Malaysia Trip - October 2005 (on business - but we got some time
off to see the sights) |
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Another business trip brought me to the city
of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I had never been to Malaysia before, so
I really didn't know what to expect. What I found was a remarkably
clean city (even by Western standards) with very friendly people.
English is pretty much a second language here, so it was very easy to get
around. |
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Four of us hired a taxi (a small taxi - we
were pretty cramped in there!) and went for a sightseeing tour. One
place that was mentioned often was the Batu Caves - a little ways outside
the City. Once there, we had to hike the stairs shown here to
reach the caves. It's rather hot and humid here, so the stairs did
get us sweating quite a bit as we climbed them. |
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This is what it looks inside the
caves. There is a small temple in here, and continuing through the
caves goes into a second opening in which you can look upwards and see the
sky (no exit though). It's an impressive geological feature... hard
to capture in a photo. |
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While at the Batu Caves, we saw a sign not
to feed the wild monkeys. At first I thought it was a joke, then we
saw all the monkeys come out of trees for free handouts. Pretty
amazing. Their numbers reminded me of what we see with squirrels here
in North America - though their movements were more like cats. |
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On the way back from the Batu Caves, our
taxi driver suggested we visit a local store he knew of (he said it was
good shopping - and it was!). Lots of handmade silk items and very
inexpensive. In the back of the store (in another room) you could
see people hand painting silk scarves - and as you can see in this photo -
the patterns were amazingly beautiful. |
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There is a local "Chinese Market"
in the evening in Kuala Lumpur. You can find all kinds of stuff
here... amazingly cheap. Most common were watches, purses, and
clothes. There was also quite a bit of DVDs (mostly illegal copies),
food (some very unusual), and all kinds of little gadgets. Bargaining
is a must... Truly a fun and memorable place to visit. |
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My favorite photo from the trip. On my
last day in Malaysia, I had about 3 hours free before going to the
airport, so I called the same Taxi driver we had earlier, and he took me
to Temple Park where we hiked to some breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls
in a rain forest. You can see from the photo that I was pretty soaked from
the hike and humidity (my shirt should be light green). Total
cost of a 4 hour taxi ride (and guiding) - about $50. |
France / Finland Trip - September 2005 (mostly on business - but
also got some time off) |
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During a recent business trip, a co-worker (Harry) and I took an afternoon off and
visited Paris. We had just arrived that morning (with little or no
sleep on the flight from Sacramento), and this was our one opportunity to
see Paris during the trip. This street scene is what greeted us as
we exited the subway. |
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Of course, you can't visit Paris and not see
the Eiffel Tower! We did a combination of subway and walking
to get here. |
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Harry took this photo of me part way up the
Eiffel Tower. |
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The Eiffel Tower at night. I think
this is my favorite photo from Paris. We had just had dinner nearby,
when we walked out to catch the subway back to our hotel. This was a
handheld nighttime shot - I'm really surprised how well it came out (no
blurring!). |
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Since I was in France, I was close enough to
have the opportunity to visit my dear friend Leena in Finland. After
I arrived, we went for a walk near her apartment. Can you believe
this shoreline is right next to Helsinki (the capital of Finland).
It's beautiful! |
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I had forgotten how much a port city
Helsinki is. There were many, many small harbors - each with tons of
sailboats. From this photo, you can see why... sailing here is
spectacular! |
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Leena and her dog Venla (who is quite a
character - and charmer!). Leena and I have been friends since High
School, and we've remained close friends and stayed in contact over
all this time since then. |
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The main cathedral in Helsinki (I'm going to
have to look up the name). Unlike the cathedrals I saw in Paris,
this one was more simple in it's appearance (both inside and out). I think
I liked this better... it wasn't so overwhelming... it was also a lot
brighter and cheerier inside (my opinion, I know). |
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At the Farmer's Market in Helsinki.
It's right next to the main port, so besides fruits, vegetables, and other
farm products, there was a tremendous amount of seafood available. This
colors, sights, sounds and smells here were terrific. There were
also a wide variety arts and crafts from local artists... I bought some as souvenirs for
gifts... they were great! |
Sacramento River (Redding to Red Bluff) - July 2005 |
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Brad and Loren paddling past the new Sundial
Bridge (wonder how it got it's name?). This was the start of a 2-day
paddle down the Sacramento River from Redding to Red Bluff. |
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An Osprey (Hawk) takes off right above us
during lunch break. This photo turned out especially nice as you can
see all the feathers in detail. |
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The story behind this photo... Wanda (who's
driving) owns the property we were camping at along the river.
