Mishka - The Planet We Live On

Traveling is an important part of my life. I never realized, until I started to travel around the US and the world, just how much we can learn from experiencing different places, cultures, foods, and people. It definitely broadens your perspective. I have learned to cherish those things that are close to me and those things I grew up with that I probably didn't appreciate enough. I have also learned that the world is a pretty small place and we all have a lot in common and what we do individually immediately affects those around us, as well as those far away.

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Joined on: April 7th 2006
Last Login: July 3rd 2009

Blog Entries: 16
Photos: 71

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Mishka, order by Date newest first.

By Mishka
January 6th 2009

Futenma Shrine Hatsumode Visit Asia » Japan » Okinawa

Futenma Shrine

Today, I went with two of my friends to the Futenma Shrine for New Year (Hatsumode). Normally this would be done Jan 1-3 but this particular shrine seems to run the whole week after the 1st and it was a lot less busy when we went. I am not Shinto (and many of the other visitors aren't either) but this visit is an important part of Japanese culture and I am all about absorbing as much culture as I can. Before you enter the shrine grounds, you walk through a torii gate. The gates are put in places of importance to [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
October 16th 2007

Naha Tug Of War Asia » Japan » Okinawa

Before Connection

This last weekend J and I decided to head to the Naha Tug of War. It was postponed to the 14th because of bad weather the week before. I have been to it several times but this time we didn't pull on the rope so we could get a better idea of the other things going on near the center point of the Tug of War. We drove down kind of late and I thought for sure we were going to have a terrible time finding parking nearby but we ended up doing okay. We found this little spot of only [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
June 19th 2006

Coyote Conversation North America » United States » Michigan » UP

Macinac Lighthouse

After leaving Canada and NY, we made our way up through Lower Michigan into the Upper Penisula (UP). We stopped in Macinac and took pictures of the lighthouse and the bridge onto the UP and then headed up to Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. We saw a ship come through the locks while we were there and it was pretty interesting. The locks are right where the International Bridge provides access to Canada and moves ships between Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes via St Mary's River. I had only seen Lake Michigan on a trip to Chicago once [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
June 17th 2006

Two Sides North America » Canada » Ontario » Niagara Falls

Horseshoe Falls

We drove up to Niagara Falls, NY after picking up our truck at the Newark Airport. We hit the park around 4pm, which was actually really fast time since we didn't even leave Newark until after noon. The park on the US side is state run which really suprised us. We were expecting it to be a National Park. We were a bit disappointed by it. We drove through it once before we found parking to just get a lay of the land, and it just seemed a bit commercialized. Before you are even completely through the park, you run into [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
June 17th 2006

Ontario Blues North America » Canada » Ontario

After leaving Niagra Falls in the morning. We headed across Ontario to Michigan. We really weren't in Ontario for very long but it was a frustrating experience for a period of time. We didn't change any money over when we crossed the border because we weren't going to be in the country for long and planned to use a visa for gas or food. While we were in Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side) we were able to use our visa everywhere and in the one case where we had to use cash, they took both types of dollars (US and [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
June 16th 2006

2nd Day in Manhattan North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan

Central Park 1

We slept in a bit and headed out to sightsee after the morning rush. We were staying in a place off Park Ave set up a bit like a hostel so it was nice to wake up and not have to fight for the bathroom or see people in the hallway while I was in my glasses and boxers. We walked a few blocks, got some breakfast food at a local deli and headed to the closest subway station. We had purchased a day pass for each of us from the hotel lobby for the metro system and planned to use [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
June 15th 2006

1st Day in Manhattan North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan

Empire State Building

We decided to leave our truck at the longterm parking at Newark Airport and take the train into Manhattan. We were only going to be in the city for 3 days so we just packed light and only brought what we really needed and could carry with us. When we arrived at Penn Station, we only had a few blocks to walk to our hotel. We stayed in a place on Lexington so it wasn't really that far to hoof it. We left almost immediately from the hotel to see the Empire State Building. We must have had some kind of [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
September 10th 2004

Natural Arches North America » United States » Utah » Arches National Park

Arches Balanced Rock

After breaking camp in Bryce Canyon early in the morning, we made our way towards Arches National Park. We were in the process of moving across the US so we were trying to make time but also wanted to see everything we could along the way. We hoped to hit Arches and still get some distance under our belt during the day. I have to say, Arches is an amazing place...unbelievable really. We drove through the entire thing. I had several virtual geocaches to find and amazingly enough, they led us to many of the sights we would have seen anyhow. [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
September 9th 2004

Zion Canyons North America » United States » Utah » Zion National Park

Zion Natural Arch

Drove to Zion National Park from Vegas on our way through Utah to the East Coast. Kind of the long way but we wanted to see these amazing parks in Utah, and they were well worth the detour. We weren't in Zion for very long this day because we wanted to get to Bryce Canyon early enough to explore some and set up camp but what we did see of Zion was amazing and it would be so worth it spend more time there. We entered the park and drove up towards a geocache that we wanted to find. If it [View Full Entry]

By Mishka
September 9th 2004

Reflections in Bryce North America » United States » Utah » Bryce Canyon

Amphitheatre from Wallstreet

After leaving Zion National Park, we arrrived at Bryce Canyon in the afternoon. We quickly found a camping space and set out to explore the park before the sun set. First we walked over to the Amphitheatre at Inspiration Point to check out the amazing views, and then headed down into the Canyon along Wallstreet and Navajo Loop Trail. There is nothing that compares to the view from down inside the canyon among the hoodoos. We were stopping to take pictures every few feet. The colors at that time of day were unbelievable and I am sure the photos don't do [View Full Entry]

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