Grand Canyon!

Each Summer over the past few years has passed by so quickly.

In between staying indoors and hiding from the frequent heat waves - New York City Summers seem to be a motion blur.

I kind of already forgot that I went to the GRAND CANYON in June?!?!

I've been trotting the globe a lot this year and I'm getting the hang of setting off and not staying couped up. 

I also realize that it's much more fun to travel with people who are willing to say yes and jet set with you too :) Granted it was my friend's idea for her birthday - and hell - I said why not? (Don't get me wrong I still get very anxious about leaping into something and am learning to be more flexible, haha).

Almost a week in the Grand Canyon also sounded fun as fuck, so I was bound for Arizona! 

Day 1! We flew out on Monday morning.

I think this was my worst flight experience, lol...

The plane boarded 45min early to only be delayed by 1 hour because there was regular plane maintenance. The plane then had to stop on the tarmac because the maintenance person left their tool on the plane?! And as we were flying, there was a kid slightly kicking my seat and poking my elbow with their foot. Of course, the person next to me also takes off their shoes and is the type to sneeze into their hands. I guess the window view kind of helped...

It's always fun seeing the ridges of mountainsides and the grooves of the earth. 

(I learned that those round patches of land are often farms that grow grass!)

I was very anxious during the last hour of the flight because I thought the plane delay meant that we wouldn't land on time. And since we had a non-refundable shuttle service, I thought it meant we would lose all our money and have no way to get to the canyon.

Lo and behold, I worried for no reason because the timezone finally updated and we would still be on time. I literally went through so much emotional stress, haha.

We caught the shuttle service bus that picked us up from the airport and got snacks along the way. We also met some chatty people on the way (who were low-key kind of weird - maybe that's the midwestern friendliness/oversharing personality).

Yavapai Lodge was cute and comfy! It felt like a community cabin hehe.

We arrived! The shuttle service around the park seemed super reliable so it was our workaround of needing a car. Plus, we chose to stay in a lodge within the park and it was easy to walk to where we needed to go. The rooms were an offshoot from the common area where we would get snacks, food, and water.

The food was pretty tasty. We had elk burger for the first time, surprisingly not as gamey as I thought.

We were still comprehending the fact that we made it and tried to get as much sleep as we could. We immediately started towards the canyon the next day.

Day 2! The trails were all very clean, quiet, and the weather was perfect.

The South Rim Trail is absolutely MIND BLOWING. We walked down the path and knew we were getting close to the canyon rim as the tree line started to clear up.

Words and pictures cannot describe how vast the Grand Canyon is.

We stopped every 20 feet to take pictures, haha!

The trail has interesting plaques and rock samples that inform you more about the canyon's history. We made our way to Verkamp village and saw some really cool trinkets, along with information about the Native tribes in the area.

Hopi House

We stopped for lunch before continuing the longer part of the hiking in our day.

Fred Harvey Tavern

I know fish and chips isn't a hiking meal - but I think it's too good to pass on. Plus, I didn't want to order something too big and then carry it in my backpack for hours.

Bridge Angel Lodge Gift Shop/Museum

We left the Bright Angel Lodge around 1pm and got to Hopi Point around 5pm. It's about 2 miles - though it felt more since we had to catch our breath while going up and down so many hills/curves on the edge of death (I mean the canyon) to our right.

We were reading the plaques along the trail and saw a few animals on our trail. Squirrels, blue jays, lizards, and lots of big beetles that loved to fly towards me... 

The Colorado River

It wasn't until we got to Hopi Point that we finally saw the Colorado River. It snakes around the canyon so discreetly that it's hard to imagine how huge it must've been centuries beforehand.

We took a much-needed break for shade, snacks, and water. It was nice to people-watch in the park. There were a lot of people who were taking the shuttle bus to each point rather than hiking. We decided to do that from then on out all the way to Hermit's Rest.

I'm glad we did at least half of that trail because we wouldn't have gotten to enjoy the park as much if we were traveling by bus all the time. C'mon, if you're at the Grand Canyon - be outdoorsy if you can!

We chilled at Hermit's Rest until sunset and headed back to our lodge to rest up and have dinner. The shuttle bus drivers are so kind. They let us run out and back into the bus as they were making stops on the way back so we could take more pictures.

When we were back at our lodge - I did not feel good. My chest was so heavy and it felt like I was breathing really shallow unable to catch my breath. The altitude sickness got me :(

At least there was a big fire every night at the Yavapai Lodge. It was nice cozying up for more warmth considering the desert's temperature dropped significantly. I had to layer up with everything I had, haha.

Day 3!

We woke up at 4am. Yes, 4am.

For the sunrise of course! The sky was still pitch black and it was so beautiful seeing the sky full of stars. They felt so much closer to us too because the canyon's elevation is around 7,000+ feet.

Waiting for the bus with the stars, the moon, and Mercury!

We only saw a few people trying to catch the sunrise too.

The moon at the Grand Canyon visitor's center.

We took a further route to see the sunset at Yaki Point. And oh boy, it was worth losing sleep for. 

