Labour Day Weekend

Sat 1st Sep 07

Today we drove to Rhode Island... there is a Water Fire Festival at Providence every year... so we decided to go down and have a look...

we drove the few hours to Providence... and did some shopping at Providence Place since we were still pretty early... then we went down to the riverbank to find a place to sit and wait for the event to start... there were a lot of ppl... all ready with their picnics... the group in front of us was having a cheese and crackers with wine and grapes session... wow wat a way to enjoy life... and we weren't even prepared with anything... just sitting on the grass... with no food... not even a mat... hahaha...

it started with gondolas rowing in... i guess those are for ppl who paid to get a ride along the river... then slowly there were boats rowing in with ppl lighting the piles of wood set up on platforms along the river... after the lighting... the whole river was lighted up and classical music playing... we decided to walk along the river and have a look... it was so crowded... we could bearly squeeze through some tunneled walkway... there were performers singing at intervals along the river... and couples started dancing to the music along the river.. as if the surrounding pple don exist... aawww...

supposedly the Water Fire is a art event... and it bonfires are art pieces... and they revitalises the Providence area... makes the area more lively i guess...

Mon 3rd Sep 07
Today we are going to Ogunquit... highly recommended by my colleagues... took us a long time to find a parking spot... the town was pretty interesting with all the small stores of watevers... there are candy shops... shops selling seashell jewellery... shops selling toys... and all the cafes with their sandwiches, pastries and coffee... but we chose the Inside Out Rooftop Cafe and Lounge... it's a small place tat overlooked the street... and OMG they have the best fried scallops! *drools*

after lunch.. we walked along the streets... browsing in the shops... before making out way to Ogunquit beach... weather was great... scenery was great... we walked along the beach... the water was freezing for a summer day... after a while our feets were numb from the cold... it was then tat i realise Ogunquit is a town with an active gay community... if u look closely.. there they are sun tanning.. playing along the beach...

next we went in search for the Marginal Way which my colleague mentioned... it took us a while to figure how to get to the start of the walkway... it is really a walkway along the cliffs and shore... nice place to sit and look out to sea... and take in the moment of silence... with the occasional yak of the seagulls... we even found a small lighthouse... probably 4 to 5 metres high..

well... just another quiet day out with nature...

-jiahua

Water Country

Sat 25th Aug 07

Today was one of the rare days in summer that the weather was good... it wasn't gloomy and it wasn't raining... so we can go ahead with out plan of going to Water Country... Water Country is a water theme park... pretty much like our Fantasy Island... but i'm not sure how comparable the rides are since i've not been to Fantasy Island... so i was a little skeptical about going to Water Country because i wasn't sure if the rides were going to be scary...

There were already a lot of ppl when we got there... we were directed to our parking lots on this big patch of grassland behind the park and walked the dirt road to the entrance... got ourselves a locker... changed and we were ready for some fun...

Most of the rides are either straight slide ones or twisty ones... we tried a twisty one to start with... wow it was fun! i have never been to a water theme park... so ya.. i like it... it wasn't scary... so we ventured to try all the diff rides... there were rides where we could take in groups... and there were rides that u go in covered slides... everything was fun! but the Q for the rides were pretty long... we managed to take most of the rides... but we were only able to do each once...

We break for a quick bite... then continued with more relaxing activities... like lazing around in the tidal pool... tat's pretty cool too... just sit in a tube and get pushed around by the waves... just tat there were tonnes of ppl in the water... and there are feets everywhere... and in your face sometimes... haha... then we tried the slow flowing river like pool... where u just flow along a series of waterways... and get water sprayed at u from all over... nice too!

On the whole it was a pretty enjoyable activity... nice for a hot summer day... at least it somehow breaks the fear i have for such high... water... rides...

