After a couple of very quick business trips to Southern and Northern California, it was time for a vacation. It was as much a rest period as one to celebrate the accomplishment of a "niece" and her parents.
Six years ago, the daughter of very good friends expressed her desired to come to the United States to study. She started her student career near New York City, then moved to Phoenix to be with us. After completing her high school degree, she attended Arizona State University. This May, she graduated with honors from the college of business. Her parents joined us to celebrate her accomplishment, the culmination of their tremendous sacrifices and her great effort.
The day after attending the graduation ceremony of their daughter, our dear friends flew with my spouse and me to Miami, Florida. A strong storm over our destination diverted our aircraft to Fort Myers to wait it out. We landed at our original destination about 2 hours late. Our son and his lovely wife waited patiently and joined us for a very pleasant dinner.
The next day, we boarded a cruise ship from the port of Miami for a 4-day trip to Coco Cay and Nassau, Bahamas. The lingering thick clouds of the storm of the previous day made the departure a bit less than festive.
Our arrival at Coco Cay, a small island about 55 miles (88.5 km) north of Nassau, Bahamas, was greeted with rough sea, a condition left over from the storm two days before. It forced the captain of the cruise ship to cancel our excursion to shore. This extra day at sea gave my wife and me the chance to spend quality time with our friends, learning more about their trials and triumphs, all the while enjoying the variety of foods and drinks aboard.
The capital of The Bahamas welcomed us with superb weather. We visited its Straw Market and walked along many streets in downtown Nassau. We took a water taxi to Paradise Island to enjoy its many amenities and sandy beach. The sea with its ideal temperature was pristine. The high waves, a residual effect of the storm several days ago, were actually fun.
Upon our return to Florida, we picked up our new graduate and checked into a rental condominium. It had a gorgeous view of Miami. We spent a few perfect days there, exploring the nearby beach and the Art Deco District, enjoying the local cuisine and night life. We also had a delightful lunch with our son at a beach resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Jacksonville in Northern Florida was our next vacation spot. It was a very peaceful town. We went to see the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, which included Fort Caroline. Its fascinating history illustrated on several story boards. The Cummer Museum of Art & Garden was our next stop. Its theme gardens were indeed very nice, and the collections of art and artifacts were varied and interesting.
The last day of Bike Week caught our arrival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Its streets were filled with people riding big motorcycles, enjoying the delightful weather, and partying. Patience was required to drive the one and half miles from our hotel to the local seafood restaurant. Yet in spite of all this crowd in the city, we had an enjoyable and relaxing time at the beach with its fine sand and shallow slope. The ocean waves were gentle. One could walk quite a distance out to sea. My sister-in-law, her husband and 2 nephews from Indiana joined us. Their experience from their previous trips to Myrtle Beach helped us savor this locale much better.
A few drops of rain welcomed us to Washington, DC, a nice change to the many days of sun since our departure from Miami. Our time here was filled with visits to the US Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and the US Botanical Garden. Every one of these places was impressive in its own way. A person would need at minimum one full day to fully appreciate each of these great institutions. Our few days in the Nation's Capital were simply not enough; we had to miss many attractions.
The replica of the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 recalled my fascination and admiration of the space program and the successful landing on the moon. The DC3, the civilian version of airplane without which the invasion of Normandy in 1944 would be impossible, also brought back fond childhood memories of trips taken with my parents between Da Nang & Saigon.
The last city of our journey was New York City. No visit to the Big Apple would be complete without seeing Lady Liberty, being in Manhattan and Time Square, petting the Charging Bull of Wall Street and walking on the Brooklyn Bridge. We paid our respects to the victims of the horrible attack on September 11th, 2001. The visit to the National September 11 Memorial was a very humbling and sobering experience, and highly recommended to everyone. But learning about the survivor tree and the sight of the new World Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower, was very uplifting.
We met up with another long time friend, his spouse, their daughter and her fiance, and enjoyed several meals with them. We had fun visiting Chinatown and thank them for spending time with us. Our last evening in New York City, my wife bought fresh live seafood which she expertly cooked at our rental apartment. This dinner was simply superb.
The next day, after checking out from our rental flat, we had the privilege to meet and enjoyed a wonderful brunch with the family who first hosted our now college graduate at the charming restaurant in mid Long Island.
Memories, made during this trip which lasted two weeks, delightful and treasured forever. Naturally, the majority of pictures taken during this unforgettable trip are private. But many are at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/140515EastCoastScenic#. And as always, your comments and critiques of any part of this blog are welcome.
Enjoy,
Paul
Six years ago, the daughter of very good friends expressed her desired to come to the United States to study. She started her student career near New York City, then moved to Phoenix to be with us. After completing her high school degree, she attended Arizona State University. This May, she graduated with honors from the college of business. Her parents joined us to celebrate her accomplishment, the culmination of their tremendous sacrifices and her great effort.
