Went out to the Smoky Mountains. Tennessee’s (and North Carolina) natural woodlands is absolutely stunning. Sad to say though that much of the “smoke” that is seen today in the mountains aren’t pure clean clouds, but instead trapped gasses that we’ve released into our atmosphere. However, this day the air quality was pretty good. And my favorite part? The mountains are much cooler than the rest of the state. Even though it was a brisk 68 degrees, I still chose to run around in my tank top. I enjoyed the cool air caressing the bare skin of my back (do I make that sound sexy or what?). Due to the contrast of the rest of the trip, I decided to enjoy every ounce of coolness I could get.
We drove through Pigeon Forge. It reminds me of Orlando or a family friendly Vegas with all the activities you can do. We didn’t have time to stop however, because it was still a two hour drive to Nashville.
About 4 miles from our hotel in Nashville traffic came to a near standstill. The blinking red of the roadway emergency light was flashing, so we tuned in to the radio to see what had happen. All we could figure was that all lanes going our direction were closed due to an “incident.” We took our trusty GPS and tried to find al alternate route. We managed to find a pretty good one through a backcountry road. We hear a car lightly tap their horn at as us we turn a corner and we stop in our tracks. Ahead is a police car perpendicular to our own flashing its lights and a large chunk of tree blocking the roadway behind it. The best we can figure is that the lightening storm that we had seen up ahead earlier had passed through and taken the tree down with it. We let the GPS guide us turn after turn through a residential neighborhood. I noticed another down tree, but this one didn’t interfere with the road system. Now, I’m good with a map, but I don’t know if I could have created this route to our hotel. Next thing I know, we’re pulling up into the hotel parking lot thanks to our handy GPS system. (And no, I didn’t forget to praise it!).
Of course, no trip out to Nashville would be complete without visiting the Grand Ole Opry. The venue is beautiful. Nashville’s culture and character as a whole is charming. There’s so much history here and so many opportunities to enjoy it.
June 27, 2009
June 23, 2009
Missouri
After a three hour layover in Denver, I finally arrived in Kansas City. I left California at an early 5:30 am start and landed in Denver shortly after 10 am. My flight wasn’t scheduled to leave until 1 pm, so I decided to meander down to Terminal B and get myself a Jamba Juice. I decided that would be my “brunch,” and save some room for the good eatin’ in Kansas City. I arrived in Kansas City around 4 pm local time (1 pm in CA), so I was plenty ready for lunch. My favorite was the Burnt Ends Sandwich from Gates. If you ever find yourself in Kansas City, it’s definitely on my list of top places to eat in America. However, there was no time for dilly dallying. Our reservation was set for St. Louis which is a 4-5 hour drive from Kansas City. Having eaten late, I wasn’t too hungry in St. Louis, so I went straight for dessert. My favorite there? Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.
To burn off those heavy calories, we walked by the Mississippi River and wandered around the famous arch. We spotted a couple of fireflies as we walked (nothing like the ones you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland). They’re fun to watch though, and shine a lot brighter than I thought they would.
To burn off those heavy calories, we walked by the Mississippi River and wandered around the famous arch. We spotted a couple of fireflies as we walked (nothing like the ones you see on the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland). They’re fun to watch though, and shine a lot brighter than I thought they would.
June 22, 2009
New Zealand - Final Entry
The Antarctic Center really is a nice way to kill a few hours if you’re waiting for your flight out of Christchurch. It wasn’t nearly as hokey as I expected it to be. They have a lot of interactive displays and remnants from past Antarctic journeys. The only flaw being the colony of Blue Penguins it houses. All of the penguins are not able to be released back into the wild, so it’s refreshing to see that they are being taken care of. However, being the Antarctic Center, I found it ironic that of all the species of penguin it has, it has one of the few non-Antarctic penguins. However, they are a New Zealand native bird, and I’m sure that sharing such close quarters to humans, there are many birds that need additional care.
As it turns out, my flight out of Christchurch was delayed. I originally had an hour and a half lay-over in Auckland, but that was made all the tighter with the delay. Not to mention the flight out of Auckland was the last flight of the day, and if I missed that flight I wouldn’t be back in the states until Monday, and oh wait, I work Monday! As we disembarked the plane we had to run out of the building and to the International Terminal. This should be a 20 minute walk, but considering I had 30 minutes to catch my flight, there was a lot of running involved. As we ran into the terminal we anxiously stood in the customs line looking nervously at our watches as precious minutes ticked away.
