Sears Tower, John Hancock, "The Bean"and Frank Lloyd Wright are what I usually think of when it comes to Chicago Architecture. Little did I know that there are magnificent Art Deco skyscrapers in this windy city. Art Deco, originated in Europe, achieved its popularity in 1920s and 30s. Its ideas of "new inspiration and originality" was intended to break away from the classical style. Its characteristics include vertical orientation, setbacks, geometric ornament and influence from ancient art. Art Deco style strove for modern and artistic expression. Field Building (no [View Full Entry]

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Sometimes, you find something interesting, worth visit in the most unexpected place. By chance, I found this winery. (I was reading local newspaper and saw the vineyard's event calendar). Sleepy Creek is located between Champaign and Danville, IL. Basically, I called this region, the cornfield country. A vineyard in East Central Illinois? I got to check it out to fulfill my own curiosity. On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I visited Sleepy Creek. It is a small but charming vineyard. The drive way lead me to a barn, which is the tasting room. I was the only guest when I arrived. The [View Full Entry]

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J and I, the two sea food lovers, would not miss any opportunities to sample local cuisine while in Bahamas. It was our mission to search for authentic restaurants in Nassau. The Poop Deck Restaurant A casual water front fine-dining experience. We couldn't resist the "catch of the day", red snapper. Basically, you can choose the cooking method: grilled or steamed. We chose grilled red snapper since neither of us like steamed fish with tomato sauce. For dessert, we had "guava duff". It tasted almost like bread pudding but mixed with guava pulps. It was good; however, too sweet [View Full Entry]

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Harbour Island is my favorite excursion in Bahamas. It is an out island just one mile off the northern coast of Eleuthera. It is about 2.5 hours ferry ride from Nassau. The island is so small, 3 mile long, 1 mile wide that the best way to explore its charming landscape is by golf-cart! Harbour island is famous for the "Pink Sand Beach". Why is it pink? This is what I found after consulting google: the beach's pink color comes from microscopic coral insects called Foraminifera. With bright pink or red shells, they thrive underneath reefs, on sea floors, beneath rocks [View Full Entry]

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Running and traveling are my passions. Naturally, one of my dreams is to run races in different places. Running with a camera in my Race-Ready shorts is no longer a daunting task. After all, you can't never anticipate what you will see on a race course. Indianapolis is well know for its Speedway. In the running community, it is also well known for the annual sell-out event, the One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon. It is the largest half marathon in the U.S. I came for the opportunity to run a lap on the famous speedway just 3 weeks before drivers [View Full Entry]

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Location: Kickapoo state park Distance: 10K This is the toughest 10K race I've done so far! There were 3 large uphills and 3 large down hills on the course. To complete a 10k race, we had to run two loops (outch, that is a total of 6 hills!!) It was a cold Saturday morning. Prior to this race, I spend most of time running indoors to getaway from the snow. I have been so used to flat course. Running hills was very very challenging for me. Putting one foot in front of the other was very difficult going up hills. Nevertheless, [View Full Entry]

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Xitang is known for its bridges, lanes, and ceilinged corridors. Chinese describe it 「橋多、弄多、廊棚多」. It almost felt like I just traveled hundreds of years back in time to the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It also felt like I was walking in a Chinese painting with waterfront landscape. Life here seemed to be quieter, more lay back and easy going. This ancient water town reminds me of the Chinese poem: 小橋, 流水, 人家. Unique and beautiful! [View Full Entry]

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I spend several days in Stockholm wandering around in this unfamiliar city. Strangely, some store fronts still had Halloween decoration while some stores were already decorating for Christmas. Despite the cold weather, Gamla Stan, the old town, was lovely and lively. With narrow stone streets and old buildings, Gamla Stan was a very charming area to walk about. We walked to the scenic Stortorget, the big square, to see the vivid orange, yellow, green buildings. These buildings were a huge contrast against the depressing winter sky! We visited several shops and immediately I fell in love w [View Full Entry]

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Life changed dramatically in winter 2007. The only way to escape was to run far far away from home as fast as I could. I booked the flight to Stockholm and took off a week later. My best friend of 20+ years was waiting at Arlanda airport when I landed. Not every moment is a happy moment when you travel, especially when you are at life's crossroad. I can't remember when was the last time I aimlessly wandered around a place. That day, a fire in a subway station detoured me to an unknown location in the city. I was completely [View Full Entry]

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Dear Families and Friends, I did it again! I finished the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. The weather was spectacular, sunny and cool. We started in downtown San Francisco at Union Square, ran through the financial district to Fisherman's Wharf. Mile 6 to 7 was one mile long of uphill. It was very challenging for me who is used to a flat course! But, when I reached the top, the view of Golden Gate bridge and the pacific ocean appeared in front of me. Wow.......it was stunning. It was breathtaking. It was completely worthwhile to climb that hill. I was [View Full Entry]

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