My Travels

I'm back to one of my favorite places in the US and brought a cold with me. :( Am staying at the Hilton Prince Kuhio, very nice. I had a great view of Waikiki Beach. I think they are in the remodeling stages which explains the somewhat decent room rates. Very nice interior, very bright modern if that makes any sense. After staying at this hotel, it is a nice alternative to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Doubletree Alana. The Prince Kuhio combines the best of Hilton HV and Doubletree. It isn't pretentious but has a nice resort feel. I like the turndown service - they left a small cupcake - and the executive lounge had an assortment of desserts I have not seen in any other hotel. Chocolate covered strawberries, an assortment of petit fours...awesome. All the new hotels have gone with flat TVs and DirectTV service. Very cool. Went to Pukadog, www.pukadog.com, on the corner of Kuhio and Naohau(sp?) for lunch. I recall seeing them in the Travel shows on cable TV and deci...

I'm back again and staying at the Palace Hotel. I can see why the hotel was designated a historic landmark. I do like the hotel, spacious rooms and very high ceilings. The conference food is above average. :D Another plus is that it sits right in front of the Montgomery Bart station. I know some people really like the Westin St. Francis but I would stay at the Palace hands down for the prices both hotels quote. My only complaint is the pool and fitness area. Both could use a revamp, they might even get more guests to their hotel spa if the area was given a makeover. Had good dinners at Washington Bar & Grill and Unicorn. The "washbag" is on Powell and Union, the italian fare was pretty good. The bread pudding was very good, better if it was actually hot. Unicorn is a "pan asian fusion" restaurant. I'm always skeptical about Vietnamese fusion but I was pleasantly suprised by the tastiness of our dishes. Far better than Crustacean or Slanted Door...

A friend once asked me what are my favorite airports. I promptly replied Changi Airport in Singapore. The question was revised to domestic airports and I struggled with that answer. Sad state of affairs that I can name international airports easily yet travel so much domestically. I finally said SFO because of the revamped United terminal. With that being said, I realized as I stepped into the Sacramento airport that I actually liked this airport. Free internet access is always a plus with me and the terminal seems fairly new. (Free internet is also available at Phoenix Airport, Syracuse Airport, and some more that I've forgotten.) Maybe it is because of Southwest. I've noticed that the Oakland airport Southwest terminal also went under a heavy revamp and is eons ahead of the other terminal in terms of aesthetics. Hmmmmm, there has been a heavy push to penetrate the California market as Southwest is also servicing SFO these days. Wonder if the strategy will work. Th...

Went to the Cal game and after suffering through 4 hours of rain, saw 'SC win the game. Thank goodness, I would have been hella pissed to sit through that miserable stadium to see us lose. I have to say that the Cal stadium pales in comparison to the Coliseum. Bench seating and the only concessions available are Subway and hot dogs and portable bathrooms. Yech. I have had people tell me the greatness of living in SF compared to LA especially regarding traffic. I have to admit that I find it flawed. Having been to SF a zillion times now and actively take mass transit in this city, I don't see how people can gripe about traffic in LA. SF is only about 7 miles wide or long and it can take you an hour to go from one end to the other via mass transit or car (same goes for NYC). Granted, there are parts of LA that are horrendous to get through but not nearly as bad as people think. Although, the gas prices in the bay area would make anyone pause about every owning a car up he...

Drove down from Riverside today. Every time I say I go to SD, people tell me how much they love the city. A feeling that I have yet to share. Don't get me wrong, seems like a nice enough town but I don't get it. The gaslamp district is like any other retail/entertainment area of a city and the beaches are the beaches. Maybe it has to do with my hometown..... SD seems like a bigger version of Orange County. Am staying at the Homewood Suites near Liberty Stations. Kind of cool to be close to the naval base, big boats nearby. I think this is a relatively new hotel, the in-room furnishings are fairly modern. Actually, it is the most modern room I've seen for a hotel of this type. LG flat panel TV WITH HD signals (watching sports in a hotel room has never been cooler), stainless steel fridge and dishwasher. Craziness. PS. These pictures were taken with my Motorola Krzr...not bad, huh?

Staying at the Hampton Inn in Colton again. I was going to have breakfast tomorrow with a friend and catch up. She flaked and now I can enjoy the complimentary continental breakfast at the Hampton. Went to the Bob's Big Boy restaurant next door last time I was here and my memories of the restaurant were better.