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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Fri
30
Jun '23

Trip Report: Alaska With Marybeth

Been weeks since I’ve traveled – but I’m off with Marybeth for a 7-day cruise from Seattle to Alaska.

It’s an overcast day when we leave Seattle..but hot dogs are perfect on any day when they are good (and free).

That is the Rueben Dog – dog, Swiss, sauerkraut, 1000 island dressing.

And then the RAIN started!

Marybeth had a slice of pizza – my preference would have been to eat a sit-down meal, but we were actually on board BEFORE they opened, and I was starved.

And we eventually got into our room…

And some pictures of life on the boat…

And the food…

Let’s not forget dress-up time!

Random pretty pictures of cruising up the inside passage…

Before long, we were pulling into our final brief stop in Victoria:

And the Coho from Port Angeles pulling out of the Harbor…

And this was all that remained…

We did one excursion on the trip – which was the train up to Yukon Pass. That will be the next post.

[195.0]

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Tue
17
Jan '17

Trip Report: Vancouver & Victoria

Well, the travel season has begun again – starting off with a road trip with my old college roommate, MB.

Left my place at noon headed for CanadaLand…with a couple of stops on the way:

Since we were going into a “crown county”, we thought we’d gets our crowns on early.

First stop is a WorldMark that I hadn’t tried yet – actually a trade with Vacation Internationale or something like that – Rosedale on Robson – warning, I didn’t take this picture:

But it gives you an idea. We were in a one-bedroom unit with a sofa bed in the living room…

Good day and night views…

Not as nice as the WorldMark at the Canadian in the heart of downtown – especially considering valet parking is $30 a night at the Robson on Rosedale. However, it does have a decent restaurant ion the ground floor – Original Joes – were we had cocktails and dinner:

MaryBeth had the Brambleberry, I went for the Royal Buffalo (Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Chambord Liqueur)

My haddock and mixed chips – biggest piece of fish and chips fish I’ve ever seen:

MaryBeth went for the noddle/broth dish – both excellent:

Out at eleven to catch our ferry to Vancouver Island, but first breakfast/brunch at the ferry terminal which has a HUGE food/shopping court. No, I did not have the sugarized apples:

And it was a GORGEOUS day for a ferry ride – and we had a front row seat!

Our room was ready when we got there!

MaryBeth ignored the howling breeze and hopped into the tub. Me, I stayed inside and enjoyed the view:

Before it was cocktail time:

Sort of a “faux” Lemon Drop – Citron Vodka with fresh squeezed “orange lime” juice – we found them at the local Thrifty Grocery. These are organic (hence the code starting with “9” – regular limes are 4306):

Looks like a small orange, but has the juice more like a lemon. And we liked them so we made two more runs to the store over the stay to get more.

As is my usual Victoria journeys, people are invited to dinner – including one of the checkers from the Thrifty:

Our first set of guests managed to drain the bar – resulting in this:

This was AFTER the hot tub, which with a 30mph breeze, was more like a lukewarm tub – with heads bobbing barely above the water line to keep from ice forming.

Wednesday is all about PIG – the restaurant called PIG, and one of the cooks at PIG.

Totally forgot to take pictures of our lunch – I went for the pulled pork sandwich, MaryBeth went for the pulled port poutine (fries, cheese curds, gravy, pulled pork) small portion, which was the size of a small child’s head.

Next up was to stock up on provisions….

Great guy working there who I assume was one of the owners – GREAT customer service.

Two bottles of wine, replacement vodka, replacement whiskey, and we are on our way to the fish market for dinner protein:

Love the fact they tell you what boat and where – this is why I shop with these folks (Finest At Sea) – they are a wholesaler who has a tiny retail store a couple of blocks from the condo on a side street behind their offices, and now, a food trailer out front.

So, they translation to US measures/prices – a pound and a third of troll caught salmon for $22USD which works out to $16.36 a pound (thanks to a 30% difference between the $USD and $CAN).

The dinner company is MaryBeth’s daughter’s boyfriend (who is a cook at PIG) and his mother – how’s THAT for an interesting dinner! And I’m making him cook after I do all the prep work – doesn’t it look GREAT?

