Showing posts with label Places. Show all posts

Family Visit Week 1: ISU Campus & Minnesota  

Posted by hidayah

16th November 2009...

My family finally arrived in Ames... I was waiting for the bus to go to Monday's evening class, and I saw Adik drove the van, with 4 familiar faces in it. Kinda excited, I ran to greet them at the parking lot -- and ended taking the next bus to class..

19th November 2009...

I took Daddy, Angah and Apit to the campus for sightseeing.. Let them see the place where Adik and I study, and also let Daddy walked down memory lane looking at the places where his classes were held during his undergrad...We covered most of the grounds..including Jack Trice Stadium.. I was pretty ecstatic myself, as I never been to the Athletic Facilities..

L to R: Daddy, Me, Apit and Angah

21st - 22nd November 2009...

We decided to start our trip by going to the Minnesota.. Before that, we rented a Chevy Tahoe for the whole week (9 days)..

Hubby besides the Tahoe

First destination was The Mall of America, and it was well-decorated for the holidays.. We went to the Nickolodeon Theme Park and spent most of our time window shopping..

In front of the huge Christmas Tree in The Mall of America

The next day, we went to the St. Anthony Waterfall, The Art Museum and tour around The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. We had lunch at the Marina Grill and Deli, and drove back to Ames in the evening.


My siblings, the 4 of us -- Apit, Me, Angah and Adik


Hubby and I

We arrived in Ames around 9pm.. So we got the next day to rest before we continued our journey to Chicago and Detroit... We did not do any shopping while in Minnesota, as all of us were waiting for the Black Friday deals..

To be Continue on Week 2

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Saylorville Lake, Big Creek State Park and Ankeny  

Posted by hidayah

Haishhh... lambat lagi hapdet... makin busy hoccay.. byk je citer nak post kat sini... tapi busy + malas (aku macam ada perasaan dah malas nak menulis blog... apasal eh?)..anyway... last 2 weekend, kitorang gi picnic + fishing kat Ankeny... Saylorville Lake and Big Creek State Park.. saje je sbb jejaka kat rumah sibuk nak gi fishing.. even though I am not a big fan of fishing, gi jelah.. nak gak tgk pemandangan ala2 tepi laut.. hehe...

So first destination, Big Creek State Park.. ala.. sebelah menyebelah je dgn Saylorville Lake.. masa sampai tu memang mcm org jakun je... mana taknya, lama dah tak nengok tasik/laut.. (almaklumlah, Iowa ni ka tgh2 US, mana la ada laut)..


Luas gak la lake tu... siap ada bot2 mcm kat laut la pulak.. so kitorang cari port nak berpicnic -- lapar sehhh... tak toleh kiri kanan dah... hehe...




Tapi ada sorang budak kecik tu, excited memanjang... suka betul dia dapat gi jalan2...


Lepas makan tu, Mr Hubby and Adik cari port nak fishing lak... tapi kawasan fishing tu mcm jauh je dgn shelter... sbb kitorang bawak Fatihah... so malas nak duduk tepi2 tasik tu... dengan keadaan dia yg suka jalan ke sana sini, takut je dia nak masuk tasik tu... huhu... so kitorang decide gi pulak Saylorville lake, tengok keadaan kat situ camane... Masing2 mmg kagum ah dgn keluasan lake tu.. seakan tak percaya lak kat Iowa ada lake sebesar itu.. yg Mat2 and Minah2 Saleh ada aje menempel nak meng'sun bathing'kan diri... konon2 mcm kat tepi pantai... isk isk isk... masa tu dahlah pukul 12 tghari, panas terik gila2... diorang ni pakat jemurkan badan... tak koserrrr aku.... punyalah sukanya diorang kat matahari... haha...

