Chasing Blossoms

Last April, my family and I flew to Tokyo with the main goal of catching the sakura trees in bloom. Although the buds began opening up a week earlier than expected, we're glad to have seen a bunch of trees still covered in varying shades of pink at Shinjuku Gyo-en. 

Hawaii: Kualoa Ranch

Whenever I hear "Hawaii," these are what come to mind: the beach, surfing, hula, all things tropical, and from time to time-- dinosaurs, too. Wait, what? Did I just say "dinosaurs"? You bet I did! September last year, I got a taste of the aloha way of life in Oahu, HI. Out of the tourist-y things I did, one of the highlights of my trip was seeing Kualoa Private Nature Reserve, also named "Jurassic Valley" after the Jurassic Park/World films shot there.