Anderson Japanese Garden @ Rockford, Illinois
November 5, 2008
*Many pictures again. Go grab yourself a snack and come back*
Rockford is about 90 minutes drive from where Rob lives. We spent about 3 days there sightseeing and a *little* shopping. Heh.
The first time I visited Rob I was already interested in visiting the Anderson Japanese Garden (AJG) but they weren’t open during the winter time. Since it was on the way back from MOA, we decided to stop by Rockford so I could visit the garden.
Entrance fee was USD7 per person but Rob, again, scored cheap entrance tickets from the radio shopping channel. I think it was USD5 for two. Isn’t he DA MAN? 
Sticker as proof of purchase of entrance tickets
The first thing that greeted me at AJG was this little squirrel. It was just staring at us while we walked by. I stopped to take a picture but it ran and hid among some bushes.
I suppose the whole reason I wanted to go to this garden (and many other gardens/parks at that) was to take tons and tons of pictures. Not that I’m a pro or anything but I’m pretty sure by now you guys probably know I have a soft spot for some version of photography, whatever you call mine. HEH
There was a gate to go through to enter the main compound of the garden. So what did we do?
Yes, we camwhored.
The weather was almost perfect for a day at AJG. The sun was out and the skies were blue, which really makes a difference when taking pictures.
Camwhoring again
This is the zig-zag bridge. By my calculations there were about 8 segment of bridges which I suspect to be correct since the number 8 has the prosperity meaning to it in Asian culture.
I love the Weeping Willow tree.
Koi swimming towards me for food. Too bad I didn’t bring food with me.
Garden of Reflection
South Gate – entrance to the Guest House
This is the Raked Gravel Garden. The sand is actually hand-raked so visitors aren’t allowed to walk on it.
Main bridge
Pond Strolling Garden
I saw this cute duck swimming in the pond so I figured I would snap a few pictures of it.
Then it swam away from me.
That BASTARD!!!
Pretty butterfly
Posing at the main bridge
Me bugging Rob while he was trying to snap a picture
The thing I was looking forward to the most at AJG was the waterfall. I had seen pictures of it from their website and it was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to take a picture of it myself!
I quite like this next picture. I got lucky in capturing the koi fishes in the picture, considering the fishes were just swimming around, minding their own business.
Remember I said the sun was out?
Imagine the damage I could’ve done had I owned an SLR. Always wanted one but it’s a bit too expensive for me at the moment, being unemployed and all. But I have vowed to myself that once I get a job that pays well, and I am financially stable, I shall purchased one and go CRAZY.
I end this post with my favourite shot from AJG. I love the colour combination, with the lush greens, orange leaves and just the feeling of serenity I get by just looking at the picture. I close my eyes and I can almost hear the water splashing.
TA DA!
AJG is such a peaceful place. I think it’s a great place to unwind and relax, and even meditate if you wish.
I could almost feel the energy and grace that exudes in this tranquil place…
The sounds of trickling water drawing one deeper into relaxation…
The breeze that blows in one’s face, calming one’s nerves…
……….
……….
……….
That is, until Rob and I come along giggling and laughing, and making fun of each other. Then, all the peace and serenity is just…well…GONE.
It then becomes just another playground for us.
Sorry for the lack of words in this post. I have to go get some work done on the thesis.
MOA: Epilogue
October 28, 2008
The night before we left MOA, we decided to try a restaurant that I have been quite curious about ever since Rob told me about it years ago. Since I didn’t try it the first time I was in the US, I thought it would be nice to buy Rob a good dinner, like a VERY early or late birthday dinner, depending on how you see it. Heh (His birthday is in January by the way).
The restaurant is called Rainforest Cafe.
What’s so special about this place is the decor. Everything is based on the rainforest. They even have fake rain and thunder while you dine, with added sound effects of animals like monkeys, lions, birds etc. They have aquariums…
They have huge parrots…
Heck, they even have an alligator swamp.