Saylorville Lake and Dam

So... kesimpulannya, tak jadi la nak fishing sbb tak de port yg best.. lagipun masa tu tghari panas terik gila2.. makanya last minute nyer decision, we all gi Ankeny, konon2 nak tgk2 la TJ Maxx Store tu... Kak Rosita asyik cerita betapa murahya brg2 branded kat kedai tu... aku yang mmg berniat nak shopping baju sehelai dua ni pun .. apalagi... tuju je la sana... hehe..

Memula Mr Hubby and Adik mcm tak nak beli apa2.. aku je la yg gigih dok pilih baju, ha... last2, mahu 5 helai t-shirt adik beli, Mr Hubby pulak 3 t-shirt, 2 shorts, Fatihah pulak sepasang Puma sports outfit and aku?? 4 helai hoccay... hehe... kebetulan hari tu tax free day, mmg nasib baik.....



Apanya nak fishing... dah lari dari agenda dah ni... hehe... so bila balik Ames kitorang pergi Ada Hayden Park, dengan harapan nak fishing la pulak... sudah disangka, kalau bawak si kecik tu mmg tak jadi la... last2 aku ngan fatihah balik, tinggal jejaka2 tu berfishing sampai maghrib... tapi tak dapat ikan pun... haha... 1st time kan... tak pe ah....

Sejak hari tu, ada la 3 kali lagi diorang gi mancing... kali kedua tu tak dpt ikan gak... kali ketiga dapatlah 4 ekor ala2 ikan kembung... hahaha... yg last baru ni? hambek ko... 19 ekor kekdahnya... pueh ati makan... hehehe....

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Introduction to Ames, Iowa  

Posted by hidayah

Tajuk entry kali ni macam subjek la pulak.. haha.. n'way, aku dihujani pelbagai pertanyaan pasal tempat yang aku nak gi sambung buat PhD ni. So berikut adalah serba sedikit la facts and info yang aku nak cerita, including the places of interest and tempat yang aku suka gi / lepak. Hopwfully boleh la beri sedikit gambaran tempat yang aku akan bermukim dalam masa 3 thn (insya allah)..

So inilah bendera Iowa, and population penduduk Iowa ni adalah dalam 3.3 million. Iowa terletak di antara 6 negeri -- South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas (selatan).


Tempat yang aku nak gi -- Iowa State University ni terletak kat Ames (pronounce as Aims). Ames ni pekan sederhana besar, dengan population around 60,000 people. Airport yang paling dekat ialah di Des Moines (pronounce as D-Moyn - originated from a french word). Memang lawak sebab masa mula2 datang sana dulu, mesti orang salah sebut (aku tak, ye.. sbb dah tau awal2 dah..daddy bgtau...hehe). Mat saleh sana pun senyum je bila ada Malaysian yang salah sebut. Hehehe..

Tempat lepak/shopping/leisure

For grocery shopping or basic needs, I usually go to these places: WalMart, Target, Hy-Vee and Cub Food.

For window shopping/shopping saja2 je/Entertainment : North Grand Mall (ada byk kedai -- JC Penny, Younkers, Gap, Bath & Body Works, Victoria Secret, Eddie Bauer, Payless, Radio Shack and macam2 lagilah.. yang paling best ada panggung wayang yang tiketnya hanya USD 50 cents aje.. murahkan?? Eventhough diorang tayang cerita yang dah keluar panggung dua bulan dulu (kiranya tayang cerita lama), but it is still cheap.. panggung tu pun keadaannya ok sangat.. mcm TGV la kalau kat sini...kalau nak tgk cerita baru2, kena gi panggung lain, yang tu tiket dalam USD10macam tu (tengok jenis cerita -- kalau dah lama tayang, murahla sikit). Panggung tu ala2 GSC kalau kat sini..

Untuk perhiasan/hobby/ala2 SSF: Aku selalu gi Hobby Lobby -- kat situ macam SSF la.. tapi ada semua mak nenek yang berkaitan dgn hobby (dari scrapbooking ke quilting).. Nak tunjuk gambar tapi leh tengok kat sini.

