Denver, CO

Hello again,
One of my favorite computer games growing up was Where in the World in Carmen Sandiego? The premise of the game was pretty simple- you are a sleuth who travels the world searching for clues that will help you apprehend Carmen or one of her henchmen.  I can remember spending hours at school and at home playing this game (and watching the TV show for that matter- remember Rockapella?)  That said, I can't help but find it amusing and somewhat ironic that these days I get to play the grown up version with my family and friends known as "Where in the Hell is Bill this Week?"  Well, the answer to that question for the past month has been... HOME!  Home, where the temperatures reach 118 and we were hear things like "it's going to dip down to 105" at night.  Home, where I don't have to show ID when I check-in.  (Yes, Aly still recognizes me.)

With that said, Aly and I did get to take one trip this month.  At the end of June, we headed out to Denver, land of 85 degrees, this weird stuff called rain, our friends Myron and Erin, and of course this...

The Hempmobile

Aly had to work on Friday, so we had to take an evening flight to the Mile High City, arriving after 11pm local time.  Thankfully, Myron was willing to pick us up from the Denver airport (AKA the airport that is nowhere near Denver- seriously, look it up) and drive us over an hour back into the city to drop us off at our hotel.  Thanks Myron.  Feeling as tired as a GEICO commercial (with the exception of the camel one), we checked in, tossed our suitcases on the floor, and crashed.

Fortunately, our plans with Myron and Erin didn't begin until after noon.  This gave us a rare opportunity to... get this... sleep in!!!  No work, no alarm clocks, no exercising- seriously, nothing but uninterrupted sleep.  I highly recommend it.  All good things of course must come to an end, so we eventually got up, enjoyed some breakfast in the lobby, and strolled around downtown before meeting our friends near the ballpark for lunch at Ignite and (what else?) a baseball game.

Coors Field

 Now, Myron and Erin recently got their first puppy, a cute little Chocolate Lab named Naga.  Being a puppy, Naga loves chewing on shoes, the corner of the refrigerator, and basically else puppies loves to chew on, so Erin had to head back to the house after lunch to take care of her while the three of us headed to Coors Field to watch the Giants take on the Rockies.  I definitely enjoyed Coors Field- views of the Rocky Mountains, pleasant fans, and perfect weather.  Matt Cain pitched a great game for the Giants, giving up only one run over seven innings, but unfortunately the Rockies won 2-1 on a walk-off single.  Even though we lost, it was a good game.  Afterwards, Myron showed us some of the sights downtown, including the 16th Street Mall for dinner, dessert, and an unexpected show.

Lady taking picture with the llama.  Love the dollar bills stuffed in the sash.

Dinner was at this cool little restaurant called Cafe Colore.  I had the Seafood FraDiavolo (linguini with scallops, shrimp, and mussels in a spicy red sauce (definitely recommend it). Aly opted for the braised short rib, while Myron went with the lasagna.  Both looked great.  Dessert was at a funky little candy shop that had every type of candy you could imagine.  From Bueno (my favorite candy bar from Europe) to Butterfinger, Scorpion on a stick to salt water taffy, this place had it all.  We ended up buying a large bag of salt water taffy which two weeks later we are still working on.  Finally, the unexpected show I am referring to was this random guy just walking around downtown with his llama.  Yep.  You read that correctly.  Just walking his llama down the street.  What can I say, this guy is living the dream!  With that, we knew it was time to head back to the hotel.

Adding to the collection

The next day, Myron, Erin, Aly, and I took a short drive to the town of Evergreen for a light lunch and to do a little wine tasting at Creekside Cellars.  We were not aware of the fact that Colorado even had any wineries, but it does.  In fact, many of the wines we tasted were actually pretty good, so we decided to buy a couple of bottles to bring home.  From there it was off a nearby lake for a scenic walk and some catching up.  Naga relished in all of the attention she received from every passerby who noticed her and couldn't resist the urge to pet her, while the four of us (AKA Naga's entourage) shared stories and discussed what we had been up to for the past couple of years since we had last seen each other.   