UNFORTUNATELY, Rob and I had a terrible waitress. I think her name is Jessie. Her service was disgustingly bad. It almost ranks right up there with MFM. The place was packed that night but we got a table in about 15 minutes, which was not that bad.
Before the food disaster
He’s just so adorable!
We ordered fried calamari as an appetizer. Rob went to the bathroom while I waited for our food. Fifteen minutes or so later, some guy came with the calamari. I sat and stared at the calamari because no one had given us any eating silverware (fork & knife). When Rob came back from the bathroom (about a few minutes later), we still had no silverware. The calamari looked dry and didn’t seem warm at all.
Eventually Jessie came over to check on our food, and we requested silverware and then she FINALLY brought us some. That took almost five minutes itself. I mean, how long can it take for you to go to the working station, grabbed a couple sets of silverware and bring it to the customers? I decided to let it go. I took a bit at the calamari and it was COLD and soggy. Rob disliked it too. We waved to Jessie and told her about it.
Guess what she did? She stands next to me, one hand on her hip, the other on the back of my chair, looking down at us like we did something wrong and said “So what do you want me to do about it?” Rob and I looked at each other, shocked. Then Rob said “This is cold, how do you expect us to eat this?” Her response was “Well it’s cold because it’s been sitting there so long to which I looked at her in disbelief and said “Yeah, cause we had NO SILVERWARE to eat it”. Rob then proceeded to tell her we would like a new batch of calamari.
She takes the lousy calamari and comes back in less than 5 minutes and say “Here, there just came out of the fryer”. How is that possible? One, it doesn’t take 2 minutes to fry calamari and two, even if it was “just out of the fryer” it would’ve burnt my tongue when I ate it. We presumed that what she did was throw the plate in the microwave and heated it up, which explained why the calamari was so tough to bite on.
That wasn’t the only thing that pissed us off. Rob ordered a hamburger and asked for fries as opposed to the potato chips. But it came with potato chips. We let her know of her mistake and she went off, came back with a plate of french fries that were again “fresh from the fryer”. Funny, it was just warm, not burning hot, NOT just out of the fryer.
I ordered some form of pasta which Jessie highly recommended because “it’s SO GOOD”. I was disappointed. It wasn’t that good at all. More spicy and oily than anything as you can see.
The meal costed about USD60, with tax and tip and all. Nonetheless I was really unhappy, not because it was pricey but because the service sucked and the food was just borderline “ok”. It wasn’t great food, it wasn’t tongue-twisting delicious. It was just edible, for the lack of other terms. Rainforest Cafe at MOA really isn’t as good after all. (Note: Found out Jessie “no longer works” there when the manager of that location called to apologize for the lousy service and food after Rob emailed and blasted them. We got the money refunded! HAHAHA)
The next morning, we went back to MOA for one last run. Actually, my last run. Heh
Ahhhhhhhhhhh…pure satisfaction as I left MOA but at the same time…
Sad to be leaving because I still could not get enough of MOA. 
At the parking bay
Then I asked to camwhore outside MOA, so Rob drove us to the front entrance of MOA.
MOA at the palm of my hand
It was really windy outside the mall. Here’s how windy it was.
Then what followed was Rob and I trying to camwhore together. After many attempts, this was probably the best picture we could take, with the sun glaring on our eyes, and the wind blowing in our face, which explains our hair and Rob’s squinting eyes. I was wearing shades. 
And we were off on our journey to Rockford. We spent a couple nights there and visited the Anderson Japanese Garden (which I probably will blog about next).
We didn’t take the scenic route on the way back because it looked as if it was going to rain. As you can see from the picture below, we were driving towards the gray clouds.
Half sunny, half cloudy
Even though we didn’t take the scenic route, there were some nice views along the way to Rockford. I know I’ve said this a gazillion times (maybe less 
) but I love seeing the countryside, with the farms, fields and lushes trees. Something about them gives me this feeling of serenity. It was a plus that I got to see some sheep grazing.
