Exploring Seattle

We spent the day walking around Seattle..a city I've never been to.  We saw the iconic Public Market area and walked through many neighborhoods.  But the highlight was the view of the city skyline from Kerry Park.  It was amazing seeing the tall buildings on one side and the water on the other.

Sled dogs

Posting a day late due travel...we spent our final morning in Alaska visiting some sled dogs. It was a rainy day but spending time petting and visiting these dogs was amazing. We even got to ride an ATV pulled by the dogs. Of course the visit made us miss our dogs at home. We will be seeing them soon.

More Denali Fun

Posting this a day late due to internet issues....but we got to ride through Denali National Park for a nice tour.  We saw amazing views everywhere....mountains, hills, rivers, glaciers.  We even got to see some wildlife in the natural habitat.  Seeing wildlife is not guaranteed on these tours but we saw some elk, caribou and some moose. 

Road to Denali

we got off our cruise ship today and boarded a bus bound for Denali National Park. It was a long ride but we had some amazing stops on the way. We saw wolves, bison and elk at a huge nature reserve. Then our driver told us some great stories about growing up in Alaska. We eventually got to our hotel in Denali and we had even more amazing views. Another memorable day exploring Alaska

More Glaciers

We spent a final day on our cruise at sea and we saw even more glaciers. The scenery is so amazing on the ship. Alaska is truly a beautiful place.

Glacier Crusin'

We spent the day at sea and spent most of the day relaxing.  The highlight of the day was cruising through Glacier Bay.  There were mountains on either side of the boat as we cruised through amazing blue water.  We made it to the Grand Pacific Glacier, which was breathtaking.  The ship allowed us to get pretty close to the glacier and we got some amazing pictures.  The whole family was in awe seeing such a amazing natural wonder. 

Skagway

Spent some time in a small town called Skagway today. We didn’t plan much since are other days were so full. We still had fun. We went panning for gold in this beautiful place surrounded by mountains and next to the river. We all got a little bit of gold. We wrapped up our visit with a great lunch at a local seafood spot. 

Bears and Glaciers

We had an amazing day in Juneau, Alaska. We started out taking a cab to the Mendenhal Glacier Visitor center where we got an amazing view of the glacier.

Later on we hiked up to the giant waterfall next to it. But the highlight of the visit was toward the end went we got a close up view of a black bear looking for food in the stream.

Fishing Fun

We spent most of the day on a fishing boat in Ketchikan, Alaska. It was an amazing experience being on board with th me family in such a scenic place. The two man crew helped us catch about 7 fish, including a treasured king salmon. The kids each reeled in a fish each and  everyone got involved. A fun day for sure.

Sailing

We are still sailing on our way to Alaska...enjoying time with the family as we watch the waves. I did discover Alaskan beer that goes really well with the view.

Starting the Cruise

Today we boarded our cruise at the port in Vancouver.  It was a beautiful day and we were all looking forward to getting on the boat and starting the journey to Alaska.  It was still a bit smokey outside from the nearby forest fires but we still got a great view from our stateroom's balcony.  The whole family hung out together and ate way too much.  A good start to the cruise!

Exploring Vancouver

We spent the day walking around the city of Vancouver today.  We started with an amazing breakfast then hopped on a bus that took us to Stanley Park.  It is a huge and beautiful park with a huge rose garden and amazing views of the water.  I found the most amazing sunflower there!

The park is too big to handle in one day but we got to see some of the highlights.  The view of the city skyline is amazing, even with the haze from wildfires in the region blocking the sun.

Vacation

After a really long day of travel we finally made it to Vancouver. It is a really nice city and our hotel has amazing views. We walked around and got some amazing Thai food. We will explore more tomorrow but it sure is nice to look out the window and see city life with water and mountains in the background.

Day with Dogs

We are in vacation mode...but the only thing that is a bit sad is having to leave our two pups behind.  They went to the dog sitter tonight but before that we all spent the day hanging out with them.  After a morning walk they pretty much spent time laying around.  I ran around with them in the yard in the afternoon and then had a little cuddle time with them. We are so lucky to have them and they will be missed.  But they are in good hands and we are looking forward to getting out of town.

Night Out with my Son

My work buddy gave me two tickets to the Redskins pre-season game tonight.  It was a nice night to watch football and my friend happens to have great seats on the club level.  My son and I took the tickets and went to the stadium.  Before going to our seats, we got some BBQ from Famous Daves.  Then we sat down to watch the game.  We got to see Skins new QB Alex Smith play for a bit and overall saw a pretty good matchup.  It was fun to see the game and even more fun to spend time with my son.