-jiahua

Sound of Music

Sat 5th Aug 07
Every summer there will be an outdoor musical at Prescott Park... last year when we just arrived in the US... oliver twist was showing... but we didn't go for it... so this year.. i wanted to go have a look....

we left home about late evening... drove and parked at the swimming pool... and walked to the park itself... the park was already packed with ppl... everyone seems to come prepared... with their own chairs... picnic stuff... we paid $5 and went in... found 2 chairs and positioned them at a good location... though pretty far away from the stage... but we could still see the whole stage...

on the whole the musical was pretty good... despite it being an outdoor musical... the overall and sound system were pretty professional... reminds me of the kind of performances i went to at the drama centre near fort canning during my pri sch years...

and despite it being a summer day... it was a really cold summer night... coupled with the fact tat the park is just right next to the sea... just makes the wind even chillier... other than tat it was a pretty good activity for families to spend the night together... feels like the times where we went for outdoor movie screening at fort canning... it's just a totally diff feeling altogether...

-jiahua

Acadia Camping Trip

This is my second time at Acadia... but it is a different experience... previously i came with a group of girls and we stayed in a hostel... but now it's a mixed group and we are going to be staying in pitched tents....

Fri 20th Jul 07
We took the day off work... and since this is going to be one of the longer drive... 4-5 hours... we set off early in the morning... backed all the gear that were borrowed from colleagues and off we went...

we reached the campground... BlackWoods Campground... checked in.... and drove to our camp site... we pitched our tent... 1 big 8 men tent with an air mattress... courtesy of xy's colleagues... after we settled down and kinda settled our lunch... the weather was looking rather gloomy... so we decided to take it easy for the day... just taking the shuttle and go wherever it brought us... it started raining when we were on the bus... and we couldn't make out much outside the window except trees trees and more trees... in the end everyone fell asleep on the bus... and it probably brought us to the other end of the park... which we kinda looped back before we alighted...

dinner was BBQ at our campsite... wanted to get rid of all the fresh food before they all go bad... so we started our mini fire... and let the cooking begin...

the temperature at this time of the year + just after the rain + in the midst of tall trees + at a slightly elevated altitude + the night = ultimate coldness!!! sleeping in the tent was really super cold... and the air mattress din work to our advantage as it kinda "decrease" in size and bounciness throughout the night.. and we literally were almost sleeping on the floor by morning... haha..

Sat 21st Jul 07

today was the day for some hiking... since i've been to acadia before... i told them to go to all the "must-go"... which included hiking around Jordan Pond.. and up to Bubble Rock... which shag me out.. haha... the rest of the "must-go" include Cadillac Mt... Sand Beach...Thunder Hole... Frenchman Bay...

We were tired of eating canned food and watever semi-stale noodle tat we brought... so we end up having dinner somewhere in the Bar Harbor area... before going back to our ever so cold campsite... this time round i chose to sleep in the car with my thermal sleeping bag... it's a lot better... tat is if u wind up the window and not let the cold air get in.. which equates to almost running out of air.. haha...

-jiahua

Summer days

Sat 7th Jul 07

We had our 2nd ever BBQ at Kittery... Just gotta make use of our time in summer to hold outdoor gatherings and to use our pit one more time... the turn out was pretty good... initially we were quite worried because the weather seems pretty gloomy... but it cleared after a while.. and we were able to start BBQ-ing according to plan... but half way through.. it started to rain a little... so we shifted our pit into the garage and continued BBQ-ing from there... managed to clear quite a bit of the food before we decide to head back upstairs for indoor activities... play games... drink... and more eating...

Sat 7th Jul 07
Today is the day for strawberry picking... went to the same place we went for apple picking last year... there were rows of strawberry... wat u call those? plant? shrubs? watever... so we took our containers and started our search for ripe strawberries... there weren't many strawberries left since it was nearing the end of the strawberry season.. most of the strawberries have been plucked... those left behind were either small... or weirdly shaped... nonetheless.. we were still able to fill up our containers.. but this time we tried to keep from picking excessively... so as not to waste as well as to save some strawberries for others to pick... Strawberry picking wasn't an activity that would last long... we were done in about one hour plus... then we busied ourselves with taking pictures of ourselves... flowers... ladybugs...

went home... washed the strawberries... and counted... a proud 57 of them... haha... 56 red ones and 1 small albino one... they were pretty sweet though...

