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Mar 25

Let’s go Messi, Inter Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Florida 

by ccue

The March plan for Florida was simple: buy expensive soccer game tickets, fly to Ft Lauderdale, see god. I am talking about Messi. Soccer is at best the distant fourth popular sport in the US after football, basketball and baseball. Yet, Messi has become the most popular US athlete since joining Inter Miami CF last July. He is 36 years old. In the demanding contact sport of soccer, he is as aged as a dinosaur. His star power peaks further after he won the World Cup for Argentina. With the diminishing opportunities to see Messi magic live, there is little time left to earn the bragging right “we have seen the soccer GOAT”. Injury and retirement can happen any moment. He did not play in the Hong Kong stop of the pre-season world tour. He has only one or two seasons playing for Inter Miami. These cemented our plan to go catch him. Until the game starts, it is anybody’s guess if Messi would show up on the pitch. 

We pushed luck to our side by following what the Inter Miami coach said : “The Concacaf Champions Cup will be the most important game(s) of the year”. Messi is more likely to play in home games in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Few know Inter Miami narrowly won the game against Nashville last season to grasp the first ever team cup, in the nail-biting penalty shootout. We bet that if there is any game Messi will most likely show up, it will be this Concacaf game featuring Inter Miami vs Nashville in Florida.

We still needed luck after lining up the stars. Luck was on our side. 

The game time was 8:15pm. Before the pilgrimage to see Messi, we visited the Everglades National Park (NP) located slightly over an hour’s drive away.  

Everglades NP is unlike any other NP we have visited. It has limited parking spaces, and we had to wait for enough cars to get out before we could get in. We waited for about an hour. The time went by fast.  There was this couple of colorful Halloween pennant dragonflies hopping around, inviting us to picture them. There was this peaceful stream of water. The visitor center was within a short walking distance, making it arguably the shortest walk to any NP visitor center from the entrance station. The visitor center has exhibits and gifts that help to kill time with meaningful information.

The Everglades NP is unique in another way. It is not hikers friendly. There are some paved roads, little trails, and hardly any shades. In May, we felt the warmth already. Instead, the park offers a 2-hour tram ride every hour, and a bike rental for visitors. The tram-ride is first come first served. It was a very enjoyable ride, with diverse geological landscape, alligators of all sizes, lovely blue herons, elegant egrets, colorful purple gallinule and muscular anhinga. It is one of the best NP to visit without prior planning. The park is full of life especially in this season of Spring.

We rested in the hotel briefly to build up the energy for the Chase Stadium pilgrimage.

We arrived at the Chase Stadium about 3 hours before the game time at 8:15pm. We were hardly alone. There were families. There were several food trucks outside. There were boys playing soccer and I was hit by the soccer a few times. It was a lively atmosphere. No-one seemed to be in a hurry. Truth be told, we expected the fan zones to have more activities for the fans like other sport events. We expected better food choices. We expected better facilities for the over $200 per person ticket we have paid. The stadium looked dated too. 

The impression did not improve, when we got into the stadium with over an hour to spare. We were surprised that the gift store was no more than a line for the most enthusiastic fans. It was just a place to order exactly the products you have in mind. There was no shopping experience. It was a buying experience. We were surprised with the portable toilets. We were surprised with the limited food choices inside the stadium. 

With little to visit, we were among the earliest to take our seats. We had plenty of time to take pictures. After some waiting, the visiting Nashville team started their warm-up first, followed by the Inter Miami home team. From the practice, we could guess the starters. It felt like waiting for the dream to come true to see all four ex-Barcelona stars (Messi, Suarez, Alba, and Busquet) as starters. We were lucky. The Messi effect was felt through the stadium every time his name was mentioned by the announcer, followed by the “Messi” chanting. 

