Slept in a bit… then walked down the street and met Helene’s boat. She just had carry-on so she was off the boat quickly.
Dump the goods, hang out for a bit with computers looking all the time like an old married couple.
Lunch was at Barb’s Fish and Chips — a Fisherman’s’ Wharf institution for 33 years. Damned good, but not that healthy. I had the calamari, which actually had some squid flavor to it. Helene had the fish and chips with a side of onion rings.
Helene worked most of the afternoon after we got back from shopping for the last bits for tonight and tomorrows dinner. Tonight is chicken — since we have the wine tour tomorrow and that will run late (and the chicken will take 1.5 hours to cook).
I had a hot tub after dinner, Helene lolled around reading. Life is so hard. I could get used to this!
Had a little time with Devon and Maggie before hitting the road for Canadaland a little after noon.
Twenty-five minute wait at the truck crossing for non-Nexus members, no wait at all for those of us with Nexus cards. Picked up a bottle of Knob Creek ($21 a liter) for cocktails tonight, though I’m sure it will only be myself and BamBam drinking the hard stuff – Helene is bringing wine, Hummingbird, dessert.
After the border, it was off to a different Safeway – my old stand-by has been closed for a new condo development. It turns out that this one is even more convenient as its just off Oak on King Edward, which then I can take to Granville. No provincial liquor store in the parking lot, but a private one.
Dinner tonight? Wild salmon steaks with herbed butter, a big salad, a loaf of bread (with crackers and spread for appetizers). There were only three steaks in the display case, so the butcher cut me four fresh ones.
Here is a shot from the condo before Helene arrived:
That would be BamBam on the left, and Hummingbird on the right.
It’s amazing number of little tasks it takes to get a house squared away. Getting closer, but still much more to do.
Helene was coming after lunch to do the next coat of varathane, but she was confused as to when Chris was headed to the airport… which is a good thing since it was almost 5pm before I got the base for the rolling day bed assembled so that I could get piles of stuff out of the way.
Will stay at the apartment tonight to let the fumes die down since Chris is winging his way to London for work. Still haven’t hauled the big bed in from the garage for the front bedroom. Maybe tomorrow.
Helene and I had dinner at the apartment — from the restaurant diagonally across the street, whose food is great but that I can never remember the name.
A lazy afternoon reading my first issue of the New Yorker on the Kindle Fire. There are a couple of problems with the New Yorker app on the Fire. Problem Number One: you can’t read it in Landscape Mode which I’d like to try, and Problem Number Two: you can’t make the typeface bigger. Other than that, you get everything that is in the physical magazine except the blow in cards.
Company started showing up a little after six for a dinner of squash (yes, two days in a row), salad, and turkey breast wrapped in prosciutto. Here is the crew after dinner:
I don’t know why it throws my whole day off to have an early dinner (like at 4:30)… changes the schedule on the rest of the day. I must be too much of a man of habits.
Of course, on the positive side it means that you can do multiple things after dinner:
Business chat with your boss
Have drinks with your co-worker and a nice young man he needs a place to stash
Rip the seams out of the fur you bought over Christmas to enlarge my wolf jacket for the Olympics
Now if I can just get the machine to sew it all back together… might have to pay a visit to Fork and borrow Lindas’s machine and skills.
Got to sleep in, a bit. Breakfast was English Muffins for me, Muffins and Miso for Helene.
Then packing and sandwich making (with all the leftovers). Too much chicken and lamb left over, so we will have an early lunch of stew (from the chicken stock I made the other day).
Out of the condo by noon (just barely) to check the luggage into the gym downstairs since the boat doesn’t leave until six.
First stop of the day is the Tilley store for Helene to by a 40th birthday present for a friend — and a couple of blouses for her next India trip for herself.
That done we are off to the Natural History Museum for the Titanic Exhibit and accompanying IMAX movie. They give you boarding cards of real passengers — and even though I was an 18-year-old in second class (how’s that for a dream!), I perished that fateful night. Helene missed the registry wall, but I’m assuming a 50-year-old woman might have had a better chance. Click Here for list of surviving passengers.
Starving, we head off to the Noodle Box for a mid-afternoon meal. Cute cooks. Then it time to start thinking about getting home. Since it’s raining, we catch the little putt putt water taxis and get a ride to the hotel next to the condos.
Check-in is a little bit of a hassle with that damn case of wine… $10US extra because it has to be hand carried on as baggage (rather than thrown into the bins). Plenty of time. No hassle with immigration and I get us window seats in the back — which we end up sharing with an Austrian couple.