And he taught me a tip – give it grill marks on the flesh side, then finish cooking on the skin side – I’d change this to a 45-degree angle – or a 45, and then a 90 for cross hatch.

No hot tub action tonight!

When I hang with friends at WorldMark places – even breakfast is “ensuite”:

That is a coil of sausage done on the grill, Caesars (that would be a Bloody Mary made with Clamato), scrambled eggs.

Today we are off to a CASTLE – and not the one that most tourist go to in Victoria – we are driving to Hatley Castle, not his father’s castle Craigdarroch Castle (FYI, his father died before the Castle was complete). Hatley was Royal Road Military College after the family finished the cycle from rags to riches to rags and lost the place, now it the Royal Road University, mostly on-line but offering career transitions. Thank you, MaryBeth, for stopping a person on campus who must have been in the administration for the great boiled-down mission statement.

It’s “shoulder season” so no tours of the Castle since it is a “living building”, i.e. and Administration Building – but still pretty:

 

And the lobby…

And my favorite lobby sign from its former life:

Even though there wasn’t a tour – there is a small museum in the basement (along with gift shop, and oddly school supply stop):

Back in town, it was time for an afternoon snack – I’d taken the chicken from the first night, turned it into stock, skimmed the fat after an evening in the fridge, add noodles and frozen veg…and a lovely soup!

Got a lot of use out of that chicken! After we’d had our fill, I packed up four small containers (left over from appetizer plates) for the staff – nothing like a little homemade chicken noodle soup. They are VERY understanding of my life – they even got me chocolates for my birthday in September.

Dinner tonight was a friend of mine who connected over social media and his husband – one of those, “stop by for a cocktail” that turns into dinner. Take the two marinated steaks, cube, skewer, grill, add a couple of salads, and we have dinner!

Another day…another castle! This time it’s dad’s castle — Craigdarroch Castle!

Search on Craigdarroch on my blog to see more pictures of the interior – this time I was specifically looking for this one plaque:

Specifically, for this portion of the plaque:

My “faux” nephews Julian and Jameson, apparently names after Julian Jameson (there is a mention HERE).

Love this radiator in the library….

It was a great tour before getting in line for the Coho Ferry to Port Angeles. But first, LUNCH:

And we did have calamari with those drinks. Honest.

In the line:

On the ferry:

Made the last ferry (Bainbridge) with just enough time to line up and be the last car off the ferry.

Home, MaryBeth headed home, I headed to bed after opening one of the bottles of Duty Free and making a cocktail.

[218.4]

Fri
17
Apr '09

Birch Bay Bounty.

It was a long night with the folks upstairs partying until three. It didn’t help that the hot tub was not up to temperature — I figured it was that it was new and just warming up, but at noon it was still tepid. Call number two to maintenance (call number one was the ice maker last night).

Had to run into Blaine to try and find a USB to mini-USB cable to charge my phone — forgot it (one of like 20 I have). Got a nice one with lots of adapters, mini, micro, A, B. And two 1 gig micro SD cards with adapters ($40 marked down to $8), and a twelve pack of Diet Coke. Rite-Aid — who would ahve thought.

Owner re-education at 12:30. Liquor store run with the proceeds at 1:30.

Lots of billable hours before MaryBeth and the kids (one hers, one not) showed up a little after 5. I couldn’t believe that those two twig thin 14-year-old girls plowed through 1-pound rib steaks. Baked potatoes, salad, wine, and Wonderful for dessert.

Wonderful will be reading scholarship applications tomorrow with MaryBeth, John Weber, and me. Nineteen applications to read this year. Fun.

The movie for the night — after call number three to maintenance because the signal was fuzzy, which they couldn’t fix tonight — was the 1967 version of Casino Royale. It wasn’t until we watched making of the movie that it came out that we figured out why the movie was so dysfunctional. Try four directors, and actors fighting with other actors and leaving the movie half way through. It felt like each of the four directors did a quarter of the film.

Thankfully, no noisy neighbors tonight.

