Wednesday, November 29, 2006

On Fire On the Big Island

Ray and Traci decided to spend a weekend on the Big Island of Hawaii during their most recent voyage to the 50th state. After landing at the Kona airport we faced good and bad news - our checked luggage was not to be found, but we got a free upgrade to a Convertible Mustang since Hertz ran out of compact cars. Luggageless, we traveled to our hotel - the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Our visit happened to fall 2 weeks after the 6.7 magnitude earthquake hitting the Big Island. Damage to our hotel included the closing of the entire top floor although most of the facilities were operational - however, many cracks and damaged areas were seen. We chose to stay at the Mauna Kea because it has one of the highest rated beaches in Hawaii. The beach is beautiful with great sand. However, it is bordered by lava on both sides and does not get much of a surf so it is a lousy place to boogie board or body surf.

Fortunately, Hawaiian Airlines found our luggage (it didn't quite make the connection with us at Honolulu), and they delivered the bags to our hotel later in the evening. In general, the Big Island has a few outstanding resorts such as the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel but trails in comparison to the development of Maui. While no area with a Costco could be called primitive, if you are expecting deluxe shopping centers, exciting nightlife and tourist activities galore, Maui or Oahu are probably better options.

One world famous attraction on the big island is the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea is an active Volcano and you can hike on the lava fields to see real lava flowing. Many of the best views are only accessible by air. Although the helicopter flights are quite expensive, the views are breathtaking. We decided to take the Big Island Spectacular tour operated by Blue Hawaiian Helicopter. By making reservations over the internet in advance you do get a significant discount. Our chopper left the heliport which is located around the Hilton Waikoloa Village, a 10 minute drive down the main highway from our hotel. The helicopter headed out toward Mauna Kea (dormant volcano seen below) and Mauna Loa (largest volcano in the world).


From Mauna Loa, we headed south toward Kilauea - the active volcano currently pouring out lava. Underneath the great fields of lava that make up the volcano park are tubes which carry molten lava away toward the ocean. You can see lava bubbling up from these tubes in places. From the air, our pilot showed us a great pit where a river of lava could be seen flowing from above.:Kilauea constantly spews out lava which constantly changes the geography. We passed over lava fields which obliterated roads and even surrounded houses. When buying real estate on the big island one needs to study geography (and homeowner's insurance) very carefully.

From the tubes, lava flows into the ocean. When the superhot lava strikes the Pacific Ocean, chunks can fly off 100s of feet. It is quite humbling to watch the earth's newest land be created.

From the lava show, our tour continued with the gorgeous scenery of the Kohala coast. We had a brief stop at the Hilo airport on the east side of the Big Island for fuel.

It would be hard to imagine a place with more breathtaking scenery than the Big Island of Hawaii.

We did not have much time to sample the restaurants or see many of the resorts near Kona. The Mauna Kea is a wonderful resort and has a very friendly staff. We enjoyed the Sunday buffet which had an incredible spread of food. While we weren't able to enjoy it, the nearby Hakone Steakhouse (Prince Hapuna Beach Hotel) has a Japanese Buffet on Friday and Saturday nights - something we look forward to every year at the Maui Hakone Restaurant.

Hawaii's Big Island has got to be one of nature's most spectacular attractions on this planet.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

An October Visit to New York

Ray decided to attend a neonatal conference held at Columbia University each October and Traci tagged along to see what fall is like in New York. Weather conditions were remarkably similar to Seattle’s during the travel week – 50 degrees and cloudy. Baseball conditions were remarkably different though – the Mets were involved in an amazing series (ultimately losing to St. Louis in a 7 game NLCS) while the Mariners were, as in the past 5 seasons, watching baseball on TV.

