Good Morning Vietnam!

12/15/12:
During our first night/morning in COMA 6 we met our respective roommates. Anthony, a fellow American, was my roommate and he was volunteering with his wife. Kathryn was staying with Kathleen who is an Aussie (good people:) ) as well as a woman from Japan (Akita) who was very sweet.

Our first day would be filled with a tour of downtown Hanoi. The tour was led by a Vietnamese woman named "Ha" who was trying to improve her English. That being said, she was very good and informative. We experienced our first Vietnamese bus ride (pushing was included), our first street crossing ("just keep walking"), and the beautiful chaos that filled the city. In addition, we saw some tourist sights, including:  the "Literature Temple" and the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton").

The prison was especially interesting and was first created by the French for political prisoners in Vietnam. It was later utilized by the Northern Vietnamese for POWs (i.e. John McCain) during the Vietnam war.

   

Here I am at the Hanoi Hilton next to replicas of prisoners who were shackled by their ankles. 

Typical sight in Hanoi--tons of motos!

A mess of telephone wires...

A graduation celebration for the high school          

students (posed pictures were quite popular). 

Kathryn and I standing next to  Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown.

Following our day long tour, our tour guide, Ha, took us to one of her favorite street food vendors for some Vietnamese "pho" and cold noodles. The food was great! After that, we went to one of the universities in Hanoi, where our tour guide introduced us to her fellow student friends. They coordinated a market in which they sold various things (clothes, food, etc).  

(The gentleman who made our lunch!)

Following the day long activity, Kathryn and I were ready to crash back at our volunteer housing. There we enjoyed a meal with our new volunteer friends in the common room--such nice people! Did we mention our cook at the volunteer house was amazing?!

Hanoi, Here We Come!

12/13:

After waking up early and having packed the night before, we set out to the San Diego airport destined for Hanoi and excited about our upcoming adventure! We chose Korean Airlines as our carrier due to great reviews by friends, and it turned out to be as good as we anticipated! The service was excellent and the food was the best "plane food" we have ever experienced (especially the "Bibimbop"). This is a traditional Korean dish literally meaning, "mixed rice." Basically warm white rice topped with seasoned vegetables, chili paste and slices of beef!

Kathryn in the Seoul airport . 

The 20+hour flight (layover in Seoul), was definitely exhausting, and by the time we arrived in Vietnam we were ready for bed as it was night time there. Luckily, we found our contact person (Kien) who met us in the Hanoi Airport and took us us in his own tiny car to our volunteer housing. Our volunteer house was named "Coma 6" (pron. "coma"-like the medical condition, "sow" like the pig), and the accommodations were  not exactly "luxury." It was situated approximately 20-30 minutes outside of downtown Hanoi in a rather rural area of town.

Our new home in COMA 6, by the light of day.

Our bunk beds (we were in separate rooms) included mosquito netting, clotheslines, and 3 inch mattresses at that!

Kathryn's first glimpse into our bathrooms (comprised of a shower head and a drain--not enclosed). We were also sure to throw all toilet paper in the wastebaskets after use (not in the toilet), as this was  customary here to compensate for the poor plumbing. 

Notice--shower head and toilet in one room. 

We quickly realized that our new accommodations would be a bit of an adjustment from what we were accustomed to...After arriving at COMA 6, we went to our separate bedrooms and attempted to get some sleep for our first night in our new home!

Headin' South...La Jolla and San Diego

12/10:

For our final destination in the States (before heading to South East Asia) we stayed in La Jolla, CA. Once again, our wonderful friends, Bill and Kim Matzinger were there to welcome us into their home. Although it was only for a few days, it was so nice staying in the Matzinger's cottage 2 blocks from the beach! It was equally as nice catching up with old friends...

Lucky to have such great hosts!

Sun and sand...just blocks away...

We even had time to visit the San Diego Zoo:

                 

During our stay in La Jolla, we also spent time packing/organizing our bags in preparation for our volunteer experience in Vietnam. Both excited and nervous, we could not have imagined what lied ahead of us on the other side of the globe. After an early morning drop off by Mr. Matzinger (thank you!!!) We readied ourselves for an experience of a lifetime! 

The other shore...California

12/3:

Following our brief and somewhat hectic stay in Las Vegas, we hit the road at the crack of dawn to make our way to Calabasas, California, where our family friends, Paul and Peta would so generously put us up. The views of the desert made up for the craziness that is Las Vegas, and finally seeing the coast of California on the Pacific Coast Highway was a welcome sight. 

We were so happy to be greeted by Paul, Peta, and Luna at there beautiful home among the mountains in Malibu Canyon. There, we finally got an opportunity to relax, go for many runs with Luna, and catch up with old friends!

a HUGE thank you to Paul and Peta (our gracious hosts)!!

                                                 Gorgeous views of Malibu Canyon with the fog rolling in!      

                        Luna hanging out on her favorite chair--what a great running partner!

