Author Archives: JimG

The Golden Buddha

Posted on January 1, 2024 by JimG

January 1, 2024

It is a Thai tradition to visit a temple on New Years day, we decided to go to Wat Traimit, home of the Golden Buddha.   The Golden Buddha is my favorite Buddha, the story of the Golden Buddha is that the golden statue was covered with clay to protect it from Burmese invaders back in the late 1700s.  In 1957, they went to move the clay Buddha only to discover that the clay Buddha was actually a golden one.

Not surprisingly, the story of the Golden Buddha has become a metaphor for discovering who we really are and how that we need to chip away at the layers of mud that develops as we go through life. It is a great story with a great message.  It also fascinating to look at, it is the world’s largest gold statue.  I jokingly call this Buddha the C3PO Buddha.

Continue reading →

Categories: Bangkok | Leave a comment

New Year’s Eve…

Posted on December 31, 2023 by JimG

December 31st, 2023

We decided to have New Years eve dinner at the hotel.   The Courtyards in Bangkok are a lot nicer than the Courtyards in the states and they go all out for Christmas eve and New Years eve dinner buffets.   It was an international buffet with a lot of good food but I especially liked the sushi and sashimi.  Consistent with my previous experiences, the staff went out of their way to make it feel special.  Similar to the Bustaraunt, there was a saxophone player playing along with music along.   I wondered if this was a trend here in Bangkok.

After dinner we went for a walk to see the Christmas lights.  The hotel we are staying at is close to three major malls called Emsphere, which just opened up, EmQuartier and Emporium.  I have watched Bangkok change over the years and Bangkok now has some of the biggest and best malls.  The food courts take up multiple floors with restaurants from around the world.   Gordon Ramseys has two restaurants in Emsphere.  Although Thailand is a Buddhist country, the malls go all out with Christmas decorations.

When we returned to the hotel, the doorman asked if we were going to go back out to see the countdown and the fireworks.  I thought to myself that if I were to ring in the New Years in a public place with fireworks,  I should probably do it in a place like Bangkok where it is 80 degrees as opposed to Times Square in NYC.   A younger version of me wouldn’t have missed this, all I wanted to do was to go bed! Continue reading →

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Bangkok Bustaurant

Posted on December 30, 2023 by JimG

December 30, 2023

We went on the Bangkok Bustaurant, a double decker bus that has been converted into a restaurant with a kitchen downstairs and a dining room upstairs. This was a unique upscale dining experience complete with a live saxophone player.  Thai dishes were served as we circled through the bustling streets of Bangkok for two hours.  I was surprised at just how fun this was.  As we passed through the crowds in Chinatown, I remember walking through those crowds and here I was was above it, with a bird’s eye view, in a an air condition fine dinning restaurant that moved through the streets  of Bangkok.

I wasn’t going to get great pictures of the local attractions and decided that I wasn’t going to try and focused on enjoying the event as opposed to capturing it.   It was some of the best Thai food that  had eaten.  It was fun and unique experience and noticed that as we passed through various areas, there were many curious onlookers pointing at the bus and waving.  I would definitely do this event again. Continue reading →

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The Lost Jedi-diah

Posted on October 17, 2023 by JimG

Tuesday, October 17th 2023

The weather was better the following day and we wanted to go back to Crescent City and Jedidiah to do some additional exploring and hiking.   Although the weather was cool, it was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery and Jedidiah had a different feel with the sun.

We started with driving along the ocean, stopping in and around Crescent city to appreciate the coast line.   We actually ran into our tour guide from the day before when wet stopped at one of the beaches.   We then headed back into Jedidiah Redwoods state park.

A couple of years back, I had pulled a page out of a “Visit California” magazine that had an article called “A Geek’s Guide to California”, there was a picture of a man standing in a Redwood Grove looking up with a smaller picture below with had George Lucas,  next to Princess Leah, Chewbacca, Hans Solo, C3PO and R2D2 with redwood trees behind them.  The article talked about the Sci-Fi movies that had been filmed in the area.

It wasn’t there to find the exact places where E.T. finally went home or the areas that served as also served as the moon of Endor, home of the Ewoks in the Return of the Jedi, the scenes in Jurassic Park: The Lost World, but it made me want to explore it even more. Continue reading →

Categories: California, Del Norte County | Leave a comment

Ultimate Redwood Experience – Crescent City and Jedidiah State Park

Posted on October 16, 2023 by JimG

October 16th, 2023

I woke up and it was raining.  I was hoping by the time our tour started, the rain would let up but it hadn’t.  I had booked the Ultimate Redwood Experience from the redwood Sightseeing Tour Company and when met our tour guide met us in Crescent City, CA, I could tell he was hoping that we would postpone until the following day.  We had made the half hour drive from Brookings, OR to Crescent City, CA and we were the only ones on this Group Tour and I wanted to spend the following day exploring on my own and we were visiting a rain forest.

We made a few stops around crescent City and then we headed into Jedidiah State Park. I was a bit confused because I had seen it listed as a State Park as well as a National Park.  The guide explained that it was comanaged by the National Park Service and California State Parks as are other Redwood Parks in the area.

