W Hotel Scottsdale

August 17, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

It’s hot in Surprise, AZ. Like, blazing hot. 115F to be exact.

A few trips to the community pool with my family was nice. But after kids splashing me, an older lady complaining to me that they closed half of the pool to swim camp and teenagers making out that looked 13 it was nice to make a change. Time for the pool at the W Hotel in Scottsdale.

Lemme tell you. It was nice. No, wait, more than that. It was NICE. Kids and splashes were replaced with lounge chairs and pool side service. And did I mention that we weren’t even staying at the hotel? Well, not that night at least. The first day was a Friday, we had no problem getting into the pool area and immediately ordering shrimp ceviche and Dos Equis. Here is what the pool looked like on Friday.

Aannnnnnddd here is what it looked like on Saturday.

A completely different world! We were hotel guests for that evening, otherwise we would have never made it to this scene. The weekends at the W are happening. Drinks were flowing, the DJ was spinnin’ and the people were crazy, yo! The girlies had an outift for walking to their cabana, then another outfit for lounging in the cabana, and then a bikini for the pool. The hair was piled, the makeup was layered and the game was on. I was none of that and I do believe I heard a collective gasp when I actually went under the water to cool off.

What more could two hot girls want? And I meant hot, in both senses.

I do love the W Hotels. They are always modern with a comfortable feel. A flat screen tv, bath products from Bliss and an excellent Sushi restaurant is what we encountered at this one. We loved it so much we came back to the pool on Monday and enjoyed it one more time. Great time to beat the heat and relax in a hip (but sometimes loud) atmosphere. Go try it out for yourself!

Save

arizona · beauty · earth · familia · hike · Road Trip · travel · usa

Final Stop: Arches and Powell

August 10, 2010October 19, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Final stop – Arches National Park and Lake Powell. We didn’t do both in one day, but they go hand in hand. Lots of rocks and arches and fun!

Arches National Park in located in Moab, Utah. It contains the world’s largest concentration of natural stone arches. This National Park is a red, arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks, and arches. The 73,000-acre region has over 2,000 of these “miracles of nature.”

We pretty much stayed in the car and drove the loop, it took about 2.5 hours. But there are trails to hike, a campground to stay at, you can easily stay a full day or more. My two favorites were balanced rock and the three gossips.

I heard she went out with Jacob last night. I knew she would cheat on Edward.

Careful now, concentrate, balance. Ooooommmmmm….

Lake Powell is next! Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona (most of it, along with Rainbow Bridge, is in Utah). It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States.

We opted for the Rainbow Bridge Tour. Enjoy cruising past 50 miles of Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. At the monument, the tour boat docks and you will set off a fairly easy mile-plus trail to Rainbow Bridge. The bridge itself extends 290′ into the sky and 275′ across Bridge Canyon. Witness first hand the power of wind and water in their role of sculpting this remarkable landscape.

To catch the boat tours you must go to the Wahweap Marina, near Page, AZ. The cruise lasted about five hours total, you get a headset to hear about Lake Powell plus free lemonade and water! The boat has a seating area upstairs, or if you want some shelter from the sun (or the rain) there is also seating below. My parents and I had a nice time cruising the lake, checking out the sandstone and watching all the houseboats and waverunners pass us by. Here are some of my favs from the tour.

Rainbow Bridge was truly spectacular. Even better, I got to enjoy it with Mom and Dad.

hotels · Road Trip · travel · usa

Thar’s Silver In Them Hills

August 8, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

Once the stomping ground of silver kings and railroad giants, Silverton survives today as one of Colorado’s most endearing destinations.

That is Silverton’s main drag. While there is no more mining here, there is still tons of character.

After Mesa Verde Nat’l Park we drove back to Durango and then headed north on 550 through the San Juan National Forest – BEAUTIFUL! With the hour growing late, and the gas tank getting empty we stopped in Silverton for the night. The sweetest lil town ever with a population around 500, and probably about 100 in the winter. We picked the Grand Imperial Hotel to stay at, built in the late 1800s and I believe our 2 double bed room was $90. Much better than our $200 from the Best Western in Durango. And it had much more character! Here is our lovely room, complete with ceiling fan, creaky floors and a window that wouldn’t shut all the way. But completely Silverton, and completely perfect.

