Category Places

From March 2020 to August 2020, we’ve been in a Coronavirus pandemic which so far has claimed 150,000 lives in the States. Fortunately, we have at this point not contracted the disease but you never know. I’ve been teleworking all this time, first at Aperture and then Mom-Pop’s house. It’s been okay but stressful since work has been non-stop plus organizing everything we have to get done for Tunis. We are down to our final 5 days in the States and depart for Tunis on August 6. Our packout is done and the only items left is the pickup of our car and our COVID test on August 5. Hopefully, it’s negative and our flights don’t get canceled since we fly to New York, Paris, and then Tunis. I’ll need to hone my IT skills and start reading more about project management. Aiden and Sona are doing well so far and he’ll start kindergarden on August 25 at ACST. Sona will settle in and maybe find work at some point. We’ll be in temporary housing for two weeks before moving to our permanent home. See you in Tunis!

What a vacation in Orlando! We decided to spend our anniversary in Florida along with taking Aiden to Disney World! We left on Thursday morning and arrived around 11 to our hotel. We used Marriot Points so it was completely free. That afternoon we met up with Nathalia from Sao Paulo who gave us some advice on what to see and do. We went back and took it easy at the hotel. The next day, we decided to go to ICON park and play put-put. There we also did the Eye of Orlando and took Aiden took an aquarium where he found all the fish and got the paperwork stamped. Our first Disney park on Saturday was Epcot and Aiden took all the rides including Soarin and some Land and Water rides. We also saw all the countries and had lunch at the Moroccan place which had excellent food and wine.

The next day, we decided to do Animal Kingdom and the first ride was in Pandora called Flight of Passage where we stayed in line almost 2 hours for a 5 minute ride where it was simulated we rode dinosaurs as an Avator around Pandora. Aiden was scared at first but did it! We also did a Safari which took almost 3 hours and then did a Dinosaur ride which was pitch dark but Aiden seemed to like it. Dinner was at City Walk where we had Mexican before it started raining. We took an Uber back to the hotel.

The final day was shopping and we went to Premium Outlets and then Disney Springs to walk around and relax. We also did some bowling at Disney Springs where Aiden took the first game and I took the second. A lot of great memories and we’ll come back after Tunisia to do the other two parks (Magic Kingdom and Hollywood theme park).

What a vacation! This was our all inclusive Mexican Christmas vacation with us, Mom-Pop, Arti-Suraj, Darrell-Sapna-Amara-Nayan, and Suraj’s parents. We left on December 22nd after a rough night with Aiden complaining about his cheek and jaw. Thankfully, he felt better in the morning and we all left around 5:30 AM with a Uber to the airport. Met up with parents and Arti-Suraj and flew to Cancun. Aiden sat with Mom-Pop on the flight there. The Sandos Playacar resort was amazing with a huge lobby and fantastic customer service. We were starving so first went to the Bar Snack place for a late lunch. After eating, we checked into our room and relaxed for a bit. Dinner was a buffet place called Festival where there are numerous choices for all of us to eat.

The next day, I took Aiden on a bicycle tour around the resort and outside as well. Then we walked around checking out the entire resort and got our bearings. Dinner was Mexican where they had an awesome dessert even though the food was just okay. On Tuesday, we hit the gym early before meeting everyone for breakfast at Festival. I took Aiden swimming and we relaxed.

We decided on Wednesday to go to Tulum and booked a private tour which took us there. Nice place and it was a good decision. The site was amazing and it was kind of like Macchu-Picchu lite. We spent almost 4 hours there before returning and walking into town. Afterwards, Arti, Sona, and I had Tequila shots and chatted for two hours before we decided to go Parasailing.

Thursday we relaxed and did some shopping and took Aiden around the resort. We also had Italian food for dinner and spotted so many animals including iguanas, Mexican racoons, and other native creatures. All in all a great trip but many of us got sick including Suraj, Darrell, and Sona!

We booked a summer vacation to Colorado for 5 days! Our base was Estes Park which is the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park. We arrived on a Wednesday and that night we just ordered Dominos Pizza and relaxed at the hotel (Best Western). The next day, we took a hike around Lily Lake which is on the back side of the park. It was scenic and caught some nice reflections from the mountains. Not much wildlife except geese. Afterwards, we went to another hiking place which promised waterfalls but after 30 minutes of walking, we turned around. In the afternoon, we decided to go to Fun City and played mini gold along with go karting! A lot of fun for sure. The next day, we drove to Denver and spent all day taking the free bus up and down the main street and took Aiden to a children’s museum. We also took a trolley which went to Mile High Stadium and the aquarium. The following day we took the Trail Ridge Road all the way to Alpine Village in the Rocky Mountains. Some amazing scenery and even ran into Sue Niblock’s ex by coincidence. Boulder was next later that day and we just saw the Flatirons and walked down Pearl Street and ate Japanese food. A fun trip and even did a cable car up the mountain to see some more great views. Wildlife we saw included elk, moose, chipmunk, coyote, and even a marmot. Great state and hope to be back during the winter to do some skiing!

We took a 4 day trip to San Diego on our 17th Anniversary weekend. I took a day off on Valentine’s Day and on Friday we flew early to San Diego. The layover was in Chicago for three hours before we arrived around 3:30. We took a taxi to the Marriott Marquis Hotel and that night just had dinner at the hotel. We had appetizers and two glasses of red wine. Aiden was exhausted by 7 so he slept around 8 and we went to be shortly thereafter. The next day, we went for a long walk to Balboa Park and saw gardens and Aiden found a playground. From the park, we took an Uber to SeaWorld and spent the rest of the day there catching 4 shows with Dolphins, Orcas, and Sea Lions. Aiden also rode some kiddie rides and seemed to have a great time! Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant which was alright but not spectacular.

