Tokyo 2008, part 3

Friday was the final full day in Tokyo – Ray and Traci started by having breakfast at yet a different breakfast coupon restaurant. Songoku is another buffet featuring combinations of Western, Chinese and Japanese food – kind of like mini Hapuna with a few dim sum items. Ray took interest in the tiny dwarf bananas and found his soft boiled egg really soft – in general, all of the restaurants make their eggs runny! Traci liked her humbows in addition to the really sweet grapefruit. After breakfast, Ray and Traci headed to the Tokyo Dome (JR train to Akihabara, then Subway Chuo line to Suibashi) where they purchased many souvenirs at the Japanese baseball store. While at the dome, Ray noticed that an Ichiro Mariners Jersey goes for over $200 (unsigned) – perhaps there is an underground Ebay business to be started. From Suibashi, they continued on the subway to Shinjuku and caught the JR train to Harajuku to visit the Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine. This shrine was built in 1920 to honor the Emperor and continues to be a spiritual center today. While visiting, Ray purchased a 500 yen ($5) wooden votive tablet. This time, Ray made an earnest request regarding the location of a certain American cultural event led off by a guy named Ichiro which occurs in October and has never been in Seattle.

After leaving the shrine, Ray and Traci finished their souvenir shopping in Harajuku – first stopping at Kiddyland, a store with 6 floors of toys, and then the Oriental Bazaar – two places close to the JR train station with many great souvenir ideas at fair prices. Ray and Traci returned to the Prince Hotel with Traci enjoying a rice curry take out dish and Ray munching on McDonald’s French Fries awaiting a return journey to Harajuku for dinner. Traci and family met one of her Seattle friends who works in the financial industry in Japan at a restaurant called Fujimama’s. Everyone enjoyed a “party platter” of great food including spicy chicken wings, a salad dish, calamari, swordfish, chicken with pineapple, and fried rice. Fujimama’s is located two blocks from the Harajuku JR station and is very foreign tourist friendly – many employees speak English, for instance Ray’s cousin who coincidently works as a chef at Fujimama’s but had the night off. Ray and Traci stopped at McDonald’s on the way home for another Kit Kat McFlurry and a hot fudge sundae.

On Saturday, Ray again ventured out to run – it was again partly cloudy but more humid. He encountered a work crew repaving a sidewalk. Even though they had electric arrow signs and a coned off path in the street, no less than 4 guys in blue uniforms directed pedestrians like him into the coned off path at 6AM on a weekend! – and each worker bowed as he passed. This brings up the issue of personal service – Japan prides itself on the great service: People are paid to stand next to the elevators and bow to hotel guests as they walk by. Both of these examples could represent excess and inefficiency especially in an economy with a net loss of workers due to declining birth rates. Perhaps economic reality and worker shortages as the population ages will force more “efficiencies” into the economy (much like America....). After the run, Ray and Traci joined her parents for a final breakfast at the tasty Hapuna buffet. Upon completion of their last Japanese meal, Ray and Traci made a quick visit to the main Tokyo JR station. Housed in 1918 building, the station’s façade is undergoing renovation. Construction has not seemed to decrease traffic as even on a late Saturday morning the station was packed. On the way home, Ray and Traci did encounter some excitement as a plain clothed police man stopped them in the Shinagawa station. While it still remains mysterious why he stopped Ray and Traci, he seemed satisfied after Ray showed him his hotel room key. Both initially thought it was some sort of scam on tourists but that may be a typical American reaction. In any case, Ray and Traci made it back to the hotel for checkout and rode the Narita express train to the airport without incident before an eight and a half hour journey back to Seattle.


Tips for visiting Japan:
1. Stay in a hotel near a train station with a large department store – Big food courts are found in the basements, and especially for non-Japanese speakers, the easiest place to get a great (and cheap) meal to go is in these places. Unfortunately Shinagawa does not have any big department stores although “Wing Takanawa”, a shopping center located at Shinagawa station, does have a grocery/food court.
2. Japan has always been a cash economy but this is changing with the “Suica” Cards which are basically preloaded gift cards. The difference is these cards are used in many if not most vending machines, almost all of the Tokyo subway stations, and many vendors. Trains and subways in Tokyo are often operated by different companies even if they share a station (For Seattle visitors think Metro Transit and Amtrak) – the easiest way to navigate the different lines is to use a Suica pass.
3. You can get a Suica card by taking advantage of the Narita Express package – 3500 yen gets you a ride from Narita into a Tokyo station, and a Suica card with 1500 yen pre-loaded on the card. This is quite a savings as the ride to Narita costs 3000 yen alone. Only people with foreign passports can take advantage of this offer at the JR ticket station in Narita.
4. You don’t need power converters, but you do need an adapter if you use appliances (i.e. laptops) with 3 prong AC adapters as Japanese outlets have only two prongs (no ground). Bring one as hotel gift shops will sell you one at many times the price found at Target or Walmart.
5. If you want to stay at the Shinagawa Prince (or other Prince Hotel) sign up for the Prince Club International (free) and make a club reservation to get free internet and free daily breakfast coupons. The breakfast buffets are 2000 Yen per person, and Internet access is 1050 yen if you don’t have a club room.
6. At the time of our visit 1 US dollar = 106 yen, so prices are often quoted in straight dollars – after paying the currency exchange fee, it is close to 1 = 100.
7. Since train stations are so massive in Japan, it pays to know which exit (N/S/W/E) to take when trying to reach an attraction. It is also helpful to have a compass when interpreting maps since Japanese streets can be confusing.

Tokyo 2008, part 2.

The next day, Ray and Traci woke up early (not difficult since both weren’t adjusted to Tokyo time) and joined Traci's father on an early morning journey (JR train + subway transfer) to Tsukiji Fish Market. One of the world’s largest seafood markets, Tokyo’s seafood is brought by fisherman to be sold for Tokyo consumption. Like their previous visit 5 years ago, the travelers were astounded by the variety and sheer volume of fish moved thru this enormous place. While tourists are now not allowed to watch the actual tuna auctions held early in the morning (4am), the incredible variety of seafood and the hustle and bustle that bring seafood to Tokyo is a sight not to be missed.

Think of a Pike Place Market (Seattle) that only sold seafood in a place the size of an aircraft hanger! The downside is you get to see where your sushi comes from – you know the old adage about sausage lovers should stay away from the sausage factory!

In addition, small shops selling everything from T-shirts to lunch are found just across from the actual seafood market. After returning from Tsukiji, Ray and Traci enjoyed the Hapuna hotel breakfast buffet and then met Traci’s family for a journey to Asakusa, the home of Sensoji temple. From Shinagawa station, the Toei Asakusa subway stops at Asakusa where Tokyo’s oldest temple (circa 628) rests.