Customs on the other end was amazingly simple — the guy ask if we had any alcohol and Helene said, 5 liters of wine and 750ml of cider. I was expecting to have to hassle with paying duty — but the guy just said, “Welcome Home.”
Cab to Helene’s since I was exhausted from having four meals today (we ate the sandwiches on the boat). I was so tired I didn’t even raid Helene’s liquor cabinet and was stretched out on the couch by 10:30.
Oh — and here are the pictures now that I have a real computer connection (and the upload card!):
Bless Lynne for taking us to Pier 30 this morning… it’s nice not to have to worry about that portion of the trip. Jonathan called — he’ll make his way there on his own. As will Jeff, as will Helene. If they don’t make it, they’ve already paid me for their tickets, so it’s their loss.
Curt and I are checked in, on board, and having lunch by 1:15. I opted for a salad and a toasted sandwich which makes me ask, why did I book this cruise just to eat the same things as at home — but the goal is to NOT gain a bunch of weight on this trip.
Helene and Jeff made it on board 3ish, and Jonathan barely didn’t make the boat arriving at 3:45. I prefer my more calm “let’s get as many hours out of this as possible” approach.
Cocktails and wine started flowing and by 6 we were hungry for snacks so Jonathan and Helene raided the nacho bar on the Lido deck and we prepared to have a late dinner at 8pm.
The suite is truly sweet. Would you believe a jetted tub (albeit small) in addition to a shower in the bathroom — and the deck has enough space and furniture for all five of us. I still haven’t seen the other rooms, but Helene got upgraded from an inside room to an ocean-view obstructed room — and probably twice the size of her inside one, with room for a sofa-bed as well as the king size sleeping bed.
After the 6pm snacks I opted for a light dinner of two small appetizers (seafood cakes the size of a small stack of quarters and the Thai chicken wrapped in lettuce) and a bowl of the shrimp corn chowder. Jonathan had the salmon, Wonderful and Curt the lamb shank, and Helene a Caesar salad. And then there was dessert (lemon sorbet in honor of Swanda) and an espresso.
It was a late night in the cabin after exploring the ship a bit — will do the rest tomorrow. I was surprised to find people smoking in the casino — thought everybody had gone smoke-free. But I digress — Curt is revelling in the fact that he can order an omelet at one in the morning, and does.
Got to the condo around 10AM – and check-in as at 4PM.Been there, done that. Left my name and number at the desk, went down the hall to the lounge, gathered a couple of pillows and took a 3-hour nap.
The nap done, it was off to find some lunch…and a coupon from WorldMark to make it cheaper. The choice? Relish, a European Gastropub just around the corner. The deal? 15% off food.
Got there to find the house wine, a Naked Shiraz on offer for $4 a glass, VERY cheap by Canadian standards and not a bad glass pour. I paired it with the Duck Confit tacos ($11) for a wonderful little lunch:
That put me back at the WorldMark around 2PM – room still not ready, so it’s off to the IGA Marketplace with a 10% off coupon to get the rest of the stuff we need for dinner.
Tonight’s dinner guests are Solus+ and Helene. The dinner menu is:
Fish that Helene is bringing
Sourdough bread
Caesar salad
Red and White wine
Croatian cookies for dessert
But before that can happen, I have to get checked in, which turns out to be around 2:30 – after declining to have them fix a broken light in the kitchen. I think I can suffer.
Helene arrived around 5, Solus+ around six…alas, none of the dinner picture turned out…might have been the wine…
A late night, and a late morning of sleeping in…did a 3-egg fish scramble with cheese for my breakfast this morning, before settling into getting caught up on the blog… and by 3 it was time for another run to Relish for their oyster happy hour from 3-6PM with oysters at a “buck-a-shuck” – paired nicely with a Beefeater slightly dirty martini in honor of Pucci:
I ended up having a dozen of those “buck-a-shucks”.
Back to the IGA for a little more fish – Helene brought more than enough, but not quite enough for two meals – more salad and a little more for the pupu platter that BamBam always devours….
Croatian chocolate cookies on the left, sliced up heirloom sweet peppers that were on sale at the IGA for .99 a pound.
The boys (Hummingbird and BamBam) got there a little after 6, and with no word from Epick since I emailed him yesterday, finally a text response that he wasn’t coming….would have been nice to know, might not have bought more fish.
But a good dinner it was:
With leftovers for the boys to take home.
Their big news is that they finally, after seven years, have settled with the insurance company over their house fire. The money is in the bank, and they’ve found a place that they want to put an offer on in the city, in a neighborhood that I really like (as does Helene), so I’m wishing them the best of luck.
