Opinions please

As some of you know I am planning next years trip. I thought I knew where I wanted to go, but now i am not so sure. I had planned on going to New York and D.C. for a week each. Then I got to thinking if this was the best way to spend my vacation. This is where all your comments and opinions are needed. I still want to go to New York and D.C., but i thought about cutting the time I would spend there and going to four places instead of two. So I've already decided on New York and D.C., what would you think of possibly Boston and Pennslyvania? Or are there other places in the East I shoud go? Please help me out in deciding where to go? Ciao

Well

As the title of this blog says, well. As in " well that didn't go as I imagined. Well not most of it anyways. I made it to church, that was planned. the fact that I barely made it there is where the plan stopped. As some of you know, my alternator decided to die as I pulled into the church. I went to the Antioch church, which was to me, a very beautiful building. I was blessed to have known Mario and Teresa Luka. They helped me tremendously in a difficult time. Mario helped me get a tow back to his house and find the mechanic that did the work on my truck. Him and his wife then fed me, then lent me there car so that I could get to my hotel. The hotel being in Oakland. Which was 45 mins away. I didn't leave their house until about 11. P.M. There were also 3 of the youth that stayed behind my truck with their blinkers on while we waited for the tow truck. The next day I talked to the mechanic, who not only replaced my alternator, but also replaced my main belt. And no I'm not referring to the one that I wear. All this and labor set me back $260. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. No the way I envisioned this trip to be. Mario got me in touch with the boys that stayed behind my truck for about 30 to 45 mins, and I picked them up and took them to lunch at Zacharys in San Ramon. Now fir those of you who don't know about Zacharys, may think so what. But for those of you who do know about Zacharys, you're thinking about the little "slice" of heaven that I brought to these boys. All of whom had never been to this place before, and they live less than an half hour away. When I ordered a large pizza for the four of us, they looked at me like I was crazy to think that a large pizza was going to fill the four hungry guys that were there. After the first slice, these same boys looked at was left of the pizza and seriously debated writer to have a second slice or not. They all did and hey all regretted it. To sum all of this up, I had a great time of fun and fellowship So while I didn have the trip inwas hopeingto have, I did meet some great people and in the process have a great time.

New trip

Well I'm going on another small trip this time just an overnighter to the bay area. There were going to be people that were going with me, but for one reason or another were unable to go. So once again I must go alone, something everyone knows I don't mind to do. I first plan on going to the church in Bay Point. Then monday I plan to kick around the bay area. Possible go to pier 39, the golden gate bridge and other bay area sights. This is kind of a last minute trip with not much planning, not that a trip alone needs much planning. I'll probably do what I did when I first went to Monterey alone and just learn about the area and find out new stuff that I might like to do next time. I'll always be looking for good photo opportunities. I'll let you all know when I get back how my trip went. Until then, ciao

Update pics

I've update my Monterey pics that I took with my Nikon camera. Take a look and let me know what you think. Ciao

Post Monterey

Post Monterey. Sounds kind of depressing. It kind of is. Well I just want to tell you about the awesome time I had in Monterey. I received a lot of opinions about my going alone. I really appreciate all the people who gave me their thoughts on the subject. I am surprised however to the opposition to my going alone. I really did have a great time. I stayed in a really nice hotel that was within 5 mins of the wharf, walking, and about 25 mins away from cannery row, also walking distance. Saturday morning I left the hotel at about 10:30 or so. I headed first to my favorite spot, 17 mile drive. I like 17 mile drive so much because of how beautiful and diverse it is. There is of course the beach and the water, of which I got some amazing pictures of. There is a lot of trees and rocky terrain. There are also some of the most gorgeous homes that I have ever seen. I visited two of my frequent spots, Spanish Bay and the Lone Cypress Tree. I also stopped in a place in between those spots. I don't really know if that part of 17 Mile Drive had a name, but it did have a lot of gorgeous scenery. I got a lot of amazing shots from this part of the beach. I also tried some road shots while I was driving through. After I left 17 Mile Drive, I had lunch at Paradiso. I then went over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This is a place I have been to in about 15 to 20 years. I seen a lot of really cool and exotic exhibits. There was a new area that had a lot of different sea horses. When I think of sea horses I think of the sea horses everyone sees in the books and stuff. MBA had a lot of exotic looking sea horses. I took a few pictures of the more exotic ones. After I left there I had to make my traditional stop at the Ghirardelli store for a hot fudge and banana sundae. After all that food and walking around the aquarium, I was ready for a short nap before dinner, which I didn't have until about 10 pm. I had dinner at Bubba Gumps. I got back home at around 3ish. I had a great time on my trip and I am anxiously waiting for my next trip to the coast. Most of the pictures I took are posted on my Picasa page. Your all welcome to click on the picas link to check out most of the pictures I took. I would appreciate all of your comments to this post and also to the pictures I took. Until next time. Ciao

Monterey day one

Well here I am, finally, in the great Monterey. I am in a place that serves the best clam chowder on the bay. I have a window seat with a great view of the bay at night. My hotel is within walking distance of the wharf. All I had to do was cross one street. It took less than five mins. of walking. It's raining here. Well, currently just a drizzle. The weather report is predicting 4" in the next three days. I am looking forward to having a great time here in Monterey. Tomorrow I plan on going to seventeen mile drive, maybe going to the aquarium, and if weather permits, I want to go on a whale watching tour. I'm staying at the Marriot. I am staying in a really nice room. Well until next time. Ciao

Happy Thanksgiving

Wow. Here we are at thanksgiving time already. Every year I like to to take a little extra time to be thankful, but this year I have a lot more to be thankful for than normal. Maybe it has turning another year older has made me more conscious of the blessings all around me. I think I've become more thoughtful, more thankful for everything I have. A lot has happened this year to me this year that causes me to be thankful. A successful surgery for my mother is on thing. A steady job is another. There's the great church I go to that I'm immensely grateful to go to. There's my family. I'm really thankful for the friends I have. I'm thankful for the new friends, the old friends, and the renewed friends. I'm thankful for so much. This post would be one very long post if I wrote everything that has happened to me. I'm most thankful for the God who loved me and saved me. I'm thankful for what God is going to do in my life in the future. I'm also thankful for you my readers. Have a Happy, Great, Wonderful, and Blessed Thanksgiving. May God continue to shower his blessings on you. Until next time. Ciao