First Time in Philly

Ding dong

After my trip to Boston last month, the last major city on the east coast to cross off my list was Philadelphia.  I've heard mixed reviews in the past... some people love it, some not so much.  My friend Tag was having his Dirty 30 last weekend there, so it was a perfect time for me to do some sightseeing and have a place to stay.  My project on in Connecticut makes it an easy trip to get pretty much anywhere on the eastern seaboard and it's better than trying to fly there from the west coast.

I got to Philly by taking Amtrak down from Connecticut – it was only about a 3 hour ride.  I’ve gotten used to taking the trains between the major cities like I did on my trips around Belgium and Holland a few years ago.  It’s kind of nice avoiding the traffic and relaxing.  I used to get pretty motion sick but I’ve gotten to the point where I can do a crossword puzzle and light reading on the train.  Tag and Missy, his girlfriend, picked me up from the train station and took me to South Street.  I immediately recognized it from the opening credits of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  The bars were relatively quiet (as it was a Thursday night) so we only had a few drinks at Jon's and went to their apartment.

The next day Tag played tour guide around downtown Philly.  We walked by Betsy Ross’ house, but we didn’t have much interest/time to go inside.  The Liberty Bell was free to see and we only had to wait in a line for about 5 minutes.  It’s funny that I recognized it more from National Treasure than from history class.  We also briefly walked into the massive Masonic Temple which was a place where the founding fathers of lore made plans for our new country.  That looked cool but we really didn't have time for it either.

Creepy Wooden Statues R Us

One of the more random stops we made was at “The Most Unusual Store in Philadelphia.” Tag had never noticed it before, but had probably walked by it a handful of times.  We went inside and were faced with hundreds of wooden carvings, statues, weapons and oddities from Africa.  It was dark and dusty and could have been the setting to a scary movie where the figures come to life when the sun goes down.  (When I started Googling the store for this post, I found out that the owner got busted a few years ago for smuggling carved ivory into the US.)

Later that afternoon we drove by the Philadelphia Museum of Art (made famous from Rocky), but I didn’t get to take a good picture.  They were preparing for the PhiladelphiaMarathon later in the weekend and we had to stay on schedule.  I was meeting my friends David and Carrie for dinner and they lived a little ways outside of the city.  David and I went to grad school together and I hadn’t seen him since he and Carrie had their 3 kids (chaos!!!).  So we got a chance to catch up and have a home cooked meal… I also got a little sneak peak on how parenthood changes everything!

Geno's vs. Pat's

I met back up with Tag and Missy after dinner and we hung out until a few more of his friends came in from out of town.  We went out to 'center city.'  The names escape me now but there was nothing especially noteworthy about them.  And we weren't out to rage all night long since tomorrow was going to be a big day.

We took it easy the next morning and started prepping for everyone to come over.  We got the house in order and then took another stroll around Old City.  Before the party got going we had to take a little car ride to South Philly to sample cheese steaks at Geno’s and Pat’s.  These two Philly cheese steak rivals have been going at it for years, and it's something you have to do when you visit the city.  Just know what you're going to order beforehand so you don't get yelled at.  Tag and Missy were well versed in the lingo and we split up our orders so we could all sample both… I ended up being a Geno’s guy for the bread and cuts of meat although I think everyone else was a bigger fan of Pat’s.  (makes me want a cheese steak right now...)

Musical Chairs Flip Cup

I met a lot of Tag and Missy’s friends at the party and introduced them to Musical Chairs Flip Cup. I figured that they would appreciate it, considering Flip-Flip-Flip-adelphia.  After the party wound down I went with one of their friends to an after party at the Racket Club of Philadelphia.  I’ve never been to a racquet club before, but it seemed like a country club in the city.  Walking in, it felt like a very blue blood, old money place to hang out.  I could see old guys with cigars making some major business deals in that building.  Every wall was covered with black and white pictures of members posing in athletic attire and group shots.  Despite all of that, there were a bunch of young people in tuxedos playing beer pong – pretty random.  It was a very interesting place to end up late night but we didn’t stay long.

After a short night of sleep I caught a taxi in the morning to the bus station.  Instead of taking the train back to Connecticut, Tag recommended that I take the Megabus back to New York.  You could get there for $20 and it took about the same amount of time.  I would still have to cross Manhattan to get to Grand Central for a train back to Stamford, but it was cheaper and easier to do it that way.  I don’t feel like I got a FULL weekend doing things in Philly… seeing the Rocky statue close up, soaking in a little more history, etc. so I’ll have to come back for that.

