Victoria, BC

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com


Oh, Canada, Oh Canada!!!

British Columbia's capitol
Victoria's government building

Testing out our passports. For my 18th birthday we traveled to this amazing city.

Best place that we have traveled to out of the country thus far. We have recently been to Vancouver and we both thought it was the ugly step child compared to this amazing city right across the strait.

Must do and see places:

• Noodle Box: amazing food! They had a great close knit atmosphere where there are only a couple of tables, local art on the walls, and wonderful service. We ate at the Douglas location. 
• Tour of the capitol building: We liking getting some basic history and knowledge about our northern neighbor and also getting to see some architecture. Plus it's free.
• Butchard Gardens: If you can make it during an evening that has fireworks I would absolutely recommend this place, even if you can't get the fireworks. Everyone was very friendly. It's handicap accessible. You can even stay into the evening and view the gardens lite up by lanterns.
• Tree top excursion: At wild play that is north of Victoria, by Nanaimo, you can bungee jump, zip line, do a tree top excursion and more. We did the tree top excursion and the zip line. Out of everything we did in Canada during our three day tip, this was the highlight. If you have a mode of transportation and low a thrill, this is your place. 

As far as places to stay the night, we spent the night in the back of my vehicle at Sooke River Campground. This campground was a little out of the way, but as we weren't planning on spending all of our time in Victoria we took my vehicle to drive to the different attractions, since I live in the Greater Seattle area. We really liked the campground. It was clean, even the bathrooms, quiet after 9, and very peaceful. There were a lot of other tourists there from all around along with some locals that wanted to get out into some forests, even if they are near a town. Located near the campground was a gas station and a small convenience store. 

Grand Canyon - Havasupai Indian Reservation

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com

The west canyon rim lighting up at 7 am in March

Many things really surprised me during this hike.

1. How natural it felt having my backpack on the second day.
2. How quickly my body recovered after a really long hike.
3. How amazingly beautiful it was, some I didn't realize until sitting on my couch back home and glancing through the photos. 

I guess I should begin at, well, the beginning. One thing I would really  recommend no matter what: they do NOT have running water at the rim. We could of sworn that we read on the website that they had running water, but they don't. Sadly we had to mooch some off of the fellow hikers and they were very kind, they wouldn't even take the money we offered in exchange. They do have a pretty good sized parking lot at the very top, with a permanent port-a-potty that may or may not have toilet paper and sanitizer. The parking lot also has a couple fenced off sections were they keep the mules during the day, while we were there a couple of groups used that section to camp in. We decided to sleep in the back of our rented vehicle.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/havasupai.htm

The hike took a lot longer then we anticipated, not arriving into the camp ground until 4 o'clock or so. We would highly recommend bringing water and make sure that you have some kind of map so that you could pace yourself, or at least know how much further. About half way down, we started running into people hiking back out, 9 out of 10 times we asked people how much further or what we should anticipate they all responded "almost there". This being our first real hike, we didn't fully comprehend what their definition of "almost there" was, in this case it meant hours not minutes.

We also found out that taking a helicopter out of the park was cheaper then riding the mules. You just have to show up on a day that they are flying, put your name on a sheet before two and you have a flight out of there. During March riding a mule cost about 93$ per person, plus another mule to carry your packs, where as taking the helicopter was 85$ per person and that included our packs. We decided to take the helicopter flight and boy were we excited to leave. Not saying that we didn't like the Grand Canyon, it was beautiful.

By not under understanding that there was no running water on the rim, we had become dehydrated during the hike and we had a serious lack of confidence in our ability to hike back out of the Canyon. Looking back on the whole experience from the comfort of my couch, I would hike it again but take less food and more water. I would also like to say I would want to hike back out, but again that's coming from me while in the comfort of my home. Also I would recommend taking some compost-able toilet paper as the bathrooms don't always have toilet paper and also some sanitizer as they don't always have that either.

Random Thoughts about Blogging and Travel

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com

Point marks my "permanent" address and the
point where I spend most of my childhood.

So far I have a couple posts out, they seem to be doing good...I don't really know yet, since there aren't any comments, but I guess +1's are good. I really wanted to add some content onto the blog, so there wasn't only one post. It would be so lonely, thinking it has no friends. And really, who wants to go to a website that only has one page? No one, that's who. haha. The posts that are here and that will be coming up in the next week or so are really there has a guide or resource when planning your next trip. Hopefully *fingers crossed* that's what the goal of them was anyways.

During some travels I will being posting, so you will be able to follow me around the Grand Canyon, Japan, or where ever I am at that point. Hopefully passing on some points of wisdom or spur some travels ideas.

