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Welcome to my blog!

This blog was originally planned to be a photo album and trip reports for my friends and family who are all over the different continents and interested in finding out what we did on our many trips. I figured that they can access these photos any time they want and the reports would explain what had happened on our trips. This blog mainly covers some of our trips in recent years. 

As this is a public blog, readers from around the world have been visiting here. I am humbled and honored. As the number of readers grew, I decided to put in more information that will benefit future travelers who maybe taking similar trips. The truth is, I am pretty new to blogging and am still learning. Therefore, you can see that I even did it all wrong when I started out on the first few posts. As for the readers, having the blog archives help in locating posts, but some find it hard to go through the list. I should come up with a better solution. A more organized index with links to the appropriate posts would make it easier for readers to find the right posts they are interested in. After a few days trying out the tools, finding the 'New Page' function was a great discovery and here it is, a list with links to the posts. I am hoping that this will work at least for the time being.

As a 'senior citizen' I am trying as hard as I can to learn these new technology that some of you find natural. I know there could be better ways to do this but here is what I can figure out on my own at this time. Enjoy, and thank you for visiting! If there are any specific questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. 

Please also visit us on our YouTube channel Taste of Retirement that I started around October 2020 during the pandemic. It's a new adventure for myself which turned out to be both fun and challenging. Please "Like", "Subscribe", and "Share". Thank you!

Cruises: Cruising is our favorite mode of traveling. Visiting the different ports of call while enjoying the comfort of a floating hotel is just amazing! Our first cruise was in 1993 and since then we have been on more than 30 cruises. Below are just some of the recent cruises that we were on.

Our very first cruise on NCL Southward December 1993.

Carnival Splendor Pre-Inaugural Cruise Genoa to Dover July 2008 


Carnival Splendor Post-Inaugural Cruise-Baltics July 2008


Norwegian Gem B2B Greek Isles and Adriatic Sea June 2010 


Diamond Princess Alaska Cruisetour August 2011
Pre-cruise land tour Fairbanks Bear Lodge


MSC Splendida Western Mediterranean November 2012 


NCL Jade Eastern Mediterranean November 2012 
Post-cruise Vienna to Tokyo


Carnival Inspiration 4-Day Baja Cruise January 2014  


Radiance of the Seas--Roundtrip Sydney to New Zealand April 2014 
Post-cruise Full Day in Sydney

Carnival Inspiration Baja Round Trip Long Beach January 2015 

NCL Jade Western Mediterranean Round Trip Rome February 2015 


NCL Jade Eastern Mediterranean Round Trip Rome February 2015 


Crown Princess Wine Country Coastal Cruise Los Angeles to Vancouver April 2015


Diamond Princess Grand Japan Round Trip Yokohama July 2015 


Sinorama Gold 8 Yangtze River Cruise November 2015
Guilin to Chongqing Boarding Sinorama Gold 8
Yangtze River Cruise-Shibaozhai
Yangtze River Cruise-Lesser Three Gorges
Three Gorges Dam
Jingzhou


HAL Volendam Asian Adventure Round Trip Singapore February 2016                                                    
Pre-cruise LAX to HKG


HAL Volendam Far East Discovery Singapore to Hong Kong November 2016


NCL Getaway 16-Day Transatlantic Miami to Copenhagen April 30 ~ May 16, 2017
Zeebruge, Belgium (missed port but arrived early and overnight in Rotterdam)
Rotterdam, the Netherland


HAL Zuiderdam 12-Day Fjords and Highlands Cruise Round-trip Copenhagen May 17~29, 2017
Stavanger, Norway

Birthday Cruise on Carnival Inspiration, January 2018

NCL Jewel 21-Day Transpacific Tokyo to Seattle, May 2018

Family Reunion Cruise Diamond Princess 8-Day Round-trip Keelung to Japan, November 2018


12-Day Southeast Asia Cruise on Diamond Princess, December 2018
(Photo by SC)
Pre-Cruise: LAX-Xiamen-Narita

9-Day Best of Japan Cruise on Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas, July 2019
LAX-Xiamen-Hong Kong
Boarding Voyager of the Seas  YouTube video here
Sailing Through Taiwan Straits  YouTube video here
Naha, Okinawa, Japan  YouTube video here
Relaxing Day at Sea
Osaka, Japan  YouTube video here
Kobe, Japan     YouTube video here
Three Sea Days between Japan and Hong Kong
Debarkation Day in Hong Kong
Post cruise: Kam's Roast Goose and Cheung Chau Island      YouTube Video here
New Territories      YouTube Video here
A Day in Macau
Hong Kong to Taiwan
(The rest of this trip will be listed under 2019 Summer Trip in Taiwan)

