Egyptian Birthday for Jennifer

iPostcards from Egypt

iPostcards from Jordan

Egypt was our main destination this year. But since we were headed to that part of the Middle East, we decided that Jordan would be the perfect destination to pair with Egypt, since we've been wanting to explore Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. While in Jordan, we targeted the main destinations: Amman, Jerash, and Petra.

For iPostcards for the following, please click on the city or scroll down the blog:
Amman
Jerash
Petra - *under construction

iPostcards from Amman, Jordan

For more pictures of this vaca-sean, please click HERE.

iPostcards from Jerash, Jordan

For more pictures of this vaca-sean, please click HERE.

iPostcards from Petra, Jordan

Under Construction. Coming Soon.

iPostcards from New York, NY - Fall 2009

iPostcards from Eugene, OR

We flew to Eugene, Oregon for Carley & Tom's Westling-Cantwell wedding.
For pictures of the trip, please click on the following:
wedding rehearsal dinner, wedding, and the rest of the trip.

iPostcards from Palm Spring, CA

iPostcards from Peru

Posting is under construction. Please check back again.

iPostcards from Ecuador

Posting is under construction. Please check back again.

iPostcards from San Diego, CA

or please click HERE for a bigger slideshow of the album.
If you prefer to view the thumbnails, please click on the link below:
a summer afternoon at Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

iPostcards from New York, NY - Summer 2008

in front of my office in NYC

view of Central Park from hotel

by Rockefeller Center

in front of my client's office building

iPostcards from San Francisco, CA

That's one Big "Vajayjay'!

rainbow goddess

Cruising in San Francisco

If you happen to find yourself in San Francisco, and want to do something different or unique, you may want to try cruising (no, not that kind of "cruising") the San Francisco Bay. Please check out my friend, Allen's cruise company, Dragonfly Adventures Cruises.
They offer custom charters and scheduled cruises aboard our 58' Sunseeker Express for up to 12 guests and two crew members. Experience an intimate cruise aboard this dramatically styled yacht with a full array of luxury accommodations. Whether it's a one-day Bay Adventure, Sunset Dinner Cruise or a weekend trip to Benicia, Petaluma, Napa or Monterey Bay, your cruise experience will be extraordinary aboard the Dragonfly.
Please click HERE for their website.

iPostcards from Monterey Peninsula, CA

Lone Cypress

iReport from Monterey Peninsula, CA

or please click HERE for a bigger slideshow of the album.
If you prefer to view the thumbnails, please click on the link below:
iPostcards from Monterey Peninsula, CA

Sean and the City

As far as I can remember, some of my wholesome fantasies involved being (in no particular order) ... a superhero, a Broadway/rock star, a male supermodel, an animal trainer, or a host of some travel show.
So for the past few years, every time I travel, I started filming myself acting as if I was Anderson Cooper or Matt Lauer in some remote exotic location.
When LXTV, a local L.A. TV show, recently announced that they were having a contest searching for a new host,
I saw that 95% of all the contestants who submitted entries already had past or have current professional experience hosting a TV show.
On the last day of the contest, I decided not to be intimidated and still come up with my very own audition video, albeit that it is, admittedly, very amateurish. I managed to submit it 11 minutes to go till the midnight deadline. What I didn't take into account is the time it would take to completely upload. So waahhh ... F+_)(*&^%$#@! ... I missed the cut-off! Even if I didn't have a chance against the pros, it still would have been nice to have been considered.
Since I already came up with a finished product, I might as well share it with you, my family and friends. I hope you like it.

LXTV hosting reel/audition video:
"Why should I be the new host of LXTV? Well, I found myself reporting about various places in this world, but never reported about my hometown. I may not have the professional background and/or back-up of a production crew like the other contestants,
I'm just a local guy who loves everything about Los Angeles!
Well, not exactly everything." ... (see ending of video).

iPostcard from Lake Taupo, New Zealand

I can't believe it's been 5 years
since the day I thought we were going to die!
LOL

HOME

CNT Passport

iPostcards from Chicago, IL

I've connected several times via Chicago's international airports, O'Hare and Midway, but have never been to the "Windy City". Well, I finally made it to Chicago. I met up with my colleagues from New York to spend the weekend in the "Second City" for work. We had to familiarize ourselves with our clients' preferred hotels, which happen to be three of the city's top luxury hotels, The Peninsula Chicago, the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and The Ritz-Carlton Chicago - A Four Season Hotel. It may have been a business trip, but it was more like a vaca(sean), since we we had fabulous accommodations and were pampered with delicious gourmet meals and luxury gift items.

