Dog Mountain 2022

 

Dog Mountain is an extreme popular hiking trail in Southern Washington state by the Columbia Gorge. The trail is about 3.8 miles long to get to the top with steep elevation gain. Even with the steep elevation gain, it does not stop people from coming to Dog Mountain. During the Spring season, the wildflower bloom at the top of Dog Mountain is magnificent. Thus it is usually very crowded from late April to early June. During this period, hiking permit is also required for hiking this trail.

The hiking permit was no longer required in the second week of June and thus we went for a hike at Dog Mountain. Dog Mountain trail is about 1.5 hours of drive time from Portland. When we got there around 8AM in the morning, the parking lot was about 50% full. Northwest Pass is being honored here as the parking permit. If you don't have Northwest Pass, National Park pass will work too or just have to pay $5.

The rest room at the trail was not at the parking lot. The rest room was actually located 100M further into the trail. So before getting to the restroom, people have to hike a little bit first.

The was cloudy but it was not that cold. The trail started to climb right from the beginning. There were some mud on the trail, but it was not that bad. We steadily climbed the trail and passed by several other groups of hikers. We got to the first look out point where we could see the Columbia River. It was beautiful but extremely windy.

We continued on and started to feel the water drop. We were worried that it was starting to rain, but only to realize that the water drop was coming from the top of the tree. The water on the tree leaves fell off when the wind blows.

After about 1.5 hours, we got to Puppy Dog Lookout. This is the best look out place at Dog Mountain. We were very high up and could see really far over Columbia River. The wildflowers on the side were beautiful. But then again, it was extremely windy.

We continued on to the summit, but it was really getting way to windy. Thus we decided to turn back. The summit was not that far away and only about 0.3 miles to go. On the way back down, we saw many hikers with their lovely fur friends. The dogs were very cute.

Dog Mountain was one of the best hike and we definitely would do it again. Just keep in mind that the parking lot gets full really fast so you have to get there early.

Florida Trip 2022

 

Florida is located on the Southeast corner of United States and it is well known for its warm weather and beautiful beaches. Since Florida could get extremely hot during the months of July and August, we decided to visit Florida in May when the temperature has not reached its highest temperature.

On Day 1, we took the direct flight from Portland to Orlando airport. The whole flight was 5.5 hours and it was very long. When we got to Orlando, it was already 5PM in the afternoon. As soon as we landed, we went to AVIS and got our rental car and toll route pass. The toll route pass was very important since many highways in Florida are toll routes.

On Day 2, we went to Kennedy Space Center. We have always wanted to visit this place and check out the real Saturn V rocket and Space Shuttle Atlantis. Afterwards, we went to Hawkers Asian Street Food for a late lunch.

On Day 3, we took a road trip down to Key West. Before we get to Key West, we had brunch at Little Hen. Then we continued on by driving over the oversea highway. Around lunch time, we stopped by Robbies and checked out the pelicans and tarpons. When we got to Key West, we had dinner at Conch Republic Seafood Company.

On Day 4, we woke up early and waited at the door as part of the Dry Tortuga ferry wait list. Unfortunately we didn't get on. Instead, we walked around Key West and had lunch at El Meson De Pepe. Then we went to the Southern most point of Key West.  During sunset, we went to Mallory Square and watched the sun setting below the ocean.

On Day 5, we went to Smathers Beach. The sun rise was beautiful there. We then headed to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Then we had lunch at DJ Clam Shack. In the afternoon, we went to Bahia Honda State Park.

On Day 6, we left Key West and head to Miami. On the way to Miami, we went to Vizcaya. We also dropped by Biscayne National Park but didn't do any excursion there. We then checked in to hotel and went to Bayside Marketplace for a walk. The traffic was crazy at Miami downtown.

On Day 7, we went to Little Havana. We walked for about 40 minutes to get there from downtown Miami. There was a lot of cigar shops at Little Havana and we bought one as a souvenir. We had authentic Cuban coffee at The House of Cuban Coffee. It was really good. We then had ice cream at Azucar Ice Cream. In the afternoon, we took Metromove and went to Wynwood Wall. While on the way there, we had donuts at Salty Donut.

On Day 8, we went to Everglades National Park early in the morning. We first went to Long Pine Key for the sun rise, then went to Royal Palm Visitor center to hike Anhinga Trail. Afterwards, we stopped by Robert Is Here and had amazing smoothie. Then we went to Shark Valley for the bus tour. In the late afternoon, we went to Versailles for a Cuban cuisine lunch.