The Inter Miami vs Nashville Game started on time as expected. Inter Miami scored the first goal within the first 10 minutes by Suarez with an assist from Messi. It was a beautiful play. Everyone in the stadium was on their feet, with cheers, drumbeat, drum roll, and firework. What a moment. Shortly after, Messi scored himself. The Nashville team played well enough to keep the atmosphere tense and keep us in suspense. As the second half began, I noticed Messi had that uncommon hands-on-knees position that came across as strange at first. Within seconds, he turned over his captain armband to another Inter Miami player, and walked towards the bench. Simultaneously, the substitute board was raised, and he was substituted. I sensed that he may have an injury and the substitute was unplanned.  

We have watched the soccer god play live – Messi assisted, scored, and then seemingly injured. What an unbelievable experience of a lifetime. It was not quite the same as checking the bucket list of watching the World Soccer Cup live. This one seemed even sweeter. We felt that we watched on behalf of the many HongKongers who were heartbroken when Messi did not play in the Inter Miami pre-season stop in Hong Kong. That Messi Mess in Hong Kong was something to be forgotten.

Before we flew out the next afternoon, we took a 45-minute airboat ride at the Sawgrass recreation park. The lobster claw scoobies served in the Coconut Seafood were exceptionally delicious, and spent some time on the Ft Lauderdale beaches. The beaches, the bars and the lounges screamed to tell us that this was the Spring break week of the college students.  

Dear Diary Literature... Misc. Travel

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Mar 24

Let’s go the ageless Pop Concerts

by ccue

Watching a concert is a good live-in-the-moment experience. In the concerts, you are in a different place, and forget about a lot of troubling happenings in the world, or stress at work, or other hardship. You got into the theatre, you waited as a collective unit for the star to show,  you clapped, sang, or screamed collectively. The audience came alive as an entity.

Last October, we went to Napa, California to watch Christopher Cross in the uptown theatre. It brought back childhood memories of how we listened and discovered our favorite songs, and how much the world has changed since. We carried the theme of childhood reminiscence into 2024.

Valentine’s day this year was a few days after Lunar New Year.  On Valentine’s day, we caught the Air Supply concert at the San Jose Civic center. There was nothing more fitting to watch their concerts on Valentine’s day. Their songs literally created love in the air. The songs in their 1980 “Lost in Love” album and the 1981 “The one that you love” showcase their talents at the peak. At one time, I remembered the lyrics of almost each song. Several decades later, the duos are still at it, still passionate at singing in concerts every week at different venues. I can no longer remember the lyrics as well as before.

We continued the ageless concert theme during the President’s long weekend a few days later. We went to watch the Wynners, from Hong Kong, at the Reno event center with a friend. We watched Sam Hui last May at the Reno event center. If you were in Hong Kong in the 70s, it was impossible not to have heard of the Wynners, just as every HongKongers grew up with the songs of Sam Hui in that era. The Wynners, made up of Ah B, Alan, Chan Yau, Ah Kiang, Ah Jian, was the most popular boy bands of the era. The five members never broke up even when they went solo over the years. Ah B, Alan and Ah Jian went solo with great successes. Chan Yau, the drummer, went to film production. Ah Kiang, the most quiet member, immigrated and kept a low profile. For one night at the Reno Center, they were together again. They sang and danced. They were energetic in their 70s. They looked happy, healthy and united. I was particularly impressed with the solo of Chan Yau and Ah B. Alan Tam was the most popular of them all in the 90s. Alan seemed to have grown so much in width and in depth. Maybe he just enjoyed food and enjoyed life with all the money earned. We had a great time as their songs transported us from our childhood to the present. Ah B seemed to still be at it, while others looked more settled into other things in life. It was a good show!

It took us almost eight hours to drive from Reno to the Bay Area due to the heavy snow and rain. The concert was worth the hassle.

In a nostalgic way, it could be the last time they would show up together in the US to present a concert. Check out our Wynners 2024 Reno Sound Track on YouTube.

Concerts Dear Diary Misc.

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Mar 23

Let’s go travel US West

by ccue

Like many travelers, I am more often attracted to visiting new countries and new cultures miles away from where I live. It is a guilty pleasure to add to the number of countries traveled. After a few days traveling the West and another few days traveling in Florida,  I am reminded once again of the many attractions in the US. 

