This is a short recap of some of our trips in Texas and the rest
of the US. I still have about a hundred pages of travel itinerary from
trips to Canada (Rocky Mountains, Maritimes), Boston and Florida (Disney
world, tour of Florida and Bahama's). My goal is to put them here within
the next 3 months. Keep looking !
Utah, Bryce
canyon, Salt Lake City
Brazos
bend state park and George Ranch
Guadalupe River State Park
(Texas)
New York
California
(San Francisco and National Parks)
New
Orleans, Louisiana
Bonaire,
Dutch Antilles
Utah
From November 1 till 8 we spent some time in Utah, combining the NHF
conference with vacation. Realize that it is cold in that time of year,
we had snow and especially in Bryce Canyon it was pretty nasty so dress
warm !
Park
This National Park consists of wonderful sights of red rock all formed
by erosion, sedimentation and deformation. It looks spectacular and it
is well worth to go and take a hike into the canyon (like the Navajo Loop
Trail). There are several other hikes, short and long. If you want to take
it easy, do the 18 mile main park road along the Plateau Rim. But get out
and take in some of the views !
Where we stayed
I booked online at the Bryce
Canyon Livery B&B. The breakfast was wonderful, different every
day and homemade. It's not cheap, even in winter, but the view from our
room on both sides was very interesting. They have 6 rooms and most of
them are modest in size but clean and with a different theme. They also
do horseback rides and ATV rides in season. Since we were there in winter
we did not have a lot of choice when it came to dinner. There was only
one place open in Tropic,
the town.I've been told it's a lot better in summer...
Salt Lake City
Our main goal was the NHF conference so we didn't see as much of the
city as we would have liked. Nevertheless we managed to take a stroll "downtown"
(it's all in walking distance) and check out the famous Mormon headquarters
on Temple
Square. I think it was pretty scary when I thought about these people
having so much influence and so many supporters, but hey, that's their
own choice. Mormons have a rather old-fashioned look on women for instance,
they can never get as "high" in heaven as men, and are really considered
a lower race. There is a lot to be said about Mormons, I think it's a big
farce and especially the fact that their prophets have "revelations" (according
to them coming from God) makes it even more ridiculous in my view. But
if you are really interested, go to their website
and see how well versed they are in the commerce of religion :)
We stayed in Little America, the cheaper version of Grand America. We
were in the courtyard, kind of motel rooms, but we could use all provisions
of the hotel.
Salt Lake City has some microbreweries and lots of restaurants.
Marco went skiing one day in Brighton. Around Salt Lake City there are several resorts with pretty good skiing and snowboarding hills with lots of snow !
Brazos Bend State Park and George Ranch
Whenever we want to show our visitors some alligators (in the wild)
we take them to this state par because you're almost assured of some sightings.
If not in the park, then on your way there (watch in the bayous that you
cross close to George Ranch). The park has a nice walking loop around the
water and you could also bike there. There are campgrounds and the observatory
of the Houston Museum of Natural Science is located here as well (only
open on Saturdays). The wildlife interpretation center is pretty good and
there are lot of tables and shelterd spots with BBQ. So a good day trip,
take a picknick and water !!!
George Ranch is a working ranch with 3 time true houses. You can tour
the houses and the grounds, there is a "tram" (a wagon pulled by a smoke
producing tractor) to get you around. The houses are really worthwhile.
I was not impressed with all the tourguides, some are definetely better
than others. Beware that the only place to buy drinks or food is at the
restaurant near the visitor center. The visitor center has a movie about
the ranch and some artifacts. For more information check out their websites:
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/brazos/
http://www.georgeranch.org/
(check our picture book for more pictures)
Travel there
Bonaire lies north of the South American coast, about 50 miles from
Venezuela. It's a tiny island and part of the Dutch Antilles (which also
consists of Aruba, Curacao, St Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba).
Best way to get there is by air (KLM has regular direct flights from
Amsterdam, from the US and Canada you fly through Montego Bay) unless you
have a lot of time on your hands and sail there.On the island you do need
a car to go places; small jeeps and landrovers or trucks are your best
bet since some of the roads are not paved.
Where we stayed
Marco's aunt has a beautiful house in Santa Barbara so that was our
place to stay. To drive into Kralendijk (downtown :) only took about 10
minutes. There are several hotels and resorts on Bonaire. Especially for
scuba divers, which Bonaire is famous, there are ample packages with stay
and equipmentrental. Check out this website for more http://www.bonaire-travelguide.com/
What we ate
Marco's aunt has an Italian restaurant on the Island: Croccantino,
so we had the opportunity to taste the wonderful food they serve. We also
checked out 'It's raining fishes' (great gazpacho and seafood salad), and
De
Tuin (great food). There are plenty of restaurants for such a small
island. I though that the prices were pretty steep, at least for Dutch
people, for Americans it's good.
