2010 Year End Note.

Dear family/friends,

It has been a tremendous year to say the least. The year did not start off well, though.

1) Carola’s death – Sr. Carola was a very dear friend and mentor. She died unexpectedly and since I came to the US, this was the first major death I’ve experienced personally, and it hurt a lot. I will remember her for introducing me to various cultural experiences. RIP Carola. You’re missed by many of us.

2) Michael Buble – Anna’s wedding present was a concert to listen/watch Michael Buble. It was an out of this world concert that just blew both of us away.

3) Wedding Receptions and Honeymoon – Receptions because we had one in DSM, one in Bismarck, and another in KL. The parents met for the first time and got along great. The wedding ceremony brought me to tears, and it was perfect in so many ways. The day started off with the tornado sirens going off, raining cats and dogs during the ceremony and clear skies right when the ceremony ended. There really is a God! Mom and dad loved Bismarck, and could not believe how beautiful it was. What a great reception in Bismarck getting to meet so many family members, and friends of the family. KL was a little overwhelming for Anna at times, but overall she had a great time, and is looking forward to going back to visit. Anna loved my friends she met, and wished they all lived in DSM. She got to see and experience my life in Malaysia. Bali came at the most perfect time because we did nothing but relax and chill.

4) Numerous classical concerts – There were a number of concerts in DSM that were outstanding. Got to listen to a violinist prodigy who played my favorite piece. He brought the entire Civic Center to its knees.

5) Thanksgiving/Christmas – Is spent with Anna’s family. They are such wonderful people, and I’m thankful they’ve accepted me into the family with open arms.

That’s the year in a nutshell. I’m still getting used to the idea of being married, and we constantly learn something new about one another. I keep reminding Anna that she chose me not because of who I am, but because she wants cute little Asian babies. She’s already threatened to divorce me if we don’t have cute Asian babies. Time will tell! Cheers everyone and have a great holiday and safe new year celebration!

Three weeks in one.

Yeah, I know I was supposed to send an e mail a couple of weeks back, but things have been a little busy here. Reports were sent on Friday so this week looks to be pretty quiet, and I’ll be able to catch up on other stuff. Nice.

Some of the highlights from a couple of weeks ago. Anna, Joel, Kathy and I attended a concert at Drake. The pianist, Olga Kern was a gold medal winner at the Van Cliburn Festival. She’s definitely one of the most amazing pianist of her generation, and she proved it. Drake announced a partnership with Yamaha and there’s a piano that was debuted in February where it’s the world’s one and only. There’s a lot written about it and this sucker was outstanding. So, Drake got this outstanding pianist to play on this out of this world piano. Needless to say, ALL of us in attendance were just blown away by the concert. It’s sad that the place was not packed, but it’s their loss. Definitely one of the best classical concerts I’ve heard by a long shot.

Remember how I said a couple of weeks back that I now have a life insurance policy? Well, a nurse needed to come by to get all my vitals and draw some blood to make sure that I’m truly insurable. So, the person came by the office and got it taken care of. She said that the report will take a couple of weeks and I’ll receive a copy of it too. I’ll be curious to read it.

Anna had a gig two Saturdays ago, and it just so happen that John’s church had their annual fall festival. That’s where I ended up. I went to Mass there prior to the festival, and met a couple of people from the year when I taught there. It was a fun evening with some really good food.

Now, we’re back to this week. Anna’s fall concert was on Monday, but I could not make it since I was working. I am planning on going to her winter concert though. That will be on Monday, the week of Christmas and she said that they’ll be singing a song in Mandarin! Should be lot of fun. Our young adults group made it to a newly opened Cuban/Cajun restaurant that used to be a dinner theater. I’ve never been in the theater before so I was more curious to look inside. It was pretty interesting. The food was OK, but since it opened just two weeks ago, there were still some kinks that needed to be worked out.

On Saturday, we went to the DSM Symphony performance. The soloist is this 16 year old violinist that’s truly a prodigy. He played my all time favorite classical piece, and it definitely blew my mind. The way he played reminded me a lot of Itzhak Perlman who is a living legend. In fact, during the intermission, I told his mom that since she was sitting in the same row as us. This little kid will be going VERY far in the coming years. The concert was truly outstanding to say the least, and I was just giddy with joy listening to it. Everyone was talking about him during the intermission. The best part about it is that he’s so humble and laid back. It was a concert that will live in my memory for a long time.

That’s pretty much three weeks in a nutshell. Enjoy!

Quite a busy and eventful weekend.

So, it was a pretty busy and eventful week for me. I staffed a table at a job fair located in one of the local universities on Tuesday. My friend through the organization our agency is a part of was the coordinator, and she was hired in that position just a couple of weeks back. It was good to see her and catch up. There were quite a lot of students who came to visit, but I only had one person come by our agency’s table. You win and lose some. Oh well.

On Wednesday, right after work Anna and I met with our insurance agent and there’s now a life insurance policy worth $500,000. I told Anna that if something were to happen to me, all fingers will be pointed towards her! Both of us now have life insurance, and it’s really something that you want to have. The rates were not bad at all, and now we both have peace of mind. Later that evening, we went to a concert by this world renown new age pianist, George Winston. He’s amazing, and I thought the concert was really good. Anna did not have the same feelings as I did, and she left during the intermission. Her leg was really bugging her, and since she was not enjoying herself, I figured why force her to stay.

There was an all day conference downtown on Thursday, and it was a very enlightening conference. There were people from all over the country who were the presenters. I even won a book that was signed by the author when they had a random drawing.

I decided to take Friday off from work since I had some comp time. Gretchen and Travis were in town because Gretchen had a Drake meeting. It was nice to see them. That night Joel, Anna and I went to a concert a Drake by the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Wow, they were awesome and definitely a very good concert.

I worked at Paradise both Saturday and Sunday evening. After church on Sunday, Anna left with something of her students and a couple of adult chaperones for a Choir festival. She’ll be back later tonight.

That’s all from me.

DSM Symphony season opener.

It was a nice weekend even though it rained a ton, and I’m not talking about drizzling. Before the weekend, Anna and I went over to Joel’s house to have dinner. Kathy is in Europe on a vacation so Joel is home alone. He does not like to eat alone so I told Kathy that we’ll make sure he’s well taken care of. I made the fish recipe that Anna likes, but the difference is this time we cooked it on the grill and it turned out really well. Joel just loved it! Needless to say we had more than enough to eat and drink. It was a fun evening for sure. We even got to watch the season opener of the NY Philharmonic. The first song they played had a real jazzy beat to it which was awesome.

On Saturday, Anna and I got a bunch of errands done, and had dinner downtown at this nice Mexican restaurant. We had a buy one, get one free coupon and it worked out really well for us. It’s been quite some time since we’ve been there so it was a nice treat. After dinner, we met up with John at the Civic Center for the season opener of the DSM Symphony. Talk about an amazing concert. It was a great way to start the season and all of us had a blast. The weather was a little cool, but today it’s warmer. They even said that this is going to be the first week since April where we did not have a day of rain. Truly the weather this week is supposed to be spectacular. We called and wished Karen happy birthday on our way home.

Not too much happened on Sunday. I worked at the restaurant and we were not busy. That’s pretty much the news from me. This weekend, I’ll be working on Saturday, Sunday and Monday because I took Friday off. We have another classical concert to go to.

The week that was.

Well, I guess the past week was a little more eventful than the last. I attended a volunteer fair at Drake on Wednesday. Too bad only one person came up to my table. I’m going to have to really consider if we should attend this particular fair. I’ve been things to do with two hours of my time to be real honest.

Saturday was nice because I had breakfast with Fr. Jim at the Farmer’s Market. The season is soon coming to an end so there’s really not a whole lot to see, but there are still vendors around. It ended up drizzling a little, and it was a little cool, but nothing too major. Anna could not join us because she had a meeting at St. Catherine. Later that evening, we had dinner at a restaurant we’ve been to before since we had a gift certificate. What’s really funny, when we were there some time ago, the food was good, but for some reason what both of us had did not live up to our expectations. I seriously doubt we’ll be returning. Oh well.

After dinner we went to a jazz concert at Drake by this female bassist who is definitely a prodigy. She went to Berklee and graduated in three years. She’s also the youngest ever faculty at Berklee when she was hired immediately after graduation. The concert was very eclectic to say the least. It’ll be interesting to follow her in the coming years to see where she’s headed. When the concert was over, we went to our friend’s house for dessert. It was a nice way to end the night.

The restaurant was pretty busy on Sunday which was really weird especially since it’s a Sunday. I had already clocked out and was having dinner at the restaurant when people started coming. Aaron was the only server and before long, he asked me to clock back in to help him out. Anna and I were supposed to go to a movie after I got back, and needless to say that did not happen. Work calls.

That’s the news from me. This weekend, the DSM Symphony starts its season and it’s looking to be a really good selection of music. We’re definitely excited for it!

Labor Day Weekend.

Before I move on to more of my reports, I figured I have some time to write a quick note about the weekend.

Anna and I left for the Twin Cities right around 4:30PM on Friday. The drive actually took longer than usual because of strong winds and a couple of accidents. It was close to 8:30PM when we arrived. Mikey greeted us with a great big smile which was awesome! We really did not do too much that night. For the most part, we sat around and caught up with one another.

On Saturday, the ladies, Karen, Gretchen, Heidi and Anna spend the day together. They went to a spa and got some a manicure and pedicure. Karen got a dress for the wedding too. Needless to say, all the ladies had a great time together. The guys spend the day with Mikey. He entertained us by doing a whole bunch of stuff. He’s definitely crawling, and can walk a little as long as he holds on to you. He’s able to stand up too as long as he can grip something. I had a blast with him. It was also the start of college football season so we watched a number of games on tv. Needless to say, it was very much a guys day. Later that evening, we met up with the ladies at a French Restaurant in the city. Karen said she would like to try French cuisine and that’s exactly what we had. We all thought they food was good.

The next day, Al, Karen, Anna and I went to Mass at St. Olaf’s Catholic Church in the heart of the city. It’s a very famous church that has amazing music. Heidi and Mark did not join us because they were going to Mass later that evening. After Mass was done, headed to the baseball field to catch the Minnesota Twins game. They played Texas Rangers. We had time to walk around the ballpark and to take it all in. The ballpark is brand new and this is the team’s inaugural season at this new field. I must say it’s a gorgeous stadium. We grab some stuff to eat and Gretchen and Travis met us there. The seats were really good, and everyone had a blast. Heidi, Mark and Mikey joined us a little later right before the game started. Travis took it upon himself to teach me how to keep score and it was pretty cool learning how to do it. The Twins won the game and we were all happy. Heidi, Mark and Mikey left towards the end of the game because they were headed to Mass at the church where they go to. Since the rest of us had gone to Mass, we hung around downtown and had dinner at this funky Asian restaurant close to the city. It was a nice little find, and the food was good. We were all stuffed once dinner was over.

Monday was Labor Day and we took our time getting up. Everyone met at the house and we had individual sized pizzas for lunch. Prior to lunch, Anna gave Gretchen and her parents their gift and souvenirs from Malaysia. They all really liked it. Yay! We left the house at around 2:15PM because on our way back, we were going to visit Anna’s friend, Gretchen whose twins are two months younger than Mikey. The last time we saw them was briefly at the reception. My, the boys have grown a lot and definitely have a personality. We had a good time catching up with them. The drive back was uneventful to say the least.

Overall, it was a really fun and relaxing weekend. We figured out that we’ll be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas at Heidi and Mark’s. I’ll actually be taking the week after Christmas off from work so it’ll be a long weekend. Nice.

That’s all the news from me. Short, but sweeet!

