"The San Francisco Treat"

Thinking we were hard core, Michael, Chi Quan, Derek and I took an impetuously planned road trip to San Francisco. But the "hard core" part was when someone (ahem) thought of the bright idea of driving overnight to save time (OK so it was my bright idea). Ten hours each way! I must have thought I was 22 years old again. Every time I got behind the wheel, it rained. No, let me correct myself - it poured. I don't know why it is, but every time I drive long distances, no matter the season, it rains! And not just the normal drizzle you get in the city. The kind of rain that comes down in buckets, where your head feels like it's gonna' explode and your eyes wanna' pop out of its sockets from concentrating hard on the road, and even then, you're hydro-planing - scary!!! Then every time Derek got behind the wheel, it snowed. LOL The drive through Mt. Shasta was at times treacherous, forcing us to slow to to 40MPH for a few hours... but the trip was well worth it! I hadn't been to SF for over five years. It's still as lovely as ever. Here are some pictures - enjoy!

Getting ready to pay our toll to cross the first bridge!View of downtown from the Golden Gate Bridge

We road on this cable car - the Rice-A-Roni train!

We love our In-N-Out Burger

Michael's dream job :P

Ghirardelli Square! Yep, the chocolates!
Lombard Street - the world's curviest street!

Taking a break from our crazy uphill climb!

We want that rooftop and the view from it (below)
Mission Street - where the mission-style burrito was born!

Beautiful British Columbia

People who know me, know I loooove celebrating my birthday! Similar to Michael, my birthday is also usually a month-long affair, but unlike him, I'm not shy or subtle about it - I love making a big deal out of it!

But this year, I can't seem to be bothered to think about it. Maybe it's because Gourmet Club is occupying most of my mind and with the grand finale just 2 days before my actual birthday, I'd rather focus on that!

So when Michael asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, the only thing I could think of was to take a drive... just the two of us... somewhere scenic... to get away from the hustle and bustle of being home and watch the Fall foliage change colors! They say Fall is an older person's season. I guess that would make sense, now that I am older! So I would have been content with a short drive up to the Gorge or somewhere close by.

Eleven days before my actual birthday, Michael had something else in mind. Something that he conjured up out of the blue, at 3 Am last Friday morning. And after 3 hours of research, he called me at 6:30 AM and said, "Pack your bags, grab your passport, we're going on a road trip!"

Now in case you didn't already know, Michael never wakes up that early (on his own, anyway). And he certainly never sounds that chipper at 6:30 AM! So I was like, "Yea right..." and he says, "I'm serious! I'm on my way to your house now!"

Suuuuure, I thought, I'll believe it when I see it... and fell back asleep.

But there he was, 30 minutes later, at my house! And 30 minutes after that, we were on I-5 North, with the top down (freezing I might add), driving to Canada!


Does it sound like I'm complaining? Because I'm not. I love surprises. And I love spontaneity. As some of you now know, I also love to travel. So even though I'd been to Vancouver, B.C. countless times before, I hadn't been recently, and I certainly had never been with Michael... therefore, anything we do (for the first time) together, near or far, is exciting to me.


We made it to the border in 6 hours (with a stop in Seattle for lunch) and checked in at the lovely Pan Pacific Hotel (#20 on Conde Nast's 2008 World's Best Places to Stay) in downtown Vancouver. We then took a drive through Vancouver's famous Stanley Park, where I got to see my fall foliage! It was very enchanting :) I don't think I've ever seen Vancouver like this before - no wonder it's always listed as one of the best places to live in the world!


We had dinner at Ping's Cafe - a highly reviewed, yet down-to-earth, underground, neighborhood Japanese joint with the most humble and personable service, specializing in small plates! Naturally, Michael did all the research in advance, and like most places he chooses, dinner did not disappoint. The meal was so wonderful, I'd recommend it to any foodie who visits Vancouver! I wish I took pictures, but I was too busy enjoying myself, I forgot! Besides, it's one of those places where pictures would not do it justice, you just have to go there!!!

The next day, we went to Chinatown, had some dim sum and spent the rest of our day on Granville Island at the public markets (so much fun), before the drive home. So overall, it would be considered a very short trip for such a long drive to most people, but for me, it was exhilarating... and a perfect way to celebrate my 28th :)

This dim sum restaurant used a scan-tron to place our order!!!

The chicken feet here is HUGE! Maybe that's why it's award-winning. I think they cut it from the knees instead of the ankles :)

Seattle

Once we were old enough to drive, my friends and I would frequently drive 3 hours north to Seattle, where we'd have lunch on Jackson Street (aka Vietnamese-town), walk through Pike Place Market, and if time permitted, shopped downtown at Neimen Marcus! We were young. Most of us had lived in Portland all our lives. So to some of us, Seattle was like a Las Vegas to an eager showgirl; an L.A. to an aspiring actress; or a New York to an ambitious businessman. It was our escape from Portland... to feel grown up... to have our independence and drive somewhere that was far enough it could be considered a "road trip," yet still close enough so that it would allow us to come back home in the same day before we got in trouble with our parents :)

So after 10 years since my first independent trip to Seattle, Michael and I decided to head up to Seattle for the day! We'd never been there together before and while we were there, paid a visit to his dad and sister Lynn. Seattle is still the bustling NW city that its always been and we had a great time... as we usually do! You've probably noticed by now - I enjoy and can find a special quality about each city I go to (except for maybe Dublin :) but now that I'm actually grown up, I don't see the appeal anymore. Sure it's the home of Bill Gates / Microsoft and the first Starbucks, but there's too many hills downtown, everyone's got road rage and it rains SO much more! No offense Seattle, you guys have a cool baseball team, but I think Portland is gonna' take you by storm (no pun intended)!... I'll still come visit you though!

Seattle Space Needle - on sale for $79 million.

World's 1st Starbucks

Pike Place Market

Yup, this is where that dude on Real World Seattle worked!

ROAD TRIP!!!

Taking a road trip through the UK had initially been my idea, but being as calculated and analytical as Michael was, he wasn't sure it was such a clever one. Neither of us had experience driving on the left hand side of the road, on the right hand side of a car, in a foreign country where we didn't know the rules of traffic, but nonetheless, I brushed him off, ehh... how hard could it be???

Man, did I end up eating my own words later. Driving is suppose to be relaxing... even at times a stress reliever, right? Not here! The roads are super narrow, constantly twisting and turning into an even narrower road. You're concentrating so hard, your eyes feel like they're about to pop out because there's so much to think about and remember - staying on the correct side of the road when turning and shifting (neither of us had driven a stick in ages - I felt like my left wrist was gonna' pop off :). You're completely blinded on your left side because you forget that side of the car even exists since you're concentrating so hard on your right. Even the easiest parking spot is a pain. It's totally disorientating!

Nonetheless, it was a wonderful experience! We drove all the way up to Edinburgh, Scotland (6+ hours away), stopping in beautiful Lake District, England for a few days to enjoy the countryside. The scenery was amazing and some were just like in the movies! Has anyone seen The Holiday (with Cameron Diaz & Kate Winslet)? It very much reminded me of that. I'm so glad we did it!

Look how narrow the lanes are in this picture above... and these unmarked roads below are still shared with oncoming traffic.
That goat was just chilling there in the middle of the road. He took his dandy time walking off too.