[? ? ?]

Sat
3
May '08

Kansas City To Lopez… In One Day.

Up at 5am — and you know how that makes me feel. That makes Paul a saint for making the early morning airport run.

Routine check-in, flights on time or early, which continues my record this year of not having an itinerary fucked up by cancelled flights, missed connections or airline bankruptcy. My rules?

  • try and get two hours between flights
  • fly at off-peak times, like Saturday
  • scam your way into first class so if there are problems, you’ll be the first to be dealt with
  • have energy bars in your carry on because that connection may be so close (even with two hours) that there won’t be the chance for food
  • assume that your flights will be late.

Arrived close to on time, but waited forever for luggage, reclaimed the car from MasterPark and figured that I actually had time to swing by the house to pick up food for dinner. Guess I should have saved the $$$ and taken the bus to/from, but I didn’t know how late the flight would be be (see above).

I made the 3:30pm ferry which put me on island at about 4:30pm — just in time for cocktails.

MaryBeth was there with her two kids (Thomas and Melissa), and Thomas’ friend Alex (who had such long dark hair that he reminded me of my dead brother). As it turns out, Alex’s nickname is IRF, which stands for Invisible Rabbit Friend. For a couple of 15-year-olds (the boys) and a 12-year-old (Melissa), these are highly socialized children, and good fun to be around.

As host, it was salad, high-heat-roasted Albino Asparagus(TM), bread, and a stack of huge Safeway Organic Steaks (thanks to the 30% off bin). There were four steaks for five people — would have brought another had I known about Alex, but no one starved and there was no food left.

The movie of the night, Nashville (chosen by MaryBeth, but my mother’s favorite) wasn’t that bid a hit with the kids, and even I lost patience — but there was fresh made popcorn.

It was basically a giant slumber party with all the men crashing in the living room and the women crashing on the bed in the kitchen.

[227.5 — but that was a noon after flying — I blame water weight gain]

Sun
4
May '08

Back Home, For A Bit.

Open admission — I use child labor.

Knowing teenagers always need a few bucks — I pressed Alex and Thomas into service moving lumber out of the attic into the van. One more step on the way to getting the place listed. We were all on the 1:40pm ferry back to Anacortes — and the line is long. Luckily the ferry holds 150 cars, and there aren’t that many even on a Sunday because it’s still off season.

For those who have know me for awhile — MaryBeth bought my 1975 Checker Marathon. It was fun to see it again even if I don’t agree with the forest green new paint job (means the door jams don’t match), but at least all the dents are out of it. Maybe I should find a set of seat covers for it since the ones I put in 20 years ago have failed.

I stopped for groceries and MaryBeth and the youngins’ must have stopped for junk food, because we hit Seattle at the same time:

P1050525

I could have cropped it, but I love the mirror from m MPV in the photo. No viewfinder, just randomly pointing and clicking.

Marinated chicken thighes and salad for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, just healthy.

Working on proposals for Sigler and ThinkAct tonight.

[223 on the overly friendly church scale]

Sun
27
Nov '22

Trip Report: Across Canada By Train

Back on the road again! Off to Toronto to catch the train to Vancouver.

The United Club isn’t as fancy as Delta or Alaska, but free food and booze is free food and booze.

And the view from the gate…

Views like this is why I call Seattle, home.

On Air Canada today, in the pointy end:

And lovely views on the way out…

And then the parade of food and drink starts…

You might notice that I was gifted a spare seat this morning. Apparently, Air Canada doesn’t upgrade people, or there was no one to upgrade. I’ll take it!

Met up with Marybeth at the airport, and we are off to the hotel.

Oddly, this is the only picture I have from the hotel:

I do have pictures from the lounge in the ViaRail terminal in the morning!

With the massive traffic jam on the way in, we had about 10 minutes in the lounge before moving into our Cabin For Two, and they say at ViaRail:

And our car attendant found a table to “liberate” for us – MUCH BETTER!

