Chicago Christmas Trip

After hearing from friends about how festive Chicago is during Christmas, I decided to make a return trip there to check it out (I previously visited Chicago this past Independence Day).


I stayed at the InterContinental Hotel on Michigan Ave, which is a very historic hotel that has been modernized and renovated over the years. It has the best swimming pool I've ever used - the pool area is elegantly decorated and Olympic medalist Johnny Weissmuller trained in this pool . Also, you can either play in the pool or swim laps. Most hotel pools are only for playing. The pool is located on the 14th floor and was one of the first pools built so high up.

My activities
* Watching A Christmas Carol at Goodman Theater
* Garrett Popcorn
* Experiencing a white Christmas - something I don't get in Austin
* Sitting in front of a fire (in the fireplace) in Starbucks sipping hot chocolate, an escape from sub-zero temperatures and wind chill


* Christkindlmarket, which is a Christmas tradition in Germany. They set up outdoor shops filled with food and small gifts. I had hot and spicy wine, brownie made of German chocolate, potato cakes, and bratwurst sandwich.


* Zoo Lights - display of Christmas lights and decorations at Lincoln Park Zoo. This is similar to
Austin's trail of lights, only with a zoo theme.


* Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of John Hancock Center


* Ice skating at Daley Bicentennial Plaza - this rink hides in the shadow of the rink at Millennium Park but is less crowded.


* Christmas Around the World at the Museum of Science and Industry, an exhibit featuring Christmas trees decorated by the ethnic communities of Chicago. Each tree has decorations that represent a country.

As an added bonus, on my last day in Chicago, I got a taste of how cold it could get there - a bank sign indicated -4 for the actual temperature, and wind chills as cold as -30. The wind really makes a difference in Chicago winters. Below zero temperatures sure makes 30's look balmy.

More Pictures
Video from Zoo Lights

Hurricane Ike relief trip in Galveston

I went on the Hurricane Ike relief trip in Galveston in a team of 4 people, and we tore down flood damaged walls in 2 houses. One house was owned by a woman named Tina, and she had accumulated lots of stuff since her childhood. Much of her things are memories of her life. We had to move her stuff around in order to get to the walls, and some of her boxes still had water from the floods. Also, some parts of her house still had not dried up. Needless to say, there was a strong mold smell within those areas. We also helped clean up Tina's yard.

Check out the damage left by Ike: http://picasaweb.google.com/slin46/GalvestonHurricaneIkeReliefTrip

Japan and Taiwan

I took a 10 day trip with visits to Japan and Taiwan. I was going to Taiwan for my cousin's wedding, and made a stop in Japan on the way to Taiwan. It was my first visit to Japan and we joined a tour group with 9 other tourists.


We traveled in a tour bus with a guide. Our tour group concentrated within the Kanto region and saw temples, shrines, a castle, Imperial Palace, shopping districts, a national park, hot springs, Toyota show room, and parts of Tokyo. We enjoyed great Japanese food - sushi, udon, tempura, and green tea ice cream.

Japan is a clean country, with a focus on hygiene, and safety. It is also hospitable towards visitors, and many Japan service workers are used to dealing with foreign visitors - if you visit Japan you will know what I mean.


My favorite hotel was the New Akao Hotel which has a Japanese theme (rooms look like Japan houses) and is located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This hotel has hot springs for people to dip in. The procedure is: shower then dip in the hot springs naked - that's right, everyone enters the springs with absolutely no clothes on.

Pictures
Japan - batch 1
Japan - batch 2
Japan - batch 3

Taiwan (the Taiwan album includes pictures from my last 2 trips to Taiwan - first week of November 2008 and during the 2007 Christmas season)

Boston

My first trip to Boston.

Highlights:
* First time sitting in an exit row on a flight - the extra space sure was nice
* I stayed at the Hyatt Harborside hotel near the airport, which had great views of the Boston skyline
* I grabbed dinner and dessert in Chinatown with Dan Lin who was in Boston for work
* I visited the MIT Museum, which had projects of students work
* Enjoyed an early taste of Boston's fall foliage (it usually peaks in mid October)
* When I finished walking the Freedom Trail, I was at a dock waiting to catch a ferry from the USS Constitution sight to downtown Boston, and started talking to these 2 married couples (random people from my perspective). They were also visiting Boston (1 couple was from Chicago and the other from Salem, MA) and they invited me to join them for dinner.
* When I returned home, I ran into Aaron and Nelly at the airport - they had just returned from a trip to Washington DC.

