SnowSkii

Moving On...

2008-12-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

It is with sadness and happiness that I am not continuing to post on this site. With changes in my life I am moving on to a new site with new beginnings. Please log on to my new site by clicking on this address.
http://donhoski.blogspot.com/
There are some wonderful memories on this site and I will continue to look at this site to remember what I have been through. There will be many new things to post in my future...

Celebration...

2008-11-12T09:58:00.000-08:00

Went up to the Grand California Hotel last night to celebrate Tommy Lasorda's 81st birthday. There was only about 20 of us who were invited to a great night of food and of course entertainment from Tommy. What a wonderful evening that left me feeling like a very lucky person.

2008-11-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

A special night with a special guy...

Don't stop now you're on a roll...

2008-11-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

2008-11-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

Another in a long list of stories from this great man.

The third times a charm...

2008-10-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

The deeper I get into this country and this culture the more I am amazed at what wonderful people I meet and how beautiful this place is. I went very deep into the countryside this time and was not around white people or english speaking people at all. Yes this was not easy and there was miscommunication sometimes but some amazing things happened and I saw incredible places. I went to 2 weddings and I didn't realize in Vietnam they are a contact sport. I ate all kinds of different foods that I have never heard of before. And I got to see Mt. Fuji on my home which has always been on my to do list.
This all started when I flew into HCM at 10:30 at night and was met by my gal with her sister and girl friends. What a welcome after a tough 24 hour workout to get there. After spending 3 days with Tu in HCM 5 of us left the hotel at 11:00 at night and took a 45 minute taxi ride to the bus station. At 1:00 in the morning the bus left for a 7 hour bus ride across the Mekong Delta. The sheer size of this delta is incredible, I have been across the Mississippi and this is much bigger. The road to Rach Gia is the worst road I have ever been on and there was times I was praying for a Mexican dirt road, I am sure I left a kidney and a couple vertabre on this ride. At Rach Gia we boarded the SuperDong which is the ferry ride thru the An Thoi island chain in the Gulf of Thailand to Phu Quoc island. This ride is the most beautiful boat ride I have ever taken. This area looks like the island Tom Hanks was on in the movie Castaway. After a 2 hour boat ride we arrived on the island and got a van to take us on a 20 minute ride to the main town of Duong Dong where I had rented a cottage on the beach for $40 a night. The ocean is very calm and crystel clear with the temp close to 90 degrees, air temp close to 100 degrees and humidity at 100 %, it was dripping sticky wet air. The infrastructure on this island is old and beat up and it is hard to get around as you have to do scooters in the rain on dirt pot holed roads, so I didn't get to see most of the places I wanted to. The best beaches on the island are on the east side and that just wasn't going to happen with the rain. Still it was a great trip and I will return sometime in the future to explore this special place. Then it was time to go back to HCM and attend a wedding of Tu's cousin and a wedding of a guy I work with who married a Viet gal. These were alot of fun and they make a frat kegger look like a ice cream social. These people know how to party. And all too soon it was time to fly home and I spent a day in Japan where everything is expensive and nobody speaks english. It is beautiful but I know now that there are other places I would rather see.

2008-10-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Why was I tired when we arrived on the island and the girls were ready to party?

This is the SuperDong. The boat to Phu Quoc.

2008-10-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is looking north from our place. You can see why this is called Long Beach as it is a 5 mile long stretch of white sand beach

2008-10-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

This is looking south from the beach in front of our cottage. That is our resort you see in the trees.

Sitting on our porch looking at the Gulf of Thailand

2008-10-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

This is the cottage Tu and I had on the beach

2008-10-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

The sunsets on Phu Quoc are awesome and everybody stops to watch and celebrate the end of the day.

The main town on Phu Quoc island...

2008-10-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

On our way to the disco after the wedding reception...

2008-10-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hang on tight it is going to be a wild ride...

The only white person there

2008-10-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Viet weddings are fun...

2008-10-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

This is half of the crew for the 1st wedding I went to...

This little piggy didn't make it home...

2008-10-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

My great friends Rodger and his wife Lilly who I thank with all my heart...

2008-10-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

While most people can't afford to live a few have all the perks...

Cam on Bros for the fun...

2008-10-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hangin out in Ho Chi Minh...

