Pope Benedict XVI Visits Washington DC

Pope Benedict XVI made a historic visit to the US in April 15. On 16 April 08, I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father. The Pope traveled in his bulletproof popemobile giving thousands of people the opportunity to see him during his first papal visit to the Washington DC. Following a meeting with President Bush at the white house, the Holy Father traveled west on Penn Ave past Washington Circle. It was also his birthday on 16 April 08. His appearance sent frenzy among the crowds. It was a great experience.

Trip to El Paso, Texas

On 18 Jan 2008, I went to El Paso to visit my friend, Bill. I was pretty excited about the trip because I have never been to El Paso and I know I am going to see cactus again :-) The first day was cold. Who would have though desert could be that cold. Bill took me to an anthentic Mexican restaurant. Man the food was awesome. That restaurant alone would put all the mexican restaurants in DC to shame. After lunch we took a tram up the mountain that has a good view of El Paso. You can actually see Mexico from there. That's so cool. You can actually see Rio Grande (the river that borders US and Mexico). I have never been so close to Mexico before.

The next day, we went to Guadalupe National Park. Guadalupe is only an hour drive from El Paso. Guadalpe is one of the fewest visited NP. We did a short hike that actually turned out to be pretty physical challenging. But it was all worth it. The view was amazing. And of course my fav part was seeing some many desert plants along the trail. After that, we drove to Carlsbad Cavern NP. It's located only 30 min drive from Guadalupe. Carlsbasd Cavern was amazing. We hiked down almost 700 ft down into the cavern. We didnt see any bats because they only come to the cave during the summetr time. After that we drove to Carlsbad. At Carlsbad we went to the Living Desert Zoological & Botanical. I didnt see any saguaro cactus there but I did see desert wolves, bisons, road runner, praire dogs, and tons of cacti plants. :-) We spend the nite at Carlsbad. Had dinner at this Barbeque Place. The food was suprisingly so good!!!

The next day, I insisted to go to Roswell ;-). Went to the international UFO research center. That was a cheesy place specially built for tourist. But who cares, I am a tourist ;-). Going to Roswell bring back a lot of memories when I was a big fan of the X-File in high school. After Roswell, we went to Cloudcroft. Cloudcroft is a small ski resort town that is located high up in the mountain. Had lunch there. We did a hike in Cloudcroft. At the end of the trail, you can see White Sand Monument. The view was pretty amazing. After lunch we headed to Ruidoso. There was a resort and casino in Ruidoso but we decided to go back to El Paso instead of staying over at Ruidoso. Before going back to Ruidoso, we stopped at White Sand Momunent. It was very cool. Then we headed back to El Paso.

On the third day, we went to El Paso zoo. It was actually pretty suprised to see the Malayan Tapir at the zoo. I have never even seen them in Malaysia :-). The whole trip was fun. Been to a lot of places in such a short time. And plus I dont have to drive :-). I dont think Bill will let me drive anyway since I am not the best driver ever. I will remember this trip for a long long time

Autumn in Washington DC

Cold weather is finally here. As always, autumn is my favourite season. Not too warm, not too cold. I went biking up the C/O Canal trail last weekend. The trail is only 5 minutes away from my apt. It's pretty amazing that the surroundings do not look like you are DC. No tall buildings, no roads, no politics, just nature.

Happy Halloween - Boo!

I went to Georgetown, DC for Halloween celebration. Every year, rain or shine, people will dress up in costume trick or treating at Georgetown M St. This year's weather was pretty warm, in the 50s. Because of that, it drew a huge crowd. Some of the costumes were ridiculously funny. My favs this year - Condy and Bush, Banana Costume, and the ATM costume. 2 thumbs up people :-) . Happy Halloween .. Boo!!!

Sleepless In Seattle

I went to Seattle on Sept 27. I have been planning on this trip for a while. Since my last trip to Portland, I have always wanted to go back to the Northwest. Unfortunately the trip wasn’t quite as I thought it would be. I realized that no matter how well you plan something, if bad luck hits you, you are screwed.