Another relaxing morning capped with another 3-egg omelet (no fish this time – sent it home with the boys for the cats). Checked out a little after 10:30AM, waited a few minutes trying to flag down a cab and finally just decided to save the $10+ and walk back down the hill to the cruise terminal – at least it wasn’t raining!
This is one of my favorite oddities on Hornby – it’s actually the bottom floor of what is now the Vancouver Art Gallery, but obviously in the past it was a police station…
Showing up at 11am seems to be the thing to do…unless you are on the Holland America boat that isn’t boarding until 1PM since they had a little norovirus outbreak. The downside of the Vancouver Cruise Terminal is that everyone, no matter how many boats are in dock, are all shoved through the same security line….meaning to Elite Line. At least past security – where they always notice my bottle of wine and direct me to the registration table – which I’ve started ignoring since no one seems to notice – there were dedicated lines for Preferred Passengers.
And a waiting area with coffee and pastries — too bad my Cruise Card is still showing Platinum (Silver) rather than Elite (Black) …I hate to start my cruise by bitching someone out, but I want my free mini-bar setup and I’ve got shirts that need laundered and starched.
Stayed up to 4am chatting with Dave-son. That meant an hour and a half nap before heading back to the airport so he could get his flights back to Tokyo.
Breakfast at the Denny’s around the corner from Helene’s before picking her up for our trip to O Canadaland to “check-in” — I mean land. Probably would have been better if she’d come in solo (or with a Canadian) since the surly immigration lady (and I use that term loosely) put Helene through extra hoops — however, on the customs line (to declare the goods to follow), it was the exact opposite — not exactly here is your Canadian flag pin, but at least “Welcome to Canada.”
Got lost in Vancouver and took a nice tour of the city — blame my tiredness (had to stop in Mount Vernon on the way up and take a half an hour nap!) Finally found Commercial Drive but I couldn’t find Toby’s Sushi Restaurant — long since closed — so we stopped by to see if Tom (Tuma) was home. He was, boyfriend Stephen was, and most amazingly, Michael, Helene’s Vancouver roommate just back from Brazil was as well. Much conversation which included a local recommendation for lunch since I was once again fading.
The burger at Fets was really good — but the waitress should really right things down. Helene didn’t get her dressing on the side, I got fries instead of the salad I’d swapped it out with — and for some odd reason, the iced tea was sweet — we ain’t in Georgia (but the Memphis BBQ was in the next block).
After lunch it was back to the border. On the way up — there were two lanes open with two cars in each. Quick (except for the 45 minutes to “land”). On the way home…. an hour wait at 2pm to get back across the border. Maybe it’s time to get the Nexus pass (quick, short lines since you’ve already given them all your information in advance).
Got Helene back in time for the 5pm local news, got myself back in time for the 5:30pm national news. Was asleep on the couch by 6:45pm, was asleep in bed at 7:30, and was back up and groggy at 9pm for a sandwich and a glass of whiskey (and some fine Monday night television).
Jameson probably coming up tonight to avoid the unknown traffic of the morning.
OK — so the military metaphor doesn’t really work when the troops are Helene and Josh (well, I hope Josh — haven’t heard from him in a couple of days). Helene sealed the front bedroom floor yesterday and will do the living room, hallway and half the other bedroom today. Guess I’d better get that stain applied this morning!
I, on the other hand, will be assembling the last cabinet (and having Helene help hold it into place while I screw), and maybe doing a little painting in the laundry room so I can get the washer/dryer installed (even though Josh has yet to finish the drywall in there). Oh, and I should build the dining table that goes in the kitchen — a harvest table style, though I don’t think I’ll get the drop leaves done today since I don’t have the hardware.
Still have to spackle and touch up the rest of the trim in the house, but that can always come later.
Yesterday’s completed list:
Counter tops cut and put in place
Sink and dishwasher plumbed
First load of dishes done
Whitaker stopped by and picked up the lawnmower blade to weld and sharpen
Helene sealed the front bedroom floor and painted the last sticks of trim
Mark installed the last of the trim (which Jeff never had)
Garage was made a total disaster from strewn tools and saw dust.
More photos will be going up later today.
Oh shit – just remembered that there is a housewarming party at Jeff’s from 2-8pm, and I have to pack for Victoria — this day could get interesting. That blows the afternoon. Guess I’ll do that, come back, pack and head to the bank before heading back to the apartment. At least we got the last cabinet installed.
