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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Sat
19
Apr '14

Trip Report: SalamanderHellBender & UncleMarkie In Waikiki.

Another week another trip – this one to check something off SalamanderHellBender’s Bucket List – Hawaii.

The initial spreadsheet shows about $425 per person for 4 days, 3 nights with guaranteed First Class on the way there and most likely an upgrade on the way back. That doesn’t include food and other stuff while we are in Waikiki, but it’s still cheap in my mind.

The downside/upside is that we travel out of Bellingham, but they do have a great restaurant in the terminal:

Crap – is that a Manhattan in my hand and some fish and chips on my plate – bad UncleMarkie! We got there in plenty of time – time enough for three Manhattans — $8.00 each, which for an airport isn’t bad – and I saw them pouring Maker’s Mark to make them.

Onto the plane we go into seats 1A and 1C:

Too much fun. I’m really glad my friends have “bucket lists” and this one is in honor of Salamander’s 51st birthday which was last week.

Nothing like starting the flight with a POG Mimosa (Pineapple, Orange Guava) followed by our meal:

Appetizer:

  • Green Papaya Salad
  • Haricot Vert and Roma Tomatoes
  • Sweet Thai Chili Lime Dressing
  • Warm Hawaiian Sweet Roll

Choice of Entrees:

  • Mango BBQ Beef Short Ribs
  • Coconut Milk Mashed Potatoes
  • Buttered Green Beans

Or

  • Red Curry Shrimp and Pineapple
  • Cucina Fesca Rigatoni

With a dessert of Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and all the booze we could choke down.

We got in around 7pm and made our way to the bus to Waikiki – if you just have carryon luggage for $2.50 a person you can just catch the bus to Waikiki, which beats the $15.00 a person slower than the bus (which takes at least 45 minutes).

We missed check-in times so we grabbed the keys from security for our one-bedroom condo at the Royal Kuhio:

And the view…

Nope, no ocean view, but we can see the canal.

First stop of the night is to Foodland for a Rotisserie Chicken, bourbon, mixer, salad, eggs, and breakfast meats – basically condo supplies. We pulled some pieces off the poor dead bird but were ni bed before any thought of salad happened.

In the morning we are off to Hilo Hatties – not so much for the overpriced Hawaiian shirts but for the shuttle that takes us a couple of blocks from the K-Mart and the Salvation Army where I convinced Salamander to get a couple of Hawaiian shirts – the one I wanted (A Tommy Bahama) didn’t have a price tag so they wouldn’t sell it to me – damn.

Salamander and I are on different agendas – his more gogo boys, mine more laying in the sun. Luckily we don’t need to run together.

Dinner tonight is trip-tip steaks, salad, Hawaiian sweet rolls (yes, I know they are bad for me, but then in Rome…)

The next day my goal is laying in the sun and Salamander is out and about…in the on again off again rain – which cut short my suntan time. Don’t trust Salamander with a map in the rain:

And I have to say that the next day – another ruined map:

A little better, but still a mess – good thing it’s out last day in town.

But let’s not forget interesting things we ate when we were in the islands….

Salamander needed Spam since he was in Hawaii – it was a side dish with the Filet Mignon and the salad for dinner.

Our final day was a tour of the island after we checked out and picked up a rental car from the airport – here are some random pictures:

The above were the result of an around the island car tour… a great way to see the island and really make sure that Salamander has ticked off Hawaii on his Bucket List.

At the end of the day we returned the car and checked into the Delta Sky Room before our 11:55pm red-eye (yes, upgraded) back to Bellingham:

What can I say, Salamander needed a Burger King snack and I was stressed from trying to find a gas station near the airport returning the car – FOUR that were in GPS were no longer there (smells like a conspiracy to me). They did say “welcome your majesty at the front desk”…. Even got Salamander to try on the crown…

I got a little sleep on the return flight (just a small snack so no reason to stay awake)… but not enough. Still had to take a nap or two driving back south for a full day of errands – AND – cooking dinner for a sweet man who I have a crush on (no, not Salamander).

All together a VERY long Friday, the final day of holiday. Wish that sweet man that I was necking with had spent the night, but alas, he has a job interview in the morning and needs to be fresh.

[210.6 or 208.8 yesterday]

Tue
22
Sep '15

Trip Report: The Ruby Princess With Salamander

Time to take another “cruise virgin” for a trip. I keep helping Salamander tick things off his bucket list. Not sure how I’m going to pull off Greenland – at least not this trip. This trip is a simple Vancouver to Los Angeles 3-night “cruise to nowhere”.

But first, we have to get to Vancouver – that means the early train – Business Class so we are the first to get off and grab a cab. At King Street Station in Seattle:

The hell that awaited us trying to check in and board the boat. Vancouver has consistently sucky boarding procedures. At least there is now an Elite line for us to use. It’s an improvement, but there are no Elite lines for the next long line, Immigration (which is handled by US Border Patrol in Canada):

Almost made me wish for a wheelchair since they go to the head of the line. But eventually we make it on board – but past the 1:30 cut-off for sit down dining.

This would be the “Mini-Suite”. In the “Balcony” cabins you don’t get the separate seating area.

After a quick bite, it’s time to settle into the real reason I cruise. To hang out on the deck with a cocktail and catch up on my reading:

Salamander on the other hand prefers the bed (and couch)…

After the life boat drill, which I wish they would do what Holland America does which is if you’ve cruised before, you can leave your life jacket in the room it was time to depart from Vancouver:

No LGBT Get Together on the schedule tonight – posted a note on the FaceBook Princess Sea Men private group about the absence – turns out there wasn’t one on the overnight from Seattle to Vancouver on Saturday. Guess I’ll be filling out the survey at the end of the cruise with a complaint or two.

Before long it was time for dinner – just some random food pictures…

Yep, that was a lot of food for dinner – add a bottle of wine and a double espresso and Cointreau to complete.

Got back to the room and Mary Gay (our room attendant) had thoughtfully arranged our booze selection and filled the ice bucket. All the minis are from the mini-bar that they fill free the first time for Elites:

When to one of the shows…the intro to the cruise show:

Tomorrow – a weather change…

And no LGBT gathering, AGAIN….but dinner is served!

Another show tonight, this one magic – and he was pretty good (and cute to boot).

And when we get back to the room – my laundry is back! Another Elite benefit is free laundry and dry cleaning, so I save mine up.

And another day – and it’s a sunny day!

 

And it being the final day – its DUTY FREE time. Here is what I scored for $84:

Here is how Salamander spent his afternoons:

And me:

Last night onboard there is finally an LGBT gathering – well attended! 38 people with a half dozen swinging through to say hello. It was almost like a gay bar.

And a zoo for the last night dinner. Lots of people waiting to get in for dinner – luckily we were number one in line with a request for a two-top (which we got).

No food shots – guessing you are tired of see them. But we did go see the comedian who used to be part of the Beach Boys:

Off the boat early and through customs (which was basically collecting the forms) and off to the airport we went – arriving 6 hours early which meant some wrangling to get our bags checked that early, but got it done, and off to the Board Room to hang out, eat, drink, check mail, watch TV:

And forgot to mention, Salamander and I got upgraded to First Class for the way home, which meant dinner on board:

Cab to the house, then Uber’d Salamander home. Time to head work for the weekend before heading out on the annual Birthday Ramble.

