“Other Sights” encompass things that we’d generally list in the “what did you do on vacation?” category. With COVID taking such a large toll on the logistics, sightseeing became an afterthought. Solvang Solvang was a cute little Danish town northwest of Santa Barbara, that did not get on our radar until two days before the
The Great 2020 California Road Trip (5/7) – Food
For those of us who plan vacation itineraries around food, traveling within a state where all restaurants were closed for indoor dining was strange. Each meal was no longer as simple as looking up a good restaurant. We now also had to find a place to eat it. Snacking in the car was inevitable for
The Great 2020 California Road Trip (4/7) – Zoos
We’ve been a zoo family since before we were a family. Checking out animals whenever possible is a top use of our leisure time. For this trip, we spent a good chunk of our budget on visiting two zoos. Santa Barbara Zoo When we noticed on the map that there was a zoo near our
The Great 2020 California Road Trip (3/7) – Beaches
My interest in beaches is like my SAT verbal score… it’s nonzero, but not very much so. Maybe around the 10th percentile among people. However, you can’t really drive down the Pacific Coast Highway without immersing yourself in… the Pacific Coast. Therefore, we made a ton of beach and sea side stops along the way.
The Great 2020 California Road Trip (2/7) – Hotels
While the main destination of our road trip was San Diego, we selected our stops all over California to both break down the drive and maximize stuff to see. We spent the seven nights in seven different hotels across seven cities. The purpose of this road trip was in part to burn our stash of
The Great 2020 California Road Trip (1/7) – Heading Out During COVID
In a completely unprecedented move, our family packed a rental car in mid-August and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway. 2020 was supposed to be a kickass year for vacations. Plans made as far back as May 2019 were the definition of perfection, with many of our favorite flights, hotels, and destinations carefully stringed together.
Pacific Islands (10/10) – Japan Favorites
Time flies when you’re having fun. As we were just getting used to the pace and train systems of Osaka, it was time to head home. We flew Asiana Airlines, connecting through Incheon. It was a nice stop as we both were quite fond of Korea. Guess we stayed in Japan long enough to pick
Pacific Islands (9/10) – Tasty Japan
Here comes another food post. Let me start by saying that we would not be having a conversation about food in Japan without mentioning 7-Eleven. I love 7-Eleven, and somehow there’s less shame implicated when I refer to a convenience store in Asia, versus its American Big Gulp counterpart. Anyhow. The convenient foods in these
Pacific Islands (8/10) – Osaka Urban Hangouts
Because trains are the dominant means of transportation for people in Japan, the areas surrounding major train stations are prime real estate. The amount of urban development and connectivity in some of these neighborhoods is simply incredible. For example, around Osaka/Umeda Stations in the northern part of Osaka, there’s a complex network of footbridges and
Pacific Islands (7/10) – Deer & Whale Shark
As an advocate for urban lifestyle and mass transit, I absolutely love Japan’s train systems. As a temporary visitor, though, I find them to be also headache-inducing. Among our destinations, between every point A and point B, there were at least two train routes, sometimes operated by different companies. From there, there were different train