Browse Month: August 2008

Hello from Belize!!

We are here!!  We landed in Belize City on Sunday morning around 11:00 am Belize Time (+1 from SF).  We then took a cab to the Seaport for a 40-min water taxi ride to Caye Caulker, our first destination.  The weather is hot and humid but the water is clear and blue-green.  There’s a nice breeze so the heat is tolerable.  Our condo is right on the waterfront with a balcony from the second floor, a hammock (that we took from a neighbor), and A/C (thank goodness).

It’s really quiet here.  The island is super small and everything is slow and laid back.  We took a walk around and there isn’t much excitement, which is a nice change of scenery.  I had my first tast of Belikin Beer (the nation’s beer) by 12:00 pm with some shrimp salsa with chips.  Ah…

Later we went down to the Lazy Iguana for some more beer and a dip in the Carribean Sea.  The water is disturbingly warm.  Comfy but I’m seriously not used to having no cold shock as soon as you jump in.  We tried out the underwater digital camera that I bought before coming here.  I was nervous because it looks like a regular digital camera but you can take it underwater.  It didn’t leak or anything so I guess it’s officially ready for our snorkeling trip today.

There are random dogs hanging out here.  They wander around looking for food but they’re obviously cared for because they have collars and tags. As I was laid out by the water, I noticed a shadow above me and as I opened my eyes I saw there was a big wet nose hovering above me.  It was a nice black dog checking me out.  Jesse was so tempted to push him into the water.

We are scheduled for a full-day snorkeling trip aboard a sailboat today.  We’re going to some of the best snorkeling spots on this side of the world.  I’m excited but also nervous about getting seasick.  They said that they have a pill that I can take.  I wonder if it’s just your average Dramamine but they swear by it.  We’ll see how that goes.

Bienvenido a Miami!

Yep, we’re in Miami now.  Once we landed in Dallas, we were directed to the ticket counter and they offered us $5 vouchers (per person) for lunch, a flight to Miami in the afternoon, $10 vouchers (per person) for dinner, a complimentary overnight hotel stay, and a flight to Belize from Miami the next morning.

So, we’re at a Crown Plaza near the airport now and should be getting on the first flight out to Belize around 10 am tomorrow.  So, for dinner we had some tasty Cuban food at Miami International Airport and I got a hot shower after a long day of three security lines, two 3-hour flights, and sleep deprivation.  Despite all the run-around, I still feel like I’m on vacation.  I’m just not quite in the city I was hoping for but we’ll get there.  One more thing that helped our day run a little smoother was the fact that we didn’t have any checked luggage.  Phew!  Not only did we save $15 per bag but it was one less thing for us to worry about when we missed our connection.

Now what?

I ended up falling asleep around 2:00 am this morning and was awoken around 3:47 am to catch our 4:00 am cab pick-up.  It was pretty painful but we made it to the airport by 4:20.  We checked in at the kiosk to discover that our 6:00 am flight was delayed an hour.  Already?!  We were in doubt about making our connection so we called AA and they told us to go to the ticket counter to see if we could get rebooked on a different flight.  Well, we had to leave the security gate and stand in line for an hour (missing all the 6 am flights) and the ticket guy said that we would have enough time to make the connection.  It would be close but we’d have enough time.  So, we stood in line for nothing, went through security once more, and boarded our 7:00 am plane.  All was good again until the pilot announced that his co-pilot was running late and that he’d be arriving in 25 minutes.  What?!  All was lost by then and we were screwed.  We sat on the tarmac for an additional hour and didn’t take off until 8:00 am.  We just arrived in Dallas/Fort Worth at 1:00 CST and totally missed our 1:05 connection to Belize….the only flight to Belize for the day.  Boo…  American Airlines blows.

So, we’re going to figure out what’s next.  Stay tuned!

10 days

Ah…I’m officially on vacation and have solid 10 days off from work.  Seven of those days will be in Belize and I can’t wait!  This afternoon couldn’t go any slower at work as I counted down the number of patients I had and then the number of minutes I had left before hopping on the BART shuttle.

On my way home, I hung out at Embarcadero Station to meet up with my mom who was coming from SFO.  She was brave enough to take BART from SFO and did it like a pro.  We took Muni home together and she has settled in for a week in SF with Koa.  With just a few tips on how to turn on the TV, how to use Google Maps to get public transit directions, and where to find the Safeway, she is ready to go!

So, it’s about 1:00 am, our bags are all packed, and I’m in bed surfing the internet with the TV on.  We’re staying up all night to catch our 4:00 am cab to SFO.  Our flight is at 6:00 am and I’m planning to take a nap on the plane.  We’ll see if I manage to stay up or not.  In less than 12 hours, I will be in Belize, baby!!

Rock on, Joel!

Last night we went to The Independent to see our old friend Joel, “The Rockstar”, play in his band.  Everest was one of the few bands featured that night and it was fun to watch him rock out.  I also got to experiment with my D300’s ISO 2000.  I think they came out quite well without the amount graininess that I expected. It was so awesome to be able to take these photos without flash.

Anyway, it was great to be able to watch them in a more intimate venue.  He’s going to be playing at the Outside Lands Festival this weekend in GG Park and it’s too bad that I’ll be missing it.  We should be on a plane just about the same time they’ll be on stage playing for thousands of people on the lawn.

By the way, I think my poor old ears aren’t very tolerant of loud music anymore.

How sad.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

This is my Daddy back in 1970.  He looked like one cool dude.  As he turns 64, he’s still one cool dude.  He’s got his own website, has a busier social life than me at 32, and can still imitate Elvis’ hip-shakin’ moves like a teenager.  Happy Birthday, Daddy!  I wish I was there to give you a big birthday hug.