Colorado 2007

June 23rd

Today marked the first day of my vacation. As planned, I left DM at 5AM and started my supposedly 11 hour drive to Estes Park. The drive in and of itself was not bad at all. Everyone kept telling me that driving through Nebraska was treacherous because there’s just not a whole lot to see. I really did not think it was that bad at all. I stopped twice to get gas and both places were in Nebraska as I figured gas in Colorado would not be cheap. I guessed right. The route I took to get to Estes Park brought me to Cheyenne, Wyoming. I’ve never been to Wyoming before so I figured it would be nice to drive through that state. As I was driving south towards Estes Park, I could see the Rockies to my right. It was truly an awesome sight to behold. In order to get to Estes Park, you have to drive through two cities. Traffic was a little slow, but that was fine by me. It was really neat driving on the mountain because it was not a straight drive. I finally made it at Estes Park at 2:30PM. The first place I stopped at was a gelato shop right in the heart of downtown. A couple of people who have been to Colorado advised me to get acclimated to the altitude and I figured getting some food and walking around town would help. After the gelato, I crossed the street to the Visitor Center and got a couple of brochures that I did not have. Then it was off to the B&B where I was going to spend the next five days. I was ten minutes early before check in but that did not matter. They were ready for me. The innkeeper is a German couple. He used to be a physics professor and retired in 1992. After he retired, they moved to Colorado and the B&B was opened in 1994. We chatted a little and he gave me the layout of the land which was really nice. There is a Catholic church right near downtown and I figured I might as well go to Mass today instead of tomorrow. That way I can get started with my hiking bright and early. The church is a quaint little place and the congregation is a little older. What was really funny, the people right in front of me were from Altoona and Ankeny (both very near DM)! What were the chances of that happening? I even asked the people in Ankeny if they knew Fr. Steve who was the priest at St. Kate’s for a year and that’s where he is now. They most certainly know him and think very highly of him. It really is a small world. After Mass, I had dinner at a restaurant called “The Other Side”. The innkeeper recommended it together with a colleague of mine. It was a nice little restaurant that had a stunning view of the mountains. I had elk meat for the very first time in my life and the meat was by no means gamey. After dinner, I trooped back to the B&B and then proceeded to walk around downtown Estes Park. I doubt I’ll be spending any significant amount of time downtown because it’s more of a shopper’s neighborhood. There are a number of quaint little shops that would appeal to women. I on the other hand had no interest whatsoever in those shops. I know I will be going downtown for dinner a couple of nights but I’m fine with that. From the B&B, it took me roughly fifteen minutes to walk downtown. There’s no reason to drive there for sure. After my walk, I started typing in my journal. After the last major trip, I figured it’s best to bring along my laptop and type in it at night before I go to bed. That will save me some time and I won’t need to enter it twice. One learns from experience I guess.

June 24th.

I was up pretty early this morning because I was excited about the day that was to come. Those of us who stayed at the B&B were served an amazing German omelet with applesauce. There was also yoghurt, coffee and orange juice. Talk about food to get me ready for my hike. My hiking plan today was to head to Emerald Lake from the Bear Lake trailhead. As I hiked to Emerald Lake, I passed three other lakes. I figured I would work backwards instead of stopping on my way to Emerald. There were parts of the trail that were pretty steep and it was funny because there came a time when I was ready to call it quits. I’m glad I didn’t because I’m ¬sure it was my body telling me that it needed time to adjust to the altitude. When I arrived at Emerald Lake, it was truly a sight to behold. There were a couple of people there but I managed to find a spot to rest and just take it all in. It’s amazing the sense of peace and tranquility that embraces one as you just sit in the presence of nature. I probably spent a good 45 minutes at the spot then decided to work my way back to the other lakes. The next lake I encountered was Dream Lake and it’s different compared to Emerald Lake because Dream Lake was narrower. Nymph Lake was next and the name says it all. It was a pretty small lake but still a lake. The next lake was Bear Lake and it’s a huge lake that has a nice walk around which I did not go on. There were quite a lot of people at this lake and I just did not want to be around the people. I then proceeded to hike to Bierstadt Lake. There was a trail leading to Bierstadt from Bear. It was a nice hike which did not last too long. Bierstadt was amazing and the view was downright awe-inspiring. I spent a good amount of time there just taking it all in. Oh, I forgot to mention that as I hiked I could see all the different Colorado Mountains. Words can’t really describe the views I encountered. A picture can only say so much. After Bierstadt, I had planned on making a loop around Sprague Lake but it had gotten really hot and the sun was scorching. I was not used to this. So, I did the smart thing by calling it a day. Before heading back to the B&B I stopped by the Rocky Mountain National Park Visitor Center to see what they offered there. There was a 23 minutes video that was shown and it was pretty good. I may be tempted to get a DVD of Rocky Mountain as a keepsake after the vacation is over. I still have a couple of days to decide on that. The first thing I did when I got back to the B&B was to take a nice cold shower. I had sweat a lot and there was nothing better than a cold shower. It was then time for dinner and I walked to an Italian Restaurant called “Sweet Basilico” located five minutes from the B&B. The food was good. I had calamari as an appetizer and had seafood angel hair pasta as an entrée. The preparation was simple but it was very good. It definitely filled me up for sure. After dinner, I spent the rest of the evening at the B&B reading and typing in my journal. I also downloaded the photos from the days’ adventure. It’ll be most interesting to see how they turn out. The plan for tomorrow is to hike a couple of trails leading to waterfalls. There’s nothing more spectacular than waterfalls!

June 25th.

As planned, today was the day I made it to Ouzel Falls which is one of many waterfalls that can be found in the Rockies. I had an earlier breakfast which allowed me to get on the trail a little earlier and that was very nice. There were probably five cars parked at the lot and that was a good sign. The trail really was not too difficult. There were parts where it was steep and as you looked up you could see how steep it was going to get. My motivation was hearing the waterfalls and like the guidebooks said, once you arrived at the waterfall, you can’t help but think that the trek was more than worthwhile. I spent some good amount of time there just admiring the sounds from the waters falling. Needless to say, I took a number of different shots of the waterfall. When it was time to go back down, I really took my time as I was in no rush whatsoever to head to another trail. I really did not plan on hiking the rest of the day. On my way back, I did see this very pretty lake that was part of the Rocky Mountain National Park System. The lake was called Lily Lake and it’s pretty much a lake surrounded by some amazing views of mountains. I stopped the car and trekked around the lake. It was a very easy hike around the lake. After that was done, I drove to downtown and spent the rest of the afternoon in the public library reading. It was a nice way to cool off and to give my legs some much needed rest. Before I knew it, it was time to take a shower and find some grub. I was hungry for a nice piece of steak and the B&B people recommended Nicky’s Steakhouse. To be real honest, the steak was only so-so. I may have to rethink the whole idea of having steak while I’m in Colorado. At the very least, dinner filled me up. I did not know what else to do so I motored back downtown and once again spent some time in the library. I could have walked around downtown again, but just did not feel like it. The plan for tomorrow is to hike the most. I’ll be going to a small waterfall on the way to a nice picturesque lake. As I follow this trail, it branches off to another lake and the goal is to visit that lake too. We’ll see how my feet hold up. I really do think it’ll be fine. It’s kind of hard to believe that I’ve been here three days now and have two more days of hiking before I continue on to my next adventure in Denver. On a side note, it’s amazing how many Caucasians there are visiting Estes Park. Everywhere I turn, it’s nothing but blonde haired and blue-eyed people! Talk about a lack of diversity. Oh well, it’s just an observation from me.

June 26th.

Today was definitely the longest hiking day, but it was well worth it. I was at the trailhead by 8:30AM and arrived at Loch Lake in roughly an hour. I have to say that this was definitely one of the best, most amazing lakes I’ve seen. It rivals Emerald Lake. I took some pretty good shots of the lake and one can only hope it turns out A OK. I was lucky because I made it there before most people and I got to savor the tranquility of the lake. By the time the other people arrived, I had taken all the photos I wanted to take. Next stop was Mills Lake which was another big lake. It was a very nice lake too but not as nice as Loch. I guess one of the reasons why I liked Loch was because the hike to the lake was pretty challenging and there were times when I was just about ready to quit. I kept telling myself that there was no way I was going to quit and I’m glad I did not. For me, whenever I’m hiking up a steep trail, it’s really mind over matter. On the way back, there was a small waterfall which was very accessible to many people because it was not even a mile hike. A number of people brought their little kids with them and needless to say, the kids had a blast. Once those two hikes were over, I made it back to the car and decided to drop by the Visitor Center to get a couple of souvenirs. Just as I arrived at the visitor center, it started raining. Actually, from Mills Lake, I could see the grey clouds and something told me that it was going to rain. I’m so glad I got all my hiking done before the rain fell. I would not have wanted to be up on the mountain with the lightning and all. I got a nice souvenir book with a DVD and am planning on getting a couple of more DVDs from Amazon just so I can commemorate my Rockies vacation. I took a shower and once again went to the library in town and then had dinner. This time I went to an Italian Restaurant called Dunraven. The food was pretty good especially the appetizer. I had Prince Edward Mussels and they were yummy. For my entrée, I had veal Marsala which was fine. They had tiramisu for dessert and there was no way I was going to turn that down. It was pretty good. Definitely one of the better tiramisus I’ve had in quite some time. After dinner I walked around downtown and still don’t really like it. That’s just my personal opinion. It definitely caters to all the tourists that swarm there during the summer months. Tomorrow will be a pretty relaxing day. I’m planning on going to Bridal Veil Falls which is the last waterfall that I’m interested in seeing and that is pretty much it. I may make it back to Bear Lake again; we’ll just have to see how I feel after the hike up to Bridal Veil. I’m not really stressing out about my plans for tomorrow. Who knows, it might rain and if it does, that will throw my plans out the window. I’m just glad that I’ve been able to get as much hiking done as I wanted to. There is a benefit concert at the visitor center and I may go to that depending on my mood. The money goes towards the national park and I think that’s a very good cause. Something I’ve observed that I have not written is the fact that it’s so neat to see so many families taking their kids hiking. I’ve encountered numerous parents with pretty young kids hiking and I think it’s most wonderful. These kids are not staying at home watching the television or playing video games. They are learning about nature and are presumably having a blast. That’s very comforting to see for sure.

June 27th.

Today is my last day at Estes Park/Rockies. It’s really kind of a bittersweet day really. My Rockies experience comes to a close, but my Denver experience begins. As planned I set out for Bridal Veil Falls and after all the hiking from the prior days, this was one of the easier ones. It was by no means the easiest hike, but definitely not the most strenuous. The falls itself was beautiful and there were quite a lot of water gushing down. I managed to find a spot literally next to the waterfalls which gave me a couple of good camera shots. I sat there for some time taking it all in. The weather was a little misty/grey today but all the time I was hiking, it never once rained. It did rain later in the afternoon after I showered and was reading out on the patio. The hike back to the car was a little sad because I knew this was the last hike at the Rockies for me. However, I looked back at all the different hikes I’ve been on and could not help but be thankful for the opportunity to experience nature the way nature should be experienced. Before heading back to the B&B, I stopped by the library to read the papers. It was my last time at the library which served me very well all the times I was there in the afternoon. After my shower, I was reading up a little about the scenic route I’ll be taking to Denver tomorrow. I’ll be driving on Trail Ridge Road and there are a number of stops on this road that will allow one the opportunity to stop and just admire the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. My goal is to be on the road by 6AM and hopefully at that time, there will not be many cars and I’ll have the luxury of stopping at the different spots without the crowd of people. The B&B people had packed me a breakfast/lunch to go since I won’t be having breakfast tomorrow. How very nice of them. Hans and Miriam really are such wonderful B&B hosts. If I know of people looking for a place to stay while visiting Estes Park/Rocky Mountain, I’ll most certainly recommend this B&B. For dinner, per Miriam’s suggestion, since I’ve not had buffalo steak before, I went to this restaurant that served it. Who could turn down a wild game appetizer of wild boar, elk and buffalo sausage? Not me. That’s what I ordered. All the sausages tasted delicious and you can definitely tell the difference in taste. When I bit into the buffalo steak, the one thing that struck me was how much it tasted like beef. The main difference is the fact the buffalo steak was a little leaner and coarser than regular steak. It most certainly did not taste gamey at all. Well, I’m glad I had my first buffalo experience. I’m sure it won’t be my last. After such a hearty meal, I decided to walk around Spruce Lake in the Rockies. It’s a really easy walk around the lake. It’s a very nice lake but too bad the weather was a little grey. Normally, one would be able to see the Continental Divide from Spruce Lake. Oh, I should share with you how on my drive to Spruce Lake, I saw an elk literally standing right next to the road. That animal took my by surprise because I was not looking out for it. It’s a pretty big animal when you see it up close and personal. While walking around Spruce Lake, I took a number of photos of squirrels eating. I was amazed how close I managed to get to them. That was pretty neat to say the least. The walk around lake helped settle the food. When I was at the visitor center yesterday, I saw a note saying that there will be a concert there this evening. So, I made my way there after Spruce. It was kind of conservation, sustainability talk cum concert. Some time during the concert, it really hit me how very appropriate it was for me to be at this talk/concert because what better way to end my experience by talking about sustainability and the things I can do to make the world a better place to live for the future generations? This is one of the reasons why I refuse to go to zoos because I just do not believe in seeing animals all locked up in cages. That’s not their natural habitat and we think we’re doing kids a favor by “showing” these animals off. I’ll get off my soapbox now. After the concert, I just could not resist stopping by the gelato shop once again. It was a little treat to myself. God, I love gelato! I got two flavors – tiramisu and another flavor that just escapes me right now. Let’s just say the combination was amazing. I could not think of a better way to end the evening. Before calling it a night, I chatted with Hans and Miriam and took some photos with them. It’s my keepsake from my time vacationing at the Rockies. Tomorrow, a whole new and different adventure begins. This time it’s the big city of Denver.

