Travel | oliviatamccue

2023 Travel : Part 1 | Hawaii Big Island

by ccue

I am so grateful for the amazing trips to meet families and friends this year – Hawaii in January, Hong Kong, Macau and Canton in April, Vancouver & Reno in May and Turkey coming up soon in June.

I lack the literary skills and patience to vividly summarize the emotions and experiences. I need the time to rest and reflect. I need the time to settle down the emotional excitement in many gatherings. The world is moving towards a multi-modal recall of our experience. We take pictures to immortalize the point in time experience, we use video to capture the 3D events, conversations, and these days, a written report seems to be a thing in the past. Our memory changes all the time too. As much as I want to catch those in-the-moment happiness for longer, I don’t have enough long-term memory nor a way to freeze time. The world is a fair place in the sense that if we do many things, we tend to remember less of each thing. If we do little things, we remember most of the things. My mother remembered every single trip vividly. In contrast, I often have a hard time remembering the specifics and need help from the multi-model technology. With all the technology, it is so easy to be occupied in every single moment. At the same time, I miss those empty spaces that allow us to enjoy and stay in one moment. Living in slow motion is indeed an art that I have not grasped.

January 2023 Big Island

Once the children start having their own career, it needs careful scheduling for family trips. We earn the luxury to skip the busy school breaks. This January, mom and dad, and my younger son flew from SFO with my daughter flying from NYC for a week in Hawaii Big Island. This was our Hawaii encore after our last trip to Honolulu.

We always enjoyed the laid-back sentiment and an itinerary without must-see attractions nor must-do.

We split our Big Island itinerary between the Hawaii Volcano area and the Kona/Waikoloa area.

The Kilauea lodge, with a short distance from Hawaii Volcano area, was welcoming, and well maintained. Its location was perfect for us to visit the Volcano National Park at any time of the day or night. It has relatively small rooms for the four of us, but its external setting made up for all the interior constraints. Every morning, we could get out of our room to an immediate garden in the backyard, to appreciate the flora and bird chirping; or enjoy our breakfast in a spacious community area all by ourselves. In the evening, we could relax in the outdoor spa. The lodge has a dining room with subtle decor and can be easily disguised as modest. The lodge dinner room served one of the most delicious dinners on this trip, if not the most on my son’s birthday. The lodge takes dinner reservations and we highly recommend it to fellow tourists.

We spent more time in the Kona area with better weather and more beaches. Our airbnb in the Waikoloa area provided a kitchen, two bedrooms and a balcony that overlooked a quiet golf course and a petroglyph area. Every morning, we started slowly with breakfast on the balcony for everyone to ease into the day. Sometimes a colorful gecko can be seen, on the balcony, as an uninvited guest.

At the time of our visit, the Kilauea Volcano was erupting. The Volcano National Park was a short drive from the Kilauea Lodge followed by a perfect after-dinner walk to get to a vista point. The scene of a live lava eruption was otherworldly and powerful even viewing from more than a mile away.

The National Park was a different scene during the day as we drove by the Lava Rocks the next day. Walking on them feels like walking on glass particles, rightfully so. We enjoyed the Mars-like scenery as we explored the rugged crater floor and hiked on the Kilauea Iki Trail, Halema’uma’u Crater Trail and Crater Rim Trail. These sceneries are unique in Hawaii Big Island.

The Kona and Waikoloa area in the West has better weather and more calming beaches waiting. The airbnb host provided us with all kinds of beach gear and towels that pretty much filled up the truck of our rental car. They equipped us super well in our beach hoppings on Mauna Kea, Beach 69 and other nearby beaches.

We enjoyed Hawaiian cuisine (Poke bowl, ice shave, the Moa Kitchen, the Hilo Kona coffee and BBQ meat) and many more. There are beaches with different sand colors that make them unique. The black sand beach with green sea tortoise abounds. The hike to a green sand beach along the coastline was special.

Taking a hike with my family along the coastline was a truly memorable experience. We were intrigued with the concept of a green sand beach, Papakōlea Green Sand Beach. From the parking lot, it was an over-an-hour hike on a rugged path. Some got to the beach by taking a 20-minute jeep ride and experiencing the many bumps along the way. We were filled with excitement as we arrived at the Papakōlea Green Sand Beach. The beach was a bit sparse, definitely not crowded like other more accessible beaches. The water was too wavy for a safe swim. We had a great time walking along the beach, relaxing on the beach, dipping into the ocean water, and admiring the unusual color of the sand.

The camera could not capture the greenness in the way we want. We still tried.

We have not done snorkeling as a family since our trip in Maldives more than a decade ago. The children are young adults. Once in the water, we were in all different directions, searching for the most beautiful fishes or sea creatures.

Swimming, mini-shortboarding and sunbathing on beaches were so much fun to do as a family.

I could not ask for a better week of family fun and look forward to our next trip to maybe Kauai.