Back-to-back MSC Cruises--Mediterranean/Transatlantic/Caribbean, October~November 2019
Los Angeles to Rome on Norwegian Air       YouTube video here
Castle Sant'Angelo and Ostia Antica        YouTube video here
Vatican, Campo de Fiori and the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian       YouTube video here
Last Full Day in Rome with Lots of Walking       YouTube video here
Boarding MSC Seaview       YouTube video here
Cannes, France       YouTube video here
Palma de Mallorca, Spain       YouTube video here
Another Visit to Barcelona, Spain       YouTube video here
At Sea Instead of Ajaaccio, France
Third Time Genoa, Italy       YouTube video here
Le Spezia, Italy       YouTube video here
Civitevecchia Ship Transfer       YouTube video here
First Sea Day and Elegant Night
Revisiting Valencia, Spain       YouTube video here
Sailing Past the Strait of Gibraltar
Walking Tour and More in Lisbon, Portugal       YouTube video here
A Blank Day at Sea
Day One in Ponta Delgada, Portugal        YouTube video here
Day Two in Ponta Delgada, Portugal       YouTube video here
First Sea Day on the Atlantic and Photos of MSC Divina
Second and Third Sea Day
Two More Sea Days before Barbados       YouTube video here
Bridgetown, Barbados       YouTube video here
Fort de France, Martinique       YouTube video here
Planespotting in Philipsburg, St. Maarten       YouTube video here
Long Day in San Juan, Puerto Rico       YouTube video here
Final Sea Days      YouTube video here
Miami, Florida Before Flying Home       YouTube video here

Pandemic Cruise on NCL Encore Round-Trip Seattle Alaska Tour, September 18, 2021 
Boarding NCL Encore in Seattle       YouTube video here
First Day at Sea after Seattle on Encore       YouTube video here
Return to Icy Strait Point       YouTube video here
Glacier Bay       YouTube video here
Very Quiet Juneau        YouTube video here 
Ward Cove, Ketchikan       YouTube video here
Last Sea Day Before Returning to Seattle      YouTube video here

Alaska Cruise on HAL Eurodam, Round-trip Seattle September 2022
Our 7th Alaska Cruise
Sail Away Video here
Sea Day Ship Tour Video here
Juneau Video here
Glacier Bay Video here
Icy Strait Point Video here
Sitka Video here
Ketchikan Video here
Victoria at Night Video here
Seattle to Vancouver by Quick Bus Video here

Pacific Coastal Vancouver to Los Angeles on RCCL Serenade of the Seas September 2022

Embarkation Day in Vancouver Video here
Beautiful Butchart Gardens, Victoria, Canada Video here
More on Victoria Video here
Sea Day Ship Tour
Sailing into San Francisco
San Francisco
Catalina Island
Back in San Pedro

Spring Asia Cruises I HAL Westerdam, 14-Day Singapore to Yokohama February 2023
Los Angeles to Singapore   YouTube video here
A Day in Singapore   YouTube video here 
Manila, Philippines YouTube video here
Keelung, Taiwan   YouTube video here
Ishigaki, Japan   YouTube video here
Naha, Okinawa, Japan   YouTube video here
Kochi, Japan   YouTube video here
Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan   YouTube video of Yokohama here Tokyo here


Spring Asia Cruises II Diamond Princess, 9-Day Kyushu Cherry Blossom R/T Yokohama March 15~24, 2023

Embarkation at Daikoku Pier, Yokohama, Japan   YouTube video here
Beppu, Japan   YouTube video here
Kagoshima, Japan   YouTube video here
Seogwipo, Jeju, South Korea    YouTube video here
Nagasaki   YouTube video here
Miyasaki (Aburatsu)   YouTube video here
Wakayama   YouTube video here

Transpacific Cruise -- and 29-Day Cunard Queen Elizabeth Yokohama to Vancouver (and Alaska) May 2023

Yokohama Pre-Cruise   YouTube video here
Embarkation Day at Daikoku Pier    YouTube video here
Sea Day   YouTube video here 
Aomori, Japan   YouTube video here
Otaru and Sapporo, Japan   YouTube video here
Seward, Alaska   YouTube video here
Sitka, Alaska   YouTube video here
Victoria, BC, Canada   YouTube video here
Alaska Glaciers   YouTube video here
Half Day in Vancouver   YouTube video here
Icy Strait Point   YouTube video here
Sitka, Alaska Again   YouTube video here
Haines, Alaska   YouTube video here
Juneau, Alaska   YouTube video here
Ketchikan, Alaska   YouTube video here 
Victoria, Canada Complete Tour of Butchard Gardens   YouTube video here 
Cunard Queen Elizabeth Full Ship Tour   YouTube video here 
Debarkation Day and Amtrak from Vancouver to Seattle   YouTube video here 