Out of the condo by 10:15 to make a 10:45 pickup at the ferry terminal — which didn’t happen until 11:15 when this huge black “luxury van” pulled up. It turns out that we are the only two people on the tour today — they could have sent a town car — but this pimped out airport rental car shuttle is outfitted in black leather trimmed in leopard print, a big screen TV, neon and strobes under the seats, and racks of wine glasses and coolers of bottled water.
First stop was Cherry Point Vineyards. Helene found a fruit port that she liked, along with a white that reminded her of a German wine from years before.
Next was the Oceanfront Grand Resort for a 3-course wine-paired lunch — they swapped out the crab cake for a roasted garlic bulb for the none shellfish eating Helene. Food was good, they had fresh tulips on the table for us (and no one else). Construction noise was a bit annoying, but considering the whole tour is costing us $84 each, the lunch is MUCH better than I was expecting. Wines from Blue Grouse, Zanata, and Glenterra — all whites, but it’s lunch, so that’s OK.
After lunch the next stop has a seriously cute guy manning the counter — yes, you will have to wait until I get home to see pictures. The winery: Godfrey Brownell. Good reds, locally grown, which is surprising since I didn’t think it got hot enough on Vancouver Island.
Next was the stop I wasn’t looking forward to — the fruit winery. Silverside. I actually (as did Helene) liked the Wild Blackberry Wine, but I picked up a bottle of the Blueberry Vinegar.
And the final stop was Merridale Cider Works. What excited me was that they are putting in the island’s first distillery so they can make eau de vie, calvados, and other lovely distillates. The cider wasn’t that bad either.
Free glasses (3) rounded out the tour, and a ride back to the WorldMark topped it off — I hope Helene tipped well.
Email, blog, and working on the lamb for dinner are up next. Think it’s going to be an early night with all that wine and food in me.
First, a little update on yesterday: trip to Vancouver took an hour longer than usual due to Highway 99 (what I-5 turns into in Canada) being shut down in both directions from a multiple fatality accident. Didn’t get to the condo until almost 5 with a stop for groceries and wine – luckily Helene was running late as well. And BamBam had to cancel as the wedding video he was editing was running way late. Just one of those yesterdays.
And on with today… three eggs over easy for breakfast (and again tomorrow), and then a stroll down to the Nexus office for an Iris Scan so that when I fly into Canada I can use the speed lane at the airport, cutting 45 minutes down to 5. It only took them half a dozen tries to get a decent scan. Thanks Helene for that tip – normally you do it at the airport after going through the line the regular way.
Sushi for lunch after getting a little work done.
Hummingbird and BamBam showed up at 5 for round two of the scholarship reading. Yesterday with Helene was round one. Twenty three scholarships to read this year. I got through about 2/3rds of then last night. It’s a fun task playing god.
Want to know the results?
It was a nicer looking graph before I sorted from high to low.
Woke up late, but that was OK as the three of us (Bro, Helene, Me) all slept in after our late night drive last night.
The hope for Michael’s Cafè for breakfast was dashed by the sign “will re-open Dec. 9th“. Damn. It’s a great place for breakfast. Through town and down the hill we wondered in search of the Taos Diner II for a sunning breakfast/lunch. I had the Eggs Benedict (not on my diet, but I skipped most of the home fries) with a Pomegranate Mimosa that came over ice in a pint-size glass — luckily the owner showed up because our waitress didn’t know how to make one (she does now).
Walking back to the WorldMark is difficult with Helene, “Look, more yarn!”, but we did stumble across the “Occupy Taos” movement, all four strong:
When we returned an hour later, the four had moved on — apparently it was a lunch time occupation.
Stunning weather today — sunny and warm, didn’t even need the jacket for the run to the store for supplies.
We were back and settled into one of the condos for the big reveal. I left a key at the front desk for my sis-in-law who was bringing my parents up from Santa Fe. Imagine when my mother walked in the the condo and found Helene, Bro, and her former business partner and family friend Mike sitting around chatting. THAT was a look of joy. Even my father had a twinkle in his eye from the experience.
Kennan and Alissa showed up around seven, just in time for things coming off the grill, not that any of us were starving with the poo poo platters having come out at four. For tonight we did grilled vegetables and bratwursts, a big salad and some artisan (albeit Albertsons) bread with some sort of red cupcakes for the birthday candles.
Did I get a group portrait? Oops. Hopefully tomorrow.
Parents retired early, Dad needed to stay up until nine to deal with his eye drops and last pill of the day (needing an empty stomach), and the rest of us (minus Alissa who also crashed) stayed up late into the evening chatting and catching up.