And our first lunch…

Then dinner…

Then dessert…

Once the bed is made up…

To give you an idea of the weather, this is a good example:

So, here is one thing that ViaRail DOES NOT do as well as Amtrak – their lunch burger. Federal law in Canada mandates that they cook it to death.

The breakfast, on the other hand, is wonderful:

And we ARE prepared in our cabin:

And then there are the views from the bubble dome and bullet car at the end…

And this is what we settled on for the day layout of the cabin…a couch(bed) with a table:

We even ordered our lunch in one day! And they brought a tablecloth!

And more pictures of hanging out:

It’s a little fuzzy – but this is a great picture.

And if you look closely, you will see a car attached to the bullet car – a safety measure implemented a couple of months ago when they realized they weren’t crash worthy.

Dinner tonight was French Onion Soup and Prime Rib:

But if you want to see me in the morning, it’s less than pretty – even though I am in my sake pajamas I had made in China:

The dining car was slow because we were in Jasper for a couple of hours, and most of the people were wandering around town.

It was a nonstandard meal day – continental breakfast early, then brunch through until 1pm.

For brunch, I had the Chicken Pot Pie – which was GREAT! Marybeth had the omelet.

And then we were in the mountains!

And here is how we viewed it. Curled up on the “couch” in the room. MB is napping.

We needed the nap so we could have the lamb chops for dinner (salmon for MB):

Had dinner (it’s community seating) with Michael and David, who ODDLY, Michael knows Solus who we are having lunch with in Vancouver – small world.

We had planned for breakfast in the cabin, but for some reason, our attendant pulled the table out of the room when she made the bed rather than putting it in the closet – so we really had “breakfast in bed”!

We arrived two and a half hours EARLY (definitely NOT Amtrak), but they don’t throw people off until the 8am timetable arrival (definitely NOT Amtrak).

We hung out at the train station until my friends swung by and picked us up for high mass. It’s Sunday, and the Anglican Cathedral is downtown.

Service ran about an hour fifteen, and I will admit that every time the organ and choir fired up, tears were rolling down my cheeks. Probably memories of evensong services at Winchester Catheral in England to which I’ve been to many times (after coctails with my friend’s mum).

Lunch was a Sylvia’s on English Bay:

Took Amtrak back to Seattle, and here is the final shot of the trip, at the station in Seattle:

The end to a fun trip.

[198.8]

For more blog posts, click here.

Sun
8
Feb '09

Plans Up In The Air.

Plans up in the air?

  • Jameson and crew not due until Tuesday night — guess I’d better get my vegan recipe’s in order
  • Whitaker has EMT classes, so now he is coming Wednesday, when I’m on the road and MoonSong is cleaning the house.

Today’s accomplishments:

  • More room in the garage for the Jag
  • Less dead mice in the garage (found two)
  • Stove donated to MaryBeth
  • Computer going to MaryBeth’s son
  • Directories and other materials done and transportation arranged
  • Drill bits purchased
  • Nothing done on SOB (Son of Bob)
  • NetBook programmed with Skype and Street/Trips for upcoming trip.

Dinner? Chicken and Pasta with a little red.

Too busy getting ready for travel to take the “photo of the day”.

[220 — time to barf up dinner]

Thu
5
Apr '07

On the Road.

A little work at the house this morning. Laying blue tape out where all the cabinets go so I can plan where the rest of the cans go.

Got to make the 12:35pm ferry to the island to pick up mail, get a dryer from Lynn’s Used Appliance Garage (she gave me the Fisher Paykel Dishdrawer dishwasher I put into the church), and get the house ready for the arrival of Marybeth and her friend and lots of kids. Oh, and there is wine to bring back to the city as well!

Once the dryer is in the van need to pack the rest of van full of stuff for the new house. Don’t think I can get the bed frame or the Legs of Christ this trip. Might have to actually get a REAL truck to get the stuff in one fell swoop.

Got to get to bed early since I have the early ferry back to the city so that I can get down to Olympia and sign the rest of the papers to sell the house. Should have the check next week — that will take some pressure off my home equity loan on the church!