Finally Visiting Boston

I've flown into the Boston airport a few times on my way out to Cape Cod (where my company, BackOffice Associates, is headquartered) but have never actually seen the city.  A few friends from the company have been inviting me to come up to hang out and I finally found time to make it happen.  After my recent breakup, and the discovery that she was already in another relationship, I really needed a weekend to get my mind off of it and distract myself with something new.

Liberty Hotel lobby and former jail

Instead of flying home to California for the weekend, my client bought me a train ticket to Boston on the Acela (bullet train).  It took about 3 hours and I tried to work on the ride but the internet signal was way too inconsistent to get anything done.  I had never taken a high spreed train and I'll definitely do it again if I'm going to one of the major east coast cities.

I took a subway from the train station to a stop right near the hotel where I'd be staying Thursday night.  My Starwood points got me a free night's stay at The Liberty Hotel. Since the guys from my company worked similar schedules and were traveling in on Thursday night, we all agreed to meet up on Friday afternoon.  I had almost an entire day to myself to explore and sightsee on my own.

I had no idea how cool the hotel would be... it was re-purposed from the Charles Street Jail, built in 1851.  There are placards and videos that tell you about its history.  The hotel is very upscale and I definitely recommend staying there - it's really nice (especially if you can stay for free using points because it is kind of expensive).  I had dinner in one of the hotel restaurants and then wandered around Boston Common after dark since I didn't have anything else to do.

Tour guide in front of Paul Revere's grave

The next morning I retraced my steps to Boston Common for a Freedom Trail Walking Tour (~$15).  It started at a kiosk along the edge of the park and took me all through downtown Boston.  The guide knew a lot about the history of architecture, politics and characters that gave Boston its prestige over the ~2.5 mile, 2 hour time.

A few of the highlights of the tour included a burial ground where John Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere were buried.  Note that Paul Revere's place in history is a lot of good PR!  There were other riders that night but he's the only famous one.  The Old State House was where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time.  The Boston Massacre occurred just a few blocks away.  I hadn't heard about many of the people, places and events since at least US History in high school so it was cool to brush up and see them in person.  It's a cheap and informative tour to take and a MUST DO in Boston.

Rooftop panorama of Southie

After doing a little wandering of my own around the campus of Harvard, I went over to Martyn, Chris, Brian and Mike's condo in Southie to meet up with them.  A few of them had gone to school in Boston and all were from Massachusetts.  Chris and I actually took our first training class with BackOffice together in 2008 and Martyn had been our teacher. We caught up for a while and then went out to some bars that they frequent.  Our first stop was Jillian's right next to Fenway Park.  I honestly don't remember the names of the other places but I do know this... those guys know someone at every bar, whether it be a bouncer, doorman, bartender or waiter.  They're definitely awesome tour guides and have the hookup on cool places and drink deals.

Sailboats with Boston's skyline

The next day was a slow one to get up.  We drove around the city a bit and then took a Boston Duck Tour ($30) in the afternoon which is something a few of the guys had never done.  It was fun to be outside and the driver was entertaining, but I don't think it was worth the cost.  We got cleaned up and dove into some seafood at Legal Seafood.  Chowder, clams, mussels, shrimp, you name it, we got it.  Seafood is definitely another must do in Boston.  After that we hit the bars again... and again, I don't remember the names.  The next time I go back I'll have to note them down.  All I know is that they knew a bartender, 5 of us sat in a bar for a few hours and our tab was $60.  Awesome.

On Sunday morning I linked up with my friend Dana, a former coworker at CNN.com that moved to Boston a few years back.  She invited me to watch the Head of the Charles Regatta on the Charles River near Harvard's campus.  Dana rowed in college so she could explain all of the rules and strategy as the different classes and teams raced down the river.  The weather was perfect and her friends were tailgating for the race.  It was a nice relaxing end to the weekend.  I'm definitely going to hit the city up again.  The guys were great hosts and really showed me a good time.

Our tailgate spot for the Head of the Charles

Why Are People Drawn To The Ocean?

After 2.5 years on my project with Ingram Micro, it finally wrapped up this month.  The bulk of my professional experience with BackOffice and the majority of my international travel opportunities happened while I was on this project.  I lived in Santiago, Chile, for a few months and got to go to Argentina while I was there.  I then skipped over to Belgium and made multiple trips up to Holland to visit friends.  Then came my amazing 10 months in Australia plus a short trip to Fiji before I 'temporarily' moved to California a year ago.

Choices, choices...

