A Kiwi’s Journey

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

2012-01-08T00:12:00.001-08:00

Spending a half day travelling up to, and exploring, the San Jacinto Peak via the aerial tramway is a costly but essential experience nevertheless. On a fine clear day, the views over the Coachella Valley are simply spectacular. The city of Palm Springs and the surrounding wind farms are quite visible from the 8,515ft peak. But be forewarned, it can pretty cold up their even on a sunny spring day. Below are a snapshots of our recent visit.

Waiting at the base station for our ride to the top.

After the one hour wait and ten minute ride to the peak, we are rewarded with this view.

Snow on the top varied in thickness from one inch on the trails to about one foot off.

A poorly constructed but patriotic snowman.

The sun setting on San Jacinto peak. The climb back to the tramway station in the thin air can be grueling.

At the tramway gate waiting for our tram for the return journey.

New Orleans

2011-11-08T00:54:00.001-08:00

The post contains a few pictures from our recent vacation to New Orleans, Louisiana.

The iconic New Orleans street car.

The Natchez on the Mississippi River.

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St Louis Cathedral from the center of Jackson Square.

Looking down the aisle inside St Louis Cathedral.

A close up.

Two panoramic views from Chartres St outside Jackson Square.

Watching street entertainers on Decatur St close to Jackson Square.

Bourbon St on Halloween.

Mother and Child (1988) by Fernando Botero. Sculpture Garden at City Park.

Monkeys (1998-2001) by Rona Pondick. Sculpture Garden at City Park.

Three in One by George Rodrigue. Sculpture Garden at City Park.

Sculpture Garden at City Park.

View from the circular pergola on the Eastern shore of City Park’s “Big Lake”.

Somewhere in the French Quarter.

This sign displays the 18th century street name but more importantly our walking tour guide pointed out the rounded bricks. Not original, supposedly the rounding occurred after centuries of drunks scraping the corner of the pub.

Café du Monde. Probably the most famous café in New Orleans.

Café du Monde is well known for café au lait and sugar laden square donuts called beignets.

A statue of Joan of Arc outside the French Market.

I have no idea what this is. Impressive, scary, weird and certainly intimidating.

Photos of the Laura Plantation house.

A former slave house on the Laura Plantation.

Oak Alley Plantation.

The legendary Camellia Grill.

My serving of eggs, hash browns, bacon and finishing with their famous grill heated pecan pie.

One of many spectacular houses along St Charles Avenue close to Audubon Park.

A row of trees in Audubon Park adorned with Spanish moss.

A panoramic view of Loyola University.

A Sherman tank in the National World War II museum.

An Enigma machine at the National WWII museum.

A C-47 at the National WWII museum.

Motherwell

2011-10-13T00:05:00.001-07:00

A few pictures from our brief visit to Motherwell, Scotland in 2004.

The South Dalziel Parish Church.

And lastly the Dalziel Arms located on Brandon Street. Just a stones throw from Dalzell House.

Paris

2011-10-12T22:36:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our 2004 vacation to Paris, France.

Notre Dame de Paris

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Louvre

Luxor Obelisk

Basilica of the Sacred Heart

Palace of Versailles

Prague

2011-09-08T23:31:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our 2004 vacation to Prague, Czech Republic.

London

2011-09-08T22:06:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our 2004 vacation to London, England.

San Diego

2011-07-13T22:17:00.001-07:00

Panoramic views, created using the Photosynth iPhone app by Microsoft, from the North Tower of the Marriott Hotel in San Diego.

Washington DC

2011-05-02T00:06:00.001-07:00

The White House from Lafayette Square in Washington DC.

A peek through the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue.

This woman has been protesting outside the White House 24/7 since 1981.

The Lincoln Memorial.

“Freedom is not free” – Near the Korean War Veterans Memorial

The Washington Monument

SpaceShipOne in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

P51 Mustang at the Smithsonian, an elegant but deadly WWII fighter.

Pan crisped roasted duck with dirty rice, collard greens and cane syrup pepper jelly gaze – Acadiana Restaurant.

People queuing up the street for Georgetown Cupcakes. Are they that good?

A quaint Georgetown home.

Another cute Georgetown home.

The Pebble Garden at Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown.

The Hornbeam Ellipse at Dumbarton Oaks.

A sea of tulips in the Herbaceous Border at Dumbarton Oaks.