Hungry for something, anything, the hotel manager said we needed to hurry because all would soon be closing their kitchens around 9pm. We stumbled upon the Silverton Brewery where mom and I had a brat (pretty good) and dad had the overflowing plate of nachos topped with everything (really good). I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt and we headed back to our room and called it an early night.

The next morning I woke up at the hour of 7am (wahhhhhhhhh) and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I noisily (i didn’t mean it, the floor boards are super creaky!) got dressed, grabbed the camera and went for a crisp morning walk down the five blocks of Silverton. Check it out.

This dude is cool.

No squirrel? Mmmmmm, jerky.

Thank you for snow patched mountains, for spacious skies. Go see Silverton!

Save

architecture · arizona · earth · familia · Road Trip · travel · usa

Trippin with the Rents.

August 3, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILESLeave a comment

My parents have finally settled down in Phoenix, AZ. Finally! They were nomads for a couple of years and it seriously drove me batty. I guess in my old age I am just concerned about them in their old age (kidding mom, you’re not old, only dad). I know Mom was enjoying the nomad life, but not so sure about Dad. But now, with their son, daughter-in-law, grandson in the very same town, everyone can be happy. I think. Every time I am back in the states I seem to end up on a road trip with my parents. Like here or the European one here! And I seriously love trippin’ with Dot and Chuck. Maybe when my nephew and nephew-to-arrive-in-DECEMBER (!!!) are a bit older we can add my brother’s family along. That would require a little larger method of transportation, like the Winnebago my grandparents owned. It was the coolest ride ever.

At first, we were going to head down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Even with all the problems between Arizona and Mexico we were still going to go, after all it is only a mere three-hour drive! But then, a few days before we were going to leave a murder occurred in Puerto Penasco and we decided that maybe now is not the best time to go. Change of direction, lets head north-ish. And we were off with no real plans.

From Phoenix we headed up to Flagstaff and then over on 40E to New Mexico. Once we hit Gallup we went north on 491 up to Shiprock, because my dad likes to read the Tony Hillerman books and they are based around Shiprock. After we left Gallup and until a the day we drove back to Phoenix, my cell phone (the cool GO PHONE, everyone should get one. yes, i am being sarcastic) was never too reliable.

We drove up to Colorado and stopped at Durango for the night. Cute town! It was very touristy with lots of stores with souvenirs, jewelry and art. Plus the train is there to take you up to Silverton. In the morning we headed over to Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.

We bought tickets to see the Cliff Palace but we had a few hours before it was time for our tour so we drove around and stopped at many of the archeological sites to see. First one was the Pithouse.

That’s my cute mom walking around the Pithouse in her favorite Skechers Shape Ups.

The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the North American Continent. Sometime during the late 1190s, after primarily living on the mesa top for 600 years, many Ancestral Puebloans began living in pueblos they built beneath the overhanging cliffs. The structures ranged in size from one-room storage units to villages of more than 150 rooms. While still farming the mesa tops, they continued to reside in the alcoves, repairing, remodeling, and constructing new rooms for nearly a century. By the late 1270s, the population began migrating south into present-day New Mexico and Arizona. By 1300, the Ancestral Puebloan occupation of Mesa Verde ended.

Check out some of these cliff dwellings that the Ancestral Puebloans would climb down to with specially marked footholds. Truly amazing.

How in the world did they climb DOWN to that?

Here is a lovely pic of my Dad eating an apple….

Hehe. Okay, seriously. It was time for the Cliff Palace tour! There are three tours you can go on; The Cliff Palace, The Balcony House and The Long House. The latter two are the most strenuous with tall ladders to climb and small holes to crawl through. As I mentioned earlier, my apple eating Dad is old (love you dad! now go take your medication) so the Cliff Palace was the only one he could really do.

But he wasn’t tooooo terribly old to do this one. Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling in the park. A Cliff Palace tour descends approximately 100 feet into the canyon on a steep trail that includes 120 uneven stone steps. During the tour, visitors climb five, eight-foot ladders.

Recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. If you visit Cliff Palace you will enter an exceptionally large dwelling which may have had special significance to the original occupants. It is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage. Here it is …..

