Travel Pictures

Michigan (Apr 24-26, 2021)
Adam's college decision came down to a choice between UCLA and University of Michigan. Visiting UCLA was easy. Visiting Michigan involved getting on a plane and heading into a Covid hot spot. The good news was that we scored a couple of great tour guides who took us around both North and Central campus. On our own, we stopped to take some obligatory pictures next to the Michigan stadium, wandered around Ann Arbor, bought some swag, had several tasty meals, and visited the Nicols Arboretum.

San Francisco (Apr 11-17, 2021)
During Allison's spring break, we drove up to San Francisco to check out Proof School. Well, actually, we weren't allowed inside the school, so mostly we checked out San Francisco. We met up with Jeff and Laena, and spent a day wandering around the Golden Gate Park. Allison met a real-life Proofnik, and they took a stroll together around Crissy Field. On our own, we visited Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, and Land's End. And one day, we took Allison to Muir Woods; on the way back, we stopped for some nice views in the Marin Headlands.

Park City, Utah (Feb 14-19, 2021)
The kids had a week off from school, so we got back on the road and drove to Park City - a mere 10 hour drive. We tried out snowmobiling on Monday, and skied at Deer Valley for three days in the middle of the week. We had great access from our ski-in, ski-out rental house, and we got very lucky with the weather and snow conditions: there was lots of fresh powder, and plentiful opportunities to ski in Deer Valley's beautiful beech groves. The lifts were not terribly crowded, and there was certainly lots of room to spread out on the mountain itself. The scenery was peaceful, rejuvenating, and whimsical. And at the end of the day, there was a hot tub waiting back at the house.

Oregon Coast (Aug 8-16, 2020)
Months into the pandemic, we bit the bullet and went on vacation. Adam brought along some friends, and we drove in two separate cars up to the Oregon coast (a 16 hour drive), passing some familiar sights along the way.
Our rental house was right on the beach in a little town of Neskowin, with its mysterious ghost forest and the distinctive Proposal Rock. The location was perfect, and we spent a good amount of time exploring the beach. The teenagers went surfing in the frigid water. They took an inflatable boat on a fishing expedition, and brought home critters from nearby rivers and lakes (Allison organized a subsequent release of some of the critters back to their natural habitat). We picked blackberries from the ubiquitous blackberry bushes nearby, made a blackberry pie, and cooked a variety of dinners. The house came with a pool table, a ping pong table, a movie theater, and a hot tub. And there were meteor showers at night which Adam tried to capture with his camera.
Further afield, we went on a couple of gorgeous hikes, to the Cascade Head and Cape Lookout. We went crabbing in Nehalem Bay, and stopped by Tillamook Creamery for ice cream on the way back home. We visited the nearby Cape Kiwanda with its awesome sand dunes. And we drove back home at the end of the week, another 16 hours on the road.

College Tours (Feb 16-19, 2020)
Adam and I went on a quick tour of East Coast colleges: three colleges in three days. We first flew to Ithaca and visited Cornell, then flew to Raleigh, North Carolina and visited Duke, and finally, flew to Chicago and visited Northwestern. It was definitely a bit of a whirlwind trip, and after the first couple of days, Adam was pretty much ready to go home to sunny California. The weather was actually pretty nice: New York and Illinois were certainly chilly, but not unseasonably so, and the sun was out and the skies were blue throughout. Duke was by far the closest in climate to California; after the tour there, Adam met up with a friend, scooted around campus, and went to see some puppies.

Big Sky, Montana (Dec 21-28, 2019)
This year, we headed to Montana to try a new ski resort. We first flew into Bozeman and stayed with Christine and Scott for a night. Allison got to meet Opal, and they quickly became great friends. The next morning, we drove to the rental house in Big Sky, where we met up with the Banks and the Suratis. The skiing conditions were unfortunately not great this year, but the company made up for it. Christine and Scott came back for a visit one night, giving the kids another chance to hang out with Opal.
One of the days, rather than hitting the bare slopes, Adam, Michelle, and I (and Adam's fancy camera) drove toward Yellowstone in search of wild life. The only "wild" life we found was at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, but that didn't make the attempts any less fun. Ironically, we did eventually find some bighorn sheep smack in the middle of the road on the way back to the airport.

Boston (Nov 15-17, 2019)
I went back to Boston to see Michelle perform in another MTG musical, The Chorus Line. It was a remarkable production, and easy to see why Michelle stuck with it, depsite being sick for most of the semester. Michelle made a great Bebe, but pretty much everyone in the cast was fantastic. The choreography was very impressive, and it was just so obvious that everyone had worked their butts off for this show. It was definitely my favorite of all the MTG productions I've seen so far.

Boston (Aug 31 - Sep 2, 2019)
We all visited Cambridge over the Labor Day weekend, to see Michelle perform in the latest MTG musical, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The performance was fantastic as usual, and Allison even got to participate as a spelling bee contestant! After the show, we walked Michelle back to MacGregor and checked our her new dorm room. Over the rest of the weekend, we had some meals with both Michelle and some old friends, and Adam spent some time hanging out with his Boston-area buddies.