Wed
5
Jan '11

Pre-Trip Day.

Salamander Saves The Day.

Stayed up late, took a pill, slept late… it always messed with the day.

The day is all about packing and kvetching about the trip. Do you ever have that “black cloud” feeling about an upcoming trip… I’d like to blame it on not getting an upgrade to 1st Class, but I think it’s more than that. I could cancel and get the money back no questions asked… but $221.40 to Boston (and back)… the miles, the friends, the hell of coach class on a six hour flight.

Maybe this “mileage whore” thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Picked up Salamander at his office – left Casa de Rose South Park at 4:30pm and was to the UDistrict and back in the hood a little before 5:30pm. Oh, the joys of a return trip in the carpool lane (espress lanes on the way out)… I think I need a blow up Salamander doll to keep in the car for commute time.

I grilled tonight… the first time in at least 3-4 months…. I opened the grill (luckily before I left to pick him up) and found it… well, less than ready to go. Moldy would more be the answer – guess I’d better leave the door and flu open for the rest of the winter. A couple of hours worth of hot coals, heat, and scraping, and it was fit to cook on…

Country style pork ribs marinated in a nice hot/vinegar sauce, a big salad, and fresh Bermuda pearl onion bread done up as pull apart rolls. YUM.

Salamander stayed an hour later than planned (the 10:19 bus rather than the 9:19 bus) so we could watch a few compressed videos from my 8mm to DVD collection… I really need to organize that collection better!

The leftover rolls have been stuffed with the leftover port and cream cheese from the appetizer and are now freezing to tomorrow’s flight. I figure they will be thawed about the time I’m hungry after the breakfast at the Board Room.

Is it too late to cancel?

[230.4]

Wed
5
Oct '16

Trip Report: Birthday Ramble 2016, Part One – Cabo San Lucas

The annual tradition continues – the multiple week Birthday Ramble. This year week one is in Cabo San Lucas. Total of three of us.

Salamander and I are travelling together with Roxy taking an earlier flight, but arriving in Cabo at the same time. Roxy misses out on The Board Room with his earlier flight, but with the size of Salamander’s machine-made pancake, maybe he isn’t missing anything:

That’s a lot of butter for that mini-pancake.

UncleMarkie’s breakfast on the other hand…(with Salamander’s in the background):

I got us upgrades on the way down, so we are comfortably in 1A (Salamander) and 1C (UncleMarkie):

And it doesn’t take Salamander long to look like this:

Maybe it was the cocktail – but he did wake up for breakfast number two:

A little too much starch and sugar in the encrusted waffle (maybe I shouldn’t have applied the corn syrup packet), but tasty.

Turns out we have a stop in San Diego, where there is no duty free shopping – good thing I put a “handle” of Evan Williams in my checked bag!

Back on the plane after the security pass – I had to snap this pic just before the door closed. Had we been in the back we would have had a TON of seats to ourselves:

And soon it was time for lunch…

Ah, the joys of travelling up front!

Roxy met us after immigration (quick) at baggage claim – he’s flying with just carry on, and we are out the front to find our driver – and before you know it, on the road with a pretty full van of other people headed to Coral Baja:

After a hellishly long check in process (made better my free watered down margaritas) we are off to the 3-bedroom penthouse, our home for the next two nights:

And then, there is the view… this doesn’t suck!

Dinner night one was room service from the on-site restaurant – we were all beat up from the early morning.

Did I mention that we had our own private hot tub…

And that you can order a full moon from room service?

The night hot tub view!

Terrible admission – there were no groceries in the unit so we headed out to the former MegaMart, now a LaComer after the hurricane a couple of years ago – but I was hungry – hungry for hot red head!

But shop we did…

Mixers, booze, refrigerator (we passed on that), eggs, fresh tortillas…. And next to the sex shop next to the market, a wine shop!

I did stop in, but I’m running with a cocktail crowd this week.

Hopefully we won’t end up like El Gordo (the fat one), who died between the store and the condo:

To be honest, it was 90+ degrees out and we had the A/C cranked, and were mostly running around in robes. Me, I have my Bernie doo on.

I’d been hoping to find the TackyT-ShirtPrincess a shirt from the market on the highway outside the condo:

This place used to have a ton of stuff – a deli, fresh pico de gaia, the works, since the hurricane, it’s now lame, though I did buy some Mexican Brandy the last night of the trip as we’d exhausted all booze in the condo. I was hoping to find a t-shirt in a women’s medium for her to match the one I bought years ago and had to dig up and take a photo of:

Alas – nothing close to it, and the shirts they had were $20USD. Sigh.

After two nights, we “downgraded” to the 2-bedroom penthouse, which I found larger and I loved the rooftop hot tub and tanning deck area – see what you think.

And then the spiral stairs to our private roof top deck:

If you want the walking tour of the place, here it is:

Did I mention the brand new looks like never used BBQ?

And we used it!

Rib eyes and onions on the grill!

And now just some random photos of how we spent our week doing nothing, I say NOTHING:

OK – we did a little more than lay around! There is drinking and tanning to do.

Why leave to penthouse when you can watch them releasing baby sea turtles into the high surf:

And eavesdropping on a wedding!

And there was eating as well….pupu platter…

Scratch-made chicken tortilla soup:

And because you need things you didn’t bring, you improvise. Hot chili sauce made from four packets of ketchup from the first nights room service, combined with the red chili flakes and some garlic powder in the spice rack:

Need breading for fried fish? Crunch up the crackers that came with my octopus ceviché afternoon snack (yes, we did eat out twice in the week):

Crumble those crackers! And no, we aren’t talking about the upcoming election.

Whip an egg, batter the fish, and fry!

I could blame it on the heat, but we didn’t do ANYTHING tourist related. No walk into San José del Cabo, no bus ride to check out Cabo San Lucas, we only did grocery store runs for more supplies – and in the end we were taking the cab (100 pesos, basically $5 USD each way) to the store.

I barely finished a book, Roxy only got one more chapter done in the book he started when we were at Whistler two summers ago. Yep, slugs.

Sunday we headed home on different shuttles – Salamander and I early, Roxy later.

Did spot the cool American Airlines Piedmont Airlines livery at the Cabo San Lucas airport – sorry the shot isn’t better:

Salamander and I managed (after a Wi-Fi call to the US – got to LOVE T-Mobile!) to get upgraded to First on the Cabo to Los Angeles leg, which included a chicken (never found it) and rice lunch:

No upgrade on the LAX-SEA leg, but we had lounge access for more free food and drink:

And before we knew it, Salamander had his bag and headed for Light Rail, I was waiting to see if my hard-side came out on the regular belt or the “oversize” (because it looks like an OtterCase filled with expensive equipment).

Stay tuned for Part Two of the Birthday Ramble, but first I have to work a couple of days.

[213.4]

Fri
3
Nov '17

Trip Report: Vegas Baby!

After last week’s quiet trip to Long Beach (Washington), this week is a little more hectic, since it’s VEGAS, BABY!