2008-10-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

Sunset shot after a rain storm in the countyside

Afred and myself having a cafe suda...

2008-10-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

2008-10-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

This is the street Tu lives on.

Mt. Fuji...

2008-10-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

2008-08-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

Great wild flowers in the Eastern Sierras

The Happy Crew...

2008-07-29T15:27:00.001-07:00

July Campout...

2008-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well it has been too long since I have made it up to the Sierras and spent time with my Mammoth friends but we got together to celebrate VTs and my birthdays camping in Yosemite mountains at Toulumne meadows. We had a great camp site up away from everybody with plenty of room for the 8 of us that made it. Tomatoe had his 9 week out pup named Tilly who proved to be the star of the trip. We had nice weather and enjoyed the beautiful mountain setting. I will have more pics to post later so keep checking back....

The new Star of the crew...

2008-07-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

The proud papa and his new baby.

2008-07-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

A nice swimming beach at Tenaya lake.

Tenaya Lake...

2008-07-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

Lembert Dome...

2008-07-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

The slide on the Toulumne river

Toulumne River

2008-07-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

Cinco de Spring...

2008-05-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well it was time to once again enjoy the wonderful spring snow of Mammoth and of course the friendship our crew has cherished for many years. For the first time in awhile the whole crew was together and we took full advantage of the fun. The skiing was good, the weather was good, and it was Cinco de Mayo so we had mucho fun. Rick has made a great come back and we all thanked the stars for his recovery. We all look forward to future outings and hope our new friend Rosemarie joins us for more fun in the future.

2008-05-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

Back in paradise...

2008-05-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

McFly looking good on a beautiful day

Going Up...

2008-05-07T16:12:00.000-07:00

2008-05-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

The lighting was terrible for taking pictures but this is a nice pic of the crew enjoying Cinco de Mayo at Robertos...

2008-05-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

Not the best pic of me but a great picture of beautiful Rosemarie...

Dinner at last night...

2008-04-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Nha Trang...

2008-04-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

It was a 5 hour bus ride from Da Lat to Nha Trang thru some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. Starting high in the mountains we went across the ridge top with farms of every fruit and vegetable you can imagine, then dropping down to the flat farm land of rice and sugarcane. Every mile brought warmer temps and dryer air. We made a couple of stops on the way and one was at Mui Ve which had the temple you see in the pic below. After about 4 hours into our ride we came around a corner to a awesome view of the South China Sea and followed the coast line to the town of Nha Trang. We checked into our hotel and could not believe the view from our room, it was a corner room with 2 walls of windows looking at a 180 degree ocean view on the 8th floor. I couldn't wait any longer and put on my trunks and walked across the street and jumped into the ocean. Air temps were 95 to 100 with the water at 90 degrees. Tu and I sat under a palapa and enjoyed the sites. The next day we were picked up by van and taken to the harbor to get on a boat with about 30 other people for our day cruise to 4 different islands. On this boat were French, English, Germans, Dutch, Italians, Israleas, Aussies, Kiwis, Chinese, Cambodians, Viets, and one lone American "Me". Some very interesting conversations were heard on this boat ride. The ocean was smooth and it took almost an hour to get to the 1st island where we pulled into a cove for swimming and diving. The reef had great corals and lots of reef fish to see and we had a great time playing in the water. On the 3rd island we were served the most incredible lunch I have ever had. 30 or so different types of sea food and vegetables that all tasted great. On the last island was an aquarium showing the many types of fish that inhabit these waters. By late afternoon we arrived back at our hotel fully drained from having soo much fun. Every afternoon around 2 o'clock a sea breeze picks up that even with the hot sun makes the air very comfortable, we really enjoyed this spot and were not ready to go back to HCM.
But it was time to leave and it took 11 hours to get back to our hotel with a great stop for lunch on the beach at Mui Ne which I will try to return to for a stay at this small beach town in the future.

2008-04-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

This is a temple at Mui Ve that is on the road from Da Lat to Nha Trang. I wish there had been time to check this out but it was a good hike to get to and we only had 15 minutes to rest off the bus.

2008-04-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

This was at island number 3 just before heading to the last island on the trip.

Drip dry after a swim/dive

2008-04-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

2008-04-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

This was the first dive spot...