Fortunately, we did make it onto the plane as everyone started filtering onboard. My muscles were sore and I was out of breath, but we made it. Plus, due to a generous tail-wind, we managed to shave an hour off our flying time.
As it turns out, my flight out of Christchurch was delayed. I originally had an hour and a half lay-over in Auckland, but that was made all the tighter with the delay. Not to mention the flight out of Auckland was the last flight of the day, and if I missed that flight I wouldn’t be back in the states until Monday, and oh wait, I work Monday! As we disembarked the plane we had to run out of the building and to the International Terminal. This should be a 20 minute walk, but considering I had 30 minutes to catch my flight, there was a lot of running involved. As we ran into the terminal we anxiously stood in the customs line looking nervously at our watches as precious minutes ticked away.
Fortunately, we did make it onto the plane as everyone started filtering onboard. My muscles were sore and I was out of breath, but we made it. Plus, due to a generous tail-wind, we managed to shave an hour off our flying time.
June 19, 2009
New Zealand - Kaikoura
Kaikoura is probably one of my favorite places in New Zealand. It’s located amongst the mountains on the east coast of New Zealand, but it’s probably best known for its coastal eco-tourism activities. It’s an ideal location for many marine mammal sightings because the continental shelf plunges about 1000 meters down after about 100 meters out. It’s the only place in the world where Sperm Whales (a deeper diving whale) can be seen so close to the shoreline. The warm and cold currents also converge in this location which causes nutrients to rise up from the seafloor. This creates an ideal feeding ground for many marine species, and nearly 200 species of marine life can be found off the coast of Kaikoura.
One of the most commonly seen marine mammals in Kaikoura is the New Zealand Fur Seal. And just to confuse you further, like Panda “Bears” or Koala “Bears,” the New Zealand Fur Seal isn’t actually a seal, it’s a sea lion. How do you tell them apart? The easiest way would be to note their protruding ear flaps and the use of their flippers to move (you think sea lions aren’t graceful on land, just watch true seals). While hunted extensively in the 19th century, this species has since been protected and recovered quite well. We visited a number of seal colonies along Kaikoura’s coastline.
Just off the freeway is a small little trail for the Ohau Waterfall. While it’s not the most spectacular waterfall I’ve ever seen, it was certainly one of the most memorable walks I’ve ever done. It’s amazing how dense the forest becomes just a few meters from the coast, and what’s more amazing are some of the things that the forest holds. The trek to the waterfall is fairly flat and short, which makes it easy for even young children to experience. However, it’s kind of tucked in off the freeway, so it would be easy to pass. For those that do find it, it’s an absolute treat. You follow the river passing vegetation at every corner and can hear the roar of the falls in the near distance. Because there are so many twists and turns to the waterfall, it’s hard to get your bearings to exactly how close you are. Suddenly, the forest will open up and in front of you will be the falls. Even more impressive, the seal pups seem to have made this area their own private playground. It’s like walking straight into a fantasy, or some sort of “secret garden,” which only you have been granted the privilege to see (and maybe whoever else has trekked the trail with you).
One of the most commonly seen marine mammals in Kaikoura is the New Zealand Fur Seal. And just to confuse you further, like Panda “Bears” or Koala “Bears,” the New Zealand Fur Seal isn’t actually a seal, it’s a sea lion. How do you tell them apart? The easiest way would be to note their protruding ear flaps and the use of their flippers to move (you think sea lions aren’t graceful on land, just watch true seals). While hunted extensively in the 19th century, this species has since been protected and recovered quite well. We visited a number of seal colonies along Kaikoura’s coastline.
Just off the freeway is a small little trail for the Ohau Waterfall. While it’s not the most spectacular waterfall I’ve ever seen, it was certainly one of the most memorable walks I’ve ever done. It’s amazing how dense the forest becomes just a few meters from the coast, and what’s more amazing are some of the things that the forest holds. The trek to the waterfall is fairly flat and short, which makes it easy for even young children to experience. However, it’s kind of tucked in off the freeway, so it would be easy to pass. For those that do find it, it’s an absolute treat. You follow the river passing vegetation at every corner and can hear the roar of the falls in the near distance. Because there are so many twists and turns to the waterfall, it’s hard to get your bearings to exactly how close you are. Suddenly, the forest will open up and in front of you will be the falls. Even more impressive, the seal pups seem to have made this area their own private playground. It’s like walking straight into a fantasy, or some sort of “secret garden,” which only you have been granted the privilege to see (and maybe whoever else has trekked the trail with you).
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