June 28th

The drive on Trail Ridge Road was breathtaking to say the least. I left early enough that there were not that many cars on the road. I stopped a number of times where there were elk by the side of the road and managed to take photos. Driving through the mountains and just taking in the views were just breathtaking. I made it in Denver by 9:30AM. The one museum I wanted to visit was only going to open at 10AM. So I basically, hung outside waiting for the place to open. The Colorado Historical Museum had some very good information and I learned a lot about Colorado’s history and the role American Indians played. After visiting the museum, I dropped by the Denver Public Library located across the street from historical museum. It’s a huge library and it was pretty packed with people. Once I was done with the library, I drove to the hotel to check in and freshened up for dinner. Instead of driving back to downtown Denver, I actually took the light rail. I’m all about public transportation whenever possible. The park and ride is located a mile from the hotel and that just worked out perfectly. Dinner was at this restaurant called Mizuna and my oh my was the food delectable. I had the seven course tasting menu and it was a great way to experience a restaurant. The restaurant was a good fourteen blocks from the light rail stop so one could say that I walked for my dinner and it was all worth it. On my way back to the light rail stop, I saw a jazz club I was supposed to go for a jazz concert on Saturday but silly me I had something else going on that evening. So, I cancelled my reservation and asked them what other jazz music opportunities would be available to me. They have a Sunday brunch with a live jazz performance and that truly sounds good. I believe that’s what I’ll be doing. It’s so convenient whenever one is able to commute using public transportation.

June 29th.

I got up a little later than normal since the Denver Art Museum (DAM) was only going to open at 10AM. I was most impressed with its collection and when comparing it to some of the other art museums that I’ve been to, this definitely ranks as one of the best. There were a number of interactive displays that downright drew my attention. DAM probably has the most impressive if not one of the most impressive Native American displays. I spent the entire day at the museum and that tells you how impressed I was with it. Dinner was at Restaurant Kevin Taylor which was voted one of the top 50 restaurants in the USA. Dinner was impressive to say the least and that would be an understatement. Once again, I had the tasting menu and this was the first time ever where I got to choose the different courses. Oh, they had Kobe Beef tartare as an appetizer and would you think I was going to turn that down? No way, Jose! This may be my one and only time to ever try Kobe Beef. What do I think about it? Well, it’s all it’s cracked up to be. Melt in your mouth and utterly heavenly beef would be the best way to describe it. I was a very, very happy person at the end of the meal. I went to Jazz at Jack’s for a jazz performance. Actually, there were a couple of standup comics who got the crowd all pumped up before the house band, Dotsero came on stage. I was very impressed with the house band, and probably will end up getting some of their cds. The leader of the group was extremely talented, but whenever he spoke and tried to get the crowd going, it failed miserably. The music on the other hand was sumptuous for all at the club. We all had a great time and as much as I wanted to stay until the club closed, I was a tired but I told my waitress that I’d be back on Sunday. There’s no cover for the Sunday performance and they have a group coming that’s going to be jamming for fun. The group supposedly brings in some world famous artist whenever they jam. It’ll be interesting see who the guest artist is/are. What I love about this jazz club is that it’s non-smoking. Heck, all the restaurant and bars in Colorado are non-smoking. Gosh, how I wish those places in Iowa would be smoke free. I’m sure it’ll happen in time. There’s nothing like enjoying great jazz music in a club that’s non-smoking. After the leaving the club, I was in a little panic because I thought I had missed the last train getting me back to the hotel. Alas, all I needed to do was take a train to another station and transfer. The train that would get me back to the hotel ran till 2:30AM which was not going to be a problem at all for me. Talk about a great way to spend the day.

June 30th.

Talk about a day that was full of surprises. By the time I got up, it was kind of late because of the time I slept. I really took things easy today. The only thing I really did was to drive to the town of Morrison where the concert was going to take place. I’m glad I decided to leave early because there were quite a lot of people already at the venue close to four hours before the start of the concert. They were there to tailgate which is tradition for many people at concerts. I bought the papers and read it in my car. It was kind of hot to be reading outside. Before I knew it, people started piling into the car park. Let’s just say it was a very eclectic mix of people. Now, here comes the fun part. When I entered the venue which was spectacular because it was a natural outdoor amphitheater, I really saw what kind of a crowd it was. People were not supposed to be smoking, but they really did not care. Cigarette smoke really bothers me and people were not supposed to be standing but they did. That bothered me too and there was no way they were going to be sitting down. People started smoking marijuana out in the open and that bugged the heck out of me. Call me naïve, but I just don’t condone it. I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed the concert if not for the different types of smoke emanating from the crowd. There were more and more people arriving and I could predict that things were going to get wild in every sense of the word. I did not want nor did I have the need to stay any longer so I left. This was probably the first time in a very long time where I felt very uncomfortable with a group of people. Now, they were all a “happy” bunch of people and there was no trouble, but I just did not feel comfortable with them. As a looked back at what I got myself into, I could not help but laugh at myself. It was pretty funny. I don’t normally get surprised by much, but this time I truly was taken by surprise. Oh, when I left the person at the gate told me that there was no reentry and I told her not to worry about that because I for sure would not be coming back! I definitely have a funny memory that I won’t be forgetting for quite some time. For dinner, I went to a sushi restaurant quite close to the hotel and it was pretty good. Actually, it was very good. That was most certainly a good way to end a pretty eventful day wouldn’t you say? Tomorrow will definitely be more laid back. I’ll be going to possibly two jazz performances and a musical. Talk about a packed day ahead for me.

July 1st.

It ended up being a very laid back kind of day. By the time I got up, it was a little too late to go to the jazz performance at 9AM. So, I decided to go to REI which is an outdoor sports place. I’ve gotten a couple of hiking pants and t-shirts from REI online. Let’s just say the shop itself was huge. It’s located in a former warehouse and it’s four storey high. I ended up not getting anything but it was definitely nice to see the shop. After REI, I went to the Denver Center for Performing Arts. At this center, there was no less than six different stages/auditorium etc. each with different size and levels. I went to the musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”. It’s a hilarious musical that just brought tons of laughter to all. The best part of it, I got the ticket for $10 by showing my student ID. How cool is that? It was such a neat way to spend the afternoon. For dinner, I went to Le Central which touts itself as the “affordable French restaurant” and affordable it truly was. The pre-fix menu cost $28 which was a bargain for French food. I’ve read that the mussels were out of this world so I had to order them. There were at least eight different ways to prepare the mussels and I ordered it the one way I’m most familiar with – white wine, garlic, basil, tomato and butter. It was outstanding. The only other place I’ve had mussels this good was during my vacation at San Juan Islands at Backdoor Kitchen Restaurant. I even went as far as to order two types of wine at Le Centrel. One red and the other white. Both complemented the food very well. I was ready to call it a day by the end of dinner so I headed back to the hotel to have some R&R. You can probably tell that I’m not doing a whole heck of a lot in Denver, but that’s totally A OK with me. That’s what a vacation is all about. You do whatever you want to do.

July 2nd.

Another very relaxing day today. I went to the library located very near the hotel and caught up with the papers. As I read the papers, I found out that Maria’s (my former volunteer) uncle passed away. Before I left for my vacation, she told me that her cousin was going to be calling Hospice so he may end up passing away while I’m on vacation. From the papers, I found out that he died on Friday. I called Maria and sent my condolences. She told me that the funeral would be tomorrow. Her sister made it into town today for the funeral. I went to watch two movies at the theater. I watched “Die Hard” and “A Mighty Heart” which is based on the capture and death of Daniel Pearl – the Washington Post journalist. It was a very moving movie and I won’t be surprised if Angelina Jolie is nominated for best supporting actress. Die Hard was pure adrenaline and it was nice to see Bruce Willis in an action packed movie after quite an absence. It was nice to watch two movies after not watching movies (remember, I’ll be going on a silent retreat and I’m positive I won’t be able to watch any movies then!) “Transformers – The Movie” opens tomorrow and I’ll definitely be headed back to the theater before starting the retreat. I asked the staff at the theater what time they’ll be showing Transformers and she told me that it’ll be shown pretty much all day starting at around 10AM which would be perfect for me. I’ll watch the movie before driving to the retreat center.

July 3rd.

I left the hotel early enough that I was able to make it to the library to read the papers and find out what time Transformers was showing. I went to the 10AM showing. What did I think of the movie? Let’s just say as a kid who grew up watching Transformer, I could not have asked for more. It was a very well produced and directed movie. The robots were unbelievable when you saw it in the movie. Granted, some scenes were downright corny, but at the end of the day, I would say that any fan of Transformers would be happy with the movie. I proceeded to watch the animated movie, “Ratatouille” which was such a fun movie. As someone who loves cooking and food, the movie definitely appealed to me. I had a great time watching it. Before I knew it, it was time to head over to Sedalia for the start of the retreat. I had dinner not in Sedalia but in a suburb nearest to Sedalia. For the firs time during this trip, I had Indian food. The way the shrimp curry was prepared, it was delicious. Talk about a good nice meal before the start of the retreat! I made it up to the retreat center with more than enough time to spare so I called dad. We chatted for some time as mom was with her trainer. I called really to check in with them letting them know that I’m fine and that the vacation is going well. After I settled in before Mass, I saw someone who I thought was a priest from Mundelein and true enough, it was him. Fr. Kevin Feeney is the formation director at Mundelein Seminary and he will be on the same silent retreat as me. Talk about a small world. I was told later that Fr. Canary who was the rector of Mundelein when I was there was just at the retreat center a week ago. What a small world we live in. Before Mass began we all introduced ourselves and I would say a little more than half the participants were religious (either priests, deacons, or sisters) and the rest of us were laity and most of us were active laity. To set us all in the mood, they played one of my all time favorite church songs – Hosea. How appropriate. Today is also the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle so the homilist talked about him a little about how we could look at St. Thomas kind of as a guide during this retreat journey/experience. There was a little social hour to get to know the other retreatants and that’s when I caught up with Kevin. He told me that latest news with Mundelein and I updated him with a number of guys who left the seminary that I’m still in touch with. I also spoke to a guy named Gene Koch from Iowa whom I initially thought was a priest from DM that I know pretty well. It was not him, but it would have been a hoot if he was the Gene I know. Gene and I talked quite a lot about being on retreats and other stuff. He’s been to this place a number of times and told me that I’ll really like my spiritual director. We’ll when I arrived in my room, there was already a note from my spiritual director, Vince Hovley saying that we’ll meet tomorrow at 2:15PM. The time works for me. The silence officially began after the social hour. Time to call it quits for the night.