We flew out from Seattle on Delta’s afternoon nonstop to JFK airport, arriving around 9pm. Delta is not our favorite airline but the price was quite a bit less than Alaska Air (which flies to Newark) and Ray wanted to be a good steward of his company’s money. The flight actually was fine, Delta arrived on time and even served a snack pack with crackers and cookies to go along with soda pop. One bonus: Delta had little TV sets in each seat and (for free) we could watch satellite TV CNN, ESPN, Food Channel, MSNBC, etc making the flight go fast. Because of the late hour and uncertainty about traffic, we decided to take a car service for airport transportation. Limos.com allows travelers to find both inexpensive and quality car services, but a Google search found an article in a New York newspaper which recommended First Corporate Sedans (fcsny.com) – they charged $88 from JFK to Times Square and $68 from Times Square to JFK (difference due to parking & waiting fee at JFK). Our ride from JFK to Times Square was fairly uneventful ~ 45 minutes and we arrived at the Sheraton Manhattan. Last December we paid an outrageous rate and stayed in a small closet at the Sheraton New York Towers which was across the street. This time by committing ahead and using 1000 Starwood points (which was less than half the points we earned from the December visit) we got a great room for 50% off. The room was certainly spacious by New York standards, and had a wonderful balcony over 7th Avenue looking at Times Square. I’m not sure why we lucked into such a choice room – only the 5th floor had balconies and ours was the corner room looking down toward Times Square. I guess the Sheraton figured they owed us one.


Excited about the room, we went out looking for dinner. We went 1 ½ blocks to the Park Café where Ray ordered a delicious Steak and Eggs meal with fries and Traci had a great Turkey Club sandwich. After dinner we went back to our spacious room and watched the Mets lose game 7 to St. Louis in the 9th inning.

On Friday, we awoke (late) to find rain in Manhattan. We decided to buy Grey Line bus tickets and ride the only loop (Downtown, Uptown, Brooklyn and Night) that we hadn’t previously ridden – the Brooklyn. The traffic was absolutely awful – despite being on an “express” bus it took 1 hour just to get to the starting point of the Brooklyn tour. We learned some interesting things about Brooklyn – it was until recently the 4th largest US city with 2.4 million people, it has the 1st pizza parlor in the US, it has a great Sushi restaurant that flies in sushi daily from Tokyo and it merged with New York City when they ran out of water. The tour was somewhat interesting but not something I’d suggest to most tourists. After the tour we hopped on the subway and traveled (much quicker) to the Guggenheim Museum near Central Park. The Guggenheim had 2 rooms with a permanent collection of art but most of the space was occupied by a rotating exhibition – currently the artistry and architecture of Zaha Hadid. She had quite a few futuristic designs and colorful works but we (like many observers) had questions about their practicality. After leaving the Guggenheim, we went back to the Sheraton to pick a place to eat. We decided to eat at a well known pizza place – Ray’s Pizza which was very close to the Sheraton. Various pizzas are available by the slice and were quite good – we highly recommend the restaurant.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to watch the show Avenue Q – by purchasing tickets months early, we got to sit in the center near the front. Ray wasn’t sure what the show was about – just that it had some muppets in it and won many awards. He was wondering why there weren’t any kids standing in line outside the theatre. Well, suffice to say, the show is an R rated show focusing on the transition from college age to young adulthood using both humans and muppets to bring humor and entertainment around a quite serious theme. We both enjoyed the show and highly recommend it. We’ve had the chance to see several “Broadway” shows now – Lion King, Movin Out, Mamma Mia, Producers, Wicked and Avenue Q – and would highly recommend them all.

On Saturday, the weather cleared up for a beautiful fall day. Ray (who was nursing a bad cold) went up to the Columbia University Medical Center for his conference while Traci met up with Ray’s cousin David to explore the neighborhoods of New York City.

Traci and David started the day in the Meatpacking District, an ultra-hip & lively area – at night. Since it was the afternoon, the area was quiet and calm, a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Times Square. They found a Belgian restaurant called “markt” which served breakfast all day so Traci ordered French Toast, which turned out to be the best she’s ever had – thick pieces of crispy grilled bread with fresh fruit and maple syrup. David had a cheeseburger that was also very good. After lunch, they took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is one of the best free things to do in New York. The views are spectacular and the walk only takes about a half hour.


After crossing the bridge, Traci and David walked around Greenwich Village, SoHo, NoHo, and Union Square. There are a lot of great shops and restaurants in these areas. SoHo has a Prada store that rivals many museums. A lot of celebrities are spotted eating at the restaurants in these areas. Unfortunately, no celebrities were seen but David did show Traci where Richard Gere lived. After miles of walking, Traci and David were ready for a snack so they went to Pommes Frites, a hole in the wall eatery that serves fries with about 30 different sauces to choose from. The fries are double cooked so they’re really crunchy on the outside. They tried the curry ketchup and parmesan peppercorn sauces which were good but even better mixed together. Pommes Frites is definitely a can’t miss place for fries.

