The girls love Lantern Park and who wouldn’t. There are walking and biking paths that go around the park. And did I mention the views, awesome panoramic views of the ocean, Doheny Beach, Dana Point Harbor and beyond. You can sit there and watch the surf. Oh, the breezes are great and it never seems to be hot here.
Here are some pictures of the girls: [Read more…]
The list below is full of our issues. Since this was my first cruise, some of these may be simply reflect my unrealistic expectations. We have friends who cruise for every vacation. We’ll inevitably do it again when the girls are older and after I’ve overhauled my expectations. However, I can definitely say the cruising isn’t for everyone.
Here’s a list of my Top 10 Lessons Learned: [Read more…]
A big thanks to Ba Ngoai and Ong Ngoai for taking the family on this Alaskan Cruise. Over the last few years, we’ve had the pleasure of traveling with our extended family included Ba Ngoai, Ong Ngoai, Co Noi, Co Hong, Aunt Mary, Aunt Tam, Jenny, the girls and yours truly.
We arrived in Seattle in time to enjoy a day/night in the city before boarding the Norwegian Jewel on July 14th for a seven night cruise. It was an amazing cruise and the only way to really see such beautiful sites through Alaska. We stopped in ports at Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria, BC, Canada. Along the way, we traversed fjords, saw plenty of iceburgs, eagles, seaplanes and glaciers. [Read more…]
Our family cruise stopped in Victoria, BC and I’ve been dreaming of returning ever sense. While most of the disembarking cruisers headed to the restaurants, bars and shops, our family hired a driver to take us to Butchart Gardens. With one million visitors touring every year, you know there is something here to see. Plan on spending as much of the day here as possible and prepare to walk hills, steps and rough terrain. It is totally worth it to see the various sections including the Sunken Garden, Concert Lawn Walk, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Italian Garden and Mediterranean Garden. [Read more…]
The Alaskan wilderness isn’t too accessible, but our cruise took us to several beautiful, hard-to-get-to places. We stopped in ports at Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria, BC, Canada and then Toured Butchart Gardens. Below you’ll find several pictures from our time at sea (or fjords) and land.
You might also enjoy our Family Pictures from Our Alaskan Cruise. Here are some pictures of the Alaskan wilderness: [Read more…]
Today, we spent the day just wondering around the city in search of landmarks, kid-friendly activities and “gotta see” stuff. It was a really relaxing day despite the heat. However, we found plenty of indoor places to cool down and intermixed them throughout the day.
For our history lesson today, we visited Harry Truman’s The Little White House. It was initially a naval station’s command headquarters during the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman started using it as his winter home. [Read more…]
We spent the day exploring Key West. Jenny, Kate and I visited the Old Town, had Key Lime pie from Key West Key Lime Shoppe, toured the Shipwreck Treasures Museum, visited the Key West Aquarium and then found our way back to South Beach and Southernmost Beach Cafe & Bar for fun in the sand and food in the bellies.
Kate had such a find time today. As we walked through the Old Town, she got to touch sponges from the ocean, we bought her a very bohemian dress, and her little mind experienced new sites, sounds and American Capitalism at is best. She has always loved fish and the aquarium was probably her favorite spot. She touched her first star fish, nurse shark and silver dollar. Also, she loved meeting the rock crabs, shrimp and lobster, turtle, jelly fish, Clownfish (“hey, there’s Nemo), the various anemone, lots of shellfish, seeing the big shark.
Oh, and most importantly, Kate rode her first surf board. While it was on sand, she “hung 10” better than any other almost 1.5 year old.
Here are some pictures from our day: [Read more…]
Let’s start this post with the understanding that when picky-eating kids find something they’ll eat… parents select restaurants by their kid’s menu. Note: I’m sure there are plenty of child psychologists that will be disappointed in this post, but they should file their complaints in our Diaper Genie.
Kate Loves Mac ‘N’ Cheese and we’re working on expanding her palate, but I bet she still eats more diverse food than most kids. When not eating Mac ‘N’ Cheese, Kate eats pho, noodles, seeweed salad, grilled chicken, fish, lobster, shrimp and a ton of other dishes. However, she is in a phase now, but you’ll have to admit… it is a cute phase to be in!
Here are a few pictures from Kate’s adorable lunch: [Read more…]
Jenny, Kate and I escaped the daily grind in Houston and headed for Southern Florida… We all agreed (especially Kate) that it was time for a family vacation and a post-birthday celebration for Jenny. Over the last fifteen months, we’ve taken Kate to Los Angeles, Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando, Chicago, and Tahoe. So for a change, we decided to head east (and south) to Key West.
Our trip started in Fort Lauderdale as we decided to break up the long travel days into bite size pieces. So, we booked a room at The Westin Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale for our first night. We arrived around 1PM and made our way to the hotel. After some refreshing we hit the beach and Kate got to put her toes in the Atlantic for the first time. Note: Kate did not like bare feet on sand. After our beach trip, we ate an early dinner at Shula’s on the Beach. Kate is a Mac-N-Cheese nut, so she was in heaven when her Lobster Mac & Cheese arrived. Jenny and I enjoyed a few glasses of wine and fish. We retired early to get rest for our leisurely drive to Key West.
The next day, we loaded up and hit the road. We stopped for lunch and play in Key Largo at The Island Grill. This is such a cool restaurant, overlooking the water with beach access. After eating Mac-N-Cheese, seaweed salad and a tuni steak, we hit their beach and just relaxed. This trip has no time tables and is simply a “play it by ear” vacation. After a while, we hit the highway and arrived in Key West in the early afternoon. [Read more…]
I’ve got the best wife… Every year for my birthday, Jenny plans a big gathering. This year, Jenny invited some of our closest friends to Lake Travis in Austin where we rented a large house for several days. We never left the house and used the time to catch up with each other. Everyone cooked their share of fantastic meals, we played board games for the first time since I was 16, found some new music (thanks Michael A.) and much more.
A big thanks to my wonderful wife for once again outdoing yourself. Also, thanks to Theresa, Mike & Amber; Michael & Henry; Lisa & Adrian, Annie & Tom; Michael & Melanie. Also, big thanks to Kate for being such a big girl and Max for your good behavior.
Here’s a few pictures from our weekend. [Read more…]