Coming soon : Hong Kong, Macau, Foshan April blog

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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Laver Cup – Farewell Federer

by ccue

We had planned to watch Federer in the Laver Cup at London’s O2 Arena, to watch Roger Federer. A month before the event, all of the big 4 (Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray) confirmed their attendance. Something seemed to be in the air with this rare union. A week before our trip, Federer broke the sad news of his imminent retirement, and that the Laver Cup would be his last ATP tournament.

After Spain, London could not be more different. London has just come out of the mourning period of Queen Elizabeth and the locals seem to have come out of Covid-19, as if nothing has happened. The country is plagued with Brexit challenges, a double digit inflation, the beyond-dramatic political turmoil, the record high energy prices, the passing of the Queen, the pandemic. Were Londoners numb? Were Londoners indifferent? Were Londoners strong and resilient? Walking on the street, we could not feel the unrest that would have been totally normal in such a state of affairs.

London is arguably the city I stop over the most times over the years. Born and raised in Hong Kong, there are similarities between Hong Kong and London in shopping malls design, in bus terminals design, the HSBC bank and many other things. There is little language barrier. The location is convenient for people traveling into Europe. And there are long-time friends in London. There are a lot of things one can do in the city. Britain makes the top choice for HongKongers to send kids to college or move to. In spite of all these, London comes to me as a transition, as a hub towards a destination but not a place for personal connections. There are cities that I look forward to returning to. London is not one of them.

Our plane landed in London. We expected Heathrow airport, instead, the airport building showed “Luton”. It was one of the rarity that we ended up in the wrong airport and fortunately the right city. The Stratford hotel is situated in the middle of the two airports. Google Maps once again saved us from the blunder.

We like having a big English breakfast at a local cafe. That was what we got in the morning.

We had tickets for the Day 1 Noon session of the Laver Cup. Federer was not playing in that session. He showed up and cheered for his team from the benches. After the Day session, we followed where the lines were, and queued up for the practice sessions of Federer and Nadal. By the time we got to the top of the queue, Federer was done with his practice, we were only able to catch the practice of the harder working Nadal. In the evening chill, we watched the livestream of the night session at this fan zone outside of the Arena together with a couple of hundred die-hard fans. Federer and Nadal (Fedal) were a point away from the victory. It was not meant to be and for this match, winning was not the point either. The match was followed by an emotional interview and memorable farewell to Federer. The emotion was hard to describe – a mix of sadness, dread, nostalgia, camaraderie, happiness, gratitude, best wishes, letting go and moving on. By the time we were back to the hotel, it was beyond 1am and it was not easy to have a sound sleep with all these emotions running high. It has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness the end of the era. Records are meant to be created and broken. I would forever miss Federer’s greatness in how he plays, how he connects with so many at the very human level for so many years.

2022 saw the retirement of the greatest in tennis : Serena Williams and Roger Federer. I need to retire from watching tennis for a little bit to recover. And we concluded our 2022 travel to recover.

Dear Diary Tennis Travel

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Spain Impressions – Mallorca (3 of 3)

by ccue

Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean. Mallorca is the home town of Rafa Nadal – the tennis nemesis then good friend of my beloved Roger Federer. It is a popular attraction for Europeans. Its size is more than double that of the Hawaii Oahu Island. Its sheer size caused us to change our accommodation plan from the Rafa Nadal Academy, situated in the middle of the island, to the more convenient Melia Palma Bay. We did not regret that decision, with the hotel offering comfortable rooms, a calming view of the Bay, and convenient bus stops at a good price.

Palma, the main town in Mallorca, is quite “complex” in traffic, with busy bus terminals. It is not the easiest place to drive a rental. We canceled our rental at the last minute and did not regret it. The public bus network is decent. The bus has clean, comfortable seating, and delightfully offers usb-b outlets for battery charging. Passengers were required to wear masks to get on the bus and we saw some tourists being turned away due to lack of masks. Riding on the public bus was a good way to tour the island. We did not have a tight must-have itinerary in Mallorca; and could spare double the amount of time to visit the central and the south of the island.

We went north to visit two villages, Valldemossa and Soller, using the public bus network. Valldemossa is a beautiful quaint village where a tourist can walk, from one end to the other, in probably less than half an hour. The narrow streets are lined with eateries, affordable and attractive souvenir stores, beautiful residential cottages and interesting scenic areas, including the monastery where Chopin has stayed in and the Chopin museum. It was in Mallorca that Chopin composed the world famous Rainbow Prelude. All these turned the short distance into an enjoyable leisurely stroll with plenty of mini-stops and a delicious lunch. The extra time in Valldemossa cut short the time in Soller which is another beautiful quaint village in Mallorca. We were still able to relax at the beach at the Port De Soller, and enjoyed our dinner at the downtown plaza.