Impressive gates guard the famous temple where visitors can both be blessed by a smoke pit and a water fountain, fed and shopped by 100 yards of covered but open air small shops, and granted wishes in the temple for a mere 100 yen ($1). Ray could not pass up this opportunity. While wishes must remain confidential for them to be realized, Ray simply states that participants in Overlake’s 2009 Golf Invitational better watch out. Also at the site is 150 year old amusement park. From Asakusa, Ray and Traci went to Ginza, Japan’s famed shopping district. Traci was ecstatic about finding Manneken, also known as waffle heaven, and shared a maple syrup waffle with Ray. They were quite satisfied with the heavenly treat. Both wandered around Ginza, tried to find the Nissan Motors Auto Salon (never did find it), but did see the famed Sony Showroom in Ginza (8 floors of lots of cool stuff but nothing earthshaking) and returned on the JR train to the Prince Hotel. The group had dinner at an “authentic” Japanese restaurant Sangendou chosen by Traci’s father – no English menus. Ray, Traci and Traci’s mother ended up having less adventurous meals - $8 Shrimp Tempura with Soba Noodles. To complete the authentic Japanese experience, Traci had a $1 vanilla cone from McDonald’s while Ray had the more exotic $3 McFlurry with Kit Kat Bar mix-in.

Thursday morning brought cooler temperatures and less humidity. Ray started the morning with a 5AM run north along street next to the JR rail tracks (so no cross traffic would interrupt the run). On his way north, he passed a BMW Tokyo dealership and a few blocks further encountered a homeless man sleeping in a storefront (no society is perfect…). He decided to go west and got pictures of the Tokyo tower (which is probably not a Frenchman’s favorite tourist attraction in Japan).

After the run, Ray and Traci tried out the Café Restaurant 24 in the hotel which also accepted the breakfast coupons – not a buffet, but a simple and complete breakfast including ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, muffin, salad, juice, fruit and tea or coffee. After this nourishment, Ray and Traci went with Traci’s dad to Edo Museum – a huge and quite educational museum about Tokyo.

The name Edo was changed to Tokyo in the late 1800s when Tokyo became the capital of Japan – the city has a rich history from ancient times to repeated destruction to earthquakes in 1891 and 1923 followed by near total incineration during the 1945 air bombing. It is amazing that total reconstruction with hosting of the Olympics in 1964 took place. The museum contains models and antiques of various Tokyo eras and is extremely well done – a definite highlight of the trip. Ray and Traci next went to Akihabara (“Electric Town”) where the second Manneken location was the reason both travelers got to enjoy waffles again. Ray also tried to win a stuffed animal prize at one of the many arcades but Traci cut off the funds for this unsuccessful endeavor at $6.00. Akihabara is full over electronic shops selling all sorts of gizmos but prices do not appear to be much better than what you can get on the internet. One vendor had live Penguins swimming in a storefront aquarium – it half worked, Traci and Ray stopped to look at the Penguins but didn’t buy anything.

From Akihabara, the travelers went to the shopping area in Shinjuku. Traci bought some souvenirs at the “creative life store” Tokyu Hands – basically the world’s most complete store for home products. Ray visited the 8 floor Victoria Golf where he found his current favorite club – the Taylor Tour Burner driver for $200 more than the US price. To complete the day, Ray and Traci headed to Roppongi Hills and paid $15 each to view Tokyo from its highest point – the 54th floor (248 meter) skydeck. As noted from the previous trip, one can go to the Tokyo Metro Government building observation deck for free (48 floors) but the Mori tower in Roppongi Hills has no wait and allows an outdoor viewing platform in exchange for a fee.

After taking pictures of Tokyo, Traci joined a few members of her family for authentic yakitori in Ginza (at a “shop” underneath subway tracks complete with drunk natives) while Ray decided to venture to the Gotanda train station and have a solo dinner at that great Japanese food establishment, KFC. Ray found the chicken quite good and greasy, just like the Colonel would make. American fast food franchises are found everywhere in Tokyo. What are in short supply is garbage cans. It is against local etiquette to walk down the street while eating, yet many shops sell food which can only be eaten on the street. Despite the plethora of vending machines and fast food with a shortage of garbage cans, the city remains remarkably clean by American standards. Litter is not found on the streets, no graffiti is visible on trains, ubiquitous billboards and signs are not defaced.

Tokyo 2008, part 1.

Traci’s extended family has an intergenerational reunion every few years, and the 2008 one was scheduled for Japan. Unfortunately, due to Ray’s professional golf commitments, they were unable to attend the reunion but did join Traci’s family afterwards to enjoy a July week in Tokyo.

Traveling from Seattle to Tokyo on a United 777 was quite pleasant even with a 1 hour flight delay as the plane from Tokyo to Sea-Tac arrived late. It takes about 10 hours to fly non-stop from Seattle. Surprisingly it took less than 25 minutes to get off the plane, walk thru immigration, get the luggage, and exit customs although traveling on a Sunday in July probably helped. Ray and Traci then bought a ticket for the Narita Express Train which takes them to Shinagawa Station, their home for the week.

Waiting for the train was interesting – when the train arrived in Terminal 1 (the turnaround point), cleaning people got onboard and emptied/vacuumed the train. The seats also magically (automatically) turned around so passengers would be facing forward. When those tasks were completed the train left precisely on schedule (something that always happens in Japan), and went on a 1 hour journey eventually reaching Shinagawa Station. Once outside the train, the sauna that is Tokyo hit – high 80s and very humid, fortunately it was cloudy and late in the day so no direct sunshine was present. Ray and Traci found the correct exit in the rush hour crowd and crossed the street to the Shinagawa Prince Hotel.

On their first visit to Japan, Ray and Traci stayed at one of the nicest hotels either had ever seen – the Tokyo Westin. That hotel is located at Ebisu which is a few subway stops away from Shinagawa and isn’t quite the transit “hub” that Shinagawa is. At the Prince, Ray booked a deluxe double “club” room for 21000 Yen (about $200/night) that included daily breakfasts and free internet. You can join the Prince International “club” for free on the internet and then take advantage of rates which include breakfast, free internet, nicer rooms, and late checkout. While the hotel is quite a destination on its own complete with a small version of Seaworld (aquarium) and bowling alley, it lacks a gym and the small indoor/outdoor pools are usable only for a $11 fee.

Unfortunately, Ray and Traci’s top floor remodeled room was much smaller than their previous room at the Tokyo Westin. The 37th floor room was quite elegant and modern with a flat screen TV and small fridge but the floor space, dresser space, and closet space all had much to be desired. The bath was well furnished. Other than the small size, Ray’s other complaint was the a/c system while adequate would not make the room really cool especially with the window shades open. Perhaps being on a very high floor with the very large ceiling to floor window with a nice view of the Tokyo skyline had something do with the heat.

