Dec/092
Vancouver and Seattle 2009
Time for vacation, so where else would you go but Seattle known for its dreary falls, and Vancouver known for having a rain forest in the middle of the city. We had a great time, and discovered that Aidan likes the rain.
If the inline gallery does not work for you, you can also see the pictures here.
Jun/090
West Coast Vacation Photos
I will be the first one to admit that this vacation was more work than any previous vacation. We were happy to find that we can get away from home every now and then, keep Aidan happy, and manage to have a bit of fun ourselves. It was also good to go to places that we were already familiar with, we knew where to get extra diapers and formula and did not have to worry too much about wasting a meal on bad food.
We did manage to take a couple of pictures while we were gone, although the volume went way down from previous trips. Two naps a day take a big bite out of the vacation, but are much better then the alternative (a grumpy baby). Three cities and over 10,000 miles sounds more adventuresome than it really is, we had to go to Hawaii and just found a way to stop places that we enjoy along the way.
May/090
Live from Vancouver
We tested out a child restraint device on our flights to Seattle. It worked very well and is much easier than toting a car seat on board. Here is Aidan taking a nap on our trip from Kansas City to Seattle.
Don’t forget to check out the latest adventures from our trip at TheTravelTots.
May/090
Travel Plans
One of the reasons that this site has been relatively quiet this month is that with the help of a friend I have been working on launching a new site dedicated to traveling with infants and toddlers. It is still under construction, but now open to the public at www.thetraveltots.com. One of the features of the website is a travelogue that will follow my (and my fellow travelers) trips.
We are still a bit light on content and features, but look for that to change in the coming months.
Jun/083
Whats round on the sides and high in the middle?
Ohio.
Katherine and I headed to Ohio for Labor Day to visit with my Mom’s side of the family. While we were there we stumbled upon some of the best doughnuts I have ever eaten at Norman’s in Millersburg, OH. We had fun and have the pictures to show for it. We bought some quilts from MinMar (Minerva Martin) also in Millersburg.
Make sure you check out the gallery for the Amish buggies parked at wal-mart and what appears to be some Amish or Mennonite themed romance novels. UPDATE My mom let me know that this is a novel about Amish life to let non Amish know how they live and why they do not use technology etc. That certainly makes more sense than a romance novel, but the cover is certainly confusing.
It has taken me a bit to get the pictures up as we headed to Vancouver the next weekend to visit with Katherine’s Grandmother and our friends in the area. I have uploaded some pictures from that trip as well.
Sep/070
Portland Pictures
A week on vacation and still too busy relaxing to write anything here.
Portland was beautiful, one of my favorite cities in the US. Most of the pictures from Portland are here, but none from Seattle yet. It looks like the week in Vancouver, BC will have a bit of rain so maybe a bit more time to write about the trip and get more pictures up.
Time for lunch!
Apr/073
Shanghai – Traffic
The traffic in Shanghai is chaotic, but somehow works for the most part. Every driver is doing his best to pilot his car to its destination quickly as possible. Regardless of pedestrians crossing, cars in the space the driver wishes to occupy, or the accidents caused in the driver’s wake. The only consideration is whether the driver’s car gets damaged. One popular tactic is to straddle lanes to allow easy access to whichever lane turns out to be faster. Left hand turns are a game of chicken with oncoming traffic.
On the positive side there are some great traffic control technologies in use, including freeway billboards that use colored LEDs to indicate traffic conditions near your location and stop lights that show how much longer the green or red light will last.
I don’t have any pictures or videos to do this justice, but this YouTube Video is a good start.
Apr/070
Hangzhou – XiLake
XiHu or West Lake has been a tourist attraction in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province since around 900 A.D. and is the site of many Chinese legends. Over time a number of man-made improvements have been made to the lake. Including dredging to obtain the material to build small islands and causeways across the lake.
We took a hand rowed tour around the lake, which is where the majority of the pictures in this gallery were taken. My favorite is the picture of our gondolier texting and rowing at the same time. We ended the morning row with lunch at the over 100 year old Louwailou (Tower beyond tower) Restaurant featuring some regional dishes with a beautiful view of the lake.
XiHu is crowded with Chinese and foreign tourists all year long, and the road from Hangzhou city is a constant traffic jam. The human powered boats are slower than some of the larger powered boats, but it is one of the few ways to get a little space to yourself and still see the beauty of the lake. If you are in Shanghai and have a free day or two this is a must see area, but then the other 7-8 million people that visit here every year know that too.
Apr/070
Shanghai – XuJiaHui
Katherine saw her first dead person in front of the Pacific Department Store, and we observed the gawking crowds and police action as we waited for the Grand Gateway mall to open. There is shopping at each corner of the intersection, including an electronics market that we did not get too. Check out all of the pictures here (note: no pictures of the dead guy are included).
Apr/070
China Pictures
Pictures of Shanghai and the surrounding area are now uploaded. I am going to try and write something about each album starting from the back.