What to do
Bonaire is worldfamous for it's diving and snorkeling spots and I must
say, the snorkeling was great, at least, when you're on the right side
of the island. A few years ago, a hurricane came over and ruined some of
the best spots on the West coast. Some places like Pink Beach are nothing
more than sand and broken coral, really a pity. It will regrow in time,
but it takes a long time.We liked the following spots the best: 1000 steps
and especially Klein Bonaire, a small island before Bonaire. You can go
there by boat (there is a cowtaxi that can bring you and picks you up after
a few hours). Bring sunscreen and water, there is no shadow whatsoever,
and it gets pretty hot !
I can't tell you what the best diving spot are, but on the Bonaire
website you can find all kind of information about that
And if you're tired of looking at fishes and beautiful coral, you can
always visit the Bonaire Washington-Slagbaai
National Park. Ofcourse the best thing to do there is dive or snorkel,
but you can also watch flamingo's, walk around a little bit and see some
historical sites and beautiful scenery. By the way, the name Slagbaai (which
means butcher bay) has its origin in that they used to drive the cattle
here and kill them. Make sure that if you drive around you have a sturdy,
preferably 4 wheel drive, car. It's a very bumpy road and you don't want
to get stuck.
What we ate
If you go there the assortment of good restaurants is overwhelming,
best of the US (Commander's palace) competes with best young chef (Dominique's)
and best of New Orleans (Bayona). We had to make a choice and since Dominique's
was
in our hotel (how convenient) we tried that. Good food, French style, not
really expensive, expensive wine list though (up to 2000 dollars a bottle
!) Dress code seems to be whatever, so don't worry if you didn't bring
your suit and tie. We also tried Mr.
B's Bistro on Royal St., one of the Brennan's restaurants (if you live
in Houston or NO you know the name) because we wanted to try some more
creole influence. Big place with very good food, grumpy service though,
but the jazz-pianist was nice. Reservations with both are recommended.
For the casual dining we had to try the best muffaletta from Central Grocery,
a meal by itself and the Cafe du
Monde beignets (greasy but good). We also had breakfast at Croissant
d'Or on Ursulines St., a great place to get your share of french pastries.
San Francisco
I think SF is a nice city, with a bustling nightlife and good places
to shop, eat and hang out. We had a hotel near Union Square, not cheap,
but very convenient cause it's close to cable cars and "downtown". On advise
of our friends we walked a city tour and the second day biked. Let me tell
you, those hills are a challenge, but the views are worth it. There is
a choice of several routes and the one we took takes you over Golden Gate
bridge. You come back by Ferry from Sausalito and it makes it a complete
SF sightseeing, very worthwile !
Yosemite National Park
One of the busiest National Parks in the country. Make your reservations
early, for camping and other overnight stays. Especially the options in
Yosemite Valley are booked early. We were lucky, the majority of the crowd
didn't seem to have arrived yet, however there are people everywhere. Bear
in mind that some roads can be closed up to June or July because of snow.
We were able to go above 7000 ft one day, the next day the roads were closed
because of....snow, yes. Some trails also stay wet and white till early
summer. On the meadows is the worst place for mosquitoes, the rest was
okay. Go up to Glacier point by bus and hike the 8 miles back. Most of
it is downhill (be aware of the mist trail however) and there are some
beautiful views. There are bears in all the parks here, so take care of
your food and don't leave your stuff out for grab.
King's Canyon and Sequoia
National Park
Even if it is bad weather up on the hill, the canyon can have great
weather. There are several short trails to walk and the heights you look
up to are amazing. It seems that white water rafting is good here too,
but we didn't try that. If you're looking for a comfortable place to stay
without a tent, try a cabin at Grand Grove Village. Price is about 50 $
and you get a heated cabin (that was necessary), comfy beds and a roof
! There are also campsites and more luxurious (private outhouse) cabins.
The Sequoia's are impressive trees. We never quite succeeded to get a picture
that truly depicts the enormous size. The Congress trail is worth your
time, but to be honest after seeing hundreds of Sequoia's I had enough.
After all a tree is a tree, tall as they are. Drive up to the car-tree
and the tunnel tree for the real pictures :)
Visited: july 30-august 1 1999
Location: About 200 miles from Houston, 30 miles north of San
Antonio.
Recommended Route: Instead of I-10, 281 and 46 from Houston,
take 290, 21 and 46. Better scenery and it's not much longer/slower.
We spent a weekend in this state park which is excellent for cooling off in these hot summer months. The campsite has specious sites, which can be occupied by a maximum of 8 people and 2 cars. The campground has all the basics: water and fire pits for all sites. Electricity if necessary, washrooms, a lot of nature and wildlife (Armadillo's, deer)adn best of all a river which is very nice, clean and cool. The campground is a 15 minute walk from the Guadalupe river. There are plenty of people who come here for the day or for the weekend. Picknick tables are right at the river. It's fun to bring some kind of floating device (air matress, boogy board) and flow down the river through some small rapids. If you want to spend some more time, rent or bring canoe, kayak or tube, lots of fun.
We brought a canoe and kayak and started at Edge Falls. Then you can boat down for about 4 miles and you're back at the campground. Of course you can make the stretch as long or short as you like. Visit the Guadalupe River State Park site for more information.