As nightfall approached and my contant whining drove Rob insane we stopped at a town (which I totally forgot the name) for dinner. We ate at Perkins Restaurant! If you remembered from my previous post, I did take a picture of a Perkins Restaurant in Winona but the one we ate at was another location.
As we were seated in our booth, I noticed a man in a blue shirt and long hair. He looked up at me and smiled. I politely smiled back. We were seated a few feet from where he was standing. It looked as if he was shaping a balloon animal. Curious, I stalked continued to watch what he was doing. Then our waitress told us that it was Kids’ Nights at Perkins and that there was an entertainer in the restaurant.
He glanced up and saw me watching him, while I shyly looked away. LOL I didn’t want to seem rude from staring at him. Then I looked at him again, while he was shaping a long red balloon into a heart. I thought it was cute and told Rob to look. He turned around and this guy was just going crazy with the balloon. Within a minute, he had finished his task.
He walked over to us and presented me with the balloon. I was pleasantly surprised!
By the way, that’s Apricot salmon with mash potatoes, corn, and bread
So cute right? Rob later on commented that it was weird that the guy knew to make a PINK flower with a HEART, of which I both love.
Don’t quite remember his name
Anyway, this guy proceeded to give us a personal magic show. I didn’t mange to take a video of it because I was still in awe over the balloon thing. Heh
I remembered inspecting the rubber bands, and they were perfectly normal rubber bands. He somehow looped them together into a chain. (Rob had a rubberband too.) He also did some other magic tricks, which got Rob and myself dumbfounded! All that came outta our mouths were “What the!” or “How did you do that!?!?” or “Holy crap!” etc etc (you get the gist). Essentially we both looked like this: 
Magic rubberbands
This is me satisfied after a great meal with great entertainment. The apricot salmon was DELICIOUS!!!! Don’t worry guys, I will do the food post in due time. Patience my little minions. 
And of course, a must after every meal. We camwhore at least once.
Love you baby! 
Nickelodeon Universe @ MOA
October 23, 2008
*This will just be more of a photo post lah. Busy with my thesis.*
As I have said a few entries ago, MOA is so big it has its own theme park. Nickelodeon Universe @ MOA is also the largest indoor theme park in the US.
It has tons of cool rides but of course, very overpriced. So what did cheapo me do? I just walked around the theme park and snapped pictures. Lol
LOVE the pink shorts Spongebob is wearing. HEH
Wishing I was a kid again so I can justify going on the pretty carousel
Dora Ferris Wheel
For as how much I love going on ferris wheels, I didn’t go on this one because I knew I would be going on the one at Navy Pier, which is like 5 times bigger! (Will blog about that soon enough, bear with me.)
This next ride looked really cool. The SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge. This roller coaster does spirals and intense loops by the looks of it. I happened to caught the rollercoaster doing some rounds around the theme park.
The 90-degree turn
Spiral loop
Then from afar I saw something very familiar. A pineapple. Not just any pineapple but the pineapple from “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?”
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!!!
Stupid Kid in the way
Spongebob was having pictures taken with kids. To be honest I would have loved to get a picture with Spongebob but I know, I know. I’m too “old” for that kinda stuff. So I stalked Spongbob from afar, trying to get a good shot of him. There were lots of kids queueing up to get their pictures taken so in the end, I zoomed in and got this picture.
Still more stupid kids in the way
Spongebob staring at me with those huge eyes and long lashes. (Just ignore the kids’ arms/hands/partial body and I think it’s a pretty good shot.)
Nickelodeon Universe also has a on-site store and is the largest Nickelodeon Store in the world.
You can get just about anything Nickelodeon in this store but of course, again, it’s all overpriced to high hell. 
When it gets darker outside, the theme park is lit up with colourful lights. (Pictures taken the night before I took the day pictures above.)
