Our Getaways: Part 2

San Francisco (February 2006)
We have visited this city quite a few times over the years but the first time was one of the first trips we took together. We stayed in a tiny room near Union Square, and visited the Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square and walked through China Town and Little Italy neighborhoods. We also loved going up the look out points and seeing spectacular views of the bridge and the city below. In all of our visits we have crossed the bridge and ended up in the picturesque town of Sausalito and stopped short of heading North due to lack of time.

San Diego (October 2006)

This was a great city for a long weekend. We had dinner in Old Town San Diego on Friday. On Saturday, we spent the day at the San Diego Zoo, which is one of the best in the world. The next day we visited Sea World. In the evenings, we spent time at the beaches and the downtown area.

Disneyland,Orlando (December 2006)
This was my first trip to Disney and we were there right after x-mas to take in the parks in its seasonal splendor. We stayed in Orlando and visited Epcot, Magic Kingdom and MGM studios over 1.5 days. Our favorite was the sustainable living exhibits at Epcot.The world showcase was fun walk through though too gimmicky for adult visitors. The x-mas parade at Magic Kingdom was another great reason for visiting at this time of the year. We also enjoyed walking through Disney downtown for a leisurely lunch.


South Beach Miami (December 2006)
After our Disney tour, we headed south to Miami for a day. We arrived in the evening
and had a great outdoor dinner in South beach. This was also a great area for shopping. The water was relatively warm and we enjoyed some beach time next morning before heading back to Tampa via St. Petersburg, where we rang in the new year.

Monterey,CA (February 2008)
Nelson planned this three day getaway after a conference in San Jose. This is a beautiful area with very scenic driving including the 17mile drive in Pebble beach. We visited Big Sur, Carmel, downtown Montery and stopped at the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz on the way back.

New Orleans (April 2008)
While I was attending a conference, Nelson and I spent a weekend where we stayed downtown near the convention center. We walked about the vibrant French Quarter and treated our selves to some great sea food. We were also close to the Riverwalk Market Place, where I had lunch before my talk. One of my favorite memories was eating beignets at Café Du Monde, a must do for a tourist.

Las Vegas (December 2008)
We stayed at the Hilton at the end of the strip but explored most of it through 2.5hr days with the help of the monorail. We watched Folies Bergère, a typical Vegas type show and Believe, a more modern performance by the illusionist Criss Angel. We did many of the typical Vegas activities that included, walking through the maize of shopping at Ceasar’s Forum shops, taking a Gondola ride at the Venetian, visiting the Secret Garden that houses dolphins and white tigers at the Mirage and watching the water fountains soar into air at the Bellagio among many others. We squeezed in a lot of sightseeing into our short trip and left happy and exhausted.

Grand Canyon National Park (December 2008)
We left Vegas early on the last day and did a one day trip to the Grand Canyon. The trip was possible due to good weather and Nelson's willingness to drive for more than 8hrs in one day. Since it was winter we were able to drive through the park in our car. The pictures don’t really capture this natural wonder and it was
unique to see parts of it covered in snow. We drove around the park for a couple of hours and then headed back to catch our redeye home.

Our years in grad school granted us with the opportunities to travel to fun places for conferences. Austin, Madison and Portland were some cities we got to visit. At the time, I wasn't as passionate about documenting our adventures, so I have no photographic evidence.