A long narrow pergola alongside the Flower Garden at Dumbarton Oaks.

Overlooking the Cedar Terrace and the rear of the Dumbarton Oaks mansion.

The Orangery at Dumbarton Oaks.

Another picture of the Orangery.

The main entrance to the Dumbarton Oaks mansion.

Narrow residential buildings in Georgetown.

Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington’s most well known residents, President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the eternal flame.

Timeless excerpts from Kennedy’s speeches are etched around the Kennedy grave site.

Cherry Blossoms in full bloom at Arlington National Cemetery.

Looking towards to the Tomb of the Unknowns (aka the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) at the Arlington National Cemetery.

The Supreme Court of the United States.

The United States Capitol from 1st St NE.

The North East corner of the Capitol.

The western side of the Capitol.

Chinatown in Washington DC.

Ben Bernanke portrait using one dollar bills by Mark Wagner.

Third floor of the National Portrait Gallery

The Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery features a glass canopy and interesting water features (pictured).

Miami

2010-09-03T23:49:00.001-07:00

The New Yorker Hotel in Miami, FL.

The Texas de Brazil Churrascaria at The Dolphin Mall.

The Evergaldes Safari Park.

The “south beach” on Key Biscayne.

The sea water is not just warm, it is hot!

Kennedy Space Center

2010-09-03T22:59:00.001-07:00

“The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the U.S. government installation that manages and operates America's astronaut launch facilities. Serving as the base for the country's three space shuttles, the NASA field center also conducts unmanned civilian launches from adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (operated by the 45th Space Wing). KSC has been the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since December 1968. Its iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the fourth-largest structure in the world by volume[1] and was the largest when completed in 1965.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center

The view from the Kennedy Space Center lookout tower towards the Vehicle Assembly Building with the Crawlerway stretching to the right towards Pads 39A and 39B.

The crawlerway splits, heading left to Pad 39B and right to Pad 39A.

Launch Pad 39B.

Saturn V First Stage Rocket

Saturn V Second Stage Rocket

Apollo Service Module (left) and Command Module (right).

The Apollo 14 Command Module.

Inside a replica of the Space Shuttle cargo bay.

Epcot

2010-09-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

“Epcot is an acronym of (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney. Disney's original vision of EPCOT was for a model community, home to twenty thousand residents, which would be a test bed for city planning and organization. Disney's vision was not realized as funding and permission to start work on his Florida property was unable to be obtained until he agreed to build the Magic Kingdom first. Disney died before the Magic Kingdom opened and the Walt Disney Company decided that it did not want to be in the business of running a city.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epcot

Entrance to Spaceship Earth

A still from computer generated animation following a touch-screen questionnaire in the omnimover in the spaceship earth ride.

After the spaceship earth ride, passengers can view their geo-referenced picture on this large spherical screen.

Inside the Mexican exhibit.

The Chinese exhibit.

The Japanese exhibit.

The Morocco exhibit.

Mission Space.

New York

2010-06-10T01:00:00.001-07:00

Times Square in New York, New York.

Ground Zero (World Trade Center Site)

Memorial Day Parade

USS Iwo Jima

The two hour line to board the ship

M1A1 Abrams Tank and other lethal vehicles

Osprey

Harrier Jump Jet

Steam vent on 49th Street

The American Museum of Natural History

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island from the Statue of Liberty Pedestal lookout

The USS Iwo Jima leaving port (viewed from the Statue of Liberty Pedestal)

Ellis Island

Return ferry back to Manhattan

NBC studios in Rockefeller plaza where American Idol winner Lee DeWyze performed live on The Today Show.

Concrete mountains

The Living Desert

2010-06-08T23:32:00.001-07:00

The Living Desert in Palm Desert (east of Palm Springs).

University of Redlands

2010-06-08T23:09:00.001-07:00

The University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

School of Business Commencement of 2010. More than 500 students graduated with bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees.

The commencement took place on campus in the Greek Theatre.

Jack Dangermond, founder and CEO of ESRI gave an impassionate commencement speech in which he encouraged graduates to follow their passion.

It’s official!

Anza Borrego

2010-06-08T22:30:00.001-07:00

Pond on the Borrego Springs Resort golf course in Borrego Springs.

Thousands of tiny frogs, like this one, lived in and around the fairway ponds.