Since the client would no longer pay for my rent in California and I still had a Georgia license, I had to make a choice: move back to Atlanta (I just rented out my house there so I would have to find a new place), stay in California or go back overseas.  The early leaders were returning to Australia or staying in California, but it all depended on where my next project would be located.

I did some initial investigation on my options in Australia and Singapore, but I was told that I would need to give a 2 year commitment for visa purposes if I were to go back.  I loved my time there, but putting that long of a time frame without making it permanent made me anxious.  I mean, if I decided that I was going to live in Australia forever then I would be willing to make the move. As great as it was, I don't know if I could do that.  I started exclusively focusing on west coast US projects and planned to 'settle' in California for now.

As I was making these plans, my company highlighted two projects where they wanted me to be staffed.  The first was a short term gig in New Jersey where I would be the lead.  The cross-country travel would be unfortunate but bearable.  The next project was long term (3 years) and was located in Connecticut.  It provided me with a lot of opportunities professionally, but crossing the country every week?  I must be crazy.

Wave 2 by Jessica Harms

I could always just live in Atlanta, NYC or somewhere else on the east coast to ease the travel.  There is something about living on the beach that draws me in.  It goes without saying that surfing is the #1 passion in my life, but it's not just that.  I bought one of Jessica's paintings back in 2008 - a couple of years before I ever got hooked on the sport.  I have always been drawn to water - maybe we all are.  Think about all of the big cities that are in harbors or bodies of water.  Yes, part of that is because they were transportation hubs.  But there is something else... the balance between awesome power and serenity is amazing.

After living by the ocean for the past few years, I don't think I can leave it.  I've had this conversation multiple times with different people that feel the same way - it's something that is hard to explain unless you've experienced it yourself.  Plus there's this girl out here...

Puerto Rico - Bachelor Party and Surfing

Avery, a friend of mine for about 6 months that serves as my surfing sensei, is getting married soon and invited me to his bachelor party in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He promised a lot of surfing and a good time, so I booked my ticket for Friday - Monday. I actually PAID for my ticket this time... I'm getting pretty close to reaching Platinum status with Delta.

Since Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, you don't need a passport to go there. However, you definitely know you're not in the US when you land. Most signs are in Spanish and while most people can also speak English, I ran into a few that didn't.

View from our hotel suite

Avery's groomsmen booked adjoining rooms in a corner suite of the El San Juan Resort and Casino for Friday and Saturday nights. I had never met any of them before but they were all friendly guys, most from Avery's home state of Louisiana. The area of San Juan looked like an older, less polished version of Miami. There were lots of hotel and condo towers right on the coast, but it just wasn't quite as glamorous.

We spent most of the day lounging at the in-pool bar and went to Brava, El San Juan's nightclub, that night. It reminded me of a few of the dark and low-budget clubs I visited in Santiago, but there was one interesting twist. Sean Kingston happened to be in the VIP section - there goes any chance of getting attention from the girls. They were all too busy trying to get free drinks and pictures.

On Saturday Avery, his other California surfer friend Dave, and I were bent on finding some waves to surf. After checking the swell forecasts and talking to a few locals, we found that our best bet was only a quarter mile up the beach near the Ritz Carlton Hotel (if you're looking for a landmark). There were other breaks across the island that are all accessible and go off with different swells, but we would need a car, long board rentals, straps for the car, and more time. Avery was staying longer than the rest of us so he took notes about these breaks. We just rented soft boards on the beach for $25 per hour and headed out at the local break (I don't even remember if it had a name).

The waves weren't great by any means, but it was fun to get out there and catch some anyway. Most were ankle biters and there were a lot of people in the water to fight off. Not only that, I found a few pieces of floating wood spiked with rusty nails right on the break - yikes. Overall this break was worth visiting, but if you're coming to PR for a surf vacation you should go for the more remote locations and save this for a last resort.

***Note: we met a few ladies in their 40s on a women's weekend that rented SUPs (stand up paddle boards). They accidentally dropped their paddles, which sunk and cost them $250 per. I don't know why you would create a paddle that didn't float, but make sure you check if you go SUPing!***

On Saturday night we got back together with the rest of the crew... a few of them went to a cockfighting match near our hotel. This is still legal and sanctioned, with gambling and telecasts like horse racing back in Kentucky. We all had dinner and went back to Brava. The best man, Avery's brother, reserved a table and it was a special occasion - fight night. Puerto Ricans love boxing, especially when one of their own is fighting. Cotto vs. Margarito II was entertaining, mainly because of the atmosphere it created in the club. Everyone was singing and cheering Cotto's every move. When he won, it made the club go crazy.

