Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
During our trip two weeks ago, we had stopped by the Shark Reef Aquarium located at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The shark reef is considered a zoo, and while it was really small (and packed), it was really fun. The place was designed to look like a shipwreck or ruin. If you've played Temple Run, that's the kind of feel you get from the aquarium.
Fish are friends, not food
Last week, my family and I began our week-long trip at The Enclaves of Shadow Ridge. This vacation club, owned by Marriott, is located in the heart of Desert Palms, CA. Upon entering The Enclaves, you immediately find yourself in a *whole new world* (ha!).
Shadow Ridge: The Enclaves
I know, I know... Didn't she just change her blog URL back in November? I did but after some thought (not much, really), it dawned on me that while I loved the name katczinske (a silly misspelling of a favorite fictional character), it was just a mouthful. No pun intended. Growing up, a lot of friends have always shortened my name from Eena to Eens and since this blog is just a peak into my life, I decided to rename to eensybits! Wooohooo *throws confetti*
Anyways, I finally made my last trip to Disneyland for the year! See, I may have an annual pass but I only visit the park during March and all throughout October. Why October? I was born in October so that month automatically becomes my official "treat yo'self" month.
The park had their Christmas decorations put up, and I only went to see the tree. Oh, and I got to see Baymax, whom I waited in line for thirty minutes. IT WAS WORTH IT.
Despite his non-existent ability to smile in this photo, he really likes me, I swear!
Obligatory photo with Goofy!
Watch out Sleeping Beauty, we're moving into the castle. Kidding.
BAYMAAAAAX.
I'm currently on vacation somewhere in the deep heart of the California desert. Since the weather has been chilly, I decided to pack winter-appropriate clothes. But guess what, it isn't even that cold here *cries self to sleep*
Anyways, I finally made my last trip to Disneyland for the year! See, I may have an annual pass but I only visit the park during March and all throughout October. Why October? I was born in October so that month automatically becomes my official "treat yo'self" month.
The park had their Christmas decorations put up, and I only went to see the tree. Oh, and I got to see Baymax, whom I waited in line for thirty minutes. IT WAS WORTH IT.
I'm currently on vacation somewhere in the deep heart of the California desert. Since the weather has been chilly, I decided to pack winter-appropriate clothes. But guess what, it isn't even that cold here *cries self to sleep*
Eensy Bits And Company
Remember when I had gone to Lake Shasta over summer? Well, during that time, I had owned a GoPro. After the trip, I ended up selling said GoPro because it was too much of a hassle to use.
Four months later, I finally went around to looking through the photos and videos on the memory card. While I don't really know how to post videos, here are a few of the photos I found.
I miss being outdoors. Hopefully, my family's grand summer trip next year will be as fun as living on a houseboat for a week.
Four months later, I finally went around to looking through the photos and videos on the memory card. While I don't really know how to post videos, here are a few of the photos I found.
I miss being outdoors. Hopefully, my family's grand summer trip next year will be as fun as living on a houseboat for a week.
Throwback Thursday: Lake Shasta
Last weekend was spent at Shasta Lake with my family, cousins and my brothers' friend, Casey. Shasta Lake was absolutely peaceful; however, with the serious drought affecting California, the lake levels were lower than what they used to be. Despite that, we still had a lot of fun!
Our first night on the lake was spent trying to find a decent place to dock. We first docked by a shallow area, and we ended up moving the boat to a better location. When that was done, we had dinner with a lovely sunset in the background.
The following day involved fishing and spending time on the boat's slide! The slide was intimidating at first, but it was a blast. Plus, the water was very inviting.
My cousin and I spent a bit of time exploring the bit of land our boat was docked on. As beautiful as Shasta was, it was a bit of a downer knowing that the drought has really affected California.
Our night life in Shasta consisted of a bonfire and (several) failed attempts in making smores.
This year's summer trip was a blast. Shasta Lake was a beautiful place. The clouds seemed to fit in perfectly with the mountains and the water. Shasta, I will definitely miss you.