On Day 9, we went to Miami South Beach in the early morning for the sun rise. Surprisingly there was a lot of people there. The beach was beautiful in the morning. We then drove back to Orland and had lunch at Bee Won Korean restaurant before we flew back to Portland.

This Florida trip was an amazing trip. The only downside was that it was very humid and hot. We were sweating after being outside for just 5 minutes. Also, there was a lot of mosquitos even on the beach. We were bitten pretty badly.

Bee Won

 

Bee Won is a restaurant specializing in Korean cuisine. People can find the usually popular Korean food such as Korean barbeque, Bimbimbap, and Kim Chi dishes at Bee Won. It is located near Orland in Florida. Bee Won is located in a small shopping plaza and lot of parking spaces are available there.

We got to Bee Won around 1PM in the afternoon on Sunday. Many restaurants are closed on Sunday with Orlando area but Bee Won is open. When we entered, there was only 1 table being occupied and still dining.

As soon as we sat down, the waitress brought us the iced water bottle for us. We really needed it because it was really hot that day. We ordered a Kim Chi Pancake, a Bimbimbap, and a Bulgogi Squid. Before the food arrives, the side dishes were brought over to us. There were 5 different side dishes and they were really quite delicious.

The Kim Chi Pancake was really good. We loved the crunch Kim Chi in the pancake with a little of spiciness. Bimbimbap was served in a hot sizzling stone bowl and mixed with hot sauce. We loved the crispy feel of the rice. The Bulgolgi Squid was stir fried with hot sauce with a little of sweetness to it. It was really good as well.

Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience at Bee Won, The servers were very proactive on providing the service and refilling the side dishes. We probably had the side dishes refilled 3 times. We recommend Bee Won if looking for a Korean restaurant.

Wynwood Wall

 

Wynwood Wall is an outdoor exhibition showing unique wall art at Miami Florida. There are several wall art at Wynwood Wall painted by several artists. The wall art is updated every several months. Other than just wall art, there are also many paintings done by the artists and these paintings are sold at Wynwood Wall.

We took the Miami Metromover train to the last station at School Board station. Then we walked 20 minutes to Wynwood Wall. As we got there, we could already see the wall art outside of the Wynwood Wall exhibition. However, we did not know Wynwood Wall has admission fee, which is $12 per person. Since we had walked this long, we figured we might as well check it out.

As we entered the exhibition, the first thing we saw was the carved wall art on the concrete wall. It was pretty cool. Other than that, we saw few monkey sculptures in the center courtyard.

As we went further in, we saw the most famous wall art, Tokyo Rain. The artist painted the raining scene of Tokyo. The reflection of water was painted perfectly. It was an amazing piece of art. There was an indoor exhibition that shows more paintings related to this artist and all the paintings were involved with rain.

Other than Tokyo Rain, the other wall arts aren't as interesting and not as spectacular. We don't think it was really worth the effort to come all this wall to here if there isn't enough time to spend here. We don't think we will be visiting Wynwood Wall in the future.

Robert Is Here

 

Robert Is Here is famous fruit stand located outside of Miami in the state of Florida. Robert Is Here offers variety of tropical fruits and many of these fruits have never seen by people from the North before. Robert Is Here is located at the major road intersection on the way to Everglades National Park and thus many park visitors would stop by here to gather some snack.

We got to Robert Is Here 9AM in the morning. It was still quite early in the morning and thus not many people were here and not crowded. We were amazed by the amount of tropical fruits at Robert is Here. Fruits such as java apple and white guava are the fruits that we have only seen back in Asia. We were quite excited.

Initially we thought Robert Is Here was just a fruit stand but that was not it. At the back of the store, it was like a small zoo. There was a lot of animals at the back and also picnic area for people to use. We saw parrots, emus, and turtles running around. It was quite exciting. Family travel with children could just stop by Robert Is Here and have a nice lunch here and enjoy the day.

Before we left, we bought smoothies from Robert Is Here. We could mix our own fruits into the smoothie. We got the pineapple, guava, and coconut. The smoothie was so fresh and the coconut made the smoothie rather thick, just like a milkshake. We enjoyed it a lot. We wish we also got the sugarcane juice.

Overall, Robert Is Here is definitely a must visit place when visiting Everglades National Park since it is just on the way. It will definitely not disappoint.

Shark Valley

 

Shark Valley is located at the North part of Everglades National Park. Unlike the South part of Everglades National Park where people can drive all the way down the road, Shark Valley only has bus tours and only allow bike to go on the road. The reason for doing this is to preserve the marshland in Everglades National Park that is very fragile. The bus tour need to be booked online prior to the departure. People can bring their own bikes or can choose to rent from the visitor center.