Colorado Springs, Colorado (Jul 14-28, 2019)
Allison returned to Epsilon camp this summer, this time at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Many of her friends returned as well, and it was again a fantastic camp experience, complete with great faculty, classes, homework, math stations, games, and other activities. We stayed on campus this time, and took advantage of the athletic facilities, such as the pool. Again, there was a closing ceremony on the last day.

Japan (Jun 12-21, 2019)
While Allison was in Florida, and Adam was hanging out in Laguna, Elmer and I snuck away to Japan. We flew into Osaka and took a train to Kii-Tanabe. From there, we hiked three sections of the Kumono Kodo pilgrimage trail: a short hike to Oyunohara and back to Yunomine Onsen; a longer hike from Ukegawa to Koguchi, and the longest hike from Koguchi to Nachi. We stayed in ryokans along the way, and had the trail pretty much to ourselves.
From Nachi, we took a train to Kanazawa. We checked out the Kenrokuen Garden, then rented a car and spent one day traversing the Noto Peninsula, including Wajima, Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces, random stops at various beaches, Rokkosaki Lighthouse, Mitsukejima Island, and Tsukumo Bay. We then drove in the opposite direction, to Shirakawa and Takayama, with its Hida Folk Village and old town. We returned the car in Nakatsugawa, took a bus to Magome, and went on a final hike from Magome to Tsumago. Finally, we took several buses and trains to get back to the airport. It was a great trip, with good food and many amusements along the way.

Florida (Jun 12-16, 2019)
Right after school got out for the year, Allison went on a trip to Florida with her sixth grade teacher and a few other kids from her school. They managed to fit quite a lot into five days: beach snorkeling, swimming with dolphins (professional photos here), squid dissection, kayaking in the mangroves, snorkeling from a boat, turtle hospital, searching for sea creatures, feeding the tarpon, "Robert is Here" fruit stand, and the Shark Valley National Park in the Everglades. (Thanks to John and Mike for the awesome pictures. Allison also took some good ones.)

Boston (Apr 13-14, 2019)
Michelle landed a part in another musical: she played the Wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast. This time, the musical was put on by Next Act, and the shows took place during the Campus Preview Weekend. We flew in on Saturday, saw the final performance, said hello to some old friends, and checked out Michelle's new dorm room. On Sunday, after a quick lunch, we flew back home.

