Skeptickle » Adventures http://skeptickle.com Seeker of authenticity. Lover of adventure. Sharer of things. Fri, 28 May 2010 19:50:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 First Anniversary in Big Sur: Part 2 http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-2/ http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-2/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:00:23 +0000 sophia http://skeptickle.com/?p=1706 Love the following series. They really should be hung in a gallery somewhere.

LOL! Thank you Rob for giving me permission to post those.

]]> http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-2/feed/ 0 First Anniversary in Big Sur: Part 1 http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-1/ http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-1/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:25:48 +0000 sophia http://skeptickle.com/?p=1650 It was March 7th, 2010. Cool and slightly overcast. The whole journey down to Big Sur was beautiful. Happy Californian cows :) Best [Scrambled] Eggs Benedict ever from Deetjens. Deetjens is a historical inn and restaurant along Highway 1. Stopping to smell the flowers. A lot of road work due to erosion problems en route. Bright California poppies in bloom! I just like saying the word "yurt". Yurt-yurt-yurt... We stayed the night in a yurt. Yurts= a hybrid of a room + a giant tent The wines we brought with us. The one on the left was a wedding gift from my Bridesman. The inside of our yurt. Enjoying the (limited) view of the Pacific outside of our yurt. Yurt-view. This is their "human nest". Very cool! Organic garden Chanterelle mushroom soup. Delish! Hello friend. Random broken steps by the side of the road. Yes, we climbed it. The view from where it led us. Sand Dollar Beach. Very windy and tumbled rocks EVERYWHERE! Rob loved the sound they make when the surf pulls in. Like popcorn popping in a kettle. ]]> http://skeptickle.com/first-anniversary-in-big-sur-part-1/feed/ 0 I http://skeptickle.com/i-heart-new-york/ http://skeptickle.com/i-heart-new-york/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:55:06 +0000 sophia http://skeptickle.com/?p=1415

Some highlights of our trip:

  • Seeing my family in Flushing, NY, which was pretty much Taiwantown, U.S.A.
  • The Statue of Liberty, minus the two hours in two different security lines.
  • New York pizza!
  • Seeing Wicked for the first time on Broadway.
  • Tuna tartare and the high tech Japanese toilet at Sakagura.
  • The view from the Top of the Rock.
  • The window displays were redonkulous!
  • Straight New York tap water. Seriously.
  • Lunch at Jean Georges with Karri and Misha.
  • The Met, minus the insane crowds.
  • The butternut squash soup and tweed kettle pie (got it b/c of its name!) at Tea & Sympathy with Karri.
  • Central Park right after it snowed.
  • Junior’s NY cheesecake with strawberries, thanks to my cousin Theresa.
  • The Apple store on 5th Ave.
  • Blueberry pancakes at Clinton St. Bakery, minus the 1 hour and 45 minute wait  >_<.
  • The last minute right before the ball dropped at Times Square, minus the 5 hours and 59 minute wait beforehand.
  • 30% off sale-price sale at BR.
  • PDT Bar. Really great original drinks made in the old-fashioned way.
  • Momofuku Ssam Bar’s fried brussel sprouts (trust me), kimchi apples, and  steamed pork buns. I don’t usually eat much pork, but I’m glad I made the exception this time.

Lowlights of our trip:

  • The wait to do practically anything.
  • The crowds and lines and more lines, and more lines…
  • Did I mention the lines?
  • Slow-ass people that take up the entire sidewalk (actually, that’s a running pet peeve of mine so it doesn’t only apply to New York).
  • Trying to hail a taxi in freezing weather and they’re all full.
  • Rob lost one of his gloves at the Statue of Liberty and it seemed like the entire island sold out of mens gloves. We tried BR, J Crew, Gap, H&M, Armani Exchange, etc.

Overall, a great trip and we’ll want to be back in the couple of years to experience the stuff we didn’t get to see yet. Photojournal to follow when I finally get all 5k pictures uploaded.

]]> http://skeptickle.com/i-heart-new-york/feed/ 0 Halloween 2009 http://skeptickle.com/halloween-2009/ http://skeptickle.com/halloween-2009/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:39:20 +0000 sophia http://skeptickle.com/?p=1366 I had so much fun this Halloween :) . Rob and I went up to the City to hang out with our friends M & G and danced the night away. The only sad part was that M was sick so he had to go home early, but other than that it was one of the best parties I’ve ever been to.

Pictures:

Vampire Bill (from True Blood).

Vampire Bill (from True Blood).

A very sick Santa, literally.

A very sick Santa, literally.

Keepin' it together.

Keepin' it together.

Scary tooth-fairy.

Scary tooth-fairy.

I was a Renaissance pirate wench.

I was a Renaissance pirate wench.

Much needed H2O after a tiring night of dancing.

Much needed H2O after a tiring night of dancing.

Hope you had a fun Halloween too!

]]> http://skeptickle.com/halloween-2009/feed/ 1 Taiwan Photo Journal: Part 2 http://skeptickle.com/taiwan-photo-journal-part-2/ http://skeptickle.com/taiwan-photo-journal-part-2/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:30:38 +0000 sophia http://skeptickle.com/?p=1176 Unwrapping my Chinese breakfast burrito. Inside is dried pork, Chinese donut, pickled radish, and covered with sticky rice. The National Performance Hall. Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial National Concert Hall Rob getting to know the locals. View from the Memorial. Changing of the guards (I think). Chiang Kai-Shek Statue Inside the museum. This ivory tablet has Sun Tzu's The Art of War written in teeny tiny text above the image of his head. You need a magnifying glass to see it. Pictures of Chiang and his life story. Picture of him, Roosevelt, Churchill, and his wife. Wax apples, my favorite. A huge variety of tasty drinks. Rob already misses them. Inside Longshan Temple, the oldest temple of its kind in Taiwan. It survived earthquakes, typhoons, the Japanese occupation, etc. for over 100 years. People come here to light candles/incense and pray to Buddha and Taoist gods. Here is an altar for Guan-Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Tons of people chanting. Beautiful artistry. Realistic litchee cluster carved out of stone. Chinese tea preparation at a Japanese-style teahouse. The tall cup is for sniffing the scent (kind like sniffing wine to get the aroma), and the short one's for sipping/tasting. The koi in the koi pond right outside our private tea room. Some were enormous! At Yangmingshan National Park. Figuring out our hiking route. Meet spiders as big as your hand! If you have arachnophobia then I don't suggest going to Yangmingshan. They don't have actual trails. If you hike uphill, it's actually climbing up countless slippery stairs. Coming down, we took a paved road and passed by a bunch of family gardens and fields. I National Palace Museum in the distance. That's where they display on rotation all the Chinese artifacts that the Nationalists brought over. I have only pictures of the outside because photography was not allowed inside. About to enter Shilin night market, arguably the best night market in Taiwan. Ba-wan: meat and bamboo-filled with a soft outer shell. These are delicious with their red sauce. Rob being a brave Westerner and trying stinky tofu. "Frog egg" drink. Which are actually basil seeds with an outer membrane. Delicious fried chicken as big as your head. I kid you not! Night market chaos. I found Hope in a water buffulo at the airport. ]]> http://skeptickle.com/taiwan-photo-journal-part-2/feed/ 0