#ElCafeDe2013 Coffee tip of the week: A Unique Mug? Do it!

Going to lot’s of coffeehouses and cafés, I’ve had my coffee served in all kinds of cups and mugs. If it’s a mug, a lot of the time, it’s of the generic white or glass variety.

Tip #7: If you can get your coffee served in a colorful, unique, individualized mug from somewhere, do it!

At that moment, your drinking your coffee in something completely different to anyone else there. Checkout this mug that my latte was poured into at Common Grounds Coffee Shoppe in Flowery Branch, Georgia.

Latte, Common Grounds Coffee Shoppe, Flowery Branch, Georgia

Another unique mug I thought I’d share from a while back at Brewtopia in Bay City, Michigan. A perfect compliment to a Peppermint Latte. :)

Peppermint Latte, Brewtopia, Bay City, Michigan

I don’t know what it is. I just feel more like at home with unique mug.

TBEX Canada: My First Travel Conference.

A couple of weeks to go until my first travel blogger conference, TBEX Canada in Toronto. Excited does not begin to describe it. I will be traveling for starters, taking the train, VIA Rail Canada, in to town in style. I have met some fellow travel bloggers in person, but this will take it to another level. Having the chance to meet, talk, hangout with and see Toronto with other travellers I have connected with online is unbelievable.

Join me at TBEX

Business cards and a media kit will be along for ride as well as an outgoing and upbeat attitude ready to learn from some of the best in the industry. I’ll soak in as much as I can. If I have the chance, giving an idea or tip to someone would be cool too.

elATLboy.com business card

Besides travel blogging, I also do web development professionally which takes up a lot of my time. Mornings, evenings, weekends, vacation days, working remotely, wherever I can squeeze some time in, I enjoy what I am truly passionate about, traveling. I’m good at the web dev and pick up technology quickly, but my heart is in writing, photography and being out on the open road experiencing everything this world has to offer. Who knows what this trip will do in turns of The Adventures of elATLboy. I’m ready to find out!

San Francisco: 360 Degrees from Coit Tower.

Coit Tower is one of those places that attracts tourists in San Francisco and for good reason. Up-top it provides three hundred and sixty degree views of the city.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower has stood on top of Telegraph Hill within Pioneer Park since 1933, named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit and was built as the result of her wanting San Francisco to be beautified. I have great memories coming here as a child, so it’s a place I keep coming to when in the city.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

You can take the windy Telegraph Hill Boulevard up the hill, but traffic can be backed up at peak hours because parking is limited at the top. A bus or walking up the Greenwich or Filbert stairs are other popular options.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Once up-top, after taking the old-school elevator for a nominal fee, you’ll gravitate right away towards the observation windows. There she is, the San Francisco skyline, centered by the Transamerica Pyramid.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Rotating to other windows there is Washington Square Park, the Russian Hill neighborhood and the fog and marine layer off in the distance.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Fisherman’s Wharf straight ahead and Alcatraz is sitting out there in the bay.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Looking at Nob Hill and beyond that is Twin Peaks.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

A couple more skyline shots focusing on the Transamerica Pyramid.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

IF you look straight up, there is the clear, blue open sky.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Now stare down at the bottom of one of the observation windows. Opposite the window on the outside lies change and other items. I wonder how that stuff got out there and how many different currencies are represented. :)

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Scenic views can also be had within Pioneer Park outside of Coit Tower. San Francisco Bay, Fisherman’s Wharf and the fog and marine layer straight ahead.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Washington State Park and the Russian Hill neighborhood again with lots of greenery in the foreground.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

There sits the Transamerica Pyramid beyond the greenery and trees. I was chilling on the grass as well when capturing this shot.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Hello the beautiful San Fran skyline.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and open waters of San Francisco Bay with a palm tree along for the ride, perfect! :)

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Can’t capture enough of the open San Francisco Bay and all the blue.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

I mentioned it was a spot I came to (quite a bit actually) as a child. Found a couple of shots up-top from back when. :) Just as scenic.

Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower, San Francisco

It was great early afternoon checking out the city from up-top Pioneer Park and Coit Tower. What places do you like to checkout San Francisco from up-top?

Photo of the Week: Put-in-Bay Straight Across Lake Erie.

A day trip brought me to Port Clinton, Ohio and the surrounding area hanging out along Lake Erie. I stopped at the Miller Boat Line where ferries take passengers to and from Put-In-Bay on the South Bass Island, which is straight ahead, along with the vast waters of one of the Great Lakes.

Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie from Port Clinton, Ohio

#ElCafeDe2013 Coffee tip of the week: Watch them make it!

I was hanging out at Press Coffee Bar in Dayton, Ohio recently when I decided to get an iced coffee pour over. After ordering the barista called me over.

Press Coffee Bar, Dayton, Ohio

Tip #6: Watch the barista make your coffee whenever you have the chance!

He started to make the iced coffee pour over using their Colombia Nodier Andrade grounds right in front of me describing the process throughout.

Press Coffee Bar, Dayton, Ohio, iced coffee pour over

Iced coffee deliciousness awaited afterwards. I had a greater appreciation for the coffee after seeing it created up close, not too mention the exceptional customer service.

Press Coffee Bar, Dayton, Ohio, Colombia Nodier Andrade iced coffee

Silicon Valley: Lunch at a Techie Conference.

Last summer I was at a techie conference in the heart of Silicon Valley in California. It was lunch time and people were eating, calling work or home, mingling, smoking and/or checking e-mail. With travel always on the mind and a camera in the bag I was thinking what can I take pictures of outside. It’s not everyday I’m in Silicon Valley with palm trees.

I walked outside of the hotel and conference onto Great American Parkway in Santa Clara and I had my answer. Time to follow the signs to the interstate which was a few blocks away.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

U.S. Route 101 to be exact. This route runs right through the heart of the valley and is what many people think of when they think of driving in the area. I approached the southbound entrance ramp towards San Francisco which was about 45 miles away.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Gotta grab the signage closeups.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

There she is, the interstate.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

I’m in the middle of the overpass now with a straight shot of northbound U.S. Route 101. The interstate is famous for its traffic backups during peak times, but everyone’s moving right along at this hour.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Across the overpass now, I’ve reached the northbound entrance ramp going towards San Jose.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

It’s California so there are going to be palm trees everywhere. Interstate on- and off-ramps were no exception.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

How do you get good shot of the blue skies straight into the sun? Have a palm tree help you out!

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

Heading back across the overpass I captured a shot of southbound U.S. Route 101 heading towards San Jose.

Silicon Valley, California, U.S. Highway 101 Interstate

You can see a straight on view of U.S. Route 101 heading towards the south in Photo of the Week: U.S. Route 101 in Silicon Valley.

It was time to head back. I managed to grab some food and do some mingling as well at lunch, but the walk over to the interstate definitely hit the spot and gave my camera and the traveler in me some time too.

Photo of the Week: A Romantic Park Bench SF Style.

Your on a park bench. Your up-top a hill and cliff. You’re in San Francisco. You’re in California. Your sitting where San Francisco Bay flows into the Pacific Ocean. It’s nearing sunset. The Golden Gate Bridge is within view. It doesn’t get much better and romantic then this spot at Land’s End, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Romantic Park Bench, Lands End, San Francisco, Cailifornia