Category: Travel

Greetings from Casper, Wyoming!  What a day.  We traveled 449 miles today.  A chilly morning was tempered with clear sunny weather.  By contrast, most of the day was driving on I-80.  There were at least three major construction projects, most spanning many miles of one lane traffic at slow speeds.  Augh! (BTW, this was true for Nevada as well.  Also of note, we did not see one worker either day.)

Nonetheless, it was a wonderful day.  The farther away from home we get the more remote and expansive the scenery becomes.  We are reminded what a beautiful country we live in.

Tonight we spend in Casper, 120 miles north of I-80.  This afternoon we explored the downtown area and were impressed how well preserved and active it was, including three old movie theaters still in use.

We are looking forward to the next 2 days.  We will spend less time driving and more time exploring the monuments near and around Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here are some of the pictures we like most from today.

A wind farm on the high plains of Wyoming and Wasatch Mountains in Utah beyond.

A cabin dating to another era.

 

Greetings to all!  Day 2 is slipping into evening.  Mileage today was 372.  The countryside was quite rural.  We drove over several summits, the highest being 7100 ft. Traffic was light and posted speeds were 75 to 80 mph.

We arrived relatively early and had an early check in at our hotel.  We deferred exploring Salt Lake City as we have been here before.  We decided to catch a movie and found a huge shopping center and multiplex about 2 miles from the hotel.

We saw Wonder Woman.  The review will follow once we see two or three other films when time permits.  The theater was packed.  We had two of the few remaining seats.  Maybe it was the warm weather, temps in the upper 80’s.

Tomorrow will be a long day.  Salt Lake City to Casper, Wyoming.  Here are some pics from today.

Today was our first day on the road to Wisconsin.  It ended up being a long day but a fun one all the same.  Day 1 mileage: 397.  Our first stop was at Donner Lake in the Sierra Mountains near the Nevada border.  After living in the Bay Area for over 35 years, we had never made a stop before.  No crowds, light traffic, we stopped for a brief visit at Donner Lake State Park.

   

    

Next stop was Reno, Nevada.  We stopped for lunch with one of Jim’s former colleagues, Anna and her daughter.  We had a delightful sushi lunch.

    

Our afternoon drive took us to Winnemucca, Nevada and our hotel for the night from where this post is being written.  But the drive was both bleek and beautiful.

 

Years after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the original de Young structure beyond repair, the new de Young Museum, on the original site, was the largest copper clad building in the world.

Set in Golden Gate Park, designed by Swiss based design firm Herzog & de Meuron, the new structure is 293,000 square feet with a 144 foot observation tower, a sculpture garden, Children’s garden, a huge Museum Store and an indoor/outdoor cafe.

The Summer of Love took place primarily in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.  It was ground zero for political, social and musical commentary with a focus on sex, drugs and rock & roll.

The Summer of Love exhibit runs until August 20, 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:  The museum courtyard, cafe, lobby, sculpture garden and tower are all accessible free of admission.  The special exhibits and the permanent collection require admission.

Also of note, the California Academy of Sciences including the Steinhart Aquarium are directly across the concourse.

Spring has finally sprung in Northern California.  After the rainy season of over 30-1/2 inches of rain, we are finally getting sunshine and warmer temps. (Today, it is 83 with a nice breeze!)

SATURDAY:  The sunshine and good weather always gets us out of the house. This last weekend we spent Saturday in Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor fine arts museum housing a special exhibit: Claude Monet, the Early Days (our second visit).  Over 50 pieces from around the world on tour.  Do see it if it makes it near you.  Here are some photos (all but 8 pieces were allowed for non-flash photos!!).

SUNDAY:  Warm breeze, clear skies, light traffic, perfect for a drive to Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County.

We hope you enjoyed.  Let us know about your spring plans/travels.  J&J

Costa Rica, Spring 2017, Part 2

Greetings all!  Sorry for the delay on Part 2.  I’ll blame an overly active travel agenda and copious domestic demands that burned through the better part of a week.

This post will focus on various updates regarding lodging and eating establishments.  I hope you will enjoy.

J&J

JW Marriott, Guanacaste

Now that our week has come to a close, it seemed appropriate to share some observations and comments.