2008-04-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

One of the coves we stopped at to swim and dive.

2008-04-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

Looking from the foot of the bed straight ahead.

2008-04-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the bed in our hotel and looking right.

2008-04-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on day 1 in Nha Trang

2008-04-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sunrise day 2 taken from our hotel room balcony.

2008-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is looking south on Main beach in Nha Trang.

Da Lat

2008-04-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

On the second day in HCM (Ho Chi Minh) Tu and I went to a Viet travel agency and booked a 5 day 4 night trip to the North. 2 days later we took off by bus to the beautiful mountain town of Da Lat.
This town was founded back when Vietnam was a French colony and has been the home of many French and Viet leaders thru the years. DaLat is known as the city of eternal spring as the weather is perfect all year around. Every flower and vegetables you can imagine grows here. The bus ride was 7 hours long and along the way I saw the small towns and countryside from the South towards the middle of the country. Our hotel was a building built by the French and was very fancy with a big double bay window the opened up to a great view overlooking the city. This was Tu's first western style hotel visit and we both enjoyed our stay here. The next day after our arrival we were picked up in a small van with our quide, a driver, and 2 French ladies that were guests like us. We were taken to the highest peak in the city that overlooks everything and climbed into a cable car for a 20 minute ride to a Buddhist temple by a lake with these incredible gardens. After seeing and taking in as much as we could we were driven to the Chicken Village where indigenous people live a life like they have for many years and now protected to maintain their culture. They had some great crafts to sell and had the biggest smiles you have ever seen. Next we went to the sacred waterfall and got to go on an elephant ride thru the jungle, into the river, then back to the waterfall. This was quite exciting and after the ride I fed the elephant a stalk of banannas that he really enjoyed. We saw some other site seeing places and beautiful crafts before making it back to our hotel late afternoon. We saw the Kings Palace and gardens the next day and then it was time to leave the mountains and head for the beach. I will tell this story with pics in my next post.

2008-04-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Dinner at the French complex across the street from our wonderful hotel that was a building built by the French way back when.

2008-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

This statue was at the park where the waterfall and elephant ride were...

2008-04-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

How many times in your life do you get a chance to ride on a elephant? This elephant was so sweet and was treated very well. I fed this elephant a whole stock of bananas after the ride thru the jungle and river.

Waterfall in the jungle at Dalat...

2008-04-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Famous waterfall between Chicken Village and Dalat.

Crazy house in Dalat...

2008-04-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is taken from the Kings balcony overlooking his garden with the symbol he used for his stamp.

2008-04-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is the Palace where the last king of Vietnam ran the country before the communist took over and he went into exile in France where he died.

House at Chicken Village...

2008-04-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

This is taken at the Chicken Village where a race of people that speak their own language and look much different than the Viets in the rest of the country are protected and share their culture with visitors.

2008-04-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

No wonder the French fell in love with this city. This is where they ran the country when this was a French colony.

The lake at the Buddhist temple in Dalat

2008-04-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Dragon Bush in the garden at the temple...

Top of the peak with Dalat in the background

2008-04-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

2008-04-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

This is the gardens at the Buddhist temple at Dalat

2008-04-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is taken from inside the cable car on the ride from the top of the peak overlooking the town of Dalat to the temple and lake you see in the distance.

Cam on Ba Xa

2008-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

2008-04-16T16:06:00.001-07:00

We were both tired and very very happy...

2008-04-16T16:02:00.001-07:00

This is another type of Dragonfruit that is red on the inside as you can see on the ones cut in half

Dragonfruit

2008-04-16T15:59:00.001-07:00

2008-04-16T15:57:00.001-07:00

Some of Tu's family

Tu and Ann

2008-04-16T15:54:00.001-07:00

2008-04-16T15:52:00.001-07:00

This is Thuyen Tu's baby sister

2008-04-16T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is Ann who is Tu's youngest niece

Where is this...

2008-04-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

I was walking thru LAX going to my departure gate and saw this departure gate sign. I couldn't find anybody to explain where this flight was going to.

