The Japanese take their trains very seriously. We saw some quite striking train cars pull up to Kansai International Airport. It seemed like a car show but with trains. On some trains, the conductors wear white gloves. On ours, the conductor turned and bowed every time he left a train car and went through to […]
We saw the Umeda Sky Building today, which was just as epic as we had imagined. I was surprised to learn that Kira was afraid of heights and Kristin had vertigo. They were a bit nervous on the way up the glass elevator but got accustomed to the height once they were on top. Some […]
I was having a hard time thinking of something more ridiculous than having a multi-stage treatment regimen for dry skin. Then I found this in the airplane lavatory.
We had a great view of the proceedings from where we sat in the terminal in San Francisco. My siblings are all very observant, and they noticed before I did that someone was riding a bike out there. Also, while we waited for the hotel shuttle last night, Kira counted the number of times the […]
I met up with my family, plus my brother’s friend who goes by the name “Krafty”, in the San Francisco airport. We were all quite hungry after our long direct flights out to SF (they flew in from Philly). Things sure aren’t what they used to be as far as food on domestic flights. Then […]
I’m heading to Japan for 10 days. If that’s surprising news to you, I am almost equally surprised about it! My brother, Matt, is playing in an international piano competition, which happens to be in Osaka. My stepmother had the idea to make a family vacation out of it, so I said “sure!” (well, I […]
We took a kayak tour of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve with this bird enthusiast named Rene who has a seemingly one-man business called Green Bird Tours. Rene told us that the biosphere has three main functions which work in symbiosis: conservation, research, and ecotourism. On the map, he pointed out that there specific regions […]
We were on the fence about whether to do the quintessential tourist trap of Tulum – the Tulum Ruins. It’s really not our style, and I have been making a deliberate point on vacations to get to know the essence of a place the best I can. When I visited Guatemala with my buddy, Chris, […]
We had the pleasure of sampling guacamole at a few restaurants in Tulum. I have to admit I felt a bit like Tom Haverford who spent more time documenting the food than eating it. El Pez’s Restaurant First up, the guac made right outside our door. Chunky and warm. Nice balance. Just the right amount […]
One of the notable attractions of Tulum is its system of cenotes, interconnected underwater caverns of naturally eroded limestone. These are popular with scuba divers and snorkelers. Our hotel concierge explained that some of the cenotes are more shallow and open to daylight, while others are deeper with only small entrance holes that let in […]