Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Packing Time!
Well, I'm packing finally. Our flight out is at 4:15pm this afternoon so I have a good chunk of the day to get everything in order. Yesterday I finally decided to save myself $300 and get the economy rental car instead of renting a Camaro or something similar. It was amazing how different the prices were from rental place to rental place. I ended up going with Advantage. We'll see how it goes, as this is my first time renting a car. Unfortunately there's also going to be a fee because I'm under 25. Rude. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on the trip!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Watch out L.A.
So the plane tickets have been purchased. Amazingly we found straight flights between Austin and LAX for only about $320 with all the fees and whatnot. The unusual part (for me at least) is that we will be flying on United. I'm a sworn Continental & JetBlue customer usually, but the cards just fell this way.
Next step: where to stay!
As of this moment we are almost sure that we'll be staying in Manhattan Beach.
View Larger Map
I asked everyone I know who ever lived in L.A. what beach I should stay at. While many suggested various other beaches, almost everyone also mentioned Manhattan Beach. It's not far from the airport, so that should make things easier. More later on what I discover about the area.
Next step: where to stay!
As of this moment we are almost sure that we'll be staying in Manhattan Beach.
View Larger Map
I asked everyone I know who ever lived in L.A. what beach I should stay at. While many suggested various other beaches, almost everyone also mentioned Manhattan Beach. It's not far from the airport, so that should make things easier. More later on what I discover about the area.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
New Trip: Officially Planned?
Well I finally have a much more realistic plan for the $500 gift card I won at my Christmas work party. After two months of halfheartedly looking up plane tickets to here or there, I came upon an idea that is now beginning to take shape.
While Belize, Scotland and Boston were all front-runners, none of these ideas were coming together. A quick shopping trip two days ago though gave me my inspiration for my next trip. I bought a new bathing suit and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't taken a simple beach vacation in years. These simple beach vacations had never even been a trip planned by me. I suppose my normal travel "style" involves going and seeing a lot of stuff and never leaving myself any time for some old-fashioned relaxation. So I decided that I should go to a beach. Before the day ended I had narrowed it down to Miami, Tybee Island (in Georgia) or L.A.
I mentioned this idea to my good friend, Nyla, who took the idea and ran with it. Next thing I knew, she had found cheap tickets (we're looking at about $320 round trip) to LAX. Conveniently, she has a travel voucher at Hotwire, making the planning process all the more easy.
So that's where the plan stands as of now. I first have to hear back from work with the go ahead to take a vacation. Then the exciting parts: figuring out the details! More to come on this.
While Belize, Scotland and Boston were all front-runners, none of these ideas were coming together. A quick shopping trip two days ago though gave me my inspiration for my next trip. I bought a new bathing suit and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't taken a simple beach vacation in years. These simple beach vacations had never even been a trip planned by me. I suppose my normal travel "style" involves going and seeing a lot of stuff and never leaving myself any time for some old-fashioned relaxation. So I decided that I should go to a beach. Before the day ended I had narrowed it down to Miami, Tybee Island (in Georgia) or L.A.
I mentioned this idea to my good friend, Nyla, who took the idea and ran with it. Next thing I knew, she had found cheap tickets (we're looking at about $320 round trip) to LAX. Conveniently, she has a travel voucher at Hotwire, making the planning process all the more easy.