Pretty cool my friends. But come back soon, this is just the first part of trippin’ with the rents. So much more to come. See you soon!

Save

architecture · birds · friends · new york city · travel · usa

NYC Take Two

July 19, 2010October 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES2 Comments

New York City, take two.

I must apologize to my bedmate (does that sound weird?) AMY for not getting up and going to the Today Show with her. She wanted to go see the Rascal Flats play for that weeks summer concert. I opened one eye, said “Do you want to go?” and she said no. So! Therefore I went back to sleep. Hopefully our Today Show celeb sighting made up for the fact that we missed Rascal Flats.

After all eight of us were beautified and ready to go, first stop was Rockefeller Plaza. I took pics of cool buildings along the way.

I really like this one.

We stopped at Le Pain Quotiden for lunch. If you are in Manhattan, you have to go to one, they have several locations. Delicious salads, hummus, sandwiches. I sampled a bit from everyone’s plate (I did order for myself as well) and everything was scrumptious.

High Line park was our next destination. The High Line is a public park built on a defunct railway that runs 30 feet above Manhattan between 10th and 11th Avenues, from 34th Street to Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district. It is going through three sets of phases until final completion. The first phase is finished, the second will be in fall 2010 and the third has yet to be approved.

We climbed up three flights and stairs and wove our way around the wildflowers and plants on the boardwalk through the floating garden. Fantastic sights include:

The Statue of Liberty

Funky art object to give an optical illusion to the buildings.

Pretty wildflowers.

And while we were there our celeb sighting. Remember here?

Trying to fit everything in on our agenda and we only had about 36 more hours to do so. Cupcakes anyone? Magnolia Bakery here we come! I have never seen the Sex and the City episode where this frosting fabulousness comes from, nor do I care. BUT I did care about my chocolate cupcake with sprinkles. The place is super small and was a bit chaotic but once outside with cupcake and lemonade in hand, I was nothing but happy.

Now to hurry home back to nyc apartment with a crazy lady living below, freshen up, throw some cheese, sausage and pasta in the belly and go to ……. ROCK OF AGES!

Yes, that’s right. ROCK OF AGES!! Here is the gist of it: In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, PAT BENATAR, TWISTED SISTER, POISON, ASIA, WHITESNAKE and many more. And I can say that we sang along to EVERY SINGLE FACE-MELTING SONG. Fun show, the alcohol also helped…..

Above pic from the ROA website or the LOOS!

And afterwards, we wandered around Times Square…..

I love Times Square at night.

Save

Germany · travel

Oma + England

April 6, 2010November 20, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES3 Comments

This trip to England we did the same route as the last time – Eurotunnel, Falstaff Hotel at Canterbury and The Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth (Cornwall).

With a first stop to celebrate Oma’s 98th birthday!! Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum dein Geburtstag!! One of her grandchildren mentioned to her, “Just think, in two years you will be 100!” To which she replied, “And I hope I won’t be here.” Awwww, Oma. One can get tired of life if there isn’t much to it anymore. But bless her old lil heart, she is still kicking it as best as she can.

Feel free to look through the highlights of the trip……

THE 98 year old Oma, hangin’ with the homies.

Deutsche Speisekarte

Cornwall sheep and babies. I keep wanting to call them sheepies every since I saw this cartoon that Avery was watching. That one where you put words together and learn letters…..whatever. Lil Bo Peep kept saying “I lost my sheepies. Ohhhhh where are my poor lil sheepies.” Ever since then all I can think of is sheepies when I see those funny creatures all over Mallorca. Is the next generation going to call them sheepies from this? Are we doomed with sheepies from now on?

Spooky old church we found while taking a turn off the beaten path. Hundreds of crows that wouldn’t let me take their picture. You couldn’t have paid me enough money to stay there overnight. Well, okay, maybe you could. But it would be one damn scary night.

I have a strange fetish with tombstones.

That’s Jasper! The hotel dog that you can take for walks. Plus, the scenery isn’t too shabby.

Ended the stay with a gorgeous sunset seen from the balcony of our room at The Scarlet.