Sat 7th Jul 07
Today's the day for our annual QC outing... as usual... it's BBQ at Newcastle... we got to go off work early and headed for The Great Island Common... it's the usual boss Adam BBQ-ing for us... while we just sit around eating.. chit chatting.. playing frisbee... volleyball... hang around with colleagues... this will be our last QC outing before we go back to Singapore soon... so tried to take as many photos with colleagues as possible...

Boss cooking...

Volley ball...

With Mary...

With WL and Chris...

So proud of myself too... managed to drive to Newcastle and back all by myself... haha... and i agree with jas it feels good to be driving around esp the Newcastle region... winding down the window... having the wind blowing on ur face and the sun on ur skin... music blasting in the backgroud... this is life! haha....

Sat 7th Jul 07
Today we have got nothing better to do... so we decided to go to the Wildlife Refuge near our workplace... from the brochure... it seems to be an area rather similar to our nature reserve... with diff plant and animal variety... when we get there... the place was very deserted... and there wasn't really much to see... but we decided to walk into the refuge nonetheless... and our findings for the day... a frog... a couple of squirrels... some birds that we can hear but not see... and lots of insects buzzing around! So much for some encounter... we left for dinner after the walk through... no wonder pple say our nature reserve has more variety of animal and plant species than the whole of north america.... it's true! haha...

The many things we do or try to do outdoors during summer.....

-jiahua

Independence Day

Wed 4th Jul 07
Independence day holiday... it being a wed... we couldn't go on any trips... and though it was a pretty big day for the Americans... we decided to give the celebrations a miss... and just spend a quiet day... at the movies... the show tat all the guys are looking forward to... Transformer...

We met up at the theatres... bought our tickets and went in... being a hoilday... the cinema was packed... and we were all seated separately...

halfway through the show... lights started flashing... for a moment.. nobody took any notice of it... and thought it might be part of the show... but then the annoucement came on and asked us to evacuate the building... some fire alarm thingy... everybody couldn't believe they were asked to leave the theatre when the show was just getting exciting...

we all gathered outside by the road... and everyone was talking about wat happened... it's was later we saw the fire engine and heard tat there was smoke coming out from a popcorn machine tat started the alarm... -.- when things were sorted out... we went back into the theatre to continue our show... we thought we could get a free show or something... but no... just carried on from where we stopped... hahaha....

the show was pretty good... better than wat we girls imagined it to be... there was more storyline than we thought... plus a little encounter in the theatres...

-jiahua

Summer

The long awaited summer is finally here... we can keep all our down jackets and put on our shorts... and do some outdoor activities....so for the coming weeks... we will be going to Hampton beach...

Sat 16th Jun 07

Today is a good day to go to the beach... the sun is strong and it is hot... and it's our first summer day on the beach... we had our towels spreaded out... and we are ready to get baked... sun tanned... chit chat... read magazine... nuahing around... nice!

before we got sunburn... it's time to go..... hit the supermarket... to do some groceries for dinner... had ben and HL come over for dinner... we came up with one dish then they came up with one... decided to go with western... so it was steak... mashed potatoes and shepard's pie...

Sat 23rd Jun 07

We decided to go to Hampton beach again today.... there is some sand sculptures there.. but this time it wasn't as hot as last week.. and we were actually wearing light jackets... a little weird while other pple are still playing in the water in their bikinis... there were a couple of sand sculptures along one side of the beach... it was a competition... wasn't super fantastic though... but it was ok...

Sun 24th Jun 07
It was a little gloomy... but we still decided to give York beach a try... there wasn't much of a beach there... so we hang around and decided to head towards the lighthouse area instead... hung around there for a bit... nothing much we could do there too... then the clouds started getting dark... and a light drizzle started... so we headed home... well.. it was nonetheless a day out... better than being cooped up...

Thur 28th Jun 07
After sending them to the swimming pool... we headed towards York beach... thought of hanging out at the beach a little.. but due to time constrain... we went straight up the hill to where Brown ice cream is... the ice cream there was pretty nice... but being at the top of the hill... the breeze was really cold... despite it being a summer day... we had our ice cream... and decided to head back since it was also time to fetch the rest from the pool...

