Tag Archives: photos

A week in Phoenix with my dad

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In Cave Creek Regional Park

Be sure to check out the full trip photo album.

Sat and Sun: I had some extra time off and had been wanted to get out to Arizona to see my dad and Sharon. With other time constraints, including the desire to avoid the hot weather that would be there during my mid-August week off, I decided the first week in March would work well. Kyle and I hopped a plane for the nearly six hour trip from Newark. After a bit of a rough descent, we landed a bit early and met my dad and Sharon at the airport. We stopped for some good pizza at Picazzo’s in Glendale on the way to their place in Sun City West. We had a nice evening of just hanging out. On Sunday, Sharon, my dad and I headed up to Cave Creek for some nice hiking, good Mexican food at El Encanto and a wander around town. After dropping Sharon off back him, my dad and I hit up the State 48 Brewery right near them. (Decent enough beer.)

Mon: This was a quiet day. I got a morning run in and then we spent most of the day around the house. In the afternoon, my dad and I headed up to do the really nice Waterfall Canyon Trail in White Tank Mountain Regional Park. On the way home, we stopped by O.H.S.O. Brewery in Surprise for a couple of burgers and some decent beer.

Near Bell Rock, Sedona

Tues: We had originally talked about going overnight to Sedona but ended up making the roughly 2.5 hour drive just for the day. (This ended up being fine.) After a quick stop at the visitors’ center, we all headed out on the Bell Rock Trail. Kyle and I went a bit further than my dad but eventually got to a point that involved rock scrambling. I went up one tricky bit but am glad Kyle did not as getting down was interesting. After the hike, we headed up to the wonderful Airport Scenic Viewpoint. This is supposed to be spectacular at sunset but was still very nice midday. Is was then back into town for lunch at Sedona Pizza Company (good pizza but pricey) and a wander around town. Next up was the drive to see some Native American ruins at Tuzigoot National Monument before a quick stop in the old mining town of Jerome.

Wed: Another quiet day. I got a morning run in where I saw two coyotes. (I had seen a single one Sunday morning as well.) Late in the afternoon, Kyle, my dad and I popped over to one of the Sun City West the rec centers for some time playing pool and then a round of mini-golf. We had a ton of fun.

In Wickenburg

Thur: Sharon, my dad and I headed up to the old town of Wickenburg, about 40 mins away. After some good Mexican food (though way too many Trump signs) at Anita’s Cocina, we had a nice visit to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. This was quite a nice museum and includes a reconstructed bit of town inside the museum. After the museum, we wandered town and headed back to Sun City West. Later, my dad and I headed over to the Cactus Taproom and Beer Store in Peoria for some really good beer there and to bring home.

Fri and Sat: Friday morning, it was actually raining quite hard. We spent most of the day just hanging around. In the afternoon, I grabbed and Uber downtown (a bit over an hour) to hit up Arizona Wilderness brewery (great beer) and then Greenwood (good beer as well). I had planned to hit up Roses by the Stairs as well, going as far as to do the 25 min walk there, but decided just to head home. On Sat, I snuck in a short morning run before finalizing packing and heading to the airport. The flight home was fine, even getting in a bit early.

We had a great time being out in the Phoenix area, which was the first time for us. It was great to see my dad and Sharon. I hope to get back at some point and see more of the area as well.

View from Bell Rock, Sedona

Two Weeks in the Land of the Rising Sun

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In Kyoto

Back in August, we spent a great, though hot, two weeks in Japan. We spent a few days in Tokyo before leaving (a day early due to a Typhoon) for a couple of days in Fukuoka, then a couple of days in Hiroshima, and ending with a few days in Kyoto. Suzanne and Kyle loved seeing Japan and Asia, I loved being back in Japan and I even got to see a few new things. Of course, the flight from the US was long, though we flew direct from Newark to Tokyo in business class on the way over which was great. All our travel in Japan was by train which was great and super easy. I’m not sure August was the best time to go as it was super hot (up to 98F) and humid but that’s the time that fit with our schedule. Of course, I put together a (long) Trip Report and posted some photos.

