I Heart NYC- the good, the bad, the ugly.

Every visit into Manhattan is a learning experience and a reminder why we love this city. Here we are in the Guggenheim- just a few weeks after we saw the International. JSP in front of a busy, now closed off to traffic Times Square-- those are the good things. Now the bad- no space even for parking (although this is kind of cool), and of course the ugly- check out that national debt!

Charleston, SC

Taking a break from road food, we went on a morning tour in Charleston, SC. We viewed the enormous mansions and beautiful residential streets of the historic district and stayed at the Mills House, a restored hotel that began over 150 years ago.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Savannah

We decided to revisit the book (we downloaded the audiobook) on the drive down. Would highly recommend reading or re-reading before you go down there. We stopped by many of the places mentioned in the (Mercer/Williams House - Kevin Spacey's character's house), the cemetery, and even the block where the opening to Forrest Gump was filmed.

Oh Canada! Niagara Falls

Our first stop in Canada- Niagara Falls. It was Jeff's first time and we completed the Adventure Pass tour- which included 4 different views of the falls with four different plastic ponchos.

Flashback 1 - Final Four in Detroit

With special guests Charlie "Lone Wolf" Whittaker and Dick Vitale.

This was the 12th Final Four run for Charlie and I and there really is no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

By the way, we ran into Vitale several times and he was always traveling with "The Schwab" of "Stump the Schwab" fame. Not only that, it seemed like the Schwab was actually his personal assistant/gopher. Pretty funny.












By the way, we highly recommend the world famous American Coney Island in downtown detroit.



Chas ate there (open 24 hours) approximately 6 times over a 3 day period and I ate there at least 4 times (they have burgers).

LOTR: The Trilogy

Loyal readers, this is the moment you have all been waiting for...the reason anyone ever travels down under.


New Zealand- home of Peter Jackson, WETA, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Our first day in Wellington, we went 'on location' to various spots including where Frodo and Sam ran from the Ringwraiths, where Aragorn and King Theoden of Rohan assessed their troops, and the doomed Helms Deep. JSP even got the chance to battle a few Orcs with Bilbo's dagger, Sting.

Inauguration Break!

We interrupt our somewhat regularly scheduled blog to bring you pictures of our trip to DC for the historical inauguration of Barack Obama!

Big shout out to Andrea, for hosting a pre-inauguration dinner and letting us crash at her place.
Thanks to our friend, Amy in DC who scored us the tickets!
And yes, it was very cold in DC. Fortunately, 6 layers and hand/foot warmers kept us alive!

Shirtless at The Great Wall

Of all the photos we have of ourselves at one of the 7 Wonders of the Medieval World, we chose to post this one. You can't tell by these but it was quite chilly on the wall.

DMZ and the Axis of Evil

We visited the DMZ with Jin Sun's aunt. Jeff shot some hoops and we checked out the tunnel that NK denies digging.

There were no photos allowed but we risked detainment to bring you this exclusive.

Kyoto - The Home of Ancient Japanese Traditions

Jin Sun's take on the traditional lifestyle. Mr. Miyagi would be proud.

No doubt our best video yet. Even better with audio!

Tokyo Giants at the Tokyo Dome

We got tickets to see the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

There were nonstop choreographed cheers from both sides, drinks served by our cute, young, incredibly energetic beer girls (they literally sprinted around), and bento boxes for dinner.

Alex Ramirez hit a home run for the Giants.

Tuning in Tokyo

We took a whirlwind bus tour the first day- hitting a bunch of tourist spots.

Sensoji Temple- the oldest in Tokyo.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3001.html













Tokyo Tower













Emperor's Palace

Maine

Plymouth Rock, MA

Jeff and Jin Sun make a stop at Plymouth Rock in MA. The original 'rock' is housed under the newly constructed concrete monument.

Live Lobs and Mystic Pizza

First taste of lobster in New England. We got the Feast which included a bowl of chowda', steamed mussels and littlenecks, lobster, and potato chips.


We watched football at the bar and had a slice at Mystic Pizza. Results: Gone commercial- pizza overrated.