Club Brava

The guys ended up running a bar tab in the $1500 range, but it wasn't so bad since there were so many of us. I ended up talking to a really cool girl from Florida for about 20 minutes before realizing that she had an engagement ring on her finger - doh. Oh well.

The next morning we had to be out of the hotel and most of the guys were going home. A few of us were staying for an extra night, but we booked a hotel in Old San Juan. Driving through that section of town really reminded me of Casco Viejo, the old section of Panama City that I visited earlier this year. All of the buildings were extremely old and it really took you back in time. The only downside was the massive cruise ship terminal nearby that kept a steady stream of typical American tourists clogging up the streets.

Dave and Avery broke down and rented a car so they could try to surf the northwest coast breaks on Monday (I was flying out in the morning). Since we had a car, we decided to go explore the northeast coast a bit. We got directions to a break that wasn't too far away that broke right on some rocks. I don't know exactly where it was, but my best guess is near the El Chorro river mouth. Avery convinced a guy to let him borrow his board, but the rest of us just sat on the beach and watched. It looked pretty brutal and I've never seen Avery so shaken up after a session.

Old San Juan

Later that night we got a recommendation for a local dive bar/restaurant called Pa'l Cielo, which translates to 'Of Heaven.' It wasn't in the touristy part of town, which was refreshing. The food was delicious and as it got later the crowd started to pack in. You could pick out the few gringos in the room and Avery made the executive decision for us to leave. Dave and I were having a good time since we had both experienced similar bars in other countries, but no big deal. We left and headed back toward Old San Juan.

It just so happened that the 18th annual Southern Fortaleza Culinary Fest was happening a few blocks from our hotel that weekend. Every restaurant on Calle Fortaleza (aka Restaurant Row) was selling small portions of their menus along with decent mojitos, along with music, art and people walking around everywhere. It was a great way to end the weekend and felt like what the 'real' Puerto Rico would be like without the tourism and American influence.

If I ever get the chance to go back I'll try to explore El Yunque National Forest (the only rain forest in the US), maybe do some snorkeling and diving and tour a rum distillery or two :)

Vegas Wedding

The Strip from Matt & Jenny's room

My friend Matt and his fiancée Jenny have been planning their wedding in Las Vegas for quite a while now.  Matt is one of my oldest friends... we met in 3rd grade and hung out all of the way through college until I moved to Atlanta.  I usually see them around the holidays, but my visa issues while in Australia kept me from coming home last year.  I can’t complain about spending Christmas on the beach, but it did keep me from hanging out with them.

I’ve been through Vegas twice – once on a family road trip through the southwest when I was in middle school, the other on a cross country road trip with Amanda.  Both times it was just for a night, so I can’t say I had done a proper weekend there.  Matt and Jenny planned their ceremony at the Wynn on a Monday, so I blocked off Friday through Tuesday to spend in the city.  Four nights in Vegas?  People warned me that any more than two is too many…

Matt and Jenny weren’t getting into the city until Saturday afternoon, so I decided to bring along a date to keep me company.  A few friends were busy and it just so happened that Sheila, a friend from Atlanta that I met this spring in San Francisco, could take the time off of work.  I threw her some frequent flyer miles and we met up at the airport on Friday night.

With the wedding at the Wynn and the wedding party staying at Treasure Island, I decided to use Priceline to see what kind of deal I could get on a hotel.  I had never used it before, so I thought I would give it a shot.  It asked for the general area of town that I wanted to stay, number of stars and a price.  The software chooses your hotel for you – you don’t get to see that until you’ve already paid for it.  We got put in the Stratosphere at the very north end of the strip.  It was a good deal, but not worth the taxi fares we ended up paying all weekend to get to everyone else.  Lesson learned.

Sheila and I met up with my friend Jon on Friday night at Treasure Island.  He, Matt and I were good friends in college but I hadn’t seen him in 4 or 5 years.  We walked around the strip for a while and then went to a ‘locals’ casino a few blocks away called Terrible's.  The blackjack tables were only $5 per hand, while you couldn’t find anything under $10 at the strip casinos.  I’m not big into gambling, so that was enough for me

Unfortunately I had to spend most of my day on Saturday working in my hotel room.  I spent about 10 hours loading data for my client – they were pushing some of their customers into their new software system on Monday morning, so I really didn’t have a choice.  I took a mid-afternoon break to go up to the top of Stratosphere.  We got in for free since we were staying at the hotel – that was the only real perk of staying there.