Pictures:
Boston Harbor

Freedom Trail with lots of historical sites

Fall Foliage

San Francisco

I visited San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. San Francisco has an international feel, with people of different nationalities, Victorian style buildings, and the world's largest Chinatown outside of China. With summers consisting of mostly sunny skies and 70's during the day, San Francisco is an excellent way to escape the Texas summer heat. What stuck out to me is how unique San Francisco is from other U.S. cities - cable cars, steep hills, and an island that used to serve as a prison.

Pictures:
Random places in San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatrez Island

Lombard Street

San Diego

I was in San Diego to enjoy the beautiful views of the city. San Diego shares some similarities to Austin - the live music, the water views, laid back people, and of course the beauty. Impact's mission trips to Ensenada, Mexico inspired me to make this trip. All in all, a great way to enjoy God's creation.

Places I visited

Coronado Island which included a stop at the Hotel del Coronado (which is more than a hotel - it is a tourist destination with the beach, shops, and cafes)


Gaslamp district


Little Italy


Old Town - a section of San Diego featuring Mexican restaurants, gift shops, and historic sites


Harbor Drive

And, I also grabbed lunch with Justin, a former Tarrytowner, at the Island Prime. The Island Prime is a seafood and steak restaraunt near the airport and has views of the ocean, downtown San Diego, and Coronado Island - a great way to enjoy beautiful scenery, live music, and good food. Eating at Island Prime is definitely eating in paradise. It is similar to the Oasis in Austin.

More Pictures

The flight to San Diego was an adventure, in a good way. When I checked my flight status online, I noticed my outbound flight would be delayed at least 40 minutes so I went to the airport early to catch an earlier flight (I had a connection in Houston and I didn't want to risk missing it). I got to Houston just in time to catch an earlier Houston-San Diego flight (I later found out my original Houston-San Diego flight would also be delayed). I ended up arriving in San Diego 2 hours earlier than scheduled - all because my original flight was delayed by 40 minutes. Imagine that - the first time a flight delay worked in my favor :) Wow, God really does work in ways we don't know about.

Chicago summer trip

I visited Chicago during Independence Day weekend. It was my first time in Chicago, and I enjoyed seeing the major sites in Chicago, as well as the Taste of Chicago. Four things are associated with Chicago: revolving doors, fireworks, pizza, and skyscrapers.


I stayed in the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago, and had a room with a nice view of the Chicago River.

Pictures for each place I visited:
Sears Tower, currently the tallest building in the United States. It had been the world's tallest building until the openings of the Taipei 101 and a tower in Dubai.

Museum of Science and Industry, including a Green House tour which is a house designed to be environmentally friendly.

John Hancock Center, the third tallest building in Chicago and close to Lake Michigan.

Fireworks at Navy Pier, which I saw from the John Hancock Center observatory.

United Center

Boat tour around Lake Michigan with views of the Chicago skyline.

Grant and Millenium Parks

Boat tour along the Chicago River

Other Chicago sites

Philadelphia Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend, I took a trip to Philadelphia to visit Independence Hall historic national park, the origin of our country's freedom as it is today.


I stayed at the Sheraton Society Hill hotel, located a few blocks from the Independence Hall park. This hotel mimics the colonial theme of the historic district.

I visited most of the major sites in the historic district and learned about how each related to American history. My favorite sites were:


Liberty Bell center


Independence Hall


Congress Hall


City Tavern - a restaurant where members of Congress usually ate. I had crab cakes made with crabs from the Chesapeake Bay, and chocolate mouse cake (its recipe was written by Martha Washington)


Declaration House - where Thomas Jefferson lived and wrote the Declaration of Independence


Carpenter's Hall - hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774, which was set up as a result of Britian passing unpopular taxes (Stamp Act, Sugar Act, Townshend Acts) and the Boston Massacre


Betsy Ross House - where Betsy Ross lived and worked. It is now a museum.


The National Constitution Center - a museum dedicated to the construction of the US Constitution, and also includes key moments of US history and information on the Constitution Amendments.

The sites have been modernized for visitors and preserved in their original condition; and the roads are cobble-stoned just like in the 1700's. The historic district is a great way to learn about American history in a different perspective than reading a textbook.

More pictures

Hartford Trip

I traveled to Hartford, CT to visit my friend Dan. Hartford is a small city consisting of mostly insurance companies.




Activities:
* Dinner at a fancy sushi restaurant
* Playing pool at Dan's apartment (which by the way is set up like a hotel, and also provides valet parking)
* Watching Iron Man with Dan's friends
* Taking a day trip to New York City where we had an adventure trying to find Chinatown
* Attending Dan's church, which has a small congregation (around 30 people). In fact, the pastor would take prayer requests from the congregation and then pray for them before starting the sermon.
* Meeting some of Dan's friends

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