Wed
26
May '10

Getting Closer…

Got some more work done on the trap door project…

But still more to do:

  • Putty some cracks
  • Hinge or just another aluminum strip
  • Varathane
  • Change the spacer by 1/8″ to make it totally flush with the rest of the floor

Also – still ruminating on whether I can turn the space under the trap door into a wine cellar, and if I want to have it air-conditioned.

I would have gotten more of the project done, but today’s big event is having dinner with Marybeth and the kids down in Tacoma – which means driving down there in rush hour. The usual 45 minute trip is more like an hour and a half in the evening rush hour.

I brought steak and fresh bread (needless to say the kids loved the steaks, guessing as a single mom they don’t get them that often) and MB provided the corn on the cob and the salad – and homemade pie for dessert, a treat.

Got back to the house a little before ten to set the alarm for the morning… Tokyo Dave is coming into town to get his license renewed (and to spend the night) before flying to San Francisco for a funeral.

[223.7]

Fri
10
Sep '10

Deck A Little Further Along.

More progress on the deck today… took a break from working on it at this point…

To run off to Bamboo Hardwoods because their bamboo cane fencing is on sale for 50% off, and I need two 6×8′ rolls (that will get cut down into 3’x4′ panels). I still need to figure out the design of the stairs getting up to the platform, and what kind of gate is going in.

A little after four headed to Tacoma for MaryBeth’s daughters surprise 16th birthday party. The boys at this party outnumbered the girls about 4 to 1 – that’s a whole lot of male hormones in one confined space – I’m surprised I didn’t pass out.

Home at ten, into bed shortly afterwards. Maybe it was the turkey (Melissa wanted Thanksgiving for her birthday meal) that knocked me out.

Chair delivery tomorrow.

[222.0]

Sun
31
Oct '10

Uncle Markie’s Catering Services.

That’s sort of how today feels… made brunch for MaryBeth and the kids:

  • Pull-apart rosemary challah rolls
  • Pork sausage rounds
  • Maple smoked bacon
  • Roasted potatoes and onions
  • Eggs which when I put them into the convection oven poofed up like a soufflé (and then fell as it cooled – wonder how to keep it up?)
  • Champagne and cranberry juice for MB and myself, just the cranberry juice for the kids.

Then put in a few hours of work while the dishes were running so that I could start on dinner with Swanda at his place:

  • Caraway dark rye bread
  • Wilted spinach and bacon salad
  • Baked potatoes
  • Boneless rib-eye steaks
  • Red wine

With a day of food like that I shouldn’t have to eat for a week.

Happy Halloween everyone – and that’s the reason I’m cooking at Swanda’s place…. No trick or treaters.

[230.2]

Fri
15
Jul '11

The British Are Coming!

And They Are Staying With Uncle Markie.

Hectic day with a growing waitlist for the gathering and picking up MaryBeth from Swedish Medical Center and taking her home to Tacoma. She was in for a sort of hernia and touchup on her reconstructive surgery. And you know how much I hate hospitals.

Which gets me onto all things plumbing. How do you test toilet designs to make sure they are up to the stuff? Miso paste and condoms. From this month’s Popular Mechanics:

“The standard toilet-testing load — known as a unit — is a condom full of 50 grams of miso paste. Engineers flush six units to simulate a typical man’s demands. At trade show demos, folks toss in 10 units at a time. The ½ kilo test proves the loo can handle even the toughest encounters.”

By the time I got back to Seattle, think Friday afternoon traffic in two directions, forget picking up a prescription at Costco (again, on a Friday afternoon, a bad idea).

I left for the airport at 7pm as the Boyz (Mike and Max) plane was running a little late. It wasn’t hard to get their attention (having never met them) with this sign:

Yes, they are British, Oxfordians if that’s what they call folks from Oxford. They are friends my college-era buddies, husbands, daughters, boyfriend and his gay buddy. Confused. I’ll let you assign who’s who to the picture:

We had a much needed for the boyz late dinner of lamb chops, roasted potatoes and salad.

Ended up staying up wayyyyy too late. The joys of company.

[227.5]

Mon
2
Jan '12

Inventory Day.

