It started on Sunday with light flakes of snow I could see from the office window. I was so sure that was going to be it. No “sticking”. I woke up on Monday and got the kettle going for some tea. I took a look outside and saw a thin blanket of snow covering everything. I don’t think I had ever ran through the house like that or have been that excited at 7 am before. My first time seeing snow in the city. (the two previous times had been on a mountain) My first time seeing a snow chain for tires and my first time getting a nose bleed.

I went to class that day. I was too scared to drive so Eric drove and a classmate of mine dropped me off back home. Snapped a few flicks there and as the day went on the snow kept on falling. I laid on the couch for hours staring out of the window. Didn’t go to school for the next couple of days making my four day Holiday into six days. Took a bus to get groceries at Red Apple and Foulee to make Sinigang for dinner. Amazing to see Boeing field completely covered and all of neighborhood suddenly transformed. I re-watched the Blue Scholars snow video seeing all the familiar places and faces with snow made me have a new appreciation and excitement for the snow. Luckily by the time it came to finally drive the car the roads were safer to drive. The cup of water I had left in the cup holder had frozen over. We made it to Thanksgiving dinner at the Quibuyen/Amlag household safely. It completely was the snow Thanksgiving Holiday extraordinaire week equipped with the proper class/work cancellations, snow, semi-snow in, snow playing for anyone in their 20s, heater usage, hella good food and great hanai family.
It was totally magical for me.

Whatchu know about snow?

A friend of mine told me the ferry rides here were like little cruises you can take. You can eat and drink and bring your car on. I learned that some people use the ferry as a daily commute to and from work. After the semi-nightmare of shipping my car from port of Honolulu to port of Seattle I asked Eric about five times if he was sure we could just drive on and not need to make an appointment or buy a ticket in advance.

I never got to ride the SuperFerry in Hawaii. But I am assuming it would’ve been something like this. It was hella easy. Jump right now with your car, two floors of kickin it levels and outdoor observations decks. It was a little over $11 each way to bring your car. There was crap food and beer and bathrooms equipped with getting ready areas for those in work commute. I don’t know why we picked Bainbridge. Probably because it was closest. Cute island between where Port Orchard/Bremerton and downtown Seattle. It kinda was like a little cruise there. Hellva a trip to just drive your car on and off the thing. Took us less an 30 minutes to drive from to the most southern part to the most northern. Beautiful trees and homes in nature and along the shoreline that were like the ones I saw in slasher movies taking place in some baller house in the woods. We found a beach. Dang, mainland beaches are still a trip to me. It had such an eerie beauty to it. I was wondering how and why those tree logs got there. There was a dad and daughter with a dog running around in shorts there.

We also saw a deer crossing the street. Which is the 2nd time I have ever seen a deer crossing and I hope I never have the misfortune of having on cross my path when it’s dark and I am going 50mph. We ate some really amazing Indian food in the downtown (maybe just town?) area. The downtown area was pretty small. I didn’t see any major department stores and only once safeway. It was only a few small blocks big. We didn’t stay for long. There was nothing to do but to check out the two parks and the neighborhoods.

It was tight going there and seeing Seattle behind us. Going back the sun had just set and seeing the city from the water all lit up was pretty cool. We didn’t get a mastered photo since it was a bit shaky. The ferry experience was pretty exciting. Probably going to hit up Bremerton next. Although it’s getting close to holiday and we are viciously home sick and swimming in the world’s best waters have haunted both of us in our dreams, I gotta say, the mini adventures in Washington are pretty dope.

After SF, SAT and NYC in one month, I decided to head back up to Vancouver with Eric. It’s such an easy 3 hour drive, why not?

We gave our friends at the Miura Waffle Milk bar a visit. We ran across them back in June looking for Korean food to eat in Vancouver on urbanspoon.com. The search brought this place to our attention. We made friends with the couple who owns the place who make awesome waffle sandwiches that they had invented. Turns out the waffle wifey is Korean and they make a bangin’ bulgogi waffle sandwich. Thus the Korean food search. In June they were only open for about a month and when we got home we friended them on facebook. SO when Eric saw their brand new waffle tasty special the Friday night before, we decided to drive up for the Saturday. I ate the Salmon Waffle Sandwich that has the most amazing ranch dressing with wasabi, Eric had a meat sandwich my vegetarian self didn’t understand and we split a Tiramisu waffle for dessert. I would also recommend the fruit waffles for dessert. If you ever do find yourself in Vancouver, check them out, it’s totally worth it with a party in the mouth like you’ve never had.  (Miura Waffle Milk Bar 829 Davie Street Vancouver, BC V6Z)

Up to Gastown we managed to catch some free Canadian hiphop show in front of the museum. We pulled over, parked and checked out it. Why not? Nuff said.