What better thing to do on an island than visiting beaches. That was exactly what we did. We took the public bus network to go across the island. After a couple of interim stops and a couple of hours, we arrived at the beautiful Cala Agulla, on the east coast of Mallorca. The water was turquoise, the sand was soft, the setting was beautiful. It was very full of people. Just after we had lunch and got settled in the beach lounge rental, the tide turned. It became more wavy and more windy. We were still able to enjoy some dips in the mediterranean. We wished we had arrived earlier.

The Market Oliva displays a mind boggling variety of fish, seafood, fruits and of course Jamon (Ham) all on display for anyone’s taking. It would be the go-to place for grocery should I stay in Mallorca for more days. To short-cut the market experience, we treated ourselves at the eatery in the market, and enjoyed a good variety of Sepia and Clams seafood tapas.

After Madrid and Barcelona, we developed a high expectation on food. Mallorca did not disappoint.

Next up : the Laver Cup in London.

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Spanish Impressions – Barcelona (2 of 3)

by ccue

The train from Madrid to Barcelona is convenient and affordable which makes up for the lack of scenery.

Barcelona is a vibrant city with a young population, and full of things to do. Main streets branch into different alleys often, and the narrow streets are often lined up with shops and eateries. Barcelona is a big international city with tourists as well as plenty of locals wherever we go. Tourist books mention pickpockets so much that we become more guarded of the surroundings and often put our backpack on the front in busy street traffic.

La Rambla is the most famous street in Barcelona and it spans over multiple metro stations. It is a good place to take the pulse of the city, get some snacks and shop for souvenirs.

The hotel reception desk suggested we visit the fountain and its night show located near a metro stop. We arrived with more than half an hour to wait, and there were already hundreds, if not thousands of people, around the fountains. The evening climate was comfortable. The show started with the musical chant of “Barcelona”, as tons of water started to fill up the central pool and its surrounding moat. The pillars of water came alive in different heights, different colors and different patterns. There was energy and happiness in the air as the crowds, tourists and locals alike, gathered around with some dancing, some singing, some relaxing and some simply hanging out. The show lasted over an hour and was totally worth waiting for. This ranked among the best musical fountain shows.

La Sagrada Familia (The Holy Family) is the attraction of the attractions in Barcelona. I would claim it in the top ten attractions in Europe. After decades of construction, the basilica is open for mass service but remains the largest unfinished catholic church after decades of construction. No photos can fairly capture the originality and power of its architecture. It is surreal standing in front of La Sagrada Familia and I would remember that sense of dizziness in my first sight of the architecture. Gaudi is a genius and has been underrated in the English speaking world population. He designed the basilica design inside out, where the bible stories can be appreciated through the sculptures on the outside, while the outside nature is fully on display in the interior. I can be at the site for hours and hours to experience the holiness and discover the magic.

It was a blessing in disguise when we were infected with COVID-19 just weeks before the trip. After the recovery, we felt invincible and decided to watch FC Barcelona playing live at Camp Nou. On match days, the whole city of Barcelona came united with people of all ages wearing team jerseys, turning strangers into fellow soccer fans. Messi has left FC Barcelona recently and we missed his star power. (FC Barcelona discovered Messi in his teens, and Messi played for FC Barcelona for 20 years until his emotional departure in 2021. In December 2022, he led the Argentina team winning his maiden world cup, and we were so happy for him). Camp Nou has a capacity close to 10,000 and is the largest stadium in Europe. We got good tickets that give a good view of the soccer field and the players. The stadium surprisingly gave a cozy feeling, unlike some other smaller stadiums we have been to watch tennis, or shows. The team played well against team Elche. What impressed us the most was not from the soccer players, but from the spectators who were so full of unity and team spirit. They sang songs, they booed the opponents, they made gestures and they celebrated the goals. FC Barcelona got an easy win over Elche. Sports are among the best things to unify people. We hope that more cities would consider adopting the “sport” strategy to cultivate a sense of camaraderie.

Established in the 11th century, Montserrat Monastery, located in the volcanic landscape of Montserrat, made a decent day excursion from Barcelona. Arriving on a Sunday, the plaza area was surprisingly touristy and there seemed some hiking events going on. It created a contrast to the monastery being the most important Catalonia religious retreat and still have over 70 monks in residence. The basilica has the more traditional architecture filled with luxurious golden decorations, depicting solemnness. We attended the Sunday mass partly to listen to the angelic voice of the famous Montserrat choir. After the mass, we went for short hikes around the rugged landscape.

Next up Mallorca. How does the island compare to the Barcelona beach?

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Spain Impressions – Madrid (1 of 3)

by ccue

A trip is a project. It starts with an idea. The first commitment comes with the booking of plane tickets, followed by additional commitment to get the accommodation. Then comes the itinerary, traveling, enjoying the moments, and effort to turn the moments into immortal memories. That process of turning the moments into immortal memories always has flaws as my brain operates in the exact opposite of a photogenic memory. Photos and videos supplement the imperfect memory retention only that I hardly go and check them out. Days after the trip, the memory is vivid; A bit further, the itinerary still brings back some detail. Weeks after, we need some help from the photos. Further down, we need the video to relive the experience. Few years down the road, the photos and videos would be more like new memories of something that we cannot recall. What is left becomes more like the impressions of the place, the food, the culture and the experience.