While exhausted, Ray and Traci wandered around looking for food before finding a small Ramen shop near the train station. As noted on previous visits, Tokyo is famous for having either pictures of food or models of food in their windows/on their menus and taking orders based on numbers (or letters, in this case). It is relatively easy to order food in the city just by pointing at it. Most of the small shops had basic entrees for the equivalent of $7-$10, even the fancy places had $20-40 entrees US, which certainly wouldn’t be out of line for Seattle much less New York. Calculating the time difference in Tokyo it is easy if you think of Wall Street – When the stock market opens in New York (9:30 AM EDT, 6:30 AM PDT) it is 10:30 at night in Tokyo). When the NYSE closes (4:00pm EDT, 1:00pm PDT) it is 5AM in Tokyo.

On Tuesday morning, Ray and Traci started the day by using their breakfast coupons at the Hapuna Buffet in the lobby of their hotel. Both were overwhelmed by the wide variety of western as well as Japanese breakfast/brunch foods – breads, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, fruit were supplemented with rice, udon, fish, miso soup, salads. Even spaghetti with marinara sauce was served. The restaurant offers buffets 3 times a day and provides a spread that Las Vegas casinos would be envious of. After engorging themselves for the day, Ray and Traci joined their family for a trip to “Sunshine City.”

After getting on the JR Yamanote Line (which is the circular above ground train that is the main way of getting around Tokyo), they got off at Ikebukuro station and walked a few blocks to Sunshine City, a shopping/entertainment destination. At Sunshine City, a character named "Ultraman" (the Japanese are so practical with their superhero names).

Inside the Sunshine City mall is Namjatown, the Japanese company Namco’s theme park containing attractions catering to young children as well as a huge variety of foods. Not to be missed in Namjatown, is the Ice Cream City with multiple shops offering a wide variety of frozen delicacies including one shop with rows and rows of coolers containing an amazing amount of different flavored packaged ice cream cups. Also check out Gyoza Stadium which houses several gyoza shops serving a variety of gyoza including grilled, boiled, bite-size, and fried. After leaving Namjatown, Ray and Traci went to another amazing place – a Toyota Salon.

While Lexus, Mercedes and BMW may have impressive dealerships in the US, nobody can compare with Toyota – 5 stories of Toyota cars and themed education/games. Toyota had a version of the Playstation’s Grand Turismo played by multiple drivers in fancy cockpits. In addition, Ray got into one of the safety simulators and raced in very slippery conditions while crashing several times despite Toyota’s enhanced safety technologies. Besides the games, Toyota had displays about their successes in Formula 1 racing, their great technologies and interesting new concept cars. On other floors, actual marketed cars were seen complete with pricing and personnel to take orders. The salon was staffed with uniformed people who immediately wiped down each car after people touched it. The whole environment was topped off by an automatic grand piano playing music just like Nordstrom. After looking at all of the small cars Toyota currently markets in Japan, one can only see bad things ahead for their US competitors in an environment with skyrocketing gasoline prices. Gasoline is about $6.50 a gallon in Japan when regular unleaded is selling for $4.25 in Seattle.

Across the street from Sunshine City is a 6 story Sega gaming metroplex. What is especially interesting besides the state of the art videogames, were the adults only floor containing actual Las Vegas slot machines, video poker machines, Mah Jong machines, simulated horse race games and Pachinko machines. Pachinko is like vertical pinball with balls being shot upward in a glass case and falling into various targets. For years, Pachinko palaces would operate with players winning trays and trays of the balls and trading them in for cash (with a wink from government which officially outlaws gambling). They get around this by giving you a “ticket” for the balls you win, then you take the ticket across the street to get money for the ticket. Now it appears, you can win tokens from slot machines and video poker with the same mechanism to get actual cash. Ray also found machines where you lower a toy crane’s grappling hook to snag prizes – America has similar games, but what was unique about Japan was the type of prizes you win. Sega had games where you win Haagan-Daaz ice cream bars and boxes of Ritz crackers.

Why anyone would pay $1 for a chance to win an ice cream or Ritz Crackers tests the imagination. Other similar machines had players try to grab difficult objects to win a Nintendo DS. From Sega World, Ray and Traci met up with their relatives and everyone went to Café du Monde. The first interesting story was how they found the Café – supposedly near the Ikebukuro Station west exit. The group went to the exit and saw no Café du Monde. After asking an employee at a coffee shop next to the station exit for directions, she took it upon herself to walk us over to the competing establishment which was 2 blocks from the station. Service is really amazing in Japan! Café du Monde is a world famous restaurant from New Orleans that features beignettes, a tasty pastry. The group enjoyed the afternoon treat before venturing back to the hotel.

For dinner, Traci’s entire family got together (12 people) but needed to split up to get into a restaurant. Ray and Traci ate at a place called Transfer which has a New York Subway décor (signage and a copy of a passenger car). Ray had a steak/pasta/salad combination and Traci had a seafood stew. Ray thought all things considered ($17 price) that the meal was quite satisfactory while Traci thought the best part of her meal was the rice. The group finished the night off by having gelato sold near the entrance to the Shinagawa Prince.

A Farewell to Yankee Stadium

Baseball fans Ray and Traci decided to visit some of the most hallowed grounds in the sport before Yankee Stadium is replaced in 2009. In their ongoing tour of Major League Ballparks, neither had visited Yankee Stadium although they had a great time at Shea Stadium watching the Mets play the Mariners in 2003. Unfortunately scheduling conflicts prevented a simultaneous visit with their beloved but troubled home team so an interleague matinee with the Padres was chosen.

In contrast to their previous 3 visits to the Big Apple, Ray and Traci used Alaska Airlines miles to get free tickets on American Airlines non-stop flight from Seattle to JFK. Despite the horror stories of flying into JFK, their flight arrived 25 minutes early on a Tuesday late afternoon. Not wanting to fight rush hour traffic in a taxi or car service, they rode the Airtrain from the American Terminal 8 to the Jamaica stop, paid $5 to exit the Airtrain terminal and jumped on the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) for a 20 minute $10 ride into Manhattan’s Penn Station. After a nice walk, they arrived at the Times Square Marriott Marquis in just over an hour despite rush hour traffic. Travelers familiar with rush hour traffic in NYC know about the long delays and frequent horn honking associated with trips in and out of Manhattan.

The Marriott Marquis is a much nicer hotel than the Sheraton NYC hotels where Ray and Traci had not so good experiences. It has an impressive lobby, and fast glass elevators which can easily scare those fearful of heights. One interesting feature is that the elevators do not have floor controls on them – riders have to key in a floor number outside the elevator lobby and the computer selects an elevator for them to ride. While more efficient, you don’t have a chance to change your mind. After checking in on the 8th floor sky lobby, Ray and Traci went to their 25th floor room and were very surprised at their spacious accommodations – unlike the Sheraton closet that passed for a room on their Christmas visit to NYC. The Marriott had a large room complete with full sized desk, love seat, and easy chair/foot stool. The room also had a nice bath and a 42 inch LCD HD TV. The dresser was also large with many drawers – only deficiency was no refrigerator. Interestingly enough, the Marriott didn’t try to make money off an overpriced mini bar. Further surprises awaited as the hotel had an amazing gym – with a great selection of cardio equipment and at least for this visit, no shortages for exercising guests.