Archive >>

nat@hungs.com elmer@alum.mit.edu

	Michigan (Apr 24-26, 2021) Adam's college decision came down to a choice between UCLA and University of Michigan. Visiting UCLA was easy. Visiting Michigan involved getting on a plane and heading into a Covid hot spot. The good news was that we scored a couple of great tour guides who took us around both North and Central campus. On our own, we stopped to take some obligatory pictures next to the Michigan stadium, wandered around Ann Arbor, bought some swag, had several tasty meals, and visited the Nicols Arboretum.
	San Francisco (Apr 11-17, 2021) During Allison's spring break, we drove up to San Francisco to check out Proof School. Well, actually, we weren't allowed inside the school, so mostly we checked out San Francisco. We met up with Jeff and Laena, and spent a day wandering around the Golden Gate Park. Allison met a real-life Proofnik, and they took a stroll together around Crissy Field. On our own, we visited Ghirardelli Square, Pier 39, and Land's End. And one day, we took Allison to Muir Woods; on the way back, we stopped for some nice views in the Marin Headlands.
	Park City, Utah (Feb 14-19, 2021) The kids had a week off from school, so we got back on the road and drove to Park City - a mere 10 hour drive. We tried out snowmobiling on Monday, and skied at Deer Valley for three days in the middle of the week. We had great access from our ski-in, ski-out rental house, and we got very lucky with the weather and snow conditions: there was lots of fresh powder, and plentiful opportunities to ski in Deer Valley's beautiful beech groves. The lifts were not terribly crowded, and there was certainly lots of room to spread out on the mountain itself. The scenery was peaceful, rejuvenating, and whimsical. And at the end of the day, there was a hot tub waiting back at the house.
	Oregon Coast (Aug 8-16, 2020) Months into the pandemic, we bit the bullet and went on vacation. Adam brought along some friends, and we drove in two separate cars up to the Oregon coast (a 16 hour drive), passing some familiar sights along the way. Our rental house was right on the beach in a little town of Neskowin, with its mysterious ghost forest and the distinctive Proposal Rock. The location was perfect, and we spent a good amount of time exploring the beach. The teenagers went surfing in the frigid water. They took an inflatable boat on a fishing expedition, and brought home critters from nearby rivers and lakes (Allison organized a subsequent release of some of the critters back to their natural habitat). We picked blackberries from the ubiquitous blackberry bushes nearby, made a blackberry pie, and cooked a variety of dinners. The house came with a pool table, a ping pong table, a movie theater, and a hot tub. And there were meteor showers at night which Adam tried to capture with his camera. Further afield, we went on a couple of gorgeous hikes, to the Cascade Head and Cape Lookout. We went crabbing in Nehalem Bay, and stopped by Tillamook Creamery for ice cream on the way back home. We visited the nearby Cape Kiwanda with its awesome sand dunes. And we drove back home at the end of the week, another 16 hours on the road.
	College Tours (Feb 16-19, 2020) Adam and I went on a quick tour of East Coast colleges: three colleges in three days. We first flew to Ithaca and visited Cornell, then flew to Raleigh, North Carolina and visited Duke, and finally, flew to Chicago and visited Northwestern. It was definitely a bit of a whirlwind trip, and after the first couple of days, Adam was pretty much ready to go home to sunny California. The weather was actually pretty nice: New York and Illinois were certainly chilly, but not unseasonably so, and the sun was out and the skies were blue throughout. Duke was by far the closest in climate to California; after the tour there, Adam met up with a friend, scooted around campus, and went to see some puppies.
	Big Sky, Montana (Dec 21-28, 2019) This year, we headed to Montana to try a new ski resort. We first flew into Bozeman and stayed with Christine and Scott for a night. Allison got to meet Opal, and they quickly became great friends. The next morning, we drove to the rental house in Big Sky, where we met up with the Banks and the Suratis. The skiing conditions were unfortunately not great this year, but the company made up for it. Christine and Scott came back for a visit one night, giving the kids another chance to hang out with Opal. One of the days, rather than hitting the bare slopes, Adam, Michelle, and I (and Adam's fancy camera) drove toward Yellowstone in search of wild life. The only "wild" life we found was at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, but that didn't make the attempts any less fun. Ironically, we did eventually find some bighorn sheep smack in the middle of the road on the way back to the airport.
	Boston (Nov 15-17, 2019) I went back to Boston to see Michelle perform in another MTG musical, The Chorus Line. It was a remarkable production, and easy to see why Michelle stuck with it, depsite being sick for most of the semester. Michelle made a great Bebe, but pretty much everyone in the cast was fantastic. The choreography was very impressive, and it was just so obvious that everyone had worked their butts off for this show. It was definitely my favorite of all the MTG productions I've seen so far.
	Boston (Aug 31 - Sep 2, 2019) We all visited Cambridge over the Labor Day weekend, to see Michelle perform in the latest MTG musical, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The performance was fantastic as usual, and Allison even got to participate as a spelling bee contestant! After the show, we walked Michelle back to MacGregor and checked our her new dorm room. Over the rest of the weekend, we had some meals with both Michelle and some old friends, and Adam spent some time hanging out with his Boston-area buddies.
	Colorado Springs, Colorado (Jul 14-28, 2019) Allison returned to Epsilon camp this summer, this time at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Many of her friends returned as well, and it was again a fantastic camp experience, complete with great faculty, classes, homework, math stations, games, and other activities. We stayed on campus this time, and took advantage of the athletic facilities, such as the pool. Again, there was a closing ceremony on the last day.
	Japan (Jun 12-21, 2019) While Allison was in Florida, and Adam was hanging out in Laguna, Elmer and I snuck away to Japan. We flew into Osaka and took a train to Kii-Tanabe. From there, we hiked three sections of the Kumono Kodo pilgrimage trail: a short hike to Oyunohara and back to Yunomine Onsen; a longer hike from Ukegawa to Koguchi, and the longest hike from Koguchi to Nachi. We stayed in ryokans along the way, and had the trail pretty much to ourselves. From Nachi, we took a train to Kanazawa. We checked out the Kenrokuen Garden, then rented a car and spent one day traversing the Noto Peninsula, including Wajima, Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Terraces, random stops at various beaches, Rokkosaki Lighthouse, Mitsukejima Island, and Tsukumo Bay. We then drove in the opposite direction, to Shirakawa and Takayama, with its Hida Folk Village and old town. We returned the car in Nakatsugawa, took a bus to Magome, and went on a final hike from Magome to Tsumago. Finally, we took several buses and trains to get back to the airport. It was a great trip, with good food and many amusements along the way.
	Florida (Jun 12-16, 2019) Right after school got out for the year, Allison went on a trip to Florida with her sixth grade teacher and a few other kids from her school. They managed to fit quite a lot into five days: beach snorkeling, swimming with dolphins (professional photos here), squid dissection, kayaking in the mangroves, snorkeling from a boat, turtle hospital, searching for sea creatures, feeding the tarpon, "Robert is Here" fruit stand, and the Shark Valley National Park in the Everglades. (Thanks to John and Mike for the awesome pictures. Allison also took some good ones.)
	Boston (Apr 13-14, 2019) Michelle landed a part in another musical: she played the Wardrobe in Beauty and the Beast. This time, the musical was put on by Next Act, and the shows took place during the Campus Preview Weekend. We flew in on Saturday, saw the final performance, said hello to some old friends, and checked out Michelle's new dorm room. On Sunday, after a quick lunch, we flew back home.
Archive >>