The trip to Spain started with the idea to watch the Laver Cup in London last September. After having been to London a few times, we decided to enrich the trip with an ABBA show in London and a trip to Spain – Madrid, Barcelona and Mallorca. I would relish the moments of visiting La Sagrada Familia, watching FC Barcelona in Camp Nou Stadium and witnessing the emotional farewell of Roger Federer in the Laver Cup plus some much more.

Itinerary

5 days in Madrid, stayed @The Westin Palace, Madrid
5 days in Barcelona, stayed @Catalonia Magdalenes
3 days in Mallorca, stayed @Melia Palma Bay
3 days in London, stayed @The Stratford London

Madrid is a beautiful city. We stayed at the Westin Palace, an authentic landmark in the Heart of Madrid. Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real de Madrid, Templo de Debod,Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Museo Nacional del Prado are all within walking distance. Despite the construction around the Plaza Mayor, most businesses were in operation and there were no shortage of attractions. It is a walkable city and the streets are lined up with pleasing architecture, appealing restaurants, small eateries of Museo del Jamon, and souvenir shops.

I am thrilled to discover the many similarities in the vocabulary of Spanish and English. A few Spanish phrases, here and there, are sufficient to roughly understand the Spanish menu in the eateries, and many street signs. It is like the similarity between Japanese Kanji and Chinese characters.

In Madrid, we tasted as many Tapas as possible. Tapa is the Spanish dim sum. We often stopped in the middle of the road taking pictures of the different Tapa menus. Spanish cuisine is underrated both in the quality and variety of the food. Maybe Spain does not market itself as much as its neighbor, France. We love to discover the outdoor street cafes on the way to tourist attractions. These outdoor cafes have great prices. In one meal, the two of us enjoyed burrata salad, grilled pepper, Jamon de Bellota, the tasty tender baby lamb chop, and drank Sangria. In another meal, we tried Churro con Chocolate. In another snack stop, we tried espanada. Jamon de Bellota is the best ham in my book.

The most memorable meal in Madrid has to be the Suckling pig (Cochinillo) at Botin. This record-setting restaurant has been serving up classic dishes since 1725, and not much has changed in the centuries since. The simple decor and classy service transported us back in time. The decor reminds me of the restaurant in Hong Kong 太平館餐廳. Botin has done a good job in its upkeep. How is the Cochinillo compared to the Hong Kong style suckling pig (乳豬)? In terms of presentation, each has its own characteristics. It is a tie. In terms of the smell, Hong Kong style suckling pig can be served hours after the roast. The Cochinillo dish, we had, was served right off the oven and the smell made the mouth water. The Cochinillo has an edge. In terms of palate pleasure, Hong Kong style suckling pig serves the most tender part of a baby pig. Botin serves pigs from Segovia and uses more portions of the pig in Cochinillo. Hong Kong has the edge in terms of pork tenderness. Botin has almost three hundred years of history and counting. That alone is hard to beat. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and would highly recommend making a reservation when you visit Madrid.

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía organized with crisp clarity the art history of the last few hundred years. Picasso impressions can be found everywhere. His genius was thoroughly demonstrated in this powerful, iconic and yet tragic Guernica – a large black and white oil painting in 1937 following the German bombing of the city in Spain. Standing next to Guernica, I wish for the eradication of wars regardless of the rationale.

The Museo Del Prado is an art museum in Madrid, with great collections. If I have to choose to just go to one museum. The one with Guernica is my obvious choice.

We could not leave Madrid without a dinner-included Flamenco show. While overpriced with the dinner price tag, we enjoyed the showmanship, the musical instrument, the song and the dance.

Next up Barcelona.

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Jackson Hole, Grand Teton & Yellowstone

by ccue

A friend offered a week of Four Seasons resort in Jackson Hole, a place inside the Grand Teton National Park. Together with the Yellowstone National form, it forms the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It has been over two decades since we last went to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas.

National parks are places to be as Covid is still active. As we spent our week in the parks, it was apparent that there has not been much international travel going on. We hardly noticed any tour bus along the way, we hardly noticed any tourists from Asia.

In Wyoming, we were often among the very few who put on the masks. The caution has not helped, and a few days upon our return, Covid-19 finally has fallen on us.

Day 1 – Arriving in Jackson Hole

Jackson hole is a short flight from San Francisco. As the plane landed at the small airport, we were treated with the 5000 ft view of the lakes and the mountain ranges. We walked from the tarmac to the small airport building which offered a relaxed ambience but not much else. We picked up our bear spray rental as well as the car rental.

The Four Seasons Resort is a luxurious ski resort in winter, and an expensive place for weddings, events or simply mountain biking in summer months. It is a beautiful place to be in, with restaurants and small shops within walking distance.

