U.S. Cities – Page 2 – thosecoolkims

KimTrippin: Pacific NorthWest — Day 2 (Ashland, OR)

Peek-a-boo, we see you, Mt. Shasta.

Today was another long day as we tried to get out of California and finally get into Oregon. Our destination was the beautiful border town of Ashland. We saw lots of changing landscapes on the way there, but probably the two most notable pieces of scenery were Lake Shasta and Mt. Shasta.

We were reminded of just how real the California drought is when we drove past Lake Shasta. It was shocking to see the water level so low and all of the massive land that used to be hidden underwater. :(

It was difficult to capture the majesticness of Mt. Shasta, but we tried. It was the only snow capped mountain in a sea of hills and trees.

Once we got into Ashland, we stopped for a bite to eat, and Ruby mastered the art of chopsticks!

After dinner, we headed off to Lithia Park to stretch our legs. It was truly gorgeous and Ruby even made a few friends!

We even saw these two different trees growing into one. It was amazing!

And to our surprise, on our walk through the neighborhood, we ran into a deer just hanging out in someone’s front yard! We didn’t want to startle it, but it just looked at us for a long time and went back to eating the landscaping!

Ashland is really something! We hope to take in a few more sights before heading off to Bend. Getting closer and closer to Portland!

Roadtrippin’ thru Utah – Temple Square, Park City and the Tracy Aviary

Today was an action-packed day. Ed + Ruby kicked off the morning by having breakfast with his old roommate Heidi and then heading to storytime at the City Library (all while I recovered from a stomach bug I caught the night before). After more quality library time, we decided we couldn’t be in SLC and completely ignore Temple Square, so we made our way over to check out the action. We must say — those are some pretty impressive grounds!

After catching a quick bite, we wanted to get a little closer to the gorgeous snow-capped mountains that surround this city, so we hit the 80 East and drove up to Park City. What an awesome little mountain town — it was charming and we even got to drive by the ski jumps and bobsled track used in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Ruby slept the whole time in the backseat!

After she woke, we really wanted to check out the Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park. We had no idea how cool it would be! It is really amazing and we are so glad we went.

We wrapped up the evening with a great meal at The Wild Grape and dessert at Hatch Family Chocolates. Here are a few highlights from the day!

Roadtrippin’ thru Utah – Snapshots of Salt Lake City

After 4 days of glorious natural wonders, the Kims needed a little civilization. The novelty of nature trails had started to wane for poor little Ruby, and if Ed + I didn’t get some ethnic food into our bellies we were going to go insane. So we trekked up to northern Utah to see what the fuss about Salt Lake City was all about. The drive was long, but pretty – the white, snow-capped mountains with matching puffy white clouds along the way didn’t get old, but a stop at a McDonald’s indoor playground for an hour or so was still necessary to let Ruby climb, play and make a new friend. We ended up rolling into SLC in the late afternoon.

Anxious to get our bearings, we decided to walk to the City Library to explore. It was a win-win, Ed + I were floored by the architecture, and Ruby got to squeeze in some much-needed storytime.

We walked a bit more, grabbed some Vietnamese food for dinner, splurged on THE BEST frozen custard EVER, and ended the evening with a short drive to see a bit of the city by night.

More pics here.

We’ll see what SLC has in store for us tomorrow!

Michigan/Ohio Trip 2013, Days 4-5

Whew, lots to catch up on! We spent a few days in the Columbus area to learn a little more about my mom’s side of the family. We got to check out my mom’s hometown in Lockbourne, have dinner in German Village and spend a little time on the Ohio State University campus!

Lockbourne, OH – The church my mom went to as a kid. My grandpa used to ring the bells here in the morning, too.

Nelsonville, OH – Two cousins meet their Great-Grandfather for the very 1st time.

Columbus, OH – German Village and the legendary Schmidt’s Sausage Haus!

Columbus, OH – Clowning around outside of Schmidt’s Sausage Haus

Columbus, OH – Ruby gets a tour on campus at Ohio State University: Papaw’s alma mater and where he and Grandma met!

Columbus, OH – Ruby with “Brutus”, OSU’s mascot!

Columbus, OH – Cousins on campus!

2268 Brooklyn Rd., Columbus OH — The 1st place I ever lived, my parents brought me home from the hospital here after I was born!

A roadside market and a stormy sky somewhere in route from Columbus back up to Toledo – we found our Amish Trail Bologna and picked up some honey here!

Lots of time in the PriusV!

After our three days in Columbus, it was off to Toledo and time to get ready for both the Rickard reunion and Facey reunion. More to follow!

Road Trippin’, Day 3 – San Francisco!

Thanks to Auntie Shannon, Ed + I got to spend some alone time in the city. We were thrilled to get back to San Francisco, and we were determined to fit as many of our favorite things here in less than 24 hours!

Here are the highlights:

#1: Garry Winogrand photography exhibit @SFMOMA
We love SFMOMA and we were just in time to catch this huge Garry Winogrand exhibit while we were here. He has been one of my favorite photographers ever, and if you’ve been to our home, you’ve definitely seen this print before. I’m so glad we had a chance to catch this show.

#2: A snack at the Ferry Building
We skipped lunch just so we could go to the Ferry Building and “sample” some of our favorites. We decided on splitting the salame sandwich at Boccalone and sharing a Gingerbread Cupcake from Miette.

#3: Drinks at The Tonga Room
The Tonga Room is the most magical Tiki Bar in the world. The drinks are stiff, the ambiance is amazing, and they actually make it rain inside. Seriously, it’s the best place ever. We sipped on a Mai Tai and a Pipeline and soaked in all the glorious kitchiness.

#4: Late dinner at B Star
Trying to commit to a restaurant for dinner in San Francisco with all of the options available is tougher than trying to figure out what to do on New Year’s Eve. We decided to stay true to our love of all things asian fusion, and try out B Star, which says to be a mix of Thai/Chinese/Burmese/Indian/Japanese with a California twist. Yeah, its a mouthful, but it delivered! The food was outstanding – so bold and flavorful and like nothing we’ve ever eaten before. It was the kind of experience we always love having in this city!

p.s. We got an awesome groupon and are staying at the Hotel Griffon. It rules! It’s right across the street from the Ferry Building (seriously, we can see it out the window) and we get free parking. Total score.