So that's where the plan stands as of now. I first have to hear back from work with the go ahead to take a vacation. Then the exciting parts: figuring out the details! More to come on this.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
San Francisco: The Final Day
The worst part of this day is having to wake up and return the bikes. I wake up before everyone else and sneak out to get a coffee and some alone time at the Atlas Cafe that Sarah and I went to the other morning. It's just barely on the verge of being chilly, so it's perfect to sit outside in the sun while I sip on my coffee. By the time I get back, Sarah's ready to being our next adventure. We ride just a couple blocks to a bus stop and hop on the 33. We have to stick the bikes on one of those fold down bike racks that sits on the front of the bus that look a little something like this:
So we ride happily on the bus...until it stops at the last stop on the line...which isn't ours. As it turns out, we took the bus in the entirely wrong direction. In our defense, the buses are incredibly confusing. You see, in Austin every bus has a number to tell you which line it is. It also has the name of its final destination so you know that you're headed the right way. This bus was just called 'Stanyan.' Stanyan was the street we were trying to get too, hence why we thought it was going in the right direction. Luckily, buses travel in a big circle, so no harm, no foul. We eventually get going again and head (finally) in the right direction. It's actually quite neat because we get to see so much more of the city. We reach our stop, return the bikes and hop back on the bus to return to Rachel for our last meal before departing.
After Rachel joins us we decide to try a different Mission burrito place. We head to El Farolito. This is Hol's favorite burrito place; but hands down Papalote wins the best burrito contest. The burritos at El Farolito are just too greasy! We finish our lunch and head back to Rachel's place for our goodbyes. It is sadly time for us to make the trek back to Austin. We part ways, hop back on the BART and finally back to Austin. Adios, San Fran
So we ride happily on the bus...until it stops at the last stop on the line...which isn't ours. As it turns out, we took the bus in the entirely wrong direction. In our defense, the buses are incredibly confusing. You see, in Austin every bus has a number to tell you which line it is. It also has the name of its final destination so you know that you're headed the right way. This bus was just called 'Stanyan.' Stanyan was the street we were trying to get too, hence why we thought it was going in the right direction. Luckily, buses travel in a big circle, so no harm, no foul. We eventually get going again and head (finally) in the right direction. It's actually quite neat because we get to see so much more of the city. We reach our stop, return the bikes and hop back on the bus to return to Rachel for our last meal before departing.
After Rachel joins us we decide to try a different Mission burrito place. We head to El Farolito. This is Hol's favorite burrito place; but hands down Papalote wins the best burrito contest. The burritos at El Farolito are just too greasy! We finish our lunch and head back to Rachel's place for our goodbyes. It is sadly time for us to make the trek back to Austin. We part ways, hop back on the BART and finally back to Austin. Adios, San Fran
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
San Francisco: Day 4
After a night of adventures, we get up and moving pretty late (noonish). But we head out for some even more serious adventuring. We walk from Rachel's place to a cute area of town for brunch at a place called The Crepevine.
I get a delectable "Castro" crepe with bananas, strawberries & Nutella in honor of our walk to the Castro area of town. The Castro is where Harvey Milk lived so it's a predominantly gay area of town (ie giant rainbow flags everywhere, gay rights posters all over, and a fully naked man wandering about). We stop for photos of the famous Castro Theater
A nice couple was taking a photo of their dog with the sign...
By this time it's getting late in the day and we have much bigger adventures ahead of us, so we head off towards the Haight-Ashbury area (a hipster area of town).
There are tons of cool shops, restaurants & boutiques all surrounded by some interesting architecture.
We don't really have time for shopping, but I do pop into the famous Amoeba Records for a quick peek.
We hit a park, swing a left and find Avenue Cyclery, the jumping off point for our biggest adventure. For $30 a day, Sarah and I rent bikes (Rachel brought hers). Our ultimate goal is to ride the Golden Gate Bridge. Away we head, in some direction that no one seems to be sure about. Not a huge fan of bikes in the first place, I am even less pleased when the chain on my bike falls off. The fact that we're also heading in an unknown direction sets the tone for the the day.
My hands after putting the chain back on...
We stop more than once to consult maps, ask for directions and retrace our steps. The hills also suck. Admittedly, the scenery is astoundingly beautiful. We ride through Golden Gate Park catching glimpses of the coast through the trees.
Finally, we reach the edge of the bridge. I'm pretty much done with biking by that time, so I lock mine up and head out on foot while Rachel and Sarah head off on their bikes. Bikes are required to cross on one side of the bridge and pedestrians must walk on the other, so I'm on my own. It's amazing from the pedestrian side. I get a view of Alcatraz and the city.