Transpacific Cruise -- 26-Day Majestic Princess South Pacific Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia October 2023

Embarkation Day   YouTube video here
Honolulu, Hawaii   YouTube video here Pearl Harbor
Honolulu, Hawaii   YouTube video here Waikiki
Moorea, French Polynesia   YouTube video here 
Tahiti Island Tour   YouTube video here 
Papeete, Tahiti   YouTube video here 
Devonport, New Zealand   YouTube video here
Auckland, New Zealand   YouTube video here
Bay of Isles, New Zealand   YouTube video here
Fun Activities on Board Majestic Princess   YouTube video here 
Sailing into Sydney   YouTube video here 
Sydney Debarkation and Weekend Market   YouTube video here
Hidden Gem, Inexpensive Hotel in Sydney   YouTube video here
Sydney by Ferry   YouTube video here
Perfect Ending   YouTube video here

Round Trip Keelung, Taiwan -- 6-Day Okinawa MSC Bellissima January 2024

Ontario to Taiwan Pre-Cruise   YouTube video here
Unusual Embarkation   YouTube video here
One-Day Tour of Ishigaki   YouTube video here
Overnight in Naha, Okinawa   YouTube video here
2nd Day Naha   YouTube video here
Miyakojima   YouTube video here
Keelung Debarkation  
Southern Taiwan   YouTube video here
Northern Taiwan YouTube video here

Wine Country Coastal Cruise -- Discovery Princess 7-Day San Pedro to Vancouver, April 2024
Embarkation Day  YouTube video here
San Diego, CA  YouTube Video here
San Francisco, CA   YouTube Video here
Astoria, OR  YouTube video here
Victoria, BC, Canada YouTube video here
Vancouver to Seattle (Everett), WA YouTube video here

18-Day Transpacific Cruise -- Carnival Panorama Long Beach to Yokohama, August 2024

Flights and Lounges: Thanks to my brother Tim, who taught us how to use points and mileage to sit in the front of the airplanes. We would have never been able to afford these flights if paying regular fares out of our own pockets.

  Jet Blue Economy and Cathay Pacific First Class March 2012
  Cathay Pacific First Class Inflight Experience--March 2012
  Cathay Pacific Business (TPE to HKG) and First Class (HKG to LAX)--April 2012
  Luthansa Business (SEA to FRA)--October 2012
  Austrian Business (FCO to VIE)--November 2012
  Austrian Business (VIE to NRT)--November 2012
  ANA Business (HND to LAX)--November 2012
  ANA Business (LAX to HND)--April 2013
  OZ Business (HND to ICN)--April 2013
  OZ Business (ICN to TPE)--April 2013
  CA Business (TPE to PEK)--April 2013
  Air China Lounge and Beijing International Airport
  CA Business (PEK to ICN)--May 2013
  ICN OZ Lounge and OZ Business (ICN to LAX)--May 2013
  TK Comfort Class (LAX to IST)--November 2013
  Star Alliance Lounge LAX--March 2014
  LAX to Incheon Asiana 201 Business--March 2014
  Incheon to Sydney Asiana 601 Business--March 2014
  Sydney to Incheon Asiana 602 Business and Air New Zealand Lounge--April 2014
  Incheon to Taipei Asiana 711 Business and Asiana Lounge ICN--April 2014
  EVA Lounge Taipei --April 2014
  LAX to ICN Asiana 201 Economy Upper Deck A-380--November 2014
  One World Lounge LAX--February 2016
  LAX to HKG Cathay Pacific 897 Business--February 2016
  HKG to TPE Cathay Pacific 470 Business--February 2016
  TPE to HKG Cathay Pacific 469 Business and CX Lounge TPE--February 2016
  QF Lounge HKIA and HKG to SIN Cathay Pacific 735 Business--February 2016
  CX 690 SIN to HKG, CX470 HKG to TPE Business--March 2016
  JAL 816 TPE to KIX, Legend Lounge TPE, JAL 60 KIX to LAX Business--March 2016

Hotels:  Pictures of some hotels that we have stayed at. There are more pictures of other hotels on this blog but some are embedded in photos of the trips and probably with only a few pictures of the hotel.