At the lake

That brought us to the end of our short trip.  It was great to get out of the Vegas heat for a few days to catch up with friends (and meet Naga too).  We need to make plans to do this again, and not wait so long this time.  On that note, it's almost time to start packing again.  Our busy season at work is about to start.  Where the hell am I going this week?  Well, it's off to the Kagan Summer Academy at Disney World.  Mickey is waiting, after all!

Wouldn't want anybody to get in now, would we???

Naples, FL and Alamosa, CO

January 2-3, 2013
The holiday season over, it was time to hit the road again and return to a town that is quickly becoming one of my favorites. That town is Naples, FL. Why is Naples such a great town? Where to start? First of all, the downtown area has lots of unique places to eat, mom and pops shops, and its just a cool place to stroll around. Fortunately, the town still had decorations up from Christmas which made for some great shots.

Dinner at Sushi Thai

Strolling down 5th Ave.

Second, about 100 yards down the street from the downtown district is access to the beach. Unfortunately, on this trip I was unable to make it to the beach before sunset, so here is what I "saw":

Of course, the third thing that makes Naples great is THE WEATHER! The temperature when I was there was 82... Let me remind you again that this is JANUARY. I'm still kicking myself for not packing any shorts. I soaked up the weather as much as I could and kept reminding myself that I most definitely deserved this because I spent the week before Christmas in Alamosa, Colorado. 

[now don't get me wrong, Alamosa is a cool little town too. And if you ever find yourself in Alamosa, be sure to eat/drink at the San Luis Brewery. Best place in town! I personally recommend the trout]

Alamosa, CO
(not to be confused with Naples)

Brrrr!!!!!!

Back to the point... the reason I deserved the weather in Naples is because the weather in Alamosa was -24. I'll give you a moment to go back and reread that. Yep, you read it right. Negative 24! While you are wrapping your head around that temperature, I will say goodbye for now and start packing for my next trip. Aly and I are heading back to Florida, albeit to Orlando this time for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend and 11 days at the happiest place on Earth. Até logo!

Oh, Canada!

Masset, British Columbia, Canada

October 18-21, 2012

After some much needed time off, it was off to the ‘Great White North’ to do my first international training!  I packed the passport, Canadian work permit, and headed to the airport for a few days in Masset, on the island of Haida Gwaii (aka Queen Charlotte Islands).  If this place sound familiar, it’s because they had a 7.7 EARTHQUAKE a week after I left that triggered the tsunami warnings in Hawaii.  Yeah, that was close!

Anyway, we landed in Vancouver where I spent the night (I’m sure you’re shocked that there aren’t any nonstops to Masset) before taking the morning flight to the tiny island of Haida Gwaii, which took about 2 hours.  I grabbed a rental car, grabbed a quick sushi lunch and headed out the find the bed and breakfast where I would be staying for the next four days.  Unfortunately, my GPS does not work in Canada so I had to use my great sense of direction [pause for laughter] to help me find my way.  As you might expect, I had a little difficulty finding the place, but I had good reason.  According to Google Maps, the street where this B&B was located was called Chinny Rd.  However, this is the sign that I apparently should have been looking for.

The corner of Raven Rd. and
Chinny Rd. (uh, obviously...)

  

I unpacked and rested for a bit, then it was off to explore.  The island really is a fascinating place.  Something I noticed right away was the totem poles that could be found everywhere, reaching upwards of 30-40 feet tall.  Native longhouses with traditional Haida paintings were also very prevalent.  After strolling around for a bit, I headed back to the B&B and asked the innkeeper to recommend some restaurants.  He got quite a chuckle out of this, obviously not a good sign.  I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it went something like this:

“Well I think the general store can cook burgers, and I think the RV Park does fish n’ chips.  There’s Hidden Island Restaurant.  Oh wait, they’ve closed for the season…” 

Needless to say, I could see that food would not be the highlight of this trip!

The next day, I presented to a really great group of teachers who were eager to share their island with me.  During one of the breaks, a couple of them recommended that I head east to Tow Hill where I would find a beach with some great views.  “How do I get there?”  I ask. 