We also got the chance to see some great friends: Alice Goldsmith and Laura and Andrew!! Good times had in the LA neighborhood of  Silverlake!

A Night in Las Vegas

12/2/12:
After enjoying the amazing views in Zion National Park, we headed to Las Vegas as it seemed like a good stopping point between Utah and California. However, little did we know, this "stopping point" turned into a very hectic experience. We arrived in downtown Las Vegas around 5:30 only to find out that there was a marathon in progress which was going on from 5pm to midnight! As a result, we ended up driving the streets of Las Vegas for about an hour and a half in an attempt to reach our hotel! After finally getting to our hotel, we decided to get some dinner and call it a night.

Kathryn and Anthony Kiedis at the Hard Rock Hotel....the highlight of Kathryn's night! 

12/3/12: We left early the next morning (somewhat frustrated with Las Vegas), and headed to California to spend some time with the Goldsmith's!

Utah, Zion National Park!

12/01/12: After an early morning start, we headed through Colorado to Utah and enjoyed more fantastic views through the Vail Pass, including a surprise sighting of a big horned ram alongside the highway (no picture--sorry)! Eventually, we hit the Utah border and witnessed the amazing transition of landscape from Rocky Mountains to sandstone and clay. It ended up being a very long ride, but the views made up for it. We drove through Zion National Park during sunset (quickly turned to night) and found ourselves winding through the canyon walls, later finding our place to stay in Washington, Utah (45 minutes outside Zion National Park). We couldn't wait for the next day's hike! 

This is Kathryn walking along a ridge at a scenic rest stop along the highway!

The changes of color and rock formation was amazing!!

Sunset just outside the park!

12/02/12: The next morning, we got up and headed back into Zion National Park to hike some trails in and around the canyon (Angel's Landing/West Rim trail). Before our hike we stopped at a local breakfast place in the park called, Oscar's Cafe...food was great, it was about 8 in the morning on a Sunday and i think we were the only people under the age of 70 there (no offense to our older readers)! We then made our way to the trailhead and ascended the trail, eventually reaching the top. Angel's landing was a place at the very peak of a mountain that required chains to climb (for security). After climbing that portion of the trail, we made are way further up the west rim to see some more sights. 

 Starting off on the trail...

 Yes, more wildlife!!

 A look back down at the trail and the canyon (not even halfway up)..

 Just a sample of the sandstone color that we saw at a higher point in the trail!

 Right towards the top of the trail...a good look at the canyon from here!

On a nearby cliff, there were some California Condors posing for the hikers.

 The cliff pictured here is the actual "angel's landing".

 The chains that "supported us" on the steeper parts of the trail.

 A view directly down from the peak of Angel's Landing...

At times, we felt like we were hiking on a beach due to the sand!

Needless to say, we had an awesome time hiking in and around Zion Canyon. After our 3 hour hike we stopped by at a cafe just outside of the park to get a bite to eat. From there, it was off to Las Vegas--quite a contrast from the beauty of Zion!

Colorado

11/28/12 After a long drive from Santa Fe, with a brief stop over in Taos, we arrived late to the Kringle's house in Golden CO. We enjoyed a colorful sunset as we entered into Colorado; it was absolutely beautiful! We were greeted at the Kringles by three little cousins and their Nerf guns (ready to ambush us). We had a lovely dinner with my cousin Perrin, her husband Kirk, and my cousin Sam. So nice to be united with family on this long journey!

11/29/12 We began our exploration of Colorado by heading out on a hike in the "Flatirons" right outside Boulder. We hiked the "Royal Arch" trail, which took us up to an expansive overlook of Boulder/Denver.

 

 After our hike we headed into Boulder for a bite to eat after which we walked down the main street, the "mall", in Boulder. We came upon some commuter bikes which we rented without hesitation and cruised around the city and checked out the UC Boulder campus. We then headed to "Mountain Sun Brewery" to grab a beer  before driving back to Golden. It was a fun and full day.

11/30/12 Our morning began by going for a refreshing run through the mountains with Perrin and the two dogs (Sailor and Dory). The trail took us to a gorgeous overlook of the Rockie Mountains. It was a fabulous way to start our second morning in Colorado. The rest of the day we took it easy and explored the area a bit more.  For our last night with our Colorado family Alex and I made a dinner of spicy peanut noodles with chicken, peas and broccoli for our wonderful hosts!

  Perrin, Jake, Kate, and Whitney!

Cousin Sam, cousin Perrin, and Jake! No photo of Kirk, per his request (you got out of it this time Kirk). A great visit with awesome people! Much thanks and love to the our Colorado family.

12/01/12 We got off to an early start as we had a long drive to Utah ahead of us, but only minutes after leaving the Kringle's house there was a large herd of about 20-30 Elk awaiting us on the road....a proper Colorado send off, of course.

 And THEN we were on our way to Zion National Park!