Salamander stayed the night at my place since it’s an early flight (because we are all cheap, and this was the cheap flight) with DancingBear showing up at 6am for our Uber to the airport.

Bit of a clusterfuck boarding the plane – that or most of the plane was MVPGold and higher – might be since I saw one of the wine shop customers in line (and on the plane in my favorite seat).

DancingBear and I were across the aisle in the Exit Row (nope, not even an upgrade to Premium for me), which Salamander in the back. We were on three different reservation numbers, and the three of us in one row would just be a bad idea.

Picked up the rental car with me as a second driver, and since we were too early to check in, it was off to lunch at the Black Bear Diner (even though they don’t have a bar) for lunch. And not a small lunch. I got the Rueben (very good):

Salamander, the Hot Turkey Mess (I mean Sandwich):

DancingBear got the Turkey Sandwich with avocado and cranberry:

Stocked up at the liquor store for the week and beyond, then headed to the WorldMark Las Vegas Boulevard to see if our room was ready – it only being 1pm, I was pleasantly surprised when it was available.

Here are lots of pool shots which is where we headed after stocking the fridge:

Salamander didn’t spend much time poolside as he prefers to go to the strip to watch people. Fortunately, he tends to make it back home in time for food, which tonight, DancingBear is making Chicken Marsala from scratch:

We eat well while we are on the road – this is breakfast the next morning:

Sadly, I’d eaten half before I got the camera out. Even our lunch outs are fun…

Tuesday was errand day. DancingBear needed sandals, but ended up with sandals, tennis shoes, and a new jumper. I was shopping for cheap cloth napkins since the unit didn’t come with an, and I forgot to pack mine. Almost bought this:

Tonight, we are having guests for dinner. The Colonels are in town from Kentucky, which is why we are here this particular week – got the table set up for the five of us:

Tonight’s dinner:

Our final day in Vegas, Salamander went back to the strip and DancingBear and I headed to Red Rock Canyon National Conversation Area, not far from Vegas. He even had his National Parks pass with him!

I didn’t get the picture stitched together very well, but you get the point:

This park is just a beautiful drive….

Yes, that’s a Bentley ragtop.

A four-wheel-drive Mercedes Sprinter:

And a Polaris Slingshot:

And you can even get a Nevada plate featuring Red Rock Canyon…

After all the activity, it was lunch time.

Not the best lunch food or service wise, so I’d avoid John Cutter. ONE waitress for the entire inside and outside.

Both DancingBear’s wrap and my ½ Philly Cheese Steak came with a side salad – which we boxed and took home for dinner.

And our sunset from the walkway to our unit:

And said dinner:

Not bad for leftovers!

Another early morning finds us back at the airport – at the lounge partner I didn’t know about before this trip, and what a lounge it is!

Yep, it’s morning, no one is quite awake.

At least I got into Premium for the ride home, DancingBear missed it by one row, and Salamander was almost back by the bathrooms. Maybe I should link are reservations next time to see if I can get up all better seats.

Home to work a five-day shift – a rarity.

[225.0]

Wed
24
Oct '12

In The Air With SalamanderHellbender.

A lazy morning around the house being all packed an all – left at 12:45 to run to the shop to drop off two loaves of bread (sent one home with Lucas last night), picked up a check, stuck it an envelope and popped it in the mail, then off to pick up SalamanderHellbender.

Poor Salamander. I moved him from 22C (aisle seat) to 6B – next to me in 6C, and then 4 hours before flight time they upgraded me and by the time I’d logged on, the aisle seat was gone. At least he gets to board early with me.

Dropped the car as MasterPark now that UwayjimayaPark no longer works.

Too long at the ticket counter – apparently when they upgrade you at the last moment, after you’d checked in, suddenly the system wants a flight coupon, not an e-ticket. I’d call that a bug.

They moved the PRE-screened line to Check Point 2, but I wouldn’t be able to use it without abandoning Blair so we went the Check Point 1’s First Class line… mistake, should have used Check Point 2’s First Class line…. Slow, slow, slow. Lesson learned (and good for those not having special access as well).

Eventually through the line and into the Board Room – I think Blair might be ruined for travel without the speed lines, free drinks, free food.

At LAS (airport code for Las Vegas) it was off to the rental car center to see what the Thrifty “Wild Card” car was…. Mercury Marquis – a big white whale for a big white male in Vegas (and one skinnier one). So far so good.

Not so good at check-in as they demanded a $10 a night up-charge for two queens rather than one king (our Wyndham host will hear about that tomorrow) – though that is a funny concept, the two queens needing two queens.

Up to the room for a cocktail before heading out to try and find reasonably prices, reasonably quantitied food in Vegas. What am I thinking, this is Vegas. Hence, the nacho platter that we wisely decided to split:

For scale – that is a WATER GLASS to the left of the plate. SalamanderHellbender and I stuffed ourselves and still took home TWO take home boxes and left some on the plate. Yikes. And not really a good idea at 10pm at night but we were famished.

So, we are staying at the Paris Las Vegas, and I’m thinking it’s starting to get a little “tatty”, the paint on the balloon out front is starting to fade, I’ve got photos of minor upkeep issues in our room, though it does have a lovely view of the planes taking off.

The faux Eiffel Tower – which apparently as part of the package we get to go up in. And SalamanderHellbender on the main Rue (street) inside the complex:

Yes, that’s an inside shot – complete with faux blue cloud ceiling.

That’s it for tonight. Back to the room for the news and David Letterman

[212.2] Which won’t be helped by those nachos.

Fri
26
Oct '12

Hoover Dam And The Eiffel Tower.

All In One Day.

Salamander and I actually made it out of the hotel a little after 9 for our drive to Hoover Dam. I’d done the tunnel tour a couple of times – and LONG ago (pre-9/11) did the Hard Hat Tour (think I still have the hardhat).

Here are some of the shots from the dam tour. Salamander Blair and I atop the visitor center:

The power house on the Nevada side – the Arizona side has a mirrored set.

A set of aluminum doors in a serious deco style to go with the miles of terrazzo floors, some of which are inlaid with patterns:

More examples of the Itailian craftsmanship that was part of the WPA depression-era worker’s relief program.

Sorry about the people shadows on the terrazzo electrical outlet above. Cool work though.

Here is a final shot of the damn from the road that is now closed to through traffic:

We swung through Boulder City to do a little antiquing (I got a couple of license plates) and then through the closed Railroad Museum (only open weekends):

Then it was back to the city to try and track down gay bars for Salamander – we found them, but only by getting ourselves tied up in traffic. Maybe next trip as it’s a bit of a walk (about a mile) from the hotel.

After a couple of drinks in the room (MUCH CHEAPER than drinking out), we are off to the Eiffel Tower attraction here a Paris Las Vegas – it’s dark by the time we get up there to use our free ($8.00 value each) tickets that were part of the package – and the views are stunning:

My final comments about Vegas is the size of the “to-go” cups – and trust me, this is a SMALL one.