I grew up in Eastern Idaho with a lot of travel to the surrounding areas over the summers to follow my fathers work (he helped pave roads back then driving semi's) and with the ski team over the winters. From those experiences I have an extensive knowledge of camping, hiking, and local hangouts of Central and Eastern Idaho, along with parts of Wyoming and Montana. Plus some family trips down to the extended family in Arizona and California.

Kappa no Yu (Onsen), Yagen Valley
Doesn't this place just look beautiful?

I look forward to sharing my experiences as I broaden my knowledge of the world and myself. We just received Lonely Planet's "Hiking in Japan" book and there are quite a few that seem really interesting with the little hiking huts that are available, so we (mother and I) might be taking some multi-day hikes, for you nature lovers out there. Plus what better way to commune with nature and rustic onsen then after a long hike and in JAPAN none the less. Have you caught on to how much I'm really looking forward to this summer trip? Nah! it was not obvious at all, was it?

Seattle, WA

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com

Seattle and Space Needle from Lake
Washington on the Duck Boat Tour

Beautiful water and cultural city. Largely known for the Space Needle and being a mecca of new bands and musics. I personally know it as the land of flowers, since I always see the flower sellers at Pike's Place (more on that later). Side note: Sea hawk's just won the Super Bowl; not much of a sports fan, but it is pretty cool to live by a city that just won.

I have also been to the Space Needle, Pine St shopping area, taken the monorail between the two (great transportation), then walked down to Pike's place and the new Ferris wheel. My father also talked me into going on the duck boat tours, since it was the only time he had been to Seattle and the second time I had. Some comments on these attractions:

Getting around: If you aren't willing or able to drive around, that's a-okay is this part of the Pacific northwest. There are many buses that can get you from Tacoma, to Sea-Tac Airport, to Seattle, to Olympia, and you can even catch the Amtrak down to Portland. If you do decide that buses are how you want to travel, make sure to come with dollar bills and quarters (you need exact change) or buy an Orca card. Orca cards allow you to get a little of a discount on the pre-loaded card and give you some benefits, such as longer transfer windows, and can even work on ferries.

Activities:

Seattle Public Library

• Seattle Public Library: a very interesting and modernistic perspective on how people interact with learning and books. They offer different lectures, never been to one, but just from walking around in the building I feel like they would be pretty good. The library has different colors for different floors, one was bright red, not faded or muted, but RED! It was spectacular, had a little photo shoot, right then and there with mother. 
• Space needle: personally, I wasn't very impressed with the observation deck. It was a good one time thing, but I wouldn't do it again, I wouldn't even recommend that you go up it. They did provide a free photo that they green screen the space needle into; you could e-mail the picture to yourself at the kiosk in the top of the needle. From experience I would just stand at the bottom and look up, see it from different perspectives there. The needle is an amazing engineering feet.
• Monorail: It's a lot of fun, faster than buses, and takes you right to Pine Shopping center from the Needle. I've taken it many times and it's still fun to wander through the shops in the shopping center and get a free tea sample from Teavana. Last time I took the rail it only cost 2$ per person.



Seattle's hardest working man

• Duck boat tour: Wow was this a goofy experience, the driver put on different hats while talking about different local attractions. They take you out onto Lake Washington, the building that is shown as the outside of the hospital in Grey's Anatomy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hardest working man, the needle, and plenty of other sites. It was worth the price and gave you a very good tour of the city. Especially if you have limited time or you want a good overview of what the city has to offer.
• Ferris Wheel: Gone up in it twice and am still amazed with the magnificent view of the port. Especially on rainy days the clouds and calm of the water are breathtaking. 
• Underground tour: I heard a lot of hype about this place. It's where they give a tour of the original Seattle walk ways, before they lowered the grade a smidgen to correct plumbing and whatnot. I really had high expectations for this tour, but they really let me down. They did provide some good history of the city: fires, plumbing, how it started, infrastructure, etc. You do see a different side of the city on this tour. That's my two cents.
• Uwajimaya: If you are any kind of fan of Asia you will love this store. They have everything from candies to fruit to books to cooking supplies and everything in between. Ah, I have spent many an hour in this store and sometimes even take the bus from Tacoma up just to visit this place. 

  

   Flower stalls at Pike's Place Market

• Pike's place: Every time I visit this wonderful city I share Pike's Place Market. Yes, the market may be very touristy at this point, but I go to encourage the local flower arrangers, you can buy wondrous pieces of living art - I guess they are technically dead by the time the consumer sees them - for pretty cheap and the flowers, wreaths, depending on the time of year last a really long time. I would recommend anyone that's never been there to at least check it out once, plus you can see the first ever Starbucks and see the fish throwers. 

San Francisco, CA

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com


When people think of San Francisco the first thing that's conjured to the mind is the Golden Gate bridge, but there is so much more to this fantastic city. I was blessed enough to spend one month with family and friends in this magnificent city and truly marvel in all of its splendor.