We got to Shark Valley Visitor Center around 10AM in the morning. Since our tour bus is at 11AM, we had lots of time to explore around the visitor center. As we walked down the short hiking trail just right beside the visitor center, we saw a big alligator just by the trail. It was a huge alligator. When we just saw it, we thought it was a model of an alligator and not a real one. The alligator had its jaws open and seemed to be trying to scare us off. In the pool behind the alligator, we could see another alligator in there and also few baby alligators.

At 11AM, the tour bus is here and we hopped on. The tour bus was very comfy. The breeze in the air was soothing and made us wanted to sleep. The tour guide was giving the background of Everglades National Park and the history of the park. Every time there was an alligator on the side of the road, the tour bus would stop to let everyone to see.

After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the Shark Valley viewing tower. The from the top of the tower, we had the panorama view of the entire Shark Valley. It was just endless marshland from all directions.

On the return trip, we came across many blue heroes walking on the side of the road. It was not scare of the bus either and was just doing its thing hunting for food. Other than blue heron, we also saw many other different birds stretching its winds trying to mate. It seemed to us that sitting on the left side of the bus had better view of the wild life.

Overall, Shark Valley was definitely a highlight at Everglades National Park. It really had a lot to offer and we saw so many wild life on the bus tour. We highly recommend to take the bus tour when visiting Everglades National Park.

Long Pine Key

 

Long Pine Key is a popular campground located within Everglades National Park. It is not far off from the main park entrance, probably just around 5 miles. The Long Pine Key area also offers day use area for picnic and barbeque. However, the lake at Long Pine Key is prohibited from swimming since there may be alligators in there.

We got to Long Ping Key right before the sun rise. As we got out of the car, there were so many mosquitos. The swarm of mosquitos were just after us all the time. We had to use bug spray and spray it all over our body to avoid the mosquitos.

We walked toward the pond and saw a snake resting on the ground. We didn't know what kind of snake it is and we didn't dare to go close to it either. The snake however was not moving at all either, we weren't really sure what the snake was doing because it was just resting there.

There was an area like an amphitheater on the other side of the pond. It was on the west side of the pond and a perfect spot to watch the sun rise behind the trees. As the sun rises, we saw birds walking on the shallow end of the water searching for food. The movement of the bird was very careful and slow to that stir the water.

We have never seen as many mosquitos as what we saw at Long Pine Key. It was probably because it was close to a pond. Even when we got into the car, we could still hear mosquitos smashing towards the car window. It was quite crazy.

Anhinga Trail

 

Anhinga Trail is one of the most popular hiking trail within Everglades National Park. The trail is made out of paved path and board walk, thus it is very suitable for people of all ages to hike this trail. The hiking trail is located right by Royal Palm Visitor Center. The trail itself is only less than a mile long and has zero elevation gain. It is a really easy trail but you get to spot many different wild life.

We got to Royal Palm Visitor Center around 8AM in the morning. We were the only one there and the visitor center was not open yet. As we approach the trail, we could hear loud roars from the pond. Initially we thought these roar sound came from the alligators in the water. Then when we asked the rangers, he told us that these are from Pig Frogs. These Pig Frogs can generate super loud sound like dinosaurs.

As we hiked down the trail, we saw a white heron stand by the side of the pond. It stood very still and not even moving an inch. It was very focused looking down into the water. It was waiting for the fish to show up and would strike rapidly to catch the fish. It was completely ignoring us as we walked by.

As we walked further on the board walk, we saw several alligators lying in the water. These alligators had their eyes wide open but barely move a bit. The alligators were just floating in the pond and not doing anything. We were hoping that the alligators would at least open its jaw to show some intimidation.

Anhinga Trail is definitely the trail to go to when visiting Everglades National Park. It is an easy trail to hike and offers a plenty of wild life to see.

Versailles

 

Versailles is a very famous Cuban restaurant in Miami. It is said to be the best Cuban restaurant in the whole Miami region. The restaurant has been there since 1971 and has been in operation for over 50 years. Beside the restaurant, there is a big parking lot dedicated only for this restaurant's customer and this is because this restaurant simply has way too many customers.

We got to Versailles around 2PM in the afternoon. There was a lot of parking spaces at the parking lot and there was a person there checking that people are heading to Versailles and not anywhere else. When we walked to the restaurant, we saw a long line in front of the restaurant. We were so surprised.