Palm Canyon Trail

The Getty

2010-06-07T00:55:00.001-07:00

If visiting Los Angeles, then I strongly recommend The Getty Center in Brentwood. The museum’s collection of European paintings is simply spectacular. If tired of strolling past priceless paintings by Monet and Renoir then explore the immaculately landscaped gardens (see below). Entrance is free but there is a small parking fee.

A few of my favorite paintings….

Irises
Vincent van Gogh

Portrait of Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven Years of Age
JeaN-Étienne Liotard

Self-Portrait
Edgar Degas

Portrait of Louise-Antoinette Feuardent
Jean-Francois Millet

Salton Sea

2010-06-06T23:54:00.001-07:00

On a recent trip heading east along Interstate 10 we stopped at Salton City, a former beach resort and future ghost town on the southern coast of the Salton Sea. To our surprise, we saw hundreds of dead tilapias fish floating along the shoreline and three gentlemen fishing in the brown-red ooze.

Griffith Observatory

2010-05-10T22:10:00.001-07:00

Griffith Observatory is located in the Griffith Park in central Los Angeles, California. For visiting information please click here.

Redlands

2010-05-10T21:23:00.001-07:00

The following pictures are of Kimberly Crest and Prospect Park in Redlands, California.

Palm Canyon

2010-02-21T16:08:00.001-08:00

“Fifteen miles long, Palm Canyon is one of the great beauty spots in Western North America. Its indigenous flora and fauna, which the Cahuilla peoples so expertly used, and its abundant Washingtonia filifera (California Fan palm trees), are breathtaking contrasts to the stark, rocky gorges and barren desert lands beyond. A moderately graded, paved foot path winds down into the canyon for picnicking near the stream, meditating, exploring, hiking or horseback riding. While in Palm Canyon, visit the Trading Post for hiking maps, refreshments, Indian art and artifacts, books, jewelry, pottery, baskets, weavings and conversational cultural lore.”
from http://www.palmsprings.com/points/canyon/

Malolo Island

2009-10-01T00:07:00.001-07:00

This post contains some memorable photograph from a recent vacation to Malolo Island in the Mamanuca archipelagos, west of the Fijian main island of Viti Levu.

Like most tourist we arrived in Fiji at Nadi International Airport. From the airport we made our way to Port Denarau on the west coast of Viti Levu to board a SeaFiji speed boat to Malolo Island.

We arrived at the Malolo Island Resort (one of several resorts on the island) early in the evening. We were surprised to be greeted by the resort staff on the jetty (pictured below). The staff were singing a welcome song and presented us with decorative shell necklace.

We stayed in a cute little bungalow (or “bure”) located less than 30 meters from the crystal clear water.

The beach area consisted of a relatively narrow stretch of golden coarse grained sand. The island’s coral reef was conveniently located less than 30 meters offshore, excellent for casual snorkeling. Alternatively, one could relax in one of the resort provided deck chairs or hammocks.

Adjacent the resort’s dining area was this beautifully landscaped, but rarely used, split-level pool.

One afternoon as we were dining for lunch, this chap fell from the heavens onto our table. We were just a tad freaked out.

A few fellow guests kayaking in calm waters of the early morning.

Enjoying a Piña colada in the resort’s bar and watching the sunset.

Every evening, shortly after sunset one of the resort’s staff performs a somewhat tacky but spectacular torch lighting ceremony.

View from the dinning area overlooking the pool and musicians playing Fijian and contemporary western music.

On the final night of our stay, the resort prepared traditional Fijian fare and invited a local group to perform. The performance was concluded with a touching farewell to departing guests.

Due to the late arrival in Fiji we had to charter a speed boat to the island. For the return trip to the main island we boarded the South Sea Cruises catamaran.

That concludes my brief review of our short but enjoyable stay in Fiji at the Malolo Island Resort. The food was much better than I expected for an isolated resort and there were plenty of scheduled and unscheduled activities. Many activities like kayaking, windsurfing, sailing and offshore snorkeling were free. Lastly, I was very impressed with the kind and generous nature of the Fijian people. Definitely worth a revisit!

Note: This post is not endorsed by the Malolo Island Resort. There are probably dozens of comparable resorts all along the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos. Please consult with a travel review site (such as Trip Advisor) to find the best resort that fits your needs, financial or otherwise. Happy Travels.