What it’s really like to plan, fly, island-hop, and survive the Philippines in peak season—without a tour. This post is for people considering the Philippines for the first time–especially parents traveling with kids, Filipino-Americans returning after a long gap, and…
An Epic Journey through Japan
I was inspired by Alexandra Kostoulas, founder of the San Francisco Creative Writing Institute to start writing again and thought, why not return to my blog. Hello blog, it’s been a while. I could talk politics or religion or parenting or…
How to Change the World in 2020
Reflecting on the last decade, I got married, had two miscarriages, birthed and raised a healthy baby, moved from San Francisco to my hometown, traveled internationally to China, Italy, Honduras, England, France and Mexico, bought a duplex in San Francisco,…
What to Know About the Lair of the Golden Bear
The Lair of the Golden Bear is UC Berkeley’s family camp located in Pinecrest, CA, which is between Tahoe and Yosemite, and a 3-hour drive from San Francisco. Note that you don’t have to be a Cal alum to camp….
Reconnect: University of Chicago Booth School of Business 15-Year Reunion
I moved away from the San Francisco Bay Area for the first and only time when I was 27. It was a year after 9/11. I got my first cell phone and to this day, I have retained my Chicago…
Guide to Newport, Rhode Island
I spent two days in Newport, Rhode Island last week for business travel and fell in love with the City by the Sea! I can’t wait to go back next year and tack on an extra vacation day. If I…
Guide to Carmel-by-the-Sea
I’m currently crushing on the beach town of Carmel, which is a 2+ hour drive from San Francisco and 15 minutes away from Monterey. We headed down for the long weekend after the 4th of July. There are a lot of…
Updated Guide to Palm Springs
We spent three nights in Palm Springs this summer. Actually we stayed in Rancho Mirage at the Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, which is 20 minutes away from downtown Palm Springs. It was a beautiful resort with three separate pools,…
Touring Sunnylands, “Camp David of the West,” near Palm Springs
After Disneyland, we headed down to Palm Springs for what I considered the adult portion of our vacation: a little history and architecture, fine dining and good wine. I had been wanting to go to Sunnylands ever since it opened…
How to Maximize Your Time and Money at Disneyland
We were in Disneyland for three days last week to celebrate Franco’s 4th birthday. We went Monday to Wednesday May 7-9 which was a fantastic time to go. The weather was in the high 70s to low 80s: warm, but…