Seeing Taylor Swift from Zone 4
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Getting Taylor Swift’s Era Tour concert was highly competitive if you wasn’t aware of that yet. We were trying to affordable tickets at So-Fi stadium in LA, but failed. Luckily, Taylor added a new date for unlucky fans like us, so we were able to get two 50 dollar tickets at Zone 4 of So-Fi stadium. How far were the seats from Taylor Swift? The answer is far enough that you wouldn’t want to pay more than 50 dollars. Still, So-Fi is very equipped. Their huge screen around the stadium made us feel so close to the stage. 3 hours went by so fast!
Once we arrived in SAN, we took a train to our friend’s house in San Diego. Tonmai and Fai are Poy’s friends since he went to Scripps research institute for his Ph.D. They took us to several places such as La Jolla tide pools, Tacos stand, and Tonmai’s workplace which is next to the ocean.
We were then headed to LA to stay at the royal century hotel to see Taylor’s concert on the next day. When the day came, we wore our Taylor t-shirts, friendship bracelets, and heart-shaped glasses (all of these were Poy’s idea). We then went to Inn-n-Out to fill up our energy before the concert.
The concert were held at So-Fi stadium, which does not look so big from the outside. However, on the inside, it can serve up to 70,000 people. This is because the stadium was expanded in a more vertical direction instead of the horizontal direction as in a traditional stadium. The opening singer on August 8, the day we went to, was Gracie Abrams. She was so charming! Then Taylor Swift walked in and people started screaming out of their lungs. The show went by so fast that we couldn’t believe it was 3 hour long!
Not only that we went to see a good concert in this trip, we also got to see Poy’s friends in California. Waan also came see us on the last day and brought us to her favorite northern Thai food spot. She even brought us very close to the Hollywood sign. We were so grateful for our friends who let us stay with them and treat us with good food.
This trip was part of Poy’s trip to Champaign while he was studying at Oxford. He stayed in Champaign for a month to write a thesis. From time to time, we made a short trip to places near Champaign. We also got to pick apples at the Curtis apple orchard before he flew back to England to finish his Ph.D.
When we decided to road trip north from Champaign, Illinois to Minnesota, we knew we were in for some driving—but we didn’t fully realize how much incredible wilderness, misty shores, and cozy small-town charm awaited us. Here is how our action-packed trip unfolded across the North Shore, two National Parks, and the Twin Cities!
From July 1st to 6th, we embarked on a trip from Sacramento, driving over 2600 miles to explore five incredible National Parks across Nevada, California, and Oregon. Our adventure took us from the ancient bristlecone pines of Great Basin and the volcanic landscapes of Lassen to the brilliant blue waters of Crater Lake and the towering giants of the Redwoods. Along the way, we balanced raw wilderness hikes with unforgettable stops for local donuts in Portland, a coastal drive down the Pacific shoreline, and a wine tasting at a Tuscan castle in Napa Valley.
The Canadian Rockies had never truly been on our radar, not for lack of awareness, but simply because we never imagined we’d have the opportunity to visit Canada. That changed entirely when I was invited to the prestigious Women in Numbers workshop at the Banff International Research Station. Seizing the moment, we decided to turn this milestone trip into a grand adventure, arriving a few days early to explore not just Banff, but a stunning circuit of five neighboring national parks, including, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier, Mount Revelstoke, and Kootenay.
One of the most popular National Park routes that Poy and I hadn’t tackled yet was the Utah ‘Mighty Five.’ We’d heard nothing but non-stop hype from friends, and after checking off several harder-to-reach destinations, we decided it was finally time to go for it! We initially tried to squeeze in Great Basin National Park in Nevada, but a car shortage at the Las Vegas airport left us with an electric vehicle. As it turns out, there are no non-Tesla charging stations near Great Basin (aside from one incredibly slow charger), so we pivoted. We ended up focusing solely on the five Utah gems, which actually made for a much more relaxing, less rushed experience.