Reno is Las Vegas but minus the glamor and perhaps a little bit more bland, sorta like a little brother. Though Reno is in the same state as Las Vegas, they are anything but near. With a 8 hour drive separating them, Reno in all means is its own separate identity.

We arrived at around 10 O’clock but the downtown area is already basically dead. I can’t help but imagine the thoughts running through the taxi driver’s minds as they waited mindlessly on the street for hours. Perhaps the thoughts were something in the lines of: “Where the hell is everyone?” and “Why am I even here?”

The hotels weren’t as in your face as the ones in Las Vegas which gave them I guess a more “homely” feel.


All the major hotels were connected through underground walkways which sorta explains why there weren’t many people outside. Then again…there weren’t even that many people inside the hotels.

The sign outside of Circus Circus looked like it was suppose to be lit but I guess they recognized that nobody was outside to look at it anyways so why not save a few bucks.

The rest of the city was like any other city but maybe there were a few more motels here and there.

The view of Reno from afar was not bad with the mountain in the background. As you would imagine, being situated on top of the mountains the temperature was a bit cold.

Breakfast buffet. The empty spot on the plate was reserved for an omelet but the line was too long.

Prime rib and the usual buffet stuff. The food wasn’t Vegas quality but they’re definitely edible.

In conclusion, Reno is Vegas but not Vegas.

Ketchikan. The sign says Alaska’s first city and the salmon capital of the world. Signs don’t lie right? So I’ll just go with that.

View of Ketchikan from the ship. Look at all those buildings! They are all different colors. I wonder if they had a meeting where they decide on the color of everyone’s houses. So your house color doesn’t collide with your neighbors’ of course. Seriously…no adjacent house share the same colors.

The city is pretty small so one glance is all you need.

A peek inside a gift shop.

Some totem poles.

Moose droppings and bear poop. Sounds delectable? I’m not sure what they are but my best guess is chocolates? Cookies? What’s your take?

An ulu is some sort of native knife I’m assuming.

Samples of various snacks including fish breath mints which I hear makes any unattractive loser into an instant ladies-man.

A boat/car. Half boat, half car. It drives like a regular road vehicle but can also be used in the water where there are apparently ducks.

The thing about cruises is once you get off you have many choices. The duck tour probably doesn’t make a dent in your wallet but a 15 minute sea-plane ride will set you back a good 200 dollars. Money well spent. I thought about hopping on one but decided not to.

Instead, we took a tour that including viewing totem poles.

And buying syrup from a nice lady in the middle of no where. Beats the sea-plane tour any day of the week.

At dock, we saw a bunch of guys fillet a fish after an adventurous fishing expedition.

Headed back to ship for dinner. Dinner includes three S’s. Strange.

Soup.

Scallop.

Sorbet.

In the heart of Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) is a little creek. To get through you can simply take the bridge. But wait…no…you want to get across, but via a less practical / conventional method.

How does a ferry ride sound? Yes, instead of taking a bridge across you can hop on a ferry to be on your merry way.

Just hit one of the ferry docks.

Get on and get off at your desired stop.

The down side is that you’re paying 3 Canadian dollars for what is basically a 200 feet ride. It’s more fun than practical I assume.

I wake up to find myself in one of the most “livable” city in the world, Vancouver, Canada. (According to Mercer’s Quality of Life Survey 2009)


It cost 40 Canadian Dollars for a 20min trip from the dock to a hotel in Richmond. In my book, that’s pretty damn expensive.

Vancouver is the home of one of the largest Chinese population outside of Asia. With all the Chinese signs everywhere this is very evident. Being Chinese myself, I can’t help but feel somewhat at home.

I had myself some comfort food. Curry Noodles. The be honest, the quality of Chinese food in Vancouver is incredible compared to Chinese food at home(Los Angeles).

And a side of veggies with bean curds on top.

After lunch, we hopped on a bus to get to our next destination. Sounds simple enough right? Well… if only the bus stop was easier to find. I had no idea I was looking for a cone.