After perusing their new home, Ray and Traci went to the Rockerfeller Center for a light dinner. Traci decided to get a roast pork loin sandwich at Tom Colicchio’s ‘Wichcraft. Tom is the head judge of Top Chef, a reality show watched by both travelers. Traci liked the sandwich although noted that it was very thin on pork loin – perhaps Tom put his cooks on a very meager budget like he does during some of the reality show challenges. Ray decided to get a tossed Caesar salad at “Hale & Hearty” – a chain of soup and sandwich shops. Although they ran out of chicken, Ray thought his custom bacon and roasted turkey Caesar salad was quite good. Before returning home, Ray and Traci walked toward Central Park, first stopping at the amazing St. Patrick’s Cathedral to admire the ornate statues and stain glass windows.




Once in Central Park, Ray and Traci encountered many runners enjoying an evening run thru the park – so many that one would think a marathon race was taking place! Before retiring to the hotel, Ray and Traci encountered a martial arts class, a beach volleyball game, and a small “Fun Forest” like area complete with carnival rides.

Ray began Day 2 with a run thru central Park – he tried to run around the Jackie Onassis Kennedy Reservoir but somehow ended up going in circles due to the roads that cut thru the park. Ray and Traci then left the Marriott to go to the Whitney Museum of Modern American Art – a museum not visited on previous trips. After seeing the Whitney, Ray wondered if 50 years from now an artwork consisting of vacuum cleaners sitting on fluorescent light bulbs really will be considered art like Picasso or Rembrandt. Some of the work at that museum really strains the definition of art. Perhaps one can say the same thing about today’s rap music – will it stand the time like Mozart or the Beatles? News magazines have done stories showing creations by young children and placing them side by side with modern art works to embarrass modern art “experts” when they can’t tell the difference. Perhaps some of the Whitney’s artists just have good agents to get their name out there – once someone has a name, anything they make becomes a collectable. In any case, the Whitney isn’t something recommended to those with classic art tastes. From the Whitney, Ray and Traci travelled back to Times Square and had lunch at Duke’s Café – It is a multiethnic food court all in one establishment – you can have ramen, custom salads, deli meats, soups, hot food buffet foods, and sushi all in one place. It is an extremely well run place with most people taking their food out.

After lunch, Ray and Traci attended a Wednesday afternoon matinee of “Young Frankenstein,” Mel Brook’s updated musical rendition of the classic story. The musical performances were well done and the production enjoyable, although Traci thought they could have had better humor. For dinner, Ray and Traci took the subway to Lombardi’s, one of New York’s most famous pizza establishments. In 1905 Lombardi’s started making pizza in coal fired ovens – which continues today. Lombardi’s is technically the first pizza parlor in America although it went out of business in a while back and was reincarnated with the same oven at the current location. Although Ray is a deep dish Chicago style pizza fan, he enjoyed Lombardi’s thin crispy crust as did Traci. After dinner, the travelers wandered around Central Park where they ran into a Mister Softie Ice Cream Truck virtually on every block – Ray took it as some sort of sign from a higher power and decided to have a chocolate covered soft vanilla cone which was covered with multicolored sprinkles. Unfortunately the chocolate did not make a hard shell like Dairy Queen’s dipped cones.

Thursday was baseball day – Ray started the day by successfully finding the reservoir by following the streets that parallel the park and then running around it.

Getting to Central Park can be a challenge on a workday – traffic around Times Square really follows the laws of the jungle. Pedestrians don’t follow traffic lights, and drivers have to be really aggressive to move anyway. It is impossible to walk a block without hearing someone honking their horn. Traffic lights are almost optional in downtown NYC. After successfully surviving the NYC jungle, Ray and Traci headed to Yankee stadium on the subway – one great thing about NY baseball parks is their easy access via subway. Upon emerging from the 161st Street station in the Bronx, historic Yankee stadium is seen side by side with its newly constructed replacement. Yankee stadium is long on legend but quite short on character or amenities – in fact, it is difficult to figure out what stadium you are in from the seating area – only the “26 World Championships” banner below the press box gives you an obvious clue. If any city had a dire need for a new stadium, it would be New York.

After watching New York win a close pitcher’s duel over the visiting San Diego Padres, Ray and Traci returned to Manhattan on the subway and had dinner at McCormick’s and Schmick. The large chain of seafood and steak restaurants can be found in many cities. Ray enjoyed a Rib Eye steak while Traci was quite happy to discover a good tasting Chilean Sea Bass. From dinner, Ray and Traci headed back to the theatre district to see another musical, Xanadu. Taking a horrible 80’s movie and turning it into a musical was certainly an unorthodox approach to Broadway production, but Xanadu is an entertaining and fun show along the lines of Mamma Mia. When it comes to Broadway shows, Ray likes ones with simple plots and familiar music, so his favorites include Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys and Xanadu.

On Friday, Ray and Traci started out by heading to the Chelsea Market – the home of the food network. Ray had a chicken noodle soup from Friedman’s Delicatessen while Traci enjoyed their fruit salad. Ray also had a strawberry gelato from L’Arte del Gelato. After leaving Chelsea, Ray and Traci wandered around the East Village pausing to sample some French fries from Frites Pommes – while you expect the fries to be good since that is all they sell, Ray wasn’t that impressed. After a long morning of walking around and a free evening awaiting, Ray decided to try the well known TKTS service to get tickets to another show. Fortunately, the TKTS booth is located at the Marriott so Ray went to the long line 30 minutes before the window opened and emerged 40 minutes later scoring 2 decent tickets to Hairspray. TKTS is a great place to get tickets if you want to save 50% and are flexible about the show – but if you are traveling from far away like we were, I’d recommend just buying good seats well in advance. Traci found a Japanese restaurant called Menchoanko-Tei to eat at which was full of local appearing Asians – a good sign. Hairspray turned out to be a good show, although the main character’s voice (Tracy Turnblad) was kind of annoying and she wasn’t a very good dancer considering the whole show is about winning an American Bandstand like dancing contest for social change.

Saturday was getaway day – Ray and Traci spent the morning in the Marriott’s excellent gym, and then met up with Ray’s cousin David to enjoy a brunch at the Eatery. Traci enjoyed a tasty French Toast dish while Ray and David had omelets that were well prepared. After brunch, Ray and Traci decided to reverse their original commute rather than trust the Saturday afternoon traffic patterns in a cab. By taking a short cab ride to Penn Station, the Long Island Railroad to the Jamaica station and then the Airtrain to the terminal, Ray and Traci had a 1:45 hotel room to gate travel time. On a Saturday, a cab ride would probably save some time and due to flat rate pricing wouldn’t cost significantly more but during rush hour, the train would be an option worth considering.

