Farewell, farewell

Photos, Travel | August 12, 2009

This is where I’ll be for the next few weeks. Not the Great Wall specifically because I’ve already been there (hence the photo), but I’ll be staying at least a few days in Beijing and then traveling to other parts of China to vacation and visit family.

Goodbye until early September!

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Mmm, Chipotle; wtf, Google?

Food, Internet, Photos | August 6, 2009

I was on a Chipotle kick for the past few weeks, and every time I went, I’d get the chicken fajita bol with lettuce, corn salsa, tomatoes, and a sprinkling of cheese. (Does anyone know why Chipotle calls it a “bol”? ‘Cause I never understood that.) Mmm, so good. I think I’m past my Chipotle kick, though. I never was a fan before this, and it just isn’t one of those things I can eat frequently.

The same day I last had Chipotle, I was on my iPod Touch looking up “Lolita” because I’m reading that book, and this is what I got. Everything else I’d search for would proffer results, just not anything containing “Lolita.” Google does strange things sometimes.

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Tales and tidbits (mostly tidbits) from the Smokies

Food, Photos, Travel | August 4, 2009

What I did:

  1. Not that much hiking. I know I mentioned being totally excited, but I realized there’s only so much hiking I can do before it gets boring walking and only seeing the same trees over and over again! So we only hiked a few trails, and they were only two or three miles long. And, erm, the most exciting things I saw were trees and waterfalls. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun, and nature is gorgeous, but there are much more entertaining activities out there, heh.
  2. Ziplining! I’d never gone before, and it was fun even though I wouldn’t consider it thrilling. Perhaps I need something a little more adventurous? I’ve always wanted to go skydiving or bungee jumping!
  3. Lots of driving around on nature trails. There were scenic drives and motor nature trails in abundance. We went on two, and… there wasn’t much to see, but you really have to be there to get the “nature experience” for yourself, y’know?
  4. Lots of nature-picture-taking. At the top of the highest mountain, there was an observation deck where, despite all the clouds and fog, I got a few decent pictures, including a sunset and a rainbow.
  5. Eating and shopping. But that wasn’t in the mountains.

And that’s it, really. It doesn’t sound that exciting, and it really wasn’t, but it was a nice, enjoyable break from normalcy. I always think writing about vacations is a little tedious because the moment’s long gone, but at the same time, I want a written record — so that’s what this blog post is.

Other highlights and tidbits:

  1. I saw a bear! On one of those long nature drives.
  2. Southern accents are oh so funny. I like them in general, but some people’s are grating.
  3. We woke up early one morning to attempt to see the sunrise in the mountains, but that just wasn’t possible with all the rain and fog (it alternated between sunny and clear and drizzling nearly every day we were there). I walked a mile up a mountain with a long-sleeved shirt, sweater, winter coat, and umbrella, and by the time we were up there, my jeans were soaked below the knee, my nose was dripping, and there was nothing to be seen in the fog — it was a… nice experience.
  4. I never appreciated good water pressure until last week; it took forever to shower and wash my hands there, and the first thing I did when I got home was take a long, hot shower!
  5. The hotel was average. I thought it would be pretty cool since it was a round tower at the top of the mountains, but the view wasn’t all that great even though we were on the fourteenth floor, and the breakfast was expensive and not that great either. My favorite hotel that I’ve stayed in has to be the Embassy Suites Anaheim South hotel near Disneyland — every hotel I’ve stayed in since then pales in comparison because I can’t help but compare.

Food highlights:

Saving the most important for last, of course!

  • The shrimp platter I got at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was absolutely delicious (and huge! I couldn’t finish it all), as was my speckled strawberry lemonade (I love lemonade). Having never been to any Bubba Gump location before, I marveled at all the Forrest Gump paraphernalia, including the ping-pong paddle menu and the “Run Forrest Run” sign that you were supposed to change to “Stop Forrest Stop” when you needed something from your server.
  • The sushi at Little Tokyo was okay, but not nearly as good as the sushi I get from the local Japanese market here at home, unfortunately.
  • “The Best Italian Café and Pizzeria” looked a little sketch, but the seafood medley was mmm so good.
  • Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin served excellent pancakes — best I’ve ever had, in fact — but I really don’t know if it was just because I was starving.
  • I tried Bojangle’s for the first time because on a road trip, fast food is inevitable. ‘Twas pretty good, but I like Popeye’s more!
  • I also ate at Olive Garden, Chipotle, Panera, and Wendy’s, all of which I like to some degree or another, but that’s nothing new because those restaurants are pretty commonplace and I’ve been to them all before.
  • Oh, and I had a bunch of hot dogs from snack bars in the middle of nowhere (aka in the mountains).

So, that’s my (much shorter than it could have been, I would say) summary of my vacation in the Smoky and Applachian mountains. I applaud you if you’ve read this far, because this entry was more for my benefit because even though I hated writing it, I felt like I needed it… yeah, I don’t even know what I’m writing anymore.

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