First, accommodations.  It seems most rooms, with the exception of a variety of suites, are more or less the same size, most with either a pool view, an ocean view or both.  So a king room is the same size as a room with two doubles.  The latter room came as a bit of a surprise since the rooms appeared large enough to accommodate the incrementally larger queen beds instead of the cramped double beds (at least for most adults).

You can see from the photos, a wonderfully large bathroom with a large soaking tub and an assortment of towels and goodies within easy reach.  There is a comfortable stall shower with dual water options, a telescoping panel that allows for either privacy or a full view of the terrace and view beyond.

All rooms also have an over sized terrace with a table and chairs along with a settee, side table and a lap blanket.  The balconies also come equipped with multiple speed ceiling fans and a retractable wall to wall, floor to ceiling perforated mesh screen that keeps bugs and birds at bay.

Food options were somewhat disappointing at the hotel.  While there were several options available, i.e. Steakhouse, Italian, Asian, and poolside, much of the offerings were limited or repeated on many menus.  The breakfast offerings, however, were extensive and satisfying with a wide choice of baked goods, juices, fruits, an egg station and all the usual morning goodies.  Much to our surprise, the room service menu was also quite extensive and the food quality very good.

The bar service, as you might expect, was very good, plenty of staff and stations at hand to satisfy the large number of guests during peek service hours.

And speaking of service, the staff were well trained seasoned professionals. There were a couple of bad eggs.  I will share that shortfall with the hotel directly in due time.

Eateries

Green Papaya Taco, #40, 50309, Corona Street, Tamarindo, Costa Rica

This cozy and casual taco bar is slightly off the main drag but has a loyal following of customers.  There is an air conditioned inside space and a popular outside space with swings.  But it is the quality of the ingredients that makes the food shine.  Portions are generous and prices are very reasonable.

Rating 

Nari Pizza and Pasta, Calle Central, Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort, Tamarindo 50309, Costa Rica

This pizza and pasta restaurant is on the main street of Tamarindo serving excellent wafer thin pizzas and authentic pastas.  We also liked their bruschetta and salads.  The pizzas are cooked in a wood burning oven.  There is a small air conditioned room downstairs but most tables are open air.  The large upstairs area is popular in the evenings.  Beer, wine and a full bar are available.

Rating  

Walter’s Place,  Tamarindo Beach, Costa Rica

This popular beach restaurant serves more customers on the beach than inside.  It is very popular around sunset and hosts excellent live music evenings.  We stopped for cocktails and nachos that were excellent.  The main courses we saw from the kitchen looked great but we already reserved a table elsewhere.  Next time!

Rating:  

Volcano Brewing Company,  Tamarindo, Costa Rica

This is another popular beach front restaurant with a very popular bar.  Cocktails, wine and beer are served inside or out (mostly out).  The food was delicious, moist roast chicken with crispy skin, awesome soft or crispy tacos filled with your choice of ingredients.  Again, very reasonable prices.

Rating 

Beach Box, Playa Avellenas, Costa Rica  (sorry, no picture)

Hands down, this was our favorite spot for tacos and burritos.  This tiny beach side cafe served killer tacos, burritos, chips and salsa, fresh fruit juices and ice cold beer.  It’s a bit off the beaten path but worth the rough road ride.

Rating  

Last but not least…what could be better than the sheer joy of being with the ones we love?!

 

April brings Spring break for many Mid Westerners and we have enjoyed many years with John’s sister, her husband and their two wonderful children, Lucy and William.

This year we decided on Costa Rica.  We flew the five hour flight from Chicago nonstop to Liberia, Costa Rica’s newest international airport.  It is in Northwest Costa Rica and serves the growing tourist destinations of that region.  We spotted several airlines at the airport: United, Southwest, Delta, and American, along with many private jets.

Taxis, shuttles, buses and private car services are available from the airport.  We decided on a rental car.  It is arguably best to book your car from a known rental company in the US.  Do some home work.  The airport does not have rental cars on site.  Several companies serve the airport via shuttle service to the rental car lots in the area. Drive time to our resort from airport was about 80 minutes.