We tried the Bison steak at the nearby Osteria restaurant. Bison tasted like beef with a subtle sweet flavor.

Day 2 – Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone is about 2 to 3 hours of drive from the resort. There are various vista points along the way including turnouts and lake views.

Glacier View turnout and Teton point turnout offer the grand view of Grand Teton and the Teton mountain ranges. Grand teton looks grand and distinct.

Grand Teton NP is picturesque and cozy. On the other hand, Yellowstone NP has history and over a millions of acreage. It has a lot of things to offer, from geysers to wildlife, to outdoor activities.

We arrived at Yellowstone NP around lunch. NP is not a place for gourmet, we had simple hot dogs and soups. We did a small hike up the Old Faithful observation points and admired the geysers in the areas.

Grand Prismatic Spring is beautiful, but so crowded with people at the observation points. Our pictures turn out to be not even close to the pro shot typically found in postcards.

Day 3 – Amangani

Our energy level was good. We jogged at the Valley Trail, along the right outside of the resort, to the Grand Teton NP. It is quiet, lush and beautiful, with a nice view of the Valley down below. The trail is along the ski lift, which remains open during the summer months, for the mountain bikers.

Our main attraction of the day was the lunch at the Jackson Lake Lodge and dinner at Amangani. The Pioneer Grill inside the Jackson Lake Lodge is an old-time American casual diner with happy waiters/waitresses, serving customers at a number of long tables. We enjoyed the ambience and felt that we were back in the 60s.

After sampling Cotton Bay,Leeks Marina, and Signal Mountain Lodge, Jenny Lake, we swung by Jackson downtown, and had a serving of the delicious huckleberry ice cream at the Moo’s.

Amangani is an expensive hotel with fine dining, at the top of the hill, and offers a magnificent view overlooking the valley and mountain ranges miles away. There are not that many hotels with that breathtaking view. We watched both the sunset, a “special bear” appearance among the bushes, and enjoyed the dinner.

It was dark as we got out of the restaurant. We were alert at night after so much caution about animals crossing the road in the area,

Day 4 – Safari Tour

We woke up before sunrise to join the Four Season Safari Tour from 6:30am to 11am. The Tour is not cheap but often the tour guide can share stories that we normally do not hear about.

We spotted a variety of wildlife including mule deer, moose and her calf, elk, antelope (pronghorn?), bear and herd of bison; and learned about the interesting story of the bear 399 and her daughter bear 610 in the area. We did not see bear 399, but did spot a black bear along the road.

After lunch at the Mangy Moose in Teton village, we hiked a short 3.9 Taggart Lake Loop and finished the day with dinner at the Kitchen at Jackson.

It was a long day and we were tired.

Day 5 – Yellowstone NP

We woke up before sunrise again, to drop our friend at the airport. With such an early start, we decided to visit Yellowstone NP again.

We stopped at the Signal Mountain Lodge inside Grand Teton NP, and were greeted with a waiter with the most unwelcome look. We suspected that he may be the son of the owner, and the lodge was running a losing business, with very low water level at the Jackson lake right outside the lodge. The breakfast is fine.

We stopped by the Sulfur Calderon. It was hot around the hot springs and we spotted a number of bison. They are huge animals with size probably larger than a full grown lion. If you want to spot more bison, Hayden Valley is the place to go. We drove by Hayden Valley and there were hundreds of them, and on our way back, we spotted them running and crossing the river. It was quite a scene.

The main attraction of the day was the Yellowstone Canyon area. The Yellowstone Canyon is not as grand as the Grand Canyon, but it offers a much more picturesque look with the upper & lower waterfalls, especially from the Artist Point. It is a must-go place when you visit the Yellowstone NP.

There were too many places in Yellowstone, so we could not afford the time to do a long hike.

We visited the Lake Yellowstone Hotel at dusk. It is a very classic hotel, with live piano performance, and a view of Yellowstone Lake. The luxurious ambience feels like the Titanic (before it sank).

Yellowstone is famous for wildlife. It did not disappoint, we spotted two mooses, herds of Bison at the Hayden Valley, two male elks, a lone coyote and a family of Grizzly bears.

Day 6 – Four seasons

Rest and relaxation at the resort was the way to be after two long days.

Day 7 – Grand Teton Jenny Lake

We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake, did a short hike of 2.5 miles, and finished with a dip in the ambient water in Jenny Lake. There were tons of berries along the way (the thimbleberry, and probably some huckleberries), and we spotted a bear cub swimming in the lake, some white tail deers, and a moose calf.

We had dinner at the Local, a restaurant recommended by a number of locals, in Jackson.

Grand Teton and Yellowstone NP never disappoint. Our first visit was way back in 95. We are back in 2022. When will we be back again?

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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Kings Canyon & Sequoia NP during Covid-19

by ccue

The country still records 100K new Covid-19 cases a day, with new deaths more than the passenger capacity of a Boeing 737 max. We continued to pick National parks as the places to be.

