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Cherry Blossoms at Yoyogi Park
Having seen the cherry blossoms in Okinawa, I couldn’t understand the hype over hanami or cherry blossom viewing. I found the dark pink flowers overrated. To think that people would actually look forward to these flowers blooming annually, I couldn’t help but to find it a tad bit strange and a tad bit ridiculous. They were just flowers that were nice to look at but nothing of the extraordinary.
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Vancouver’s Waterfront Renaissance Trail
If I had to make a choice between Oregon and Washington, I’d choose to live in Washington, hands down.
I say this because Washington (Vancouver, specifically) seemed more open and friendly with people of color. Oregon (think Portland) on the other hand was not so tolerant of people of color and it was pretty obvious. (You basically could just see it in the looks that locals give you. Not cool, I tell you.)
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Panorama Nature Preserve
With the many things that have been going on in my life, I knew it was time for me to get rejuvenated. I thought of going to Disneyland, Knott’s Merry Farm or even LA Zoo Lights but in the end, decided against it all simply because I didn’t want to spend money. I’m sure I’ll go to one of these places in the near future, but it’ll be on a day when it’s less crowded and a little cheaper.So, what did I decide to do? On a whim (kind of), I decided to visit the Fullerton Arboretum however it didn’t exactly work out for me since their free parking lot was packed. In fact, getting in and out of the parking lot in itself was a bit of a chore. I thus decided to go elsewhere.
Not far from the Fullerton Arboretum is a place called Panorama Nature Preserve. I don’t think a lot of people are aware of Panorama Nature Reserve and I have a funny feeling the locals that live near the reserve want to keep it that way.
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On Top of Miyajima Island
View of Seto Inland Sea from Miyajima Observatory Never in my life have I walked as much as I did while in Japan. Each day I was there, I walked anywhere from 20,000 – 30,000 steps and this was a good thing. A very good thing. (So good that I hope I can attempt to walk that many steps every now and then in the states.)
One of my most intense “walks” in Japan would have to be while on top of Miyajima Island (Hiroshima, Japan). Yes, while on top of Miyajima Island.
My travel companion and I had originally pondered the idea of hiking from the grounds of the island all the way to the top of the island. This of course didn’t happen. Due to time constraints, we decided it was best for us to take a one-way ropeway trip to the “top” of the island. I honestly was feeling a bit chicken about this since I had never been on a ropeway before but sometimes, there’s a first for things and this just happened to be one of those times.
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Peacocks, Lizards and Coyotes, oh my!
It’s been a while since I last posted something travel related. (Although I’ve been posting, most of the posts fall into a different category.) So, I’m hoping today’s post will be a bit of a treat!Not long ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, CA.
It was at this arboretum that I encountered my two firsts. My first first: seeing a peacock in real life as well as hearing it speak for the first time. Second first: encountering a coyote alone. Yes, I really did encounter a coyote… More on it in a bit.
So, it’s safe to say this arboretum is known for its peacocks. These birds are beautiful but they’re loud.