After waking up to a dead coffeemaker in the hotel room (they got me a new one in 15 minutes), it was onto the shuttle where the driver took me directly to Uwajimaya, even though it is usually only a “game day” stop on their shuttle route. And yes, I tipped him.

Got to the store 45 minutes early, Jim arrived 30 minutes early, so we started plowing through the inventory. Good thing to since I’d forgotten I’d scheduled an oil change and a slow leak fix for 12:30 and inventory was supposed to start at noon.

We actually wrapped up the count in 45 minutes including all the “gift accessories”, and I just realized that we forgot to inventory the salts, peppers, and sauce. Tomorrow, me thinks.

After the wild night last night, after inventory I dropped off the car at the shop and went home and took a nap. The joys of being underemployed.

For today’s random pictures, the topic is cars, as my previous sets of wheels:

BMW 2002tii next to Tom’s Civic in front of the Silver Streak at Point No Point on the tip of the Kitsap peninsula outside Hansville. So many memories.

My second Miata, parked next to Pugsly, a 1964 Bedford Romany Dormobile (complete with hand crank for starting if you were that daring) parked behind the first house that I ever owned, in the NE section of Portland. Bought it for $39,500 (the house) and sold it for $80,000 five years later to the real estate agent that I had originally purchased it through.

1975 Checker Marathon, the second time I owned that car. Sold it to Marybeth, who put at least one new engine in it, and now it’s the car of her rock-n-roll guitarist 20-year-old son. Perfect car for a musician. Now it is Forest Green. Parked in front of the Boylston Street house on Capital Hill, assuming when it was still a duplex that I shared with Greg from the lack of gate and the size of the bushes.

Well, that’s our stroll down memory lane for today.

[? ? ?]

Sun
13
Jan '13

Sunday Off And On The Road Again.

All packed and ready to go at 12:30….and there was still the pop in the front seat. Luckily on the return there will be less stuff after my Vancouver deliveries:

First stop is at the apartment for some books that arrived from Powells.

On the ferry to Whidbey Island with Cartman from South Park on my TomTom GPS – as he said when I started towards the ferry (programmed location into the TomTom on the dock: “Get on the faggoty ferry.”

I might have to see if I can make my own TomTom “surfer dude” file.

And the view from the condo after I’d checked in an hour early

Marybeth arrived around 4:30 sans salad so it she made a quick trip back out before out lovely steak and salad dinner sans her children (she really needed a break).

Tried but failed to go to bed early. And it’s up at 5:30 tomorrow.

Damn.

[210.8]

Thu
22
Dec '16

Trip Report: Quiet Pre-Christmas In Victoria

Just a quiet little mid-week jaunt to Victoria with DancingBear before the rush of xMess starts at the shop.

If it’s a Victoria Clipper trip, that means it’s time for Red Barons (cranberry juice and sparkling wine):

And a breakfast burrito from the Clipper Café in the terminal.

DancingBear had arranged for a car, so after customs/immigration is was a quick call to Budget for a pickup. Car in hand it was off to Costco for meds that are over-the-counter in Canada but are expensive prescriptions in the US, and steaks, and scallops, and a hot dog – before going across the parking lot to grab a wi-fi router for DB and 11×17 paper for me – the joys of 30% off because of the exchange rate.

On a lark we swung by the WorldMark Victoria to see if the room was ready – and even though it was only 1pm with check-in at 4pm. Yet again, we are in a 2-bedroom Penthouse :

Not a bad view from our room.

Woohoo – must be time for a nap!

Swung by the Thrifty (alas, Royce wasn’t working) for the rest of the supplies for dinner – looks pretty good doesn’t it!

Ribeye steaks off the grill topped with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, seared scallops topped with fried prosciutto, and a loaded baked potato and a little salad. And here is the chef!

We eat well when we are on the road. No company this trip, so it really is a “quiet” trip.

The next day finds us on a road trip north to Duncan – for no particular reason other than shits, giggles, and snow….