A week prior to the memorial long weekend, we took a trip to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Our Subaru Outlook has won the choice over the Tesla in this trip, even at this time of outrageously high gasoline price. It still seems risky to count on finding an EV charging station when we most need one. EV may still have a long way to go as the auto of choice for road trips. Visiting national parks with a bad back was no fun. That was exactly what I got just a few days before the trip.

Day 1

Kings Canyon is about a 4-hour drive from the Bay Area. There was still plenty of sunlight when we got there. At 1700 years old, with a height of 268 feet and a circumference over 100 feet, the General Grant Tree’s massive truck makes it the third-largest tree in the world by volume. It stands like a commanding general among the other Sequoia trees which are giants by themselves.

Both the Grizzly Falls and the Roaring River Falls are super accessible waterfalls. They are an easy and short walk from the parking spaces. The Roaring River Falls are a noisy splash of water. The Grizzly Falls are beautiful to watch and are camera friendly.

Once out of Kings Canyon, we entered Sequoia National Forest then Sequoia National Park. It was a bit late when we checked in the Wuksachi Lodge, and were relieved that they were still serving dinner. Their dinner special was a total disappointment though – the dinner special arrived faster than McDonald meal, and that microwave version of Pork Belly special was more chewy than the dried beef jerky. It was not cheap either. This dinner special became the first and the last meal we had bought at the Lodge cafe. The Lodging setting is beautiful, quiet and peaceful. It makes a very nice sanctuary. The room is spacious with cozy wooden decor. It offers a mind-resting forest view, and it is surprisingly quiet. The bedding is sturdy and comfortable for a good night’s sleep. My only complaint was their putting us on the 3rd floor in a lodge with no elevator. The 50+ steps between the parking space and our room posed an unwelcome challenge for my bad back.

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Day 2

Our breakfast was a cup of instant noodles with the marinated beef and eggs we prepared for the trip.

We visited the tunnel log and auto log early to have the view mostly for ourselves. These fallen giant trees were quite a scene when we could drive through the tunnel log and we could imagine in those olden days, the auto log would support the weight of an auto driving over it.

We were enjoying a stroll at the crescent meadow when I sighted a black bear, not that far away. It was indeed an eye-to-eye encounter with a black bear. The bear looked big at the first glance, and it felt like it was about 100 feet away in the woods. I was sure that at the time I spotted it, it spotted me too; and that both were afraid. I was calm enough to walk backward slowly to inform a few fellow hikers who were mostly thrilled to join a special bear watching activity. With more people together, we stayed on the trail, and watched the bear scratching its back on a small trunk, then crossing the trail to feed itself in the meadow. On our way back to the parking lot, people were still taking pictures of the bear.

We hiked up the Moro Rock trail. There were quite a number of hikers and seemingly a very popular trail. It was a challenge with my acrophobia to walk up and stay at the top just to have some time for pictures. The national forest with mountain ranges afar were breathtaking.

I would rather stay with the waterfalls, Tokopah Valley Falls awaited. Rated as moderately challenging. The 4-mile hike turned out to take longer and has been strenuous at times with my back pain. The cascade of waterfalls at the end well compensated the hardship.

In the evening, we took the Sherman Tree Trail to pay respect to General Sherman. With a volume of 52,500 cubic feet, a weight of 1385 tons, and circumference of 103 feet, the General Sherman Tree is the biggest tree on Earth by volume. I read from a teen fiction if a human being is put in a device to see his proportion against the whole universe, he will go insane right off the bat. It was humbling to look up to this biggest tree on Earth from the ground.

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Day 3

We headed to the Big Trees Trail early in the morning. Spring was everywhere with new green shoots coming out of the trees. We saw a pair of deer which were small, curious and fragile. The meadows were full of life too – birds chirping, wild flowers blooming, new shoots from the trees. This Big Trees Trail and the meadow has been my favorite trail on this trip. It gives a sense of hope and peace.

The Giant Forest museum, right across the Big Trees Trail, made our final stop before heading home.

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My bad back felt better at the end. It has been a refreshing trip.

Dear Diary Travel

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Ahwahnee Hotel and cross country skiing

by ccue

Trying new things is a great way to feel alive. Cross country skiing came across as an exhausting activity and I have never done that before. Recently, I had that lively first-time cross country skiing experience.

Yosemite is the most accessible National Park from where I live. I have been there a number of times with my family and friends over the years. There was the half-dome hike, there was the firefall watch. Yet, I have not stayed in the historical Ahwahnee hotel nor cross country skiing in the Badger Pass. Late February, my husband and I decided to check off these two items on a 3-day, 2-night trip.

Day 1 was a commute day where we drove our Subaru outback SUV to Casa De Fruta for a relaxing lunch, and stopped at Oakhurst for an overnight stay.

