My Travels

This *might be my last trip to Mammoth for this snow season. I grabbed a couple of people to head up for a very short trip up to Mammoth given the amount of snow this past week. With such short notice, I was able to book a room at the Motel 6 Mammoth Lakes . Since we only stayed in the room for five hours to sleep, I don't have much to say about the place. It is a rather large facility and reminded me of an older apartment building. The rooms were serviceable and cozy. It is always a hit and miss regarding toiletries in these types of lodgings - soap yes shampoo no. Tromped out in the morning to enjoy the excellent snow conditions on the mountain. On our way back, I visited Upper Crust for the first time this season and missed our usual waitress. The food continued to be as good as memory served but don't eat the tiramisu. If you get a chance, grab the coupon from their website to save 10%.

"This posting is out of sync as I forgot to put this up before the Mammoth posting..." Went to DC on a lark, visited some friends and family. Since it was a short weekend trip (bolted out of Santa Barbara to catch my redeye flight), didn't really expect to do much. I was lucky enough to get free transport between Dulles and the capitol area with a pit stop at a family acquaintance home. Walked around the Mall area and visited the National Museum of American History , cruised past the National World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument . Although it was late January in DC, the weather was fantastic. A very brisk 60 degrees made the sightseeing manageable and the crowds were not overwhelming. Bunked down at the Capital Hilton . The hotel was undergoing some renovations and most of the upper floors were under construction. The room I was given smelled musty and hopefully that will be resolved once the remodeling is done. The next day, strolled over to Old Ebbit...

With the recent storms in California, I decided to make a day trek up to Mammoth and check out the snow conditions. Left late in the evening towards Mammoth and was planning on making an overnight stay in Bishop. Unfortunately, I was too tired to get past Lone Pine. After stopping at several lodging facilities in town, the Dow Villa Motel was our best option at $55 for the night. The front desk person was willing to give me 10% discount after some chit chat and it being almost midnight. The room was spartan but very functional. If I had to stay in Lone Pine, I would be willing to stay here again. Headed up to Mammoth mountain the next day, stopping in Bishop for some snowboard repairs. Had a blast snowboarding even though the snow was a bit packed and not enough powder for my taste. After leaving the mountain, stopped in Bishop again to eat some bread and crunch cake from at Erick Shat's Bakery for the road trip home.

It isn't too often that I can travel within California on the Amtrak . I've been going once a month to Santa Barbara for work and have enjoyed travelling via train. Seats are comfy, electric ports readily available, and a wireless card makes the travel easy and productive. I'm working on my motion sickness and trying to get myself use to working on moving vehicles. On the bright side, I think I can use my laptop on trains and planes for about an hour before getting woozy. Being without a car, I rely on my colleagues to take me around the area for lunch. I was taken to South Coast Deli for lunch one time. I'm usually not a fan of sandwiches (except Vietnamese, of course) because it seems to be the catch all option for lunch for most people. I was pleasantly suprised at the quality and tastiness of the sandwich at South Coast Deli. Easy and quick, not a bad option if you're cruising through SB.

Over in Hawaii for the holidays, a nice change of scenery from the winter on the mainland. I found a really good hotel/car package at the Hilton KauaiBeach Resort and decided to stay here for a week. I've only been to Kauai a couple of times in my visits to the islands and this will be the first time I'm staying only on this island. I ended up driving the Dodge Caliber from Dollar Rental Company . Not a very exciting car but ended up being useful on this trip. It is wagon-like plus it is built for a road trip with the can holder space in the glove compartment, the auxiliary jack on the radio, and a two prong electric plug for all your electronic needs. Within a week of arrival, I received an email stating that the the resort wasn't going to remain a Hilton after Dec 31, 2009 and becoming the Kauai Beach Resort . I guess the next time I'm staying in Kauai, it'll have to be a Starwood property. There were some reservations about going to the hotel given the tra...

