Fremont

14 October 2018

Most of today was spent shopping at CostCo and various shops like Macys, TJ Maxx and Best Buys.  This is what we are destined to do for the next few days as San Francisco is our last stop before returning to Kuala Lumpur.

See Hack sent through some nice pictures of us from yesterday's outing and I will belatedly post them here.

For mum and WT it was 2 and a half days of shopping for pressies and things.

I purchased a couple of electronics that was close enough to half the price in Malaysia, saving thousands.

Another bag had to be acquired to transport the purchases.























15 October 2018
It was Monday and See Hack had to be at work.  I'd arranged to meet John Booth and Mike Kirkaldy in Fisherman's Wharf for lunch at 1pm.  They were hosting a customer from New Zealand at the IBM offices in San Francisco.

Han dropped me off at the BART, and it was an hour's ride into the city.  The guys were late getting in from their flight, so lunch was delayed till 2pm.  This was to be at The Pub on Beach Street in the Ghiradelli Square.  I went to the San Francisco Brewing Company next door to sample some of their fine brews to make productive use of my waiting time.

Soon we made it to the very pleasant meat friendly pub with nice views over Crissy Park and that part of the bay.

Spare ribs and beer were consumed.  John, of course, had phone calls to take and meetings to join, leaving Mike and I to exchange news. 

 

Then it was time for them to fill shopping requests from home, and I walked them to their rental car office.  They were off to the mall in Livermore.

Han picked me up at the Warm Springs Bart station.  We went out for a Hakka dinner that night.

16/17 October 2018
We are flying out of San Francisco tomorrow morning at 1.20 am.  So we have to make our way to SFO at 10 pm today.

Some last minute purchases were made from CostCo this morning, and I took the opportunity make some purchases to partly refill the hole I left in See Hack's cellar. 

There was no way to do this due to the amount of wine drunk, and still drinking.  Han cooked dinner that night.

See Hack ordered a limo for us, and his regular driver Sam picked us up.  For USD 135 we were safely delivered to SFO.

I could not remember there being passport control and I could not find in or out stamps on our passport.  EVA Air boarding was very efficient and doors were closed 10 mins before the scheduled departure time.

The 3 am dinner didn't work for us and was declined.  This, of course, meant we didn't have food till lunch time, and the very bad breakfast was totally consumed.  

It was 12.5 hours to Taipei.  While the transit queues in Taipei was long, security here was less anal about shoes, laptops and belts, so we moved quickly into the waiting lounge.  In the 3-hour wait, we bought duty free and had dinner.

The second leg - 5 hour flight - felt like 6 hours because we spent an hour sitting on the tarmac due to Taipei control.

Our Grab driver Patrick was 5 mins away from our arrival gate, and his MPV took our 4 big and 2 little bags easily.  By 4 pm KL time, we were home, having travelled about 27 hours in total.  I could smell my feet, so a shower was prioritised over beer.

Adieu New York

11 October 2018

This is our penultimate day in Flushing before flying to San Francisco tomorrow.  

While Belinda hosted mum for the afternoon, WT and I went to Times Square to buy farewell gifts.

It was a pretty wet day, and we decided not to stay out too long.  Even the queues for buses in Flushing needed protection.

Simon again lavished a huge dinner on the six of us.

Emma departed for Vancouver that night, and left behind her laptop charger.

 I guess they had a good time together.

12 October 2018

Maylene and Rhys took the bus and Sky Bus to JFK.  They are flying Alaska Air to LAX.  And after a 5-hour layover, it was Virgin Australia back to Melbourne.

They left their cookie dough behind in the fridge, and were sad when we told them.

WT engaged in serious negotiations with the US Postal Service to get Emma's charger and Barnaby's SIM card sent.  They have strict compliance requirements around where return addresses should be placed and how big the parcel needs to be to accommodate the huge USPS stickers.

Simon dropped mum, WT and I at JFK terminal 1 on WT's instruction.  Air Alaska was terminal 7.