We asked around and realized that the long line was due to the credit card machine not working. The restaurant owner was trying to fix it and thus not accepting new customers. After about 10 minutes the credit card machine was still not working and the restaurant could only accept cash. Luckily we brought enough cash with us.

We ordered a Versailles combo as the appetizer, then Paella Versailles and Versailles Especial as the entrees. The Versailles combo comes with yuca fries, croquettes, and empanadas on the plate. It was quite a lot even for just 2 people.

The Paella Versailles was like Spanish seafood fried rice. It came with shrimp, mussels, clam, and squids. This Paella Versailles came with a huge portion that can feed 2 to 3 people. We really liked Paella Versailles. The rice has absorbed all the flavors from the ingredients from the sea. The Versailles Especial is the special Cuban sandwich. The sandwich is gigantic. Although the sandwich is cut in half, half of the sandwich was still huge. The sandwich uses the flat bread but it was not as good as we had hoped. The bread was pretty plain and we were hoping it was toasted and have some garlic taste to it.

Overall, Versailles did not disappoint. It definitely offered the Cuban experience that we were looking for and even exceeded our expectation. There was a lot to offer on the menu but we could only order the amount that we could finish. We would probably visit Versailles again and try different items on the menu.

Salty Donut

 

Salty Donut is a shop that specializes in making donuts as the name suggests. We found out about this donut shop while we were searching for specialty food around Miami. There are many Salty Donut shops across the continental US but it originated from Miami near Wynwood Wall.

When we saw the recommendation of Salty Donut, we were under the impression that the donut would have salty taste. We were quite excited to try and thus we went to Salty Donut while we were on the way to Wynwood Wall. It was only about 5 minutes away from Wynwood Wall.

When we got to Salty Donut around 2PM in the afternoon, many of the donut flavors were sold out. We ordered a Affogato Donut and a White Chocolate Tres Leches Donut. The Affogato Donut has espresso cream glazed on top and some coffee flavored chips spread on top. The taste was not too sweet and had strong coffee smell. The White Chocolate Tres Leches Donut had a beautiful presentation. The white cream was beautifully placed on top of the donut. The cream was then torched and caramelized beautifully. The White Chocolate Tres Leches Donut was a sweet donut, which we liked. The cream on top was quite fresh as well.

Overall, Salty Donut was a great donut shop with unique donut flavors.  We enjoyed the unique donut here at Salty Donut although we were expecting salty flavored donut. 

Azucar Ice Cream

Azucar Ice Cream is a very famous ice cream shop at Little Havana of Miami. It is probably the only ice cream shop that is visible from the street. This ice cream shop has a huge ice cream sign at the front wall. No one can miss that. Azucar Ice Cream shop has many seasonal flavors for its ice cream. It also offers a mix of Cuban taste to its ice cream.

Since Miami is so hot that day. we really needed to get something to cool us down. We saw Azucar Ice Cream shop sign from far away and definitely needed to get ice cream. As we walked into the shop, we were shocked by the amount of ice cream flavors that it offered. There were just so many on the wall.

We got the Cafe Con Leche, which is the best flavor of the shop. Then we also got Abuela Maria flavor. These 2 flavors were the top 2 flavors. The Cafe Con Leche had strong Cuban Coffee taste to it and mixed with the sweetness of the ice cream. We really liked this. The taste is strong than the usual coffee ice cream. Abuela Maria had guava sauce dripped on top of the ice cream. When mixed with ice cream, the guava sauce mixed with the sweetness really well. It was really good too.

The Azucar Ice Cream is definitely a place to get ice cream from at Little Havana of Miami. Since Miami is always hot, we don't see a reason not to get ice cream from here. We definitely recommend it. 

The House of Cuban Coffee

 

The House of Cuban Coffee is a gourmet Cuban coffee shop located at the Little Havana of Miami. It is right on the main street of Little Havana. The House of Cuban Coffee offers authentic Cuban Coffee and the store also sell coffee beans and other Cuban items.

We got to Little Havana and wanted to have authentic Cuban experience. We went to a cigar store and the sales lady told us that the House of Cuban Coffee is a must try, thus we went to try it. As we walked in, the waiter gave us a warm welcome. He was very patient and gave us an overview of all the coffee that they have.

We ordered a Latte and a Triple Milk Coffee. Other than just the coffee, we also ordered a guava cheesecake. As we sat down, the waiter brought us complementary vanilla cookies that came with the coffee. The Latte had a very strong coffee taste, which was what we expected. The Triple Milk Coffee had a sweeter taste, which we really liked. There was barely any bitter taste in this coffee. The guava cheesecake came with guava jam on the top. We liked the guava taste a lot.