We wondered the strip in search of dinner and stumbled across LobsterME where Salamander had the Lobster and Waffles, and for me, the clam chowder (they were out of the Lobster Bisque and the Lobster/Bay Shrimp Ceviché) and the Lobster Mac and Cheese. Too many carbs, but that mac and cheese was damn fine.

Of course we had to get the giant lobster filled with Long Island Ice Tea which was really too sweet – until we got back to the room and cut it with vodka and ice.

Me, I’m in for the night – sensory overload from Vegas.

And we are up early to fly home.

[? ? ?]

Thu
25
Oct '12

Sin City.

First Full Day.

SalamanderHellbender wandered the strip while I slept in. It was a little after 10 when I wandered beyond the walls of this particular fantasy land.

And it must be somebodies fantasy land because it’s 10am in the morning and people are wandering around with mini-Coronas in their hand – not to mention the plastic Eiffel towers filled with strawberry daiquiris.

Met up with Salamander in front of Walgreens (checked the Evan Williams index, $24.99, same as Oregon, $6-8 more than California) and we strolled for a bit – he found the location of Krave, a seriously upscale gay-bar that they probably won’t let us in as we aren’t hip enough:

At 11 it was time for a little food for me (Salamander had a light breakfast so he needed food as well). Off to Pinks, the legendary LA-based Hot Dog stand in the Planet Hollywood Complex around the corner. I call all these places “complexes” because casino gambling is such a part of their business.

I had the Ruben Dog (hot dog, grilled pastrami, Swiss, sauerkraut), Salamander had the regular chili dog. Not bad. Wouldn’t mind trying the original one in LA next time I through.

Here are some random shots from the strip starting with the front of our hotel:

Like I said, the paint on the ballon is fading.

And other random shots:

No crossing the street at ground level on the Strip – pedestrian overhead walkways everywhere.

And for that afternoon snack – how to reheat nachos in a hotel room (without using the iron, though I thought about that):

5pm will find us a Mon Ami Gabi for an early dinner courtesy of the Wyndham “Adventure” – you’ll get the report tomorrow.

You will also get the report on how SalamanderHellbender fares tonight getting into Krave – I’ve decided to bag going out for GoGo Boys.

Apparently I’m not Sin City material.

[? ? ?]

Sat
26
Jan '13

Busy Day At The Shop.

And Then The Fat Ladies Sang.

Opened the shop today after a lovely shrimp omelet:

Well, that’s the omelet in process. Wish I’d had some cheese.

Realized have way to the shop that I’d forgotten my opera clothes which means going back home to change before the 5:30pm restaurant reservation at Bhan Thai. Damn.

Tasting was very busy with the bottles barely lasting until 4 – only one quiet 15 minute period during the 2-4 tasting, and another big group showed up at 4:15 and I needed to leave at 4:30 to make this opera clothes change happen.

But then the world changed. Got out the door on time, but even before I got to Martin Luther King at the bottom of the hill Wonderfool was on the phone cancelling. He’s dealing with the sudden death of a friend (and employer if I remember correctly). Great.

Got Salamander on the phone, which he usually turns off over the weekend to see if he could be ready in 10 minutes to go to dinner and the opera… he said yes, didn’t even ask what the opera was (which is Cinderella). Here are a couple of publicity shots:

This would definitely be “opera buffa” which basically means comedic opera: light, fluffy, the opposite of anything Wagner wrote.

Dinner before was good, though they forgot the appetizer and the mains came out ten minutes apart, and they charge separately for rice – guess it’s time for a TripAdvisor review.

Plenty of time to get to the opera, like an hour early, which meant more cocktails.

Only nodded off once. Salamander gently nudged me when I started snoring.

A fun evening.

[214.2]

Fri
1
May '09

Dinner For Two Turns Into Dinner For Three And Party For Four.

Well, what was to be a quiet dinner for two, Salamander and I, turned noisy when Wonderful called up to invite me to dinner, but got himself invited instead.

Dinner was a standing rib roast, boneless, with salad and fresh bread. It being a sunny day/evening, it was dinner al fresco in the breeze…

And then Missy shows up and the party begins… all this from what was going to be a quiet evening for two. Wonderful is disgusted with the booze in my cabinet and goes out and stocks up on:

  • Half a Gallon of Vodka
  • A Fifth of Tanqueray
  • A Fifth of Triple Sec
  • A Fifth of Cosmopolitan mix

None of it is left. Just kidding half the vodka, triple sec and cosmo mix, all the lemon juice and most of a Papaya are gone. Oh, and a glass is gone, a victim of knifes falling into the sink.

Oh well, a good time was had by all — and Salamander got a ride home saving him an hour and a half bus ride — the reason he doesn’t come to dinner often.

[221.3]

Fri
3
Jan '14

Random Thoughts While Organizing.

So, putting together the papers for my upcoming trips I come across a confirmation code that amuses me:

UXXXRX

So, does this translate into “You Need Porno And Drugs”?

It’s for my trip to Cali in a couple of weeks for a cruise to nowhere.

As for the day – getting closer to getting the new “bar” done:

But the main compressor died, and then the nail gun – time for a Harbor Freight run… two actually. Tonight for the new compressor, to learn that the gun was dead (knew the compressor was dead), and tomorrow for a new finish nailer. But picked up a ceiling mounted electric reel for 25% off (plus the 10% markdown). Might have to pick up a couple more of those – they are handy.

So, another week or so…and I’ve figured out some nice walnut trim for it – left over from the Capital Hill house.

And cleaned and refilled the hot tub – let’s hope the heater unit still works:

Hopefully it will be hot for Salamander Hellbender of Sunday and Jameson on Thursday.

[206.0]

Thu
1
Sep '22

Trip Report: Mountainous Mileage Run

Time to go back to racking up status for 2023 – and off to Juneau on the milk-run go I. This route used to be serviced by a “combi” which had the first 15 rows removed to make room for cargo. Now, it’s just a standard 737, but with 3 stops between Seattle and Juneau. I took it for old-time sake.

I actually found my post from December 2009, it is here. Had to dig up the pictures since they were stored on a server that is no longer active, so I’ll just put the pictures here:

No windows up front, and from the inside, there is a moveable bulkhead at row 15:

And should the pilot or co-pilot need something from the back, the can open a little door and pass it through.

These days the plane looks like this:

Started the day off with the usual in the lounge. Caesar (a Canadian Bloody Mary with Clamato), everything bagel – but now they also have scrambled eggs and sausage. NICE ADDITION.

No First-Class upgrade, but at least I’m in Premium (extra legroom and free booze):

It’s an hour and a half flight to the first stop, which is Ketchikan.

There is time to get off the plane (and buy a postcard), and see the airport:

Seems to be a thing in Alaska airports.

So, on the first leg there was drink service – nothing more than water and CheeZits at each of the next stops.

Here are the flight times:

  • Ketchikan = 1.5 hours
  • Wrangle = 20 minutes
  • Petersburg = 10 minutes 
  • Juneau = 30 minutes 

Next stop Wrangell, where my friend Salamander was raised (miserably, apparently):

Then Petersburg where we maybe go to 2,000 feet above land. No getting off as you’d have to go back through security.