Sat 30th Jun 07
Had to go to work today... but after work... we decided to go to Hampton beach again... we went with YY... we hang out on the beach while YY went to collect her sea shells...

i went for a walk along the beach before joining YY on her quest for more sea shells...

It's a beachy time this month in Summer...

-jiahua

Boston weekend

This weekend... we spend both days in Boston...

Sat 9th Jun 07

This week we had someone from the Singapore plant come visit... so we brought him to Boston... and he wanted to visit Harvard... so that's where we shall go....

I wouldn't say it was very interesting there.... cos it is nothing more than just a campus... and when u have no business with the school... there isn't a lot to do there... we merely walked around the campus... there seems to be some get together thingy going on in the school... there was a tentage set up... and you can see ppl who graduated from the school... all with badges showing which year they graduated from... and some of them are really old...

next we found the statue of the founder of Harvard... John Harvard... there were kids climbing up and down the statue... we had a hard time trying to get a pic of the statue with no one in there....

we concluded the trip with having dinner in Chinatown....

Sun 10th Jun 07

With the complimentary tickets our company provided... we took the chance to visit the New England Aquarium...

The aquarium consists of a huge center glass tank... with lots of sea creatures in there... the usual sharks... the various weird sea fishes... corals... sea turtles... wat's cool about it is... the walkway is a spiral around this huge tank... which is about 3 storeys high... so at different levels of the spiral... u can see diff things.... and u can follow the fishes as they swam away.... and the top of the tank is not covered... so u can actually look down into the huge tank... and the sea turtle happen to be circling there... taking breaths of air before diving down again...

at each level... there are diversions to adjacent exhibition halls where there are different showcases.... like jelly fishes... starfish... corals... penguins.... seals...

this time i decided to take minimum pics... because all aquariums are the same... and u would end up with many pics of diff fishes and creatures... and not forgetting how hard it is to get a good pic in aquariums... most of the time the light is dim for the animals' sake.. and flash just give u a lighted spot on the glass... so i took a couple of pics and decided to enjoy my day by looking at exhibits... seals show... penguins feeding... oh and not forgetting we were like school kids on an excursion... we got our penguin passport and went around looking for the stamps... din manage to find all though...

and last but not least... bought a really cute t-shirt... which describes me.... "sometimes crabby but always cute" Hahahahahaha......

It was a pretty interesting place to spend the day... though frens told me they find it boring and it took them about 1 hr plus before they decided to leave... but this place kept us occupied for at least 4 hrs.... easily entertained.... hahaha...

-jiahua

Egg Tarts

Sat 2nd June 07

Today the guys in my house were out... playing paintball in some forest... so i stayed at home... and kept myself busy... by making egg tarts... very domestic... hahahaha....

I think the egg tarts were pretty successful... well... i made them a few more times after this... and i think this time is the best though it's my first time making them...

The end product.... not bad bah?

Seeing all the big blue blacks that they have from the paintballs... i think i made the right choice in staying home...

-jiahua

Niagara Falls

It's another long weekend... another opportunity for a trip to somewhere... and it's finally time for the long awaited trip to Niagara Falls... after waiting for winter to be over and the weather to get better...

Sat 26th May 07

This is the next long driving trip since Montreal... so as with all long distance trips... we set off in the wee hours of the morning... drag ourselves as well as our luggages... and off we go in our 2 rented vehicles... we drove from darkness to day break... and we finally reach the border between US and Canada... stopped by at the visitor centre for some info.... then proceeded across the Rainbow Bridge to Canada! We can see both the US and the Canada side of the falls from the bridge... but 1st things 1st... it's off to the hotel to unload...

the 1st thing we hit the falls was to take photos... every possible angle... every possible pose... as usual.... next we went for the highlight activity at the falls... Maid of the Mist... a boat cruise starting near the Rainbow bridge... past the American and Bridal Veil Falls... and into the Horseshoe Falls... That was where our 1st free gift... a blue poncho came into use... at the Horseshoe Falls... the mist was so dense... we would be all wet if we did not have the poncho on... and despite having the poncho... we still got our faces and hair pretty wet.... but it was a really cool ride... we experienced the massiveness of the falls.... and captured many beautiful shots of the falls from all angles... though some of them had mist on them cos the lens were wet... haha...