Gallivanting Val (mother)
and Aunt in front of exhibit
located right in front of
Asian Art Museum

• Modern Art Museum: The exhibit that they had on display at the time seemed to revolve around the end of the world/wars. They had some very creative pieces and really made you think about what is considered art. One piece was colored lines draw directly onto the white wall.... Luckily they normally have free days but as the museum is currently under construction, you might want to check out some of the public art pieces. 
• Asian Art Museum: At the time that I visited (in August of 2010) they had the Shanghai Exhibit, it was an extra charge to see those pieces, but was totally worth it. Just checked their website to create the link and they had a yoga exhibit, makes me really want to head to San Fran and visit the museum. They even allow you to participate, how cool is that?! Don't forget to take your student ID card if you have one, they provide discounts.
• De Young Museum: Another fantastic museum, yeah I know that I said earlier I wasn't much of a museum person, but when I saw that they had a traveling Europe exhibit and this was the first and only time it was traveling to the US, I had to go. We saw Monet, Picasso, and many other amazing and influential classical paintings. I even still have a Monet print hanging up that I purchase there. I wasn't too impressed with their permanent collection, but the special exhibits are absolutely worth going to, especially on the first Tuesday of every month, when the museum is free. 

  

  Rain Forest Dome at the
  Academy of Science

• Academy of Science: We stood in a line for about one to two hours on a beautiful Sunday morning, looking back I think the line added to the experience, you know that the attraction is going to be great when all of San Francisco lines up to attend. The line stretched out the admission doors, down the block around the corner, all told, it probably totaled at least half a mile. Once in those admission doors you have free rain of the entire place. There is a four story tropical rain forest, planetarium, aquarium, and a host of other interesting exhibits. What's even more interesting is that the entire building is very eco-friendly. They have a living roof that you can go up and see, it looks like the rolling hills that surround San Francisco. Select Sundays are free. 
• On a day that my mother and I went on a full blown excursion of San Francisco, we took the Amtrak from Menlo Park (where we were renting an apartment for the month) into the city. 
• We weren't really sure what the day would bring, but we decided to head in the direction of Pier 39. Once there we got some lunch at Boudin Bakery Cafe where we both got a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl. As you sat and ate, you could watch the bakery section move freshly made bread on a bucket wire system that sailed above you. They bread into different shapes; my favorite was the turtle. 
• We then continued to walk towards the Golden Gate bridge. Suddenly bicyclist started cropping up all over the place, you could tell they weren't regular bicyclists, they were rented bikes. Alrighty, so how do we get one of those? Following the water front we found a bike shop! Renting one of those bikes we headed off to the Golden Gate. You can ride across the bridge and down into Saucilito. One of the best things we did on that excursion. Taking the ferry back from Saucilito, you can land back at pier 39 and drop off you bikes. One the ferry ride, you get motor by Alcatraz Prison and get a beautiful view of the city from the water. 
• A quick peek of China town for some dinner and off to the Amtrak station.
• Alcatraz Prison: as a child we went to the Prison and received a walking audio tour. You can see famous cells and get a great history of the island. It was one of the most memorable trips to San Francisco as a child. I would endorse this tour for anyone that likes history and/or has kids. 
• Environs:
• Santa Cruz Boardwalk: Admission can be pretty cheap during some promotional periods, we went when it was ten dollars off admission with a empty coca-cola can, with the pier logo on it. The best ride was the white roller coast, not jerky, took some funny pictures of us on the ride (we didn't pay for the photo, just took a picture of TV screen...), the second best was probably the Fireball (got my Aunt to go on this one, and she doesn't like roller coasters).
• Great America Theme Park: decent theme park, only had one good roller coast the Flight Deck, it was smooth, not jerky (essential for a mother that has a bad leg, she want's to enjoy the fun too), fast lines, and you don't feel like you are going to fall out of the restraints. For smaller kids they have plenty of great fair rides, I even enjoyed them as a break from the Flight Deck. 



Red woods, California

• Red Woods: With a fascination of trees (love to draw them), driving through northern California to Portland, OR (ten hour drive) we had to pull off to the side of the road and take some pictures. The Red Woods are a great place to stretch your legs and get some fresh air in your lungs during a long drive.  

Tacoma, WA

This site is no longer going to be updated. I have upgraded my site and the new location is:

http://worldgallivant.com

Many websites don't really supply helpful information of things to do in Tacoma. The only website I could find for things to do was tripadvisor.com but that wasn't all too helpful when I wanted to show my mother why I fell in love with the area.

