Tag Archives: Trips

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

A trip to Munich, Germany

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Marienplatz, Munich

For our team leadership meeting, I convinced my colleagues to hold it in Munich, where we have a small office. Our meeting was running Tuesday through Thursday so I flew in a few days early to visit around. I saw some of Munich, including the Deutsches Museum’s Transport Center and the Residenz, made it to Andech Monastery for their beer, did a day trip to Regensburg and had a bunch of great German food and beer. Our meeting was quite good too. Please see the Trip Report for more details and, of course, check out the photos.

Regensburg along the Danube River

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

A Christmas Cruise

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Anthem of the Seas

We had a great cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas over Christmas. We sailed from Bayonne, NJ (“Cape Liberty”, about 35 minutes from our house), down to Nassau, Bahamas and then Coco Cay, Bahamas (Royal Caribbean’s private island). We had a great time. It was wonderful to get away for a bit, especially into the warmth, visit a new country, and experience a cruise for the first time.

Of course, there’s a trip report and some photos.

Coca Cay, Bahamas

Summer 2021 Part 2 – The Adirondacks

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Our cabin in Caroga

Be sure to check out Part 1 – Maine and the Maine photos. Of course, there’s Adirondacks photos as well.

After spending the week in Camden, Maine, we headed back sort of toward home to spend a week in the Adirondacks. We had spent a week there in 2020 as well, but it seemed like another good spot. This year, instead of heading toward the north end of the region (Long Lake), we stayed further south in Caroga. Once again, we found the wonderful Auskerada Lodge AirBnB. This was down the end of a road, nestled back in the woods. It was wonderfully decorated and had two great screened in porches. One proved perfect for breakfast. It would have been nice to be right on the water but it was a seven or so minute walk down to a dock. Another reason for staying in the area is that Mick, a very good friend from my time in Boston, has a summer home about 10 minute drive from where we stayed.

The drive from Maine didn’t take as long as we expected given the traffic we saw on the way up to Maine, which used some of the same route. We ended up getting there around 5pm, including a stop at the supermarket in Gloversville as there isn’t so much in Caroga itself. We lucked out that it was the last night of the Caroga Lake Music Festival. We ended meeting Mick down at the pavilion, had some great local beer, and heard some great local music. It was a very nice way to start the week.

View from Kane Mountain

On Sunday, we met Mick again late in the morning for a hike up Kane Mountain, one of the more popular hikes in the area. It’s only a couple of miles but it was great to be out in the woods. For lunch, we grabbed some sandwiches from the Canada Lake Store which was a small spot but had good sandwiches, a surprisingly good beer selection, and a great bakery next door. After our late lunch, we used the time to relax around the cabin before a dinner in.

On Monday, it was some more hiking, this time to Indian Lake. This was a 4.5 mile hike so a bit longer but it was quite wet in many places. Again, it great to be outdoors. After our hike, we did the loop drive up to Speculator, with a stop for some decent ice cream, and then back though Wells and Benson. All in all a nice way to spend an afternoon. Dinner was once again at the cabin.

On Tuesday we ventured a little further afield, heading down to Saratoga Springs, about an hour east. We spent some time walking around town, including getting some excellent tea, both some leaves for home and some brewed to drink, at Saratoga Tea & Honey Company. For lunch, we headed to Druthers Brewing for some good burgers and good beer. After some more wandering, we headed out of town and stopped at Artisanal Brew Works for some really good beer. While I’m not usually a huge fan of sours, I loved a couple of theirs enough to bring a four pack. After another stop at the supermarket, we headed back to the cabin for the evening, including having a very nice time sitting around the fire.

Erie Canal Lock 17

For Wednesday, it was another day afield. This time we headed down to Little Falls, about 45 minutes southwest of Caroga. Here is Lock 17, the largest lock on the Erie Canal at 40.5 feet. After wandering the area a bit, we had some very tasty pizza at Mangia Marcina’s in an old mill building. After lunch, we stopped for a short walk around the Herkimer Home State Historic Site before stopping at the Dolgeville Bread Basket on the way home. For dinner, Mick and Liz had invited us to their house for a cookout. It was great to hang out him them, have some burgers and beer, and just chat the evening away.

Paul along the Hudson River

Mick and I had made plans for a decent length hike on Thursday. We met up around 9:00, stopped at the store for some sandwiches and snacks, and then headed about an hour north to Indian Lake, not too far from where we stayed last year, to do the OK Slip Falls hike. It had been quite some time since I’ve done a real hike but given my regular running over the last 18 months or so, I’m up to around 30 miles per week, I was looking forward to it. The hike was quite good. We did all the way down to the Hudson River where we stopped for a lunch and beer break. Overall, the hike totaled 9.5 miles with a couple of good uphill sections. The view of the falls was also very nice. It was good, strenuous walk. On the way back, we stopped at Lemon Tree Brewery in Speculator for a quick fruited sour, perfect after the hike. (Lemon Tree isn’t really a brewery, at least not yet, but had a nice selection of local brews.) After Mick dropped me off at the cabin, we had some dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Sunset on Canada Lake

Friday was yet another hike after a relaxing morning, this time the short 2 mile hike out to Nine Corner Lake. After hanging out at the lake for a bit, we hiked back to the car and ended up back at Mick and Liz’s. We had a nice time just hanging out for a while before Mick headed out to get some take out dinner a spot I can’t remember and then hanging out some more for the evening. I was a really nice way to spend our last evening on vacation.

Overall, both weeks were really nice. It was nice to see my Dad and to catch up with Mick and Liz. Camden was a great as was Caroga. Camden was a bit more active with lots to do while Caroga was more relaxing. It was nice to have the full two weeks away from work. Having two smaller, laid back vacations was nice but we’re really looking forward to our Christmas cruise in December and to our big Baltic Sea cruise next year for a “real” vacation.

Morning along Caroga Lake