Few things are more enjoyable than family traveling together. Traveling at a time with less crowdedness just a week after the holiday season, makes the experience better. We did just that in January, when most were getting back to school or getting back to work. Kauai was our first choice. The airfare was not particularly expensive. Yet that sentiment of “why we pay for this price when we can get a cheaper airfare another time”. Truth be told, we were a bit late in our planning. The “let’s go somewhere” won the family vote over “let’s stay home”. We planned, within a day, a scenic “wild west” trip to Las Vegas, Antelope Slot Canyon, Monument Valley, and Grand Canyon. Arizona and Utah’s hot summers are particularly well known. Little did we know about the snowstorms in the cold winter in these places. These snowstorms turned out to be beautiful, dangerous and scary.

January | Horseshoe, Antelope, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas  

  • Day 1, Jan 5, SJC -> LAS, drive to Page, Arizona
  • Day 2, Horseshoe Bend, Upper Antelope Canyon tour, drive to Monument Valley, Utah-Arizona
  • Day 3, Monument Valley, drive to Grand Canyon
  • Day 4, Grand Canyon
  • Day 5, Grand Canyon, drive to Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Day 6, Jan 10, Las Vegas, LAS -> SJC

Our flight from San Jose to Las Vegas was smooth. We crossed from the State of Nevada to the State of Arizona, arriving at Page in less than 5 hours of highway driving. Along the way, the landscape changed from the dry desert landscape of Nevada to one of the otherworldly and peaceful brownish-red rocky landscapes of Utah and Arizona. The less well-known town of Page makes excellent base camps to many amazing National Parks (NP), including Zion NP, Bryce NP.  It also makes a convenient hub for our itinerary: Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon.  

The next morning, we were greeted with chilly and sunny weather. Sunrise time was between 7 and 8. It was still dark when we arrived at the parking lot of the Horseshoe bend. After a short and scenic walk, we arrived at the Horseshoe bend, before the sunrise. The gradual sunrise painted the sky and the rocks with changing colors. Its beauty was better described in pictures than in words. I felt the acrophobia even looking over the fence to see the bottom of the horseshoe bend. The river at the bottom was partially frozen, making it a half mirror and half flowing water. The time to stay there varied with personal preference. We stayed there for a while to soak in its beauty, and take pictures from as many angles as possible. In spite of the chilly and windy condition, I would have liked to stay there much longer. 

The Upper Antelope Canyon is famous for its wave-like structure, and the light beams. It is one of the most-photographed slot canyons in the world. The slot canyon is narrow and cannot be more different from the Grand Canyon. It is under the management of the Native Americans. They offer guided tours providing short lorry rides to take us there, and serve as visitor guides in the walk through the slot canyon. The wave-like structure comes in different colors and shapes. With some imagination, I could see a fox, a president, a monument valley and many more. We enjoyed the tour and the pictures immortalized its unique beauty. I would have loved to hike to experience the slot canyon. Unlike National Parks, we are not allowed to explore on our own.

Like the Antelope Canyon, the Monument Valley is also managed by the Navajo Native Americans. Its landscape is best appreciated from the View Hotel, Monument Valley. We did just that. The sunset was nowhere to be seen with the cloudy sky. There was a forecast of a snow storm in the evening. The View Hotel has one of the best gift shops with some unique offerings from rugs, carpets, sand paintings, and many different souvenirs. There is also a museum sharing the history of Navajo Natives since the early twenty centuries, and their contributions in World War II. I would not have known that their unique language codes have been used as encrypted communication channels during the war. I got a better understanding of the history and how their land has been colonized. I recommend fellow travelers to visit the museum as they enjoy the natural beauty of the Monument Valley.