And then onto Juneau, with some nice scenery along the way:

More animals in the airport in Juneau…

And then to grab the shuttle to the Travelodge:

Needless to say, stock photo as it was overcast and drizzly.

Fortunately, this was a points stay, because, well, this is what $200 a night gets you in Alaska. And the view – apparently there is a glacier in the distance:

That said, because of the flight schedule into/out of Juneau, it’s a 24-hour hotel shuttle. Other notable features are an on-site Mexican restaurant, and several MASSIVE freezers to store the fish you caught so you can fly it home.

This will give you an idea a where the airport is located – and they do offer a free shuttle to downtown…

When I say 24-hours, here are the flights south to Seattle for a typical day…

  • 1:30am
  • 5:20am
  • 7:10am (1-stop)
  • 8:20am
  • 10:24am(1-stop)
  • 1:06pm (3-stop milk run)
  • 1:10pm
  • 6:28pm
  • 10:24pm

That’s a lot of flights – and it’s a good thing since I decided I didn’t want to take the milk run home. At check-in online, they let me choose a different flight (and still get Premium seating, though a middle seat). It left 5 minutes earlier than my old flight but got in 3 hours earlier.

And the kicker is that a couple of hours before departure, they upgraded me to First-Class! Elite status has its perks.

And it being the window, more scenic shots.

And coming into Seattle….

A fun, odd couple of days in a metal tube.

[194.8]

For more blog posts, click here.

Sun
30
Oct '16

Trip Report: Bay Area For A Couple Of Nights

It was February the last time that I was in the Bay Area – I travel so much I had to look it up!

This trip I have one night in the city and two nights with The Boys (Lunetta and Onyx).

Overcast, but a nice day to fly – not my plane, but a recent delivery in the Boeing 100th anniversary livery:

Got the lucky upgrade to first on the way down – not aisle, but bulkhead:

Which means food…

And views:

This is Point Reyes coming into SFO:

The first night I’m staying just off Union Square and connecting with my buddy, Moody, who I haven’t see in a year.

This is the place that Salamander has booked for his birthday in the spring – though I booked him on the top floor which doesn’t have elevator access – you have to walk the last flight at the back of the building:

These are two places I’m sure he’ll want to check out since he’s a writer:

But he’ll probably spend all his time here:

Or Chinatown:

All are mere blocks from the condo.

Had dinner with Moody at Cesario Brasserie which had a 10% off discount from the condo. Oddly, they didn’t have a full bar, but they did have a Sochu (24% alcohol by volume Korean) Martini. Yes, a Korean-based drink in an Italian Restaurant. I’m a little surprised that two of the restaurants we looked at going to didn’t have a full bar (neither did the Saloon from my last visit).

Moody had the Lasagna, which was massive and “food coma” worthy – I went with the starter of mussels, sopping up all the juice with the bread. Oddly, no food pictures. Guess we were too engaged to get out phones.

He had an early morning, so alas, no sleepover which meant I stayed up late knowing I could sleep in

Got out of the unit just before noon and headed to my usual lunch spot, Maru Sushi:

And my lunch Bento:

Having left my bags at the front desk, my destination after lunch was a KLM pop-up store front…apparently they have just started SFO-AMS direct service – they even had a babe on the corner with signal lights:

And free coffee drinks (and water, and key chains):

And a working business class demonstration – though no entertainment system:

.

A fun way to kill some time before heading back to the condo, picking up the bags and heading to Berkeley on BART.

Tonight’s dinner is a duck/mushroom soup (yum) with a little white wine…nothing fancy, just tasty:

And Lunetta even made me a cruise ship bed:

Today’s agenda involves checking our one of our distributors (North Berkeley Imports), picking up a bottle of bubbles while there.

We actually have a customer that calls and picks up her Wine Club curbside – didn’t know other folks did that as well. Nor have I ever seen such a specific time amount on a parking sign:

Then off to The Berkeley Bowl for tonight’s meal – marinated black cod, salad, bread joined by Devon and Alicia.

But first, the rosé bubbles that I brought.

Luckily the black cod is rich enough to stand up the 2007 Château Nuef du Pape that Devon brought! So much for the magnum of Bonny Doon Vin Gris rosé I’d brought with me.

It was a fun evening – and sadly I have to head to the airport in the morning.

No upgrade to First Class on the way home, I’m 7th down the list – but I do have access to the Singapore Business Class Lounge – I chose my flight specifically to be in the lounge when the noodle bar is open:

Hard not to love this lounge. But alas, I have to fly away – only had an hour to stuff myself before snuggling into Seat 6D.

Maybe next time I’ll get lucky – though the mid-day flight is ALWAYS packed.

[220.4]

Fri
24
Jun '16

Trip Report: Greek Reunion – Part Four, Athens Culture

In the midst of all this shopping, churches, LOTS of churches. This one is basically across the street from the hotel:

While this one is next to the Hadrian’s Library archeological site:

Speaking of Hadrian’s Library – paid a visit in homage to my mother (a librarian) and Salamander (a bibliophile):

Pretty amazing place (4 Euro Entrance Fee – and they try and upsell you to the combo ticket for the Acropolis and the rest of Empire):

Mind you, this is just a block beyond the Metro station – keep going and you’d hit The Agora and the Acropolis. Easily walkable, but be warned – it’s a hell of a hike UP to the Acropolis. I bitched as a 20-year-old, not even thinking about it pushing 60. And showing up early to beat the crowds means your crowds are hordes of ill-mannered pushy Asian tourists.

Also included in this site is a small museum with a winged Nike with one foot on the globe, as if landing (well, what is left of her):

Along with other fragments:

These two small pieces amused me – a clay tobacco pipe and a carved bone tobacco pipe tool ala Swiss Army Knife:

To me, the most interesting things are the murals and tilework that still partially remain at the site…

…and how they have partially restored some steps and columns to give you an idea of what this would have looked like originally:

This all takes me back to my Evergreen State College days when I took a summer course, “The Art History of Ancient Rome and Greece” with Gordon Beck. Once I return to the states I’ll see if I can dig up the guidebooks we make for the 6-week trip and post the Athens section.

Athens is getting broken up into more and more parts – stay tuned for more of the unfolding adventure!

[? ? ?]

If you got to this post from a direct FaceBook link, you can find more adventures of Uncle Markie at http://blog.unclemarkie, from newest to oldest. Happy exploring.

Wed
25
May '16

Trip Report: Overnight On The Crown Princess With Friends

Another week, another trip – this one is an overnight that has been made VERY easy thanks to Punch (and Jon) because they rented a one-way SUV from Seattle to the Vancouver Cruise Terminal. And I got to sleep in the far back seat the whole way (other than the border)!

We were in the regular lane because only two of us have the gilded “Nexus” card to speed entry into Canadaland – but it wasn’t too bad.

Compared to the lines to check-in, security screening, passport control. There were three boats at the terminal – maximum capacity, and they FINALLY seem to have figured it out. Not much waiting, and if so, chairs. Of course Punch (who had to return the rental car) actually found the Global Entry line as wasn’t much further behind us.