It is difficult to describe the experience.  The trees are 300 feet tall and thousands of years old, it makes you feel small and yet part of something bigger. The air is fresh and earthy, it felt healthy to be breathing it.   The grove is shaded, leaving plants that can grow in limited light, it is eerily quiet with no birds and surprisingly, no bugs. Continue reading →

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The Legend of Bigfoot

Posted on October 15, 2023 by JimG

October 15th. 2023

We continued heading north towards Brookings, Oregon.  The 101 also known as the Redwood Highway, travels through the redwood forests and at times, along the Pacific Coast. The drive is stunning.

We came across a road stop called The Legend of Bigfoot in Garberville. It looked too fun not to stop!  We were in Bigfoot territory and I was enjoying it. I grew listening to Bigfoot and Loch Ness monster stories – I am a fan of urban legends and loved the X-Files.  I was  hoping to see Bigfoot and capturing footage on my camera. Unfortunately, the wooden carvings of Bigfoot was the only thing that I captured on my camera!

Overall, a fun stop filled with touristy stuff that is fun to looked at.  They also had redwood carvings of Bigfoot  along with Smokey the Bear, Shrek, and a variety of garden gnomes both for display and for sale. I checked out the refrigerator magnets, coffee mugs, and t-shirts.   I picked up a spoon rest and coffee mug and after I left, I hoped that we would pass it on the way back home so that I could stop and pick up a 2024 Redwoods calendar and a refrigerator magnet!

Continue reading →

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Avenue of the Giants – Humboldt State Park

Posted on October 15, 2023 by JimG

October 15th, 2023

We stopped at the Visitors Center for the Avenue of the Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods Sate Park.  We were driving through the park but also wanted to do some hiking.   As we headed into the visitors center, they had information about Redwood trees saying that they had been around since the time of dinosaurs and that they can live over 2,0000 years old.   Some of the areas along the Avenue had never been logged.

There was a cross section of a redwood with plaques showing the rings that were in the 12002, 1300s and so on.  It really drove home the point that these trees were old and if my grandparents had driven down this avenue, they would have been looking at some of the same trees.

The woman at the visitors center gave us maps and suggestions on where to stop and where to hike. She was very helpful and every time I had a question, she would open a drawer and pull out a piece of paper with additional information.  I guess they get the same questions over and over again.   She suggested that we start with the Gould Grove Nature loop which would take us down to the river.  We headed out and had a great hike. Continue reading →

Categories: California | Leave a comment

Medocino Botanical Gardens

Posted on October 14, 2023 by JimG

October 14, 2023

We were staying in Ukiah which is along the 101 Freeway which is inland.   We decided to head to the Coast and used CA State Route 20 to cross over to Fort Brag and then headed south to Mendocino where we found a botanical gardens.  When I reviewed my pictures from that day, I realized that there were very few pictures of the gardens but a lot of pictures of the coast.  In fairness to the gardens, it is fall, there isn’t a lot that is in bloom with the exception of the Dahlias.

When I left, I realized that we spent a lot more time than I had expected.  I really enjoyed sitting and just looking at how wonderful nature can be.   A lot of people think of California as being warm sandy white beaches when the majority of our coast line is anything but that. Continue reading →

Categories: Mendocino | Leave a comment

The Skunk Train, Willits, CA

Posted on October 13, 2023 by JimG

Friday, October 13th, 2023

All aboard the Pumpkin Express!   What a way to celebrate fall and Halloween by taking the Skunk Train through the redwood groves!   During the month of October, the Wolfe Tree Turn is renamed to the Pumpkin Express and as an added extra, we got Halloween candy and got to take a pumpkin home with us.

I had heard about the Skunk Train in a Visit California magazine.  It looked interesting offering different rides on different routes along with different themes.  They also had rail bikes that looked fun but I decided to stick with the train ride.

The Skunk Train website had quite a bit of history, the railroad was installed in the 1800s to haul redwood lumber to Fort Bragg as well as transport workers.   In the early 1900’s the steam engines were replaced with motorcars that used gasoline powered cars and used crude oil stoves to heat passenger cars.   The people along the line said that you could smell the train before you could see it and nicknamed the train, “The Skunk Train”.   Eventually, the lines became part of the California Railroad. Continue reading →

Categories: Mendocino | Leave a comment

On the Road – Pea Soup Andersen’s

Posted on October 12, 2023 by JimG

Oct 12, 2023

If you have taken a road trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco, you would have seen the signs for Pea Soup Andersen’s.  I remember seeing the signs the first time I drove up the 101 decades ago.   I am not a fan of pea soup, so I never stopped but a few years back, a couple of friends mentioned that the food is actually pretty good and not only is their pea soup wonderful, their fried chicken is delicious.  We  decided to give it a try and we loved it.

There are two locations, the original is off of the 101 and the second location is off the 5 freeway so it doesn’t matter if we are taking the 101 or the 5 freeway, we always plan on stopping. This was the first time I went to the one in Santa Nella and I was glad to see that it was almost identical to the one in Buellton, complete with the windmill, Danish bakery and gift shop. Continue reading →

Categories: California | 1 Comment

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