             Bear Lodge, Wedgewood Resort, Fairbanks, Alaska--August 2011
             Novotel Airport Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan--April 2012
             Radisson, Chatsworth, California--June 2012
             Country Inn, Ontario Mills, California--July 2012
             Radisson, Portland Airport, Oregon--June 2012
             Radisson, Santa Maria, California--July 2012
             Rome Airport Hilton--November 2012
             Park Inn, Vienna, Austria--November 2012
             Hilton Tokyo--November 2012
             Intercontinental Tokyo Bay--November 2012
             Guanfang Hotel (Garden Villa) Lijiang, China--April 2013
             Crown Plaza Beijing International Airport--April 2013
             Pine Bay Resort, Kusadasi, Turkey--November 2013
             Yelken Hotel, Antalya, Turkey--November 2013
             Freshfields Hotel, Taichung, Taiwan--April 2014
             Astor House Hotel, Shanghai, China--November 2014
             Crowne Plaza LAX--February 2016
             Grand Hyatt, Singapore--February 2016
             Grand Hyatt, Taipei--March 2016
             Sea Breeze Court, Cannon Beach, Oregon--June 2016
             Marina Bay Sands, Singapore--November 2016
                    CA--December 2019

Land Tours: As much as we like cruising, when we see a land tour that fits our budget, and with places where cruises can't get to, we join in.

 China Jiangjiajie with XO Tours (新聯華), October 2011
Changsha
Fenghuang
Huangxicia, Jiangjiajie
Baofeng Lake, Avatar Jiangjiajie
Tien Mun Shan National Park, Tu Tribal Village
Changsha-Museum, Park, and Noah Cruise

$99 Land Tour of Yunnan, China April 2013 and a Visit to Taiwan before tour 

Los Angeles to Haneda
Haneda to Incheon 
Incheon to Taipei
Chiayi and Yun Lin
Shitou
Salt Museum, Tainan and BuDai Fish Market
Tainan
Hsinying to Taipei
Taipei--Shilin and Tamshui
ShiDa Night Market
Taipei to Beijing
Kunming
Stone Mountain,Kunming
Dinosaur Valley and Xizhou
Old Town of Lijiang, Yunnan
Guanfang Hotel (Garden Villa)
Lijiang
Dali
Dali to Kunming
Last Day of the Tour in Kunming
Kunming to Beijing and Crown Plaza Beijing International
Air China Lounge and Beijing International Airport
Beijing to Incheon
Incheon to L.A.

Cultural Tour of Turkey with the Controversial American European Travel, November 2013
Los Angeles to Istanbul
Istanbul Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
Topkapi Palace and Spice Bazaar
Istanbul to Ayvalik via Troy
Ayvalik-Ephesus-Kusadasi
Kusadasi-Pamukkale-Karahayit
Karahayit-Pamukkale Natural Park-Antalya
Yelken Hotel, Antalya
Antalya and Perga
Antalya-Istanbul-Los Angeles)

$99 China Tour-Guongzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, etc. November 2014 

Sinorama China Tour and Yangtze River Cruise on Sinorama Gold 8 November 2015 

$99 China Land Tour with Ctourus --Jiuzaigou, Szechuen -- August 2016

Ctourus (盛世假期) -- Tour of Zhangjiajie, November 2017

 Ctourus (盛世假期) -- Tour of Tianjin, Chengde, Beijing, November 2017

Road Trips:  When we are at home, we love taking road trips to visit family and friends and enjoying the many great sights of this country.

Los Angeles to Seattle -- June 2012

Los Angeles to Seattle North Bound Oregon Coast, August 2013

Seattle to Los Angeles South Bound Oregon Coast, August 2013

Mini Vacation to Morro Bay, California here.

Los Angeles to Seattle North Bound Oregon Coast, May 2016 

Eclipse Road Trip, August 2017
   Los Angeles to Seattle
      Total Eclipse

A Weekend in San Jose
 The trip

Christmas Family Reunion - 2019
Los Angeles, California to Garibaldi, Oregon
Garibaldi, Oregon to Everett, Washington
Christmas Celebration and Back to California


Motorhome Trips During the Pandemic Videos (with English Subtitles)of the trips available on YouTube, please "subscribe".