Jimmy on stage with P&T

I was just finishing up when Matt and Jenny along with our high school friend Jimmy and his girlfriend landed and came to hang out. We all went out to dinner and then walked around for a bit before they all went to bed.  Sheila and I stayed out on the strip for another few hours, playing penny slot machines and bouncing around to different bars.

On Sunday morning I had a few follow-up items for work to take care of before we went out to the pool for a little sun.  We spent the rest of the day with the wedding party and then went to Penn and Teller’s magic show that evening.  Penn is really entertaining – you should check out his show on Showtime called Bullshit!.  Jimmy got taken up on stage for the first trick of the night, which was pretty cool.  They took his cell phone and somehow got it inside of a fish underneath a random person’s seat in the audience.

Happy couple

The wedding was on Monday afternoon so we spent most of the morning getting things ready and hanging out with Matt and his parents.  There were only 20 people at the ceremony and the service was short and sweet.  After taking some pictures we headed over to the famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign for Jenny’s usual Thriller dance (check out her YouTube channel - she does it everywhere).  A rainstorm came out of nowhere and drenched us while we were there; I'm sure we were quite a sight for other tourists.

We had the reception dinner at TI that evening.  I had never given a speech at a wedding although I've been to a lot over the past 6 or 7 years - but I knew exactly what I wanted to say at this one.

That evening Matt and Jenny went to a Cirque du Soleil show, so Sheila and I had another night to ourselves.  We ended up going to a show at our hotel called Bite.  It was a rock and roll vampire show – it sounded kind of lame but he had nothing else going on.  We got 2 for 1 tickets and it was really a waste of time. 

Assortment of signs at the Boneyard

We found out that night that Matt’s mom won ~$1200 on penny slots, hitting jackpots 3 different times.  Sheila and I were determined to do the same since it was our last night there.  We failed miserably... I think Sheila was up $1.34 at one point, but quickly lost it.  I was in even worse shape.

We met back up with Jon, his girlfriend, Matt and Jenny to visit The Neon Sign Boneyard.  It’s a place set up by a non-profit where hotels put some of their old signs.  The tour cost $12 and the guide gave a lot of history behind the different hotels through the years.  Definitely check it out if you ever go to Vegas.  It’s not on the typical list of things that people do there, but it’s unique and cheap.

Sheila and I both had flights around the same time, so we said our goodbyes to the group and went to the airport.  It was definitely a long and somewhat tiring weekend, but I’m really happy that I got to be a part of the new Mr. and Mrs. Hosley’s wedding!

NYC vs Irene

Graffiti artist with a sense of humor

My company holds a competition every year during our TechEd conference for consultants to present new applications.  I've presented a few and won an iPad a few years ago.  It has become so popular that they decided to hold a midyear competition in New York City.  I submitted an application that I developed at my current client and it was accepted.  They put us up in a really nice place in Soho called Crosby Street Hotel.

A few days before my flight out of Orange County the weather reports started coming in about Hurricane Irene.  It was tracking up the east coast and it could become the first hurricane to hit the state since 1903.  This could make for an interesting weekend.

I landed at JFK for the first time - previous trips to the city brought me through LaGuardia.  I hopped the Airtrain and then took the subway into Manhattan.  I've never really taken the subway before (except north and south along Broadway).  I didn't use a map and it was surprisingly easy, despite the cobweb of lines on the subway map.  I guess they make it easy to get into the city from the airport.  When I got to the hotel I met up with some colleagues and went out to dinner at Raoul's, a really nice French restaurant.

The best part about this whole weekend was that we only had events scheduled for Friday.  Saturday and Sunday were all free for us to wander around New York.  I was on a project for 3 months on Long Island but never got a chance to see anything since I only ventured into the city after work.  I visited back in 2001 right before Christmas for a UK basketball game (the best game I've ever seen in person even though we lost).

Washington Park

I didn't end up winning the $1000 prize but I did get something almost as good - 2 extra nights in the city.  On Friday afternoon the hurricane was bearing down on us and Delta preemptively canceled all flights on Sunday.  Delta couldn't get me anything until Tuesday afternoon.  Fine by me!  We went out on Friday night and then walked around the city on Saturday until the storm started to roll in.  I explored NYU and Washington Park (location of a really good movie called August Rush) and took some photos.

On Saturday afternoon the subways shut down and the taxis stopped running.  I checked out the World Trade site before the clouds opened up.  We bought a bunch of snacks (and drinks) since we really didn't know how bad the storm was going to get.  The hotel even went out and got a bunch of board games to keep us occupied.

