Road Trip Part One

Just returned from a 7 day road trip with a group of mates from New York. Words cannot even begin to describe the wonderful time I've had during the trip. We traversed a total of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey, and took in numerous sights and sounds.

Amongst the six of us, we must have taken more than 1000 pictures, although I think the pictures merely represent a small part of our experiences. We went up the mountains, drove along the coast, saw the beaches, visited cities, towns and villages. This trip was certainly more interesting and fruitful than one of those "packaged tours". This self-planned package afforded us so much to see, to hear and to feel.

In view of recent events especially, this trip was a very much needed healing process for my heartache and distressed mind.

Some photos here to share, this is Part I. More to come soon....

Pictures of my arrival in New York City, where I met up with the rest.

Time Warner Center, CNN Headquarters





Empire State Building, view from the top of Rockefellar Plaza



Central Park, view from the top of Rockefellar Plaza



Day 1: To Philadelphia, the original capital city of the USA. This was
where the declaration of independence was written, approved and read.



Independence Hall



The Liberty Bell



At the University of Pennsylvania, one of the Ivy League universities.






Day 2: In Annapolis, Maryland

Pictures of the US Naval Academy. The sprawling grounds exhibited a sense of magnificence like no other. I think if I were a high school student, I would want to enrol in this academy for my college education. The visit was absolutely inspirational, to say the least.







Scenes from the town of Annapolis.




Day 3 to Day 5: Visit to Shenandoah National Park. The mountain views were spectacular (the actual Blue Ridge Mountains!), and the rolling "hills" that seemed to go on and on reminded me that I am but a tiny element in this big, big world. We witnessed both sunrise and sunset on the mountains --- what a feeling!

We also took a hike inside the National Park itself, which was really enjoyable. The trees had all grown fresh leaves at the start of spring, and the sound of the rivers and waterfalls created a therapeutic feel in the midst of all the flora and (some) fauna.

The winding mountain road was actually very lovely to drive on; credit really has to be given to the people who had painstakingly paved the road so well, in order to allow all of us to drive on it and stop at the different lookout points.





















"Country road, take me home, to the place I belong....." (John Denver, Country Road)

Two videos to share here:



More pictures to come, stay tuned.

A tribute

I want to say thank you. Thank you

For raising me to be the person I am today,
For all the values you have taught me about life,
For all the tender loving care you have showered upon me,
For your unwavering support of my endeavours in school and work,
For creating some of the most beautiful memories of my so-called life.

菊花灿烂地烧 你的笑容已泛黄
花落人断肠 我心事静静躺
被风乱 也微摇 你的影子剪不断
独留我孤单 在湖面神伤

I am upset. I am upset

That I can no longer repay all your kindness,
That I cannot buy you and grandpa your favourite foods,
That I will come home each time to the flat unable to see your gracious face,
That I will now have to trudge on in life without your physical presence.

把我的悲伤留给自己你的美丽让你带走
从此以后我再没有快乐起来的理由
我想我可以忍住悲伤可不可以你也会想起我

But I want to feel happy for you. Happy

That you are no longer bedridden and suffering,
That you have now joined grandpa in the afterlife,
That you and grandpa will be looking out for me from the heavens above.

I don’t want to say goodbye. I just want to say thank you.

In fact, I will never be able to thank you enough.

Spring flora

The colours of spring just get brighter each day, and I have certainly been going crazy with my camera all around campus. Love the roses and carnation-like yellow flowers. Also, I realise that there are cherry blossoms here, how amazing is that! Kawaii nei! Not only are the flowers blooming, the trees have also started growing young leaves, and it's quite a beautiful (ok, very beautiful) sight both near and far. Some of the vegetation is still pretty bare, but under the sunny skies and bright sunlight, the bare tress still form quite a cool sight.

Pictures galore!




















The photographer (his shadow, anyway)...

Flowers in the springtime

One of the highlights of my American adventure is without a doubt the witnessing of the changing of the seasons. It's really amazing the way nature works, like how it could be all snowy and dreary for all of 4 months, and then, the winds change and and the sun comes out bright and cheery to herald the spring. People have started lying on the grass in the sun all around campus, many in just shorts and tank tops, as if they have been deprived of Vitamin D and have finally found their antidote. I really should do the same one day...

The past week, I've also found something really interesting that has occurred here, and that is the sprouting of wildflowers all over the place. Many of the grass patches beside the sidewalks seem to be just filled with a whole variety of blooms, all of which are very colourful, and under the unrestricted sunlight, the colours are definitely very striking.

The flowers actually grow in a fairly orderly fashion, and I initially thought some people have planted them, but it seems that they are all wild. Amazing.

Some photographs here to share. Click on each picture to see the flowers in their full technicolour glory.









The sun goes down only after 8pm nowadays. I managed to capture these two shots of the evening the other day.




I survived the winter! Welcome to the Springtime!