July 4th.

Independence Day. Today is officially the first day of the silent retreat. The daily schedule is pretty simple. Breakfast at 8AM, Mass at 11:30AM followed by lunch at noon. Then it’s dinner at 6PM. During the rest of the time, you do whatever you want to do to embrace the silence or to be one with the silence. Something that struck me even from yesterday evening was how many of these people are what I would call seasoned silent retreatant – no, it’s not as if we all like to self inflict pain onto ourselves, but there’s something about the silence that keeps bringing all of us back. After breakfast, I took a stroll along the grounds and it’s a really amazing location. There are a number of chairs and swings scattered all around the grounds for one to meditate or just be. In the brochure that was sent to me, I saw a remarkable gazebo that gave one a 360 degrees view of the grounds and I made it my goal to seek and find it. One actually had to walk through a gate and follow the path to the gazebo. Once there, it was a sight to behold. There were three chairs and I sat on one and pretty much took all of nature in. Since it was the fourth, there were two fighter jets that flew somewhat low enough to make its presence felt. I’m a sucker for planes. As my eyes were closed, I could hear at least five different birds chirping all around me. It’s things like this that one will find a little difficult to appreciate when you’re not in/with the silence. I started reading a book entitled “Priestly Sins’ by the famous Chicago priest/author, Andrew Greeley. It’s fiction that talked about sexual abuse and the cover up that took place. Even though it’s fiction, anyone who is familiar with the sexual abuse crisis could relate to what Andrew wrote. I found it tough to put down and finished it by the afternoon. My next book is entitled, “Father Joe” by Tony Hendra that made the NY Times Bestseller list not too long ago. It’s really neat to be able to read and not feel guilty about getting pretty much nothing done. Ah, the joys of retreat! I was supposed to meet Vince at 2:15PM but he was not there. During dinner, he stopped and told me to come by his office at 7:45PM. I did and this was the first meeting we had. I told him a little about me, and my experiences with retreats. Vince was recently appointed director of the retreat center. He’s been a spiritual director and retreat leader for at least twenty-five years. I did share with Vince that during my previous silent retreat, my director did not allow me to read because he felt that reading for me was a form of escapism. He wanted me to dive fully into the silence and all its glory. Vince did not do that to me, at least not yet since we’re still in the “getting to know one another phase”. He did however give me an article which he wrote to read. It was mine to keep and we would be talking about it tomorrow during direction. The reason why he did give me the article is because he wanted me to know what was important to him and where he was coming from. The article was entitled, “A Rock to Build On” and there were two questions he asked early on in the article. “In what way does the Eucharist symbolize the life we are living and our lives symbolize the Eucharist?” Or, “Is Eucharist the spiritual exercise giving direction to our life?” The article tackled those questions and in true Jesuit form, it was not a black and white answer. I spent some time reading the article and digesting it and will continue doing so tomorrow to see if I can get more from it. That’s pretty much how the first day went. Oh, I did get to see a forty five minutes fireworks display from the grounds of the retreat center. One of the neat things about the location of the retreat center is the fact that it’s one a hill. So, when those fireworks started exploding, you got a front row view of it. It was a pretty neat display, not the best, but pretty good.

July 5th.

I got up at 4:30AM this morning so I could see the sun rise. It was an OK sunrise, nothing too spectacular, but it was kind of neat to be up early in the morning just to be with one with nature and all its glories. After breakfast, I once again trudged over to the gazebo and finished reading Father Joe. It turned out to be a very good read. I could most definitely relate with the author concerning having a priest friend who is there for me no matter what. There’s something to be said about that type of a friendship. There were parts of the book that brought tears to my eyes. After Fr. Joe, I came across the book, “Holy Longing” by Ron Rolheiser who is an accomplished Catholic spiritual writer. A friend had told me to read this book if I got the chance and I duly did so. The crux of the book talked about Christian Spirituality and overall it was a good read. I was pretty familiar with most of his stuff, yet it was refreshing to read something written by Ron. My meeting with Vince went well and my task/homework for tomorrow is pretty elaborate in a very good way because it’s something I’ve never done before. The gist of it had to do with reflecting on my in gratitude for God in reference to where I am now (“Now” is used kind of loosely). I get to jot down words that come to mind as I think of where I am right now and I also am able to write/talk about my different connections. I’ll be most anxious to work on this activity after breakfast tomorrow when I’m fresh. I thought about doing the activity this evening, but figured I’m a little drained from all the reading. Since I’m a morning person, I may even see if I’ll do the activity before breakfast – if the spirit moves me!

July 6th

Today is definitely the first day I’m feeling good about the whole silent retreat. I’m not saying that it’s been a total loss the past couple of days, but it does take you some time to get into the groove. I do believe part of it had to do with my assignment. I had a blast working on my answers for the questions that were posed to me by Vince. After breakfast, I went to my favorite spot which would be the gazebo and worked on my answers. It was a lot of fun and I definitely embraced the assignment. Part of the reason why I’m feeling good about the retreat is because I’m taking things a lot easier by not stressing myself out. For example, when I was at Creighton for my first silent retreat, there was always a part of me that made sure I followed the rule and did everything right so the retreat would work out fine. This time however, I’m just letting myself relax more. For example, after Mass, I drove to town to buy a bunch of newspaper to read. In a sense that was nice to be able to just go outside. There’s really no major hard and fast rule when it comes to silent retreats, but at the same time, the change in scenery was good for me. I spent a good amount of time just catching up with the news that’s been going on in and around the world before spiritual direction. I shared with Vince how things were going and that I’m definitely “digging it” today. The assignment for today is going to be another fun one because in some ways it’s similar to the one from the previous day. However, the main difference is the fact that I’ll be looking at my entire history going back to the time of my first memory. Oh, I’m definitely going to have some fun with this tomorrow! When I was done with the papers, I lay it on the table for all to share and just over the course of the evening, I could tell that there were a number of happy people who were able to read their papers. There’s something about us who like reading the papers. Evening came and went pretty fast so there was not a whole lot to share. I did finish reading the book entitled “The New Faithful“ which talked about Christian Orthodoxism and young adults and why they are drawn to it. It was an interesting read to say the least. I did find a De Mello book that I’ve not read and I started reading it this evening.

July 7th,

It was a very good day today. I worked on my assignment and really had a good time with it. It’s kind of a little daunting when you try to write stuff that’s taken place in your life for the past twenty nine years. However, I did get it done and it’s pretty amazing to see all the different things that jumped out especially all the significant events be it good or bad. Some would say that there’s really no such thing as a bad event because every event gives one the opportunity to learn. After Mass, I actually drove to get some gas for my car and while there, I got myself a magazine, “Food and Wine”. Now, one may wonder why in the world did I get that magazine? Well, for one they always have some really neat articles and secondly, an American chef went to Malaysia and he shared his experience of Malaysian cuisine. Now, how can I not buy the magazine after seeing that?! I once again had a good meeting with Vince and I shared with him why I think things are going great. I truly believe a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m so much more relaxed and not stressing myself out with what I can or can’t do. What’s really funny is that when the retreat started, we were basically wished a good retreat without any do’s or don’ts. How cool is that? Vince agreed with me. After sharing my assignment with Vince, we were at a crossroad albeit a good one because I got to choose where I wanted to go with the next task. I decided that it was time I spent more time with the Gospel of John and Vince being a Johanine scholar, gave me a couple of routes to start with. I’m excited to be reading John and to see how Scripture will speak to me. After dinner, I grabbed my camera and took a number of shots of the center and the grounds. It was a somewhat grey evening and I could tell in the distance it was storming because I could see the rain and lightning. It’s really kind of weird because one side of it was all dark and grey and the other side was all blue sky and bright. That’s Colorado weather for you. I finished De Mello’s book and will be starting on Merton’s “No Man is an Island”. I love reading Merton’s stuff so it’ll be fun to see how he speaks to me. On a totally different subject, this morning, I had the most delicious apple for as long as I can remember. It was crunchy, just the way I like it but also not too sweet. Boy, did I savor that apple! Trust me, it’s not often you can get an apple that’s just right and by some stroke of luck, I got it. The funny thing is that I normally don’t grab an apple, but for one reason or another, I grabbed one this morning. Now, what do you think the chances of me grabbing another apple after dinner and having the same experience? Nada. It just was not quite there. Oh well, I’ll just have to lean on the memory of the apple from this morning. Trust me, it was that good!

July 8th.

For some reason or another, I had trouble sleeping last night. I’ve no idea why. I was up till probably 1AM which is not a good thing. Thank goodness I’m on vacation. I thought I would catch a nap later in the afternoon which ended up not happening at all. After breakfast, I spent quite some time with John’s Gospel and let’s just say that there’s some pretty heavy stuff going on. Some of the things I never realized took place in John’s Gospel. I guess I’m just more familiar with the other gospels. It was really fun though to work through John. The meeting with Vince went really well and he recommended two books that have a good discourse on John. I’ll probably end up getting it. The first book is entitled, “The Mystical Way in the Fourth Gospel” by L. William Countryman. The second is, “A Mystical Portrait of Jesus” by Demitrius Dumm. After meeting with Vince, I actually drove to Office Depot to get a 1G Flash Drive because I just had a sudden fear that all this writing will be a goner if my computer dies on me. I’ve been having some problem with the laptop so the last thing I want to do is chance it. By saving my stuff on the Flash Drive, I know I’ll have it with me. I got a third of the way through with “No Man is an Island” and decided to put it down. I’ve been reading some pretty heavy stuff the past couple of days and there’s only so much my brain can take. So instead, I grabbed a copy of the book entitled “Best Spiritual Writings 2002” which was a much lighter read. I can definitely deal with that. After dinner, I grabbed my camera and took some shots and the cloud formations were pretty spectacular. Not even five minutes after I got back in, a rain shower took place and it poured for a good thirty minutes. We needed it because it’s been way too dry here out west. We’ve been setting some records because of how hot it’s been. I finished Spiritual Writing and before going to bed tonight, I’ll read up more on John and will continue tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is my last day. I leave for Colorado Springs on Tuesday, July 10th for the last leg of my vacation. The time spent on retreat has been a blessing indeed. Soon, the real world beckons.

July 9th.

Well, it’s definitely a bittersweet day for sure. It’s the last day of the retreat. In many ways, I’m thankful and grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to go on a silent retreat. I’ve learned a lot and one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to really take things easy and not be concerned with all the little nitty gritty stuff that can overwhelm you. The whole goal of a retreat is to take time off to center oneself and to hopefully be closer to God. I know I accomplished this. For our final spiritual direction today, we actually got into a car and drove to get some prescription for a religious sister who is having some major health issues. Vince was very apologetic about the whole experience but I told him that this by far is the best spiritual direction I’ve had because a lot of it has just been flying by the seat of our pants (in a good way). I got to experience direction in a whole new and different light. It’s nice to have a director who is not uptight about stuff. Like Vince said, he’s been doing spiritual direction for quite some time now so over the years, you learn a thing or two. What was neat about driving around is that I got to see a side of Colorado that I’ve never seen before. There’s a lot of people with a lot of money who live in Colorado just by the sheer size of the houses I saw. Vince was sharing with me how there’s this older couple who are building a 35,000 square feet house on top of a hill and to top it off, they have a 18 hole golf course of their property! Sheer insanity in my books for sure. I guess when you have that kind of money it’s all about shouting out to the world and letting people know what you are able to do. I’m sure if you were to ask them why, the answer would most probably be because we can. Sad, very sad. After dinner I took a nice walk around the property again and will be doing that for the very last time tomorrow. I’m planning on leaving after Mass. I think it’s only right that the retreat started with Mass and ends with Mass. I’ve no agenda tomorrow. I’ll be driving to Colorado Springs which is probably 45 mins from Sedalia. If time allows it, I’ll stop by the US Air Force Academy. It’s supposed to be a sight to behold and the chapel onsite it out of this world. We’ll see what happens. That’s it for today. My adventure in Colorado Springs begins tomorrow.