But before lone (hour start to finish, which with three boats is AMAZING), we are checked in, on board, and still have time for a sit-down lunch rather than dealing with the masses at the buffet:

I did a combination of breakfast (eggs benedict) and lunch (insalada caprese) – and that would be a Manhattan in the background.

We’d dropped bags – between the five of us, we have three rooms. Punch and Jon in one (not sure size), Salamander and I in theory sharing an inside cabin, and DancingBear with a balcony that I’m sharing with him. I should have kept my mini-suite (Barb, my travel agent for cruises, questioned my judgement considering how cheap it was – and she was correct). But the view from the balcony isn’t bad:

Like I said, there were three boats in port, here is the Oceania across the terminal:

And leaving port:

Guess we could have taken the float plane to Seattle!

But this looks more comfortable:

And the surroundings:

That would be the Loin’s Gate Bridge in Vancouver, BC, and me almost under it!

Random scenic shots from the one-night cruise:

No LGBT on the Princess Patter Schedule tonight – DISAPPOINTING since I know there are 30+ aboard. Yep – it went on the Princess Comment Form.

I was full from an afternoon snack, so we skipped dinner and joined up with the gang for the “Magic” show:

No show is complete without cocktails!

Or entertainers!

But hunger caught up with me (and others) later…ROOM SERVICE. Not sure we needed SEVEN entrees at midnight….

But somehow they all went away…

The morning found me in pain – food overdose, too much booze – and a mandatory “breakfast” with the rest of the boys. The concept is that it’s a better dollar/value proposition is you get three sit-down meals rather than two. Luckily, the pain of disembarkation was minimal, the cab ride back to DancingBear’s place fairly painless, the traffic light, and the 2.5 hour nap before work, WONDERFUL.

I might be losing my taste for these overnight cruises – even if they do fill my mini-bar for free and give me $75 in on-board credit (paid for the four bottles of duty-free).

[214.0]

Sat
23
Apr '16

Trip Report: Puget Sound Circle Tour

You never know when you book several weeks out what the weather is going to be like. This time I lucked out.

This trip started because of KPop – Korean Pop music which I know nothing about, but the 13-year-old daughter of a friend is nuts about it. During a random conversation at the shop, it was mentioned that the 19th was said daughter’s birthday, and that she’d already gotten her birthday present in advance (a different KPop concert), but her actual birthday her favorite band was playing in Vancouver. As a surprise in case the parents relented, I booked a two-bedroom at the WorldMark Vancouver that just happened to be available.

In the end, they couldn’t make the date work, and rather than cancel the room, I decided to keep it for myself and string it along with a couple of other nights – and this was the result:

Day One – WorldMark Seattle – The Camlin

I already had the Camlin booked for this year’s scholarship reading party (part two), so after work it was setting up the nibbles for the readers (Salamander, Roxy, Courtney, Mr. Whippet, Jonathan and Rodney). Here is what the results were:

And all of us hard at work!

It wouldn’t be a post of mine without a couple of shots of the rest of the two-bedroom unit…

Day Two – WorldMark Victoria

The morning found me up early – off to an 8:30am “Owner ReEducation” presentation that “promised” to me an “information” session rather than a “don’t you want to get to the next level” hard sell. I agreed to an hour (for a $100 AMEX card), which was taken up with the information part, leaving no time for the hard sell since I had a ferry to catch to get to the next WorldMark…

Yes, that would be my ferry – and below, arriving at Bainbridge Island – I love the Olympics in the background of both these photos:

It was a good thing that I made a reservation on the Coho Ferry – I didn’t get to the terminal until a little after 1pm for a 2pm sailing because the rarely opened Hood Canal Bridge was OPEN, delaying my about half an hour. As you can see, I’m at the end of the line:

They even managed to get all the standby cars on!

And me looking grim with the mountains in the background…

Goodbye United States…

Hello Canada! Victoria, British Columbia to be precise.

Got all checked in – here is the view:

Since Courtney liked the video in a previous post I put a video here of the inside of the unit:

So far, I’ve had two-bedroom units, and no one to share them with – tonight, none of my Victoria peeps have the time to hang and have dinner. Sigh. I did get to see Royce since he is a checker at the Thrifty grocery store where I shop. Came back with a steak and a salad (and a view):

I do love the WorldMark Victoria – think it is my favorite of all the WorldMark Resorts.

Day Three – WorldMark Vancouver

Another day, another ferry ride. Had a reservation for this one as well, but it was only 25% full (MUCH larger boat). But the reservation did get me onto the boat before those without. A nice perk:

And it was a beautiful day for a ferry ride:

A slight hiccup checking in at the WorldMark Vancouver – I’d forgotten to change the name on the reservation – it was still in Courtney’s name – luckily as the owner, it was OK once they found the correct paperwork.

Here is the WorldMark Vancouver unit:

At least on this stop I have company for dinner:

The 2-bedroom at the WorldMark Vancouver is described as “Compact – No Dining Room” – which means eating on TV tables – but look how we made a table! Whole splayed (flattened) chicken, salad, rosé – though Epick and Tom weren’t drinking – Sebastian and I MORE than made up for them, also killing off a good portion of a bottle of whiskey as well. My kind of boy!

Our rosé…

Not bad – I’d buy it again. And again, nobody to fill the second bedroom on this stop either.

Day Four – WorldMark Birch Bay

Out of the unit at noon – US bound. Stopped at Duty Free – 10% off because of my Nexus Card, plus the 25% off because of the exchange rate – it’s like they like paying me to drink!

Got to the condo around 2pm – room wasn’t ready, but they weren’t full so they moved me to a unit that was clean – which was 308:

Not bad views:

That would be the sun going down over Birch Bay – I was here two weeks ago and we stayed with a MUCH better view (and it was available, but do I REALLY need 3-bedrooms and a hot tub just for me?)

Had a late lunch next door at The Shores – yes, a Rueben. Not the best but pretty good, didn’t realize it came with fries, would have ordered a side salad – because, yes, I ate all the fries:

What I couldn’t believe was a BRAND NEW BBQ on the deck – never used!

No company tonight – though it was on the agenda. Luckily I’m fine with flying solo.

Next time I think I might add the WorldMark Discovery Bay (east of Port Angeles) and one or both of the WorldMark Whistler resorts into the Circle Tour.

[216.2]

Fri
19
Feb '16

Trip Report: Winter Break With Bliss – The Beginning

One of my self-serving pay-it-forward (can you actually do that?) is to put together trips for friends (and me) who are of more limited means – example – friends of mine who are teachers, lower level office workers, etc. This week’s trip is for my buddy, Bliss, who is on winter break from the school where he teaches IB (International Bachelorette) English to high school kids. Talk about a 12-hour-a-day job plus weekends grading all those college-level papers you’ve assigned.

