My bud, myself, and our friend Linda – we are all Harry Potter fans.
So we decided to go to University Studios to check out Harry Potter world.
We somehow decided to pick a wet and dreary day. Sounds on brand.
To Hogsworth
Tag Archives: road trip
This thing about Lighthouses…and a wedding
This weekend we went to Paso Robles to see my bud’s friends, Kurt and Devon get married.
That’s them.
My bud and Pokin cheered them on.
It was my first time to Paso Robles. I didn’t actually realize there was wine country south of Napa. I guess I’ve been ignorant!
After their wedding, it was time to head up to San Francisco for some meetings. Along the way, Pokin wanted to see some castle. It was ok.
Hearst Castle is this crazy building built by the founder of the Hearst Media empire. Apparently he was inspired on a trip to Europe an wanted to build his very own castle in the middle of nowhere, California. It start as a bungalow apparently. Then scope creep happened. It got big. And ridiculous. Now it’s a tourist attraction.
Onward to SF.
Nicholas’ mom really likes lighthouses. I don’t get it, but we went to see one anyway. Here it is.
After that we stayed at a random hotel which was entirely unremarkable until I saw they made me a bear size throne. Nicholas said it was too big for me, but he just doesn’t understand.
This is the perfect throne for me to grow into.
Oatman and the Donkeys
Today we took a day trip over to Oatman, AZ, where a bunch of wild burros hang out. The town still looks like it’s out of a Wild West movie set, which is why it’s still a tourist attraction. Wildflowers looked in bloom!
Onwards to San Juan Del Sur
We got up in the morning, and at 10am, our taxi driver from yesterday, Marcao came to pick us up. Today’s trip is a 2.5 hour drive from Managua down to San Juan Del Sur. I’m particularly excited about this destination as my bud tells me we might move here. I was a little mixed about moving to Nicaragua, but then I read in the Lonely Planet Guide book that they grow cacao here. Being situated close to a cocoa source? I could live with that. Onwards!
Along the drive we passed by sugar plantations, and got our first glimpses of that famed Lake Nicaragua. Lake is big! Looks like the ocean!
Yesterday for lunch, we invited our taxi driver Marcao to eat with us, so today he kindly offered to take us to visit some of the sites on our way to San Jan.
One detour Marcao took us to was Laguna Apoyo. This lake is formed from the caldera of an extinct volcano. The volcano must have been massive, as the laguna has a diameter of 6.6km.
What was interesting about this stop was that it felt more like a local tourist stop than international. Most of the souvenirs were brightly coloured and comprised lawn ornaments. Also all manner of tropical plants were being sold in little plastic bags. I tried to look for a cacao plant, but alas, I had no wifi and I have no idea what cacao plants look like. Nicholas, help me find one!
We then walked along the rim a little along with all the other local tourists before getting back to the car to continue on our way.
Right around 1:30, we got into the hotel where we are staying, the Villas de Palermo. The Villas de Palermo are set of apartments that are run like a hotel. My bud tells me we signed up for the all inclusive package. Sweet!
This is where I am going to camp out to sip my cold beverages of choice.
Next stop – the beach!
Villas de Palermo isn’t really walking distance to the beach, but they offer a free shuttle. So we hopped on the shuttle and went down the beach.
Annnnd apparently we missed the memo that Nicaragua is a Canadian hotspot. French Canadians everywhere for Sunday Funday! That’s right, these fellow Canadians know about Super Sumi Sunday!! Except that they seemed to be more interested in partying and drinking beer than gaming. Silly Canadians.
Not a bad view.
I could like it here.
Check out more of these partying Canadians.
Bear in the Spotlight
This week, we’re in Hollywood for the Unite conference run by Unity. During one of the breaks I got up on the stage.
Check out how natural I look on that stage. I should be there giving talks. Overall the conference wasn’t bad, but I wish they did a bit of a better job screening their speakers. Speaking ability wasn’t high on the requirements list, unfortunately.
Superbloom!
