautiful that Apple decided to name it after one of it’s OS updates and dazzle users with the iconic image of El Capitan as its screensaver.  Located about 3-4hrs east of San Francisco, Yosemite is a huge natural reserve boasting stunning waterfalls and mountains.  I’ve been wanting to visit ever since I saw photos from my relative’s camping trip years ago and finally I worked up the courage to fly over and lose my camping virginity to Yosemite.  There is a ton to see and do here, but within 3 days we managed to visit the most popular sights.  Plan to depart early as there may be lots of traffic getting into the park especially during high season from May – August.  This site does a great job describing he pros and cons of going in each month of the year.  Generally speaking, high season is popular because that is when the waterfalls are most beautiful.  However, that also means fighting through crowds of tourists and extreme difficulty in booking accommodations (people book …

5 days in San Francisco

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This is my second time visiting California in 2015. If you recall from some of my previous posts, I swung by Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in March with my girlfriends. Aside from the fact that I am in love with the weather, this time around I had a very different agenda. The main purpose of my trip was to go camping into Yosemite National Park with my boyfriend which I will talk about in much more detail in the post right after this one. Today I wanted to highlight some of the fun things I did in San Francisco  🙂 The weather in San Fran was perfect as usual – a hot dry breezy mid 20’s.  We walked around Union Square and Market Street – a great shopping area with an generous mix of luxury and mid priced retail stores.  You can buy your Givenchy, Chanel and Valentino, walk a few blocks and find Victoria’s Secret, Converse and Urban Outfitters. One of my favorite things about this city is the neighborhoods.  It’s simply …

San Francisco: Traveling by Segway

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Our last stop in California… San Francisco! One of the highlights of touring this city was definitely riding a Segway for the first time in Golden Gate Park. We rode with The Electric Tour Company. The guides were very thorough with their training and the pace was comfortable as we zipped across gardens, ancient trees, and historical landmarks in the park.  They have a bunch of other tours available but I would actually recommend going Segway on Golden Gate Park because it’s a lot of walking if you were to explore it fully by foot. After Segway-ing, we headed to Santa Monica beach which is just an hour South of San Jose.  It’s quite a commercialized family beach complete with your usual amusement park and also a boardwalk with shops and other summer treats. The beach itself is not very big and the view is not that glamorous, but there are a few volleyball nets available.  It’s mostly just a fun place for family and friends to hang out and catch some rays. Fisherman’s Wharf …

San Diego: La Jolla Cove, Balboa Park and lots of Sangria

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We were only spending about 2 days in San Diego but it was more than enough to explore the relatively small city. Obviously, hitting the beach was on top of our priority list.  It wasn’t the most impressive beach but it had a very long boardwalk and an amusement park at the end of it.  Cafes and summer homes lined the beach, giving it a very relaxed vibe. A little further away from the city is a place called La Jolla Cove. Some locals described it as very beautiful and a must-see while others gave us an impression that it was just smelly because of the abundence of seals that lounge around the Cove. We took a chance and decided to check it out and it turned out to be worth the trip. It did smell fishy, but only in certain areas and I thought it was worth it to see so much wildlife living in a Cove that literally had hotels and right off the edge with plenty of humans walking around. The seals …

Los Angeles: Santa Monica Beach, Mexican Food and Rooftop Lounging

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Day 2 of Los Angeles and it was time to hit the beaches!  We went to Santa Monica beach which was swarming with both tourists and locals looking to catch some rays and fun in the sun. Seems strange to find rows of crosses on a beach but they are placed there in memory of the American soldiers that died in the Iraq war.  Pretty deep for a place people usually go to sun tan. One of the key features that makes Santa Monica unique is the outdoor gymnasium/work out equipment.  You see people doing some crazy athletic poses and moves and its pretty entertaining to watch them perform. Near the beach there are streets conveniently lined with shops and restaurants.  We stopped by Border Grill for some dinner.  The Mexican food is supposed to be very good in California because of the large Spanish community.  The chips are fried in house with a fresh guacamole and the ceviche with crispy plantain was bursting with flavor and my favorite dish. Their Baja Fish Tacos served with three …

Los Angele: LACMA, Universal Studios, Nightlife

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Although I’ve been to California many times, I usually stick to San Francisco where I visit family.  This time, I took a week trip down with a few friends to explore the other main cities – Los Angeles being the first stop.  It’s a classic Californian city with Palm trees and perfect weather.  Lots of great spots for food, entertainment, and shopping.  Don’t confuse downtown LA as being the equivalent of downtown Toronto (we learned this the hard way).  All the action is at the beaches and Hollywood.  Car rentals are super cheap and the best way to get around. On our first morning we stopped by Poppy + Rose, a quant little cafe tucked in an uncanny location for an outdoor market.  A bit of a hidden treasure.  The food was really yummy!  We had a Salmon Eggs Benedict on a tender biscuit and Chicken Chopped Salad. After breakfast, we headed over to the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).  Of course, had to take some photos with the iconic lamps!  The museum itself …

Pittsburg and Ohio: Baseball and Stumbling upon one Hell of a Waffle House

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Our last full day stop at Pittsburg was a rather spontaneous one.  We actually didn’t have anything planned at all.  Whilst doing some impromptu research on the city, we thought maybe we’d check out the Carnegie Science Center there.  Unfortunately… Pittsburg’s plethora of confusing and winding roads took us on a detour which pushed our time back a bit.  So instead we drove aimlessly around looking for a place to settle for dinner… got lost… and stumbled upon this amazing view of the city.  There, we met a couple of locals and asked them what to check out.  With the recommendation of eating on Market street, we were off.   Market street is essentially a square with a bunch of restaurants and this cool glass castle-like building.  After days of eating greasy American food, we were feeling like Asian cuisine.  On the particular day we were in Pittsburg, there must have been some sort of Anime or Comic convention going on because people were dressed up like cartoons all around the street.  We saw Lightning from FF13 and …

West Virginia – Exploring the depths of a Bat Cave

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Heading up north back to Toronto, we stopped by West Virginia to check out Organ Cave – one of the oldest and largest caves on the East Coast of the States.  It was a hiding place for over 1,100 Confederate soldiers for three years and a mining operation for extracting minerals such as saltpeter for the American Civil war. I arrived totally underdressed and was sent back to get some sneakers on and warm clothes… Thank god I listened to our guide because it was freezing inside the dungeons cavities of the giant cave.   All sorts of cool creatures inhabit the cave including bats!  I’ve never seen one in real life and these guys were hibernating so we got a pretty close up look at them.  Some of the bats have a coat ing of frost on their body because the heat from their body freezes over from the cool temperatures of the cave!  We also learned that, unfortunately, because of changes in the ecosystem thousands of bats are dying each year 😦  Our guide …

Seafood in South Carolina

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Charleston was my favorite city by far from our road trip.  It had a very Californian feel with its palm trees, warm dry breezes, and an active community.  All the beaches, restaurants, and points of interest we wanted to hit up were within driving distance of one another which was brilliant.  Our first stop was breakfast at Hominy Grill.  We found this place online as it was starred in several food networks and was highly rated – for a good reason too.  The place is extremely clean and beautifully decorated that gave it a perfect summer brunch venue feel.   We opted to sit outdoors since it was such a gorgeous day.  Their breakfast menu is a modest one-pager with Southern classics like Shrimp & Grits, Biscuits, and waffles.  I went straight for the grits.  K went with a spinach and feta omelet with taters.  This being the first time I’ve ever tried grits, I was blown away by how much flavor was packed into what seemingly looked like plain porridge.  It was delicious!!!  In …