Tennis in the heat

I was a really hot day but it didn't matter... I had plans to play tennis in the afternoon after I got home from work.  It was the first time in a long time I actually had the opportunity to play with someone.  My son's former soccer coach approached about playing a week ago and we were able to find a good day and time to play.  I was a little rusty and it was quite warm outside but we both had a blast hitting the ball around.  We will try to make it a regular thing during the week.  And all this ahead of US Open.. which starts in a couple of weeks.

Vacation mode

Today we went through a lot of our plans for our upcoming family vacation.  My wife organized the itinerary for everyone traveling and I booked our ride to the airport.  All of this is getting me more and more excited to go....first to Vancouver, then on an Alaskan cruise and then on to Seattle.  Packing is underway and we will be on our way in just a few days.  This video shows what we can expect.

Birthday for real

Today was my actual birthday and it couldn’t have been better. Coworkers wished me happy birthday at the office and later On my family took me to BonChon for some amazing Korean fried chicken.

My parents, my in laws, my sister in law and her husband and daughter all joined my family for the celebration. I had a blast although my belly was quite overstuffed with wings. The waiter even got me a birthday shot

More Pre Bday Fun

Today I came home to an amazing homemade birthday meal. grilled strip steak with homemade chimichuri sauce, shrimp cocktail and some amazing sides.

Then before dessert I was surprised with a brand ne iPhone. I was totally surprised. Then we had homemade brownies with ice cream. My family truly made it an amazing birthday weekend for me. 

Soccer in the Heat

My son had his first soccer tournament of the season.  It was sweltering heat outside all day long and his team had four mini games.  Playing together for the first time in a real match, the team played really well.  Three close games followed by a draw to end the day.  Pretty good start to the season and always fun to watch my son play.

Pre-Birthday Dinner

A few days ahead of my birthday, my wonderful wife organized a dinner with some of my amazing friends.  We all got together at a restaurant in DC called Chloe. 

I had an amazing whisky cocktail that included garam masala and the whole fried fish was a crowd favorite.

The food and drinks were great.  But the best thing was spending time with good friends.  

Football is back

It is only preseason but NFL football is back.  Tonight was the first game for many teams and many starters didn't play.  But it was still exciting to see some of the rookies playing, especially Washington running back Darius Guice.  It is still a few weeks away from the regular season but it was good to get a taste of the action.

Time With Offspring

Posting this a few hours late because even this blogger forgets to post.... I spend some quality time with my teenage daughter Wednesday.  She is doing a lot of growing up lately and there isn't a lot of daddy and daughter time but today we went to the mall together and even got a bit of ice cream at Godiva.  I already spend a lot of alone time with my son but need to remember to do the same with my little girl who isn't so little any more.

Tuesday Dinner at Mom's

Every Tuesday my mom treats the whole family by cooking an amazing meal.  This week in addition to her always good dal and aloo, she made some tandoori fish, saag paneer and her special kebab's with an egg in the middle.  The food and the company were both equally great.  We are so lucky to have this Tuesday tradition.

The Pups

Today a co-worker was very sad...his 12 year old dog is very sick and may have to be put down.  I felt bad hearing about this but it made me appreciate the time I get to spend with my two pups.. both about 4 years old now.  Guinness and Topaz bring us so much joy.  Every time I come home seeing them so excited to see me brings me so much joy.  I spent a little extra time playing outside with them today.

Friends

Today, after a long time, I decided to go see my buddy Nestor.  I've known him since I was a teenager but lately, with work and family, it has been hard to meet up.  He just got a new puppy a couple of months ago so of course I had to go over.  It was a great time catching up and joking around with an old friend.  The bonus part was making friends with a the new baby pit!!

Mission Impossible

The family went out to see the new Mission Impossible movie today.  After catching up on the last few films we were all really excited to see the new one.  We had popcorn and candy with us at our reserved seats.  The movie lived up to the hype...amazing action and a great story to go along with that.   The stunts were insane and as always it was a fun time to be with the family.

Movie Night at Home

In anticipation of seeing the new Mission Impossible movie, we spent Friday evening at home watching the previous Mission Impossible flick, Rogue Nation.  I made pulled pork in the Instant Pot that turned out really good.  We sat down together as a family with our pulled pork sandwiches and watched the movie.  It was relaxing end to the week.

More Retirement Celebrations

After festivities with co-workers over the past week, my dad got to celebrate his retirement with the whole family.  We went to an amazing Indian fusion restaurant called Ananda and had a great dinner to mark the occasion.  It was Howard Country restaurant week so there was a special menu we chose from.  The food was delicious, especially the lamb chops,  and the service was amazing.  We really are lucky to be able to celebrate occasions like this with people we love.

Citibank tournament

Today I met my old friend Ed and some others at the local DC tennis tournament.  It was a nice sunny day and we got to spend a bit of time in the Emirates VIP tent getting drinks and food.  Later we went to watch some of the best tennis players in the world.  We got up pretty close.  It was great to watch and now I feel more inspired to go play tennis.