I've flown into Phoenix for work and extending the stay to watch the 'SC game. I flew on United and noticed that the LAX United terminal has some new eateries. When 9/11 hit, United's terminal 8 lost so much business that the concession closed down. It seems business must have picked up because there are new eateries such as Karl Straus and Gordon Biersch. I'm happy to see that there are more options now! Flew into Phoenix, picked up my rental and headed to Tucson. I opted to rent from Thrifty and got a Subaru Impreza. My first time driving a Subaru sedan, it was a pleasant experience. Nice amount of power for a compact car but the trunk space was a little odd. Got into Tucson late and checked into the Hampton Inn Tucson North . The hotel seems to run some random raffle as I was left a bag of goodies because I was the "guest of the day." I got a little hungry and looked around for some eating options. Apparently, alot of restaurants close at 9 pm an...

My first foray into Oregon outside of Portland. I'm here for the 'SC game against the Oregon Ducks. Got into the Eugene airport, surprisingly large for its location and locale. I'm staying on the outskirts of downtown at the Hampton Inn Eugene . It feels relatively new because of the decor and design. The room is rather spacious, two double beds and room for a couch/loveseat area. I didn't see much of the school but Autzen stadium is fairly nice, reminds me of Stanford's stadium. The concession areas seem to have gotten a nice remodeling as everything looked fairly new. I was told by a Ducks alum that they expanded the stadium and increased its capacity to fit 54,000 plus. There doesn't seem much to Eugene. Compared to other college towns, Eugene has a higher edge than South Bend, Indiana in my opinion. There doesn't seem to be much going on and the selection of eateries suggest limited palate of tastes. Makes sense since the average age of the Ore...

I've headed down to San Diego for a couple of days on work events. Cruised through the University of San Diego and thought it a very nice laid back campus. I think this is the first time I've been at USD and the campus reminds me of the University of Redlands except for the weather difference. I stayed at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego Downtown . With several teleconference call meetings the next morning before my work event, I thought it best to stay in San Diego. The hotel appears to have gone through recent renovations and has a warm interior design. The lobby and restaurant has an open feel and I wouldn't have minded hanging out there. The complimentary wireless internet helped as well. I decided I would opt for street parking instead of the hotel garage. If you're willng to walk a couple of blocks, this part of downtown San Diego is manageable for parking. The gaslamp district is not too far but far enough. I think since Little Italy is nearby, there are...

I'm in San Francisco for an extended weekend visiting some friends and going to the 'SC vs. Cal game. Decided to drive up instead of flying and check out the fuel efficiency of my car - averaged 37 to 38 mpg. Since I was driving into the city so late, I stayed at the Homewood Suites SFO North for a quick sleep. Fairly convenient to SFO and freeway accessible, the hotel suited my needs. I got a queen studio and it was fairly comfortable and roomy. The hot breakfast buffet and free Internet/business center helped out. The next day, met up with an old friend in Japan town at Sophie's crepes at 1581 Webster St # 275, San Francisco, CA 94115-3658. Very tasty crepes, made to eat with your hands. Mostly the sweet variety, the texture and thinness was appropriate for the scoop of ice cream and mixed fruits inside. To help with keeping the crepe "dry", they spread Nutella first so that the fruit and ice cream doesn't make the crepe smushy. Moved hotels and stayed at t...

Jetted up here for the weekend to catch 'SC play against the Huskies. Since I was arriving so late into Seattle, I chose to stay near the airport so that I can take the light rail into downtown in the morning and not spend the middle of the night trying to find the hotel in the city. Luckily, I chose the Hampton Inn Seattle/South Center conveniently located next to the Tukwila Metrolink station. From my understanding, the light rail is relatively new to Seattle. For $2.50, who can beat that price to get into downtown Seattle with no traffic? The Hampton seems relatively new especially because the window coverings isn't your typical curtains but a cellular shade. The airport shuttle runs 24 hours and will pick up when you call them. If you're ever leaving out of the United terminal, you will always be at Island 1. Took the shuttle to the Tukwila Sound Transit Station. The light rail looks really nice and clean. There was about five people by the ticketing machines ...