There was snow overnight. The weather was quite gloomy the next morning. The monuments in the valley had more patches of snow that looked like layers of shattered glasses at the base of many monuments.  These monuments looked different from the evening before. The scenery in the overcast weather was unique in its own way and we could not get tired of taking pictures. We intended to spend an hour driving in the valley, before heading to the Grand Canyon. Similar to the Antelope Canyon, the Monument Valley is not a National Park. There is not much of a sign on where to go. We made the wrong turn and exited the valley accidentally. As we U-turned back to the entrance, we were told that we had to pay the entrance fee again. We had been told clearly the day before, when we paid for the admission, that our ticket was valid for 24 hours. After some back-and-forth, the entry station agent absolutely denied everything we heard what they said less than a day ago. We were upset enough to skip the driving tour, and headed directly to the Grand Canyon. It was unlikely we would make a return trip any time soon. We were pretty annoyed. Only a few hours later, we realized it was a blessing in disguise as we ran into a bad snowstorm on our way to the Grand Canyon. If we had taken the time to explore the Monument Valley, we might have been dangerously stuck in the road, and risked not reaching the Grand Canyon.

It is a four hour drive from Monument Valley to the Grand Canyon. We did not foresee the danger awaited. Once on the road, we felt the effect of the snowstorm the night before, when the landscape turned into the Christmas white. The road was still good. The scenery was beautiful. We stopped near Flagstaff for a quick lunch and were still on track to arrive at the Grand Canyon south rim before dark. 

No-one could predict the weather. We walked out of the restaurant to find heavy snow and we were in the middle of a snowstorm. The snow plow was working hard to clear the parking lots. We were still relaxed knowing that we were about 90 minutes from the Grand Canyon south rim, we had a SUV, and we had enough time on hand. We realized the full scale of the danger when the brake of our SUV did not respond in one downward turn. Our SUV skidded to the other side of the road, which left us shaken to the core. We had to thank God that the SUV stopped just in time. There were no incoming cars which would have hit us badly. Afterwards, we were driving at 20 miles per hour on a highway with snow all around us, and were nervous at the most gentle grade of the road.  

We cannot be more thankful to the well paved straight roads all the way to the Grand Canyon south rim. It was already dark as we parked outside the Grand Canyon Bright Angel Inn. We breathed the biggest sigh of relief and appreciated our dinner even more. The Grand Canyon was substantially colder than Monument Valley. We snuggled in our cabins. As we drifted off, we still felt the shock of the earlier SUV skid. That shock stayed with us for weeks.

We were delighted to see a clear blue sky the next morning.

The weather could not be better for our mule ride along the south rim. We got busy preparing for the ride: received a water bottle, cleaned it, filled it with water, and attached any loose items (eye glasses, phones) to our body. The mule guides helped us to get on our mule, one at a time. We were more than ready to go as we shivered in the cold on our mule. Shortly after we started our tour, we arrived at the south rim, and were in awe of the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. When our mules turned to face the grand canyon, it was quite frightening even though we were still more than a few feet away from the cliff. According to the guide, having the mules facing the grand canyon would remind them of the danger. I could not tell if the mules knew the danger, we certainly felt it and could only comfort ourselves that no mules had ever jumped into the canyon. Soon we got comfortable on the back of the mule. We appreciated the canyon views and the forest areas more and more. We were relaxed enough to take pictures. It was certainly the highlight of this road trip. We recommend the mule ride to all visiting the park.

After the mule ride, we took a leisurely drive and strolled in the park. We caught a beautiful sunset over the Grand Canyon. We finished the day with a nice dinner at the El Tovar Dining room to celebrate a family birthday. As we walked back to our cottages, the stars were twinkling on a clear night sky. It made a perfect night for star gazing.

We felt we were back to the safe urban zone as we settled in the super size hotel suite at Las Vegas. Our adventures were not over yet. The next morning, we mistakenly put an electric kettle, placed next to the stove, over the stove. It was burnt badly. The smoke triggered the fire alarm.The hotel agents reassured us that it happened before, and we had nothing to worry about. Then without any mention, we were charged over $1000 for the kettle on our bill. It took us another few weeks and we had to involve the Better Business Bureau to dispute the charge.

The road trip was memorable. We were treated to unique and amazing landscapes. We encountered unforeseen incidents and thanked God for overcoming them.

We are ready for a more relaxing family trip in January, 2025. Kauai maybe.

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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