A Second Visit to Waikiki Beach

After a 3 night stay at Kauai, Ray and Traci travelled to Honolulu so Ray could attend the 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies national meeting held at the Honolulu convention center. With 10,000 pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists invading paradise, Waikiki became an especially busy location. The flight from Kauai was not even 30 minutes in length, and this time Hertz had a Subaru Impreza waiting – a car Ray was much happier with. Using the invaluable Garmin Nuvi, Ray and Traci found their way to the Hyatt Regency Waikiki – kind of far from the convention center, but since they already stayed 3 nights at the Kauai Hyatt, he got a special package price which included an upgrade to an ocean view “club room.”
A Second Visit to Waikiki Beach

After a 3 night stay at Kauai, Ray and Traci travelled to Honolulu so Ray could attend the 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies national meeting held at the Honolulu convention center. With 10,000 pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists invading paradise, Waikiki became an especially busy location. The flight from Kauai was not even 30 minutes in length, and this time Hertz had a Subaru Impreza waiting – a car Ray was much happier with. Using the invaluable Garmin Nuvi, Ray and Traci found their way to the Hyatt Regency Waikiki – kind of far from the convention center, but since they already stayed 3 nights at the Kauai Hyatt, he got a special package price which included an upgrade to an ocean view “club room.”
Hanuma Bay is a very famous snorkeling spot created in an old volcano crater with a largely protected reef. Despite being a very windy day, snorkeling inside the bay was fairly easy. The wind made the ambient temperatures seem quite low and both Ray and Traci became cold after looking at fish. Ray thought fish were less abundant than a previous visit, although this visit occurred at low tide. He did come face to face with a 6 foot eel. Hanauma Bay is no Molokini (the offshore reef on Maui where a 1 hour boat ride gets you up close and personal with schools of fish) but it is much more convenient – beware, the park is closed on Tuesdays and the parking lots fill up quite fast, so if you want to go – go early or late in the day. The whole process of viewing the safety film, renting snorkeling equipment and getting into the water is very efficient. Hanauma Bay is a great place to look at fish without much effort. After snorkeling, Ray and Traci stopped at a famous local plate lunch place called Rainbow Drive-In. Ray had a Shoyu chicken plate lunch which was excellent and Traci had a Pork Long Rice special lunch, equally as good. Rainbow Drive-In is another take out place where they give you lunch in a cardboard box and the entrée is served on a bed of noodles. Prices were very cheap $6-8, and many of the diners were buying more than one plate lunch. After a morning of snorkeling and eating, Ray had to leave for the convention center for a long afternoon at the meetings.

Tuesday was the last full day in paradise. Ray had a few hours of meetings, and then Ray and Traci went to the Ala Moana Mall so Traci could check out the new and very chic Nordstrom which recently opened. While at the very impressive store, Ray and Traci tried the Nordstrom Gelato bar and had what tasted more like strawberry ice cream than gelato (but was still delicious). They then went to the food court at the ala moana mall where Ray had a noodle dish with shrimp tempera, while Traci had a manapua (humbow) – both were good for fast food fare. After exploring more of the mall including the Shirokiya (large department store) they left for the hotel. Ray and Traci had dinner at Sansei Restaurant – one of their favorite eateries on Maui, where Traci enjoyed mango crab rolls and miso butterfish while Ray had a shrimp and steak combination. They finished the night by enjoying some free samples at the Honolulu Cookie Company. The cookie company makes shortbread cookies with various fillers and dipped in different coatings all in the shape of a pineapple. The store is located in the Hyatt. While Ray and Traci didn’t buy any cookies that night, they ended up purchasing 3 boxes before leaving town.

Ray and Traci left the Hyatt the next morning and travelled home on Alaska Airlines non-stop Honolulu to Seattle service. Alaska has announced non-stop service to Maui starting in the summer which will be a welcome option for Seattle to Hawaii travel.

A Brief Visit to the Garden Isle

Ray was traveling to the national pediatric research meetings in Honolulu, so Ray and Traci decided to make a quick pre-meeting visit to Kauai, Hawaii’s famed garden isle. Fortunately, Alaska Airlines recently started flying non-stop from Seattle to Kauai, making the island even more convenient to Seattle natives.

A quick tip for travelers who like great adventures – purchase a hand held GPS device for navigating unfamiliar roads. We found our Garmin Nuvi invaluable at finding our way on Kauai with its unlit and largely unsigned roads. Especially with a night time arrival, finding our way to the Hyatt would have been a much more difficult chore.

We arrived at the Grand Hyatt Kauai after an uneventful trip. Ray was unhappy that Hertz “upgraded” his desired compact auto into a white Mercury Grand Marquis – clearly the car is rented because nobody wants to buy the large, bulky and gas guzzling boat car especially when gas on Kauai was $3.93 a gallon. The Grand Hyatt turned out to be an excellent place to stay while visiting Kauai. The rooms were spacious and well maintained, our “mountain” view room mostly looked over a grass field and road but it earned its 5 diamond AAA rating. Arriving with a 3 hour time change made the travelers quite tired and after picking up some provisions (drinks and comfort food) at a local grocer, sleep came quite fast.

During the first day to Kauai, Ray and Traci headed up to the Kilauea Lighthouse located on the north part of the island.
While the lighthouse has been retired, a nature park surrounds the authentic lighthouse. Visitors have amazing coastal views, birdwatchers have many species to marvel at, and enthusiasts get to see a picturesque lighthouse. Traci also wanted to visit a fruit stand called Banana Joes where legendary smoothies are found. Unfortunately, Joe was on vacation until late May so the travelers headed back to the Hyatt. On the way, a strip mall had a Jamba Juice which Traci had to settle for. Hungry for lunch, Ray and Traci used their Garmin GPS to find a plate lunch locale called Mark’s Place. The plate lunch restaurant is located in an industrial park which would be very hard to find without electronic assistance – it is an incredibly busy but efficient take out only lunch place where many of the local workers order their meals in bulk. Ray had a beef teriyaki plate lunch complete with a large amount of rice and delicious macaroni salad. Traci tried the Chicken Katsu, and both were quite impressed – it pays to find out where the locals eat (especially when looking for a Hawaiian plate lunch).

The afternoon was spent enjoying the spacious grounds of the Grand Hyatt – it has an extensive network of pools and a very large salt water lagoon where guests can kayak or as in Ray’s case, just float around undisturbed by ocean waves. The hotel has a single waterslide which is nothing to write home about – the whole feel of the pool area is like the Grand Wailea on Maui with a lot of the fun parts taken away. People who haven’t been to the Grand Wailea probably would be quite impressed with the Kauai Grand Hyatt’s great pools but because of Ray’s frequent visits to the Grand Wailea he was disappointed. The hotel is located on the ocean, and has a nice beachfront. Unfortunately, Kauai being the most exposed of the major Hawaiian islands has quite rough surf and is probably not the best place for play in the surf. Another main attraction is the wildlife inhabiting the grounds of the hotel – black and white swans, multicolored carp, parrots and other animals are found throughout the grounds. Near the front entrance to the hotel is a small pond guarded by black swans who almost act as sentries – expecting a bribe of food to let visitors pass unmolested. While the wildlife is quite extensive, it isn’t quite the Grand Hyatt on Maui. Either Maui hotels copied many of the Kauai Grand Hyatt’s best features and improved on them, or Kauai’s Grand Hyatt took many of the best ideas from Maui and tried to implement them in a limited fashion.

