Day 2-5 in Hong Kong!

So sad- I just discovered that many of the photographs that I took are nowhere to be found. The ones from Victoria's Peak seem to have been rewritten over, as my camera has no memory of ever taking them and my lovely pictures from my little point and shoot are also gone, including pictures at the beach, food pictures, and stray dogs of Hong Kong. I have NO clue how that happened.

On our second day in Hong Kong, we spent it in Kowloon. I would post pix from dim sum, but alas those were on my small camera so those pictures are gone. We did a lot of walking that day- saw a couple temples (including the LDS one), saw crazy crowds in Mongkok, and also saw the Festival of Lights show in Victoria Harbor. We then went to a fairly expensive Indian restaurant where we had a curry that even burned through Adam's mouth (as the restaurant menu proclaimed, it was "HOT HOT HOT!"). It wasn't that enjoyable of an experience- they charged an arm and an a leg for soda and rice, I never did get any utensils or a plate (I borrowed Adam's appetizer plate and used a communal dish spoon), and they lost Paul's credit card for a good 15 minutes, searching under tables and around the restaurant. I would take India Cook House over this high-end place in Hong Kong any day!

Sunrise on day 2 (around 6:30am)

Betty's McD sundae fix...one of many on this trip!

LDS Temple- it was closed for cleaning, but Chris (who was a missionary in Hong Kong almost 10 years ago) got to talk to some of the missionaries who were around

Busy streets of Kowloon- everybody is out shopping

The light show off of the harbor- came with music and we saw a huge catfight between these two women! Lots of yelling and curing in Cantonese!

On our third day, we spent it on Hong Kong Island. We started off with some lunch at a local eatery (all the food pictures were on my little camera so are lost), then did some walking around SoHo and Causeway Bay. Since it was a Sunday, we saw crowds of Filipina women picnicking under awnings and buildings. We took the covered escalators to one of the temples there, before taking the tram up to Victoria's Peak. The view at sunset was beautiful, and there was a nice mix of fog, rain and lights.

Lunchtime at a small restaurant in Hong Kong- fun times, lots of food!

All over Hong Kong were huge crowds of women who were taking a break from their jobs as housekeepers, nannies, etc. With nowhere to go, they hang out with friends in the public spaces. Since there was rain out, every covered area was where the crowds went.

Covered escalators...glad they have them because the hills are STEEP!

One of my few pix from Victoria's Peak. I have no idea what happened to the hundreds of pix that I took, but they were not on the memory card. =( Luckily I got a few from Betty!

Day 4 was spent in Macau. I can't talk much about this day because I was sick with a cold and not in a particularly good mood. Adam probably can tell a better story. We did eat some amazing egg tarts here and I took my parents to get some cool stamps at the Post Office and took my mom to the Wynn to do a little gambling.

Inside the Wynn

Today was a catch up and breathe day! We slept in, did some laundry (which is still hanging to dry...with rain and humid weather, the clothes don't dry as fast as in Ridgecrest!) ate lunch in Mui Wo, took the dog out for a walk, then headed to Tai O to see the houses on stilts, walk through the dried seafood markets, and eat dinner. The dinner was a little underwhelming, despite the restaurant getting rave reviews from Lonely Planet.

One of the many large animals we saw on our walks in Pui O

Homes on stilts along the water in Tai O

One of the many dried seafood stands along the small streets in Tai O.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Hong Kong. Susan and Paul will ring in the new year in Victoria Harbor, but the rest of us don't have the energy to stick it out (plus I am still sneezing up a storm with my cold). I am going to take a ton of photos to make up for how I am feeling right now!

First Day in Hong Kong!!

We made it to Hong Kong and are having a great time (minus severe jet lag!). After an incredibly LONG flight on Cathay Pacific, we arrived at 6:30am in Hong Kong. We've been going non-stop ever since (and I think that it is definitely wearing on us...and our feet!).