For Dinner, Ray and Traci ate at a Japanese Restaurant called Haru in the heart of Times Square. We both shared some sushi and Ray had Beef Teriyaki and Traci had Chicken Teriyaki – the food was average but the restaurant was nice and very conveniently located. On the way back we stopped in the Times Square Toys R Us to see the famous indoor Ferris wheel. The store was much less crowded than our last December visit, but a line with many childless adults still filled the area in front of the Ferris wheel.

The weather cooperated again on Sunday, but Ray needed to attend his conference in the morning again. Traci walked to Amy’s Bread in the Hell’s Kitchen area. Drooling over all the breads, muffins, scones, cakes, and cookies, Traci decided on an oatmeal banana pecan scone that was delicious and crunchy. She then walked to 5th Avenue to do some shopping and found the sidewalks full of people watching a movie being filmed. Traci decided to watch as well and was thrilled to see Will Smith in the scene. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a camera so didn’t get any pictures of him.

After leaving the conference at lunch time, we got on the subway and headed toward the Manhattan terminal of the Staten Island Ferry. Of all the free tourist attractions, the Staten Island Ferry has to rank up at the top with the Las Vegas Fountains of Bellagio. You hop on a passenger ferry for a 20 minute ride that passes in front of the Statue of Liberty and then ride it back to Manhattan. It is a 20 minute ride (each way) that is worth infinitely more than its price.


After leaving the ferry terminal, we passed by Ground Zero where construction on the new Freedom Tower appears to be stalled. Before reaching New York’s most sacred grounds we paused to take pictures with the “Charging Bull,” a statue inspired by “Black Monday,” the 1987 stock market crash.We then walked to Chinatown where merchants sold everything from T shirts to replica purses. Next, we walked to Little Italy where we sampled some Strawberry Gelato. It appears that Chinatown is encroaching on Little Italy as Asian shopkeepers surround Italian eateries. If you are looking for cheap New York souvenirs, Chinatown/Little Italy is your place for bargains! Just don’t expect to be buying a real Gucci purse or a real Rolex for $25. After our walk thru southern Manhattan, we hopped on the subway and got off in Times Square where we met Ray’s cousin David at the ESPN Zone restaurant. We arrived in time to watch Seattle’s quarterback Matt Hasselbeck get injured and the Seahawks lose big while eating burgers, wings, salads and sandwiches. Ray tried to raise his spirits by eating a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream but got a stale waffle dish after waiting in a long line.

We had to awaken early for our car service to pick us up and bring us to JFK. Surprisingly there was no congestion either on the roads at 6:30 on Monday morning or even at JFK. Our flight to Seattle again went fast thanks to free TV and we actually arrived home early after another exciting adventure in New York.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Great Adventures in Beantown

Although Traci and I both have visited Boston before (Traci once, Ray twice) neither of us had the pleasure of experiencing Fenway Park, baseball’s oldest cathedral. With that in mind we decided to follow our team into the heart of Red Sox nation.

April isn’t usually a peak tourist season, but because the Boston Marathon took place during the Mariners visit, we expected some difficulty with planning. We were able to use Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles (we scheduled the trip 5 months or so in advance) – Alaska Airlines is a great option because they offer the only non-stop flight from Seattle to Boston. Many of the hotels in the heart of Boston were booked far in advance due to the marathon but we found a fairly good discounted rate at the Omni Parker House. We found out later that the Parker House hotel is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the United States – many renovations have taken place since it opened and the accommodations were quite nice! Getting Red Sox tickets is difficult – they have sold out over 230 games in a row! Fenway is one of baseball’s smallest parks (36,000) and winning the World Series in 2005 only makes tickets scarcer. We decided on going to two games, the Friday night immediately after our plane arrived and then Sunday afternoon. Because of the uncertainty with cross country plane travel these days, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on Friday night tickets only to miss the game. Although I got on the Red Sox internet site the day single game tickets went on sale to the public, the best tickets I could “score” were Standing Room only…$25 each! I did find a pair of overpriced tickets behind 3rd base for the Sunday game from a ticket broker (stubhub.com) so we could enjoy at least one game from a good location.