July 10th.

Well, my plan to walk around the grounds were stifled because of rain. In a sense the rain was much needed so there was no complaints from me whatsoever. I ended up grabbing a book by Ed Hays and read it before Mass. I said goodbye to Kevin and told him to send my regards to the people at Mundelein. After Mass, I drove south to Colorado Springs. I did stop by the Air Force Academy and that place is huge. I did not encounter any problem getting inside. The guy at the entrance asked for my driver’s license and told me to pop the trunk so he could have a look. He gave me the all clear and I was off into the academy. Talk about a great location. The academy itself is located right in the heart of prime land and there were tons of trees surrounding it. I parked at the visitor center and walked to the chapel. Trust me, the chapel was amazing. It’s two levels and the first level has the Catholic and Jewish Chapel. The second level is all Protestant Chapel. I took quite a lot of photos because I could not help it. It was truly a sight to behold. Right outside the chapel, there were a number of new cadets marching and I just had to take photos of them. In many ways, the whole experience reminded me of the time when dad was in the army and we visited family friends who lived on the base. Talk about going back some years! After the stop, I was off on my merry way to Colorado Springs. It was not far at all and found the hotel without much problem. It’s located right off the freeway which was most convenient. The hotel had a business center and with that two computers and free Internet access. I checked my e-mail and I ONLY had 135 e-mails. Only thirty were valid e-mails, thank goodness. Having access to e-mail lets me have a handle on things so I don’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time checking it when I’m back in DM. I had dinner at La Petite Maison, a French restaurant that got rave reviews and I was not disappointed. The food was very good and I truly enjoy French cuisine. There’s something about its simplicity yet amazing taste and flavor. What a nice way to get started on my Colorado Springs vacation. After dinner, I went back to the hotel to chill. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day because I’ll be whitewater rafting for a full day starting at 8:15AM. I’m sure there will be quite a lot to write.

July 11th.

Today was definitely one of the most memorable days ever. For the first time in my life I went whitewater rafting and let me tell you that I’ve been bitten by the bug. Canon City is located roughly 45 mins from Colorado Springs. I left “Springs” (as it’s referred to by the locals) early enough that I made it to Canon City with ample time to spare. I had no difficulty finding the place. Initially, I had signed up for a full day trip. However, after I checked in, I found out that I was on the only person who signed up for it. So, instead of being by the river a whole day, I would be bussed back to headquarters, have lunch there and then follow another group to continue the second leg of my trip. It was all fine by me. My rafting guide for both trips was named Jeremy and he’s an awesome guy with five years of experience. He’s been guiding lots of rafting trips over the years and I got to know him better over the day. The first leg of the rafting trip was a pretty simple trip through Big Horn which is rated a category II and III at the most. Category VI would be the most severe. II and III pretty much meant a somewhat choppy river, but nothing to really be concerned about. All of us rafters were bussed to the place where we sat on a school bus which was fun. It was cool to sit on a school bus. In total, there were six of us including Jeremy on our raft. I joined a family from Illinois who were on their way to New Mexico. He’s in the army and he and his wife have two teenage daughters. This was the first time all of us were rafting. Overall, we had a jolly great time maneuvering through the rapids with Jeremy’s help. On the ride over, all of us were briefed about the different worst case scenarios that could happen and what we were to do. In some ways, it kind of hits you that this is real life and people do die from whitewater rafting. I soon realized that all I needed to do was pay attention to Jeremy since he was our guide. When the first leg of the rafting was done, it was a nice preview/warm up for what’s to come in the afternoon. The second leg of my rafting trip was a category III and IV which meant that things would definitely get choppier, and all of us were to paddle more. After I got back from the first trip, I had a cold cut sandwich buffet and that’s when Jeremy and I got to know one another pretty well. During winter, he’s a ski instructor at Winter Park and he’s been all over the country and even to Australia and Thailand. Talk about a guy with lots of travel experience. He’s whitewater rafted at some of the most dangerous rivers and lived to share his stories. Needless to say, he’s an adrenaline junkie yet really down to earth. On the second leg, in total there were five of us, but this time I joined a party of three and another guide joined our guide for the heck of it. This portion of the river was much more exciting because we needed to paddle a lot more and just really pay attention to Jeremy. The other thing that really caught my attention was how gorgeous the gorge was. The natural wonder was just out of this world and really, the only way you could see these sites were either rafting or taking a train. There were numerous spots where all of us got soaked but we were all just having a blast. Then, it came to a point when Jeremy asked me if I wanted to jump off a rock into the river. I said, “Heck ya!” and two other people from our raft joined me. So, we reached a point where we “parked” the raft and the four of us swam across the river onto the other side with some pretty strong currents. Talk about an adrenaline rush. After swimming across, all of us, led by Jeremy climbed up some rocks that were close to thirty feet above the river and Jeremy told me where to jump. I was the first and what a rush! After I jumped, the rapids pretty much guided me back to the same spot where we started climbing. After the three of us jumped into the water, we climbed up some other rocks and this time to a different spot where after we jumped once again into the river, we were to swim to the raft. I was the last to jump this time and swam back to the raft. There’s nothing like a huge adrenaline rush and that’s what all three of us felt. I could sense that Jeremy was glad he proposed the idea to us. After we got back to the boat, we went through a couple more rapids, then it started to hail on us. Yes, as we were rafting down the river, it hailed! Talk about a great experience. We were told that it normally hails for not more than five minutes but it ended up hailing a good hour. Part of the appeal of this second leg of rafting had to do with rafting below the Royal Gorge Bridge. There came a point when we were literally right under the bridge and to see the second longest suspension bridge in the world above our heads was out of this world. No words could really describe the experience. Trust me, this bridge was at least a thousand feet above our heads and we could see people standing on the bridge looking down on us. How cool! All in all, the whole experience was unforgettable. I’ve never done anything like that ever in my life and would definitely go whitewater rafting again – no questions asked. The rush you get is beyond comprehension. After the whole experience, I thanked Jeremy and gave him a pretty good tip. I also took a photo with him and told him that I’ll definitely recommend the Raftmaster Company to anyone who’s looking for a whitewater adventure in Canon City. They should also ask for Jeremy because when all is said and done, it’s the guide that makes all the difference. The drive back to Springs was pretty uneventful. I came back to the hotel and took a shower. Needless to say, I was hungry beyond belief. I had dinner at “The Blue Star” which is a Mediterranean/Tapas restaurant. The food was unbelievable. I had three tapas and an entrée. All were excellent. One could say that I thought the food was excellent because of how hungry I was, but I beg to differ. The food was really that good. After dinner, I came back to the hotel to crash. It was definitely a tiring day, but a most memorable day.

July 12th.

I got up pretty late because I was tired from yesterday. The plan today was to drive up Pikes Peak on the highway instead of taking the cog railway. I’m glad I drove up because the view as you drove up the winding road to the top of Pikes Peak was beyond any words. When I reached the top, the temperature was at least 25 degrees below what it was below. It was pretty windy too. At the top of Pikes Peak, I was 14,100 feet above sea level. That’s pretty high! The view was amazing and it would have been more amazing if it was not a little cloudy. I took as many photos as I could from the peak but like I said, it was quite cloudy. Not even five minutes after I left, it started raining really hard and hailing again. The rain lasted pretty much all day. I had wanted to go to the cave of the winds but because of the rain, I cancelled that idea. I ended up visiting the Colorado Springs Museum which was located in the former county courthouse. It’s a gorgeous old building and the exhibits were very impressive. I learned quite a lot about the history of Colorado Springs. After the Pioneer’s museum I trekked across to street to the new Fine Art Museum and its special exhibit – Frida Kahlo. Talk about a very impressive artist. That was a nice little exhibit. In the museum shop, of all the things one could buy were a couple of Dale Chihuly art pieces. Who would have thought that this art museum was selling Dale Chihuly’s stuff? All the art pieces cost at least a thousand dollars or more but it was really neat to see them up close and personal. After the museum, I drove to Manitou Springs and walked around that neat little town and got some souvenirs for the office – fudge and chocolate. Yeah I know, I’m a nice guy! I then had dinner at Craftwood Inn which specializes in game meat. I had caribou steak for the first time in my life and it tasted like lamb, exactly like what the waitress told me. Oh, for the appetizer, I had blue crab and artichoke bisque. Who would have thought that adding some sherry to the bisque added a whole different flavor to the experience?! Something I’ll remember if I ever make some bisque. For dessert, they had a bittersweet chocolate which was delectable and decadent. It was so good I took some back with me to the hotel. It was that good. That’s pretty much the day. Tomorrow, I’m planning on visiting Cave of the Winds, Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls. All of it really depends on the weather. If it rains the whole day again, I’ll have to rethink what I’ll be doing. We’ll see how much the weather cooperates with me. It will be my last day in Springs since I’ll be leaving real early on Saturday morning to make it back to DM at a decent hour.

July 13th

Last day in the Springs. Once again, it’s a bittersweet day because it’s the last day of my vacation. At the same time, I’m looking forward to going home. A three week long vacation is more than enough for me. Believe it or not, I accomplished all I sought to do today and then some. I started with Cave of the Winds. The tour of the caves lasted roughly forty five minutes and it was very educational especially when you start looking at the different natural wonders taking place in the caves. It’s also pretty scary when you think of how much of an impact people can have when they start touching these natural wonders. Who would have thought that the oils on your hands can change nature? Also, It’s pretty scary how dark the caves are. The paths were lit and the when the guide turned off the light, I could not even see my hands right in front of me. Talk about a good way to get the day’s adventures started. After caves, I went to Cliff Dwellings. That’s pretty much what it was. Ancient Indians used to live there years ago. Really neat when you look at the ancient dwellings. After all these years, these dwellings were still intact. Granted, it was a very touristy spot, but it was still interesting no doubt. There was also a Native American dance performance. I’m sorry to say this, but it was kind of cheesy. I’ve seen other Native American dance performances that were definitely not geared to tourist, but a dance is a dance and it’s still pretty cool to look at one. I was then off to Garden of the Gods which is a huge attraction because you get to see these huge rock formations that were out of this world. The way I look at it, it’s nature at its best. Some of the rock formations, if you look closely have different images that were downright impressive. In the garden was a couple of walkways and as you walked looking at the rocks the designs/images kind of speak to you because it changes depending on how and where you look. I was most certainly impressed by it and took quite a lot of photos. One of the neatest design looked like two camels kissing! Yup, camels kissing – how cool is that? The last and final stop was Seven Falls which was a waterfall. I love waterfalls and this was one mighty impressive waterfall. You had to trek up some real steep iron steps to make it to the top of the falls. The view from the top was spectacular to say the least. However, I realize that you get the most satisfaction when you hike to find a waterfall. That’s just me. I took numerous shots of and from the waterfall and we’ll see if it turns out OK. After getting done with Seven Falls, it hit me that all the things I wanted to see and do, I did. I also managed to snap a couple of photos of the one and only Broadmoor Hotel. Yes, the world famous Broadmoor Hotel. So once that was done, there really was nothing left to do but have dinner. For dinner, I went to Walter’s Bistro. It was a nice meal and a good way to end the whole Colorado experience. I was told that I should try Colorado Rainbow Trout which I did and it was good. What a nice way to end my Colorado experience. After dinner, I went back to the hotel and packed up for my early morning drive back to DM tomorrow. In many ways, I’m looking forward to the drive home. The vacation was great but it’ll be good to be back home and go back to the real life. Monday will be a busy day at work, but I’m definitely looking forward to it for sure. Heck, it’ll be a very busy week ahead, but busyness is good because time flies when I’m busy with work.