after lunch... we went for Journey behind the falls... where we got our 2nd free gift... a yellow poncho... Journey behing the falls as its name suggests..... is a series of tunnels tat took us behind the falls... and they have openings cut out in the rocks which allowed us to see the falls... most were merely the size of windows.. with water gushing pass... and we could only stand way back for safety reason... but there was one opening which has a platform where we could go out onto the side of the waterfall... tat was pretty nice for a change from looking at squares of gushing water... we are in close proximity to the falls...

after tat we proceeded further away from the coastline... to take an incline railway which brought us to a higher altitude for a better view of the falls... which probably didn't make much of a difference... next we took the bus... to another part of the waters... the White Water Walk... where we can walk along the waters on these wooden walkways... to have a look at the gorges and rapids of the falls...

next we decided to take a break from the falls and took the bus to Clifton Hill... the city area of Niagara Falls... where they have different stores like Hardrock, Hersheys, Marvel, Coke, Ripley's Believe it or not, Tussaud's waxwork, Guiness World Records Museum... we walked up and down the streets after dinner... before heading back to the falls again... this time for the night view... it was beautiful... the falls were lit with changing coloured lights which gave a different feeling to the place... tat concluded the day at the falls....

Sun 27th May 07

Today we took a drive to Toronto... We walked around the city... Saw the CN Tower.. Rogers Center... home of the Blue Jays... then we hang around this wooden platform by the waters... which i have no idea where tat is now... then we proceeded to Chinatown for lunch... next we moved on to exploring the city a little more.. which entails more walking... tat led us to University of Toronto... where we were entertained by a map of the school... well... the lame things u do when u just had lunch and u r bored... haha... Walked around the campus... there was nothing much we could do there... so we decided to walk back to our gathering point... it was when it started to rain... so we hid in a cafe till the rain lightened before driving back to the Falls region... On the whole Toronto was just another city... where we didn't find much to do there for free...

After dinner at an Indian restaurant... we went down to the Falls yet again.. for fireworks over the Falls... many ppl were gathered there.. so we found ourselves a spot for the fireworks too... fireworks is just fireworks... something tat is almost the same everywhere we go... but nonetheless good to have and something to do at every place we visited... so after the fireworks... it was still too early to return to the hotel... so we hang around... window shopping at the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Galleria before heading back to the hotel...

Mon 28th May 07

Last day of our trip... we checked out of the hotel... went for a buffet breakfast... and we are on our way to the Inniskillin vineyard... as usual... the time tat we are at the vineyard happen to be after harvest... so there wasn't much to see out in the fields... but i would say they serve pretty good ice wine...

after which is the long journey home... prolonged by the jam at Rainbow Bridge.... and the hot weather didn't make things any better...

on the whole it was a nice trip... to be able to see one of the wonders of the world....

-jiahua

Arethusa Falls

Sat 5th May 07

When u live in a state where there are a lot of mountains... one of the activity u engage in quite a bit is hiking... so this weekend we decided to do just tat... and it's the first hike since winter... and today... our objective is to hike to Arethusa falls... the single longest drop in New England...

So as usual... we reached the start of the trail after about 2 hrs in the car... the main bulk of us decided to take the easier trail while some of the guys took a longer and more challenging trail to the summit... and we will all meet at the falls... so we started hiking.... the initial part was gradual as it normally is... then we reach a point where the blue markings seems to lead us over rocks and among trees... it seems like a pretty 'hands-on' hike cos u have to actively climb on big rock pieces... hang on to tree trunks... stoop under bent tree trunks... maneuver our way to avoid the streams of water... and not forgetting... some of the snow is still not melted... so for a certain part of the way... we had to walk on thick snow... and we weren't prepared for it... cos we thought all the snow would have melted by now... but we were wrong... so we had to sink our feet into the snow and got our shoes and socks wet.... it was a pretty tough hike for it to be labelled as the easier route... finally we came to a tricky spot where we were all standing and hanging along the steep slope... trying to figure out wat our next move should be... and it seems pretty dangerous as some of us jumped among the many rocks along the stream of water while others tried to get across by holding on to tree trunks and struggle across the slopes... and it was at this time tat i hear voices of pple walking above us... i looked up.. and i saw ppl walking along this path... and i rem thinking to myself... why is there a walking path up there? i climbed up the slope to the walking path... and tat was where i saw wy... he was one of those who took the more challenging trail... he was surprised to see us all on the slopes below... and wondering wat are we doing down there... after talking to him... i realised we probably made a mistake somewhere in the hike that led us off the trail and into the surrounding foresty area... i quickly called out to the rest of them and finally we had everybody on the path... we made our way via the path towards the waterfall... and easy enough... we got there after a while....