Outdoor/Recreation


Kat Ames ni ada byk Park.. yang bestnya boleh barbeque.. buat outdoor activity ke, memang seronok ah.. aku dah plan dalam kepala ni nak buat barbeque ahead of time.. boleh x gitu?? hehe..

Kat sini ada Ice Arena -- aku pun dah plan nak hantar Fatihah main ice skating (padahal dia baru je setahun.. huhu). Ini Ice skating rink nye -->




Eating Out/Restaurant

Bila cerita bab makan2 ni, memanglah limited -- tapi ada la jugak beberapa restaurant tu yang aku gi kalau nak makan:-

1. Perkins Restaurant - kedai ni mcm bakery shop, tapi bukak 24 hours. Kitorang panggil Perkins ni kedai mamak Ames, sebab budak Malaysia selalu la lepak situ.

2. Red Lobster - Restoren seafood -- namapun lobster,kan.. so memang best ah makan kat sini..tapi agak mahal skit.. sekali sekala tak pe, kalau selalu, kopak weehhh

3. Pizza - yang ni kena tengok ah sebab byk kedai pizza. Aku dulu selalu order by phone aje.

4. Long John Silver - Restaurant Fish and Chips. Kat sini pun ada. Enough said.

5. Dairy King - Ice-Cream and deserts -- sini pun ada. Kekadang order ice cream cake dari sini je.

6. Subway, Jimmy Johns - ni jual mcm2 sandwich. Kekadang kalau tak sempat masak tu belasah je sandwich.

7. Ada restaurant Pakistani (tak ingat nama) - selalu makan beriani kat sini dgn ayam tandoori -- sedappp!!!

So tu la serba sedikit pasal Ames, Iowa. Ada banyak lagi sebenarnya tapi tak tau dah nak tulis apa lagi. Harap penjelasan tentang Ames dapat menjawab sedikit sebanyak soalan yang bersarang di fikiran.. :))

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Showing posts with label Places. Show all posts

Family Visit Week 1: ISU Campus & Minnesota  

written by hidayah

16th November 2009...

My family finally arrived in Ames... I was waiting for the bus to go to Monday's evening class, and I saw Adik drove the van, with 4 familiar faces in it. Kinda excited, I ran to greet them at the parking lot -- and ended taking the next bus to class..

19th November 2009...

I took Daddy, Angah and Apit to the campus for sightseeing.. Let them see the place where Adik and I study, and also let Daddy walked down memory lane looking at the places where his classes were held during his undergrad...We covered most of the grounds..including Jack Trice Stadium.. I was pretty ecstatic myself, as I never been to the Athletic Facilities..

L to R: Daddy, Me, Apit and Angah

21st - 22nd November 2009...

We decided to start our trip by going to the Minnesota.. Before that, we rented a Chevy Tahoe for the whole week (9 days)..

Hubby besides the Tahoe

First destination was The Mall of America, and it was well-decorated for the holidays.. We went to the Nickolodeon Theme Park and spent most of our time window shopping..

In front of the huge Christmas Tree in The Mall of America

The next day, we went to the St. Anthony Waterfall, The Art Museum and tour around The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. We had lunch at the Marina Grill and Deli, and drove back to Ames in the evening.


My siblings, the 4 of us -- Apit, Me, Angah and Adik


Hubby and I

We arrived in Ames around 9pm.. So we got the next day to rest before we continued our journey to Chicago and Detroit... We did not do any shopping while in Minnesota, as all of us were waiting for the Black Friday deals..

To be Continue on Week 2

Filed under , , 1 comments

Saylorville Lake, Big Creek State Park and Ankeny  

written by hidayah

Haishhh... lambat lagi hapdet... makin busy hoccay.. byk je citer nak post kat sini... tapi busy + malas (aku macam ada perasaan dah malas nak menulis blog... apasal eh?)..anyway... last 2 weekend, kitorang gi picnic + fishing kat Ankeny... Saylorville Lake and Big Creek State Park.. saje je sbb jejaka kat rumah sibuk nak gi fishing.. even though I am not a big fan of fishing, gi jelah.. nak gak tgk pemandangan ala2 tepi laut.. hehe...