During the evening, she came down to join us, and offered us a ride on her
jet-ski. It was a blast to say the least. She took us up river
in minutes to places that it took us several hours to paddle
(downstream!). Brad is riding behind Wanda in this photo. |
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A typical scene on the second day. The
water is a little slower and has a tendency to "boil". The
boiling of the water throws you in different directions within
seconds. It's almost as if the River is playing with you... and
perhaps it is! |
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The motley crew at the end of the two-day
paddle trip. It certainly is a lot of fun to do... and there's
a lot of wildlife to see along the way (besides the paddlers!). |
Oregon Bicycle Tour - July 2004 |
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Terri and Charles at the start of the bike
trip near Eugene, Oregon. A storm had just blown through, and
(unbeknownst to us) a heat wave was starting. |
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Scenery near Rickreal, Oregon - about
mid-way between Eugene and Portland. I like this photo... it's very
peaceful. |
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Terri riding near Rickreal. Good
roads, smooth shoulder, no wind and pretty scenery... can't go wrong here! |
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The waterfront at St. Helens. We had a
very hard day bicycling to here. We were told it was a 1-mile walk
to the Old Town... turned out to be 3-miles. The restaurant we had
dinner was terrific, and the owner (who served us) took pity and drove us
back to the hotel. The Old Town section of St. Helens is very scenic
(as you can see). |
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A Great Blue Heron comes in for a landing
near Astoria. The heat wave still continued during this time... it
was a "cooler" 93 degrees in Astoria - one of the most rainy
areas in America. |
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The shipwreck of Peter Iredale at Fort
Stevens State Park. Again, with the heat wave, the weather here was
incredible... it could have been southern California on this day. |
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Haystacks at Canon Beach. The fog had
finally returned, and the weather was much cooler (at least on the
coast)... the inland areas - such as Portland - were still suffering from
the heat wave (103 degrees in Portland!). |
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The large haystack at Canon Beach... words
are hard to describe just how BIG this rock is. The people below it
gives some idea. |
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Looking down towards Nehalem Bay. The
coastline here is very unique in the way the waves glance down the
shoreline (usually they come straight in to the shore). This is one
of my favorite photos from the trip. |
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Near the town of Wheeler. The weather
continues to be cool, and the scenery is tremendous. |
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CarolAnn (CA) and Ivona near Wheeler.
We met them the previous night, and their route is paralleling ours for
the next few days. |
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Sunset at Cape Lookout. The Bike-Hiker
campground is right next to where this photo was taken... couldn't ask for
a better place to camp! |
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A story behind this photo... we met two
other cyclist (both not in this photo) of which one (Eric) had a birthday
today. I purchased a frozen pie (that thawed out during the day) and
we planned a surprise party for him. However they decided to get a
Hotel room that night, and didn't show up. We ended up having a
party anyway, and singing Happy Birthday to someone who wasn't
there. An absolute kick... one of the best times on the trip.
Left to Right: Charles, Terri, Gordon, Philip (who stood in as
Eric), CA, Ivona, and Robin. |
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Early morning at Cape Lookout. The
beach two photos above is only about 100 yards behind the tents. |
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Scenery near Sand Lake... just a few miles
south of Cape Lookout. |
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A large rock formation just offshore near
Pacific city. I took this photo from where we were having lunch at a
local cafe... pretty nice place to eat! |
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The Scenic Bypass near Otis. One of
the most scenic and quietest roads on the trip. Strangely, the
Pacific Coast Bike Route Book pans this detour... which is absolutely
wrong. If you decide to do this trip, by all means take this road... it's
beautiful.. a gentle climb... and almost zero traffic... how much more
could you ask for? |
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Charles on the Scenic Bypass near
Otis. |
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Otter Crest Road that climbs up to Cape
Fowlweather. The road at this point is one-way and has a bike
lane. Sweet! |
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Sometimes good things must come to an end. Left to Right: Charles, Terri, Gordon and Robin.
We had been bicycling with them (also CA and Ivona) for several days...
having such a wonderful time with them. This was the last day
together as our routes departed at this point... It was a wonderful
time... and really terrific people to be with. |
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The lighthouse at Heceta Head. What
doesn't show up is how windy it was here! I had to place the camera
on a rock to take this photo (winds were blowing about 40+ mph). |
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Elbow Lake... only a few miles north of our
final destination at Reedsport. |
Bolinas Trip - May 2004 |
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I had a difficult project due at work the
day before... and spent many weekends and late evenings preparing for
it. The following day (after the project's completion), I took a mental health day to relax... Sonoma
(the Yellow Lab) and I took a one-day trip to Bolinas to unwind. |
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The first thing Sonoma found when he got out
of the car was a tennis ball. He loved this trip and had the best
time of his life! Only down side was that he was extremely sore the
following day after running and chasing the ball all day at the beach. He
was so stiff he didn't want to move anywhere - though he recovered later in the day. |
Vacation in Bolinas - September 2003 |
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Getting ready to kayak on Tomalas Bay.
Ideal weather (no fog) is common in September. |
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The Church at Nacasio. We took this on
a bike ride that started near Olema, went past Nacasio, then returned on
the Samuel Taylor Bike Path. A pretty relaxing 22 mile ride (only
700' of climbing). |
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The view looking towards San Francisco from
Bolinas. Hard for any photo to do it justice. |
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Sunset at Agate Beach. |