There are tons more rides that I probably didn’t snap pictures of because we were getting ready to leave that afternoon, so time was limited. Plus I had wanted to shop a *little* bit more before leaving the shopping heaven. LOL I’m glad I did though cause I scored a couple good bargains at Nordstrom.
I SHOPPING!
P/S I get the feeling this post is so boring. Er…hopefully I’ll have more time to work on the next post.
Underwater Adventures Aquarium @ MOA
October 14, 2008
*Tons of pictures ahead. I suggest you let the page load and go grab a cuppa*
When we first talked about road tripping to MOA, I was excited to visit the aquarium since the last time I visited one was when I was about 8 years old in New Zealand’s Kelly Tarltons Underwater World. I still have a photo of myself covering my eyes cause I was scared of the shark swimming above me. But after checking the price of tickets per entry, we decided it was a bit overpriced also because cheapo me didn’t want to pay lah.
But a month or so before I was scheduled to arrive, Rob bought the entrance tickets at a cheaper price through a radio station shopping show. Needless to say I was uber happy! Because I’m a lazyass, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking for this post. =P
Koi fishes
Baby gators
The stingray smilling for the camera
Loggerhead sea turtle
Sharks
By the way, a 6 year old would know the names of the creatures in the aquarium more than I do so I’ll try my best to identify what is what.
Saw fish
More shark
Oysters anyone?
Piranhas
Meet Rocky, the gigantic 17lbs lobster. I remember at one point Rob had to pull me away from the tank because he knew what I was thinking. SEVENTEEN LBS of lobster meat! DINNER!!!! 
Starfish
This next picture is probably one of my favourite pictures from the aquarium. It really captured the essense of the aquarium, which are the sharks (of course) and the lighting is perfect, at least for me. As if I am some professional photographer eh?
Look at those teeth!
Another picture I love. DORY!!! You cannot imagine how many shots I had to take of this fish before I finally got this one. Perfection! I love it! I have to say here that while I was taking pictures of this fish, Rob was laughing his ass off. Why? Because all I kept saying was “STAY! DORY STAY! STAAAAAAYYYYY…” The fish was just swimming around, ignoring me. Grrrrr.
Now contratry to popular belief, this species is not a Dory. This fish is ONLY known as Dory in the movie “Finding Nemo”. The actual name for this species of fish is “regal tang”.
Nemo the clownfish
Pretty seahorses
At the end of the aquarium was a strategically located souvenir store. I didn’t buy anything cause it was all overpriced but something caught my eye.
A toy lobster! Therefore, camwhoring is VITAL!
Just when I thought the tour of the aquarium was over, I was surprised to see that they actually have a pool for visitors to pet baby sharks and stingrays, called the Circle of Life. I was a little hessitant at first because, frankly, I love my fingers and hair. I don’t need a baby shark to bite of my fingers, nor a stingray to electrocute me, causing my hair to get curly and poofie. Rob was hessitant too but in the end we both tried it anyway because it was free and you knowlah I am a cheapo.
Petting baby shark
The stingray felt very smooth to the touch. As I stroke the back I thought I was going to feel guilty for all those times I ate BBQ sambal stingray. Instead in my head I was going “MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA I ATE MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS!” Then I realized that if I had said it out, I probably would’ve gotten a new hair do on the way out of the aquarium. Glad I didn’t say it out loud.
With Sharkey (how creative) the mascot
One last picture before leaving
The Underwater Adventures Aquarium was fun but when I think back I wouldn’t have been very happy if I had to pay for a full priced ticket which is at USD18.95 and that’s excluding tax. Thanks for scoring those tickets baby! MUAH! 
Mall of America
October 7, 2008
**I’m so tired today. I went to bed close to 4am because I was working on the thesis. I figured since I was on a rampage I might as well keep going until I got dead tired. Heh I’m now paying for it.**
In Minnesota we stayed at Homestead Studio Suites and Hotels. We got an awesome deal from hotels.com and got a free $50 gas gift card. For the price we paid and the distance to MOA, it was really worth it. The room came with tons of amenities but we didn’t use them much as I was busy dragging Rob around the mall, map in my hand and all.