Day 2 was cross country skiing and buffet dinner at the Ahwahnee hotel. Cross country skiing seems more enjoyable to watch than to do. My husband reminisces about cross country skiing in his school days and is motivated to prove he is still fit to do it. We started early and after some deliberations, went with a 2-hours beginner’s class. Our instructor was a lanky young kid, with long hair and looked to have a record low BMI. He taught us patiently for a couple of hours on the basics, before letting us go loose to wander the Badger pass. The basics were pretty simple. Cross skiing at a pace was not for me, as such we went at a slower-than-walking pace among the forest. The cross-country ski seems a bit harder to stop than a downhill ski, even with a very gradual slope and it scared me in the more narrow area to imagine rolling down the downhills slope. I went from walking pace to crawling speed. There were not that many cross country skiers along the way. It was peaceful and surreal to be in the mix of snow and forestry for hours. While the minds felt refreshed, physically, we felt the fatigue in the thighs in the afternoon.

Ahwahnee hotel awaited with red carpet entry, a well decorated and super spacious lobby. We checked in our room early to maximize our time in the hotel which charged a hefty +$400 per night. The expensive price tag of the hotel has more to do with the location, than its service. The hotel room is more spacious and comfortable than luxurious. There is a corner view of the mountain. It is nice but not unforgettable. We made a reservation at the expensive restaurant downstairs. Decades ago, we had breakfast in the restaurant after the half-dome hike the day before. It felt nostalgic to be back in the pandemic times, and we had a satisfying buffet dinner with a nice meadow view. The food was delicious with some highlights, the dessert came across as a bit too sweet. We walked around after dinner to check out the hotel amenities and to burn some calories. We were too tired to stay late enough to watch the starry starry night.

Day 3, we woke up and enjoyed coffee in the room with the mountain view. We wandered a bit around the area, caught the Yosemite fall view with a splash of misty rainbows. There was still snow in some areas. It was quiet and beautiful. The open areas in the lobby areas have characters and reminisces in various lobby spaces. These lobby attractions come across as Ahwahnee hotel highlights. We found an area with tables and tall windows overlooking the meadow area outside. The view made the instant noodles more delicious. After breakfast, we took a dip in the heated outdoor swimming pool. There were only two of us. It was chilly outside but very comfortable in the water with the gorgeous view of the Yosemite mountains and the Ahwahnee hotel. Ahwahnee hotel stood up to its reputation and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We detoured to check out the Tenaya lodge and have lunch before heading home.

Dear Diary Travel

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A memorable Christmas in Hawaii

by ccue

Few trips can be more memorable than a family trip to Hawaii during Christmas.

Pandemic situation was looking up a few months ago. We were excited about the idea of a family getting together in Hawaii. Hawaii is an isolated group of islands. The state has done a great job in handling the inbounds of people. Travel.hawaii.gov covers all we need to do to avoid the 14-day quarantine. In spite of the curved balls thrown by the Omicron variant, Hawaii still came across as a safer place than many other places in the country. In mid December, my family of four got together in Honolulu.

We (mom and dad) arrived the earliest at the Honolulu HNL airport. We picked up our son from HNL a couple of hours later; and then our daughter almost twelve hours later. My daughter needed to get through 3 flights from NYC to Honolulu. That proved too much exhaustion and she ended up falling sick right off the bat. The in-home testing kits that we brought along, confirmed that it was not Covid-19. In the past two years, we have been so interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, that we started to have these distorted reactions that Covid-19 was the cause of all illness. This served as a reminder that we could fall sick in many different ways. The Kuhio walk-in medical clinic made an unusual itinerary on day 4 to give us our peace of mind and that she got a stomach flu that would go away by itself.

Our Airbnb has a well equipped kitchen and is a home away from home. Waikiki beach is within minutes of walking. We love the location. It has a partial ocean view from our 20th floor. In the morning, it was relaxing and refreshing to spend some time on the balcony to watch the swimming pool below and the ocean afar; in the evening, we could watch the tiny surfers during the sunset. We ended up spending tons of time at our Airbnb, especially the first 3 days.

Oahu greeted us with high rises, busy traffic and lots of travelers. Lines were very long to get food or beverage. One morning, we waited for an hour at Kona coffee purveyors for a cup of the famous 100% Kona coffee. The coffee was world class, rich but subtle; and the bakery was delicious. One evening, we waited for over an hour for a Maguro Spot Poke; and these Poke shops either ran out of sashimi or ran out of rice. It was a bit frustrating though the food was really good at the end. I did not expect Honolulu to be such a busy city, reminiscent of Hong Kong. The rhythm was something to get used to. The island rewarded its tourists with such a variety of offerings – scenic hiking trails, beautiful beaches, historical museum, shopping, cuisines. We could have spent more days.

The hiking trails were pretty crowded, even though we were told that there were less tourists this Christmas than other years.

Diamond Head Hike, there was no choice but to walk with the crowd on this hike. We stopped a lot for the magnificent views of the crater, Waikiki beaches, Pearl Harbour and many more. The view was hard to beat in this relatively easy round-trip hike.