Save

food · Portland · travel · usa · yum

Ahhh….nothin’ like familia

December 3, 2009October 22, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

Portland, OR. A city that combines a bit of eccentric touch, with a granola feel and a dash of small town charm. But it could possibly be too big of a city for me, or maybe too spread out. The older I get the more I find myself migrating towards the quiet, the smaller areas with a dedicated lack of bright lights, big city. Except Manhattan, the only big city I truly would love to own a penthouse in….then again, who wouldn’t?

My time spent in Portland was relaxed. A lot of hanging out with the family: mom, dad, bro, sis-in-law, my nephew Avery and a humongous dog named Mr. White. I loved spending time with my family that I don’t see often enough. Here are some of the highlights from time well spent.

I tried to catch some of these shows that I always read about when I am in Spain but don’t get on TV – Glee, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars. A lot where music was part of the main theme. Every time music would come on TV Avery would make all of us get up and dance. Even Grandpa!! So picture this, five adults up and dancing with glasses of wine in their hands to entertain a 20 month old. He already has all of us wrapped around his little finger.
Celtic Thunder was in town!!! OMG! Commence teenaged screams. My parents, my SIL and me went (bro felt staying at home with Avery would be fine, he missed OUT!) Celtic Thunder was actually really good! I thought I would be bored out of my mind but by the end of the night SIL and I were clapping, singing and screaming like a bunch of love-struck teenagers. The ladies in the audience were going absolutely nuts, screaming out all of the boys names – Paul! Keith! Ryan! George! Is it true they don’t wear anything under those kilts? I tried to use my binoculars but the boys (men? who knows?) never twirled enough for me…… sorry. This also would mark the first time (but not the last) this trip I would be denied buying alcohol because I didn’t have my ID on me. Dad had to go buy me a beer. Thanks Dad!
My walks to the park with Avery and Mr. White. Memories that I will cherish for a lifetime. Avery running around the playset screaming and
Washington Park

throwing wood chips on the slide; Avery and I going down the big slide together, me sacrificing my dry sleeves to wipe off the rain from the slides so Avery wouldn’t get too wet. But most of all, just unconditional love to a little boy that I love very dearly.
A very lovely walk through Washington Park with my brother and Avery. Loved every minute of it, the company and the nature – perfect.

Food, food, food, I miss my American FOOD! My family favorites – steak and potato salad, chicken parmesan and cream cheese mashed potatoes, anything South Korean that JungEun cooks – all muy delicioso. But we also hit up some great restaurants:

SABURO’S Japanese Sushi House (1667 SE Bybee St., Portland). Small place and don’t forget to sign your name on the sheet outside to the left of the door. It was a long wait (over an hour) for a party of five but once seated it was worth it. The huge rolls and portions of sushi were fresh and tasty. And the prices can’t be beat. Go and bring your appetite!
BOMBAY CRICKET CLUB (1925 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland) An Indian restaurant which was small but at least they take reservations, so no hour wait. The menu is extensive and the mango-ritas are delicious but watch out! They pack quite a punch. We ordered a variety of food – lamb, chicken, shrimp and all of it was excellent. You get to choose your level of spice and lemme just tell ya, that hot is Spiceee
The Fishwife (5328 N Lombard St., Portland) Seafood restaurant with interesting food combinations. I had the Alaskan halibut baked with bleu cheese and red onion. Amazing. So good. The place is small (I am seeing a trend here) but there wasn’t a wait and our server was very friendly and helpful. Now I am craving fish and chips, with extra extra malt vinegar.

Save

england · happy happy joy joy · Road Trip · save our world · travel

the english scarlet land of happy happy joy joy

October 20, 2009October 23, 2016 GOING NINETY MILES1 Comment

My alarm rudely woke me at an ungodly hour, “The time is six fifteen, it is time to wake up”, in a British voice no less. While I scrambled to finish my last minute packing and put plates of food and bowls of water outside for the cats, I looked up at the sky slowly brightening and took in the fact that my 38th year on this planet had arrived. Oh me oh my! Thirty-eight years and what have I accomplished? Is this a thought at anyone’s birthday after the age of thirty?