We arrived at Granville Island which features many different stores selling novelty items. Is that 30 km? My American mind have difficulties comprehending. If only the US started adopting the metrics system like the rest of the world. (Okay…that wouldn’t fly…changing all the freeway signs and stuff will bankrupt the government if it wasn’t already.)

Vancouver has a lot of stuff I can only begin to dream LA had.


Canned moose! Something practically every child needs.

Look at all those ships. *Starts dreaming*

Ship repair.

Ship for sale, only 1,099,999 Canadian Dollars! If you want to convert to USD, no need to bust out your calculators…it’s basically the same thing these days.

Downtown Vancouver is really nice. Even with all the buildings I don’t feel cramped at all.

Is that a park? In the middle of downtown? It’s nice that such valuable space is being used to build a garden in the middle of downtown really.

A street artist creating some masterpieces.

Beautiful.

To leave, we had to look for a bus. Okay, this bus stop was much easier to find.

Dinner at a food court.

Juneau (also the capital of Alaska) is one of the most popular tourist city in Alaska featuring Mendenhall Glacier, Mount Roberts Tramway, and plenty of shops.

I didn’t go on the tram since its nothing special. Plus, I’ve been on a fair share of trams already, including the one in Palm Springs.


These kids were Highland dancing and bag-piping in front of the tram station. Oh my, look at the stack of cash they got! (And they aren’t even all ones…)

Mendenhall Glacier is basicly the main attraction in Juneau. Lots of people flocked here from the dock.

You can’t actually get near the glacier, so the park rangers bring a sample for you to touch everyday.

For a few extra bucks, you can get yourself a better view from the observatory.

Observatory View.

Mendenhall Glacier is pretty similar to Glacier Bay, AK, except you look at it while standing on land.

It’s nice to know that I can be attacked by bears at any time. Very comforting feeling really.

Back at the dock, we shopped around for some goodies.

Fudgggggge…

And we stopped by to get some fish and whatnot.

Smoked salmon crackers…very smokey…very good.

Canned seafood anybody?

The store also sold stuffed animal head -dolls for some reason. I guess it’s more humane than this.

We had dinner back on the cruise ship. Lamb rack with mint on the side is my favorite.

I didn’t mind having some crab legs either.

Lemon shots.

Two scopes of Vanilla Ice Cream and wafer stick.

Ya, sightseeing in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, lamb racks and crab legs for dinner. And after dinner? How about an on-board performance. Life can’t get any better.



Did I say life can’t get any better? My bad…I was wrong. Midnight Dinner.

On my last day in Oregon I passed through the wonderful Cape Meares and the city of Portland.

The first stop was Cape Meares, a small town in Tillamook County, Oregon.

Cape Meares is known for their lighthouse. For some reason almost every lighthouse has its fair share of ghost stories. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear any about this one.

My home can use a little lighthouse.

Nearby is a tree locals call the “Octopus Tree.” I wonder why.

The Oregon Shoreline was pretty nice even though it was a really cold day.

The beach was almost as nice as the ones we have here in California.

We had some lunch before we headed off to the city. Here we have a “Texan Cattle Burger” and New England Clam Chowder. Pretty good stuff.

And halibut and steak. The steak was pretty average but the halibut was very fresh and juicy.

We finally arrived in Portland. My first impression was that the people are pretty nice, the air is very breathable compared to other major US cities, and there are bikers everywhere. (Probably because Portland has the largest population of bikers in the US)

Just driving around the city.


Portland has its very own Chinatown but its pretty small. It features only a couple of restaurants and didn’t seem to be that lively.

On top of the hill in Portland is the very beautiful Pittock Mansion originally owned by Henry Pittock, publisher of the Oregonian newspaper.

The people in the background were filming something. The scenery made it a great place to shoot.

Looking down from the backyard of the Pittock Mansion gives you a great view of the city.

Portland, Oregon is a wonderful city day or night. It’s unbelievably clean.

So, I’m sitting  at home minding my own business and BAM…! Well, not really…I’m actually at the Oregon Museum of Science / Industry in Portland.