Our Friday morning flight from Seattle to Boston’s Logan airport was uneventful and we landed on time (around 5pm). We concluded, while still in the airport, that Boston is spending all of their money on the “big dig” (20 billion dollar ten lane highway underneath the city that is the target for many jokes and criticisms) as their airport has much to be desired. To go from terminal to terminal you have to get your luggage and hop on busses (they really need an airport subway like Seattle!). The bus eventually takes you to the parking garage as well as the main downtown subway station. The airport subway stations lack escalators and aren’t friendly to the air traveler. Thankfully our subway trip to the Omni was quite short and we lugged our stuff up more stairs to the street.

Our hotel, the venerable Parker House, was 2 blocks from the Government Center subway stop. We checked in without incident and found a small but clean, relatively modern room (effective climate control, good plumbing and free high speed internet.) We dropped our bags off and walked north thru the Boston Commons park (a smaller version of New York’s Central Park) and then down Newbury street (a very fashionable collection of boutiques, restaurants and Starbucks shops) toward Fenway. Two observations about the walk – the crowds were huge and many (perhaps most) were wearing Red Sox jerseys. For all of the criticism of Boston fans for their loud/possibly obnoxious behavior especially when the Yankees are in town, they are definitely loyal and enthusiastic supporters – unlike some other “what have you won lately” cities which will go nameless. Second, Bostonians have no idea what “Don’t Walk” signals mean. It is amazing to see people intentionally walk into traffic and get angry when they almost get hit. Perhaps all Boston’s pedestrians harbor deep seated rebellious feelings toward traffic authorities. Fenway is quite close to the main downtown area and has a subway stop (Kenmore) for those who don’t want to walk. Large crowds milled around the ballpark area. Some parking lots charged $45 for a routine game against the Mariners – Don’t Drive. Many people have pre-game celebrations in the many establishments that ring the park. Since we didn’t have any seats to Friday’s game, we roamed around the various areas of the park. While the park itself was old and had the vintage feel of Wrigley, there were many modern amenities like ballpark restaurant areas, bar areas – concession areas actually had plasma televisions to watch the action. One of the most surprising (but possibly unsettling thing) is the fact that most if not all the concession drinks/food were cheaper than at Safeco. The Red Sox must sell hundreds of standing room only seats – there were fans standing behind the last row of seats virtually everywhere that had an unobstructed view of the field. After wandering around the stadium for 3 innings we found a spot behind the 3rd base line and watched a very good pitchers duel between Curt Schilling and Jamie Moyer. After 6 innings a Red Sox fan who was standing next to us with his friends kindly offered us his seats behind 3rd base – standing room only seating is so accepted in Boston that people actually prefer hanging out with their buddies in back rather then sitting in their seats. Traci and I jumped at the chance and watched the final 3 innings of a great game but disappointing outcome – Red Sox won 2-1. Walking back to downtown with the Red Sox fans was interesting – they were so excited about the win, it was easy to forget they only won a game in the 2nd week of a long season against a team who hasn’t even been .500 since 2003. Once we got back to the downtown convention area it was 10:30 pm and we were hungry. We decided to eat at the Copley Place Legal Seafoods – Copley place is their giant high end indoor mall and Legal Seafoods is a large chain much like Seattle’s Ivars or Anthony’s. Traci had a nice Ravioli dish and Ray enjoyed a shrimp platter (grilled, coconut and shrimp stuffed with crabmeat). With appetites satisfied we returned to the Omni for the night.