Oooo! I just noticed Rob in the picture. Heh Hi honey! ~waves~ 
Pretty flowers outside. Oh how I love summer time there
Anyway we had to check in the hotel first as there was a time restriction on check-in time. We arrived at Homestead just before 7pm. We went up to check on our room and was pleasantly surprised.
With a full kitchen. I love the breakfast bar!
We didn’t unload our stuff because I HAD to shop, even for just a couple hours. Can you blame me? I had been sitting in that car for about 8 hours in total, excluding the time we were eating or taking pictures.
This flock of geese were just walking around in the middle of the road like nobody’s business. Many cars had to stop and so did we (!) for them to take their sweet time to get on the grass! So tua liap hut meh??? (For your understanding Robbie, I’m basically questioning their importance )
MOA wasn’t that hard to find from the hotel. It was just over a highway and down and there was THE mall, THE largest mall in the USA. If I didn’t know any better, I may have peed a little over the excitement when I saw the huge building.
Almost a picture of myself in the mirror
MOA is so big it has over 12,000 parking spaces. Oh let’s not forget the huge outdoor parking right in front of the mall itself.
MOA is so big it that 258 Statues of Liberty could lie inside the Mall! I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty and I can tell you it’s not small! I could even see it from the plane when I reached Newark International Airport.
MOA is so big that the total store front footage is 4.3 miles (6.88km) and the walking distance around one level (There are 4 levels) is 0.57miles (almost 1km).
MOA is so big it has 520 stores to shop in and if you remember, I once found out that if you spend 10 minutes in every store, it would take you more than 86 hours (or almost 4 days, with no sleep) to complete the MOA shopping marathon.
MOA is so big it has 3 Starbucks, 2 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and 3 large foodcourts. It is so big Rob and I got lost, not just once, not twice, not thrice but at least 5 times during our 3 day marathon. It’s especially confusing when you walk from one end to the other and see a Starbucks at that “same” corner you saw it at the previous side.
MOA is so big, it has its own theme park, called Nickelodeon Universe. Believe me, Berjaya Times Square KL cannot compare.
It also has an aquarium, a LEGO Imagination Center, Dinosaur Walk Museum, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation, and NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway.
I bet most guys reading this are foaming in the mouth seeing those LEGOS, remembering the good ole days when they were building space ships and planes out of tiny plastic bricks.
MOA is SO FREAKING BIG that they have a wedding chapel. A WEDDING CHAPEL! Who the heck goes to MOA and suddenly gets the urge to get married? “Hmmm I’m tired of shopping today, let’s go get married baby!” Huh??? Are there really people out there who do that?
The wedding chapel also comes with a bridal boutique, selling just about everything one needs for his/her wedding. The dresses on display were very pretty though. Heh I have to admit I was almost *tempted* to walk in there.
Must camwhore!
Victoria Secret store. Life is Pink is Life. I like that statement 😉
The best part of shopping for shoes and clothes in Minnesota, and MOA in particular, is that there is no clothing tax!!! The first store I looked for was Old Navy. I always loved their clothes but at times they may be a little overpriced. But I suppose that’s because its a branch under Gap Inc. I did find some great deals, USD13 capri jeans and USD8 tops of which I bought 2 each. HEHEHE
By the way, the Old Navy store had 2 floors
More MOA posts coming. Come back soon!
Roadtrip Part 2
October 2, 2008
It took us about 5 hours before we reached the border of Minnesota but we still had quite a ways to go before reaching MOA. We crossed a bridge and there was THE sign.
Minnesota welcomes you!
At this point I was really happy and excited while Rob was really close to throwing me into the river we were crossing. HEH Here’s why…
S: We’re in Minnesota!!!!
R: Yes we are
S: So where is the Mall of America?
R: Ummm honey, we just reached the border.
S: I know, we’re in Minnesota!