While we were sitting there enjoying our coffee and cheesecake, a guy came in selling Cuban Cigar. The Cuban Cigar is $1 each, quite cheap.

Overall, we highly recommend The House of Cuban Coffee when visiting Little Havana. It offered everything we were looking for to experience the Cuban Taste.

Vizcaya

 

Vizcaya Museum and Garden was an estate owned by business man James Deering about 150 years ago. It was later opened for public with admission fees and it is a great location for wedding photography. The Vizcaya estate has a beautiful architecture with amazing indoor decorations. On top of that, the garden was beautifully maintained as well. It is one of the attractions at Miami.

We visited Vizcaya as part of our Florida trip. The admission for each person was $18 and can only be purchased online. Many people didn't know that and had to buy it online with their phones at the gate.

We got to Vizcaya around 10AM in the morning. It was still early and the parking lot was still mostly empty. As we walked into the building, the first we noticed was that it has AC! We were so glad because it was such a hot day at Miami.

There is a courtyard in the center with rooms surrounding it. The rooms are well decorated with beautiful sculptures. As we walked around, we also saw several groups of high school student dressed up with medieval time clothing. It seemed like a field trip for history class.

The rooms on the second floor are the bedrooms. It included the bedroom for James Deering himself and several others for his guests and servants. The main room on the second floor was a dining room with many Chinese sculptures. We didn't know James Deering was into Chinese stuff.

As we proceeded to the garden, it was so hot. We saw several couples with profession photographers taking photos for them. The couples were also sweating a lot and had to wipe the sweat after every photo being taken.

The garden was beautiful nontheless. At the back of the garden, there was a small room, like an outdoor theatre. We were wondering if that could be booked for holding wedding reception.

Overall, Vizcaya is definitely a must visit place when travelling to Miami. It would only take about an hour or 2 at max, but it was definitely an interesting place to visit.

DJ's Clam Shack

 

DJ's Clam Shack is a famous place selling its well known lobster roll. DJ's Clam Shack are located in various locations, most notably in New York but it also has locations in Florida. Most people come here for the lobster roll. The bread used for the lobster roll was said to be toasted perfectly and goes really well with the lobster.

As we were visiting Key West, we went to DJ's Clam Shack located on the South Side of Key West. We got there around noon and there weren't too many people. We ordered 2 lobsters rolls and a conch fritter. The lobster roll itself was $22, which was quite pricy.

After about 5 minutes, the lobster rolls were delivered to us. It was quite fast. By looking at the lobster roll, we could see that the lobster used here wasn't the big ones. Also, it only used the meat from lobster claws and no tail meat. As we grabbed the first bite, we just found out that the lobster meat was cold. We thought it was supposed to be boiled and warm. So it was more like lobster salad. It was a bit disappointing because the lobster meat could have been there for a long time and not necessarily fresh. The bread had garlic taste but we wouldn't say it was the best bread used ever.

Overall, the lobster rolls at DJ's Clam Shack was okay but it did not meet our expectation. We were expecting to see better lobster to be used but we guessed that the cost might be even higher.  It is probably worth a try if you have never been here before, but we will probably not go again for a long time.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

 

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park is one of the state parks located at Key West. It is located at Southwest corner of Key West island.  Within the state park, there is a historic fort that has been there for hundreds of years. On the South side of the park, there is a beautiful beach with crystal clear ocean water. It is also not far from Key West Mallory square and only takes about 25 minutes to walk to here. Thus many people drop by to see the fort when visiting Key West.

We walked to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park from Mallory Square early in the morning around 9AM. It was already very hot this morning with high humidity in the air, thus walking to the park was already making us to sweat. While we were walking to the park, we came across this public water park. It was quite interesting and we figure that kids will love to play there.

The entrance fee to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park was $2.50 per person. It was not that expensive. We first visited the fort on the right hand side of the state park. It was very quiet in the morning and we were the only people in the fort. There were stairs the went all the way to the rooftop where we can see the ocean on the far side. The old cannons were still there as well. The fort however, was smaller than what we expected. We only spent around 15 minutes there and headed to the beach.

As we got to the beach, we saw several people taking yoga lesson there under the tree. It was quite a scenery with beautiful beach and nice breeze. The sand on the beach was white sand and the water was crystal clear. The only down side is that it was not soft sand on the ocean bed and thus it was painful walking in the water.

There were also few hiking trails within the state park, but we were so exhausted from the humidity and decided not to do it.

Overall, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park was an interesting place to visit, but it was definitely not a must visit attraction at Key West.