Boston 2006

Thursday morning. I left Des Moines with ample time to spare for me to arrive at the airport in Omaha. The drive pretty much takes more or less two hours. The flight to Hartford, Connecticut was uneventful to say the least. From Hartford, I rented a car and drove to Boston. I had a little difficulty finding the parking lot to park my car long term but once that was taken care of, it was a breeze. I called for the courtesy shuttle to pick me up from the terminal hall to the airport. Everything went smoothly. Once I checked in, I freshened up and took the “T” (Subway) to downtown Boston. This evening I was going to attend the musical “Little Women” based on the classic. It was a fun musical and very family oriented. When that was done, I took the T back to the airport stop and called for shuttle to pick me up. One of the great things about the hotel where I stayed is that they had a 24 hour courtesy shuttle. That came in mighty handy throughout the entire trip.

Friday morning. I had dim sum for breakfast and it was good. Needless to say, I stuffed myself with some good, authentic food. We all know how much I can’t pass up Dim Sum. After that I was off to the Symphony Hall to try to get tickets to the Boston Symphony. Oh, in case you did not know, this symphony is one of the best in the world. The tickets to the show were expensive, but on the day of the performance, you can get what they call rush tickets and these tickets go for $8. Yes, $8. Your seat is not the best, but $8! There was already a line of people there by the time I got there but I was lucky enough to get a ticket. I walked around before the concert because later that evening I had another concert very close to the symphony hall and wanted to know where the venue was. The concert was at 1:30pm and it was outstanding. Trust me, I was not the only one who thought it was outstanding. There’s nothing like hearing a top notch symphony conducted by an amazing conductor live. When the concert was over, I was off to have Sushi for dinner. I took the T back to downtown and after some walking found the restaurant. Because I was early enough, there was no one at the restaurant. How was the sushi? One of the best I’ve had in my life. Very, very fresh and good. Then, I headed back to the symphony area to listen to another symphony concert. This time, it was the chamber group which meant it was a much smaller an intimate but still very good. Great music and excellent performance overall. Back to the hotel after that.

Saturday morning. This morning, I went to JFK’s museum. I did not know a whole lot about JFK but I learned a lot about him. It was a very educational museum. Kristi is a huge fan of JFK and wanted me to get her a couple of stuff from the gift shop. After the museum, I was back to the symphony hall for another classical concert and this time they played Beethoven’s famous 4th symphony. It’s the one that has the Da Da Da Dum that everyone is most familiar with. Before the intermission, there was a Harvard professor who spoke about the music and kind of walked through it with everyone to tell people what to look for and what not. That was very educational especially for people with younger kids. After the intermission, they played the entire 4th symphony. Most excellent. Dinner was at the restaurant called “Clio”. I can go on and on about this restaurant so I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice to say it was thus far the most excellent and memorable dining experience of my short life. Everything, and I mean everything about it was impeccable. If someone were to run a restaurant, this is how they should do it. There’s no other way to go about it. I’ve actually written a letter to the chef and the restaurant manager to tell them about my dining experience. I’ve never done anything like that before but I think they deserve to hear from me. It’s the least I could do.

Sunday. I went to Mass in downtown Boston at a church called St. Anthony the Shrine. How could I not go to a church named St. Anthony?! It was a wonderful church right in the heart of Boston run by the Franciscans. The church was pretty much the size of Madonna Heights and I like how the congregation participated at Mass. People sang and responded. Just the way Mass should be celebrated. When Mass was over, I was off to Harvard. Why would I got to Harvard you might ask? Well, later in the day there was a concert and Harvard has an excellent art museum. I spent some time there and it was mind boggling to know of the different art pieces that Harvard held. Most amazing. I also liked how it was not a huge museum. The size was just right, at least for me. The concert was excellent again and it was in one of Harvard’s oldest buildings. It has the rustic feel to it but in a good way. Dinner was at a restaurant called Rialto. It was OK, but I do have to say it did not meet my expectation. Well, you win and lose some. That’s life.

Monday. The entire day was pretty much spent at the Boston’s Museum of Fine Art. Now, this was truly an Art Museum. It was amazing. One of the best that I’ve been to, that’s for sure. The collection is as good as Chicago’s Art Museum. There were a couple of events throughout the day and I attended some of it. For dinner, I went to the Atlantic Fish Company for an all out seafood dinner. I had clams, mussels, calamari and sole. It was all very, very good and yummy. There’s nothing like eating fresh and I mean fresh seafood. After having stuffed myself, I was back in the hotel and packed to go head on back to Des Moines.

Tuesday. Drove from Boston to Hartford. I was early enough that I could have gone on the earlier flight but I was the only person on standby who did not make it on the plane. Bummer. So, I ended up waiting at the airport for six hour. I got a lot of reading done which was good. The rest of the trip was fine. I was back in DM at 12am. It was a long day to say the least.

Northwest Vacation 2005

April 23
Got up at around 2:30am. It was not my plan to get up this early. Oh well! After my shower, I got both my backpack and small luggage packed. I realized there was no way everything would fit. So, at 3am, I unpacked the stuff in the small luggage and transferred it to the medium sized luggage bag. To the best of my knowledge, I did not forget anything. I left the apartment at 3:50am and decided to drive the speed limit. There was ample time to reach the Omaha Airport. I arrived at the airport at 6am for the flight that left at 7:30am. The flight to Minnesota and Seattle was uneventful. As the plane was approaching Seattle Airport, I looked out the window and saw mountains. Yes, beautiful mountains and some of them had snow at the top. I was excited! Nick was at the airport to greet me. I can’t believe it’s been close to eight years since I’ve seen him. It was great to see him after all these years. The first place we went to after leaving the airport was the world famous Pike Street Market to grab some chow. We had “Char Siew Pau” (Pork BBQ bun) and it brought me back home. It was that good! We then walked in the market and I got a feel for what the market is like. By the way, we all know that Seattle can be just grey and rainy. Well, guess what? It was sunny with highs around 70 degrees! I say it’s because of this Iowan! After walking in the market, we walked along the harbor to take in the ocean and the ocean smell. Ah, it was good! We then headed up to Bellingham, but decided to try and see if we could see some tulips. Alas, all the tulips were gone. Maybe I’m just destined to go back to Pella for the Tulip Festival. It was very nice of Nick to want to show me tulips. Oh, I saw a bison. Yeah, who would have thought of a bison in Washington State? To go to Bellingham, one could take the I-5 or take the scenic route. Nick opted for the latter. This route gave me the opportunity to see the San Juan Islands pretty close. Also, the route reminded me of driving up Fraser Hills in Malaysia … lush greens on the side of the road. We drove around Bellingham upon arrival and I definitely got a feel for the city. I told Nick that my goal for these two weeks is to not check my e mail, read the papers and not eat chicken or beef but seafood! For dinner, we went to a moderate restaurant that served good, fresh seafood. I had the all you can eat cod and fries and chowder. Nick had a salad and chowder. We took a short little drive around Bellingham again. This time we saw the “commercial” side of the city. Before calling it a night, we sat and chatted for quite some time. A lot has happened in close to eight years in all our lives.

April 24th
Body woke me up at around 4am which was a little too early for my taste. I managed to go back to the bed and finally got up at around 8am. I had a very good night’s sleep. After getting ready, Nick and I had breakfast. We then headed to Mass. Since it was a little early, we drove around town some more. This time, we went to Western Washington State University. The campus was up on a hill and right next to campus was a beautiful arboretum. Boy, it would be great to be a student studying here! Mass at Sacred Heart was celebrated at the parish hall because the church building was getting ready for its 100th anniversary. In some ways, the church reminded me of St. Catherine because a number of students came to Mass here. No, this was not a Newman Center. On this particular Sunday, there were five baptisms and let me tell you, I’ve never been to a baptism where none of the babies cried! It was downright amazing. The weather today was once again magnificent. So, Nick decided to drive to Anacortes (where I would be taking the ferry) using the scenic route. Why not? We arrived at Anacortes with lots of time to spare. The ferry left at 2:40pm and it took me an hour to arrive at Friday Harbor which is the island where I was staying for the week. During the ferry ride, I got to see numerous islands and its different shapes and sizes. I also got to smell the ocean. There’s nothing like the smell of ocean on a gorgeous spring day. I could not believe that I would spending a week on the island! The ride on the ferry was definitely relaxing. I found the B&B without any problems whatsoever. It’s a quaint little place. My room was sufficient. I definitely did not need a television or anything like that. The room came with a patio and that’s where I wrote in my journal. After settling in, I decided to walk around town to have a feel for Friday Harbor. The first place I went to was Island Bicycles to rent my bike. Boy, was I glad I came here. The place would not be open on Monday or Tuesday. I got a hybrid bicycle and a helmet. Yes, for the first time in my entire life, I would be riding a bike with a helmet. It’s only taken me 26 years to succumb to the helmet! I then proceeded to have dinner. I had told myself that seafood’s the goal! I had calamari for seafood pasta. The calamari was the largest calamari I’ve ever had in my life. The seafood pasta was good with lots of clams, sea scallops, and shrimps. After dinner, I decided to walk around town some more. Town itself is not big so it made walking very accessible. Tomorrow, I begin my biking.

April 25th
I got up at around 7am. It was a very good night’s sleep. Breakfast is served at 8am. This place is famous for its scones. Let me tell you that it was good. It reminded me of scones a family friend used to bake when I was a kid. One thing about B&B is that people don’t get up for breakfast early which is nice. After breakfast, I started my bike ride up to Roche Harbor. It took 10 miles to reach Roche Harbor. The bike ride was not too bad. Let’s just say Anthony is a little out of shape! Roche Harbor is pretty much a harbor. I did get to see a quaint little Catholic Church. The church was not open, but I got to see the outside. It’s also I believe the one and only privately owned Catholic Church in the USA. After some time at Roche Harbor, I walked to a mausoleum. Very interesting to say the least. One needed to hike a little to get to the mausoleum. When I was done visiting the mausoleum, I biked south to British Camp which is part of the San Juan National Park. I got to explore the site in depth and took a number of photos. Walking around the site game me a good rest from the bike. My next stop was supposed to be Lime Kilm Park where I would be able to see whales. However, I missed the turn off. In a sense, it was a blessing in disguise because with the amount of biking left, I would have died! It took me some time to bike back to the B&B. By the time I arrived, I was pooped. Once I cooled off and relaxed a little, I headed to the whale museum. The museum was a little small, but it did have some really neat exhibits. There were a couple of orca whales AV presentations. I did not plan on spending close to two hours there, but I did and it was time well spent. After the museum, I explored town a little more. I went into a shop that was pretty unique. It had numerous artworks by people from the island. Very impressive. I thought of buying some stuff, but it was a little pricey. I walked around town some more while waiting for restaurants to open for dinner. The place that I wanted to have dinner was a Mediterranean restaurant, but it was not open. I then headed to the Friday Harbor House Restaurant. Various guidebooks recommended this restaurant and let me just say that I was not disappointed. I started with a nice glass of Pinot Noir then for my appetizer, I had a very nice and unique potato soup with caviar and a type of fish I don’t believe I’ve ever had. For my entrée, I had halibut. I have to say that I’ve never tasted halibut as fresh as the one I had. It was exquisite. To top off the meal, I had a chocolate mousse cake topped with home made rum and raisin ice cream. It was a perfect end to a very good day. Hopefully, I won’t be too sore tomorrow. Even if I am, I will still be biking. This time, I’ll be headed south to another state park where the American Camp is located. The distance is around six miles which is not bad at all. I will also be going whale watching with a small group of people on a small boat. A very exciting day is planned for tomorrow. I am hoping and praying that we will be able to see some orcas. The reports for the past couple of days said that everyone has been able to see orcas. My fingers are crossed!