So first destination, Big Creek State Park.. ala.. sebelah menyebelah je dgn Saylorville Lake.. masa sampai tu memang mcm org jakun je... mana taknya, lama dah tak nengok tasik/laut.. (almaklumlah, Iowa ni ka tgh2 US, mana la ada laut)..


Luas gak la lake tu... siap ada bot2 mcm kat laut la pulak.. so kitorang cari port nak berpicnic -- lapar sehhh... tak toleh kiri kanan dah... hehe...




Tapi ada sorang budak kecik tu, excited memanjang... suka betul dia dapat gi jalan2...


Lepas makan tu, Mr Hubby and Adik cari port nak fishing lak... tapi kawasan fishing tu mcm jauh je dgn shelter... sbb kitorang bawak Fatihah... so malas nak duduk tepi2 tasik tu... dengan keadaan dia yg suka jalan ke sana sini, takut je dia nak masuk tasik tu... huhu... so kitorang decide gi pulak Saylorville lake, tengok keadaan kat situ camane... Masing2 mmg kagum ah dgn keluasan lake tu.. seakan tak percaya lak kat Iowa ada lake sebesar itu.. yg Mat2 and Minah2 Saleh ada aje menempel nak meng'sun bathing'kan diri... konon2 mcm kat tepi pantai... isk isk isk... masa tu dahlah pukul 12 tghari, panas terik gila2... diorang ni pakat jemurkan badan... tak koserrrr aku.... punyalah sukanya diorang kat matahari... haha...

Saylorville Lake and Dam

So... kesimpulannya, tak jadi la nak fishing sbb tak de port yg best.. lagipun masa tu tghari panas terik gila2.. makanya last minute nyer decision, we all gi Ankeny, konon2 nak tgk2 la TJ Maxx Store tu... Kak Rosita asyik cerita betapa murahya brg2 branded kat kedai tu... aku yang mmg berniat nak shopping baju sehelai dua ni pun .. apalagi... tuju je la sana... hehe..

Memula Mr Hubby and Adik mcm tak nak beli apa2.. aku je la yg gigih dok pilih baju, ha... last2, mahu 5 helai t-shirt adik beli, Mr Hubby pulak 3 t-shirt, 2 shorts, Fatihah pulak sepasang Puma sports outfit and aku?? 4 helai hoccay... hehe... kebetulan hari tu tax free day, mmg nasib baik.....



Apanya nak fishing... dah lari dari agenda dah ni... hehe... so bila balik Ames kitorang pergi Ada Hayden Park, dengan harapan nak fishing la pulak... sudah disangka, kalau bawak si kecik tu mmg tak jadi la... last2 aku ngan fatihah balik, tinggal jejaka2 tu berfishing sampai maghrib... tapi tak dapat ikan pun... haha... 1st time kan... tak pe ah....

Sejak hari tu, ada la 3 kali lagi diorang gi mancing... kali kedua tu tak dpt ikan gak... kali ketiga dapatlah 4 ekor ala2 ikan kembung... hahaha... yg last baru ni? hambek ko... 19 ekor kekdahnya... pueh ati makan... hehehe....

Filed under , , 4 comments

Introduction to Ames, Iowa  

written by hidayah

Tajuk entry kali ni macam subjek la pulak.. haha.. n'way, aku dihujani pelbagai pertanyaan pasal tempat yang aku nak gi sambung buat PhD ni. So berikut adalah serba sedikit la facts and info yang aku nak cerita, including the places of interest and tempat yang aku suka gi / lepak. Hopwfully boleh la beri sedikit gambaran tempat yang aku akan bermukim dalam masa 3 thn (insya allah)..

