You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Adventures’ category.
It’s been a long, occupied, and notably adventurous summer for me at home. Excursions to the outdoors were some of the best parts!
LANAI
Here’s a collage of scenic photographs I took on a camping trip:
Notable things about Lanai: it’s privately owned, expensive to visit, and milk is $8. =)
HALEAKALA CRATER
I hiked in for a two-night stay in the beautiful crater of a dormant volcano.
The scenery both at Lanai and on the summit of Haleakala on Maui is just so phenomenal. Two of my favorite places on Earth are must-visits! Particularly at the right time of day – dramatic low sunlight provides for gorgeous contrast. In my experience, there is no better place to see the sunset than the tidepools in Lanai, and the sunrise is also best from atop the crater on Maui.
Last week my mom and I took a trip to the “green city” of Oregon since neither of us had really been there before and I will be moving there next month to begin grad school. I was successful in both finding a nice apartment to rent and exploring a little of the city – its 4+ modes of public transportation, shops, and restaurants. 
awesome apartment + city roads dominated by trains and buses… and bikes
I’d have to say, considering how energy-conservational the civil engineers make it a point to be, it sure is challenging to navigate the roads as newcomers. They are indeed super bike-friendly (I am so thankful!) but there are a few areas where you can never make right turns or left turns in your car and you’d better come prepared with a great map or a reliable GPS for driving.
We spent a couple days walking around the campus of Oregon Health and Science University which is just spectacular for a hospital plus many schools to be closely arranged on a single hill; it reminded me of a theme park. =) What a nice place to be!
Both on Marquam hill and downtown you’ll find lots of compacted trailer-eateries which are probably most comparable to the food trucks I saw when I was living in Boston. The food is quick and… the quality you’d expect of quick; I just thought it was neat to see transportable restaurants everywhere.
The Renaissance Faire out in Tuxedo, NY is a weekend festival geared toward kids, rebel teens, and fantasy-world adults. It’s open once a year from August – September on their permanent park grounds in the middle of northern NY’s forests.
Upon entering the fair grounds with your $20 ticket, the first thing you’ll notice is the variety of colorful characters amongst the mundane dwellers.
The food is expensive so it’s wise to eat before arriving in Costume Land; but then again, the waitresses are pretty so you may want to sample some of their medieval-themed snacks if you’ve got some spare dough.
Fairy fountains, corseted acrobats, kiddie games, leather armory and weapon shops, jousting, an iron forge… are all just a glimpse of all the interesting features the faire has to offer.
Live chess game and cute kids everywhere.
What else? Hermit crabs for sale, glass blowing demonstrations, a mushroom garden and chatty elves are all over the place selling roses.
“New this season: Commando Work Kilts”
Check out this guy who balanced a ladder on his chin for two seconds! (click to zoom in)
This little girl was so cute.
And Rowan’s just adorable =)