R: MOA is a third of the way up the state
S: Oh ok, that’s not too bad. How far are we?
R: Pretty far…
S: Ok….how long of a drive left?
R: 3 or 4 hours
S: What?! But we’re in Minnesota!
R: …….
(Ten or fifteen minutes later….)
S: Are we there yet?
R: No…
S: How about now?
R: No…
S: Now?
R: No
S: NOW????????
R: NO!!!!!!!!
S: Why not?
R: 
Repeat the above conversations, oh let’s say about 10 times, throughout the journey. I’m sure at SOME point Rob would’ve driven off a cliff somewhere. Lol.
It should be noted that I’m actually not THAT annoying. I was having some fun and trying to make Rob laugh because most of the time he had the look going as he was concentrating on the driving. All I wanted was to get a from him.
The scenic, although longer, route took us across the Mississippi River. That was the whole purpose of the scenic route.
Side note from Rob “The first time we crossed the river, you didn’t get the pictures you wanted. So I drove back to Wisconsin for a couple minutes, turned around and crossed the bridge again so you can have your pictures, remember???”
Heh, thanks honey. I owe you one.
The view after the bridge was so breathtaking that even the pictures doesn’t do much justice.
One of the many dams along the Mississippi River
We stopped so many times during the first hour or so on this track across the Mississippi River, one of the longest rivers in the United States and fourth longest in the world. I remember reading somewhere that it runs through like 10 states.
On a highway lookout stop
Oh so pretty!
Not so pretty but must camwhore a bit lah!
Along the Mississippi River are naturally formed and man-made lakes. Lake Pepin is a naturally occuring lake and the largest lake on the river. After reading up some information about it on Wikipedia, I’ve been zooming in my pictures to see if I caught a lake “monster”. Apparently, there have been sightings of Pepie, a version of the Loch Ness Monster throughout the years in that lake.
Anyway, no such luck lah. Thought that if I did capture a picture of Pepie, I could make some money selling the picture to a magazine or something and be rich! 
Lake Pepin
We stopped by a town called Winona for a quick bite at McDonald’s. At this point I remember asking Rob, “Are we going to get to MOA in time before the stores close? I wanna go shopping!”. Of course he laughed at my eagerness to shop and I also remember him using that against me.
S: Oooo let’s stop and take a look here
R: If we keep stopping you’re not gonna get a chance to shop today
S: Oh…ok. Let’s keep going.
R:
We kept driving and driving until we saw this nice little town by a lake a little over an hour later. There were many sailboats on the lake. I couldn’t ressist, we HAD to stop and take some pictures. I think the town is call Lake City. Heh how creative.
I think the most we spent there snapping pictures was about 30 minutes. I would have loved to dip my feet in the water or something but shopping at MOA was my ultimate goal for the day. Ahhh women…Lol
And so about 2 hours later (and after checking in our hotel room), we saw this…
NO not the “Right Turn Lane” sign. Look BEHIND IT, at the humongous building
MALL OF AMERICA!
The journey started at 9am and we arrived at MOA just before 7.30pm. The roadtrip was SUPPOSE to take 6-7 hours but with my constant shenanigans “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Now? Are we there yet? How far is it? How long have we been driving?”, “Oooooo! Look at that!” or “STOP!!! Picture op(portunity)!!!” or “Honey, I gotta pee” or “Baby, I’m hungry” or “Ummm I really need to stand up…my ass is killing me!”, it took us about 10 hours. *sheepish grin*
Roadtrip Part 1
September 28, 2008
The day started at 9 am when we piled all our stuff in the car and headed towards Minnesota. We tried to sleep as early as possible the night before but I think we both were too excited about the trip the next day. I know I was.
Rob getting gas AKA petrol
Driving for some thirty minutes, we swung by a rest stop for gas and Burger King for breakfast. Rob introduced me to French Toast Sticks. Apparently he ate a bunch of these when he was a teenager and he told me stories about how he would skip the first class of school JUST to go eat French Toast Sticks. (The rebel!). In his own words “They were the best thing on earth back then!”