With my flight from LAX, not surprisingly being delayed,
it was already 1AM by the time I got in ORD.
I could have slept in the 12-passenger stretch limo
that transferred me to my fabulous hotel, The Peninsula Chicago

view of Lake Michigan from the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

***

We only had a couple of hours to spare for free time on our own,
so I decided to use up some X'mas gift cards
at the Men's Store of Saks Fifth Avenue,
then walk the rest of the Magnificent Mile
all the way to Millennium Park and Daley Plaza.

the Old Water Tower and John Hancock Tower behind me

at the start of Magnificent Mile on N Michigan Avenue

The Tribune Tower

view of Chicago River from the Michigan Bridge

iPostcard from Chicago

The Millennium Monument (Peristyle)
in Wrigley Square @ Millennium Park

Cloud Gate, unofficially dubbed "The Bean" behind me

"The Bean"'s reflection of the west facing towards the "Loop"

Cloud Gate on the AT&T Plaza

The Chicago Cultural Center and Smurfit-Stone Building
in the background

Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry
is the centerpiece of Millennium Park.

by the Chicago Picasso,
Pablo Picasso's untitled, unpainted 50-foot Cubist sculpture
is a focal point of this open-air gallery in Daley Plaza

view of Chicago River from the Michigan Bridge

John Hancock Tower behind me by dusk

on my way to the airport,
my driver was kind enough to drive me by the Sears Tower

London Calling - Missed Call/Bad Connection

My company was sending me to London for 48 hours to experience and review the business class seats of American Airlines's flight from New York (JFK) airport to London Stansted (STN) airport (as an alternative to the super congested London Heathrow (LHR) airport) and stay at the Athenaeum Hotel. Coming from L.A., I knew this would be quite a tiring trip due to the distance. I agreed to go on this business trip only if I could spend some time in New York and have some R&R on some beach in the Caribbean prior to the trip. Well, our trip to the Big Apple and Saint Martin/Sint Maarten went very well without any hitches. Unfortunately, on our last day on the island, our return flight from SXM to NYC was cancelled. We were protected on the next flight out, but it was too late for me to make my connecting flight to London. It was futile to protect me on another flight, since I had to be on that specific flight. F +_)(*&^%$#@! Missed London Call!

Saba - The Unspoiled Queen

No, silly, "Saba -The Unspoiled Queen" is not my nickname, but what the world calls the Caribbean island of Saba, which is part of the Dutch Windward Islands. I bet most of you didn't know that it existed and/or that my family even owned an island!...LOL. I was aware of its existence even as a child, and I told myself that I would one day get to explore it. When I chose Saint Martin/Sint Maarten of all the Caribbean islands to spend our beach vacation, I suddenly was more excited when I realized that Saba is located only 28 miles south of S. M.. I knew I didn't want to spend the money to fly over there just for a day trip, so I waited until we got to our hotel to arrange the ferry service. During the entire time we were in St. Martin., the waters in between both islands where considered too choppy for the ferry service to operate, thus all boat rides were cancelled. We immediately decided then to fly using Winair. To my dismay, the airline informed me that they could fly me there, but, unfortunately, all return flights had been sold out until Sunday. "Grrr+_)(*&^%$#@! to be so close, yet so far!" When Bill read the disappointment written all over my face, he asked the concierge to see if they could find an alternative way of getting there, even if it meant going all by myself. They came back shortly with, "Well, Mr. Saba, we can get you a private yacht to take you to your island for only 1300.00 Euros". After I picked myself up off the floor, I politely declined. LOL
Oh well, I guess I can now sing with full emotion, "I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me...".

For more information on Saba Island, please click here and here.

iPostcards from La Samanna, Saint Martin, French West Indies

After our hectic activity-filled 16-day trip to Central/Eastern Europe last October, I promised Bill that our next trip would be a chill/relax/beach-type vacation. Since I had never been to the Caribbean, it was not as easy for me to sell this destination to my high-end clients due to my lack of familiarity. With all the different islands to choose from, my pick was actually made pretty easy. A friend of mine who works as a top executive of one of the top luxury resorts in the region, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse: Stay in one of our premium beachfront suites, which normally go for $1300.00-$2300.00 a night, practically for free. So off with nothing but our swimsuits we went to La Samanna in Saint Martin!

"The island! The island!"

a rainbow welcomes us as we land

view from the breakfast nook

view from the main building

La Samanna's private beach

view from our digs

awww shuckks...sweet scribble from Bill
in front of our crib

heart on the sand

with my surrogate dog

" Sean of a beach" with his surrogate bitch

My iPostcard from La Samanna,
Saint Martin, French West Indies

in the infinity pool

ahhh...cocktail hour

Where is that nude beach?...

...ahh, it's just south of our resort!

Bill on the beach walking off to the sunset

iPostcards from Isle Pinel, French West Indies

Some of our fellow guests at La Samanna highly recommended that we drive up to the northwest side of the island, take a small motor boat, and have lunch at Pinel Island. It is also known as Isle Pinel, a tropical paradise off French Saint Martin.

But as soon as we finished exploring this small island, which only took less than half an hour, we couldn't wait for the next boat ride to take us back to the main island. The food and amenities were a bit overpriced, the beach was overcrowded with a Euro-trash crowd and was nothing great compared to our private beach back at La Samanna. So we were just there long enough for the next boat. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. At least I now know better than to highly recommend this stop.

My iPostcard from Isle Pinel, French West Indies

iPostcards from Marigot, Saint Martin, French West Indies

Marigot is the main town and capital

on the French side of the Caribbean island of

Saint Martin, French West Indies

My iPostcard at the end of our shopping/French dining treat