City of Best Travel Deals

The Los Angeles Times consistently gives great information on the best travel deals out there. I have found some really great hotel offers and vacation information here and you don't need to live in LA for them to be relevant. Highly recommended!

LA Times: Daily Travel & Deal Blog

Abu Dhabi Snobby

I just found out that my travel blog is blocked in the United Arab Emirates due to content. My family-friendly travel blog, blocked! I feel so rejected.

Internet Filtering in the United Arab Emirates

Mike's UAE Blog

10 US Places to See Before You Die

The Huntington Library Gardens made the list!

Andrew Harper: 10 US Places to See Before You Die

The Sinclair Jungle

Sinclair Island is a small piece of land off the coast of Washington just West of Bellingham and Anacortes. It's home to a number of private residences powered only by solar panels and generators. There aren't any restaurants, bars, camp sites, hotels or grocery stores. The owners of the homes take pride in the simple pleasures it offers and many are upset when new homeowners build large, obnoxious homes, tear down trees and use four wheelers.

















A friend of mine has had property in the family since the 1960s and took me out for the weekend. The islanders welcome guests and invited us to a presidential debate heavily in favor of Obama (not too surprising), showered us with food and wine and even had us over for coffee the next morning. It's hard to deny the charm of the place, so if you're lucky enough to get an invite, I suggest saying "yes."

Photography by me.

World's 10 Best Airports

It doesn't hurt to have a long layover in the 10 locations listed in this article by Forbes. As I've mentioned before, the Singapore Airport is quite nice!

Forbes: World's 10 Best Airports

Huntington Library?

If you are visiting Los Angeles I highly recommend spending a day at the Huntington Library, especially if you're the type of person that doesn't really like Los Angeles. The Huntington Library has an eclectic collection of artwork, historical pieces and botanical gardens all nestled back in a quiet neighborhood just past Pasadena.

One of the current exhibits is "Pressed in Time: American Prints 1905–1950," sponsored by one of my favorite actors, Steve Martin. The exhibit had a few different focuses, including World War II, places of worship, the rapid growth of cities and the California coast. Despite this great variety, they were all tied together with an incredible sense of insight into the lives of people during the first half of the 20th century. The California coast pictures were timeless, showing the natural reoccurrence of wild fires and the beauty of the coast. Also timeless were the prints depicting the contrast between the love of big cities, industrial growth and wealth versus the hatred of overdevelopment, the negative social impacts of the inner city and the impending doom the artists forecasted. Nostradamus?






















My favorite part of the Huntington Library is the botanical gardens. I've visited Huntington 4-5 times before but they never fail to amaze me. The Japanese gardens (currently in renovation) and the Desert Gardens are my favorite and a must see. You've likely seen the Japanese Gardens before in the popular TV show Heroes, and the sculpture garden in a few movies, such as the Wedding Planner (horrible movie, great scenery).



If you plan in advance you can have a champagne brunch at the Tea Room. The array of cheeses, pastries, teas and other foods is impressive.

Photography by me.

Pebble Beach or Bust

I recently went to Pebble Beach to help my sister celebrate her birthday. In the process my flight was affected by weather delays, causing me to spend the night at the San Francisco airport. Shortly thereafter I caught a nasty cold. In the 24 hours I enjoyed prior to my illness I was able to take a few pictures. Enjoy!

You Brought a Spelling Bee...to a Bar?

Wing masters, a local bar that specializes in hot wings, began its first spelling bee this June in pursuit of new patrons. I came across it one day when I was walking to the farmer's market in Ballard. I had walked by the bar numerous Sundays without any interest to go inside, until I saw the strategically placed sign. So, what does this have to do with my travel blog? The grand prize is a $1000 travel voucher from the Magnolia travel agency. Although I have to admit, they had me at Spelling Bee.

Fear not the Scripps National Spelling Bee winner Evan O'Dorney. He lives at least a thousand miles away and has a good 8 years to go before he's allowed to enter the bar. However, amongst the many less-than-ideally educated regulars there have been a few contestants around to keep the contest interesting.

Who will win? Stay tuned.

