Photos

The best of mama

Besides Highway 1, that runs along the entire state of California

Shopping arcade at the town of Carmel.

Whale Watching? Maybe next time. Humpback used california coast as their migration route.

Papa at Pebble Beach. The venue for the next US Open in 2010. This guy maybe the next champion

"Redwood" tree, a native of this part of California. It's much, much bigger than Mama, much, much taller and off course much, much older. This one is probably about 500 years old!

You do not want to mess around with this kind of plant.

Another unique vegetation found here along the coast. It's popularly called "Loco Weed", in reference to the cattle upon taking this vegetation will turn crazy/cranky

Mama with the Pacific as the background

Bus Tour

Yesterday, the institute organised a bus tour down south to Big Sur. We moved out early at 9 am and the tour was through one of the most beautiful highway in California. We stopped at some interesting places along the way, including nice spots and lookout points along the highway. One of the interesting spot that we stopped was at the Bixby Creek bridge overlooking the ocean (view here). It was a breathtaking view to drive at about 300 ft above the creek. Shortwhile later we reached Big Sur and we stopped at Redwood State Park. Here the park is famous for its redwood forest. Redwood are mostly prized for its lumber since they are very hardy and durable. They are big and very tall and can live up to hundreds of years.
On the way back to Monterey, we stopped for lunch at Carmel. This is a lovely town with plenty of nice restaurants and shops. Overall, it was a wonderful day. Photos will be uploaded later.

Dinner

This evening we were taken out for dinner by two friends from San Diego. We went to a restaurant not far from the institute. It's quite classy and the food selection was wide ranging. We had salad and artichoke for starters and sea bass for main dish. For desert we have apple pie and creme brulee. Finally we had coffee. Thank you very much for that wonderful dinner.

Monterey Bay

Today we took a long walk to Monterey Downtown and all the way to Cannery Row. It was quite a distance, but since the whether was gorgeous it was all fun. There were plenty of people, mostly tourists from other part of California. We stopped by many stores to look at mostly souvenirs, T-shirts and memorabilia. We also stopped by at the old town house an interestingly we learn that Monterey was the first capital of California. It is very rich in history and at one time the biggest sardine exporter for the entire world. To learn more about Monterey's historic sites, go here. When we reached Cannery Row, we stopped to rest and have a refreshment. We browse some more in the stores as there are so many stores there. Finally, we took the trolley (for free) back to downtown and continue our journey by walking back to our apartment.

Golf

Today I have a chance to play golf. We played at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, a wonderful 18 hole golf course outside Monterey (view here). We teed off quite late and our game ran all the way to almost 9 pm when it is almost dark. We were the last flight to arrive at the club and just managed to find it in the fading light.

A Visit to the Dentist

Well, today I got a tooth extracted. It was bordering me for quite a while, even before coming here. In the last two days, the gum swelled and it caused some pain. After quick examination, the dentist explained to me that it was a supernumerary tooth that had to be pulled out. A supernumerary tooth is an extra tooth that develops in addition to the normal 32. After administrating local anesthesia, it was pulled out. I was surprised as it took him a mere 20 seconds to pull out the troubling tooth. Should have done it sooner and save me from the ache.

MJ

At about 2 pm, when we were in the middle of a class discussion, our discussion leader was surfing the net. Suddenly she pointed out to us that MJ was found unconscious and was taken to a local hospital. At that time, the report said that MJ was being resuscitated from what appeared to be a massive cardiac arrest. At about an hour later, we found out that MJ passed away from a cause of death yet to be determined. Over here, for the next two days, CNN gave wide coverage of the demise of MJ and probably for the next couple of weeks will still be discussed as long as the cause of death is not yet determined. As for me, I remembered MJ from many of his very catchy songs and very sleek dance routines. His demise will surely be a lost to the world and will be dearly missed by all music lovers. Alfatihah.