By the time we figured that out, we had said our good byes and Simon was gone.

I approached a taxi driver to take us to terminal 7.  Apparently taxis are not allowed to do pick-ups at departures.  The driver asked the armed security person at the curb if he could take me from terminal 1 to 7.

The security guy said he didn't mind.  We piled in with our luggage and in 10 mins we were in front of terminal 7.

Apart from this diversion, the flight was uneventful, and we arrived 20 mins early.  So control made us wait on the tarmac for 20 mins to ensure that we were on time.

See Hack very kindly picked us up and was already waiting at luggage claim when we emerged.  Warm greetings were exchanged with Han when we arrived home in Fremont.

13 October 2018

See Hack is playing tour guide today.

We started with farmers market at the Ferry Terminal. 

Things here are too expensive to buy because they are locally farmed, organic, vegan, gluten free, LGBT approved and nuclear free.

Lunch was at Pho 2000 in Tenderloin.  It was cheap and cheerful though the route there smelled like an AC/DC concert.

Coits Tower on Telegraph Hill offered some nice views of the city and harbour.

It costs $9 to take the lift up the tower, so we skipped this.

Next stop was to get a closeup of the Golden Gate bridge.  The short drive there along Marine Parade brought us to the bottom of the bridge.

Yes it was a bit windy.  

There were lots of Korean tourists, coming-of-age photographing and wedding parties at the Palace of Fine Arts.

We were thwarted from visiting Pier 39 by the full car park in Fishermans Wharf.  So I suggested we buy meat for dinner.  Which is what See Hack is cooking as I write this.

Roosevelt Island

8th October 2018

Maylene and I made an early 5.30 am start to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and catch the sunrise.  It was overcast and spitting a little, but we went ahead.

There were few people about and it was a pleasant walk.  We started at Brooklyn Bridge Park and walked towards Lower Manhattan. 

There were no crowds, so I took a shot of the bridge on Washington Street.

After the bridge, we took the subway to the Financial District.  People were already milling around the charging bull.

We met up with Gaik Sim and Maggie at Squires Diner, near Gaik Sim's apartment.  By this time, mum and WT were already seated after successfully navigating their way here from Flushing.

After breakfast, we walked to Pier 11 to take the Astoria Ferry to Roosevelt Island.  

On the way, we passed this menu with a $2,000 pizza - add $700 if you want caviar extras.

We stood on the top deck as long as possible, and retreated below for the last 25% of the ride.

There was a free bus that looped the Island, a narrow strip between Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

And we walked the Four Freedoms Park at the southern tip of the island.

We can see the UN from here.

The MTA cable car took us to midtown from there, allowing us to use our Metro Card.

The start of the High Line walk was near the 34th and Hudson station. 

This is a garden path built on a disused railway line. 

Therefore it is elevated and had plants on each or both sides. 

The views of the street and buildings from this elevated position gave another perspective of the city around the Chelsea area. 

Chelsea used to be a meat packing area, but is now completely gentrified with the coolest companies based here.

Eg Samsung concept store with VR.

A stroll thru the very crowded Chelsea Market.

And a pub lunch after meeting up with Rhys who had returned from Michigan.

After visiting Traders Joe, we went home for a rest before dinner.  Danny, Simon's friend, hosted dinner and it was a feast.

Later, Simon drove Tessa, Rhys and WT to pick up Emma, who was arriving from Vancouver that night.

9th October 2018
Did laundry and went suitcase shopping in TJ Maxx on 34th Street.

10th October 2018
I took mum around Lower Manhattan and Battery Park while WT shopped at Century 21.  We started late today, and soon it was time to meet up with Gaik Sim and Maggie for dinner.

GS suggested a new pub on 36th Street, American Hall,

a German styled pub with 1.125 litre (33oz) handles. I didn't try that one and settled for the 23oz one at 750ml.

The meal was OK and the band very loud.  It was not crowded and had all the pub fit-outs you'd expect. 