Honolulu Love

Honolulu, especially Waikiki, is the busiest and most crowded tourist location in the state. But, even still, there are a lot of great things you can do in the area or just a short drive away, some of which you might not find in the tourist manual. Here are my recommendations:

-Visit the MaHaLo Hawaii Deep Sea™ Water showroom have some tea made with the water and stock up to stay hydrated on your trip.

-Buy Alaea salt from a nearby ABC store and grind it over a pat of butter to spread on baguette when you get home. If you put one granule on your tongue and let it sit, you will be amazed at how many different flavors a natural salt can have.

-Get a surfing lesson at Waikiki in front of Duke's. Don't try to go out there by yourself unless you're really good already. Me and my friends have been surfing from time to time and still struggled because there are tourists everywhere, you have to paddle pretty far to get a decent wave and the boards they rent are just plain heavy. So a lesson is worth the extra money.


-Pineapple County has a lot of what I like to call clubbin' clothes. Not really, my thing. But, if you stay downstairs they do have some great jewelry, including Kenneth Jay Lane. I got a really cute white and gold zebra bracelet with Swarovski crystals. The best part is that you can avoid taxes on large purchases. So, maybe it is time to get that Rolex you've been wanting.

-Maunawili Falls is not the biggest or most beautiful waterfall in the area, but it is one of the only places nearby where you can jump off the falls and swim in the water. It's also a nice 1 1/2 mile hike.

-The Wyland Waikiki is a new hotel that opened about 3 months ago. The Wyland art that is plastered everywhere is utilized in a really tasteful way creating a serene environment. Since the hotel is new, and Honolulu has had lower occupancy rates in their hotels, there are a lot of deals to be had. The rooms are nice and clean, although a little small. They have a great lobby area, a room full of plasmas where you can watch DVDs through the X-Box and a nice pool/hot tub area. Since it is not on the main drag it stays much quieter than the beach front hotels and doesn't have a lot of people wandering around who shouldn't really be there.


















Destination Reading: Steppin' on a Rainbow (by Kinky Friedman)

Photography by me.

Oh Vancouver, Canada

About an hour drive North of an alpaca farm in Washington is the Canadian border. Not to be confused with the border going to Baja Mexico, there is a peace arch, lots of green grass temporarily housing Japanese tourists and a mysterious lack of uneasy tension. A stones throw North of the border is Vancouver, BC. To be confused, Vancouver is a melting pot of Seattle and Hollywood, with a dash of I can't put my finger on it.

When you drive into the city it seems almost like a fairy tale town. The buildings are gorgeous, but give off the impression that they might be run down and then you realize that it's just the general architectural style of the town.* Stanley Park is the same way, absolutely beautiful, but flagrantly exposing it's flaws as natural beauty. Chinatown on the other hand truly is run down (watch out for homeless men purposely jumping in front of your car).

Vancouver has a wide variety of great restaurants. At the Gyoza King I immensely enjoyed ramen soup with Kimchi, perfectly spicy and very inexpensive. At Vij's they are generous with traditional Indian appetizers while you wait two hours for your table. Keep your eyes open at Vij's. I'm pretty sure I spotted Kiefer Sutherland eating when we got on the wait list. For the morning after you can get excellent Belgian waffles and crispy bacon at Sophie's Cosmic Cafe.

After finishing your dinner there are numerous options for going out on the town. I chose to go to Lift, the bar at the Westin. At Lift you are guaranteed to overhear someone in the film industry using it as a means to pick up on chicks. Outside there is a gorgeous view of the city and a firepit to sit around. What I enjoyed most was talking to all of the business men that were in town hanging out buying me drinks on their company card. A perk when going out at hotel bars.

I didn't have a lot of time to go shopping, but after wading through a lot of orthopedic shoes I managed to find a beautiful pair of French sandals at Umeboshi and instantly fell in love with almost everything available at Eugene Choo. In the same area of town there are also numerous thrift stores and boutiques carrying local designer clothing.

I suppose confused isn't the best description of Vancouver, it's more like a low-key fusion restaurant.

Photography by me.

Updated 8/24/07
*I was so humbly informed that Vancouver was coined the "City of Glass" by Douglas Coupland.