The storm came through overnight but in the end it just rained a lot, not too much to worry about.  On Sunday I met up with my elementary/middle/high school friend Toa, owner of Thai Orchid Cafe, for a few drinks and catching up.  She just happened to be in New York for a little vacation - thanks to Facebook for helping us realize that we were both there at the same time.

Doing important thangs

On the way back, my coworker Cody and his wife Melissa and I were walking down Broadway when a limo pulled up.  The driver got out and dropped people off, and I joked to Cody that this was our taxi back to the hotel.  The driver heard me and offered us a lift.  $60 for a half hour loop around the city seems kind of steep, but the taxis were all charging $10 per person for the emergency hurricane rate.  Since it was only $10 more, we went for it.  Totally random.

On Monday I met up with another friend - this one from Sydney.  Milan is a musician that I met and saw perform a few times.  She was in New York for vacation and was looking to do some sightseeing.  We went to Rockafeller Center to check out the view of the city and maybe get tickets for the NBC studio tour.  While we were in the lobby, a girl came up to us and offered us tickets to Jimmy Fallon's rehearsal monologue for Late Night.  It was pretty funny... Jimmy tried out 2 or 3 different jokes on the same topic and he made notes on which ones got the best reaction.

Later in the afternoon Milan and I went to the to Top of the Rock to get a view of the city from above.  I definitely recommend it - you get great pictures of the Empire State Building and Central Park.  We met back up with Cody and Melissa along with Martyn, another BOA consultant, for dinner at The Capital Grille in Midtown.

On Monday night I stayed at an apartment owned by my company's founders along with Cody, Melissa and Martyn.  It's a 3 bedroom place in Soho and Kiefer Sutherland supposedly lives a few floors above them.  On Tuesday I flew back to Orange County, with Milan promising to hang out again when she comes back through LA on her way back to Sydney.

There's still a lot I want to see in the city.  The Empire State Building (from the inside), the MOMA, the UN, the World Trade Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, the list goes on...

PCH from LA to San Francisco

One of the best drives in the land

After my solo two week odyssey through Panama, I still had two weeks of (forced) vacation from work. I spent an entire week chilling out in Atlanta with some friends and Zabba, then made my way back to Newport. My girl Daya just so happened to be going to a wedding reception in San Francisco that weekend and invited me along. I had been looking for an excuse to drive up the California coast on the scenic PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), California State Route 1.  It's on every website's top 10 drives in America, so you should, too.

My first time in SF was a whirlwind visit two years ago after a wedding. This time I was hoping to catch a few of the things I missed the last time around, plus soak up the view on the drive north.  I packed a bag for the weekend and took off early on Friday morning to face the LA traffic.

The PCH actually goes right into Newport Beach just a few blocks from my house.  It cuts through all of the beach cities - Huntington, Seal, Hermosa, Redondo, Manhattan... it would've taken me 3 or 4 hours to get through all of the surface street traffic (plus it's not scenic). I skipped it and hopped on the 405 and cut over to the coast on the 101 until it met up with the PCH in San Luis Obispo - a cool little town where I just had enough time to grab lunch. If you're in a hurry you can take the 5 all of the way up to San Francisco in 6 hours but you sacrifice the view.

Up close and personal with a mangy squirrel

From the beginning of the scenic section as I hit the coast, I was quickly reminded of my drive with Nat along the Great Ocean Road on the coast of Victoria, Australia.  No wild koalas or helicopter rides this time though. :(  I stopped pretty frequently along the way to take pictures of the windy route and mostly empty beaches.  I saw a few good surf spots but I had a long way to go and a short time to get there (thanks Jerry Reed).  I wasn't listening to that though... XM was having a Death Cab for Cutie weekend, playing all of the songs off of their upcoming album called Codes and Keys.

I was making pretty good time despite my stops when I started seeing signs for Hearst Castle. I vaguely remembered that William Randolph Hearst was a newspaper tycoon from the early 1900s. When I got home I researched him a bit and found out that he was the inspiration for the lead character in Citizen Kane. Also, his legacy company now owns Cosmopolitan Magazine, Esquire part of ESPN, a dozen or so newspapers and a really cool building in New York City (a modern skyscraper built on top of the original stone structure).  But I digress... the mansion was now a state park and they gave tours so I went to check it out.

Water colors reminded me of Whitsunday Beach

There were packs of old people and Asian tourists everywhere as I pulled up to the visitor's center.  I spotted an employee that told me tickets were $25-35 depending on which part of the house you visited.  The shortest took 2.5 hours.  I didn't have that kind of time so I took a few uninspiring pictures of the mansion from a distance, looked at a few pictures, read some factoids and I was on my way.  Before I left I got a good tip - there had been a landslide a few weeks ago that totally blocked the PCH.  I would actually need to backtrack a few miles and take some switchbacks to get around it.