we hang around the waterfall... admiring its beauty... taking photos... and joking about us taking an even more challenging trail than the guys... but it all seem so right to us at tat time because we could constantly see the blue markings on rocks or tree trunks... telling us we are still on the right track... so we had no idea how we got to divert from the trail...

Hanging around taking pictures while waiting for the ppl in front took turn to 'maneuver' their way thru the trees....

Finally we are there!

Now we are on the right track...

after hanging out at the falls for a light snack... we decided to head back down via the 'actual' trail.... and it was such an easy trail! it is a pathed trail... and while walking... we were in awe... everyone still couldn't believe we were way down there just now... cos we could hear the sounds of water below us but we couldn't see any water or stream... this shows how far down we were and how far off the trail we were...

nonetheless... it was a pretty interesting hike... we got to try a lot of maneuvers which made it much more interesting... the thing i was 'gasping' about was how much danger we subjected ourselves to.. trying to get across the stream of water... jumping over slippery and unstable rocks... as well as trying to hang on to anything and keeping ourselves from falling all the way down the steep slope... and to think we were still hanging off the steep slope while the guys who went to the summit and then back to the waterfalls are already on their way back...

well... it was indeed a memorable experience...

-jiahua

SIngapore Day in NY

Sat 21st Apr 07

Made our way to NY Central Park early in the morning so we can reach in the afternoon... It was still pretty cold in NH... so had our down jackets with us.... boy were we overdressed.... it was super hot in NY... it's as if we were back in singapore... there were a lot of pple... most of them Singaporeans... either working... studying... or has been staying in NY since a long time ago... it feels so familiar to be surrounded by ppl who speaks and understands singlish... after we settled down... it's time to go Q for singapore food... hawkers were flown over specially to set up stalls for us poor souls who missed singapore food... all the Qs were super long... and we nearly melted away in the hot NY sun... but we got to eat stuff like nasi lemak... satay... chilli crab... laksa... chicken rice... BBQ seafood... and yeos drinks... and we had goodies bags... with rubber bands for making zero points... and five stones... and chaptehs...

All dressed in red...

Guest appearance by Kit Chan...


after we had enough food and got tired of Q-ing... we sat down in front of the stage to watch some Singapore performances... with singing of singapore art scene songs... like beauty world... dick lee songs... the ever funny hossan leong... the papaya sisters... and guest appearance by Kit Chan.. and when she sang the song "Home"... most pple cried... everyone missed home so much...

it was a relatively short event... ended about mid-afternoon... we spend the rest of the time hanging around Central Park... walking around Times Square... and eventually staying over at HL's over in NJ.... our refuge everytime we visit NY...

-jiahua

Birthdays

Sun 15th Apr 07

This weekend we have the birthdays of LX and GT... so as usual... we had our dinner out to celebrate... we went to Flatbread at downtown... it was a different kinda pizza... the more healthy not so greasy kind... and the ingredients are organic... and the pizzas are baked in a primitive wood fired oven...

After dinner... we adjorned to our house for 2nd part of the celebration... not forgetting the cakes i spent the whole day making... a chocolate cake... a dozen banana muffins... and the ever tedious-to-make kuah lapis.... after making it... i just feel tat it is the 1st and last time i am gonna make kuah lapis.... haha...

The birthday boy and girl... very ah lao.... wahahahaha....

so it's the usuals.... birthday songs singing... photo takings.... cake eating... games playing... alcohol consuming....

-jiahua