Gastown was pretty dope. Cool little shops and restaurants and this weird clock thing that makes a whistling melody with steam piping outta it every half hour. We imagined what it would be like to live in some the really cool multi-floor apartments with double lanais and to have health insurance.  It was so clean, some of the alley ways literally smelled like Pinesol. I mean, there were rose petals in the streets and graffiti that said it loved us. BC really likes to rep how beautiful and clean it is there…and it is. We ran into this small and hella fit Taiwanese street wear shop. Eric’s former street wear designer self was getting a mild wood. I have to say, there were some clean looking dudes stuff in there. One jacket caught my eye and when I showed it to Eric, two hours later we were sitting in a bar a block away and he was in hot debate if he should spend the money on it. We tried to memorize it for when my nagging to revive Eric’s clothing design work comes into effect, we’ll make one like that jacket, but doper.

On the way back home we checked out the Granville area to refill our stomachs before the long drive. It’s a really cool shopping and hanging out area equipped with higher end stores to boutiques and a theater. We always manage catch it when the area is closed. We found a place called Shabusen Yakiniku. The restaurant sat upstairs to a clothing store and was fairly large inside. It was a Japaneses all you can eat sushi or bento box with a small Korean food menu that was Chinese owned and operated. It was decently legit and did a decent job fusing all those foods in there. It’s definitely a eat spot for hella folks for a birthday or quick place to eat late at night when there is no other open and you’re not down for the greasy spoon. The ambiance and service isn’t the most pristine, so it isn’t the date night spot or relaxing eat out environment.

Overall, Vancouver’s been great for our quick one day trips away. There always seems to be something to do or see. We still have a list of activities to do in Van City. Next time we’ll try to manage to spend a Canadian night there. As usual, Eric took a straight shot home as I tried to not fall asleep and we both hoped to be home before midnight. But after a long month of not sleeping in my own bed, I was glad Vancouver was just for the day.

The trip the big apple was like what I’d imagine mainlanders who have never seen crystal clear blue water feel when they go the Hawaii. In place of the beaches and water I was imagining all the places I have seen in the movies, instead of all the beautiful island folk, I was imagining the lazy construction workers, people with NY accents and cab drivers. Instead of Iolani Palace, I was seeing the Statue of Liberty and Time Square. I couldn’t decline the offer to go, so I did. It was my first time to the big city as well as to the eastcoast.

We stayed in Harlem on 135th and Broadway at one of Eric’s best friend’s place. Let me tell you, for the first time meeting Ryan, ain’t too many people will show that kind of hospitality to you. Ryan nicely stocked us up with home essentials and food and left. He gave us his place for five days and we got to get to know the NYC living experience in Harlem for those five days equipped with train passes, apartment keys but minus the NYC job.

We did it all. (as seen in the photos below, click on any to open the gallery) All the touristy stuff ever and it was awesome. I think there isn’t much to say. It was pretty freakin amazing. Unfortunately from all the traveling I had just done, I was terribly tired and had really over done myself since I hadn’t been home the entire month.

The scenes in the movies are usually of NYC in threat. Or something really crazy happening. After seeing such iconic places, (and I could be wrong because maybe they are more iconic due to the threat or glamor imposed on them in movies.) it was understandable to me. Many of these places and images were breath-taking or at the very least really exciting and truly places and symbols in time that are important. One of my favorite things was the Statue of Liberty, something I thought would be a long time from now that I would see in person, Time Square which just blew me away and made me wonder how the Jay-Z and Alicia Key video for “Empire State of Mind” made that whole block look empty. I mean they probably had to shut that street down for blocks! Time Square was CRACKin on a weekday night at 11:30pm in which I also went shopping. When the hell could I but kickass jeans with no sales tax at 11:30 at night? I also very much enjoyed the Uniqlo store, if you don’t know, you better ask someone. (koreatown is a given)