 I stopped at a gas station to make sure my directions were correct because there were hardly any road signs and my GPS was trying to take me back to the PCH. I had the right route and drove through a military base called Fort Hunter-Liggett. Their training ground had littered shells of tanks and old cars. It looked like I was driving through a firing range... gulp.

The winding road narrowed down to through the foothills of the Sierras to almost one lane at some points. I passed the infrequent cars going surely taking the PCH south and then accelerated like a rally car around the next corner.  The road actually gave some hilltop views that wouldn't have been seen down on the PCH so it wasn't so bad of a detour.  It did take a 2.5 hour chunk from my timeline because I was going 25 mph or less for a lot of it.

Bixby Bridge, built in 1932

With the detour over I got back on the PCH and was going the speed limit (plus) again, but every now and then I would hit construction.  I recommend checking the highway warnings before starting this drive so you know of any road closures.  It looked like there had been more landslides over the past few years that required them to totally rebuild some barriers and sections of road.

One of the coolest parts of the drive had to be the Bixby Bridge near Big Sur that has become a regional landmark. It's supposedly been featured on car commercials and is coincidentally in the name of a song by Death Cab.  The arch spans the steep valley and displays a great blend of nature and engineering.

A long way down

By that time it was starting to get late so my roadside stops became more infrequent. The projected 9 hour drive ended up taking closer to 12 with my stops and the detour.  Yes, I-5 will get you there in under 6 hours, but who wants to drive inland?  I had brought my new camera tripod along but never got it out.  And yes, it would've been nice to have a passenger for conversation, but I had gotten used to the solitude over the past few weeks of traveling.  I also knew that it would be short lived once I got to San Francisco.

I soaked it all in because this would be my last vacation of the year.  By the time I got near Monterey I was starting to get impatient.  I could've taken the PCH all of the way into San Francisco but I decided to hop on the 101 for the rest of the route.  It probably saved me another hour.  This is definitely one of the best road trips and scenic drives I have ever seen.  It's something you must do and will definitely make my Best of California list.

I finally pulled into downtown San Francisco to be greeted by Daya - a fun weekend was in store.  Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

Panama Vacation - Panama City

With two days left of my two week vacation, I came full circle and touched down in Panama City.  After the remote, untouched waves of Morro Negrito, the crisp air of Boquete and the humid island vibe of Bocas del Toro, I was thrust into the middle of the biggest city in Central America outside of Mexico.  The contrast couldn't have been greater.  Maybe that's one of the unique things about Panama... with a few hours of travel you can see the country from a totally different perspective.

I caught a taxi to Luna's Castle in the Casco Viejo (Old Town) district of the city.  WARNING - history lesson: Panama City was founded in the 1500s as the Spanish shipped gold and silver from Peru, up the Pacific coast, through the port of Panama City and across the isthmus to the ships waiting on the Caribbean side.  Obviously, this made the city both highly valuable for the crown and highly sought after by pirates.  Over the years the port was subject to attacks but none were successful until Captain Morgan burned the entire city in 1671.  Yes, that Captain Morgan.  The ruins of the original city are known as Panama Viejo (Old Panama) - see my visit there below for more - and Casco Viejo was built a few miles away as a new start.

Reviews were mixed about the area.  The architecture was obviously hundreds of years old and many of the buildings were just shells with collapsed roofs and hollow interiors.  Luna's seemed to be THE place to be for travelers but I heard that parts could get dicey at night.  The well reviewed Relic Bar was located in the basement of the hostel and Lonely Planet advised that I would have to look no further for nightlife.  That was enough for me.

After paying the whopping $13 per night fee for a dorm bed, I asked about scheduled trips from the hostel.  It just so happened that they had an open spot for a trip planned to the Panama Canal's Miraflores Locks in an hour.  I went with a group of five (two of whom were from Atlanta) and we were each charged $6 for the round trip taxi ride.  I found out later that an independent taxi would have only charged us $12 total, so the hostel must have gotten a kickback.  I wasn't stressing since it's just a few extra dollars, but the budget backpackers with me weren't too happy.

It's not the size of the boat...

We got to the locks just in time to see the tail end of a massive ship exiting.  From then on not much happened... an announcer would come on and broadcast little facts about the locks every few minutes.  A few small sailboats passed through and we got to see the water level rise and fall.  For the most part I wasn't impressed.  This was just one of multiple locks and a lake between the Pacific and Caribbean, so I probably would've gotten a better impression had I seen the whole thing.