Saturday was devoted to tourist activities and we started out by heading toward the Quincy Market area and purchased tickets for the Old Town Trolley – Boston has many different trolley companies – all with different colored trolleys. We picked the Orange Old Town Trolleys because of good experiences with the company in Washington DC. Our driver was named Bud and he had a classic New England accent. He drove us around the city, pointing out the major landmarks and giving funny anecdotes. We passed by many interesting sites although if you really want to see Boston’s historical areas you need to get off the Trolley and walk. There is a “Freedom Trail” marked with red paint and red bricks that is a walking tour of the major historical sites. We just sat on the Trolley from the start at Quincy Market thru Boston and Cambridge before returning back to Quincy Market and had lunch. Inside Quincy Market (www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com), you find a large building filled with all sorts of fast food places serving everything from cream puffs to lobsters. Many restaurants and shops also inhabit the complex. Traci found a good Turkey Wrap and Ray had a Chicken Caesar salad (what did you expect?) in addition to a Beard Papa cream puff (www.muginohousa.com) and some disappointing strawberry gelato. After lunch we got in a taxi to go to the Boston Marathon Expo which was in the Seaport World Trade Center. The expo was huge, much larger than the Seattle Marathon Expo which was the only one either of us had ever seen. There were lots of free samples of power bars and energy drinks and lots of vendors selling everything from T shirts to sunglasses. From the Expo we took the shuttle bus to the subway and the subway to Copley center to wander around the mall.
We wanted to go to the observation deck on the Prudential Tower but it was closed for a private reception. We walked back to the Parker House – on the way Traci had a Starbucks frappuccino and was quite disappointed with the quality, so much so that she went to another Starbucks close to our hotel for a better one. In Boston there are Dunkin Donuts shops everywhere – just like in Seattle where there’s a Starbucks on every corner (sometimes 2!) We’re told many locals prefer coffee at Dunkin Donuts – Traci decided to get a donut to go with her 2nd frappuccino. After a break at the Parker House we crossed the street for a late dinner at the old Boston City Hall – now inhabited by Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Ray had a rib eye steak which was prepared quite masterfully and Traci had blackened salmon – both were quite enjoyable. Ray has noted at both the Boston Ruth’s Chris and the one in Bellevue that they use much less seasoning and probably less butter than the one in Palm Springs – the flavor isn’t as intense but it probably doesn’t reduce your life expectancy as much. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse is probably not in the top tier (such as Daniel’s in Seattle, or the Chop House in Chicago) but it was very good and you can’t beat the location across the street from the Omni Parker House. After a great dinner we returned to the Omni for the night.

Sunday was our day to enjoy a serious baseball game – the Mariners, after losing a 2-1 pitching duel on Friday to Curt Schilling, won a brilliant 3-0 victory thanks to Joel Pineiro and JJ Putz on Saturday. What would Sunday bring? Ray started out with an early morning jog – Traci had previously walked the famous Freedom trail – a 3 mile jaunt which included many of Boston’s historic sites – so Ray decided he was going to run it. After leaving the hotel, Ray found himself in the middle of thousands of runners who were in the pre-Boston Marathon 2.8 mile fun run. Since this is about as close as he’s ever going to get to “the Boston” (you have to run a 3:15 – 26.2 mile marathon to even apply to get in the field, Ray’s best half marathon time is 1:45), he decided to join the crowd of runners for a while. After reaching the Boston Commons he found the Freedom trail and started following it. The trail is marked by 2 red bricks in the middle of concrete sidewalks and red painted lines at street crossings. You can download (for free) the audio tour at http://www.boston.com/travel/boston/freedomtrail/podcast . Ray just followed the trail as it wound around the gravesites next to the Parker House, then Quincy Market and to the North Church, taking a few photos along the way. After the North Church (where the famous signal of 2 lanterns to indicate British arriving by sea – according to our trolley driver it was actually 2 lanterns for arrival by the St. Charles River), he crossed the river to the Bunker Hill memorial which looks like a half sized Washington Monument (from Washington DC). The final stop on the Freedom trail is the USS Constitution which is the oldest currently commissioned warship in the US Navy. Ray was a bit disappointed in the freedom trail as the monuments were definitely minor league compared with running the “mall” in Washington DC. With the absolutely gorgeous weather to start the day, the morning run was still thoroughly enjoyable. Ray and Traci met up with Traci’s cousin Denise and her significant other Dow for food and then the game. Denise picked a place called Firefly which was a wonderful café serving scrumptious breakfast – Traci had a waffle/oatmeal combination, Ray had a Belgian waffle topped with whipped cream and fruit. Surprisingly, the restaurant was quite empty considering it was a holiday weekend with the marathon in town. Firefly isn’t located far from the main tourist area (Copley Center) and is a great place to enjoy breakfast or lunch. After the enjoyable meal we headed toward Fenway park for our second game which featured Jarrod Washburn (Mariners) and Josh Beckett (Red Sox). Arriving an hour before game time we took some pictures around the historic stadium before settling into our seats located about 25 rows or so behind the Mariners 3rd base dugout. Fenway divides the “first” level of seats behind the 1st and 3rd base lines with a premium “box” section, a small loge section, and then the “grandstand” section. At Safeco field in Seattle we would call it all the first level (and the Mariners basically charge the same for the 1st row as the 26th row). The Red Sox are much better at price discrimination! We were in the “cheaper” grandstand section which would be about the middle of the 100 level at Safeco behind the Mariner dugout. As on Friday it was a pitchers duel between a sharp Jarrod Washburn against the flame throwing 97 mph fastball of Josh Beckett. As on Friday the Mariners lost, this time the deciding run in the 3-2 game was scored on a contested call at first base that even most Red Sox fans believed was wrong. Our expectations of the Mariners were quite low so it was gratifying to see two excellent games in one of baseball’s most historic parks.