And you know what? I agree with him! They are GOOD! If you love French toast like I do, this certainly will tease your tastebuds. I cook my French toast on a pan, Burger King’s French Toast sticks are FRIED!!! OMG they are SO TASTY!
French Toast Sticks dipped in Mapple syrup. YUM!
Pink lemonade for breakfast 😛
Then we off to continue our journey to MOA.
We took the scenic route which was the longer way but it was well worth it. We drove past many farms and little towns. The view was great, I really love the countryside!
Our route cut through Wisconsin and when we reached the Wisconsin Dells area, I saw tons of water parks and resorts around. It looked like a lot of fun but we had a schedule to stick to so we drove on.
The sign says “Wisconsin Welcomes You”
Earlier on in the week, we heard news about Lake Delton in Wisconsin Dells that dried out, like completely dried out. All that was left was mud and stones. So we figured we would take a detour and sneaked in stopped by one of the resorts in Witomy to check it out. I was dumbfounded….
According to Rob (2008) [Practising my citation skills for my thesis, please don’t mind me :P], it’s a man-made lake with an edge very close to a river and the water broke through and emptied in a nearby river. To quote Rob again, “This is what happens when human messes with nature!”
We stopped only for a little while and went on our way. Along the way, we drove past more farms and prairies. It was a sight! I loved it. There were horses and cows and sheep. Very different from the tall buildings and highways, away from civilization. Again I have to say, I love the countryside!
Cool looking rock formation
Last but not least, this is me in the car with a mouth stuffed full of gummi bear candy. 😛 I tried to coax Rob into competing who can have the most gummi bears in their mouth (like we did during my first visit there, roadtripping to Wilmot) but he said it was too early for candy! *GASP* So, in the end I syiok sendiri (entertained myself) lah!
In the mean time, I’m preparing pictures for Part 2!
My first mini adventure
September 16, 2008
This is my first time travelling alone and being somewhere without family. I was excited to say the least. So that’s why I consider this my first mini adventure. I have travelled myself to Australia before but I was picked up by family and stayed with them. This time was different. I stayed by myself for a night in a hotel room, even after hearing all those horror stories. I’m pretty proud of myself. =D
My journey started with the earliest flight out of Kuching to KL at 6am. An hour and 45 minutes later, I arrived in KLIA and had less than an hour to get to my gate for Newark International Airport (EWR) which is in New Jersey, about an hour from New York. I called my parents and Rob, who was really excited for my arrival.
Fast forward 24 hours later (with a stop in Stokholm, Sweden), I arrived to this…
If you look hard enough, you can see the Statue of Liberty in the middle of the River. It is indeed quite a site. I waited for my cousin to pick me up to go to dinner. After dinner, I checked in my free room (which I am still very proud of) at Howard Johnson. I wasn’t expecting much for it was a free room but imagine my surprised when I saw my room.
It was HUGE (for the price they were asking), with a king size bed and a full bathroom. I was really impressed. My flight the next morning was 8 so I woke up around 5.30am to get ready and take the free shuttle to the airport.
Me all glammed up *giggle*
I arrived at the airport a lot earlier then I expected. Then my flight to Chicago was delayed around an hour or so after everybody boarded the plane due to traffic congestion. When the plane took off the excitement I felt was more intense because I was just that much closer to seeing Rob.
I thought the little clouds looked cute
But all was well when I arrive at O’hare International Airport just before 11am. It was my first time arriving at O’hare so I’m sure I looked like a lost puppy to people there. I kept walking and walking, and in my mind I had wanted to go check myself out (as vain as that may sound) in the bathroom to make sure my face was okay etc etc before I see Rob for the first time in over a year. The first bathroom I past by had a line forming so I figured I would go to the next one I see. Unfortunately the next bathroom was closed for maintenance and that was the last bathroom along my way.
Before I knew it, I could see red and white balloons in the air…
………………..