The faucet was unusual, it carried billboard advertising. 

Then Catherine Lo rang and requested Victoria Secret undies for Melissa size 12 and DD cups.

They spent ages there, and I watched the Victoria Angels Catwalk Video 4 times. 

That was enough, and I adjourned to the tables outside Macy's to enjoy the traffic noise and pollution, and a view of ESB.

On the way home to Times Square station, we passed Times Square.

Washington DC Tour

4th October 2018
Happy Birthday Tessa Maylene,  22 years old!  Simon hosted yet another wonderful dinner with fab seafood etc.

5th October 2018
Yesterday was laundry day, and also for organising logistics of our luggage storage with Simon.  We are going on the 3-day tour of Philadelphia and Washington DC today and didn't want to take the entire wardrobe.

Rhys and Barnaby were leaving for Boston today by train, so we left them at the AirBnB, while we made an early start to connect with the tour group.

A shuttle took all the Flushing tourists to Manhattan Chinatown where we joined our respective tour groups.  This was at 7am; we had breakfast while waiting for our actual DC tour bus.  Finally, we departed at 8.45.  Enroute, we picked up other members of the group in New Jersey and Brunswick.

The tour costs around USD$170 each for double rooms.  Mum and I shared a room, and Maylene and WT the other.  

The "optional" part of the tour was going to cost another $180 each.  I took a look at the attractions, and calling them attractions was a stretch.

DC has some of the greatest museums in the world under the Smithsonian brand and all free.  Why on earth would I pay $10-$20 per "attraction" to go to:
1.  Observatory to look at Philadelphia from a high place
2.  Cruise the Potomac from a ferry boat
3.  Spy museum near the FBI building
4.  Neuseum made up to show how various countries achieve "freedom" 
5.  Madame Tussauds to look at wax presidents.

Instead we visited:
1.  Philadelphia City Hall and did some shopping in Liberty Mall
2.  Market Square seafood market
3.  Tried to visit the National Portrait Gallery which opens from 11.30 am. Too late for us.
4.  Visited Air and Space, Natural History and National Gallery of Art
5.  Walked around DC town centre including Chinatown

So I declined the whole optional attractions and paying the total $720, to dirty looks from the tour guide, who obviously got a kick-back.  Unfortunately, meals were included in the tour fees, so we had to DIY dining apart from the tour group.  It wasn't a hassle, there were plenty of choices around.

After the last group was picked up, we soon arrived at Princeton University still in NJ.

While the rest paid $10 plus tips for a guided tour of the University campus, we did a self-guided tour, found restrooms and bought a T-shirt for Marcus from the University Clothing Store.

The township is very pretty. 

The tour is conducted in English and Mandarin. 

I dunno about the Mandarin part, but the English narration was pretty lame in content, and the bloopers were amusing.  Instead of saying there are many Chinese in Chinatown, they said there are too many Chinese in Chinatown.

Next stop was Philadelphia where the group went to the observation deck in the Liberty Tower.  We went shopping at Bloomingdales in the mall inside, to get a sweater for Tessa who took my advice and didn't pack any jacket. Then we lunched at the food court.

After lunch, we walked down to the town square and looked at Town Hall.  The bus then took us to the Liberty Bell in the old town.  There was a queue for the bell, which is now all enclosed in a building. 

We looked at it thru a side window, and checked out the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed. 

It was now getting to dusk as we arrived in DC.  The final attraction was the Air Force memorial across the motorway from the Pentagon. 

It is a structure looking like chem trails from jets doing the blooming manoeuvre.

We had 5 Guys burgers and hotdog for dinner, and checked into Days Inn somewhere in Virginia.

6 October 2018

Congress and Capitol Hill was the first stop this morning.

There were free public tours of Congress, so we were told to line up for security scans.  Once inside the visitor centre, the Congress lady guide gave us headsets and took us thru the various halls and the Dome.

There was a beautiful fresco of G. Washington playing god on the ceiling of the dome. 

