Congressman Mike Honda (center) welcomes (from left) Roger and Sylvia Eng and Calvin and Gerrye Wong.
Life is a Trip
TOURIST MECCA: One of life's pleasures is traveling, and for those who know me in person or through print, my philosophy is “travel the world while you can.”
The seat of our government, Washington D.C., is always a tourist mecca for all ages and interests. We visited the newest sight of the city, the newly opened International Spy Museum, featuring information about spy activities of the past century, including those of the McCarthy era, the Cold War and the World War II espionage days.
We felt we were actually living history at the historic Willard Hotel, the Pennsylvania Ave gathering place of those in political power since it opened in 1816. Called the “residence of the presidents,” it was said in 1890 that every president from Polk to Cleveland was inaugurated there, and every president since then has sat within the Willard Inter-Continental’s walls. Its close proximity to the White House and the Smithsonian museums made the majestic Willard Hotel — with its recent multi-million dollar renovation — a comfortable and convenient retreat after full days of touring.
We enjoyed breakfast in the Senate Dining Room with California Congressman Mike Honda, D-San Jose, and former Los Altos Mayor Roger Eng and his wife, Sylvia Eng. Mike has covered a lot of ground with his fervor and actions during his first two years as a junior congressman, and seemed proud to tell us about the many Asian Pacific American issues he had been asked to help with by groups across the nation.
Just a couple of hours away, we went back in time while touring the 173-acre Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area — the restored 18th century capital of Virginia, where America’s past is recreated and reenacted. Known as the nation’s largest outdoor living history museum, with equally historic Jamestown and Yorktown minutes away, Williamsburg is also fast earning acclaim as one of America’s Top 75 Golf Resorts.
BACK ON THE LEFT COAST: Pay no mind to those Easterners who say one must go East to see true fall colors. Drive up just north of Lake Tahoe to the quiet town of Graeagle for mountain scenery supreme, no matter what the season. Life under clear blue skies brings leisure away from bustling traffic and crowds to relax the soul, and before the winter snowfalls forced their closing, we enjoyed scenic and challenging mountain golf at Tom Godman’s Plumas Pines and Matt Och’s Dragon at Gold Mountain.
In search of the first good snowfall of the winter, we joined the ski crowds at Whistler Village in British Columbia, Canada. In the clear pristine mountain air, we enjoyed looking down upon the quaint pedestrian street filled with sports-lovers, from our second floor patio in the Crystal Lodge on the Village Green.
The skiers at the Crystal Lodge surely appreciated its convenient location, a mere 100 steps to the gondolas, waiting to whisk them up the Whistler ski slopes. A variety of activities are available for the Whistler visitor, for within its 20-mile radius are world class ski runs, Canada’s best golf courses and scenic biking and hiking trails for sportsmen of all ages.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: A full life may include trips visiting sights around the world, but returning home, where family and friends await, is always a high point for any traveler.
Vision New America (VNA) is holding a fall scholarship dinner Saturday, Nov. 9 to introduce its continuing program of recruiting and sending interns to gain experience in the offices of elected officials. At its December educational forum at the Westin Hotel in Santa Clara — co-sponsored with Matt Fong’s Leadership America Foundation — VNA featured speech coaches/consultants to help participants improve communication skills. For info: www.visionamerica.org.
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