Santa Barbara

Hello Passengers,

Last weekend I went to Santa Barbara to spend time with my mom for Mother's Day. My family owes a beach house in Montecito, which is a small town about 10 mins away from Santa Barbara. My family goes over to Montecito almost every weekend and we also spend most of the summer there. There are many things to do in Santa Barbara and Montecito. There are also several fablous restaurants within walking distance of my house.

When I go to the beach house, I enjoy lying out on Butterfly beach,
this is a picture of Butterfly beach

shopping on State Street in Santa Barbara and just hanging out with my family. I also enjoy going to Stern's Wharf to walk around, look at the shops and get ice cream. The wharf has some of the best ice cream in Santa Barbara. You can also smell the waffle cones from a mile away.

The State Street shops or Paseo Nuevo mall has a variety of shops and restaurants. The weather is also usually nice, which is perfect for walking around this outdoor shopping area.

My family most likes to go to Santa Barbara for the good weather. It is sunny and not too hot, not to cold. If you have time this summer, I encourage you to drive down the 101 to spend a weekend or so with beautiful beaches, gorgeous weather, great shopping and delicous foods.

Happy travels,
Amy Bernstein

Waialua Sunflower Fields

This past winter break was the first time I had seen anything like the Waialua sunflowers.  Up north in the town of Waialua there is a private area where they grow sunflowers for California.  Apparently, the Hawaii fall and winter weather is exactly what they need in order to grow. 

            Although, it is a very hard place to find because they are not right on the side of the road, the search is so worth it.  However, if you do go, be courteous because it is on private property.  If you see someone there just let them know you just want to see the flowers because they are very kind and full of aloha spirit.

            Once you actually come into contact with the millions of flowers, you will not believe what you are seeing.  It is like a giant sea of yellow! It was so pretty and I just wanted to run through all of them.  Be careful though because there are a lot of bees hanging around the flowers.

            When I went it was mid December.  It is said that at this time they are still in the growing process meaning that later on around January time they are supposed to be much bigger because they cut them by the end of the month.

            Here are some pictures of my mini adventure to the sunflower field.  These pictures are just a glimpse of what the place actually looks like.

AS Roma!!

Hello people!!

I was a huge soccer fan a couple of years ago (I'm still are but not as much as I used to.. especially because I don't have time to watch the games and also because it was something I used to do with my family)

In 2007 I went to Italy with my family and I just had one thing in my mind..... AS Roma and Francesco Totti. The AS Roma is one of Roma's soccer teams and Tott

i is the captain of the team and also its most famous player.

We got to Rome Saturday and the game was on Sunday so literally the first thing we did after dropping our stuff in the hotel was going to the AS Rome official store to get our tickets.

When we were buying the tickets my mom told the man on the store that we had come all the way from Panama to attend this game and that I was a crazy fan of Totti. The man with a worried face told us that Totti got injured during training on that exact day and that probably he was not going to play on Sunday.

I started crying because I was so disappointed. I told my mom dont by the tickets, I dont want to go!!! but my mom bought the tickets anyways because she said that we could still watch him cause at least he was going to be seated at the bench.

For me that was not enough and I spent the rest of the day sad and when Sunday came and we were on our way to the stadium I was not even excited.

We got to the stadium and the players were doing stretches preparing for the game and then I saw him and I was like well at least that's something. When the game was about to start they were announcing the players that were gonna play and at last they said.... and the captain Francesco Totti!!!! I cannot explain my excitement, I was sooo happy. It was one of the best moments of MY LIFEEEE!!!

They won the game and I had so much fun!!

It was a dream come true!!

Everywhere I go..

I always have with me one of this protein bars!! they are delicious and have 0g of sugar which is great! and they make me stay fuller for a longer time. When you are on a trip, at the mall or wherever and you are starving just take a bite of it and drink lots of water so you can patiently wait for when its time to eat.

My favorite is the dark chocolate one.

Spontaneous Trip

It's always been on my bucket list to take a spontaneous trip!  During the 2010 winter break, I was laying in bed reading a book when I received a phone call from my friend.
Hai: "Hey do you want to go grab a burrito...?"
Me: "Sure!"
Hai: "...In Mexico?!?!"

WOW, wait, what?  Drive all the way to Mexico just to get a burrito?!  That's crazy!  I laughed and instantly agreed to leave the next morning.  The next day, we gathered a car full of friends and started our drive down to the border.  The funny thing was, we didn't even know where the border was, except that it was South.  Eventually, we somehow managed to reach the border around midnight and passed through with ease.  The "only" concern was that Hai did not have a passport with him because it was locked away in a safe and unable to be accessed by him.  So, all he had was a copy of his current passport and an old passport!  The moment we made it through border patrol, we all joked around and asked Hai if he was ready to start his life in Mexico because he wouldn't be able to make it back to American soil!  But alas, it was pointless to worry about getting him back into the country until the time we cross back again, so we ventured on with our journey.

On the way to Mexico

On the car ride down, we decided that one of our goals was to visit the beach.  After passing border patrol and stopping by a gas station to fill up for gas, we realized the dire situation we were in.  

1.  We had no pesos.

2.  We could barely speak comprehensive Spanish (the years in high school were too long ago).

3.  We had no map of Mexico.

Nevertheless, these obstacles did not stop us!  We had to constantly stop every 5 minutes to ask for directions to "la playa", trying to communicate with the people through hand waves and gestures.  We eventually made it to the beach after many stops and u-turns, and dipped our feet in the icy, cold water.

We decided to park the car on a random slope overlooking the beach coast and shared conversations until we nodded off into a much-needed sleep.  We received a visit by the local police holding AK-47s asking if we had beer in the car.  We immediately replied no and breathed a sigh of relief as the cops drove away.

The next morning, we drove to puerto nuevo to eat lobster and burritos.  After eating to our heart's content, we began our drive back to America.  When we got to the border, security thankfully accepted Hai's old passport and let us through with no major issues.

Honu

Honu means turtle in Hawaiian.  It is always a good day when you encounter one of these creatures.  Be careful not to get too close, though, because it is illegal and they are an endangered species.

The famous 17-Mile Drive

One of the best things to do, when visiting the area of Carmel/Monterey is the 17-mile drive. What is this, may you ask? Well, many people enjoy driving down this winding road that leads through a beautiful and wealthy neighborhood. Many people enjoy this drive with their windows rolled down on a nice sunny day. (Tip: the best time to go on this adventure is during the early afternoon when it is light outside and the skies are very clear). The drive requires a fee to drive on it. Motorcycles are not allowed, and cars are required to have a ticket while going through. During the drive, the view is amazing. Filled with forested areas, many views of the oceanfront, golf courses and luxury hotels, you will get sucked into wanting to live this life. There are some stores along the way such as Safeway and the 5th Avenue Deli to buy some snacks if people get hungry. There are many places to have a picnic such as Point Joe and Seal Rock. While driving, you will see that these are some very popular areas to lounge and eat. (Tip: Yes, there are restaurants along the way, such as Roy's restaurant but buying snacks to have a picnic is not only cheaper, but it permits a better view while eating...also you are outdoors! How much better can it get?) I recommend visiting and taking a trip with family or friends. Many attractions such as monterey bay and the aquarium, Canary Road, and downtown Carmel are right by this area.

The 17-Mile drive is gorgeous and is a very nice sight seeing experience.