All around us were busts and statues of people each of the states are most proud of. To qualify to be exhibited here, you must be dead.

While the Mandarin translation was going on, I asked the guide what DCians were doing about their inability to vote.  She had a lot to say.  Our number plates says "Taxation without representation".  I agreed that DC should be a full blown state represented in Senate and Congress.  I added the two Dakotas should be combined to make room for this new state. 

She said yes, and who needs Wyoming.  Sadly, the view is DC should be a neutral zone. 

Here's Maylene with Rosa Parks, the only woman to be buried with state honours and parked (haha) in the Dome.

After this very nice and free tour, we walked across the hill back to the bus. 

Photo ops were taken in front of the Supreme Court where the Kavanaugh protests were going on, and also in front of the Library of Congress.

The next official tour attraction was the Neuseum, which was about the First Amendment and its variations around the world. 

While they did that, we hopped across Constitution Ave to the National Gallery of Art which houses some of US's best public art works.

  

Maylene wanted to go to Air and Space, so we found the mall exit and only saw exhibits on this route.

Being the weekend, and the second best Smithsonian, it was crowded.  The usual stuff was there, and I was pleased to see Curiosity (the one that remained on earth) was there.

A quick lunch, and we went thru Arts Sculpture Garden on the way to Natural History. 

This house looks 3D whichever angle you view it from.

Natural History was also crowded and full of kids, as you would expect. 

The two kids on our tour were instead sent to Neuseum, go figure.  This is the best of the Smithsonians.  

Tessasaurus and Triceratops.

Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.

We checked out the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. 


There were plenty of red-shirted volunteers around to help push wheel chairs and ask questions of.

At the Korean War memorial, I was asked by one of the veteran volunteers if I was Korean. 

Nope, I am Malaysian, we don't fight, we eat.

It was then time for the others to do their DC Cruise on the Potomac.  The cruise started next to District Wharf, so we wandered to the District Square which was full of fresh seafood shops, cafes and retail shops.

WT bought some seafood chowder.  And we joined the crowds strolling the marina. 

The tour returned from their cruise and we went to the World War 2 memorial which is on the other end of the reflecting pool from Lincoln.  

We crossed the street for a close-up of Washington Monument.

Then we were bused to Jefferson's Memorial. 

WT went down a very slow elevator at Jeffersons to the toilet and gift shop.

By this time, our memory of memorials was getting jaded, and it was time for the group's Chinese buffet dinner.  

We had Thai ala carte dinner next door which served a very nice IPA.

7th September 2018
The White House visit was a waste of time. 

We were miles away and it was a tick in the box thing for the tour company.  Then I remembered I didn't pack my bottle of Conundrum red wine and can of peanuts from the hotel room fridge.

We then went to the Spy Museum.  I thought this was a pretty cheesy museum last time I was here.  We wanted to go to the National Portrait Gallery where all past presidents and other stately Americans had their portraits exhibited, like Obama's with the floral background.

Sadly it wasn't open till 11.30 and we depart at 10.30.  So we had coffee in Chinatown and walked around downtown DC.

Maylene saw this Wok and Roll restaurant in Chinatown.

I tried to find the Hard Wok Cafe but failed.

The last item on the tour was Embassy Row.  This was in the suburbs which no one in their right mind would locate to provide consulate services.  But it must be convenient for the Secret Service to have everyone in one place.

The tour company guided everyone to the Chinese Embassy to the delight of the Chinese contingent.  This is as interesting as the morning White House visit.  And the last sightseeing on this 3-day itinerary.

I am glad I declined the paid attractions, as DC's best attractions are free.  It was a long drive to lunch, and thru New Jersey traffic back to NY.  We returned thru the Holland tunnel again.  

We were dropped off in Manhattan Chinatown around 6 pm, and had to find our own way back or wait till 9 pm for the tour Flushing shuttle. We took the chicken bus back to Flushing.

Simon picked us up for dinner, and we checked into the new AirBnB after.