The Oregon Museum of Science / Industry is fun whether your a kid or not. The actual building is quite modern and inside you will find some pretty amazing contraptions, machines, and gadgets.

Sadly, it’s not free but the incredible exhibits are well worth the few bucks.

Overlooking the museum you will see different gadgets and machines.

And this is a something… Balls roll around inside in a unique sequence.

What I loved the most is the Crime Science Investigation (CSI) exhibit where you are put into the shoes of an actual investigator.
Upon entering, you will find yourself in a “crime scene” and it’s up to you to jot down anything you may think is significant to the crime on a given piece of document. In the end, you have to solve the crime.

There’s more than 1 crime scene so you can make 3 rounds if you really enjoy the experience.

After some investigation, you will enter the autopsy room for further studying of the victim.

Ooo, scary.

Finally, you will enter the lab to gather information from the computers and putting everything together you are suppose to solve the crime. The whole exhibit is pretty exciting and I would imagine a lot of funding was used for the project.

And looking out of OMSI, you will see a great view of the city of Portland.

Waking up, I found myself at port in Skagway, Alaska.

After walking out of the cruise ship, I found that a lot of people were already on their way with the day’s itinerary. Some opted for train tours but I decided on a bus tour to the Yukon territory in Canada.

After a long bus ride, we finally arrived to the Yukon Territory.

Some people overlooked Bove Island. Why is it worth mentioning? I’m not sure.

There was a beautiful Emerald Lake.

Signs are everywhere…and they usually tell you some pretty useful information. This sign is no different.

We arrived to a small town called Caribou Crossing for lunch.

The bbq chicken was great. But what I loved most about the meal was the wooden utensils. Honestly, I didn’t want to use them.

After the main course you can help yourself to some donuts. In fact…have as many as you want. It’s already paid for with the tour package. I was told that the record amount eaten was 14 donuts. Of course, I’m not even going to try.
I’ve learned my lesson from stuffing myself at the Hong Kong Disneyland Buffet. I ate so much I was sick for the next 3 days which ended up totally ruining the trip. I’d be an idiot to try that again.

After lunch, it’s time to have some fun.

ATV ride around the world’s smallest desert they say.

I believe there was some kind of doggie powered cart rides too.

Next destination was Carcross.

As I walk on the bridge I notice that I’m actually on a train track. So…if a train was coming my way. I’d be forced to make a decision.
A. Go for a swim
B. Die

Back in Skagway, Alaska there was a salmon pond by the dock.

You can try your luck at catching a salmon with your bare hands.
For the well being of my camera, I observed from afar though.
I’m pretty sure you’re not suppose to eat them but when I walked to the pond I smelled bbq.

After a long day, it’s finally time to get back on the ship.

On the ship, I looked around for one last time before I left.

You may notice that there is a lot of graffiti on the mountain. It’s actually markings left by ship crew members to show respect for their captain.
I was told that some people actually graffiti under sea level. What would that mean for the captain? Or the crew member when the captain finds out?

Glacier Bay is losing mass everyday that goes by. Global warming? or another reason? You decide. Whatever it may be…Glacier Bay won’t be there much longer. If you are planning to go to Alaska, Glacier Bay is definitely a must.

The day started with a very welcoming breakfast.

And some dessert. No…I didn’t eat all that by myself.

After a big meal, I went for a swim.

Then a snack.

Large chunks of ice signaled that we finally arrived to Glacier Bay.






To be honest, it was quite disappointing. I did expect more ice but we have global warming to thank for that.

I took a walk around the gift shop while waiting for the dinner table. Everything is expensive but that’s expected.

Fillet mignon for dinner. It was alright, I wouldn’t really say it was “good.”

And for dessert…I had uhh…whatever that is.

Candy Cane Lane is a few streets in Woodland Hills known for their tradition of having some of the best Christmas Lights in the Los Angeles region. Every year, home owners set up some pretty amazing Christmas Lights to wow spectators.
Despite a rough economy and expensive electricity bills, the people of Candy Cane Lane still had their Christmas lights up for others to enjoy. The number of participating houses may have decreased but it was still a worthwhile trip.