Note: some travel agencies offer prepaid transfers to the hotel/resorts.  After arrival to the hotel we learned there was an Avis agency at our hotel.  There was no such information on the hotel website regarding that agency.

JW Marriott Resort, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

We chose the JW Marriott resort in the state of Guanacaste as our base for our seven night stay.  It is a full service resort with several restaurants and bars, a massive pool complex open 24 hours a day, luxury equipped extra large rooms with large balconies and/or patios.  Service is excellent as you would expect from a five star property.  It makes a great base to explore the Northern part of Costa Rica.

Tamarindo

This is a nice day trip to the small town of Tamarindo, which hosts numerous restaurants, shopping and activities for tourists of all ages and interests.  Touted as the top “surf and party destination”.  We went for shopping and dinner at Nari, a pizza and pasta restaurant on two levels with indoor and outdoor options, part of a larger hotel complex.

 

Thanks to heavily discounted United Airlines fares on the San Francisco to London Heathrow route we were able to spend a week in London last week.

The weather forecast was for rain everyday but on arrival we were pleased the forecasters were wrong.  We had sunshine everyday except our last day.

We saw three musicals, three movies, a day at Hampton Court Palace and the rest of the time exploring new parts of town and new restaurants.

We hope you enjoy the photos below and some of the suggestions we offer for your next visit.

J&J

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the town of Hampton, Richmond upon Thames.  It is 11.7 miles from Central London.  We took the Underground to the Waterloo Station where we boarded a Southwest train to Hampton, about 30 minutes away.

Note:  We used London’s Oyster card which can be “recharged” with British Pounds at any subway or train station.  The Oyster card can be used to and from the airport, buses, subways, and railways.  Greater London is divided into 6 transit zones.  For example: Central London is Zone 1, Hampton is Zone 6.

The Wallace Collection 

We finally had time to visit one of our favorite art museums in central London.  It is open 7 days a week. It’s free, and set in a historic London Townhouse with an incredible collection of old masters, furniture, porcelains and armory.

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1U 3BN, United Kingdom.  www.wallacecollection.org

Theatre

Theater in London is always a high point for any visit.  Shows are plentiful, prices are affordable (especially when compared to US prices).

We like to use the TKTS kiosk in Leicester Square.  It is owned and operated by the Society of London Theaters.  That means there is no middle man so prices are comparatively affordable.

We saw three matinees the week we were there.

Kinky Boots in the Adelphi Theater, based on real events this musical is funny, charming, clever and relevant.  The show runs 2 hours, 30 minutes.  Our seats were right of center stage about 10 rows back and cost about £45 each.

Rating. 

Beautiful – Carol King Musical played in the Aldrich Theater is based on the life of Carol King.  It is very entertaining, engaging, often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking and always entertaining.  The run time is 2 hours, 25 minutes.  The encore will get you on your feet!  Our seats were in the rear third of the orchestra section but with a great view of the stage. Our tickets cost just under £40 each.

Rating.  

Dreamgirls played at the gorgeous Savoy Theater.  The famed Broadway production has been around for years but we had never seen it.  It was a spectacular show with a super talented cast.  It is a modern day classic story and a great production.  Run time was 2 hours, 40 minutes.  Our seats were third row on the left, an awesome view.  The tickets were £50 each.

Rating  

Note:  Plane tickets to London are still affordable.  British Airways just announced new nonstop service Oakland to London Gatwick for $503 round trip.  Other cities pairs are even less!!

 

It has been a very cold (by our standards) and rainy January so we decided to brave the elements and explore the new wing of the SFMOMA and its fabulous Fisher Collection.

The collection is so large, it will take months to rotate the entire collection into the galleries.  Here is a peek.

It had been raining for almost 2 weeks over the Christmas and New Years holidays.  We finally had a nice weekend, albeit it chilly (for us).  Temps from the low 40s to low 60s yesterday.

Yesterday was a wonderful day so we decided to take a drive down the coast South of San Francisco.  We discovered a new walk along the coast, enjoyed al fresco dining for our seafood lunch and soaked up some lovely scenery.

We thought we would share some of the wonderful images with our friends and family.  Enjoy!

J&J