There was literally only 1 other person there, a photographer. So we had the whole lookout spot to ourselves. (Sorry to the photographer who had to listen to us talk and goof off the whole time).

The sun fills up the Grand Canyon.

It was such a lovely and beautiful way to start the morning.

Watching the sunrise, sharing some lunchables, and soaking our faces with the sun.

We eventually made our way back to the lodge for some light napping and headed back out the door a few hours later.

The Grand Canyon train.

Bright Angel Trail.

Here we go - hiking INTO the Grand Canyon!

We decided early on that we would only hike to one corner of the many zig-zags of the trail. Even going back uphill was tough. Especially with both of us struggling with altitude sickness. I don't know how people train for this.

The views were pretty amazing though! You can feel how immediately the weather truly changes. Cloud coverage was a big plus to help with preventing heat exhaustion.

There were lots of families hiking further down and went past us pretty quickly. There were some kids crying - understandably so - since they're 3 feet tall and could get knocked over pretty easily if they're not paying attention (there were kids jumping down between the trail paths...) On top of that - some of the parents were telling their kids to suck it up.

There was a mom who l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y said, "Do you want to be a wimp or do you want to be one of those cool girls?..." My friend and I just looked at each other at that amusing, yet, wtf moment.

That Bright Angel Trail attempt was enough to keep us bound to the small radius of our lodge afterward. So we tried to catch our breath and relax as much as we could. AKA, watch The Office on the TV.

Day 4!

Our final full day at the canyon.

We got breakfast and walked the rest of the South Rim Trail all the way to the Grand Canyon visitor's center.

We enjoyed more of the view while applying sunscreen (the sun is no joke here - burned my ears in 30min without my hat or sunscreen).

I like how the park has so many outlook points where you're meant to enjoy unobstructed views. I didn't have the courage as others to pose so close on the edge.

This was kind of our free day to see all the museums and small exhibits/shops we didn't fully spend time in. So we bounced around the informational centers and saw the visitor's Grand Canyon movie. 

Mary Colter's Lookout Studio

Items from when the Grand Canyon was starting to become popularized by it's residents.

The Mule Barn! The mules can take visitors & hikers to the bottom of the canyon to Phantom Ranch.

Taking in the last few views of my visit.

A storm was passing by.

We went back to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center after dinner for the park's South Rim Star Party.

Unfortunately there was a storm passing by so there were lots of clouds in the sky. Which meant we weren't able to see many stars that night.

We got a few rain showers before the park rangers decided to move the presentation indoors to their screening theater in the visitor's center. The storm wouldn't let up until after midnight so they said the majority of the astronomers who had brought their professional telescopes would be packing them up and heading home. So we didn't get to see stars from telescopes, sad. 

Damn the weather for the one bad weather day when it mattered the most!

Nonetheless, the presentation was really interesting because it was by a Zuni spiritual leader and archaeologist. He talked about the Zuni fables, history, and religion.

At least we were able to see some stars after the presentation. We stood with a small group of people who stayed a little longer and talked to a volunteer at the event. He was a retired science teacher talking about the stars.

Star party signs!

After that, we caught the last shuttle bus of the night to head back to our lodge.

Day 5!

We grabbed breakfast at the lodge and were getting ready to head home.

It was a long bus ride back so I mainly napped on the ride to the airport. I couldn't change my flight to an earlier time, so I spent like 6 hours at the airport watching "Blockbuster" on Netflix while eating my snacks. 

That was the only time I allowed myself to lie down on the floor of an airport. I also had Panada Express for the first time as a late dinner. It was meh - considering they were closing their kitchen.

My red-eye flight from 11pm wasn't super long. I landed at 7am and my family picked me up to go home.

Overall, I think 4 days and 3 nights was enough time to see everything we planned on. It's a little bit tough because traveling is a day in itself. But once I got there, it didn't matter. It was really fun to go to a national park for the first time. On top of that, being out in Arizona and it being a huge canyon. I would definitely want to go back and do more hiking. Possibly go further in, but that will require more training...

I'll just enjoy the memories until then!

x Vicky

San Francisco!

I've been busy these past few months trying to juggle a number of projects.

You can typically find me at my desk late into the night pouring over spreadsheets, multiple documents, and catching up on color-coded emails. It's been hard work that *fingers crossed* will pay off in the Summer when things are finally finished! I'm really excited and am looking forward to sharing that soon.

In the midst of all that, I made an unexpected spontaneous trip to San Francisco! 

🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉🌉

I was only there for 4 days but made sure it was jam-packed with things to do, eat, and see. Honestly, I didn't finalize my itinerary until I was in the middle of my flight to the West Coast. (How type-A does that sound?)

I was there for CAAM's 41st film festival and it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A short documentary film that I produced back in 2021 had been selected and was screened at the festival! I'm still not used to going to festivals and being in that space since I still consider myself a newbie (but my resume says otherwise, which still surprises me) as a 23-going-to-24-year-old person. 

Despite how much anxiety I knew I would have, I still wanted to go and allow myself the opportunity to do something new that would be worthwhile. Hell, I've been saying "yes" more often, and it's opened a new perspective on things I would've chickened out of 5 years ago.

