Outdoor Activities - Spring/Summer 2009 - Part One

I have been doing some outdoor activities this spring/summer, and have enjoyed them very much. Below are some activities that I've done so far...

Coldplay concert in the Gorge Amphitheater

Sheldon and I went to Quincy, WA for Coldplay concert. It is pretty far from Seattle (took us 3 hours from Seattle), and fortunately it is worthed. Sheldon was pretty much complaining all the way there as why a big band like Coldplay want to have a concert in the middle of nowhere. Once we arrived there, we were awed. This is the most gorgeous amphitheater I ever been to. It was an outdoor amphitheater with columbia gorge in the background. Unfortunately, we did not take any pics of the amphitheater, but you should google it, and you will be amazed. The Coldplay was performed very good. This is one of the best concerts that I ever been to. Chris Martin was great, he was energetic and had great vocal. Also as a tribute to Michael Jackson, they perfomed Billy Jean.

On the way to the Gorge Amphitheater

Sunset

Viva LaVida Tour

COLDPLAY

River Rafting in Skykomish river

I went rafting with bunch of friends in Gold Bar area. They rate this river level 5, but it wasn't as thrilled as i thought it would be. But still, I had fun on this trip. It was tiring though because the water level was so low, so we have to paddle a lot to avoid boulders. The pic was taken in the area that called "Boulder Drop." This is the area where they rate level 5.

~FUN TIME~

Camping in Kalaloch, Olympic National Park

During 4th of July weekend, Sheldon, I and the Pham family went to Olympic National park and camped 2 nights in Kalaloch Campground. It is located next to wide sandy beach. I love it! I love the feeling of smooth sand on my feet, I love listening to the sound of the ocean, I love beachcombing together with Sheldon and found cool stuffs. The only downside was the weather wasn't like I expected :(. It was chillin from morning until around 4 PM... then the sun started to come up until about 9 PM. Overall, I had a great time camping in kalaloch. You should consider to camp in this place if you like beach. However, they don't have showers (they do have flush toilet). And also, don't book campgrounds near HWY 101, it is kinda noisy with trucks pass by at night.

Beach combing with Sheldon

Me in Ruby Beach

Me on the beach near our campground.

Kayaking in Lake Union

Me and Ervy

Paragliding

Finally, I checked paragliding from my bucket list :). Sheldon, Heidi, Jon, Bram and I did tandem paragliding in tiger mountain, Issaquah. It was not really an adrenalin rush activity like skydiving, but it was still a great experience. The scary part was running towards the cliff to launch the parachute. I was 20 minutes up in the air, just enjoyed my flight and took pictures. My one tip to whoever wants to do paragliding is to take dramamine if you easily get motion sickness.

Sheldon and his instructor...

Me before launching

Fly like a bird

Weekend getaway to Vegas

I just came back from 4 days trip to vegas with Sheldon. It was a good relaxing trip, but I would choose another destination if I have an option to go outside US.

As we did not have any plans, we spent most of our times playing slot machines and walking from hotel to another on the strip. Here are some highlights on this trip:

1. This is the first time I watched light performance on Fremont street. Fremont street itself is located in old downtown las vegas. They put a roof on the street for 5 block long with LCD TV.


2. Living garden performance in Pallazo was so impressive. Three ladies wore white costumes and pretended to be garden statues. When they moved their hands, water came out from their fingers and heads. Also there were two ladies dressed up as wild ivies. That was really cool.

3. We went to the world of Coke and paid 7 dollar to try 16 drink samples from around the world. From those samples, our favorites are: Bibo Kiwi Mango and Bibo Pine Nut from South Africa, Fanta Kolita from Costa Rica and Smart Watermelon from China. There was one drink called Beverly from Italy. That drink is damn nasty... It was so bitter, the only word that can describe it is HORRIBLE. I can't believe they really produce that kind of drink and people really buy it.

4. We went to one of Cirque du Soleil show called Mystere. I was impressed with the stage artistic. As for the acrobatic part, it was a standard performance. You should watch this show when you are in Vegas. From all Cirque du Soleil shows, this one is a good show with reasonable price.

5. I was impressed with buffet selection at Mirage. For the price we paid, it was so worthed and surprisingly the food tastes very good,too. You can find from sushi, chinese style noodle station, crab legs, shrimp cocktail, italian food, greek food, prime rib, mexican food, and last but not least wide variety of dessert station :).

6. I was playing blackjack in our hotel casino (Westin) until 3 AM :P. That was the first time, I gambled on a table and stopped because the casino floor manager said "the casino is closed, that will be your last bet" :s. I and another players were looking at each other and wonder since when vegas casino is not 24/7. Then our dealers said they only opened 12 hours a day because of the current recession.

7. We watched a show called V at the Planet Hollywood hotel. It was a mix acts show. They had comedy, acrobats, magician, etc. It was an OK show, we watched it because we got free tickets :). Anyway, the opening act was two gaucho guys, and we were so surprised because we saw them performing last year when we were on a cruise to Alaska.