The next day, we booked a trolley bus tour around the city and saw Old Town, Coronado, Little Italy, and Hudson Plaza. We took the bridge to Coronado Island and walked around Old Town where we had lunch. We ended the tour around 4 and had dinner in Little Italy before taking an Uber back to the hotel.

The next day we woke up early and I rode an electric scooter with Aiden around our hotel and we walked and took pictures before taking an Uber to the airport. This time our layover was in Dallas where we stayed 2 hours before returning home around 11 PM. A fun trip and I personally love the city!

We decided to take a day trip to Hershey Park in late December. I went there as a kid but don’t remember too much. Mainly for Aiden to check out Chocolate World and take some kiddie rides. There was also a Christmas light show in the evening and most of the park was lit up with different colors which made it magical. The trip took 2.5 hours from our place and we got there around 11:00. The first stop was Chocolate World and we took a tour to see how chocolate is made and had lunch there. Then we entered the main park and Aiden took around 6 rides including Starship, Bees, Frogger, Train, and a couple of others. Bishal and I went on a roller coaster and we left around 5:30 since it was getting chilly. We ate at a grilled place close to Hershey and then went home getting back around 10 PM. Great trip and Aiden seemed to have fun as well! We’ll definitely go back in the Summer!

Probably the most beautiful photo we took was the reflection of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman off of Lake Matheson.  We drove about an hour from Fox Glacier and first had breakfast at a fantastic café overlooking the mountains.  After bundling up, we started our hike through the woods to get to Reflection Island where the money shot was.  Aiden was cooperative for a while but then I had to carry him on my shoulders and Sona also carried him part of the time.  We walked almost an hour around the lake before finally finding the spot.  The view was spectacular and the reflection of the mountains was quite clear as well as the surrounding trees.  I should’ve waited a little bit longer to take the picture since there were ripples from a duck family going across but still absolutely worth it.

After we rented our RAV 4 (nice ride by the way) in Greymouth, we drove straight to Franz Josef area to check in to our hotel.  The drive down there was rainy and we were hoping to get there with no road closings.  Fortunately, we made it and checked into a cozy hotel with an electric fireplace and short drive to the town center.  That evening we ordered room service and unpacked our clothes.

The next day was sunny and after debating during breakfast, we decided to do a helicopter ride over the glaciers.  Aiden even enjoyed it and we landed on top of Fox Glacier where we had a snowball fight and took in some breathtaking views.  The chopper ride was for 30 minutes and it was a memorable experience.  After lunch, we did the hike to Franz Josef holding Aiden most of the time on my shoulders.  The hike took almost 2 hours round trip and the views were okay.  The glacier is receding so it doesn’t look as great as let’s say 10 years ago.

We found a café to eat afterwards and then took it easy at the hotel.  The next leg of our journey was the drive to Te Anau!

We started this journey in Christchurch.  Flew in from Wellington the night before to get some rest before the early morning train ride to Greymouth.  Enjoyed the amazing breakfast at the Rydges that morning and then took a taxi to the train station.  It wasn’t that crowded and our seats were at a table.  Windows all around so amazing views throughout of the Southern Alps and surrounding countryside.  An hour into our trip, we all got coffees and bought Aiden a fluffy.  He came with me to the café area to help carry the beverages.  I went outside a few times in the open carriage to take pictures of the Alps.  It was definitely a great experience and highly recommend to anyone wanting to see breathtaking scenery.

In March 2018, I scheduled Windows 10 training in Manila for one week.  We decided to go to Angeles and Cebu for a week vacation afterwards.  The hotel in Manila (Pan Pacific) was amazing!  Fantastic food and excellent customer service.  Aiden got sick but the onsite doctor prescribed antibiotics which resolved the issue after several days.  The training was informative and I met my TDYer (Joy) who will be covering Wellington until my successor arrives in August.  Sightseeing wise, we went to a couple of malls (Greenbelt and Greenfields) and saw city of dreams complex where he had dinner with Joy at the Hyatt.  Pan Pacific had 6 PM cocktails every evening with food which we took advantage of and saved money by not eating out.

After Manila, we went to Angeles City.  We hired a car/driver to take us there which took around 2 hours.  The hotel was Prime City Resort which was respectable and they offered shuttle service to Walking Street (the sleazy red light district of Angeles). The next day, we took Aiden to Dinosaur Island where he was quite scared of the “robotic” dinosaurs.  They did a good job with making them move and audio sound effects.  The highlight was the dinosaur dancing show at the end where they get really close and chomp at us.  Aiden was petrified during this part.  Afterwards, we took it easy at the hotel and relaxed.  We did see our land and decided to keep it for now.  Met with Susan who is trying to convince to build a house there.  We’ll see.  Angeles is a nice city and the Clark base seems to be growing year by year.

Our final stop was Cebu where we spend 4 nights at the Crimson Resort which was amazing as well.  Swam with Aiden several times, played pool with him, and enjoyed the awesome breakfast.  There was a kidzone for him which he enjoyed and a bunch of Easter activities like finding easter eggs and obstacle course.  They gave us a free bottle of wine and let us eat at Enya restaurant for breakfast which was a lot nicer then the buffet place.  A great relaxing 4 days.  Even hit the gym a couple of times.

Enjoyed our Phillipine adventure and hoping to come back sometime in the future and try another resort!