I bypassed the thought with a flight to Düsseldorf where I met my boyfriend waiting for me with a lovely box of gifts. I love birthday presents first thing in the morning! And after a quick stop at his parent’s house for birthday kisses, Meerrettich Miree (a horseradish cream cheese spread – MY FAVORITE) on toast and a sad goodbye to their house on Reuterstrasse (it just sold), we headed off towards Calais to take the tunnel to Folkestone.

I must admit I was a bit apprehensive (combined with a touch of claustrophobia) about the EuroTunnel. How exactly deep are we under the water? Will there be attendants to direct me to my nearest exit in case of emergency? Or was it, if something happened you were pretty much a goner. I tried to distract myself with making stupid faces at my boyfriend and singing along with Lily Allen. I found enough things to keep me entertained for the thirty-five minutes (Amazing right? ONLY 35 minutes) it took to get from France to England under several metres of water that could come rushing in at any moment.

We arrived in Folkestone, England to buckets of rain pouring from the dark sky. And let’s not forget that we must combine that with now having to drive on the left side of the road. Tricky, tricky – and off to Canterbury we went.

Canterbury was cute. We stayed at the Falstaff Hotel which used to be a coaching inn, established in the year 1403. The rain had turned to a drizzle so we set off on foot to find some birthday dinner. We chose an Indian restaurant that apparently has a pea soup on the menu that they refuse to serve because it is, quoting the waiter, “pretty terrible”. Why then is it on the menu? Whatevs. The food they did serve us was pretty good, but I am sucker for lamb with a yogurt and cucumber sauce from anywhere. We ended the night at a small hotel for a nightcap where I ended up spilling half of my port down my jacket. And happy birthday to ME!

When I woke the next morning at the Falstaff I silently told myself – You have made it one more year, now this year let’s get these important things you want started. I’ll just leave that there for now – let’s go to CORNWALL.

I saw thousands of cows and sheep, a few pigs and horses in dresses. Fine, not really dresses but those jacket thingies – I like dresses better. And then we drove over this hill and lo and behold – STONEHENGE!! There it was, just 150 feet from the highway. Stonehenge, right there! YO Stonehenge! Did you know the age of it is estimated at 3100 BC. Now THAT is old.

Still on our six hour drive to our hotel in Mawgan Porth….. I entertained us by reading signs and some of the funny city names (yes, I am becoming my mother), oh and yelling out whenever I saw any sort of animal – COW! PIGS! HORSES IN DRESSES! Finally to my boyfriend’s relief we arrived at the Scarlet Hotel. Here is the view from our room. GORGEOUS!

The Scarlet was exactly what I was wanting for my birthday getaway. It is a brand new hotel in a breathtaking location, plus it is eco-friendly (you know I like that). We arrived around five in the afternoon, checked in and ordered tea service. I love having delicious Earl Grey tea brought to my room to enjoy on my balcony. Heaven. Then it was a quick walk down to the beach to chase after seagulls and watch the brave surfers hanging ten. One of the sweetest things about the hotel is Jasper, the hotel dog, you can take him for walks on the beach! How fun is that?

We had dinner at the hotel, it was good but nothing truly amazing – but then again, I can be happy with Kraft Mac n’ Cheese for dinner too. After dinner, we headed to the bar area which for half of the time, we were the only ones there, no customers and no bartender. But it is the place where I fell in love with my Atlantic Gold Ale, I am sure you saw it in my earlier post. And The German was in love with a new whiskey – The Peat Monster, it has a very smoky taste. He loved it and we had to return the next night for a few more rounds of our newfound loves.

The next day was a bit of craziness. We headed into the nearest largest town in search of an adaptor for my boyfriend’s computer. Never come to England without one because they are not easy to find. TRUST ME. Several hours later with adaptor in hand we headed towards the most southern point and hit the adorable towns of St. Ives, Penzance and Mousehole. So cute! But I was glad I wasn’t the one driving, some of those roads are narrow! Yikes. Plus that whole driving on the left side, double yikes.

So sad that the trip was already coming to a close, we book a reservation at The Seafood Restaurant (yes, that is its real name) in Padstow. And to close the post, a lovely cell phone picture of me getting messy with the yum, fabulous lobster.

P2233_11-10-09

Now it is your turn to visit. GO!

Save