Oh beautiful Shasta
Last weekend, we had gone out of town to Tulare to kick off my brothers' summer vacation and to celebrate the older one's twelfth birthday. On our first day there, we went to this local place called Blackbeard's. It was pretty fun as it had laser tags, an arcade, bumper boats and miniature golf. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by this place called Bravo Farms.
Growing up, I've always been fascinated with old things - antiques, black and white movies, and such. Imagine how I felt when my family stumbled upon this hidden treasure.
According to its website, Bravo Farms is a "taste of the valley" where locals and tourists alike can enjoy food, cheese, local nuts and California wines. I think the place was adorable because they had a bunch of antiques all over the place.
As a lover and collector of weird items, I really wanted to buy those license plates but my budget didn't quite let me do such a thing.
Growing up, I've always been fascinated with old things - antiques, black and white movies, and such. Imagine how I felt when my family stumbled upon this hidden treasure.
According to its website, Bravo Farms is a "taste of the valley" where locals and tourists alike can enjoy food, cheese, local nuts and California wines. I think the place was adorable because they had a bunch of antiques all over the place.
As a lover and collector of weird items, I really wanted to buy those license plates but my budget didn't quite let me do such a thing.
Bravo Farms
A few weeks ago, I accompanied my youngest brother for a day trip to California's capital, Sacramento! It was a very a tiring trip, yet very educational and fun.
We were dropped off at the Ontario Airport around 4:30AM by my dad. My brother, his friend and I were rushing as everyone else had already checked in at the counter. We rushed to get our tickets processed and we finally calmed down when we got to our seats in the plane. Prior to this trip, I hadn't been on an airplane in about seven years, so I was a bit nervous. It was a very windy, so take off was a bit shakier than I had hoped for. Of course, sitting right next to window meant having to take the obligatory "hey I'm on a plane and this is my view from the top" photo.
We had arrived at Sacramento International Airport by 7:00, and met up with our tour guide minutes after. Our first stop was the state's Capitol. The building was absolutely beautiful. Inside, we witnessed the Senate and the House in session. In addition, the tour guide had pointed out the only two places in the building where real gold was found! The group made a quick stop at the Vietnam War memorial located outside the building before heading to Sutter's Home.
Sutter's Home is a historic place in Sacramento. According to history, John Sutter owned land where the first few bits of gold were discovered in California. We had only spent a decent thirty minutes before driving out to a museum.
After we left the California State Railroad Museum, we had a sandwiches for lunch then it was time for some gold panning at the Sacramento River! History says that the actual first bit of gold was discovered on a particular piece of land Sutter had owned next to the Sacramento River. My brother and his class spent a good hour trying to pan for gold flecks in the river under the sun.
Finally, we headed back to the city and enjoyed a few hours of souvenir shopping. We left Sacramento at 8PM and were back in town by 10PM.
It was a really great trip and it really made me feel like I was living the jet-setter life.
We were dropped off at the Ontario Airport around 4:30AM by my dad. My brother, his friend and I were rushing as everyone else had already checked in at the counter. We rushed to get our tickets processed and we finally calmed down when we got to our seats in the plane. Prior to this trip, I hadn't been on an airplane in about seven years, so I was a bit nervous. It was a very windy, so take off was a bit shakier than I had hoped for. Of course, sitting right next to window meant having to take the obligatory "hey I'm on a plane and this is my view from the top" photo.
We had arrived at Sacramento International Airport by 7:00, and met up with our tour guide minutes after. Our first stop was the state's Capitol. The building was absolutely beautiful. Inside, we witnessed the Senate and the House in session. In addition, the tour guide had pointed out the only two places in the building where real gold was found! The group made a quick stop at the Vietnam War memorial located outside the building before heading to Sutter's Home.
Sutter's Home is a historic place in Sacramento. According to history, John Sutter owned land where the first few bits of gold were discovered in California. We had only spent a decent thirty minutes before driving out to a museum.
After we left the California State Railroad Museum, we had a sandwiches for lunch then it was time for some gold panning at the Sacramento River! History says that the actual first bit of gold was discovered on a particular piece of land Sutter had owned next to the Sacramento River. My brother and his class spent a good hour trying to pan for gold flecks in the river under the sun.
Finally, we headed back to the city and enjoyed a few hours of souvenir shopping. We left Sacramento at 8PM and were back in town by 10PM.
