Here and There Blog

I'm in this area all the time but it's been forever since I have gone down the street where I lived from birth to 8 years.  In fact, I didn't even take these photos, they were taken by my best friend Jean who lived in the house across the street. The above and below are where I lived. The trees sure weren't that big way back then. Funny how the truck in front is a lot like mine. With my Subaru in the corner it even looks like I live there! Here's Debbie's house below. Don't know what happened to their front yard, I'm sure it used to have trees or at least plants. And Jean's old home.  I'm pretty sure that grass used to be green. It's funny how these houses all looked a lot bigger when I was a little kid.

Ms. Kitty is still happy with her home. Look at that nice backyard - no gophers there! Wow - I look pretty relaxed! A dog and a beer and a sofa was all I needed. What's up Mondo? Sonny did not want to pose. He wanted his treat. Gretchen - early birthday beer! Sonny is still annoyed about the photo op and with-holding of doggie treats!

Looks like Indonesia at last but not Bali! So close and yet so far.  This is probably the hotel of choice. Will my view be of the air conditioning units or of the parking garage? We'll know in a month or so!

3 weeks on the road followed by 2 partial weeks in local road trips = 1 tired Karen. Somehow I managed to pull weeds, laugh at the gopher (a victory for me as he tried to uproot the table and chairs) get food in the house and considered dusting but decided that was a no-go. I'm even in the country for a month!

Early morning at Tamarack Surf Beach

Where to start on this one? Yes, it's mostly a mess but at times, a fun mess. If you watched the show way back when, you know the characters and I think the casting of today's A-Team was right on. The plot is loose but basically the A-Team steals from the bad guys, the good guys that are really bad guys steal from the A-Team, the team gets jailed, escaped, and sets out to steal back the goods and clear their names. Lots of explosions happen, multiple stunts, and above all, a plan that somehow always comes together. Plenty of cheering went on in the theater so the movie is hitting it's target audience with the young guy group.  Our group of 4 went in with really low expectations and left surprised that the movie wasn't as bad as expected. That's the key to seeing A-Team. Go low. What I liked: Liam Neeson's opening entrance. Seriously hot and the best! Flying the tank. Interweaving the plan with the actual event. Some of the bad guys were fun. What I didn...

Pizza Port has opened a new location in Ocean Beach and naturally we had to check it out. The beer selection seemed greater than in Carlsbad but that could be the new-ness of the place. At any rate, I drank a Breakfast Coffee Beer knows as Bacon & Eggs, (tasted like coffee). Don't think I'll have that one again. Below, Mondo in a Hard Cider action shot!

Sculptures, Gardens, Water. Not exciting but I can't find the energy to look at another Buddha this trip.

More views of Hong Kong Harbor

The Peak Tram was one train stop over from my hotel so I made that a priority since the sky was partly clear. For about $6, you can ride the tram and go up to the lookout terrace so I was in. Here's the tram going back down the hill. Full of tourists, it's only a short  ride to the top. You'll have to fight your way through the ticket line but the queue is narrow so the jostling ends once you're in the tram line-up. The view from the top is worth the hassle of buying a ticket! I wish it had been clearer but at least the thunderstorms were staying away.

3 weeks. No days off. Some yummy Pho noodles, good coffee and a few really, truly, choke it down surprise dishes. A few brief sights on the fly but most of the time, I was inside this mall.  Vincom Center - the only mall in all of Asia that has no air-conditioning! And when it's 104F outside, the mall is around 85F (when you're lucky). This has to sum it up - the non-working, pre-installed escalator to nowhere. That's HCM City. I'd like to go back as a tourist and visit the outer areas along the rivers and caves. I'd like to see Cambodia and Laos but in the safe bubble as a package tourist or better yet - a cruise ship passenger! I like Vietnam better than China but the trade-off is China has a lot of people who harass you and a great subway, Vietnam has no subway but minimal harassment.

Spa Authentic is located in HCM City on the non-tourist side of the river. The spa is relaxing, I had a wonderful Oriental massage and left ready to hit the Irish pub!

The Chua An Giao Hindu Temple is a quick run-thru near the downtown market. It's a working temple with no tourist services but you can go in and take some photos as long as you are not blocking the way for someone praying. Always a cow!   My shoes are always off in Vietnam. Good thing I have many pairs of socks and access to laundry!

Unknown temple that we couldn't get to due to high wall and gate. Trash burning. More art on the tombs. Photos. This was a good side trip. I can't understand why we were the only two people here and when I sent over the other 3 people to check it out, they were the only tourists.

First, take off your shoes. Then cross over the sleeping dogs. As you walk in you will almost feel like you're in a library where instead of books, you have people and their stories. Everyone has their urn, a photo, and birth/death dates. I like this guy below. He has action figures. Above, they have fruit offerings. Right, I wonder what this couple was like and how they died.