………………..
………………..
………………..
IT WAS ROB!!!
Excuse the bad picture. I was laughing while taking the picture.
He set up his little own station to welcome me to Chicago. I was so excited to see him and at the same time laughing because of what he did. After I snapped a picture, I ran towards him and we embraced for a minute. In his hand was a little teddybear holding a heart which said “I love you”. He gave it to me and “Here, have a bear with a PINK hat” while smirking.
He had made the signs a few days before I arrived but the night before something happened to the signs and he had to make new ones all over again. Here is a closer shot…
It’s pretty obvious what the first sign says. Now the second one says “Hi Honey Bwoo!” and other little pet names. Let me explain what “Bwoo!” means to us. One night while Rob was telling me some good news, I wanted to said “Woohoo!” but what came out of my mouth was “Bwoo!”. So from then on, “Bwoo!” has been the official substitute of “Woohoo!”.
The other four words in there are Shinnie, Ice cream girl, Pandagirl and the last one (blocked by my watermark) says “Summer Chai”. Now the origin of “Summer Chai” can be found here. Its just a little insided joke with my friends. I told Rob about it before and the smartass in him decided to include that in the sign.
We got my luggage and headed a lonnnnnnnng track to the parking lot. When we got to the car, he surprised me again with a single pink rose. I was touched.
Off we went to IHOP for brunch. I have been planning this first day for months. I ordered my all time favourite; the Breakfast Sampler which consists of everything I love from IHOP, french toast, pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs and bacon and a side of HASH BROWNS!!!! Rob ordered Strawberry pancakes which were heavenly as well.
After eating, we checked in the motel we would be staying in for the next 4 days before going on the roadtrip. Rob went in to check-in because they charge extra for 2 occupants in a room. The cheapskate me wanted to save like USD10 per day. That’s USD30 ok! Which means we saved over RM100.
As I stayed in the car and looked around the surroundings, I was relieved. It felt good to be there. It’s hard to describe the feelings. I felt complete being with my soulmate once again. It felt right. It felt as if everything in my life was coming into place. Suddenly reality hit me and I realized that I would be leaving in 5 weeks. I was extremely happy to be there but at the same time sad because it meant that eventually I had to leave. A minute later, I saw Rob walking towards the car and I smiled. The feeling of sadness disappeared.
We unloaded the car that had my luggage and other essentials which Rob had prepared e.g. toiletries, extra pillows, snacks etc. After some snuggling and cuddling, we took a dip in the pool for an hour and then headed to Woodfield Mall for Baskin Robbins ice cream! We walked around the mall a bit and surprisingly I didn’t buy anything at all. I was probably saving up for the Mall of America. HEHEHEHE
Oh-so-happy with my Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream
Before going to dinner, we stopped by Rob’s house to say hi to his parents and for me to reunite with Naomi the Samoyed. She instantly remembered me and was following me all over the place. I now call Naomi “Princess” and I think she loves it. I miss her.
Isn’t she just SO adorable?
Dinner was at one of my favourite places, Chili’s. I have been craving for Molten Cake for over a year. We ate light for our meal, sharing an appetizer of buffalo wings, chicken nuggets of sorts and egg rolls.
Rob had told me about the new Molten Cake at Chili’s called White Chocolate Molten Cake months ago. Instantly I knew I MUST try it no matter what! So we order one of those and the classic Molten Cake.
Chocolate cake with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel, topped with vanila ice cream and more chocolate!
Moist vanilla cake with melted white chocolate and strawberry sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream and chunks of white chocolate chips!
MMMmmmmmMMMMMmmmmmmmmMMMmmmMMMM
Both were DELICIOUS!!!! I can’t pick a favourite. The classic Molten cake was fantastic as always and the White Chocolate one was equally as good. I gobbled the White Chocolate Molten Cake
This is what was left of the Molten cakes. =D
That’s it for my first day in Chicago. Stay tune for the roadtrip post!