Getting around: If you aren't willing or able to drive around, that's a-okay is this part of the Pacific northwest. There are many buses that can get you from Tacoma, to Sea-Tac Airport, to Seattle, to Olympia, and you can even catch the Amtrak down to Portland. If you do decide that buses are how you want to travel, make sure to come with dollar bills and quarters (you need exact change) or buy an Orca card. Orca cards allow you to get a little of a discount on the pre-loaded card and give you some benefits, such as longer transfer windows, and can even work on ferries.

Here's a list of some of the things we did (most free or very low in cost):

Puget Park, in the ravine

• Puget Park to Rushton Way: On this walk you start in the proctor area walk towards Point Defiance but head into Puget Park, a ravine, that you can "hike" down into. You end up coming out on Alder St that leads right to Rushton Way, we turned South-East towards downtown Tacoma and walked along the water front. You can then take a bus from downtown heading up 6th Ave to make it back to the proctor area (bus fair: ~$2.50)
• Many sites talk about downtown and being able to museum hop, I love the arts, but that isn't really my idea of fun while on vacation, I highly recommend going to all of the free exhibits. Being the hometown of Dale Chihuly and main other great artists, there are plenty of art pieces among the buildings and also in some government buildings. Definitely check out the glass bridge: loaded with glass pieces and they also have faux glass torches that are a lot of fun to pose on. 
• Tacoma Art Museum: has many great local, modern, and well known pieces. They do house 50 years worth of Dale Chihuly, pieces that have been donated by him over the years, with some really cool videos of large exhibits he has done around the world. If you are an art enthusiast I would highly recommend this. They do offer free days for specific bank holders and the third Thursday evening of every month is free.
• Museum of Glass, affectionately known as MOG: had different exhibits with some interesting videos of how specific pieces were completed. The best part of the tour was when you could actually see them blowing and shaping the glass. They offer this free with the price of admission. I highly recommend taking a meander around the outside of the museum, they have plenty of pieces that allow more human interaction and a beautiful view of the port. If you are a college student you may want to take a gander on Sunday's as your admission is free.
• Other Museums: also located in downtown Tacoma are the Children's Museum and the Natural History Museum. I haven't been to either one, so if you have any information on them that you would like me to add, let me know.
• Point Defiance: a must see for anyone coming to Tacoma, even if you only go on the five mile drive. Side note: this was the first place I took my Aunt's family when she visited, we have a little bit before the sun set and drove down to the marina to take a stroll along the Sound. There are many things going on in this beautiful park, most of which are completely free! 



Walrus at Point Defiance Zoo

• Flower gardens: free and if you love taking photos you can have a blast posing around nature to create some amazing pics to share with friends and family. Or just take some amazing pictures of different species of flora. There is a rose garden and Asian themed garden.
• Zoo: They had some animals that I hadn't seen in a while, only larger zoos generally have them, ie: elephants, walrus, and many others. I would highly encourage you to go when it's feeding time. The attendants will stand at different points along the enclosures and tell you about the history, care, and facts of the animal while you get to see them up close and personal. 
• Wright Park: a great place to cool off and see a little bit between downtown and the north end.  They offer a great water park for little kids to escape the blistering heat during the summer time and a nice conservatory that only encourages a small donation when entering. 

Food:

Cashew Chicken, Pad Thai,
& Thai Iced Tea at
Wild Orchid

• Corina's: a local bakery is located only a couple blocks from Wright Park, near downtown Tacoma, and has great food. Pick up a scone and coffee then head off for a stroll around park.
• Wild Orchid: located at 3023 6th Ave, this is an amazing Thai food restaurant. They give pretty big servings for relatively low cost (general range is 9-13$). There red & green curries, cashew chicken, fried rice, and Thai Iced Tea are all really good. During warmer days they open up a side of their restaurant and allow you to eat outside.
• Engine House 9 (E-9): Another restaurant on 6th Ave is also a brewery. For 21+ year old's this is a great place hang out and drink: local micro brews, drinks on tap, and normal are all offered here. Even if you have kids this is a pretty family friendly destination with plenty of delicious appetizers. Fabulous nachos (which are mountain, easily feeding 2-3 people, for 12$), deep fried macaroni & cheese, hummus plate, and an abundance of other lip-smacking yummy's.
• Gateway to India: located on 6th Ave. has amazing Indian food, I can't remember the main dish I purchased but it was really good and I had never had Indian before. The naan was really good. If you are a student they provided you with a discount, yay! 
• Shakabrah: Is an all day breakfast restaurant. I personally haven't been their, but whenever I make that statement I get shocked faces and avid encouragement to go spend my last couple of bucks there, not saying it's pricey. Once again, located on 6th Ave.
• Trapper's Sushi: A new sushi place in the north-end they are a huge hit with the students in this area. They offer all you can eat sushi during lunch hour, so if you want to get your fill, best place to go for sushi.