It is my birthday weekend and I couldn't head out to Columbus, OH to watch 'SC play against the Buckeyes. So I opted to fly to the East Coast and catch a couple of baseball games and visit some friends. Did a whirlwind sports day in New York, arrived at 7 am and took a power nap. Went to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yanks/Orioles game and see the new stadium in all its glory. Afterwards, we went to this Korean BBQ chicken place called Bon Chon Chicken . There are several locations and we visited the one at 314 Fifth Avenue (32nd Street), second floor. Not the easiest to find as the door is very undescript. The best fried chicken ever and they had good sushi rolls. I'm definitely going back to LA and look up the locations and have more of this tasty meal. We went on to dessert and I had the best cream puffs from Choux Factory. There are several in the city and we went to Midtown East location at 865 1st Ave(between 48th St & 49th St). Spent the rest of the nigh...

Post MBA Vegas trip with some friends and classmates from grad school. After some last minute changes, we headed out in style in a Dodge Caravan Flex. Although not a pretty minivan, it was super comfy inside and very spacious. The very back row had seats that would recline, a very useful feature for those in the back that wanted to sleep. I dig that the windows roll down on the sliding doors, what automakers will think up next?! The only thing I could think of that would be nice is if the middle seats could swivel 90 degrees, it would make conversations in the minivan easier to have. Rolled into the Las Vegas Hilton around midnight and was able to upgrade to the Resort level rooms after some minor issues at check-in. The rooms were not as big as the last time I was in this type of room but the free internet, water, and lounge access made up the size. It was also convenient that the rooms were connecting, I didn't think hotel rooms would make double rooms connecting. Besides ...

I'm beginning to visit Phoenix as often as I visited Vegas in my early 20s. I learned that one of my favorite spa resorts became part of the Hilton brand. The Boulders Resort also has the famed Golden Doors Spa within its complex. In hearing that they've become part of the Hilton property, I decided I'd come back and try the hotel and enjoy some spa treatment this holiday weekend. I haven't been to this resort for over six years and wanted to see if it was as I last remembered. The complex has an assortment of lodgings ranging from 'casitas' to 'villas.' In previous stays, I've been at a bungalow casita on the golf course. In this stay, I'm in a casita on the second floor of a building, located near the lodge and main pool - very spacious and sufficient. The balcony view of the area doesn't look like I'm in the desert, lots of trees and cactuses with a mountain backdrop. After walking around and visiting the spa for my treatment...

Now that I'm done with school, I grabbed a week from my employer to take a small vacation/reward for myself. With only a week, Amsterdam was the location that best suited my time constraints and locale to visit. I stayed at two different hotels in Amsterdam, the Hilton Amsterdam and the Hotel Pulitzer . The reason for the two locations were time and money. I stayed at the Hilton the first two nights because I wanted to ensure I got a stay for my status but European hotels are not the cheapest lodgings. The rate did drop 25% from the first time I booked the room until two days before arrival. The hotel was very nice and I always look forward to international Hiltons, the executive lounges are usually much much more nicer than the US counterparts. I was not disappointed as I had my first 'Dutch' breakfast. The afternoon cocktails were nice as well with unlimited access to hard liquor and tasty snacks. The room was fairly spacious as well. The hotel was located a bit...

So I'm up in Lake Arrowhead for the last piece of academic work required for my graduate program. I'm staying at the UCLA Conference Center in Lake Arrowhead. Although I've lived in LA most of my life, I have never ventured to this area despite it being about 90 minutes from my home. I don't usually go to mountains unless there is snow on them! The conference center was pretty nice. I roomed with another classmate of mine and we stayed in a 'condolet.' A two story townhouse style with one bedroom/bath downstairs and the secondary bedroom/bath in a loft style. I stayed downstairs and the bedroom came with a door. Unfortunately, for my roommate, I tended to come in late at night and it is quite easy to hear if you were staying in the loft bedroom. Most of the residential meals were pretty good particularly the desserts. I would have explored the rest of the facility if it weren't for the residential. From what I could see, they had a pretty impressiv...