I also realized it was the first time that I would be traveling alone and staying in a new place. I didn't have the comfort of knowing that I could lean on anyone. I was nervous but wanted to embrace that independent-explorer side of myself that I've been unintentionally building this year. 

I knew that I would only really have one day to be a typical tourist and explore as much as I could before the festival started. And that I would only be able to do some random food trips and sight-seeing moments in between running back and forth film screenings or events.

After landing at midnight and re-couping my first stop in the early morning only made sense to be in Chinatown!

At 9AM in the morning, the dim sum better be fresh. I got some radish cakes and siu mai at Good Mong Kok Bakery. I've never seen dim sum sold by the pound, haha! It wasn't bad for a fast food kind of dim sum spot (nothing can compare to banquet hall dim sum though). 

I walked around the area and this Chinatown is much more active than the one in LA. I honestly felt a wave of relief and happiness to be walking in this Chinatown because I heard my mother tongue and felt at home. From grannies buying groceries to teens ordering food - I didn't feel as anxious. Being me - I also bought too many buns for one person for breakfast. So I stowed them in my tote bag for tomorrow and sat down at AA Bakery & Cafe for some milk tea and an egg tart. 

I've NEVER had this type of milk tea before. It was just like the Hong Kong milk tea I've seen online where it's actual brewed tea and evaporated milk (rather than the tea bag and heavy cream I have back in NYC). It was sooooo good, not to mention this white egg tart? (I've usually seen the yellow ones, but this is apparently only made of egg whites). 

With my stomach happy - I was off to my next adventure!

I was humming with bliss and awe watching all these trolleys and trams passing on the street. (The rails on the ground and wires above also audibly buzz?! As a New Yorker, walking on the tracks felt like a 100% NOPE feeling).

Anyways, I took a bus across town to start my ambitious 4.5 mile hike from Ocean Beach to the Golden Gate Bridge!

The day started out really grey and overcast. But the fresh wind and pacific ocean smell were what I needed. 

The Sutro Baths

Lands End

These trees were pretty cool, look at those tree tops! I can't get over how beautiful the ocean and forest look alongside each other.

I went through a few beaches, parks, and a culdesac in order to do the coastal trail. It took me up, down, and around hills - but damn - just look at the views!

The sun really came out for me in the last hour of my hike as I got closer to the bridge too. 

I finished my 3-hour hike at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge and took a bus to the Fisherman's Wharf. I originally planned on walking there too, but I was too hungry.

And it only made sense to get clam chowder in a bread bowl at Boudin!

It was quite windy and chilly during my hike so a warm soup really hit the spot.

They had a part where you could watch the bakers work from above the kitchen. It smelled DIVINE. Plus they had these little baskets that moved fresh bread around the whole place so this is officially my dream place.

After a late lunch, I walked around the wharf a little and the famous old-timey arcade museum they have. I didn't spend much time there mostly because my backpack felt heavy and I wanted to relax at my hotel before the festival opening night.

I walked up Hyde Street to get to the famous curvy road of Lombard Street. And just going up Hyde Street itself was a workout. It's just a straight-up INCLINE all the way. Lombard Street was cool, a number of tourists. Was it worth it? Maybe not from the top... I couldn't even see the curve that much when I stood on a wall. I'm sure the view from the bottom is much better, but I was so tired just getting there that I was ready to leave, haha.

I ended up taking a trolley back to my hotel! There were already a lot of people so I couldn't stand on the side, but the experience itself was fun enough. It was interesting to see how the operators in the front and in the back had to work in tandem with how fast the trolley was going, and when it was to brake.

I had the chance to freshen up, eat something, and relax in my room before I headed for the opening night of CAAMFest. I took the train to the Castro Theater and that was my first FULL DAY in San Francisco!

I won't go too much into the festival - since I really want this post to be about the city itself.

But in between the rest of the days I was there, I got to hang out at Union Square a little bit. And became a local just taking all the buses, trolleys, trams, and trains around the city. (I wish New York's MTA was as efficient and clean, lol).

This pier and the ferry building reminded me of growing up around South Street Seaport. It was really nice getting to see what locals were up to on a Sunday afternoon there. I got a few loaves of bread at Acme Bakery.

Then I took a bus to see The Painted Ladies where I ate my bread before catching a movie, haha.

Some more food I had!

Popcorn chicken on rice with a Jasmine green tea from Quickly. The ones in my Chinatown closed down when I was younger and never saw them again. So I HAD TO go when I saw one in San Francisco. Their drinks are still around $4?! I haven't seen that low of a price in legit 10 years.

More of Chinatown <3

The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Co.!

Despite being in a line full of tourists (a sign of it being overrated?), the cookies were pretty good! There was someone handing out flat French cookies while they were fresh and warm. I also bought a bag of flat cookies to bring home.

I'm so proud of myself for taking this trip. I had so much fun and was reminded to take breaks, breathe, and go do something new or fun. Or to just pause and take in the moments that make life enjoyable.

Like sitting on a bench with a hot drink and pastry. Or feeling the salty wind through your hair.

Until my next adventure, chat soon!