Nick, Moon, Flow and me arrived in Singapore last night on the Eastern and Oriental Express all the way from Bangkok. Moon’s first impression of Singapore, was that is was like being back home in California. She said the road systems, the kept up verges, all the public parks, the huge shopping malls and just how clean it all seems, reminded him of Santa Monica.

Singapore is most definitely a “fine” city. There were so many opportunities to acquire anything ‘fine’. For the tourist, crossing against a red pedestrian light is definitely the biggest chance of getting a fine. They really look for anyone chewing gum, it’s illegal to chew gum in Singapore! We were all laughing at the weirdness of Singapore and it’s cleanliness laws. But, we all had to admit, it’s really nice being in a clean city.

Nick, Flow and me were all tired from our trip, but Moon wanted to check out some restaurants located at the Boat Quay. He found this great site online that gave him a good list of restaurants, if you’d like, visit this page: http://www.singaporerestaurant.com.

When he got back, almost eight hours later, Moon told us that he went for early evening drinks at Harry’s Bar after he explored for a bit. Boat Quay is located on the Singapore river and the quay side is jammed packed with restaurants and bars, just like the Internet site said; he found the setting to be lovely and relaxing as he sat down at one of the restaurants, sipping his Singapore Sling watching the boats go up and down the river. Then he did a little people watching. Moon told us that he really liked a particular seafood restaurant where he could choose all manner of live fish from the tank, shellfish too. He got the Sri Lankan crab, which was the biggest crab Moon has ever seen. Then Moon tried the bamboo clams and then some scallops.

I had no Idea that our Moon could eat so much.

Moon Eats Singapore is a post from: Life In Car

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In order to chose Alaska as a vacation spot, a person has to have something of an adventurous spirit.  It’s a colder climate than most, with unusual experiences and sights to be had, such as weirdly long nights in winter, and exceptionally long days in summer, the spectacular sight of the Northern Lights and the amazing beauty of the land, the kind you might find in Denali National Park.  But, in Anchorage, Alaska, much like the rest of the United States, the chance to see off-beat sights still exists (such as the world’s largest frying pan in Long Beach, Washington; or the world’s largest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas; or the world’s tallest thermometer in Baker, California).  First, in order to be comfortable, find the best luxury hotels Alaska contains, and then head out, sampling the unusual in this northern city.  Here’s a sampling of what you may discover:

Just outside the limits of Anchorage, you’ll see a park that contains a snow plow train, once used to clear the railroad tracks.  It’s now a part of the park.  Inside a store called Alaska Wildberry Products, you’ll see a chocolate waterfall twenty feet high; the rumor is that this is the world’s largest chocolate waterfall and it uses about three thousand four hundred pounds of liquid chocolate.  The store itself sells everything from smoked salmon to chocolates.  Out on Lake Otis, you’ll see a piece of art shaped to resemble the Northern Lights.  But, perhaps, one of the weirder experiences you might have in Anchorage is that of Gravity Hill.

Gravity Hill is on Upper Huffman Road.  From the Seward Highway, exit at O’Malley and drive almost to the top.  Turn right on Hillside Drive, then travel another mile, turning left.  This will be Upper Huffman Road.  In order to have this experience, drive over the first hill’s top, then down to the bottom of the hill.  Turn your car around, then place the car in neutral and wait.  After a few seconds, your car will be pulled uphill.  At least, it will seem that way.  Gravity or magnetic hills are in abundance across the world, and usually occur when the landscape around you looks as if it’s going uphill when it’s actually going downhill.  It’s attributed to an optical illusion, but you’ll want to try it out yourself to verify the truth!

Chocolate Waterfalls and Gravity Hills in Alaska is a post from: Life In Car

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In the past whenever Trevor would here the city of Austin being mentioned he would immediately think of its music scene. And while this is definitely one of the fundamental cultural aspects of this proud Texan town, it is not the only thing Austin is known for or has to offer. Trevor realized this when he was asked to fly to Austin with his friend Brad who was going there on a job interview. Brad was an architect who was just recently out of grad school and beginning his career. His father had a connection with one of the smaller offices in Austin and was able to arrange and interview for his son. Brad was incredibly excited about the potential job, but he was also a bit nervous. He wanted Trevor there for moral support and also to experience the town.

They had a whole day in town before Brad’s interview and they decided to make the most of it. They enjoyed a huge complimentary breakfast at one of the Austin best hotels before striking it out on their own. The stopped in at the Whole Foods Market to pick up a bunch of food and headed to the Lady Bird Lake. When the got there they realized that motorboats and motor powered watercrafts were prohibited on the lake, which really pleased them. They found a place to rent a canoe and paddle out onto the open water. They enjoyed great views of Austin and could even seen the Capital building. It was peaceful out on the lake and Brad thought this would be one of his favorite spots if he moved there.

The following morning the friends enjoyed another large complimentary breakfast, which had quickly become established as their ritual. Brad got ready to go to his interview and Trevor decided to take a tour of the University of Texas at Austin campus. Later in the afternoon they would get together and make it a night on the town. Brad was definitely in the mood to celebrate after the interview. He wasn’t sure how it went, but felt good about it and just wanted to celebrate his first big interview. Trevor was up for that so they went out looking for good barbeque. They found the Iron Works BBQ and thought it looked and smelled great so they went in. Brad had a big plate of beef ribs and Trevor had the pork ribs. They both agreed this was amazing barbeque and decided they would buy some sauce to take home with them. Feeling completely fortified, the two friends hit the nightclub scene and planned to stay out very late.

Great Barbeque in Austin is a post from: Life In Car

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The DePaul family loved Chinese food, all seven of them. In addition, they all enjoyed dining out and made it a family ritual to do so every Sunday night. Even if one of them had other plans, dinner with the family, and frequently in one of their favorite Chinese restaurants, was mandatory. If they had plans with a date for that evening, the date was brought along to dinner, but the family dined together and that was all there was to it.

And while they were open to and enjoyed other genres of food and ethnic cuisines, Chinese food was hands down and without question each one of the DePaul’s favorite choices. And usually when they would have Chinese they would have it served family style so that they could all sample as many dishes as possible. This works out especially well in a large family. And when they had this structure of service, they would all try and order different items to get the greatest variety possible. This was difficult to introduce to Willow, the youngest of the DePauls. She too loves Chinese food and was extremely unwilling at first to share her fried rice. So, for about the first year she ate in restaurants with them and actually had her own meal, her parents would order an extra plate of fried rice so that she could have her own and also participate in the family service.

Meanwhile some of the other favorite dishes included moo shoo pork, which was cabbage and vegetables cooked with pork and then rolled into a Chinese crape and served with plum sauce. It was considered mandatory for someone in the family to order beef and broccoli as that was the favorite of more than one person and the whole family enjoyed it. Coconut prawns were also a popular dish with the DePauls and they would have a plate of that whenever it was available. In addition they would order a couple appetizers and usually preferred one of the sampler pates. And even though various family members rebelled against this mandatory ritual occasionally, it was actually special to and enjoyed by all of the DePauls.

Family Style Service at Chinese Restaurants is a post from: Life In Car

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