April 26th
The day started early. I wanted to get a head start to the day. The goal was to head to American Camp as early as possible. I left at around 7am and I arrived at American Camp by 7:40am. Oh, I forgot to say that it was extremely foggy. The bike ride to American Camp was not too bad at all. I’m glad I left when I did because it was cool and comfortable. That made the ride a lot easier. There was no one at the camp and I grabbed a self-guided walking tour. The tour itself was fine, but I could not get good shots because it was too foggy. My plan is to spend the entire day tomorrow at American Camp. It’s supposed to be sunny, so all the more reason to take my time and truly take in the whole area. I visited the visitor center and met the park ranger there. She gave me a couple of tips for places to visit at American Camp. I’ve realized that it’s good to befriend the most random people because they just give you the most intriguing insights. I needed to be back at the B&B by noon because I was going to loan my bike to a guy from California. He wanted to bike to a site where you would be able to see some whales. Since I was going whale watching, on a boat there was no reason for me to have my bike. The captain of the boat is named Jim and let’s just say he made the entire whale watching experience unforgettable. All in all, there were five people in the group including Jim. A father and his daughter and a couple from Alice Springs, Australia. We all got along great. On the way, up north to see the whales, we passed by islands owned by the guy who owns Cinnabon and Oakley. Truly gorgeous islands. Jim’s boat allowed us to go at a faster speed and while heading to where the whales were, we kept hearing from other boats. Now, the big and most important question is whether we got to see orcas. You betcha! All in all, there were close to eight orcas and to see them live in the wild is truly a sigh to behold. I managed to get a couple of really good shots of the orcas. We spent a good hour and a half just being around the orcas and taking the entire experience in. There were times when I was just speechless (does not happen too often!) Whale watching is one of those life times experiences that will never leave you. At the end of the journey, we realized that we were the only American boat that saw orcas today. The other boats were from Canada. I forgot to say that we saw the whales on Canadian water, not American water. This was my one opportunity to be in Canada. On the way back on one of the islands, we saw a bald eagle, Canadian geese and some wild sheep. By far, today was the climax of the trip so far. It’s difficult for me to see anything topping this experience, but you never know. By the time we got back, it was time for dinner. I decided to try this restaurant right next to the ferry. The restaurant was featured in a number of food magazines and the food definitely did not disappoint. I had excellent raw Westcott Bay oysters for my appetizer. As an entrée, for the first time in my life, I had Oregon Salmon. Now, one could ask the question how in the world is Alaskan and Oregon Salmon different? I’ll just say that the taste is slightly different. Subtle and different. For dessert, it was a delightful chocolate moose cake. It was divine! A fantastic meal to end the day, that’s for sure! Tomorrow, the plan is to bike to Orcas Island where the road is supposed to be most hilly and challenging. My ultimate goal is to bike up Mt. Constitution. If I am able to do it, it would be a mini victory of mind over matter.

April 27th
Today’s the day. My goal was to leave at 6:10am. I did not have that good a sleep so needless to say I did not make it on that ferry. I was not 100% sure if I was going biking. Finally, I made the decision to do it. I took the 8:20 ferry and packed some scones for the trip. Well, the ferry arrived at 9am which was not a bad time at all. So, the bike ride started! Well, to put it mildly, it was challenging. The hills were definitely a challenge. I made it to the mid-point in an hour and a half which was not too bad. It took me another hour to make it to make it to the base of Mt. Constitution. I made the decision to not bike up Constitution. Yes, I know, I’m a failure (not!) Really, when it came down to it, I figured I would not be able to bike back to the ferry dock. So, what I did was to go on the hiking trail up Constitution. It was a good, steep trail and proved challenging to yours truly. On the way up, I saw a snake (a tiny little one!), some really neat birds and a couple of deer. See, if I had biked up Constitution, I would not have been able to see the animals in the wild. Another really neat thing about taking the trail was that I got to take some cool photos of mountains from a very unique spot. I don’t recall if I said this, but Constitution is a good 2500 feet above sea level. When I reached the summit, the view was out of this world. It was a clear sunny day and I got to see numerous mountains including Mt. Baker. It’s really rare to be able to see the tip of Mt. Baker. It was awe-inspiring. I took numerous shots of just different scenery. One thing that I should have predicted was how cool and windy it was on the summit. Little old Anthony had his pair of jeans shorts and a t-shirt. Thank God I just love the cold weather. On the way down, I made the decision not to use the trail. Bad mistake! I figured walking on the road would be faster. Hah! It was not and it was extremely steep. While walking down, I realized there was no way I would have been able to bike up Constitution. It would have killed me – literally! I ran out of water when I reached the summit and there was no water fountain at the summit. Thank goodness, it was all downhill. In addition to taking me a longer time to reach the base, it was further. Life is all about learning. I learned that the trail is always the way no matter what my mind tells me. I took a good break where my bike was parked to catch my breath and to rest my feet. I figured the ride back to the ferry was not going to be as bad, but I did give myself ample opportunity when it came to timing. I pretty much took my time biking back. I did stop in town to get some ice-cream. Hey, it was hot and I was biking facing the sun! By the time I reached the ferry dock, I was close to an hour and a half early which was good because my feet got ample time to rest. The only thing on my mind now was dinner. I needed something hearty. So, I decided on a Thai restaurant. I had some reservations initially, but once the appetizer arrived, I knew I was in for a nice treat. I had salmon cakes for appetizer and freshly blended pineapple juice (very refreshing) For my entrée, I had a combination seafood (oysters, squid, halibut and crabs (none of those imitation crab meat. This was the real stuff!) The seafood was cooked in coconut milk. Anything cooked in coconut milk is always good. I was not disappointed. It’s hard to believe that all the meals that I’ve had have just been wonderful. I spent the rest of the night journaling. I may bike to American Camp again tomorrow depending on how my legs and body feel. I still have two more islands to hit by Sunday. I may hit them both on Friday. Both the islands are small and t he terrains are pretty much flat.

April 28th
Needless to say I took my own sweet time getting up. Surprisingly my body did not ache as much as I thought it was going to. I left for American Camp at 10am. It was a slow leisurely bike ride to American Camp. The weather was just perfect. Actually, before arriving at American Camp, I veered off to Eagle Cove. One of the locals told me that I should head there. It’s pretty much a small state beach in the midst of many private property. I like the intimacy the beach provided. After Eagle Cove, I went to American Camp. It’s amazing what you get to see when there’s no fog around. I basically took the same guided walking tour, but this time I was snapping my camera away. While walking around the camp, it dawned on me how much nicer it is to visit all these places during the off-season. There’s just no one around. Once I was done with American Camp, I headed to a couple of places close by including a lighthouse, Jackle’s Lagoon and South Beach. I did not go to the lighthouse per se, but was close enough to take a couple of nice shots. In my bike back, I went to Jackle’s Lagoon. It was really neat getting to the lagoon because you had to hike through some nice wooded area. The lagoon itself was nothing to shout about but it was a nice experience. I headed to South Beach after the lagoon. South Beach is the longest public beach on San Juan. I walked a little, but was more content to just sit on a long, take in the sun and hear the ocean. I think I spent close to 45 mins just taking the entire experience in. Whoever said heaven can’t be found on earth? I believe I’ve experienced a slice of heaven today. Once the ocean experience was completed, I took a leisurely ride back to the B&B. There was no one around the B&B so I decided to take a tour of the different rooms. All in all, there are 15 rooms at the B&B and all of them are different and has its own personality and charm. After looking around the rooms, I decided to head on over to the second hand bookstore. Anthony in a bookstore is a very bad idea. Thank God I only got two books! One was a book by Pennington and Merton and the other was a book called “Illusions”. After the bookstore, I had dinner at Basil. The restaurant used to be called Fat Cat. The current owners bought it in December. Initially, they were only open for lunch. However, beginning last week, they opened for dinner. The chef/owner is from England and was an executive chef at different restaurants. I had a very nice potato basil soup with crab meat. I also had a wonderful spring salad with strawberry. Both were very nice. For my entrée, I had poached salmon served with lemon basil aioli with arugala. Very, very good. I would never dare dream of having poached salmon in Iowa, but let’s just say you can’t get salmon this fresh. The chef told me that the salmon was caught in the morning. Overall, it was a very good dining experience. I actually wanted to have a no frill seafood for dinner, but all the restaurants were closed. When one door closes, many others open up. One need only to look! After dinner, I pretty much spent the evening at the lobby writing in my journal and chatting with the person working at the front desk named, Chris. The people at the desk have all just been wonderful. There’s something to be said about B&B. It’s definitely different than a hotel. The subtle little things make all the difference.

April 29th
I had to scrap my initial plan of leaving for Lopez Island at 6am. I had difficulty falling asleep last night. It all worked out fine because I took the later ferry. I arrived at Lopez at around 9:50am and got biking. Lopez is a lot more flat compared to Friday Harbor or Orcas. So, the ride was not bad at all. The first place I went to was a state park called Spencer’s Spit. The park had a nice beach and some nice scenery. There were two guys who were about ready to camp for the night. It was interesting to see the guys unpack their stuff. The next place was Shark Reef State Park. Unbeknownst to me, the ride from Spencer’s Spit to Shark Reef was 19 miles. Yes, that’s a lot of biking. However, with the roads pretty much flat, it did not seem like it was 19 miles. One you arrive at Shark Reef, you heave to hike another mike to the spot where you have a neat view. From this spot, you can actually see the lighthouse that I took a photo of. How one can see different islands just fascinates me. I spent some time just embracing my surroundings. Next stop was Lopez Village. Now, when someone mentions a town, I immediately think of a nice sized town comparable to a small Iowa town. I was shocked how small this town was. It had one main road and let’s just say a number of shops I could count on two hands! Here I thought I had seen some small towns in Iowa, but this beats everything I’ve ever seen. I was supposed to have a very nice dinner here at the Bay Café Restaurant. This restaurant got rave reviews from just about every food magazine out there. However, the restaurant was to start serving dinner at 5:30pm and I was planning on taking the 7pm ferry back to the island. After dinner, I would still have to bike to the ferry. When it all came down to it, I decided against having dinner here. I walked around town a little then took a slow leisurely bike ride to the ferry. I was waiting for the ferry with ample time to spare. All in all, today I biked close to 35 miles. Definitely more than I had planned. Once I arrived back at Friday Harbor, I knew exactly where I was going to have dinner. The place is a no frill seafood place that specializes in fish and chips. Since I’ve been having some really good food lately, it was nice to have something simple. The fish and chips were wonderful. Definitely the best I’ve had in years. After dinner, I went back to the B&B and journaled. I also watched a documentary about an orca in captivity that is abused for the sake of entertainment. The documentary is called “Lolita – Slave to Entertainment”. Tomorrow, depending on how my legs and body feel, I am planning on heading to the smallest island – Shaw where there is a Benedictine monastery. I hope to tour their monastery.