Koko Tramway Hike was the most strenuous with thousands of uneven steps to the top. We were rewarded with a glimpse of sunrise (we were late for the real sunrise), beautiful views of Hanauma Bay and so much more.

Manoa falls trail was a moderate hike, with uneven and stony grounds. We were rewarded with scenes that seemed to come directly from the Jurassic Park movies. The waterfall was all right, though I could not believe we needed to wait for 10 minutes to take a picture of it. And most ignored the “danger” sign and went on to get to the bottom of the waterfall. I was convinced they were idiots for not following the “danger” sign and then became one of those idiots.

The cuisine choice can satisfy the most demanding eaters. The Japanese presence can be felt almost everywhere, including the cuisine.

Ginza Bairin was the best meal with super delicious Kurobuta Pork Loin Katsu and the super juicy light and fluffy “Omurice” with demi sauce. It is almost worth going back to Honolulu just for the restaurant!
Marugame Udon had the longest line of people waiting, and we learned the lesson to order an hour ahead to pick up. The quality of the food explained the long line.
We tried a few poke too, at the off-the-wall beer pub, the Maguro spot and the five star poke. Maguro spot has the freshest fish, I still gave it a low rating just because the line was so long, the service was so slow, and then many sashimi ran out by the time we got to the top of the line. With all these qualifiers, I like the one at off-the-wall beer pub the best.
The Hawaii J&J BBQ served the meal with the biggest portion, enough for two meals.
Scratch Kitchen lunch served us with the most fancy pancakes.

The beaches can be rated by the softness of its sand, the location, the view, and the water. Hawaii beaches all have beautiful water and views.

Waikiki has soft sand and long beaches, and is convenient. There are small rocks as we get to the ocean water that still hurts a bit.

Kailua beach has the softest sand from the beach to the ocean water, it has fewer people, still you can expect a line to drive into the parking lot.

With ten days on the island, it may be a surprise that we only visited two beaches.

There are plenty of places to visit. We enjoyed the Dole plantation and learned more about growing pineapples. Again, we had to wait more than an hour to get on to the train. The train tour and the maze in the Dole plantation exceeded our expectations. We expected to see pineapple trees, but then we also found the macadamia nut tree, the cocoa tree, the lychee tree, the banana tree and so much more.

That Altantis submarine was a bit of a rip-off, more of an experience to brag that we have been in a submarine.

The Pearl Harbor visit was such a rush and we should have given it a full day. After visiting the World War museum, it dawned on me that the Pearl Harbor attack could not have been a surprise to the Americans, the attack was bound to happen in just a matter of time. With the US military deployment from the West Coast to Hawaii, it put the US military to be within a few hours of flights to mainland Japan. What would you expect Japan to do differently?

Itinerary (our itinerary was often decided at the beginning of the each day)

Day 1, travel time

Day 2, stayed at Airbnb, one of us was sick.

Day 3, Waikiki beach, Moana surfrider hotel, pu’u pia trail

Day 4, Kuhio walk-in medical clinic , shop for hiking shoes, Waikiki lagoon

Day 5, Dole plantation train tour and maze, Marugame Udon

Day 6, Diamond head hike, Maguro Spot poke, Five star poke take out

Day 7, Koko tramway hike to sunrise, Scratch Kitchen lunch, Atlantis submarine tour

Day 8, Pearl Harbor bowfin submarine, Ginza Bairin lunch , shop 88 tees and neighborhood, shaved ice

Day 9, Manoa falls trail, Kailua beach park

Day 10, travel time

There are so many places we have not explored. Maybe one day we will return.

Dear Diary Misc. Travel

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Fall Foliage Road Trip (the less travelled National Parks)

by ccue

Fall foliage has always been a sight high on my travel wishlist. Last year, we almost went to Vermont for that, if not that Californians needed to be quarantined for a week or two. The Vermont airbnb host even offered to buy us groceries so we could stay inside the airbnb to quarantine. What was the point of visiting without the ability to go out?

This October, we combined the desire for road trip and fall foliage into one, visiting three National Parks across three states (Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee). It has been a road trip of over 1800 miles of scenic drive with fall colors in abundance. There has been so much to see along the way. We have allocated more time than many, but still felt quite rushed. Appreciating beautiful things takes some slow down. We were so lucky to witness the beauty and diversity of fall colors.

To many, fall colour is about the beautiful bright red maple leaves. It is so untrue. Autumn is so much more diverse with the many shades of yellow, orange, red and even purple. When the altitude goes above 6000 feet, most colours yield to the evergreen trees such as fir, pines and oak. Every year, the fall colour is also different depending on the temperature, the rains, and many other factors. Within one season, everyday the colour is different. In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it is estimated that 13 trillion leaves will fall during autumn. The grandness of nature is beyond words. We run out of superlatives to describe the beauty of the fall colour.