It was a really great trip and it really made me feel like I was living the jet-setter life.
Sac-town!
Last week, my family and I went on the road and found ourselves in Utah! Utah was a beautiful state with canyons overflowing the area. We left California on Wednesday morning, and made a few stops along Barstow, CA and Primm, NV. We were initially supposed to have lunch at the buffet at the M Resort; however, the place was packed and my parents decided on having some old-fashioned In-N-Out burgers instead.
By mid-afternoon, we had soon entered the borders on Arizona via the Interstate-15. Coming from California, the site of canyons easily amused us. We pulled over to the side and took in a bit of the Arizona scenery.
On our first night, we had dinner at Centro Woodfired Pizzeria. THEIR PIZZA WAS BEYOND DELICIOUS! Their roasted mushroom pizza was practically smothered with mushrooms and made on thin crust. It was just magical.
Thursday found us at the Zion National Park. Once at the park, we took the shuttle and had ourselves dropped off at the Temple of Sinawava stop. From there, we hiked along the Virgin River and treaded through its waters to see a bit of the Narrows. The place was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
The scenery was breathtaking at Zion. After we did the trail by the Temple, we went ahead and did the trail for the Emerald Pools. We had expected a bigger pool, but only found somewhat of a puddle by the trail's end. The hike was still fun and proved to be a bit strenuous once it started going uphill.
On Friday, we had initially made plans to head to the Kolob Canyons. Instead, we found ourselves at the Frontier Homestead State Park in the heart of Cedar City. A little fun fact - Cedar City is a part of Utah's Iron County and therefore, was a huge source for iron back in the early days of the state. The park/museum was small and simple, but very educational. They had several stagecoaches which were used in the past, and a replica of a Wells Fargo stagecoach.
After the museum, we went to straight to the city of Parowan to see the Parowan Gap, along with the Indian petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are markings/drawings that Indians carved onto the stones in order to help themselves predict the weather and what not. It was a very peaceful and unique to see. The Parowan Gap is called such because of the gap made by two canyons that were very parallel to each other.
We stopped by Arctic Circle for lunch, and spent the remainder of the day at the hotel. On Saturday, we were already headed back to California but not before we got experience a bit of snowfall.
Utah, you were amazing and I'd love to see you again someday.
By mid-afternoon, we had soon entered the borders on Arizona via the Interstate-15. Coming from California, the site of canyons easily amused us. We pulled over to the side and took in a bit of the Arizona scenery.
On our first night, we had dinner at Centro Woodfired Pizzeria. THEIR PIZZA WAS BEYOND DELICIOUS! Their roasted mushroom pizza was practically smothered with mushrooms and made on thin crust. It was just magical.
Thursday found us at the Zion National Park. Once at the park, we took the shuttle and had ourselves dropped off at the Temple of Sinawava stop. From there, we hiked along the Virgin River and treaded through its waters to see a bit of the Narrows. The place was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
The scenery was breathtaking at Zion. After we did the trail by the Temple, we went ahead and did the trail for the Emerald Pools. We had expected a bigger pool, but only found somewhat of a puddle by the trail's end. The hike was still fun and proved to be a bit strenuous once it started going uphill.
On Friday, we had initially made plans to head to the Kolob Canyons. Instead, we found ourselves at the Frontier Homestead State Park in the heart of Cedar City. A little fun fact - Cedar City is a part of Utah's Iron County and therefore, was a huge source for iron back in the early days of the state. The park/museum was small and simple, but very educational. They had several stagecoaches which were used in the past, and a replica of a Wells Fargo stagecoach.
After the museum, we went to straight to the city of Parowan to see the Parowan Gap, along with the Indian petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are markings/drawings that Indians carved onto the stones in order to help themselves predict the weather and what not. It was a very peaceful and unique to see. The Parowan Gap is called such because of the gap made by two canyons that were very parallel to each other.
We stopped by Arctic Circle for lunch, and spent the remainder of the day at the hotel. On Saturday, we were already headed back to California but not before we got experience a bit of snowfall.
Utah, you were amazing and I'd love to see you again someday.
Life Elevated
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