The bridge is amazing up close so of course I take a million photos. I don't walk the entire thing though because it's way further than you'd think plus the sun is setting and it's getting cold and I'm not trying to be standing on the bridge in the dark.
Here are some of the photos I snapped:
I head back to examine the gift shop while I wait for the ladies. Perfectly I find a knit SanFran cap to shield me from the cold night. It's dark by now and we sit at a table drinking burnt coffee while we examine the map. With a small idea of where we're going we head off into the darkness with me shouting "this is the stupidest thing I've ever done." Mildly lost, we are approached by a couple that's equally lost. All together we head out and luckily find our way back to the Fisherman's Wharf after winding through some sketchy and dark warehouses. We pick a random place to eat (that has oysters) and it turns out to be great. Best hush puppies I've ever had.
The pleasantness of the dinner is then followed by another 30 minute bike ride in which my chain falls off...again. We collapse in Rachel's room and decide that as it's our last night we should at least go have a beer somewhere. We head back to Kilowatt, but don't stay long due to the extreme exhaustion from the day. Back we head to bed.
I get a delectable "Castro" crepe with bananas, strawberries & Nutella in honor of our walk to the Castro area of town. The Castro is where Harvey Milk lived so it's a predominantly gay area of town (ie giant rainbow flags everywhere, gay rights posters all over, and a fully naked man wandering about). We stop for photos of the famous Castro Theater
A nice couple was taking a photo of their dog with the sign...
By this time it's getting late in the day and we have much bigger adventures ahead of us, so we head off towards the Haight-Ashbury area (a hipster area of town).
There are tons of cool shops, restaurants & boutiques all surrounded by some interesting architecture.
We don't really have time for shopping, but I do pop into the famous Amoeba Records for a quick peek.
We hit a park, swing a left and find Avenue Cyclery, the jumping off point for our biggest adventure. For $30 a day, Sarah and I rent bikes (Rachel brought hers). Our ultimate goal is to ride the Golden Gate Bridge. Away we head, in some direction that no one seems to be sure about. Not a huge fan of bikes in the first place, I am even less pleased when the chain on my bike falls off. The fact that we're also heading in an unknown direction sets the tone for the the day.
My hands after putting the chain back on...
We stop more than once to consult maps, ask for directions and retrace our steps. The hills also suck. Admittedly, the scenery is astoundingly beautiful. We ride through Golden Gate Park catching glimpses of the coast through the trees.
Finally, we reach the edge of the bridge. I'm pretty much done with biking by that time, so I lock mine up and head out on foot while Rachel and Sarah head off on their bikes. Bikes are required to cross on one side of the bridge and pedestrians must walk on the other, so I'm on my own. It's amazing from the pedestrian side. I get a view of Alcatraz and the city.
The bridge is amazing up close so of course I take a million photos. I don't walk the entire thing though because it's way further than you'd think plus the sun is setting and it's getting cold and I'm not trying to be standing on the bridge in the dark.
Here are some of the photos I snapped:
I head back to examine the gift shop while I wait for the ladies. Perfectly I find a knit SanFran cap to shield me from the cold night. It's dark by now and we sit at a table drinking burnt coffee while we examine the map. With a small idea of where we're going we head off into the darkness with me shouting "this is the stupidest thing I've ever done." Mildly lost, we are approached by a couple that's equally lost. All together we head out and luckily find our way back to the Fisherman's Wharf after winding through some sketchy and dark warehouses. We pick a random place to eat (that has oysters) and it turns out to be great. Best hush puppies I've ever had.
The pleasantness of the dinner is then followed by another 30 minute bike ride in which my chain falls off...again. We collapse in Rachel's room and decide that as it's our last night we should at least go have a beer somewhere. We head back to Kilowatt, but don't stay long due to the extreme exhaustion from the day. Back we head to bed.
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