son of soy » Travel

Chris and the Carabao

Rick Elizaga — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:15:30 +0000

On our trip the Philippines last December, my nephew Christopher camera-stalks a carabao in the province of Pangasinan.

kaua’i slideshow

Rick Elizaga — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:40:43 +0000

We spent one week in Kaua’i and got back last Sunday. The trip wasn’t long enough, of course. We had just begun to to catch up on sleep from the flight when it was time to go back to Japan.

I’ll miss: a map full of beaches and hiking trails, food from Papaya’s Natural Foods and Cafe, surprisingly friendly and laid-back drivers and shop keepers, walking around in flip-flops and shorts, floating in salt water, sleeping in the sun on the beach…

Thanks to Mom for setting us up in Tita Nonon’s very comfortable and spacious pad in Kapa’a!

Check out the Flash slideshow (opens in a new window). Warning: contains music… and sugary sweet photos of a smiling couple.

Music from “Kalama’s Quartet: Early Hawaiian Classics, 1927-1932″ (find it on iTunes).

Download Flash

waimea canyon

Rick Elizaga — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:03:30 +0000

Congratulations to Charles, who correctly guessed me and Mari’s secret location: Kauai. (Honorable mention goes to Tessa and Gumby, who guessed Maui (three islands away) and to Tin-Na, who guessed the Big Island (four islands away). Sorry, folks, but prizes have not been determined.
Above: Mari looking out on Waimea Canyon.

Mari picnicking on a sandwich while a rooster prowls nearby.

on the beach

Rick Elizaga — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:21:09 +0000

Beach foliage

this is not kyoto

Rick Elizaga — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 00:05:33 +0000

Mari and I hopped onto a plane yesterday, and this is where we ended up. Some of you already know where we are, but anyone else want to guess where “this” is? More clues tomorrow…

Washington

Rick Elizaga — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 15:44:45 +0000

Back in Kyoto. Slow getting the blog thing going again, but here are a couple shots from the Pacific Northwest:

left, Mari and me with Ole the Logger. Carved in cedar, Ole stands at the Highway 12 entrance to my hometown of Morton, Washington, population ~1000. It’s customary to sacrifice small animals at Ole’s feet (…just kidding).
middle, Nisqually river at Mt. Rainier National Park.
right, Trail of the Shadows, Longmire, Mt. Rainier. The rain stopped on our last day in the park, and we followed this trail through old-growth forest and past mineral springs.

In transit

Rick Elizaga — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 19:08:43 +0000

Mari and I are flying the U.S. today for a short visit to my hometown, Morton, Washington. KIX has free wireless next to the pay stations! Resisting the temptation to buy a camera in the shops downstairs. More later from the other side of the ocean.

KIX to SEA, passport goof, Kyoto memories

Rick Elizaga — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 03:27:48 +0000

On my way to Seattle to visit family, renew my tourist visa for Japan, renew my U.S. passport.
I need to leave Japan before October 27, when my 90-day visa expires. The original plan was a weekend trip to Taipei with Mari, but I messed up. My passport expires next month, and I didn’t know that, in order to enter Taiwan, or many other Asian countries, my passport would need to be valid for at least six more months. I had figured as long as it’s not expired, it’s good. Oops. I found this out just as Mari and I were about to buy our ticket, which we’d already reserved. Cancelling cost ¥12000. Mari was surprisingly patient. Later she told me that the same thing happened to her when she was 20, but she didn’t find out until she’d already packed her bags and made the 2-hour trip to the airport.

Anyway, I already had this ticket to the U.S. and was about to let it go to waste. Instead, it will be nice to see family before the holidays. And I can pick up my Xbox and bring it back to Kyoto, just in time for Halo 2! (You video game geeks out there know what I’m talking about.)

Osaka airport has free wireless Internet! I found the stations next to some of the wired stations, which cost ¥100 for 10 minutes before the passport control gate, free after passport control. Plus, electrical outlets!

I’ll only be gone 10 days, but I’ll miss you, Mari and Kyoto. I’m taking with me some sweet memories from today — walking leisurely in the sun past rice fields and the lush green near Manshuin temple, the smell of the fresh basil Mari picked for our spaghetti, which we ate while crouched on our tiny balcony.

The Terminal

Rick Elizaga — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 15:00:32 +0000

KIX Osaka, LAX Los Angeles, SFO San Francisco.
I’m back in the U.S. for a few weeks to move out of my old place and attend my cousin’s wedding.
For now I’m stuck in SFO. I seem to forget very basic things sometimes. In college once wrote an essay for two hours before realizing I didn’t have a thesis. I forgot my passport once on the way to Japan. This time I forgot to bring my house keys. To be fair to myself, though, I’m not sure I even had them in my possession during these past few months, since I’d already basically moved out. Anyway, I forgot to arrange to be able to get into the house. I’m hungry and need to catch up on a night’s sleep.

Trying to contact roommates. Anyone home? Does everyone work these days?

At least SFO has wireless access. I’m dropping $6 for an hour of T-Mobile.

Packing for San Francisco

Rick Elizaga — Tue, 06 Jul 2004 23:22:00 +0000

Flight to San Francisco tomorrow. I need to get money from an ATM, but it’s so hot — about 93°F (34°C) — that I don’t dare step outside.

Loading my backpack instead. So far, only my sleeping bag and omiyaage for a handful of people and it’s already 2/3 full. How do people with lots of friends do it? I bought too many confections, luxuriously over-packaged in the Japanese department store style. Next time, smaller gifts. Mari suggested keychains.