2008-04-15T01:59:00.001-07:00

Vietnam Revisited

2008-04-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

On April 1st I flew back to Vietnam and tested out my skills of language and knowledge as I went by myself with no friends to translate or show me around. I think I passed with flying colors as the trip was fantastic. I will share this with you in post that tell of my adventures and what happened on this trip. When I arrived in HCM city after along flight with some delays I was greeted by my lady Tu and her big sister and niece. It was great to see that big smile and kindness that Tu always has for me. During the whole trip 90% of all conversation was in Viet, so I really had my hands full. This was also my first time meeting Tu's family so that was a big thing in itself. Tu's family really made me feel special and we had some great times together. Tu and I stayed in HCM for 3 nights and left on a trip to Dalat for 3 days and 2 nights then on to Nha Trang for 3 days and 2 nights then back to HCM for 3 last nights before coming home. I will share the pics and stories on this trip.

Market Place...

2008-02-24T11:22:00.001-08:00

Peace...

2008-02-24T11:19:00.001-08:00

Nho Em Yeu

2008-02-24T11:15:00.001-08:00

Anh yeo Em...

2008-01-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

Asia Trip...

2008-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

I just got home last night after 17 days in Asia. What a great trip! Flew first to Taipei Taiwan which is a beautiful island off the coast of China. This time of the year is not the best for visiting Taiwan as it is cold and rainy but there is much to see there. Then flew on to Ho Chi Minh and took a taxi to the first hotel of two that I stayed at during my trip. It took a couple of days to get used to the time and date change and sleeping was kind of tough at first. Let me explain some of the rules that you learn when you get here...
First rule is never (NEVER) walk in front of a taxi. If you don't learn this rule you don't have to worry about learning rule 2. I learned this one quick and lucky for me not the hard way.
Rule 2 is what ever time something is planned can really be 30 before to 30 minutes after said time so get used to it.
Rule 3 is what ever is planned does not mean that is what is going to happen. Go with the flow and get used to it.
Rule 4 (kind of important one) never make eye contact or verbal contact with a begger. If you do either this can result in a permanent attachment that is not easily broken.

So those are kind of the first things you go thru when you arrive here. Vietnam is a fun place and the people are great. I have been in 3rd world countries before and you have to get used to the poverty that you see and not let it ruin your visit. Even though the political power is Socialist there is very little military presence and I found it to be one of the most open countries I have visited outside the U.S. I felt safe the whole trip with no hassels from police or military.
The food here is incredible with many places serving things I have never seen before and everything I tried I found to be great.
I didn't realize how much the people here celebrate calendar New Years. With the whole city lit up that made Las Vegas look small time the music and dancing was everywhere. Great party.
After the New Year we went to a place called Monkey Island. We hired a taxi for the day and drove about a hour to a ferry that took us to an island and then drove another 45 minutes then across a bridge to a Mangrove forest that has hundreds of monkey running around wild. They tell you when you enter to watch your hats, cameras, cell phone, or anything else that the Monkeys might grab and run off with. There are 3 different types of monkeys that go from small to about above your knee in size. There are salt water crocks there and many birds and snakes in the forest. Great place in a spooky kind of way.
The weather in Saigon was perfect. The humidity was not that bad and it was high 80s to low 90s during the day and high 70s at night. The bug situation wasn't that bad either with a mosquito bite here and there. I never got really chewed on from anything.
There are many other things that we did and saw but I am running out of energy and will save those stories for later...

2008-01-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

Beautiful people in a great culture...

2008-01-14T09:21:00.001-08:00

How bad to you really want to get to the other side of the street???

Roast Pig Restaurant...

2008-01-14T09:20:00.001-08:00

2008-01-14T09:18:00.001-08:00

There were some unusual dinner selections there very tasty...

2008-01-14T09:16:00.001-08:00

20 minutes before I took this picture this fish was swimming in a tank...

2008-01-14T09:15:00.001-08:00

One of the locals at Monkey Island, kind of cute but I don't think very friendly...

2008-01-14T09:14:00.001-08:00

Salt water Crocks at Monkey Island...

Monkey Island

2008-01-14T09:13:00.001-08:00

2008-01-14T09:11:00.001-08:00

The fruit and flower stands at the market place were incredible...

2008-01-14T09:09:00.001-08:00

The park across the street from the Hotel I was staying had celebrations every night...

Happy New Year...

2008-01-14T09:08:00.001-08:00