First, my missed my bus from DC to BWI. So I had to take a cab which cost me $45. I knew that the cab driver was ripping me off but I had no option at that time. The planed delayed for 30 min. When I arrived in Seattle, of course I missed the last bus to the city. I had to take a shuttle bus which cost me $27 instead of $10 if I weren’t late. And it was raining.

The next day, the weather was surprisingly pleasant. The hostel I was staying in was at the best location ever. It was sitting right in front of the Pike Place Market. I LOVE the market. They had everything. Fresh seafood, flowers, meat .. u name it. And btw, those lobsters were bigger than my arm.. that was pretty amazing. Also, I saw that infamous “flying salmon” show. That was pretty amazing. And I was the restaurant where Tom Hanks was in filming “Sleelpess In Seattle”. Later I went to the Seattle Aquarium. Wasn’t very big but I am complaining cause I like sealife. I got to touch sea cucumber, starfish and sea urchin. After that I walked to the pioneer square. I saw the TOTEM pole for the first time. I thought it was just amazing. Had lunch in Chinatown. The Chinatown there was pretty big. At least bigger than the one in DC. Then I went to the Seattle Needle. It cost $16 to go up. And the view up there wasn’t so impressive because it was cloudy. Had dinner at TODAI (Japanese buffet). And of course I gorged myself my Dungeness crab and snow crab. Yummy …

The second day, I woke up at 6am and walked to Victoria Clipper Harbor (Pier 69). It was a good 15 min walk from the hostel. Then we headed to San Juan Island. The journey from Seattle to San Juan was 3.5 hrs boat ride. The weather wasn’t so great . It was cloudy and cold. We didn’t see any orca L. But we saw bald eagles, sea lions, a small whale, and CANADA. We were actually at the border of US and Canada water. It’s like on the right it’s Canada and on left it’s the USA. That was pretty cool. On the way back, there was a little storm. And the boat was swaying really bad. It was fun but scary at the same time.

The next day, I went to the Mt Rainer National Park. And of course it was raining the whole day. In the park, I saw a 1000 yr old tree. That was really cool. The view at Paradise (yes, there is a place called Paradise) was just breathtaking. It would have been better it wasn’t so misty and cloudy. By the time we got to the Visitor Center, it was pouring and the clouds took over the peak. So I saw nothing but the clouds. That was really disappointing. Oh well, there is always next year. Even thought I didn’t see much, but it was still very beautiful everywhere.

I flew back to DC at nite. Before, leaving Seattle, I thought the trip will not be complete without drinking Starbucks coffee. So I bought my fav raspberry frappucino at the airport. And btw, I did see the First Starbucks Shop at the Pike Place Market. Overall, the trip wasn’t that great but it wasn’t bad either. I think I just came to city at the wrong time of the year. Took of a lot of stress off of me at least. There’s so much going on with me right now I don’t even know where to begin. And it’s just one bad thing after another. But I am hopeful that everything it just going to be fine, fine, fine. Well, guess what, there’s always next year. I know that I will go back because I still haven’t gone to the Olympic NP and I want to see Mt Rainier again!!!

What a difference a day makes?

What a difference a day makes?
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain
My yesterday was blue, dear
Today I'm a part of you, dear
My lonely nights are through, dear
Since you said you were mine
What a difference a day makes
There's a rainbow before me
Skies above can't be stormy
Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss
It's heaven when you find romance on your menu
What a difference a day made
And the difference is YOU.

Independance Day 07 Washington DC

Today is 4 July 2007. Happy Independence Day!! By the way, for those who don't know, I live in Washington DC (The Nation's Capital). The weather today was not so good. It was out biking. At around 5 pm, it was raining, Luckily it made it home on time. The there was a severe thunder storm sweeping thru. We had a tornado warning. It was pretty scary. Anyway, the storm let up quick. At around 7 pm, the sky was clearing up. I went biking to the Mt Vernon trail to get a right spot to see the fireworks. It was only 15 min bike from my apt. It was soooo crowded. Anyway, I got a nice spot. The fireworks began at 9.10. It was awesome. I was here last year and the year before. Every year they add something new to it. This year they make some of the fireworks exploded into the shape of stars. That was pretty cool.