August 2020
Pismo Beach, California Video here
Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, and Morro Bay Video here
Morro Bay State Park and Sunset Video here
Half of Highway 1 in California Video here

October 2020
Route 66 - Los Angeles, California to Laughlin, Nevada  Video here
Route 66 - Laughlin, Nevada to Seligman, Arizona Video here
Seligman to Williams, Arizona Video here
Williams to Grand Canyon National Park Video here
Grand Canyon to Flagstaff, Arizona Video here
Flagstaff to Page, Arizona (Sunset at Horseshoe Bend) Video here
Ready to Go Home from Page to Williams, Arizona Video here
Williams, Kingman, Oatman, and Laughlin  Video here

December 2020
Death Valley, Furnace Creek Campground  Video here
Badwater, Golden Canyon, Furnace Creek Unique Scenery  Video here
Zabriskie Point, Lakeside Casino RV Park in Pahrump, NV  Video here
Lakeside Casino RV Park, NV  Video here
 
May 2021
California Highway 395
Day 1 - L.A. to Lone Pine   Video here Fossil Falls, Boulder Creek RV Resort
Alabama Hills, Manzanar, and Bishop  video Alabama Hills, Manzanar Internment Camp
Bishop 
Lake Sabrina, South Lake and Silver Lake  video Lake Sabrina and South Lake , Silver Lake
June Lake Loop, Mono Lake, and Lee Vining

September 2021
Empty Campground at Casa de Fruta Video here
Tire Problem, Wildlife Refuge, Redwoods, and Crescent City
RVing Through San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge Video here
We got a Flat Tire Video here 
Eureka, Redwoods, and Crescent City Video here 
Crescent City, Port Orford, Gold Beach, Bandon  Video here
Florence: Port of Siuslaw, Novelli's, Mo's  Video here
Northern Oregon Coast
Heceta Head Lighthouse  Video here
Rockaway Beach Kelly's Brighton Marina Sunset and Oysters Video here
Fort Stevens Skeleton   Video here
Bird Watching and Beach Combing at Fort Stevens State Park   Video here
Learning US History at Fort Clapsop National Park   Video here
Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park    Video here
Family Time   Video here
Surprises on the Road, Washington to Oregon  Video here
Back in California from Oregon   Video here

April~May 2022 
Colorful Dinosaurs and Empty Quartzsite Video here 
Between Phoenix and Tucson   Video Pinal Airpark here
Tombstone, Arizona and 5-Star Rest Area in Las Cruces  Video Tombstone here
Historic Mesilla and Billy the Kid    Video Mesilla here
Fredericksburg, Texas-German Town   Fredericksburg Video here
World's Largest Gas Station and Convenient Store-Buc-ee's    Video here
City Park and Houmas House and Garden
City Park, Welsh, Louisiana    Video here
Houmas House Garden Tour    Video here
Harvest Hosts by Mississippi River   Video here
Beachfront Free Camping in Mississippi   Video here
Pensacola Camping at Fort Pickens    Video here
Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island   Video here
The Forgotten Coast of Florida   Video here
Three Sisters Springs at Crystal River Video here
Orlando RV Campground and Old Town Kissimmie   Video RV campground Kissimmee


Train Trips--Amtrak Coast Starlight Los Angeles to Tacoma 2022   Video here

RV Campgrounds--a list of campgrounds that we have visited since the pandemic started in 2020. This list included basic information of the campgrounds, brief reviews if any, and the prices of a per night stay that we paid for at the time. 


Places: Posts that maybe of interested to some readers but not on the index already.
  USA
      California--Calabasas and Oxnard
                         LAX Appreciation Day June 2013
                         San Diego Zoo Safari Park before the Safer-at-Home Order February 2020
      Nevada--Lake Las Vegas
      Los Angeles--A Cheap Weekend on the Gold Line May 2016
      Grand Canyon--A Short Trip to Grand Canyon April 2017
     

Asia

Hong Kong and Taiwan--2018

 Taiwan--
           Central Taiwan (Jiji, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou) April 2012
           Taipei-Jiufen-Yehliu-Shilin April 2012
           Shilin and Tamshui April 2012
           Taipei-Taoyuen-and Novotel Airport Hotel April 2012
           Southern Taiwan April 2014
           Wulai, Taipei April 2014
                                     Street, Smoothly House, Tianjin Onion Pancakes, Mitshikoshi Food Court 
                                     August 2016
           Southern Taiwan August 2016

2019 Summer Trip in Taiwan
         Hong Kong to Taiwan
         Yilan to Chiao Hsi
         Chiao Hsi to Miaoli
         Taipei on Our Own
         Yangmingshan
         More Food in Taipei
         (This trip report continues on in the China section below)

2020 Lunar New Year Trip to Taiwan

     China--
           Churches in China November 2014

2019 Summer Trip in Asia (China)

Go Away, COVID-19! 


These are just some of the trips that we went on in the last few years. Hopefully, we will go on more trips here in the US and around the world. I will continue to post our adventures here as precious memories to keep. Please come back any time and travel the world with us.
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