[Now be sure to read this in doing your best Canadian accent] “Well, you go down the main road there for aboot 40-50 kilometers.  When it becomes dirt, be sure to sloo down and be careful, eh.  It’s been raining ya know, and ya doon’t wanna get stuck.  If you do get stuck though, don’t worry, somebody’s boond to be oot there before too long, eh.  They’ll help ya oot.

Me:  “Okay”

My better judgment: “What?!”

I change clothes and head out (or should I say oot?) towards Tow Hill.  A pretty easy drive for the first half but of course a light rain starts to come down soon after the road turns to dirt.  At this point, I could turn around but I know that I may never get this opportunity again so I go for it.  I continue on for about 15 more minutes where I see a sign that says ‘Beach Access’.  This looks good to me so I pull the car over and hike about a hundred yards where I am treated to some great views of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.

See those 2 little bumps on
the horizon?  That's Alaska.

The following day I presented the second day of the workshop (yes, I did work) and decided to walk around Old Masset for some more sightseeing.  One of the highlights from this walk was seeing two bald eagles perched on a wall.  I got within 20 yards of them and snapped a couple of pictures before they became aware of me and flew off.  Here is one of those pics:

The following day it was time to head home.  I really had a great time in Masset, and hope to have the chance to go again someday.  But for now, I have some great pictures to help me remember it and to share with you.  Enjoy!        

Shreveport, LA and Tulare, CA

Hello and welcome to my blog!

One of the perks that come with my job is that I get to see many new and interesting places.  Another benefit is that I get to try lots of great (and sometimes interesting) things to eat.  With that in mind, my wife Aly gave me the great idea of starting a blog to share some of these experiences with everyone.  So in this blog I will be posting some of the different sights and foods that come with being a Kagan trainer.  Enjoy!

Shreveport, LA
I arrived in Shreveport at 7:30pm and immediately noticed the numerous movie posters that lined the hallways.  As I continued down this hall, it occurred to me that these were all movies that were filmed here.  I don't recall any of the movies off the top of my head (you could say I'm not exactly a movie buff), but as I continued reading the posters I came across one that boldly proclaimed that Shreveport was "HOLLYWOOD SOUTH".  Who knew?

I got my car and headed to the hotel, some 4 minutes away (sweet!) and was welcomed by a very friendly staff (this is the south after all).  I told them that this was my first time in Louisiana so I wanted to try something Louisian -ian, -ish, -er... uh, Cajun.  They recommended a restaurant called Ralph and Kacoo's, located near the Louisiana Boardwalk where all of the casinos are located.  I also did not realize that Shreveport was a gambling mecca.  Man, this place is full of surprises.

That's the gator on the right

Once at the restaurant, I decided to try crawfish (don't call them crayfish here) and alligator for my appetizer.  After some encouraging from the waiter, I went for the blackened alligator, dipped it in the hollandaise sauce and ate it.  Wow, it was really good!  Cliche as it sounds, it really does taste like... well, chicken.  Dinner followed soon after.  I ordered the Shrimp Trawl, which consisted of shrimp au gratin, fried shrimp, shrimp stew, and crab-stuffed shrimp (did anybody else just read that in their Bubba Gump voice?)  The shrimp au gratin was outstanding and easily the best of the four, but the crab-stuffed shrimp was somewhat disappointing.

Shrimp Trawl

This was a quick trip, so 22 hours later it was back to the airport to head back to Vegas for a day, then to the next location- Tulare/Visalia, CA and an opportunity to see family and friends for three days.  It was great to visit with my parents, grandparents, and Uncle Manuel and do some catching up.  I also got to visit some of my favorite local eateries, The Old Spaghetti Factory and Taylor's Hot Dogs, as well as try a new place, Amigo's.  And, believe it or not, I even took in a movie (Taken 2) with John and Joe.  Overall, it was a great week.  Next, it's back to Vegas and a well-deserved week off and a visit from Aly's mom.