From Fenway we wandered back toward Copley Place and went to the Prudential Center Skywalk (50th floor observation deck). With clear skies we had a gorgeous view of Boston and listened to the audio program providing some of the same stories that our trolley driver Bud gave, along with some new ones. We finished the day by having dinner at a seafood place called Skipjack’s near the Copley Place Westin. Ray tried to sample New England’s famous lobster but the restaurant was out of small ones so he had to settle for some very average baby back ribs. Traci had a much more enjoyable seafood cioppino dish. Late in the day, we walked back in a chilly breeze to the Omni for the night.

Monday was Patriot’s day, a holiday in New England that celebrates “the shot heard round the world” (1775 Colonists against British Soldiers, not the 1951 Bobby Thomson home run). We headed toward Beacon Hill (Boston’s Beacon Hill is quite a bit more upscale then Seattle’s). Famous residents include John Kerry. Residences are all low rise brick structures placed back to back around very narrow streets. Cars are tightly parked on one side of the streets. Mixed in the housing is a conglomeration of little shops and restaurants. We found a cafe called Panificio where Traci found a nice bowl of chicken pasta soup and Ray had a classic BLT. Prices were surprisingly reasonable ($9) for both considering the neighborhood we were exploring – perhaps residents have no money left after paying their mortgages. On our way back from Beacon Hill we purchased obligatory tourist T-shirts at various shops and vendor carts. Next we hopped on the subway to Kenmore (the stop next to Fenway Park) and found a place along the temporary fences to watch the marathon runners go by. It was quite amazing watching the elite runners go by. Two Kenyans, Rita Jeptoo and Robert Cheruiyot eventually prevailed with Robert setting a new course record of 2:07:14! While we were watching the marathon, the Mariners lost another close game 7-6 on a 9th inning walk off home run. It was so sad that the team played so well in Boston yet returned to Seattle winning only 1 of 4. After leaving the marathon we wanted to get some ice cream at the famous Boston shop – Emack & Bolio’s on Newbury Street. Unfortunately the large crowds and street closures made downtown difficult to negotiate so we ended up hopping on the subway to Quincy market and had to settle for unremarkable soft ice cream. Given the inconveniences of accessing the subway from the airport we took a short but expensive ($22) taxi ride from the Omni to Alaska Airlines terminal and had an uneventful and on-time flight back home. As with previous trips, we both enjoyed visiting Boston – the baseball fans are loyal, knowledgeable and respectful and we felt people went out of their way to help clueless tourists. We highly recommend sampling New England hospitality if you have the opportunity.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Pictures from Boston

Eventual Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya passes the 25 mile mark.



What could be more patriotic than an afternoon at Fenway?


One if by Land, Two if by sea (or more precisely, the St. Charles River) - Old North Church

Patriots on Patriot Day (or insurgents for those from England)...

USS Constitution - America's Oldest Commissioned Warship

Bunker Hill Monument

Ducklings in The Public Garden dressed in their Easter Best