He needs a break. And it doesn’t’ start well – his alarm didn’t go off. Luckily (for me) we are:

  1. Travelling separately to the airport
  2. On different record locator for our flights

Luckily I’d been texting him my progress through the morning and he finally got a clue it was time to get out of the house – and he’s a SLOW one in that regard. That said, I can chill in the Board Room. If he misses his flight, he can try for the Tuesday flight. Breakfast is served! Well, OK, it was self-serve with the exception of the Red Baron, which they have to make:

Followed by one of their world-famous Bloody Marys:

He finally made it with just enough time to slam down two drinks – which he’ll need since he’s in coach and I snagged an upgrade to my favorite seat (1C). Funny thing happened at the end of the boarding process – a customer from the shop (Madrona Wine Merchants) went flying down the aisle with her daughter in tow. Later I can to find out that her daughter noticed me and said to mom, “The think I just saw our wine guy sitting in First Class.” Bliss used miles (plus I think $5 or something like that for a ticketing/tax fee), I had a $138 one-way ticket – which when you end up in First Class for the non-stop Seattle to Albuquerque isn’t bad.

Nor was lunch:

It was only a two-hour flight, but it was nice to get a hot sandwich (and a couple of cocktails).

Landed, grabbed bags, grabbed the shuttle to the Rental Car Center (I hate those things – a giant time sink), got what they call an economy car (Nissan Altima with Bluetooth phone connection) and off to Santa Fe we head. With a stop at Albertsons where I picked up four half gallons of Evan Williams and two fifths of Swedka Vodka, a six-pack of Vernors, and a twelve-pack of Canada Dry Diet Ginger Ale – Bliss picked up six (count ’em six) bottle of Jose Cuervo Cinnamon Infused Tequila, which he likes, and was on closeout, and got an additional 10% for buying six (as did I).

To save on expenses we are staying with my sis-in-law who is married to my bro-in-law. How that works is that she is my dead brother’s widow, and Kennan is her husband. It’s amazing to me that this extended family likes each other, actually loves each other, warts and all – and enough to have me AND a friend stay over.

Tonight’s dinner is:

Minus the dressing step which makes me want a crock pot – guess I should forward this to Salamander and DancingBear, who do have crock pots.

Beautiful sunset before dinner:

Watched the Academy Awards and the Pruett/Souder/Girdner clan headed to their usual early bed.

Slept in, and then it was off for some sightseeing that included hiking (yes, I said HIKING)

I was surprised that on a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of February that the parking lot would be close to capacity!

Best fuel ourselves up with a Green Chile Cheeseburger at the gift/snack shop at Bandelier National Monument:

Messy but good! I feel a Trip Advisor review coming on.

As I do every couple of years I decided to purchase the yearly National Parks Pass which has some useless name like “The Inter-Agency Multiple Park Pass”. The real name is Interagency Annual Pass (aka The America The Beautiful Pass) – but here it hangs on my rear view mirror. It was $80, but the entrance fee to Bandelier was $20, so all I have to do is visit Rainier (where a car is $30) a couple of times and it will have paid for itself. I find it odd that the individual park entrance fees have gone up, but not the price of the pass. I try to buy my passes at the smaller national monuments because they get to keep a chunk of the pass money and they need all the help they can get.

Bad shot, but you get the idea – I put this on mostly for my buddy Sierra who is a park ranger. Speaking of which, he is at Denali this summer – might have to use the pass again up there!

I’ve been to Bandelier many times but this is a first for Bliss – a lovely day for a light hike:

It’s a pretty amazing place just an hour twenty minutes from Santa Fe, very close to Los Alamos if you want to combine a trip – no time for us this round.

Got back to the house in time for cocktail hour before Jen and Kennan got home from work to make Ginger Scented Shrimp (sorry, no recipe or picture). And then after dinner drinks:

I guess we know where my priorities lay…

Up earlier the second morning in Santa Fe – want to hit a museum or two before we leave for Albuquerque in the afternoon. But first, breakfast at Tia Sopia’s just off the plaza. Bliss had the Wednesday Breakfast Special (quesadilla) and I had the Green Chili Stew with flour tortilla:

Tia Sopia’s is just across the street from the Lensic Theatre where my mother often saw shows:

Bliss really wants to see and original Shakespeare
Folio at one of the museums – it takes us two museums to actually find it – both pretty much on the plaza of Santa Fe – and both members of the North American Reciprocal program which I got because of my Tacoma Art Museum membership (see blog post here on what I saw and why I joined).

The Folio itself was not terribly inspiring…

And the rest of the surrounding exhibition looked like an afterthought – they should have combined the two exhibits (there was peripheral materials at the New Mexico History Museum), but it was nice to spend some time downtown…

After the musems, it was time to return to Albuquerque, and because we had the time, stop by the Gruet Winery for some bubbles! Some of you will remember my post from December on the sparkling house the Gruet built. I didn’t even have business cards with me this trip but we managed to get the production manager to AGAIN give a tour – when I found out the disgorgement line was running I got super excited. This is the process where they freeze the necks of the bottles and blow out all the yeast before adding back a little wine and sugar to get the bubbles going.

And then onto popping the corks, refilling, and cork/wire/label:

So fun to see the process in action – and so fun to taste the results!

The unlabeled bottle is of a “no dosage” Rose sparkler – the advantages of being in the business is you get to sometimes taste “experiments”. I highly recommend stopping by for a visit if you are in Albuquerque.

They even have a little museum of old champagne equipment:

But we are on a schedule – next up is to find some distilled water for Bliss’ C-PAP machine, grab lunch (the Sonic Burger joint does a Green Chili Cheeseburger that is REALLY good), gas up the car and return it to the airport – did I mention gas is cheap in New Mexico?

Dropped the rental car and hailed an Uber for the trip to the train station with our many bags and boxes.

Next up, the train from Albuquerque to Seattle via Los Angeles.

[? ? ?]

Sun
31
Jan '16

Trip Report:

Pigletté In Vietnam –

Seventh Leg: Saïgon Museums & Markets, First Day

Just a reminder to those readers arriving here from FaceBook. Links from FaceBook
are a direct link to this post, so you miss the previous posts. You can see all the posts by either clicking on the UMTravels banner, or HERE.

Sean took Monday and Tuesday off so those are out museum days…and with him working Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be making my wondering tours of his neighborhood. Who know where food will end of in this.

First up Is a little breakfast – turns about its cracked rice and chicken – should be a nice base for a day of sightseeing.

Maybe I should have had something other than tea — morning cocktails were $1.50 – were is Magnatroia when you need him!

Next up is a little shopping at one of the oldest Colonial-style
markets left in Saïgon. That would be Bến Thành Market

Getting there through Saïgon traffic is what we need to do first. More on that in the next post, but here is a preview (next post will have scary traffic videos). I’m in the bitch seat on Sean’s scooter wearing a Hello Kitty helmet. It goes with my Hello Kitty watch.

I’ve been to markets like this around the world – lots of touts hawking their wears – I did see an interesting domino set for Salamander – but no real time to look/bargain/haggle – just not into the markets as I once was. Just show me a price, that’s all I want.

I did see some humorous shirts I’ve have gotten if I didn’t know that they would last one washing.

Next up was to swing by the post office – Sean
had wanted stamps, but the lines made it hard – no stamps, but another cool old colonial-style
building.

Across the street is one of the Cathedrals in town:

Alas it being noon, the church wasn’t open to the public, so we settled on one of the oldest Indian-based Hindu Shrine around the corner. Apparently the original member-base were all Indian bank workers.