Meiji Shrine, Tokyo

Weekend at Joshua Tree National Park

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Be sure to check out more photos.

Joshua Tree at Sunset

Back in April, I had a work trip planned to San Diego. As a bonus, I was able to plan a weekend in Joshua Tree NP, a little ways from Palm Springs. This worked out very well as I ended up planning some work stuff the week before my original trip as well so would have had to fill up a weekend. I picked up a rental car Friday morning in Thousand Oaks (a little north of LA), spent Friday and Saturday night near JT (in a very so-so Super 8, there wasn’t much to select from), and then drove back to San Diego Sunday for my meeting that started Monday. I ended up not getting into the park until fairly late due to the drive, waiting for my room, and then some car issues. (My rental ended up needing 4 quarts of oil over two days!) I ended up doing the following:

  • Fri – Got into the park around 3:45, made some stops for photos along the road, drove down to Cholla Cactus Garden, did hike to Arch Rock and Heart Rock, back to hotel (some photos of sunset on way out), stop at Wal-Mart for Sat lunch, dinner at Las Palmas (decent)
  • Sat – Up early, sunrise at Quail Springs, hike to Barker Dam (which had water), hike to Wall Street Mill (kind of reminded me of Big Thunder Mountain in Disney World), drive up to Keys View, lunch at parking for Lost Horse Mine Trail, hike to Lost Horse Mine, continue to do all of Lost Horse Loop Trail, quick stop at Cap Rock, left park around 3 (glad I got there early as the line to get in now was massive), relax/photos at hotel, dinner at 2 Guys Pies pizza (good pizza and local beer)
  • Sun – Up early, pack up and check out, hike to Fortynine Palms, leave park around 9am and drive to San Diego (with a stop at In-and-Out burger on the way), at my hotel in SD around 2.
Sunrise at Quail Springs

Our Adventure to Alaska

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Near Denali

Back in July, we had the fortune to spend a great two and a half weeks visit Alaska. We flew to Anchorage, met up with Suzanne’s parents, Jack and Mary Lou, spent a week driving around and then spent a week on a cruise down the inside passage. We ended with a few days in Vancouver, BC, Canada. It was an amazing trip of scenery and wildlife with some great experiences and cool towns/cities. Combining the time on land with the cruise along the southeast coast worked out perfectly. We had decent weather overall, though a day of rain kind of put a damper on our time in Talkeetna. I cannot recommend enough jumping at the chance to visit “The Last Frontier” should you ever get the chance. Of course, I put together a Trip Report (probably too long) and posted a ton of photos. (I took around 6000 but won’t subject everyone to all of them.)

Hubbard Glacier

Trip to Portland, OR

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A much belated post, but back in April, we had an in person team summit in Portland, OR. I headed out a bit early to see some of the area. I had been in March 2019 but focused on the Columbia River Gorge that trip. For this one, I wanted to head out to the coast. I flew in late Friday night, spent Saturday and Sunday night in Cannon Beach, and then flew back home from Portland on the Friday night redeye. I was a great trip, both professionally and as a tourist on the coast.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, OR at Sunrise

Trip to Seattle

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Recently, my boss asked myself and the other team lead for our group about having a leadership summit, where we could spend a few days seriously focused on team improvements. As she works from home in Seattle and it’s tricky for her to travel more than she already does, she also asked if we would be willing to come out to Washington state. As I had never been to Seattle, and barely to Washington, I immediately said yes. I decided to spend a few extra days to see the city and surroundings. It was a great visit, both as a tourist and for work.

Seattle and Mt. Rainier from Kerry Park

Our Baltic Sea Cruise

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Nyhavn, Copenhagen

A few weeks back, we finally managed to go on what was supposed to be our first cruise after several cancellations and rebookings after our original booking in Feb 2020. This was on the Baltic Sea out of Copenhagen, Denmark onboard Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas. We had a great time visiting Copenhagen before embarkation and visiting eight other ports, none of which we had ever been to before, over 11 days. We got to see a lot of new places, meet some nice people, and even had a couple of day to relax.

Of course, there’s a (too long) trip report and lots of photos.

Voyager of the Seas (blue) in Tallinn, Estonia