Tuesday, October 31, 2006
$8500 Sneakers!
Expensive Sneaker
2007 TED prize winners
Monday, October 30, 2006
Countries I've Been To
create your own visited countries map
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Road Trip Part 5: Greensboro & Raleigh, NC
Then we headed down to Raleigh, and stopped at the NC State Fair. For those of you who have never been to a state fair, it is a huge affair. We pulled up to a small parking lot that was charging $10 for parking. The attendant standing said, "All the front parking is full, but you can park in the back and its only $5." How nice of them to cut the price just because we had to park 20 yards further away! The fair itself was quite a sight, full of animals, food, and people. We decided to try the infamous 'Deep Fried Twinkie', which was pretty good at the first bite, but then started getting way too sweet for our taste buds.
After the fair we met up with Jose, Tanya, and Alex. Alex was his usual excited and entertaining self. I was constantly amazed at how much he has learned at the age of 5. He showed me all of his Power Rangers, and we had an exciting lightsaber duel outside the house. In the evenings after Alex went to bed, we would break out the Karaoke game, and have our singing competitions. Jose and Tanya pretty much kicked our butts, but it was alot of fun. On Monday we hopped on our plane back to California, and the road trip was over. Thanks everyone for letting us stay at your houses, and we hope to see you soon!
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Road Trip Part 4: Asheville, NC
Road Trip Day 3: The Road to Damascus
We drove from Charlottesville through the amazing mountains of Virginia. The fall colors are in full effect, with yellows, reds, and oranges throughout the hillsides. After a five hour drive, we pulled into the tiny town of Damascus, VA, known as "Trail Town USA". I had made reservations at a small B&B called Apple Tree Bed and Breakfast, a cute country home owned by a retired couple. After "checking in" to our bedroom upstairs, we headed out to find some dinner. The town is basically a single street, with small shops and trees lining both sides. The only place open was an Italian restaurant where we had some decent pizza before heading back to the B&B. We had a big day ahead of us, biking the Virginia Creeper Trail.
We woke up early the next morning to catch our breakfast, a delicious meal provided by our hosts. At the breakfast table we enjoyed conversation with the other guests and our hosts. One retired couple had biked across the country 10 times! After breakfast we headed for Damascus Adventure Tours, a bicycle tour outfitter. They hooked us up with a couple of mountain bikes and a shuttle ride to the top of Whitetop Mountain for about $25 each. The ride up the twisty mountain roads took about 30 minutes, and then we were surrounded by gorgeous views of the area. We were in the SW corner of Virginia and could see mountains which were in Tennessee and North Carolina as well. The Virginia Creeper trail rides along an old railway line and gently slopes downhill the whole way back to town. The scenery was breathtaking, with the fall foliage and a small river running beside us. We'd stop occasionally and only hear the sounds of leaves falling to the ground, or running water. Sometimes my bike felt like it was racing the water down the mountain, and at others, slowly gliding down like the leaves. This was one of the most gorgeous trails I've ever biked on and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. The whole route is along a nice trail, nothing tricky to bike through, and almost no pedaling required. I would definitely like to come back and bike it again sometime. At various points along the trail we would intersect the Appalachian Trail, another trail I'd like to tackle someday in this area. After what seemed to be a very quick 17 miles, we pulled back into town, returned our bikes, and headed off for Asheville. Of course, there are pictures to be seen, and you can view them here.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Road Trip part 2: DC and Charlottesville
Road Trip pt 1: New York
Friday, October 13, 2006
Last day of work!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Better Off
"Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes." -Oliver Goldsmith
I just finished a book titled, "Better Off: Flipping the Switch On Technology" by Eric Brende. It was an interesting book about a couple who decide to give up modern technology and live in an amish community. The couple does this as an experiment to see how much technology is too much. They give up everything from washing machines (they use a hand crank one), to refridgerators. As a techno-geek myself, it really made me start to wonder how technology is too much in my own life.
In many circumstances the couple found that doing chores without the aid of technology became more enjoyable! Also, there was a greater reliance on the community, creating a much stronger bond between neighbors than most of us feel today. I will definitely look at all the technologicial wonders I fill my life with in a new light, and hopefully find a better balance. It appears to me that even though technology is a wonderful thing, sometimes it can be more trouble than its worth. We can easily end up spending too much time paying for and maintaining things.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Hanging in Hilo
From Hilo we took a day trip up to some waterfalls nearby, and had lunch at an excellent little cafe with organic food. You can find pictures HERE.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Aloha From the Big Island
The next day we had breakfast at a great little place called Aloha Cafe and found it to be well stocked with vegetarian friendly food! We sat out on a small balcony with little lizards running around everywhere. Then we hit Greenfield coffee plantation for a short tour of the plantation and had some really great coffee. The Kona coffee is much less acidic and we found it more enjoyable than what we usually get back home. After that we headed on to the Volcano. The big thing we wanted to see was some lava, and the best time to see it is in the evening when the glow is more visible. So we drove down to the end of the park, where the road is closed due to a lava flow. From there you are allowed to hike for a few very uneven miles to a roped off area where you can see the flow hitting the ocean. The steam plumes coming off were unreal, and as the sun set we could the bright red glow of the lava from afar. Occasionally there would be big splashes of lava like fireworks in the water.
After a flashlight led hike back to the car, we moved into our cabin for the evening near the national park.