So inilah bendera Iowa, and population penduduk Iowa ni adalah dalam 3.3 million. Iowa terletak di antara 6 negeri -- South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas (selatan).


Tempat yang aku nak gi -- Iowa State University ni terletak kat Ames (pronounce as Aims). Ames ni pekan sederhana besar, dengan population around 60,000 people. Airport yang paling dekat ialah di Des Moines (pronounce as D-Moyn - originated from a french word). Memang lawak sebab masa mula2 datang sana dulu, mesti orang salah sebut (aku tak, ye.. sbb dah tau awal2 dah..daddy bgtau...hehe). Mat saleh sana pun senyum je bila ada Malaysian yang salah sebut. Hehehe..

Tempat lepak/shopping/leisure

For grocery shopping or basic needs, I usually go to these places: WalMart, Target, Hy-Vee and Cub Food.

For window shopping/shopping saja2 je/Entertainment : North Grand Mall (ada byk kedai -- JC Penny, Younkers, Gap, Bath & Body Works, Victoria Secret, Eddie Bauer, Payless, Radio Shack and macam2 lagilah.. yang paling best ada panggung wayang yang tiketnya hanya USD 50 cents aje.. murahkan?? Eventhough diorang tayang cerita yang dah keluar panggung dua bulan dulu (kiranya tayang cerita lama), but it is still cheap.. panggung tu pun keadaannya ok sangat.. mcm TGV la kalau kat sini...kalau nak tgk cerita baru2, kena gi panggung lain, yang tu tiket dalam USD10macam tu (tengok jenis cerita -- kalau dah lama tayang, murahla sikit). Panggung tu ala2 GSC kalau kat sini..

Untuk perhiasan/hobby/ala2 SSF: Aku selalu gi Hobby Lobby -- kat situ macam SSF la.. tapi ada semua mak nenek yang berkaitan dgn hobby (dari scrapbooking ke quilting).. Nak tunjuk gambar tapi leh tengok kat sini.

Outdoor/Recreation


Kat Ames ni ada byk Park.. yang bestnya boleh barbeque.. buat outdoor activity ke, memang seronok ah.. aku dah plan dalam kepala ni nak buat barbeque ahead of time.. boleh x gitu?? hehe..

Kat sini ada Ice Arena -- aku pun dah plan nak hantar Fatihah main ice skating (padahal dia baru je setahun.. huhu). Ini Ice skating rink nye -->




Eating Out/Restaurant

Bila cerita bab makan2 ni, memanglah limited -- tapi ada la jugak beberapa restaurant tu yang aku gi kalau nak makan:-

1. Perkins Restaurant - kedai ni mcm bakery shop, tapi bukak 24 hours. Kitorang panggil Perkins ni kedai mamak Ames, sebab budak Malaysia selalu la lepak situ.

2. Red Lobster - Restoren seafood -- namapun lobster,kan.. so memang best ah makan kat sini..tapi agak mahal skit.. sekali sekala tak pe, kalau selalu, kopak weehhh

3. Pizza - yang ni kena tengok ah sebab byk kedai pizza. Aku dulu selalu order by phone aje.

4. Long John Silver - Restaurant Fish and Chips. Kat sini pun ada. Enough said.

5. Dairy King - Ice-Cream and deserts -- sini pun ada. Kekadang order ice cream cake dari sini je.

6. Subway, Jimmy Johns - ni jual mcm2 sandwich. Kekadang kalau tak sempat masak tu belasah je sandwich.

7. Ada restaurant Pakistani (tak ingat nama) - selalu makan beriani kat sini dgn ayam tandoori -- sedappp!!!

So tu la serba sedikit pasal Ames, Iowa. Ada banyak lagi sebenarnya tapi tak tau dah nak tulis apa lagi. Harap penjelasan tentang Ames dapat menjawab sedikit sebanyak soalan yang bersarang di fikiran.. :))

Filed under 3 comments
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