The day after attending the graduation ceremony of their daughter, our dear friends flew with my spouse and me to Miami, Florida. A strong storm over our destination diverted our aircraft to Fort Myers to wait it out. We landed at our original destination about 2 hours late. Our son and his lovely wife waited patiently and joined us for a very pleasant dinner.
The next day, we boarded a cruise ship from the port of Miami for a 4-day trip to Coco Cay and Nassau, Bahamas. The lingering thick clouds of the storm of the previous day made the departure a bit less than festive.
 | |
| Miami, Florida, viewed from cruise ship. |
 |
| Heading to sea. |
Our arrival at Coco Cay, a small island about 55 miles (88.5 km) north of Nassau, Bahamas, was greeted with rough sea, a condition left over from the storm two days before. It forced the captain of the cruise ship to cancel our excursion to shore. This extra day at sea gave my wife and me the chance to spend quality time with our friends, learning more about their trials and triumphs, all the while enjoying the variety of foods and drinks aboard.
 |
| Dinner on board cruise ship: Perfectly grilled tri-tip steak. |
 |
| Party time. |
The capital of The Bahamas welcomed us with superb weather. We visited its Straw Market and walked along many streets in downtown Nassau. We took a water taxi to Paradise Island to enjoy its many amenities and sandy beach. The sea with its ideal temperature was pristine. The high waves, a residual effect of the storm several days ago, were actually fun.
Upon our return to Florida, we picked up our new graduate and checked into a rental condominium. It had a gorgeous view of Miami. We spent a few perfect days there, exploring the nearby beach and the Art Deco District, enjoying the local cuisine and night life. We also had a delightful lunch with our son at a beach resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 |
| Beach at Fort Lauderdale |
 |
| Seafood Paella in Art Deco District of Miami Beach, Florida. |
Jacksonville in Northern Florida was our next vacation spot. It was a very peaceful town. We went to see the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, which included Fort Caroline. Its fascinating history illustrated on several story boards. The Cummer Museum of Art & Garden was our next stop. Its theme gardens were indeed very nice, and the collections of art and artifacts were varied and interesting.
 |
| Fort Caroline National Memorial at the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. |
 |
| Diana, the goddess of the hunt, at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida. |
The last day of Bike Week caught our arrival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Its streets were filled with people riding big motorcycles, enjoying the delightful weather, and partying. Patience was required to drive the one and half miles from our hotel to the local seafood restaurant. Yet in spite of all this crowd in the city, we had an enjoyable and relaxing time at the beach with its fine sand and shallow slope. The ocean waves were gentle. One could walk quite a distance out to sea. My sister-in-law, her husband and 2 nephews from Indiana joined us. Their experience from their previous trips to Myrtle Beach helped us savor this locale much better.
 |
| Custom motorbike in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. |
 |
| Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. |
A few drops of rain welcomed us to Washington, DC, a nice change to the many days of sun since our departure from Miami. Our time here was filled with visits to the US Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and the US Botanical Garden. Every one of these places was impressive in its own way. A person would need at minimum one full day to fully appreciate each of these great institutions. Our few days in the Nation's Capital were simply not enough; we had to miss many attractions.
The replica of the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 recalled my fascination and admiration of the space program and the successful landing on the moon. The DC3, the civilian version of airplane without which the invasion of Normandy in 1944 would be impossible, also brought back fond childhood memories of trips taken with my parents between Da Nang & Saigon.
 |
| United States Capitol in Washington |
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| Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington |
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| Douglas DC-3 at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. |
The last city of our journey was New York City. No visit to the Big Apple would be complete without seeing Lady Liberty, being in Manhattan and Time Square, petting the Charging Bull of Wall Street and walking on the Brooklyn Bridge. We paid our respects to the victims of the horrible attack on September 11th, 2001. The visit to the National September 11 Memorial was a very humbling and sobering experience, and highly recommended to everyone. But learning about the survivor tree and the sight of the new World Trade Center, also known as Freedom Tower, was very uplifting.
 |
| Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, New York. |
 |
| National September 11 Memorial in Manhattan, New York City, New York. |
We met up with another long time friend, his spouse, their daughter and her fiance, and enjoyed several meals with them. We had fun visiting Chinatown and thank them for spending time with us. Our last evening in New York City, my wife bought fresh live seafood which she expertly cooked at our rental apartment. This dinner was simply superb.
 | |
| Lobster dinner. (Photo by Tho M. Nguyen) |
The next day, after checking out from our rental flat, we had the privilege to meet and enjoyed a wonderful brunch with the family who first hosted our now college graduate at the charming restaurant in mid Long Island.
Memories, made during this trip which lasted two weeks, delightful and treasured forever. Naturally, the majority of pictures taken during this unforgettable trip are private. But many are at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/140515EastCoastScenic#. And as always, your comments and critiques of any part of this blog are welcome.
Enjoy,
Paul
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