April 30th
The day did not go according to plan, but that’s part of life eh?! Well, I did not make it to Shaw Island. It was a little cloudy to start the day so I figured there really was no point for me to head over to Shaw. The way I look at it, all the more reason to come back. So, since I did not make it to the island, I figured I would stay at Friday Harbor, spend a leisurely touristy day and just wind down and mentally prepare myself to leave the island. It’s somewhat amazing the stuff you’ll notice when you have all the time in the world. I went to the different stores looking for souvenirs for different people. It was fun and relaxing. After getting gifts, I decided to watch a movie. The movie is called XXX-State of Union. The movie is definitely a guy movie with lots of action and very little dialogue. It’s nice to get a guy fix once in a while. After the movie, I came back to the B&B and decided to get some packing done before tomorrow. Once I was done packing, it was pretty much time for Mass. I had asked for directions to the church, but got a little lost on the way. I’ve never had problems asking for directions so I just put on my friendly face and asked a guy for directions. He was very helpful. I was actually really close to the church. The church was a small quaint little church that is shared by Catholics and Lutherans (I bet Luther must be turning in his grave!) The church is called St. Francis. I was close to 30 mins early for Mass so it gave me a good opportunity to see the crowd. It was definitely an older group of people and the vast majority of them were locals. The priest who celebrated Mass was an old Irish guy with a charming Irish accent. One of the most pure joys of being Catholic is how no matter where you may go, the Mass is always celebrated the same way. I had dinner reservations for seven and by the time Mass ended, it was perfect timing for dinner. I’m going to give you a little history regarding how I came about this restaurant. Jim, the captain of the whale watching boat said that the clams at this restaurant is to die for. He also called the restaurant pan-Asian. Now, whenever, I hear of any restaurant with “pan” cuisine, I tend not to visit it especially if it’s pan-Asian. The people at Basil already told me that they will find room for me if I decided to visit them again. But, something told me I should give Backdoor Kitchen a chance. Yes, that’s the name of the restaurant. So, when I looked at the menu and saw clams, I knew I would definitely have to have it. They also had a wonderfully described goat cheese appetizer. So, I decided to have both the goat cheese and clams. The clams came first and it arrived in a nice sized bowl. The way they prepared the clams sounded simple enough – white wine, parsley, spring onion, garlic, oil and butter, but I don’t think I would ever be able to have anything like this. It was simply divine! That’s the word I used to describe the clams when the wait staff asked me. Next in line was the goat cheese. Splendid, just splendid! The cheese was wrapped in some kind of leaf, had apricot, fried garlic and a delightful caramel type sauce. I knew from the clams that I would have to eat my words regarding the restaurant. For my entrée, I ordered the mahi-mahi. That’s not a common fish especially at this side of the world, but when I bit into it, I felt like I was transported to heaven! The fish simply did not taste like mahi-mahi. It was way too good! Mahi-mahi tends to be a little tough but trust me, this was outstanding. It came with asparagus and rice cake pattee – something pan-Asian. I thought there was no way anything else would be able to top this – Alas, I was wrong! When the wait person asked if I was interested in dessert, I told her to tempt me. There were five dessert offerings, but after hearing the first two, I tuned out the rest. The first was homemade Tiramisu and the second was chocolate cake. I have mum to thank for tiramisu and whenever the opportunity presents itself I will always try it. Most of the time it’s misses. However, one restaurant in Des Moines does serve a pretty good tiramisu. The way the wait staff described the chocolate cake, I just could not turn it down. So, I decided on two desserts. Here’s something that won’t happen very often! One of my desserts was free! The reason being the kitchen staff had a bet to see if I would be able to finish my entrée after the two appetizers and some bread. Hah, I guess they just did not know me well! Not only did I finish it all up, I could almost lick the plate! So, when I did finish my entrée, I got dessert for free. They actually wrote that on my receipt. I decided to bag the cake and bring it back to the B&B. I would have loved to take a photo with the chefs – a brother and sister, but I left my camera at the B&B. It seems that they travel a lot and have been to Thailand and Indonesia hence the pan-Asian cuisine. I told the wait person to tell them to make a trip to Malaysia because that’s where they’ll find the crown jewel of Southeast Asian cuisine! I have to say that this whole dining experience was the best way to end my weeklong stay on the island. When I arrived back at the B&B I gave the cake to Melissa, the manager. Both she and Chris have just been the most gracious hosts. Every night while journaling at the lobby, they would talk to me. They truly went above and beyond. It was the staff that made the weeklong stay all the more amazing, memorable and unforgettable. How can I ever forget such gracious people? Tomorrow, I will leave this island with a heavy heart. I will definitely be back if the opportunity ever arises and that’s a promise! The second leg of my vacation begins tomorrow.

May 1st
Today was definitely a bittersweet day. I would be leaving the island today, but the second leg of my vacation begins. I tried my very best to savor every moment of the island. I leave with extremely fond memories of my week on the three main islands. I took close to 120 photos and I am planning on posting them on a web album. One of the things that really struck me was how much contemplation I did throughout the week. In a sense, I just be and let everything come to me. It was a very deeply religious and spiritual experience – something I can’t put into words. It needs to be experienced. On the ferry ride back to Anacortes, I let “The Song of the Bird” by Anthony de Mello speak to me. His writings are definitely thought provoking. Nick was at the ferry landing to greet me. On our way back, we would be picking up Mary from church after her meeting. We came back to the house and kind of just caught up with one another and rested. For dinner, we headed over to Mary’s parent’s condo right across the street. It was so gracious of them to invite us over for dinner. I had a wonderful time with them. After dinner, Nick, Mary and I went to a meeting by a group called ROOTS. The best way for me to describe this group is to say that it’s a group of people whose goal is commitment to peacemaking, gentle justice, reconciliation, healing and care of creation locally and globally by gathering for ritual, prayer, service and celebration. Nick was invited as a speaker because of his work with nonviolence for peace. I’ll say that the entire meeting was interesting. All sorts of different spiritual traditions were part of the meeting. Definitely one of the most interesting experiences of my life. After the meeting, we went to Mallards – the local ice-cream place. Boy, did they have good ice-cream! What a neat way to end the day. After dessert, we came back home and I journaled before calling it a night. Some of the plans for this week include a trip up Mt. Baker, kayaking, hiking, visiting a number of museums and a baseball game. The outdoor activities depend on the weather.

May 2nd
I got up at around 8am and had breakfast with Nick and Mary. Mary and I went hiking at Whatcom Falls. It’s kind of interesting how you can find a nice waterfall close to the city. While hiking, Mary showed me different types of trees and plants. It was a leisurely hike and I even saw a trout hatchery. When we got home, it was Nick’s turn to spend time with me as Mary had to go teach at the community college. The weather was a little cloudy so we planned on going to the historical and art museum. Alas, it was closed on Monday. So, we ended up walking near the city center. This time I got to see a salmon hatchery. On the way back to the house, we stopped by a nice little marine life place where at one time you were able to see a live octopus. The octopus has since been transported to the Seattle Aquarium. However, there were still other marine life that one could see. When we arrived home, Nick got ready to go for a meeting. I started typing out my journal on Mary’s computer. I received a phone call from one of my soccer girl’s mum informing me that the girls won their game on Sunday. I guess there’s no need for me to coach them anymore! I do plan on being at their next game on Sunday because I would be back in Des Moines. For dinner, Mary and I headed over to her parent’s condo. They prepared dinner once again. I truly enjoy spending time with them as they just have the most wonderful stories to share. After dinner, Mary and I had a nice chat. Nick soon returned and joined us. We watched the ending of the Mariners and Angels game. The Mariners lost. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow so I believe Nick and I will be kayaking.

May 3rd
Happy 27th birthday to me! There was a voicemail from mum wishing me happy birthday and she did say she would call me later in the day to wish me. It rained in the morning and it ended up being a cool day so we did not go kayaking. Nick and I went to Tennant Lake County Park. It was really interesting because we got to experience a fragrance garden and walk on boardwalks through wetlands. We did not see many birds, but we did hear a lot of them. You know, it dawned on me how I’ve spent a lot of time with nature throughout this entire trip. It’s good to be one with nature because it’s in nature that we get to see and experience God through creation. When we got back, Nick had work to get done so I decided to finish typing my journal. It took me a couple of hours to finally get caught up with typing my journal. When Nick was done with work, we went out to get some smoked salmon for the men in the office. I had already gotten the women gifts, but had no idea what to get the men. Nick suggested smoked salmon since it’s very much a Northwest thing. I was very happy with this gift. We came back and I got to do some reading. Mary and I went out for dinner at a brewpub/restaurant. I had two appetizers – a smoked salmon fish dip and some mussels. For my entrée, I had fish taco which is something is native to this part of the states. The only other time I had fish taco was in Des Moines, and the preparation was different. I’m normally not a beer person, but since we were eating at a brewpub, I had the beer sampler. I know that I’m definitely not a stout guy. That proves that I’m not Irish! For dessert, I had a lemon meringue pie. I thought it was kind of cute to take Mary out for dinner as a Mother’s Day present and also to celebrate my birthday! She was shocked to find out it was my birthday. The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve come to realize that birthdays are not about big celebrations. It’s more about spending quality time with real people. After dinner, we walked at Boulevard Park and saw the sunset. It was the most spectacular sunset ever and I think it was my birthday present from God. I told Nick and Mary that we need to come back so I can take photos of the sunset. The day truly ended up a nice, relaxing, pleasant and wonderful day. Oh, I forgot to mention that over the course of the day, other people called to wish me happy birthday. One friend even sang me happy birthday on the phone! That was touching. You know, I am a very blessed individual when all is said and done.

May 4th
After breakfast, I helped Nick to move some furniture. Once that was done, we were pretty much ready to head to Seattle for the baseball game. We arrived with ample time to spare. While waiting for Nicco to arrive, we had a hot dog. Pete (Mary’s dad) and I went in first while Nick waited for Nicco. The Mariners were down 0-2 by the end of the first inning. It ended up being a good game with lots of hits, but the Mariners lost 2-5. Oh well, we can’t always be winners in life. After the game, I walked to the place to meet up with Darcie. Darcie and I coached the girls’ soccer team and she moved back to Seattle after spending four years in Des Moines. We had planned on meeting up while I was in the Northwest. We had Ethiopian food for dinner and it was delightful. What made it more fun was that we both enjoyed Ethiopian cuisine especially being able to eat with our hands. After dinner, Darcie graciously drove me back to Bellingham. We got to chat long the way home. That’s pretty much how the day went. I can’t believe my vacation is soon coming to an end. All good things must come to an end some time or another. What is left are great fond memories and lots of photos!

May 5th
Nicco and Mary spent the morning with Mary’s parents. After breakfast, I helped Nick with different stuff around the house. I helped put up a waterbed which was pretty cool to say the least. Nick had a meeting in Fairhaven so I followed him there. Fairhaven is very much the historical district with lots of quaint little shops including a huge independent used/new bookstore. I can’t believe I did not buy anything, but I did! At Fairhaven, I had some ice-cream and a piece of tiramisu cake. Both were delightful. On the way back, we stopped to get groceries because Nick would be cooking dinner tonight. Nick’s an excellent cook so to be able to taste his cooking is always a neat experience. We had vegetables, salad, bread, pesto pasta and salmon. All of it were good. For dessert, Mary got me an ice cream birthday cake. Oh, I forgot to mention that Mary’s parents came over for dinner and hung around for the party. Everyone sang happy birthday and I got to blow a couple of candles. That was nice. After dinner, Nick, Mary, Nicco and I went to Boulevard Park. This time, I had my camera with me and I got to take a number of sunset shots. The scene was not as spectacular as Tuesday yet it was still amazing. We headed to Fairhaven again and spent some time at a bookstore after the sunset. What a nice way to end the day!

May 6th
After breakfast today, Nick and I went to Larrabee State Park. We got to walk on the beach, look at rock formations and just take the whole ocean experience in. After the park, we went to another park and this time we saw a bald eagle and a couple of herons. They both are majestic birds. We then came back and got some prep work done for dinner. We would be having home-made pizza from scratch. To see an Italian-American make pizza from scratch is truly out of this world. I was fascinated beyond belief. Actually, I forgot to mention that before getting back, we saw a huge ferry that leaves from Bellingham to Alaska dock. It took the ferry at least 30 mins to dock. Those ships are humongous. While waiting for the dough to rise, I checked in online and printed my boarding pass. I also reserved my bus-shuttle to the airport tomorrow. It will be fun to ride the bus from Bellingham to the Seattle Airport. For dinner, we had the Mele family, Mary’s parents and a couple from church. After dinner we talked about going to the movies, but settled on playing Cranium. I had forgotten how much fun it is to play board games on a Friday night. I believe we all had fun and that’s the most important thing. Oh, the pizza – excellent!

May 6th
Well, this is my last day of vacation. I once again leave with bittersweet feelings. The two weeks were amazing and I don’t think I’ve been able to put a lot of the experiences into feelings. I just know what I experienced was unique to me. Something I can say is that I’ve a much deeper appreciation for nature now. After packing up, I said goodbye to Mary’s parents. It truly was a pleasure to meet them. I said goodbye to Mary also. Nick would be driving me to the Bellingham Airport where I would be picked up by the shuttle. Before headed there, we walked at the farmer’s market which was just wonderful. There’s something to be said about supporting the locals. The flights were uneventful. I made it back to Des Moines at 1:30am and had a difficult time falling asleep. Oh well!