OK – not the best picture of me, and the sun highlights the camera, but it was a pretty overlook on the way to our lunch spot – The Dog House:

I had the Ruben (bit surprise):

DancingBear had the turkey wrap:

We booth took ½ of each of ours home – maybe we should just decide on a meal and split it — neither of us eats the amount of food we used to.

Time to head back to Victoria before darkness (and maybe some snow) falls:

This evening just straight up seared scallops, risotto, salad and wine.

We do eat well – even the breakfasts are stunning:

Rare view of both the Victoria Clipper (coming in from Seattle) and the Coho (headed to Port Angeles):

Our final day in Victoria we did something I’d never done in all the times I’ve visited Victoria – Craigdarroch Castle. Considering there is a 25% off coupon at the front desk, odd none of us had done it. Will definitely go back in January with MaryBeth. Pretty, and amazing:

Looking up the staircase to the top floor:

And at the top – this nice carving:

All the rooms are decorated for the holiday – making it even more festive:

Looking back down the staircase:

Then there was the purpose-built billiards room:

Let’s not forget the bathrooms:

All-in-all, a lovely little sightseeing adventure before heading back to turn in the rental car. I must say, with regard to the rental car company (Budget), I haven’t been very impressed with their efficiency in this location over several visits.

Checked in the luggage and headed across the street to Belleville’s for a spot of lunch. I had the seafood chowder,

DancingBear had the BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato).

The fries where excellent – some of the best I’ve had. Crunchy on the outside soft on the inside. Yum – as was the Margarita Double that was on special, and even the Highball for $5 once it turned to happy hour.

An amazingly relaxed trip – no dinner parties, no stress. Just lovely.

Can’t wait to go back in a couple of weeks.

[219.6]

Tue
20
Dec '22

Trip Report: Panama Cruise – Part Two, Puerto Vallarta

Well, this is the port that I didn’t want, but in a cruel twist of fate, it’s a good port for Marybeth, who’s luggage didn’t make it to San Francisco. Delta is overing replacement clothes for the trip, and even though Princess wasn’t at fault, they offered her a $250 credit at the Tommy Bahama store, and free laundry service for the trip. No wine.

Here is the swimsuit she bought. Also got a LBD (Little Black Dress) and a couple of pashminas which are versatile.

I gift her my Agua Socks and offered to lend her my hoodie as evening wear.

Speaking of formal night, there are three on this trip. Here is number one which we started in the Adagio Lounge at the nights LGBT+ nightly gathering at 5:30pm

Followed by dinner at our usual table with Ashley as our server:

 

And then a show…

Here is as shot of how I spent most of my days on the cruise:

Was working on getting through this 600+ page book…

Fascinating story.

One day there was a wine tasting, which I felt compelled to attend:

When we got to Puerto Vallarta, Michael and I did a City Tour with Tequila Tasting from 8am-12pm.

Back to the boat for lunch, and some port shots.

And soon, we were off…

That’s it for now. More later.

[? ? ?]

For more blog posts, click here.

Fri
2
Jun '23

Home Report: Obis From Japan

With summer almost on us, that means travel deals have dried up with all the revenge travel going on.

Time to do some work around the house!

Back in March when I was in Japan, I did some Obi shopping in Nagoya. Obi’s are the middle stomach wrap in a kimono. My nephew Julian took me to the used Obi district (I kid you not) and walked into this LARGE store and quickly gravitated to the “sale section” where everything as color tagged as to its price. 100 yen, 500 yen, 1000 yen, 2500 yen, 5000 yen – I wasn’t buying the upper two tags. At the time I was there, it was about 110 yen to the dollar.

It was a huge section that took my breath away – thinking about how many I could put in my suitcase and whether I’d have to buy another!

In the end I settled on five Obis and five Happi coats which are sort of semi-formal dinner wear.

And ready for packing…

So, here is the living room before…

And after adding five new Obi’s to the collection:

Yes, like Minnie Pearl, I left the price tags on.

If you are curious about the process of making obi, here is a link to a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsUr6GZSyn8

And here are Marybeth and I modelling two of the Happi coats…

Even before this addition, I had a new guest to the house whose first comment was “It’s like a museum in here.” High praise for walking into my living room!

