2012 - Lili on the Loose

14 03, 2016

Travel Missteps: Swept Out To Sea

By Lili|March 14th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2003, 2012, all inclusive, Arenal, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, fear, Holiday in Rivera Maya, kayak, La Fortuna, lake, Mexico, ocean, Rivera Maya, sea kayaking, white water rafting|0 Comments

My first trip to Mexico I stayed in an all-inclusive hotel with my family. My mother certainly had an interesting birthday! But she also saved me on this trip. My sister and I had taken a sea kayak out on the beach of our Rivera Mayan hotel. It wasn't much fun as the waves kept hitting us. So my sister turned around. I kept going further out, trying to see the island of Cozumel better. But as I turned around and attempted to come in, I realized frighteningly that I was stuck in a current...that was taking me further out

11 03, 2016

Bonsai Forest in Portland, OR

By Lili|March 11th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2012, Bonsai, Forest, Lan Su Garden, North America, North Pacific Coast 2012, Oregon, Photo Friday, Portland, USA|0 Comments

The Lan Su Garden in Portland, OR has numerous bonsai, and this one was my favorite. Its about 2-3 feet high and 2 fee wide. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.

14 12, 2015

Museum Monday: Decked in Gold

By Lili|December 14th, 2015|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2012, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, gold, San Jose, statue|0 Comments

I didn't make it to the official Gold museum in San Jose but the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica had a small section on gold. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

30 11, 2015

Museum Monday: The Hunt for Red October

By Lili|November 30th, 2015|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: 2012, hunt for red october, Movie, North America, North Pacific Coast 2012, Oregon, Portland, submarine, USA, USS Blueblack, work|0 Comments

I was in Oregon for a business trip. At the end of the conference the final dinner party was held at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Which is home to the USS Blueblack, a submarine that was used for the outside shots in the move The Hunt for Red October as well as various tv shows. What is even more awesome is that you can actually go inside this submarine! USS Blueblack SS-581 One good thing about being on the sub with a lot of co-workers and clients is that each person was a camera

31 10, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Ravenclaw Robes

By Lili|October 31st, 2015|Categories: Geek, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, Book, clothes, cosplay, costume, Florida, Halloween, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Islands of Adventure, Movie, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Pottermore, Ravenclaw, Robes, Sorted, Sorting, ties, Time Turner, Universal Studios, USA, Wand, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Wizards|0 Comments

A few years ago I fulfilled a childhood dream of going to Hogwarts. I had already learned from Pottermore that I was sorted into Ravenclaw. For years I had thought myself Gryffindor but realized my mistake and found my home in the Claws. So I dutifully got myself my House gear when I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Here I am dressed in my Ravenclaw robes, sweater, and tie for Halloween 2012 I'm your typical Ravenclaw student, I love learning so much I have a Time Turner! Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on

31 08, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Early Shuttle

By Lili|August 31st, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2004, 2012, Asia, Bath, button, Central America, Colorado, Costa Rica, Japan, North America, packing, pants, sewing, shuttle, Sister Cities Japan 2004, Super Shuttle, USA|0 Comments

I use to be a horrible packer, waiting until the last minute. This lead to many sleepless trips such as the time I finished packed at 4AM for my trip to Japan. Unfortunately my shuttle was picking me up at 4:30 AM so there was no point in sleeping. But one day that changed in me. I started to have everything packed and ready in advanced. And then I started cleaning my entire home and having it ready for when I returned. That was always nice as now when I get home, no matter how tired I am, I unpack

30 07, 2015

Follow Your Feet at Lan Su Garden Portland, OR

By Lili|July 30th, 2015|Categories: Attractions & Sights, Photography, Travel|Tags: 2012, North America, North Pacific Coast 2012, Oregon, path, pathway, Portland, stone, stones, Travel Thursday, USA|Comments Off on Follow Your Feet at Lan Su Garden Portland, OR

Portland's Lan Su Chinese Garden is a beautiful place to check out on your visit to the city. Beyond the beautiful pagodas and variety of plants I was also amazed by the intricate stone pathways. They said that these stones were hand selected for placement, and were designed to be able to walk barefoot in meditation. The juxtaposition of the smooth river rocks and flat stones would give you a different feeling as you walk. Each area of the garden has its own stone designs. And will have a different feeling depending on the time of year, lighting, and how

20 07, 2015

Travel Missteps: Ripped Off

By Lili|July 20th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2012, cabbie, cash, Central America, Costa Rica, Costa Rica Adventure 2012, delayed, Denver, DIA, exchange rate, flight, hotel, late night, money, robbed, San Jose, scam, taxi|0 Comments

Budget travel means that you are trying to stretch your money as far as you can. Which means in my case, I often choose the cheapest flights, even if they aren’t ideal. Which is why I found myself at DIA late at night getting ready to catch a late night flight. But what I hadn’t counted on was my flight to Costa Rica to be delayed. Which meant I arrived in San Jose after 1AM, and found that that my hotel was completely full for the night. They kept speaking Spanish, and it sounded like they wanted me just to

18 04, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Chocolate Frogs

By Lili|April 18th, 2015|Categories: Geek, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2012, 2016, Book, Cards, chocolate, Chocolate Frog, Disney, Florida, Harry Potter, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Honeydukes, Islands of Adventure, Keychain, Movie, North America, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Universal Studios, USA, Walt Disney World, Witches, Wizarding World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Wizards|0 Comments

Which Card Will You Get? Chocolate Frogs are an iconic snack from the Harry Potter books. They also are a great souvenir from the Wizard World of Harry Potter in Orlando, FL. I was a little worried as I had two issues when purchasing these. Firstly, it was August, and hot, and I worried that the chocolate would melt. The other issue is that you don't know what card you are going to get. At the time there were just 4 cards, one for each founder. The first few boxes I got were for Salazar Slytherin. I

13 04, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Legend of the Hubcap Nachos

By Lili|April 13th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 1997, 2012, Florida, Hawaii, Margaritaville, Nachos, North America, Oahu, Orlando, Orlando Adventure 2012, Sunburn, Sunburnt 1997, USA|1 Comment

When I was in middle school we took a family vacation to Hawaii. I...didn’t enjoy it that much. The first day I got the worst sunburn I’ve ever had in my life and was miserable the entire trip. Our cheap hotel was going under major renovations...and smelled like cat pee. (I also think it was a sweatshop, as the 2nd floor was a warehouse room where many women were making cheap jewelry from beads and shells.) I didn’t know you were suppose to barter at the nearby marketplace and spent all of my spending money on a Japanese money cat