As mot much is open for lunch, so off to a coffee shop for tea, blood orange bubbly, free Wi-Fi, and clean bathrooms.

Rested, cooled off, relieved we next check into the Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace.
It was a time building that my friend Russ really needs to see – I’m surprised the North didn’t just level it after the war, instead, they turned it into a time-capsule.


It feels like a monument to late 60’s design – love some of the rooms:

And my favorite – the game room with bar…

I think Jill would like this room as well…or maybe the theatre with its chairs:

They even preserved the projection booth:

And if you needed to get out in a hurry, grab a Huey from the roof:

Under fire and can’t get out on the chopper – head to the bunker:

And when the attack is over, have company over and have the catering kitchen whip up a meal – yes, I had kitchen envy:

On the grounds there are examples of the rogue South Vietnam plane that bombed the Independence Palace (a pilot switched sides), that has a black “X” over the country logo:

And one of the tanks that stormed the palace:

Totally museum’d out for day, it’s off for a city tour…Graham Greene wrote “The Quiet American” in this bar of the Hotel Continental, across from the Opera House:

Said Opera House:

Last tourist stop of the day is the top of the tallest building in Vietnam to have a drink. They devote the lowest floor of parking just to scooters!

It was a little convoluted to get to the bar – query the front counter (it’s a mall and food court for the first couple of floors), take an escalator to the reservations desk, be escorted to the elevator to the reception desk on 50, put on another elevator to the 51st) – all to get to a fairly tacky bar with a killer view:

With expensive drinks – by Vietnam standards:

I had a Manhattan – decent ingredient selection, but 220,000 Dong –$9.89 USD, and it was Bulleit Bourbon (I’d have preferred their rye). Plus, add 5% service charge and 10% VAT and you are really at $10.04 a drink. Much more than the $1.50 per cocktail advertised at the restaurant we had breakfast in.

Sean had a beer – also overpriced:

But there is the view:

And the Heliport…

Done with cocktails it’s time to head back to the apartment – I’m meeting up with Ming who I met online. The plan is drinks and appetizers at the apartment which means a run to the “supermarket” around the corner for supplies. Meet Ming – medical equipment salesman:

Never did get a proper meal, but I did check out the Yacht Club Scotch!

It’s “old”, though I doubt as “olde” as me.

[219.6]

Wed
8
Oct '14

Status Update: New Year’s Resolutions

For those long time readers you might remember my New Year’s Resolutions…if you’ve forgotten, it’s here: https://blog.unclemarkie.com/2014/01/01/new-years-resolutions/

So, how am I coming on these goals?

  • Achieve Million Miler Status on United Airlines, which will give me United Premier Gold status for life for me and a significant other (accepting applications).
  • Achieve Elite Status On Princess Cruises, which will give me these lifetime benefits when cruising with Princess:
  • Achieve Alaska MVP Gold status by match (applied for at 12:15am) and keep it for next year by flying 40,000 flight miles. Benefits?
  • Reduce blog posts to only the interesting stuff, rather than the day-to-day stuff that I’ve been doing for the last five years – unless there is an outcry from the readers. That said, don’t expect a post until Sunday when I’m packing for my Bay Area trip and having Salamander Hellbender to dinner.
  • Get some more “billable hours” to quit sucking down my 401K. Have a lead on another “registered agent” gig.
  • Not piss off my business partner

For the benefits associated with each of the top three, go to the original post.

United Million Mile status (Gold For Life!):

Princess Elite (Black Card) status:

And Alaska MVP Gold status:

That covers all the status goals… and I still have a few more flights for the year:

  • Next week Sacramento r/t that I picked up for $96.20 to see Jameson
  • End of the month an Albuquerque r/t that I picked up when Alaska announced their new flights. $218.00 with double miles (three times for me being MVP Gold) to visit Mom
  • First week of November a 4-night cruise so flying to LA for $198.20
  • And I want to take one more train trip this year so that will be a one-way flight someplace.

As for the last three New Year’s Goals?

  • Kept blog posting to travel or event related stuff rather than day-to-day
  • Have picked up a few more billable hours… gained one and lost one this week but the one I gained pays more
  • Business Partner is still alive so that means we haven’t killed each other, and it’s worked its way into a comfortable situation.

Well, there’s my year-to-date report.

[224.4]

Wed
1
Jan '14

New Year’s Resolutions.

I’m not much of a believer in New Year’s Resolutions, so I’m only going to list my “to-do list” for the coming year.

That list:

  • Achieve Million Miler Status on United Airlines, which will give me United Premier Gold status for life for me and a significant other (accepting applications). The benefits?
    • Economy Plus seating at time of reservation on United Airlines (extra knee room, exit rows, etc.) as opposed to Economy Minus (aka, the back of the plane)
    • Priority reservations waitlisting
    • Priority airport standby
    • Priority airport check-in – allows you to check in at the United Business® and/or United First® counter
    • Priority baggage handling – like you, your bags get priority treatment and are among the first to be unloaded
    • Extra baggage allowance – an additional 44 pounds (20 kg) or one additional piece of luggage (3 bags at 50# or two bags at 70#)
    • Priority boarding – ability to board through priority lanes and before the general boarding process.
    • Airport lounge access – available worldwide for you and a friend when you travel on an eligible Star Alliance member flight
    • 50% bonus miles on all flights
  • Achieve Elite Status On Princess Cruises, which will give me these lifetime benefits when cruising with Princess:
    • Preferred Check-in
    • Priority Ship to Shore Tender Embarkation
    • Priority Disembarkation
    • Shoe Polishing Service (do they recondition suede?)
    • Complimentary Laundry and Professional Cleaning Services (my friend Babs who has elite status takes all her dry cleaning that she need done with her)
    • Complimentary Mini Bar Setup (Woohoo! Unfortunately it’s not unlimited, first set-up only)
    • Deluxe Canapés Selection (one order per Elite stateroom, each formal night – though, since I take the smaller cruises, usually no formal nights)
    • Afternoon Tea (in your stateroom)
    • Upgraded Bathroom Amenities
    • 10% Boutique Discount
    • Complimentary Grapevine Wine Tasting (coals to Newcastle)
    • Complimentary Internet Credit (150 minutes for Platinum, think it is 300 minutes for Elite for cruised under 7 days)
  • Achieve Alaska MVP Gold status by match (applied for at 12:15am) and keep it for next year by flying 40,000 flight miles. Benefits?
    • Better free upgrade to First Class (and possible upgrades on Delta)
    • Priority boarding of flights
    • Priority check in
    • Two free checked bags
    • Free checked bags on American, Delta, and other partners
    • 100% bonus miles on all flights
    • Complimentary cocktail when I’m stuck in the back
    • And a bunch of other stuff
  • Reduce blog posts to only the interesting stuff, rather than the day-to-day stuff that I’ve been doing for the last five years – unless there is an outcry from the readers. That said, don’t expect a post until Sunday when I’m packing for my Bay Area trip and having Salamander Hellbender to dinner.
  • Get some more “billable hours” to quit sucking down my 401K. Have a lead on another “registered agent” gig.
  • Not piss off my business partner

I don’t know – but I think half a dozen “goals” is enough for anyone.

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