Well today is a sunday. Normally that would mean Super Sumi Sunday.
Instead, it was a day devoid of gaming.
Instead we packed up the car and drove to the middle of the dessert in the middle of nowhere just to check out some flowers.
I can see flowers in my front yard. I fail to see the appeal.
“Sumi, it’s the superbloom,” Nick tried to explain.
“Trying to add SUPER onto something doesn’t make it super great,” I countered.
Superbloom is a phenomenon that happens in Death Valley roughly whenever we have El Nino. Then all the wildflower seeds that have been sitting dormant in the valley get doused with enough water to burst out in flowers. It happens about every decade or so.
So we had an El Nino this winter and somehow “we” decided the resulting bloom was important enough to see.
I don’t know who “we” were. I’m sure my bud would have voted the same way I would have.
Anyway here we are.
Check out the flowers.
Yeah. That’s the superbloom.
Another day, another road trip
My bud’s good friend is getting married in Hood River Oregon, and we’re back on the road again towards the wedding. I made sure to bring my posse. Bud, bunny, bot. Check. Check. Check.
In an effort to avoid our usual route to Oregon (and my least favourite city – Tonopah), we took a route that went through Idaho. Idaho! I’ve never been to Idaho! Maybe it’s cool!
Our first stop was for gas and lunch. And outside the McDonalds were sculptures of bears. That’s cool! Bears are great!
And then we were in Idaho. I was excited. I got out for a photo.
My bud wasn’t as excited. His loss.
Sometime later in the day we finally got to our resting stop for the night. Boise! It was dark. There wasn’t much to see. We tried to go to bed.
And that’s when I realized my bunny’s got a problem.
There we were claiming our bed and getting ready for bed when I hear Peep.
“Peep” he says.
“Nice job. You found the coffee pot.” I tell Peep. “Now go to sleep. Here, you can even have a coffee cup.”
“Peep” he says. And – he. wouldn’t. stop.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to sneak more coffee in while I was asleep.
We’re going to need to do something about this. Tomorrow.
Made out like a bear bandit
Meet myself, negotiator extraordinaire.
We’re on a road trip to Bend to help Nicholas’ sister move, and I’m loaded up with chocolates and treats for this trip.
Nicholas’ sister called him for help with her move down to Hayfork. She needed him to drive his other sister to Bend. Naturally as his best bear bud and manager I intercepted the call, and had Nicholas negotiate sufficient compensation for this unexpected trip.
Trade deal: trip for ridiculous amounts of chocolate, candy, and energy drinks.
Deal struck, goods received, happy bear.
Crater Lake – a grand detour
We’re just about home. Final stop is Crater Lake.
We were thinking about camping here too, but given that the area gets 44 feet of snow a year and that the park is only officially open for July and August we decided we were a bit too early.
Still I wanted to drive by and see it.
Yep it’s still early.
There’s still a giant snowplough on standby.
Still fun to see it now before all the snow melts.
If only it wasn’t like a 2 hour detour to go.
When in Vegas
Apparently for Pokin, Vegas = buffets.
So instead of seeing all the shows we just went to the Bacchanal Buffet in Caesar’s Place in Vegas.
We were going back on the road again soon so we ended up eating at 10:45am. It was a bit early for my best bear bud and I — especially since they started switching over to lunch foods already by 11:00, but I guess we got lunch for breakfast prices at least. ($25.95 instead of $35.95)
Bacchanal Buffet is billed as the largest buffet in the world. There are over 500+ dishes. We got a quick tour.
I loaded my plate up right away with lots of desserts. YEAH.
I guess it was too early for Nicholas so he couldn’t eat too much.
Pokin didn’t do too poorly, she filled her plates.
That was kind of fun. I could have eaten more chocolate cake but I think it was way too much for my best bear bud and he felt a bit ill after. Given that I weigh 186* and he only weighs 115* I weigh more and can out eat him too!
* if you ignore that one is grams and the other is pounds. I’m dealing strictly with the numbers here.