I have heard many, many people say how much they love NY and want to live there or love it but could never live there or that they could live there for just 6 months. Since I am in a “Why not” part of my life which ended me up in the PNW and back into school, I thought, “Dang, I am totally going to want to live there.” I really believe that travel is SOME of the best education. I know some pretty smart folks who just don’t get “it” because they either aren’t well traveled or actually refuse to experience anything without their heads too far somewhere (and think they get it). Sometimes, taking it from a book or shutting yourself into a certain mind state when you get there, is cheating yourself. Basically, NY schooled me. I saw in certain things there that helped me understand this place. I also saw things that were just too real for me. I can honestly say, I do really like/love NY but I don’t think I wanna live there, not even for six months. (but I will visit frequently if I can) Even though the first time I saw someone shoot up was on the street in Van-City and it scared the shit outta me, the NY train rides man. I saw folks on there too real for me that I will never forget. It made me understand how some folks just need to be a little colder to get through their everyday commute.

I could get into exactly what we did the whole time. But basically, we met up with some friends, we saw places and walked EVERYWHERE in lower Manhattan. Hung out with Ryan some, got to meet up with the awesome homegirl Arlene and her Nike shoe designin homie Panamanian extraordinaire Mau and the funniest girl on the block Ali. So it was a decent blend of tourist stuff and meeting up with some of the friends which made it all the doper and more of a real experience. Some of our Seattle friends were also in town but apparently they got the Queen’s experience of having their car broken into which hindered the plans.

Ok, the good part. Apparently there is a free ferry called the Stanton Island Ferry. It’s paid for by all the tax payers of NYC. It goes past the Statue of Liberty and the best time to catch it is at sunset. The Empire and Roc all cost money to go to the top, but the ROC has a ticket that just costs a few dollars more then the admission to go up that will also get you into the NYMOMA and something I forgot. The week train pass is about $25. I think ten train rides will pay for itself, so if you are there for a week or take the train at least ten times, this would be a good solution. Worked for us, five days at least twice a day going back and forth and more. Don’t get into a unmarked cab aka a gypsy cab, unless you are re-finely skilled in the ways of the gypsy cab. People in NY are not mean. They are some of the nicest people. I understand the people who think people in NY are mean to them. People are probably mean to them everywhere. There are over 200 languages spoken in NY alone today. Reservations as told to me by the captain of the water taxi is the key to NY. I recommend the NY water taxi because you will see many things you wouldn’t normally see. Lots of people live in Jersey and work in NY.

And you gotta eat at Momofuku in the eastvillage. They have some bangin ramen, the place always has folks waiting outside. I think it took us about an hour and half to get a seat on a Friday night. But you can order drinks while waiting if you’re even lucky to be standing inside. And the kimchee in a jar is legit. Kunjip in Koreatown is where we went. We came at the right time because the place started to pack up by the time we left. It was my first official Koreatown!! (and don’t listen to what google map says where it’s at. It told us it was in the Empire state building. It’s actually a block away) Flor De Mayo was this Peruvian restaurant Ryan took us to. So, this restaurant was Chinese/Spanish food, made by Chinese folks who grew up in Spain? I know there are Korean/Chinese/Japanese places like that and get all white people confused. I was confused but the Spanish Rice and Fried Rice was amazing. Saint Patrick’s Church was the first real church stain glass place I have ever been to. It was beautiful. And free. For some reason I guess we slipped into the back door and missed out on the security check in the front. It was amazing inside. Ali took us to this place in Chinatown, I can’t remember what it was called, but they have the CHEAPEST, GOOD Chinese food. I think three plates came out to $12. This wasn’t no Panda Express. Mau and Arlene met us at this bar called Lucky Strike in Soho that was alright. Mostly, it was great company. We laughed for hours. (about Edible Arrangements, Dolphins, Nike Shoes and PHX. Shout out if ya’ll reading this) One day stopping by little Italy on the way home, there was some Italian Carnival Awesomeness. The streets were PACKED and we managed to find someplace to sit down and eat. This place was the deluxe North Beach. We ate at a spot called Lunaella. Check out the food. I don’t know how you can make pasta noodles taste like that, what kind of sauce was that in??? (oh sorry, the salmon is pictured, but I guess we smashed the pasta too fast to take a photo)

That was basically my first experience in the big city. Ate, hung out, was a tourist, prayed to the stock market gods, listened to Sinatra while looking at the Statue of Liberty, made memories I will never forget, saw some f-ed up things on the train, thought about my father, spent time with my man and saw everything I could possibly see in that small big, big city. Kicked a big one off the bucket list.