San FranciscoSan Francisco has so much to offer. There are many outdoor things to do, events and fab restaurants. There are many great places to hike with fabulous views, such as hikes by the Cliff House, Land's End, China Beach - coastal trail
While you're in San Francisco, you getta try the meditation class. It's a very spiritual thing to do. The abbot talked about the three poisons of the mind - anger, greed and ignorance. Meditation seeks mindful awareness of the body and seeks balance, internal peace and harmony. Realize that all actions have consequences or karma. Work diligently to become patient, generous, compassion, tolerant, and have peaceful mind - which is nirvana.San Francisco also has so many yummy Asian food. Oh my god, so many choices and so good.
* JapanTown in San Francisco - Suzu Noodle's vegetarian Ramen is sooooo good. Also try the Mochi shop and the crepe store. You getta love how Japanese restaurants show imitated food sample in the window so you can see what you're getting :) Picture is worth a thousand words. Don't forget to go to the Japanese dollar store upstairs!
* Japantown San Jose* Cha-ya vegetarian Japanese cuisine - avocado roll is our favorite. Cha-ya noodle is my favorite.
* Korea Tofu House at Cupertino or Todam Tofu House at San Bruno. Tofu soup is served in a clay pot which keeps the tofu soup hot for a long time, with a choice of rice. Korean food comes with many plates of appetizers so you won't go hungry for long.
In the 99 Ranch plaza, Fantasia is one of the original boba tea in the area and it's still our favorite. The tea is fresh, not too sweet, and lightly fragrant. The boba is chewy. Our second favorite bubble tea is Quickly. Try their Jasmin milk bubble tea.
* Vegetarian House in San Jose. Their noodle soup is good.
* Sogo Tofu organic soy for fresh soy bean drink and dou hua.
* Shanghai Dumpling Shop for brunch. They have sweet or savory soy bean milk, rice roll, and of course Shanghai steamed dumplings.
* Sheng Kee Bakery and Marina plaza
These are few of my observations of the San Francisco metropolitan area:
* There are many Internet and high tech companies there (Apple, Yahoo, Google, Oracle, HP, Sun Microsystems), but when you drive by, all you see is just their buildings. The net worth is in the intellectual capital and the ideas. Start working on your pitch to the venture capitalists. Several universities there brings in young talents and research & development. The traffic can be bad, but it's just like any other metropolitan area. The housing and gas price are higher, but just live in a smaller place. Good food and great outdoor activities make up for it. Zen meditation center is easily accessible.
* There's a little earthquake here and there. You're aware of the danger, but you try not to worry too much about it.
Be prepared for disasters, have a plan, and know what to do after an earthquake. * Keep shoes and a working flashlight next to each bed. * Know how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity to your home. * Install smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. * Store water and food supplies.
* Californians are big on environmental and recycle. After you visit the thousand years old sequoia trees and the clear Lake Tahoe, you realized the importance of saving our environment through every little things we do.
Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe, CA is about 4 hours away from San Francisco. Rent or bring your GPS. The Sierra Nevada Mountain is just beautiful, and the lake is so clear.
This is the view from where we stayed in Stateline, Nevada, Harrah's Lake Tahoe. Harveys Lake Tahoe is actually closer to the lake, but both has higher floors so you can request a lake view. You can also dine on the 18th floor with this view at the Forest Buffet. Breakfast is from 8-11AM for $11. Dinner starts at 5pm. Go when it opens so you can get the good table with a view. Wes likes their sirloin steak. I like their small fruit and chocolate mousse desert.
This is the view from the Lakeside Beach, end of the Stateline Ave. Fresh mountain air and pristine lake with a snow cap mountain view, like the Alps of Europe. I didn't know such beautiful place exist here.
Forget about the commericalized Starbucks, Alpen Sierra Coffee has really good caramel coffee, free wireless Internet, and comfortable sittings.
Pony Express used to come through Lake Tahoe during 1860's to delivery mails. We have come a long way to deliver e-mails in split seconds.
Yosemite National Park
Make your reservation in the Yosemite Valley, such as the Curry Village, as soon as you can. Preferred rooms are booked up early. You can cancel it seven days before departure if you book it through DNC. When you step out of the room, you're right in the middle of the park by Yosemite village valley floor. The view is just absolutely gorgeous. It costs more to stay on the valley floor, but it'll save you time to travel into the park through difficult mountain roads. It usually takes about two hours to drive into the park. When you vacation, time is money.
Accommodations in Yosemite at Curry Village include 18 standard motel rooms, 100 cabins with private baths, three Specialty Cabins with baths, 80 cabins with central bath houses and 427 canvas tent cabins. TripAdvisor reviewers had some bad reviews of the public shower house, but it shouldn't be a suprise if you camped before. There's a good group of candid traveler photos. We stayed at Curry Village's Standard Motel Room/Stoneman Cottage since that was the only option left with private bathroom. For your comfort, book the room with a private bath. The room is very very basic, towels, sheets, blanket and pillows are provided. Bring your own hair dryer. They'll ask you to remove all food out of your car for the night since you're in the bear country. We saw bear #46 in the woods by the creek in the afternoon.
Curry Village Dining offers reasonable food. The Greek pizza special is good. You can watch sports games with beers in the dining area. Check out the Visitor Center to see an award winning movie about Yosemite. There's also a museum that shows the age of tree rings and the Indian culture. You can also find a well stocked grocery store and a Bank of America ATM. You can rent a bike at the Yosemite Lodge or the Curry Village to bike around the valley. Get gas before you enter the park. Free shuttles are available in the park to take you to spots.
Lower Yosemite Falls (easy) - waterfall runs in the spring and early summer from the melted snow.
During the summer, Mist Trail, Vernal Falls (3 hours, 3 miles roundtrip) and Nevada Falls are fun. Or you can drive to the Glacier Point for a panorama view.
If you're in good shape and not afraid of height, try the Half Dome (May-Oct). The whole trip is 17 miles, 12 hours, so start your day early, pack drinks and food, and prepare to spend the night in the valley. Check out sunrise, sunset and new moon schedule, so you can plan your hikes.
Walk between giantsMariposa Grove is the park's largest stand of giant sequoias, with about 500 trees. Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is about 1.2 hour drive from the yosemite valley. Hike about 1 mile (if the access road is open) to the Bachelor and Three Graces, Grizzly Giant (estimated 2,700 years old) and California Tunnel Tree. Expect to spend 4-5 hours if you want to complete the loop.
Paddler Wesley and the great blue heron on the tree trunk
white ibis looking for food 
This was our canoe. Arrived safely and sat comfortably in the seat rest
The month of May is the peak of alligator mating season. We could hear their calling, but we didn't see any alligator on this trip. It sounds like this - Alligators2 and Alligators3. 