The WHO

Dear Lan,
Mama found this pair, that you have been longing for, in the converse store over here. Hope it fits.

Seafood

A picture taken on the "fisherman wharf" with one of the many restaurants in the background. Here they served very nice clam chowder, a favorite of mine.

KFC a la Monterey

It came as a surprise to me that over here we have Seafood in a Box being sold at KFC. In the box (can feed 2 person)there are fish and chips, shrimps and fish cakes. It came as a surprise, as we thought KFC only have chickens and burgers.
Yummy!! we can't go hungry here. No issue with halal food at KFC.

Fruits Galore

Cherry, strawberry, blueberry, plums and peaches. They are everywhere. This is a picture at the "Farmers Market" downtown. Just like our very own pasar tani. Here all the fruits are very, very fresh and relatively cheap.

Slurp!!!

This is a picture of our first meal when we arrived and checked into the hotel. It was the "good ole" Maggi Mee perisa tomyam. It was definitely good as we were really hungry. We brought with us not much, but I don't think it is going to be our regular meal. It is relatively easy to find halal food and we are going to do our own cooking.

First Day in Class

On Monday we attended our first day of the course. We have a total of 38 participants from 28 different countries. It was a big group and most part of the day was spent introducing ourselves. We have a member of the faculty, a lady, who is fond of memorising the names of all the participants. At first I thought she was joking, but she actually ran through all our names and identifying us with some unique and special features until she actually got it all. Fantastic, I thought.
Later in the evening, I visited the museum whilst my wife went to do some shopping at the local outlet. The gym was presentable with plenty of equipment. That facililty is going to be one of my favorate spot through out my stay here. Later, i pop into the NEX to check what are available. Again, the store was well stocked up like many other NEX or BX that I have come across. I actually, cam across some golf equipment that really tempted me. Maybe, I will give that a serious thought later on. Some of the clothings, like T-shirts, sweat shirts and jogging shoes are relatively cheap.

The Arrival

I am starting this blog as a diary for our two boys back home to read and follow our life over here. Other readers are most welcome to join in and also to post their comments. I will be posting pictures whenever they are available.
Our journey started on 20th July 2009, when we took the flight out of Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles, via Taipei. The mission was for me to attend the Senior International Defense Management Course (SIDMC) in Monterey, California. We landed in Los Angeles International (LAX) after an almost 16 hour flight and after a transit time of about 4 hours, we boarded a commuter aircraft (Emb 120) to Monterey; a journey of only about one hour. When we arrived in Monterey, it was already in the evening. We were brought to our residence and after getting our room, a much needed rest was in order. Alas, I only dozed off at almost 4 in the morning. The next day, I slept the whole morning and only got up at almost midday.
The next day, being Sunday was a day of rest. But we went out to town for some groceries and other stuff. The store was called “Safeway” and it has plenty of stuff for our needs. We headed for home in a hurry as I need to be back for my “ice breaker” at 5.30 pm. I absent mindedly left behind half of what we bought and only realize it later that evening. I went back later that night and the store keeper was kind enough to assist me to pick up what was left behind.
Before I went to the store for the second time, I went to the famous 17 mile drive; courtesy of a wonderful lady (will post her name later). I got a chance to pass through several famous golf link courses, including Spyglass, Spanish Bay, Del Monte and off course, the famous of all, Pebble Beach (view here). We also got to view the iconic “lone cypress” tree beside the beach, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The lone tree clings to what is nearly bare rock and considered to be the world’s most photographed tree. It also became the sole trade-mark of Pebble Beach golf link. The Naval Post Graduate School where I am doing the course also had the same tree, but is not allowed to call it as the name implies. It belongs solely to Pebble Beach golf links!! Through the drive, we got to see the palace of what was believed to be Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran and also Mission Ranch Restaurant that belongs to Clint Eastwood. We stopped by but Mr. Eastwood was not there. We were told that his favorite pass time is to play the piano over there. More posting later.