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When it's twenty degrees at home, it's great to be able to escape the cold. At the end of January, Nhu and I went to the small island of Curaçao for five days. The weather was beautiful: just a few puffy clouds, and a relatively balmy 85 degrees. I picked the destination out of a desire to see somewhere new, and also to burn four nights' worth of free Hilton certificates. Unfortunately, the destination of Curaçao is now served only by American Airlines, after Continental abandoned it just a month prior. So, without my top status to get us into first class, we were prepared to suffer in the back on a redeye to Miami followed by another few hours to the island. Fortunately, one of my friends from work, who lives in Chicago and flies American Airlines as much as I fly United, decided to give us two upgrade certificates for the redeye to Miami. We were very thankful, because we were at least able to get some sleep!

After arrival in Curaçao, we were greeted by an immigration line that contained not only our plane, but a 747 that had just arrived from Amsterdam as well. Forty five minutes later, we finally made it out of the airport and made our way to the hotel in the rental car. The hotel was very nice, though not the nicest Hilton I have visited. It was located on the beach, but the beach was rather small. Overall, I liked the Hilton in Cabo much better, but this one was still nice. Perhaps the best part was the executive lounge, which one night even had chicken wings! That night, Nhu and I didn't even bother getting dinner afterward.

Most of our trip consisted of relaxing, exploring the island, and swimming. I personally don't care for swimming all that much, but if you put a snorkel on me, I'll be more than happy to get in the water and look at fish. And Curaçao had some beautiful fish! We took a day trip to the small uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao, just a few miles away. As part of the trip, we had a great barbecue lunch. The beach was beautiful, and the water was a gorgeous blue-green. The island also sported a fantastic abandoned lighthouse, which I of course had to explore and photograph extensively. Unfortunately, the area just around the lighthouse had bunches of lizards, of which Nhu has a bit of a phobia. So, we didn't stay toolong. Afterward, we went back to the boat to enjoy some snorkeling, and some free booze that came with the day trip. I would highly recommend!

After five days of getting thoroughly cooked (despite my sunscreen), we made our way reluctantly back to the airport. Fortunately, the line to leave the country wasn't nearly as long. Unfortunately, the line to get back into the US at the Miami airport was even longer. We waited in line for nearly an hour before getting our passports checked, then rushed to the security line to make our connection. That took forever as well. All I can say is that the Miami airport is a nightmare. We did make it to our flight though, and even had time to grab a bite to eat before we boarded. We were definitely very happy when we finally made it back to Denver.

Two weekends ago, I embarked on a 2-day, 150-mile bike ride, the MS 150. The bike ride was a fundraiser for the National MS Society. The ride started at Front Range Community College, which is very near my house, and made its way north to CSU in Fort Collins, returning via a slightly different route on the second day. The ride was very challenging with lots of hills, and we even climbed Horsetooth Mountain, both ways! My cousin Alisha recruited me for the ride, shortly after she finished it alone last year. Her fiance came as well. None of us had super fancy bikes. My poor little hybrid bike was certainly not ideal for the ride, and Alisha's fiance JP's bike had no low gears, so the climbs were a bit tough. It seemed that everybody else on the ride had very nice road bikes. There was always somebody passing us! We did finish the race, though, and I am happy to say that I never walked my bike. JP and I did get into the "SAG Wagon" (a van that comes around to pick up riders in need) for about a mile the first day, but only because it was pouring and the wind was really going. We got out as soon as the rain died down though, and finished the day without issue.

This past week, I was back in San Jose for work. One of the guys on my project, who is from India, was bringing his wife out for a couple months, and she was supposed to arrive on Wednesday in San Francisco. Unfortunately, she missed her connection in New York, and they put her on standby. She didn't make any of the flights that day. Because of the busy July 4th weekend that was coming up, we decided she should try to get on the later flight to Los Angeles. She made that flight, and so a few of us drove down that very night to pick her up. We made the trip in what I have to believe is record time, but it still certainly made for a long night! We didn't get back to San Jose until 5:00 AM.

As if that wasn't enough driving, I already had plans to drive down the California coast that coming weekend! I went with Steve, another one of the guys from work who loves to take photos. We stopped for a beautiful sunset in Point Lobos, went to the beach in Carmel, and saw Big Sur, Hearst Castle, and the flower fields of Lompoc. We also got to witness a bunch of elephant seals sparring. That was quite incredible. The only disappointing part of the weekend was that the weather wasn't very cooperative, at least in the morning. Clouds were prevalent every day until the mid afternoon, which definitely left some of the photos wanting. Regardless, we had a blast! I'm still working on my photos from the trip, but they should be posted today or tomorrow.

From May 22nd to June 6th, I was in Vietnam. I went with a coworker named Huy who is on my current project. He was born in Vietnam, and came over to the U.S. when he was a kid, some time after the war. He had not been back since, and he asked if I wanted to join him. I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity! He also brought his parents along, and another coworker sent his sister Mina with us. Additionally, we met up with Huy's cousin in Saigon, and also the cousin's daughter.

We spent the first few days in Saigon, and afterword we toured the entire length of the country, all the way up north to Hanoi and Halong Bay. The sights were wonderful, and I always enjoy experiencing new cultures. As this was my first trip to Southeast Asia, it was truly an eye-opening experience. As one of very few caucasians, the locals certainly paid a lot of attention to me. We also met Huy's family in the town of Hue, where his aunt and uncle put us up in their hotel. They pampered us incredibly, and we had a grand time there. The town itself was also quite nice, with plenty to see. It was easily my favorite city that we visited.

All the attention I received, of course, had its up sides and down sides. Everyone there was very friendly to me. I even had one couple ask to take a picture with me. On the other hand, though, it was painfully obvious that the locals were always trying to overcharge me for things. Negotiation is a must, but a white guy in Vietnam can only get the prices down so much. Of course, even with the white guy tax, everything there is still incredibly cheap for someone travelling from the United States, so I didn't mind terribly. Even the government gets in on the action. Most government-owned sights and parks have a "foreigner" rate, which is usually double or triple the normal charge. With Huy's cousin Khan buying most of our tickets for us, we did avoid it some of the time, but sometimes the guards at the gate sent us back to the ticket booth. This annoyed me much more than getting overcharged by some local.

Overall, though, the trip was absolutely fantastic, and definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Huy certainly showed me a great time! Also, I of course took many photos. I have them all posted now, along with some from a recent stint in San Diego, and a short excursion to Red Rocks and Mount Elbert.