After a fun day at the pool, Ray and Traci tried another local spot for dinner – Brick House Pizza. Traci had tomatoes and Canadian bacon on her half of the medium pizza while Ray ordered Portuguese sausage on his – The wheat crusted pizza with garlic butter was well prepared, crisp and tasty. Going to another local hotspot also had the side benefit of very reasonable prices, which is a good thing since there aren’t many bargain room rates at the Kauai Grand Hyatt.

The next day started with Ray running the 1.1 miles from the hotel to Kauai’s famous Poipu beach – this beach was supposed to be a favorite for off the beach snorkeling, but the surf looked quite hazardous that morning and snorkeling plans were abandoned. Traci wanted to go to another Kauai park, called Spouting Horn where old lava tubes resulted in nature’s version of the “Fountains of Bellagio” (minus the Celine Dion soundtrack). Various sounds which might resemble something produced by the Blue Man Group accompany a geyser like plume of water when waves rush in.
In addition to the spouting horn, beautiful views and tourist stands (naturally) one finds a plethora of roosters cock a doodling around. Some old story about a farm burning down resulting in the scattering of chickens is used to explain the many animals scattered around Kauai – but roosters are seen in the wild on other islands. KFC must not have tapped these animals for the many restaurants in Hawaii.

For lunch, Ray and Traci went to another local plate lunch place – Kauai Fish Market. Unfortunately, Ray found the menu a little too authentic without his favorite Terriyaki or Kalbi Rib options, so Ray and Traci had lunch at the Grand Hyatt’s outdoor restaurant. Traci ordered the fruit plate and surprisingly found some of the fruits subpar – pineapple and yellow watermelon weren’t as tasty as the fruit plates purchased at Seattle’s Costco. Ray had his favorite lunch, Chicken Caesar, which was par (albeit overpriced). A single white swan floated from side to side in the pond which abutted the outdoor restaurant. Other than an attempt to find food in a neighboring patron’s purse while she wasn’t paying attention, the swan just floated side to side almost in a mechanical fashion.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the pool. For dinner, Ray and Traci tried the Hyatt’s Tide Pools restaurant which had a very striking resemblance to the Grand Wailea’s Humus restaurant. Humus is a floating restaurant in a lagoon with hungry carp masquerading as piranhas when eaters throw bread into their midst. Tide Pools isn’t floating but a lagoon surrounds many of the outdoor tables. Ray had a Prime Rib dinner which actually wasn’t bad – the quality of the meat was certainly not what you would find in a high end Seattle Restaurant like Daniels, but it was tasty. Traci had a dinner of a Garden Isle salad (Baby Lettuce, Hawaiian Hearts of Palm, Carrots and Cucumbers,
Dressed in Homemade Papaya Seed Dressing, and Toasted Macadamia Nuts) and steamed Hawaiian sea bass – she felt the flavor was good but the fish wasn’t prepared well – over cooked and firm instead of moist and flakey. Dessert was very good, a chocolate lava cake with ice cream and complementary due to the subpar sea bass.

With the conclusion of the 3rd night in Kauai, it was time to fly to Honolulu for Ray’s meeting. Kauai is a very beautiful island, and the coastal scenery is breathtaking. Many tourist activities abound including hiking to waterfalls, river kayaking, snorkeling adventures and something called ziplining – traveling downhill in harnesses fastened to wires strung thru Kauai’s forests. The area has a much more rural and untouched flavor than Maui, or especially Honolulu (Tiffany’s shoppers beware). Visitors also have to be aware of the frequent rain found on the island. While conditions may vary, the island beaches near Poipu seem to be a bit more turbulent than Wailea Beach in Maui or Waikiki in Honolulu – families with small children take note.

Great Maui Food!

On their latest journey to Maui, Ray and Traci had no new adventures to report. The Grand Wailea had no new additions, and in fact, gave them the same (or a very similar room) to the 2004 Maui trip. For this blog entry, they report about the food they ate on Maui.

The night after arriving, Ray and Traci ate at a popular Hawaiian chain – Sansei Restaurant. This is a chain of sushi bar/asian food which is found both on Maui as well as Oahu. Traci had the Sansei special roll (sushi) and a bowl of udon while Ray satisfied his post flight appetite with a bowl of rice, and two appetizers (or Hawaiians call them Pupus) – beef teriyaki and shrimp tempura. Sansei is located in Kihei (Next to Foodland) and has special discounts (25% off most days if you order before 6pm, 50% off after 10pm) Check out the website for details: http://www.sanseihawaii.com/

On Sunday, the travelers ate at Matteo’s Pizza located one block up the hill from The Shops at Wailea. If you are looking for a pizzeria with a view to kill for – this is your place. You get in line, order your food and fill your drinks and they deliver pasta and pizza to your table which likely has an incredible sunset view. What is even more shocking is the prices are cheaper than what you would find at chains like Pizza Hut. Traci had a ½ order of the house special pasta and shared Ray’s Italian sausage/ham pizza. Traci actually felt the house pasta was the best meal of the trip! Especially considering the view and the price, Matteo’s is not to be missed! They offer carry out pizza as well for travelers who wish to skip the million dollar views.

On Monday, Ray and Traci ventured into the Grand Wailea’s new Japanese Buffet at Kincha restaurant. Kincha used to operate as a regular Japanese restaurant, but was converted into a daily buffet with two slightly different menus. You will find the typical buffet fare including miso soup, different kinds of tempura, salads, California rolls and other sushi, as well as either Kobe Beef or Rib Eye Steak. On the Monday menu, Kincha also had a stir fried lobster dish which was quite tasty. Overall, Traci thought the food quality was not as good as the other Japanese buffet found in the Maui Prince Hotel (Hakone) but Ray would not pass up all you can eat steak and lobster. The buffet was a little pricey at $54 per person, and Kincha has a sushi bar for those who wish to pass up the buffet (but $54 goes really fast at a Sushi bar in the Grand Wailea).

Tuesday started with a late breakfast at Stella Blues, which is a nice American/Hawaiian café located in Kihei at the intersection of Piikea and South Kihei road. Stella Blues is what Denny’s would be if it was based in Hawaii and had better food. Ray enjoyed a traditional 2 egg/toast/hash brown with a taste of Hawaii – Portuguese sausage, while Traci had passion fruit iced tea, papaya with cottage cheese and whole wheat toast. Stella charges a little more than Denny’s ($20 total) but you’ll enjoy it more! For dinner, Ray and Traci went to Joe’s Restaurant which is located on the top floor of the Wailea Tennis club (a few blocks from Matteo’s Pizza). If you order before 6:30pm, the entrees are 2 for 1, so eat early! Ray had the Prime Rib, which was surprisingly tasty – the dish was prepared well with a lean portion of meat, but the quality of the meat wasn’t up to Seattle’s best. Traci had a rack of Baby Back Ribs, which again were good but not quite the tender, “falling off the bone” meat that mark the best dishes. Considering the whole meal including tip (automatically added to the bill), a salad and a coke was $62 it is hard to complain! Make sure you make reservations, even during the off season, as the place fills up quick!