  Another wedding weekend, I've travelled to Minnesota. A first for me, never been to the state even as a layover at the airport. I'm staying at the Hotel Minneapolis , it was a bank that was in existence in the 50s now converted to a hotel. Very cool decor and architecture. Got in super late and the valet knew who I was, I guess there aren't many people checking in at 1 am. He was nice enough to ask me if I was hungry and gave me a menu to Pizza Luce . The pizza I ordered was awesome and they don't close until 3:30 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Good deal! Zahtar in the Life Time Fitness Club is only open to their members. It is a very interesting club and very large, any club with indoor tennis courts is huge. After the wedding, I was invited to eat with the family for Sunday brunch. Interestingly, the restaurant was inside an athletic club. The restaurant wasn't prepared for the number of people in the group. The eggs benedict had english muffins that ...

My family and I have gone up to Portland and we stayed Portland Hilton and Executive Tower because a cousin of mine was getting married. The LA family was going to be housed in someone's house but ended up bunking with me at the hotel. I booked three rooms, a first for me! In the short time we were there, we walked around downtown Portland. Didn't get to see much but got a little hungry. After shopping at the Banana Republic, one of the sales associates recommended going to the square (across the street) and order a cheesesteak from the food carts stationed. I think the name is Pete's Cheesesteak or something like it. You can't miss it as they are the only one of three food carts in the station. The burgers seem very popular given the number of "local" customers ordering them. Although a little dubious, it was actually really good and, arguably, better than the ones in Philly. My previous visits to Portland was usually in the fall and the weather ten...

I'm in San Francisco for some fun. My brother decided to go to the Web 2.0 conference and I found a cheap one way to SF and then take a leisurely drive back to LA at the end of the weekend. This time around I'm staying at a friend's place and give some company. I better enjoy these last minute trips before working again! With no plans or agenda in mind, this "long" weekend will be about tooling around the city and enjoying the good weather. Amazingly, it is sunny and the days are warm enough to walk around with a long sleeve shirt. Once the sun sets, it is pretty brisk with the cold wind around here. Our group went to Tataki on the first night. As their website states, the first sustainable sushi restaurant. As such, the menu varies seasonally. It was a very good dinner, the rolls we ordered were fresh and very tasty as well as being reasonably priced. My two favorite dish presentations were the extinguisher and spicy tempura rolls. One came with real fi...

I'm capping my spring break by being in Phoenix. Althouth LA is warming up, Phoenix is warmer. It is a quick overnight stay in Phoenix which works out as I'm also sick. :( Got a mustang from Avis, feeling pretty righteous especially since I was originally given an Impala that reeked of smoke. I seem to be hitting a string of sports related events with Vegas and March Madness and now Phoenix and spring training. Caught a game between the Dodgers and White Sox at the spring training complex at Camelback Ranch. It was really cool, very nice facilities similar to the Giants Stadium in SF yet very intimate feeling. I think the stadium could only accommodate about 15,000 people. Definitely NOT Dodger stadium size. ;p Budweiser seems to have been a sponsor as I saw the Clydesdale horses. I remember the first time I've seen these horses and they are super cool looking. It is like the Great Dane of horses. The horses were pulling the typical red fire wagon with a Dalmation ...

I'm back at the Las Vegas Hilton with a group of family friends and classmates. I was lucky enough to book a ridiculous rate of $80/night with drink and food specials while it being the first weekend of March Madness. As an added bonus, USC was in the tourney and made it past the first round. The hotel had cancelled my reservation or so they say. Personally, I think they were oversold and was trying to clean out their reservations. Luckily, I didn't have to throw a fit as they quickly honored the reservation. Because of the last minute pile-up of people, it was a cozy room of seven (the second night) in my room. There was some creativity involved but we managed to all fit and work around the space. Or maybe it is a testament to the size of the hotel room. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get upgraded to the "resort" level room but it worked out in the end. The difference I could see between the resort level and the deluxe room was the toiletries (there wa...