On our first day (Dec. 26), we stayed on Lantau Island and rode the Ngong Ping 360 cable cars up to the Po Lin Monastery and the Giant Buddha. Susan and Paul then went to Hong Kong Island with Chris and Haylee and crashed the night with them while we stayed in Lantau and walked Piles the dog and rested up.

Here are some pix from our first day!

This is the house that we are staying at...note all the luggage! Yikes!

Piles, the dog we are walking while we stay at this house. He's already gotten me in trouble by peeing in front of someone's house (the old man who hollered at me and was appalled had to get out a bucket and wash down the walkway)

The gondola that we took to the Po Lin Monastery. It was a very nice long ride (after we waited in a VERY long line for about an hour and a half) and the 9 of us got to have a gondola all to ourselves. It went over the water, hills and mountains. Pretty great view!

The Giant Buddha! It doesn't looks so giant in a wide angle lens. As soon as I upload some of my pix from my other camera, I'll definitely share them!

Ok, well pix from days 2 and 3 will be coming soon! We spent day 2 in Kowloon and today we spent the day in Hong Kong Island. Tomorrow we are going to Macau...so I better head to bed early because I am B-E-A-T BEAT! ;)

Hong Kong and Taiwan, here we come!

Holy cow, I can't believe that it is already time for us to head off to Hong Kong and Taiwan. I have to admit that Adam and I have been totally neglectful of the holiday season and haven't properly wished our family and friends a happy holiday and merry Christmas. Heck, I've even missed a bunch of birthdays over the past few weeks too. So for all our family and friends reading this- you will probably get belated Christmas cards and will have to bear with our photos and stories from our vacation.

I recently purchased a brand new lens (Canon EF-S 10-22mm wide angle lens) and hope to get some amazing photographs from the trip!! If we have internet access abroad, we will definitely be sharing some stories and posting photographs! Love you all!

Below is a photo from 3 years ago on our way back from Michigan and our stop in New Mexico! It's amazing how quickly time has gone by (2 years ago we were in Beijing around Christmas, and last year we were in Key West!).

Camping at the Kern, Garden Updates & Disneyland!

I can't believe it is almost November! Things have been fairly uneventful, other than work (we moved in 1900+ students into Mesa Court in September, so its been busy). However, our garden is going great (no thanks to us...Renee and John are out there every day and we get out there when we can, which isn't saying much). We've had okra, basil, green chili peppers, bell peppers and tomatoes. Our carrots are still growing and our strawberry plants are going strong!




A few weeks ago, Adam and I made the leap and renewed our Disneyland passes so that we could join Amy, Kevin and the family while they were out here visiting. I'm glad that we have our passes again, but we haven't had a chance to go out since. Luckily a ton of friends have passes as well, so it won't be long before we get to go again.



Adam and I also headed out to the Kern River over the past weekend to go camping with Jennifer and my other co-worker Mitch. It was an incredibly nice break away from Irvine and work. We got to relax along the Kern River and I also spent some time stargazing, which you can't really do in the OC...I forgot how easy it is to see shooting stars- that night I saw 4!

Can we can fit everything into the car...?

Dinnertime!

Mitch reading by the fire...I need one of those headlights!!

On our hike, Jennifer found the perfect rock on the river

Mitch is wearing purple, wearing purple...or something.

Flyfishing on the Kern River

Jennifer and I on our hike!

California's fall colors- yellow & brown =)

Part of the river in our campground

Eggy casualty

Our Garden

UCI has a community garden for faculty & staff and my friend Renee had a couple plots with her husband. She was totally amazing and set aside some of the garden for Adam, Jennifer and I to use. She has been teaching us all the tricks of the trade (she is an amazing gardener and always brings us things like garlic, tomatoes, peppers, etc. when she worked in our office). We went to the nursery and bought some seeds and plants and are now well on our way to getting some tomatoes, green onions, carrots and bell peppers of our own. Unfortunately, something has been getting into our strawberries!! So exciting!!

Absolutely love our plot! Renee and John made it beautiful (and not just a dirt mound!)

Adam and Jennifer getting into the dirt

Jennifer and John noticed they were twins in their Celebrate UCI shirts