Snowboarding videos

Maggie made the switch to snowboarding in 2010 and Alex switched this time. Neither wanted lessons since they figured Ripstik and skateboard were similar - and both picked it up pretty fast - ah youth... Despite missing out on the first day due to snow-delayed flight, we had three great days on the slopes of Niseko!

From Ski Niseko 2013

From Ski Niseko 2013

My omiyage souvenirs

Omiyage are actually supposed to be shared with co-workers (and friends), but couldn't resist nibbling!

As a bonus for not having the room made or futons laid out, we received cash vouchers to spend in the hotel so picked up a couple boxes of Shiroi Koibito sandwich cookies - butter cookies layered with milk chocolate or white chocolate. We were introduced to these delights the first time we went to Hokkaido in 2005. We spent an extra night in Sapporo and went to the Ishiya chocolate factory Shiroi Koibito Theme Park (no rides, but exhibits, view of manufacturing, etc) as part of our own "group of friends tour" and we went to Osaka that trip as well - to the Aquarium Kaiyukan and Universal Studios (rides there!) This trip pre-dates my blog here - before I had one on Geocities that got closed down.

In transit at Kansai bought two kinds of yatsuhashi (made with glutinous rice flour and cinnamon) from Kyoto - one yaki (baked) and one nama (some people say it's raw, but it's actually steamed as part of the dough making process). The baked ones are cinnamon-y and pleasantly crunchy and the nama is soft and chewy with a light cinnamon flavor that complement the flavor of the filling. The traditional ones are filled with azuki red bean paste, but I bought the ones filled with shiro-an (sweet white bean paste) and yuzu (citrus). Tried these treats on a trip to Kyoto in 2007.

Merry Christmas from Niseko!

Finally Fall weather

It's finally cooling off and feeling like Fall here - low 60s (17C) at night, but can still reach 80F (27C) during the day. Mornings have been beautiful and breezy - for PE today we were out on the path along the nullah (stream) leading to the river. We often walk or ride this path to go to City One - a big estate (bunch of apartment buildings) where the big supermarket and lots of eateries are in the shopping center. We also walk along the river path behind our estate - it runs all the way from Ma On Shan to Tai Wai and you can go the other way along Tolo Harbour all the way to Tai Po. We've walked or ridden to all these places along the bike paths from our home.

We bought Alex a road bike for his belated birthday present and went for a ride after getting the derailleur adjusted and eating lunch at an outdoor dai pai dong near the bike shop. Lots of other cyclists eat here since you can keep an eye on your bikes.

Two road bikes, two foldables

Our school had its annual Walkathon and Post-Walkathon Festival recently and also walked along these paths. It was a beautiful day! Alex's grade had a ping pong ball bouncing game and Maggie's grade ran the Sponge Throw and sold drinks. Alex threw sponges at his sister all in the name of fundraising. The senior class performed a flash-mob dance to a catchy song, with lyrics explaining "What Does the Fox Say?"

I was asked to chaperone a camping trip for one of Maggie's friends. Joey and Jeremy came along to keep myself and Alex company. It was a lovely cool evening at Chong Hing Watersports Centre and we looked at stars from the adjacent Astropark. The next day we got out on the water in pedal boats and row boats before heading back to the city. The last time we went was for Maggie's 16th birthday.

Waiting for the shuttle bus...

We had another BBQ with the Siew family that evening with the leftover food but didn't take any photos until we were roasting marshmallows!

Thanks for editing out the amber glow from these photos Wai!

Alex's 13th

Alex is a teenager! We celebrated his birthday by having his favorite - sushi!

 

Since he didn't want to have a birthday party, we bought him a road bike 

and took him to try snowboarding on an indoor carpeted, treadmill-like slope in preparation for our upcoming ski trip. He picked it up pretty quickly and is looking forward to trying it on real snow!

We rode one of the old, former car ferries from North Point to Kowloon City, then took the bus home from there. It was nice to be on the water and see a different part of Victoria Harbour.

Summer's last stop, L.A.

Since our family trip was to Hawaii this summer, it was more economical to fly straight there and then continue flying on our summer travels to NorCal, then SoCal before returning to HK.

The last couple weeks of our vacation were spent with members Paul's family - staying at three different homes.

Paul's youngest sister Helen recently moved into her townhouse walkable to her main street downtown and the train to her office in downtown L.A. We stayed there a few days and enjoyed the park right out her front door that on Friday afternoons turns into a Farmer's Market with live music. We pulled out her new patio furniture and while listening to the band enjoyed farm-fresh fruit, kettle corn and homemade tamales as the sun set…

Next stop was Paul's brother's home in a fairly new planned development with parks and rec facilities, many playgrounds, a school and town center with all the necessities. We BBQ'd and enjoyed the community swimming pool and spent time getting to know Maggie and Alex's  youngest cousin who joined the family at the end of Feb, but who we had to wait until summer to meet. It was so fun to make him laugh - love those baby belly laughs!

Finally, we made it to the family home where we would normally base ourselves for the summer but because of our itinerary didn't arrive until the end of our trip. There we celebrated birthdays - Maggie's past and Alex's upcoming, enjoyed the company of grandpa and grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins, lounging around and swimming in the backyard pool.

To round out our summer, we did a little shopping at the mall and at Target, of course. We also went to the beach at Santa Monica to play at the park there, walk on the pier, and eat hot dog on a stick and drink fresh lemonade, mmm! Summer always seems to go quickly, but at the end of our time in CA, we were ready to come back to our normal routine. I allowed myself one day before starting work and the kids had another week to re-acclimate, whew!

Costanoa 2013

Our final destination before we left NorCal was to the campground at Costanoa. It's actually not camping, but "glamping" in a tent cabin with electricity, real beds, comforters, even heating pads to warm up after being outside during cool (usually foggy) evenings or your trip to the "comfort station" which is also warmed, has hot water, dry sauna, and fireplace to hang out in front of sipping your nightcap!

We went for a three mile hike after a gourmet breakfast at the on site Cascade Grill restaurant for lodge guests (real rooms) and those like us who were "glamping" - Eggs Benedict Florentine with grilled salmon for Alex (!) 

The fog was burning off and we walked through some beautiful terrain with a stop to pick wild blackberries. Coastal prairie, rocky bluffs, sand dunes, eucalyptus forest...then we had to pack up the car and head over the hill to the airport for SoCal.

More photos here.