Wednesday dinner was spent at a South Maui institution, “Da Kitchen.” It is located on South Kihei road, close to Wailea (First Kihei exit off the Piilani highway) in a strip mall. Da Kitchen serves Hawaiian Plate Lunches (generous portioned entrée, rice and salad – macaroni, potato, or green). Traci had the special Pork and Tofu plate while Ray had the Maui favorite Kalbi Ribs. Despite the availability of Kalbi ribs in Seattle at multiple places (including two at Seattle’s Uwajimaya – Shillas and Aloha Plates), Kalbi ribs on Maui are just better. Da Kitchen serves Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and makes their plates for a large appetite – so bring one! $24 bought the two plates and a large drink. After Da Kitchen, Ray and Traci went to “WOW” – Wednesdays at Wailea – On Wednesday at the Shops at Wailea Mall, live music is performed and many of the art galleries open up and invite patrons to gaze upon their works. The invited band was quite good – played adult/contemporary music including hits from Stevie Wonder, Michael Buble and Kermit the Frog (Rainbow Connection). Among the many galleries showing Hawaiian themed art, included was one called “Celebrity Fine Art Gallery” which has several notable artists and their works along with lots of rock n’ roll memorabilia. To complete the night, enjoy ice cream at Lappert’s – Haagan Dazs meets Hawaii. Many tropical flavors can be found here in very heavy, rich and expensive ice cream - $4 per cone.

On Thursday, Traci started the day in the Grand Wailea Spa. One tip for spa goers – Costco periodically sells SpaFinder gift certificates ($79.99 for $100 certificates) which are accepted at the Grand Wailea giving you an effective 20% off! After a rigorous morning at the Spa, Traci rejoined Ray for a lunch at a restaurant at the Shops at Wailea called Cheeseburgers in Paradise. This burger palace is a tropical themed Red Robin in an open air setting. Ray had a so-so bacon cheeseburger while Traci had a Chinese Chicken Salad. A $24 tab for lunch was reasonable by Wailea standards but the food was unremarkable. Later on in the evening, dinner was found at a hangout for the locals – Hanafuda Saimin. This noodle and plate lunch place is found next to Stella Blues on Piikea road in Kihei. Ray and Traci had a light $15.65 saimin dinner (ramen type noodles) – Traci added a California Roll and Ray had two pieces of shrimp tempera.

Ray and Traci spent Friday sampling the cuisine at the Grand Wailea, starting with the morning “Grand Buffet.” Traci had the continental buffet (without meat) while Ray enjoyed the whole spread. The buffet has the usual mix expected food including fruit, cereal, various breads, waffles and orange/guava juice. Ray went to the omelet bar for a boring ham and cheese and also had the chef make some fried rice using bacon and mushrooms. The Grand Wailea buffet has good quality food but it is expensive ($28 per person) and had a pretty unremarkable selection. On Sunday, the hotel has a more substantial meal at a higher price ($48) which we did not sample. For dinner, Ray and Traci ate at the poolside restaurant, Bistro Molokini. Patrons get to enjoy a good meal while watching a tropical sunset. Traci enjoyed her penne pasta dish while Ray, still stuffed from the morning buffet, had a good (but unremarkable) chicken Caesar salad.

Before leaving Maui on Saturday, Ray and Traci enjoyed one last meal at Stella Blues (the only repeat visit during this trip). Stella’s had a wonderful country fried steak special which Ray highly recommends. Traci’s last meal was the egg and ham late breakfast special. After a week filled with great weather and excellent food, the trip concluded with a flight back to a much colder (and wetter) Seattle.

Ray and Traci’s Mostly Excellent California Adventure

Before the long awaited summer season arrived, Ray and Traci decided to escape the gloomy drizzle of Seattle and travel to the area both previously called home – Los Angeles. Traci has a brother and sister in LA and hoped to combine a family visit with some sunshine. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.

The nonstop flight to John Wayne Airport from Seattle on Alaska Airlines was on time and pleasant despite being filled to capacity – the airline even substituted a good warm cookie for the usual bag of pretzels. John Wayne airport has a very slow baggage carousel – the bags come out one every 10 seconds or so one at a time. The rental cars are found within the garage of the airport directly across the street so picking up the car was fast and easy. Armed with Mapquest directions, the car ride to the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland took less than half an hour. Disneyland is well labeled on highway signs but finding the Grand Californian is more difficult since signage is poor.

Disney did an excellent job with the Grand Californian – the exterior suggests a mountain ski lodge but the interiors are quite luxurious complete with relatively spacious rooms with refrigerators, plasma TVs and DVD players. Although the ambient noise level is high for a luxury hotel, it is probably unavoidable in a resort that caters to families. The lobby level gives the “lodge” feel with many sofas and chairs, a bar area, a fireplace – many places to lounge around. Disney’s Brother Bear character roams around and scares young children. The hotel is quite long rather than high and finding your room can be a challenge. Located adjacent to the California Adventure Park, the hotel contains a special entrance gate. Other parts of the Disney complex – Disneyland and Downtown Disney are within easy walking distance of the Grand Californian.

On Friday morning, disappointing rain greeted Ray and Traci – they started by having breakfast at a nearby Coco’s restaurant since the character buffet at the hotel had a long line. They met Traci’s sister Kristi and daughter Maya and headed to a rain drenched Disneyland – not always the happiest place on earth. Thanks to Mickey Mouse rain ponchos Traci and Kristi stayed somewhat comfortable. Ray had a complete REI gortex rain suit on so he was fine. Maya refused to wear her poncho and became quite soaked. The journey began at “Small World” followed by “Dumbo”, “King Arthur’s Carrousel” and Peter Pan’s Flight. A much drier and more comfortable Ray left the group to see relatively new attractions – Space Mountain with music by the Hot Chili Peppers, Star Tours and Indiana Jones Adventure. Space Mountain which previously seemed like a rather pedestrian roller coaster indoors, was immensely better when set to better light effects and the Red Hot Chili Peppers Music. This quite dated attraction was so much more enjoyable with the upgrades although it really doesn’t qualify with today’s “thrill” rides. Indiana Jones is an attraction not to be missed – like most good Disney features, the experience begins in line with the décor and atmosphere. Artifacts and signs warning patrons of things not to do (or face a lifetime of blight and desperation) resulted in, of course, people doing the exact opposite. The ride can best be described as a 2007 version (with a much higher thrill factor) of the Haunted Mansion. Patrons ride around in jeep like vehicles thru various Indiana Jones type scenes including one where the huge boulder comes right toward your vehicle. The ride is somewhat rough and quite spooky in places but one not to be missed. The biggest surprise of the day was the (relatively) long lines – For a weekday immediately after Spring Break with the most rain, perhaps for the entire year, the 35-45 minutes at Disney’s most popular features was quite surprising. From their last experience at Orlando, where weekday visits at all of the parks immediately after winter break found virtually no line more than 5 minutes, Ray and Traci were surprised at the wait at Disneyland. Perhaps the 13 million citizens surrounding Disneyland, the fact that only 2 parks are operating and the relatively cheap annual passes available to Southern California residents all contribute to the lines-even on a post spring break rainy weekday. Perhaps the powers at Disney will start throwing in “Fastpasses” with hotel packages as one has to question how much of Disneyland can be enjoyed by a regular tourist visiting during peak traffic days.

