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San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, CA
I spent a chilly New Year’s Eve at the San Francisco Zoo We were greeted by polar bears and snowmen at the entrance. I saw a lot of free range peacock leisurely roaming around the park. This one was strutting around the reindeer pen. The reindeer must still be exhausted from their Christmas Eve deliveries…
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Great Dickens Christmas Fair, San Francisco, CA
Last Sunday, I attended the Great Dickens Christmas Fair & Victorian Holiday Party at the Cow Palace in Daly City. Having never been to the Cow Palace or a Dickens Fair, I was not sure what exactly to expect. The Dickens Fair was a magical experience. At the entrance, we were transported to Fezziwig’s Warehouse…
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Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose, CA
I recently visited the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. I had expected a dedicated, attached parking structure to easily shuttle the kids in and out. However, after a quick trip around the block, I ended up at a fixed fee $5.00 parking lot on Auzerais Avenue tucked under Guadalupe Parkway/87. From the parking lot,…
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Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center
The Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden Center offers an enchanting garden for young children to explore. Located in Palo Alto, the 2.5 acre garden showcases a delightful collection of brilliant flowers, soaring trees and a tantalizing fruit and vegetable garden. The grounds feature water fountains to discover and rows up rows of color-packed flowers in the…
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Tao House – Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
Located in Danville, the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site features the Tao House, the former home of Nobel Prize winning playwright Eugene O’Neill. The Tao House is located at the end of a private street, which is inaccessible to the general public. To visit the Tao House, you must first call in for reservations. You…
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Legoland – Carlsbad, California
Last month, I visited Legoland in Carlsbad, California for the first time. Having never visited this amusement park before, I wanted to see how it measured up to the incomparable Disneyland. I had already heard about the models of international destinations rendered in Lego. I was quite impressed with the Lego version of the San…
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Mount Diablo State Park
Mount Diablo State Park (CA State Parks, Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, Reserve America) is located in Contra Costa County near the communities of Alamo, Danville and San Ramon. A visitor center is located at the summit of Mount Diablo where you can absorb a 360° view of the surrounding region. I could see the Golden…
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Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, San Jose, CA
I recently paid a return visit to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose, California. Unlike the chaos immediately after opening week, the park’s operations were more settled this time around. The crowds were smaller, the lines were shorter, and the rides turned around a lot faster. All the hiccups that were evident during…
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Traveling on Cathay Pacific
I have been flying on United Airlines almost exclusively just to consolidate my frequent flyer miles. However, when the opportunity to travel on Cathay Pacific arose, I was mistakenly reluctant. Instead of being blinded by frequent flyer miles, I should have taken a close look at what other airlines were providing to see if I…
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China 2010
I first visited China almost 30 years ago. Back then, China was defined more by its past than its future. Everything that amazed me during that initial trip had an age that could be measured in centuries if not millennia. During that visit, the economic gap between the United States and China could not have…