A diary of my life, my travels to various places and my many interests.
Monday, April 30, 2007
The Edge (24th Apr)
Due to popular request... let me tell a story of a group of three crazy kids. The normally most rational, big sis, said to the crazy boy, "$20 to step on that rock jutting out into the cliff". The boy decided that the 'feel' was just too right for the best Grand Canyon picture and crawled onto the rock with his heart pumping so fast to take his picture. Little sis decided she loved that picture and wanted the same for herself. And big sis couldn't resist that 'shot-of-the-day' too... Luckily, they just couldn't find another suitable rock again!
I crawled to the edge and saw a most spectacular sight...
Yosemite, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon (20th - 27th Apr)
It’s been a week and I’ve since returned from my trip! The lack of internet access made it hard to update the things we did so now I’ll do a quick ‘memorable photo- or video-of-the-day’ before I get down to writing down this really amazing trip in detail!
After a day of mist, cold and relentless snow showers... we drove into Yosemite in the morning of the second day (20th Apr). The view was quite amazing… totally different from the day before. Fluffy white snow on the pine trees… the winding road up into the mountains… it’s almost like a winter wonderland (but it’s really spring!)
The morning drive into Yosemite on the second day, 20th Apr
After the two days up the mountains of Yosemite, we drove across the Mojave desert to the bright lights of Las Vegas. The Mojave Desert… blue blue skies with those white fluffy clouds… with the mountains of Sierra Nevada always towering over the horizon.
This is the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas, 21st Apr
We had a lazy second day in Las Vegas… did some shopping and later saw some of those crazy outdoor shows of those Strip hotels in the evening. Of course, my favorite is still the fabulous fountains of Bellagio!
The Bellagio… god I wish I were on the penthouse suite, sipping on my champagne with my someone =P, 22nd Apr
After two days in Vegas, we drove across the Mojave Desert up the Kaibab Plateau to Grand Canyon. The view when we got there… awe-inspiring… nothing quite that scale… nothing quite that vastness… it’s just something that one has to see for himself to believe. We took a short walk along the trailhead of Bright Angel’s trail to absorb the atmosphere of the place. The trail actually leads all the way down to the canyon floor and it takes a day to get down to the canyon floor and another day back!
Bright Angel’s Trail, 23rd Apr
On our second day at Grand Canyon, we explored the canyon rim on the Hermit’s Rest Trail and the Desert View Drive later in the afternoon. Of course, we took some amazing pictures!
My moment with the Grand Canyon… the vastness… the beauty… 24th Apr
We went a bit off track on our way back to Vegas and lost about an hour’s traveling time but we finally got back to Vegas all right! The next day was spent resting (I was sleeping my noon away while the girls went shopping!). We finally got to see the pirates show at Treasure Island. Later at night we all had our own programs and needless to say, whatever happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas. I really don’t think I should come back ever!
The pirate show at Treasure Island. Not quite like your usual pirate show! 25th Apr
Our final day was spent flying back to San Francisco. San Francisco just has that laid-back feel to it… we talked a lot… life, career, relationships, love… looked back on our two-week trip and shared how we experienced each place we visited in our different ways.
I guess this trip would probably my highlight of my 18 months here in the United States!
We started our Yosemite leg of our travels today with a walk at the Mariposa Grove. The giant sequoia trees are pretty awe-inspiring.
A fallen giant… a giant sequoia tree, Mariposa Grove
The giant sequoias are the largest living things on earth, Mariposa Grove
As we drove into Yosemite Valley, it started to snow and the snow shower lasted for pretty much the rest of the day.
The famous Valley View shrouded in mist
The world is so small… we met another Singaporean couple at the Lower Yosemite Falls! They were pretty much traveling the opposite direction of our two-week itinerary. The lower falls was really pretty but it is only less than half the length of the upper falls. We could only see a little bit of the upper falls from the valley floor. (The hike to the upper falls is a full-day, 6-8 hrs hike and is classified as very strenuous! And yes, we didn’t want to rough it!)
The Lower Yosemite Falls
This unknown dome is pretty much the best view we have of the sheer granite cliffs all around the Yosemite Valley. Let’s hope we’ll do better tomorrow! (or today as I’m writing this at 6am!)
An unnamed dome beside the Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley
We went whale-watching off Fisherman’s Wharf at Monterey yesterday. The weather conditions weren’t really too good as the ocean swells were quite strong.
We caught some humpback whales heading out west to the ocean but we can’t hang with them long with the swells getting stronger as we move further out the bay. Later on, we headed back to the bay to see the huge populations of sea lions at the bay.
Humpback whales off Monterey Bay
Here are some of the interesting clips I’ve taken so far!
Otters action@Monterey Bay Aquarium
I’ve finally reached the Pacific Ocean!
This is my favorite, the chipmunks!
Some cute chipmunks near the Bird Rock viewing area of the 17-Mile Drive, Monterey
Lombard St, the crookiest street of San Francisco!
Cute seagull on the pier, with the Golden Gate Bridge on the background
After a frantic month, this is my frantic attempt to blog my going-ons before I leave for my west coast trip!
I went to my first ever ‘live’ NBA game (which is on my ‘to-do’ list!). Well, we got cheap tickets to a Toronto Raptors – Washington Wizards game at the Verizon Center in Chinatown, DC.
Watching an NBA in the stadium is far better than catching it on the TV! There’s the non-stop action… the snacks… the chatting… and more notably… the cheerleaders! I think I ended up watching the girls cheering more than the game!