But, on a more somber note, there is a graphic that is hanging under the smallest of the three oils:

This is a map of the destruction of the center of Tokyo by US Armed Forces in 1945 using Napalm to incinerate the city. The one museum I visited on this year’s trip was a museum dedicated to telling the story. There were at least 60 other cities that suffered the same fate. All of this was BEFORE the two atomic bombs were dropped. War is an ugly thing.

Sorry to end on such a sobering note. My shrine to the resilience of the Japanese people.

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Sat
1
Jul '23

Trip Report: White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad

As part of our Alaska Cruise, Marybeth and I only booked one excursion… the White Pass & Yukon Route train out of Skagway.

For the tourists off the boat, it turns around at the top of the mountain and returns to town.

They say that if you are to take just one Alaska excursion, it should be this one!

All aboard and off we go!

And here is a little video of us passing a train going up the mountain as we are going down:

Now I see why they say, it you only do one…. And I’d do it again, though maybe not off a cruise ship and do the whole route into CanadaLand.

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Tue
17
Oct '23

The End

When I got the diagnosis of colon cancer that had spread to the liver on April 22. 2022 it was a shock, but it had taken weeks to get to that point, and I got to this Zen place. I’ve lived an amazing life. I haven’t worked a desk job since I was 43. I’ve traveled the world. My heart goes out to those people who put that off until they are 65, and then they get my diagnosis. Also, VERY glad I took social security at 62!

Handed a statement to my doctor to that effect and his response was, “fine, you are at peace, let’s talk treatment”. I love you, Doctor Gold. I couldn’t have wished for a better oncologist, and after a year and a half I feel that we have become friends and I see your pain in my decline. You used every tool in your belt, but my disease was a willy one, changing courses, blowing out colon, ballooning my liver tumor.

Eighteen months later I still have that Zen feeling, albeit they are more intense on hospice meds. Today we received that last piece we need for me to get the prescription from Death With Dignity. Those who need to know the date will know. Not making it public incase that nutcase from Topeka wants to turn up and protest.

This is the last formal photo from the boat — getting dressed up and ready cost me that day’s energy, sending me to my stateroom for the remainder of the trip, but it is a great one to remember me by.

This is what I was able to complete in the 18 months of cancer and chemo:

18-Months Chemo Travel
146,253 Total Travel Miles

Air: 124,834          Drive: 3,289          Boat: 12,645         Train: 5,485

I started this blog in August 10th, 2008 after a trip to China with The Colonels – our first trip together since the 5-week Lisbon to Antarctica trip in 2004-05.

Saturday, my priest/friend/Solus flew down from Vancouver to perform last rites. While I’m not overly religious, it is an important part of Solus’ life and by extension, of his 40+ year friend. We both needed closure. He started the service with this piece, Kontakion, by Rupert Lang, composed in Vancouver, and this staging was at the main Cathedral where I was last year for The Eucharist with MaryBeth after a train ride across Canada.

Going Forward

Please feel free to comment on this page, which I will monitor while I’m still here, though likely won’t reply due to energy levels. After I’m gone comments will be moderated by someone else to keep out the haters.

Peace

Out

Thu
1
Jan '09

Happy New Year.

Welcome to 2009. Guess I’d better get ready to remember to change my mind when writing checks and invoices.

Today was spend in “family” mode at Marybeth’s place in Tacoma. With regard to my suggestions earlier this month, well, there are teenagers in the hosue, so all things move slow.

Spent the afternoon there before heading home to dead cow on the grill — and I didn’t even bother with the salad, but there was wine left over from last night.

When I was at Safeway today I picked up an AutoTrader….

Should I trade in the 1996 BMW Z3 for a 2001 Jaguar XJ8 Ragtop?

Should I trade in the 1998 Mazda MPV for a 2002 Acura MDX?

Both are black (both the trade-in and the possible new models).

We will see what they are willing to do on trade-in and go from there. Guess that means I have some errands tomorrow after MoonSong comes to do some interior wiring (ethernet and speakers).

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