Ray met up with Traci, Kristi and Maya at the California adventure park. Maya was now thoroughly soaked so Kristi headed home. The rains that made the morning so miserable largely subsided so Ray and Traci waited in a 35 minute line for the best Disney feature – California Screamin! Like Space Mountain, Screamin was set to music from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The relatively new roller coaster features silky smooth steel construction, a complete 360 loop, and an exhilarating launch up the first hill from an impressive electrical propulsion system. Riders begin at a dead stop followed by an incredible multi-G climb directly up a huge hill. Of the coasters Ray and Traci have ridden, only the Rock n Roll Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith (at Disney-MGM Studios) can compare and that particular indoor experience is less thrilling. If you like coasters you will love Screamin!

Ray and Traci picked up some fastpasses for repeat visits and then went to ride the Sun Wheel – a huge Ferris wheel which is OK for photos of the coaster but otherwise a waste of time and then the Soarin’ Over California Adventure. Soarin’ is the second don’t miss attraction in California Adventure – it combines beautiful Imax photography of California with a Disney ride complete with special wind & scent special effects to give you the sensation of flying over the Golden State. After Soarin, Traci went back to the hotel and Ray decided to partake in a few more adventures. The Tower of Terror (previously ridden at Disney-MGM studios) is the third can’t miss attraction in California Adventure. Great features provide thrill by incredible anxiety provoking visuals like speed, huge drops, upside down loops or by making riders fear the unknown. Tower of Terror takes a relatively common drop ride to a whole new level with the Rod Serling Twilight Zone theme and doing much of it in the dark with unexpected and seemingly unending motion. Ray finished his California adventure by riding the unremarkable water raft ride (in his gortex suit) and then using both fast passes for the Screamin rollercoaster – riding twice in 15 minutes is a good way to lose one’s appetite. Ray returned to the room to get Traci and both headed back to Disneyland to see the amazing “Dreams” Fireworks show. Disney puts on a fireworks extravaganza like none other – great pyrotechnics, wonderful choreography, music, an aerial “Tinkerbell” and laser lights all add up to one amazing show – don’t miss it! Now, completely exhausted, Ray and Traci went to the ESPN zone to find out how much the Seattle Mariners lost by and enjoy two quite surprisingly good salads – a Shrimp Caesar and a Southwest Cajun Chicken Salad.

Saturday was the LA adventure day. It started by Ray and Traci both remembering why they no longer live in Los Angeles – weekend driving took over an hour and a half to go from Anaheim to Santa Monica. Fortunately, the weather was better with more sunshine. They parked (for free!) in the Santa Monica 3rd street garage and wandered down the famous promenade. National chain stores mixed with local restaurants, theatres and street artists (some were quite good). A Frank Sinatra sound a like showed talent but probably would be better advised to move to Las Vegas. Ray and Traci had lunch at the Santa Monica Mall Food Court – California Crisp enjoying salads and sandwiches. They then went down to the Santa Monica Pier to meet the Pacific Ocean, take some pictures and listen to more street artists. An Elvis singer who somehow got on the Jimmy Kimmel show made listeners long for William Hung’s American Idol performances. Two brothers provided much more entertainment with a smashing rendition of “Stand By Me” – perhaps Simon Cowell should visit the pier when looking for the next American Idol.

After leaving the pier, Ray and Traci went to the UCLA campus where Ray negotiated with an “unofficial” merchant to get a deal on a Bruin Sweatshirt. They then walked up campus, saw the new (but not opened) Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and went into the UCLA bookstore for some “official” memorabilia. Traci got some cookies at “Diddy Riese” – unfortunately it was nearing the dinner hour or both would have gotten the $1.25 ice cream sandwiches. If you want a cheap lunch complete with dessert – go no farther than Diddy Riese. After leaving Westwood, Ray and Traci traveled to meet Kristi, her husband Dil and their kids Jay and Maya. The whole party went to the Topanga Mall for dinner at The Farm. Before dinner, Traci marveled at the amazing Nordstrom store. Jay and Maya got to ride the double high merry go round inside the mall before the whole group sat down for dinner. Ray and Traci both enjoyed their chicken dishes (Ray had the fried chicken, Traci had the baked). The night ended with a somewhat less frustrating drive back to Anaheim.

On Sunday, Ray and Traci picked up breakfast from La Brea Bakery Café supplemented with beignets from Jazz Kitchen – both in Downtown Disney adjacent to the Grand Californian. Ray previously purchased tickets for the Seattle Mariners game against the Angels and Traci’s brother Kevin brought Kristi’s son Jay to join Ray and Traci. Obviously pessimistic from a 5 game losing streak, Ray had little patience with the Mariners poor performance, eventually losing 6-1.

Anaheim has a well decorated although somewhat dated stadium complete with something Seattle doesn’t have in their $525 million playpen: a World Series Trophy.

After the 7th inning stretch, the four baseball fans left to go back to Disneyland for some games at the ESPN zone. With some mini-bowling and air hockey entertainment completed, Kevin took Jay back home while Ray and Traci satisfied a Pizza craving at Mama Cozza’s (an Italian restaurant located about 3 miles from Disneyland. The pizza (a “Hawaiian”) was quite good, the menu was complete with many Italian and sandwich dishes, and the prices couldn’t be beaten. Ray and Traci returned to the Grand Californian with appetites cured of pizza cravings.

Monday was getaway day, and we planned on going to the South Coast Mall in the OC (Orange County) before returning home. The weather dramatically improved and California’s famous sunshine appeared. After checking out from the Grand Californian, they headed toward the mall which has a wide range of stores – from Sears Auto Shop to Tiffany’s. Also, an unusually large number of security guards wandered the halls for an obviously sparse Monday morning crowd. Ray and Traci had lunch at Traci’s favorite out of town lunch chain – The Corner Bakery. (Should the Corner Bakery come to downtown Seattle they will have at least one regular client). Traci enjoyed some oatmeal and Ray had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. During the window shopping, Ray found a Haagan Daaz and enjoyed a vanilla chocolate chip ice cream treat. Traci was impressed with the very successful Nordstrom location. A short drive later, the travelers boarded an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle and completed another adventure.

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.

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.

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.