A few things did interest me.  From what I can remember, the lowest fee paid to cross the canal was $0.36 when a swimmer did it back in the 1920s.  Cargo ships are built to exact specifications so that they can pass through the canal, with just inches to spare on either side.  About 40 ships pass through the canal every day at an average cost of $50,000.  This will increase when the canal finishes an expansion project in 2014 that will increase the traffic capacity by 60%.  That's about all I retained... the canal museum was pretty interesting and it is a thing you HAVE to see while you're in Panama, so go for it.

There was still time in the afternoon so I explored the Causeway that offered a good view of the skyline.  Note that most attractions in the city will say "... and you get GREAT views of the skyline!"  I didn't spend a lot of time there.  Next I wandered around Casco Viejo with a map from the hostel.  The desk clerk had Xed out a third of it, saying "Don't go in this area.  It's not safe."

I wandered through the old buildings and a few churches.  Here are a few shots.

City buses are all personalized and tricked out with neon lights

Barely standing build

Golden altar of Iglesia de San Jose

Later that evening the Peace Corps girls finally made it to Luna's after the 6 hour bus ride turned into 12. There had been a strike that blocked the highway, so note to you - cheaper is not always better. We got a few drinks in Relic Bar which smelled like, well, an old dusty relic, but the patio was nice. I sweated the night away in the dorm room filled with probably 20 bunk beds, ready to absorb as much as possible on my last day in the city.

In the morning the first thing I did was to buy a few souvenirs from a shop a few blocks away from the hostel. Then I started walking around the bay toward the modern part of Panama City. I stopped in the fish market and had the best ceviche I've ever tasted.

If you didn't know, ceviche is made from raw fish that is 'cooked' by soaking it in citrus.  The acid breaks down the proteins... or something.  I got the combination option which mixed white sea bass, octopus, shrimp and conch.  It was served in a simple Styrofoam cup but I was blown away.  You must, must, must go here if you like seafood.

I ended up walking about 3 or 4 miles into the heart of the city before I took a taxi for the remaining few to Panama Viejo (see above for the history).  The taxi driver noticed my new camera and warned me in Spanish, "The ruins are on this side of the street.  Do not go on the left side.  You will lose your camera."  I heeded his advice and got some great shots of the crumbling stone houses and churches.  Luckily the plaques dotted along the route had pictures and were translated into English, so I could understand the significance of what I was seeing.

First cathedral in the city

Muchachos

Old and new

From Panama Viejo I took another taxi to the biggest park in the city - Parque Natural Metropolitano.  I was hoping for sloths, monkey and other cool animals to photograph.  I caught a glimpse of some kind of large rodent the size of a cat running through the bushes but I didn't get a photo.  I also saw a Jesus Lizard run across water but I wasn't fast enough to get it on film.  I hardly passed anyone on the trails for the two hours I was there.  It was so quiet that I think I warned all of the animals away despite my attempt to tiptoe through the dead leaves.  The park offered a good break from the craziness of the city and it had, you guessed it, great views of the skyline.  It took me a while to find an available taxi since I was on the city outskirts, so be prepared for that.

Relic Bar with the Peace Corps crew

That evening I met back up with the Peace Corps crew and went out to dinner on Calle Uruguay.  This was supposedly the center nightlife for foreigners (we were told that although they were fluent speakers we probably wouldn't want to mingle with the local crowds because things could get rough).  We tried out an English style pub and then bypassed the clubby bars with a cover before leaving unimpressed.  We finished the night at Relic Bar again.  Most of the girls were heading down south to Columbia the next day while a few of us had flights back to the States.

I got up at 5 am for my early morning flight pretty happy with the way my vacation turned out.  I saw some amazing places, got to practice surfing, met some cool people and didn't have to spend a lot of money along the way.  For being someone that tries to plan everything, I think I did a pretty good job of going with the flow and figuring things out as I went.  It would've been nice to have a travel companion, but it gave me a lot of time for self reflection and a pause from life - it was a true vacation.  I'm not going to lie though, air conditioning feels soooooo good right now.

All of this is just a 3 hour flight from Atlanta. Yup, that's all. I'm not sure where my next trip will be, but I am certain that I will hit the rest of Central America in the next 10 years and hopefully South America as well. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in visiting Panama, and like the rest of my trips, I'll compile a 'Best Of' post to give you the highlights you should see if you go.