Or maybe I should call it “My Day In Pictures” since Swanda informed me that I was not to bitch about having to get up early to make the train. It was my decision to take the train, rather than the bus at a more civilized time. That said, from the pictures, you’ll know why I took the train:
Actually nicer than the Talgo coach seats – two feet of leg room between you and the seat in front of you, foot rest, leg rest and two outlets. I didn’t check for wi-fi.
A couple of 737s headed to Renton for final assemble (they start out in Wichita).
The view from my seat.
For better or worse (better because I slept through it), we were stopped for an hour and a half in Mount Vernon due to the freight train ahead of us needing to split apart their train to remove a freight car with a bearing that was overheating.
Met Hummingbird at the train station and we headed towards The Canadian.
My room is on the 22nd floor on this side of the building, the corner closest to this view.
My room wasn’t ready, but Helene was on her way to meet for lunch. Off to Davie street we go, and the gay Fountainhead restaurant and bar. After last night’s sauerkraut, what I really needed was a big old Caesar salad. Club for Hummingbird, quesadilla for Helene. Wine for me, cider for Hummingbird, Stella Artois for Helene.
After lunch it was back to the condo to meet up with Epick, who can’t come to dinner (oddly enough, no one can so I’m solo), but does have a couple of hours to hang out and catch up.
That also give you a nice shot of what the 2-bedroom condo looks like.
Went to the IGA for some prepared food for my dinner, and a little snack for breakfast and settled in for a quiet night in the sky. The mostly full moon was out again, but the shots weren’t as good as the first night, so that shot doesn’t get included today.
For the last shot of the day, a little slightly cropped self-portrait:
At 8 this morning we pulled into Astoria feeling the affects of many bottles of wine, and for some, many cocktails at the “Friends of Dorothy” gathering. I was not part of the some.
Back in the United States we have to go through this very odd procedure — everyone, whether leaving the boat or not, must present themselves to customs and immigration — all 2300 of us — called by deck — to hand over pieces of paper, have our ID checked, and have other pieces of paper stamped so we can get off the boat and have a look around.
Astoria proper is a bit of a hike and so Curt, Helene, and myself just wander around the dock area, looking a rusting trains, fish being gutted, the selection of taco wagons and all the craft vendors set up pier side. Not much to really do, but it’s nice to get a little walking around in the fresh air on solid ground.
Here is a great shot from yesterday in Victoria:
You got to love self timers. Here is the whole slide show up to this point:
And as for last night’s fancy dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. Mixed. Nice hunks of meat size wise, but not chosen very well (like choice instead of prime). You would think with the $20 up-charge that you’d get a higher quality cow. Helene’s black cod (and the smoke black cod that came as part of the appetizer) was really yummy. I made it about half way through my 22oz. Porterhouse before passing it along to Wonderful to finish devouring after he finished his two other entrees — he even out ate Jonathan.
Today we sail at 2pm for Vancouver, British Columbia and get chucked off the boat at 8am — hopefully we can make it a little later as I hate those early mornings — makes for a long day.
Plans for the afternoon are a bubble bath in the jetted tub that our suite has — with some foaming bath stuff from Lush in Victoria that Helene got me. Between that, and laying around reading, and an early dinner at 5:30 (I wanted 6:30, but there as only early, or 7:45) I think it’s just going to a lazy post-b-day day.
Up at 5:30am to catch the 7:30am train to Vancouver, the later train gets in too late and I don’t want to have to spend the night. Got checked in at noon, and am having a good feeling about this train trip . . . they are holding my carry-on for the day and will deliver it to my roomette before I even board. How civilized.
And it was good to meet Helene at the train station in Vancouver and then go off for a lovely smoked meat sandwich before retiring to her house, for a nap. I’ve got plenty of time because the Trans-Canada doesn’t leave until 8:30 tonight.
BamBam and Hummingbird came over late afternoon to split a bottle of red, and bottle of bubbly, and a truly amazing pupu platter spread laid out by Helene. Its odd feeling “homeless” in Vancouver, I’m so used to having a room at The Canadian downtown.
Lots of public transportation to get around town. Yes, I even took busses today.
Got back to the station at 7pm with the boys in tow . . . Helene walked us to the bus stop from her apartment in “The Unique”.
My initial feeling about the train trip, technically “The Canadian” was tempered a bit by the sleeping car lounge for the Blue and Silver Service (Touring Class sleeping passengers), I’m afraid that the lounge in Portland has them beat, and since I’d checked my laptop, I couldn’t even use the wi-fi (and didn’t want to on my phone). There was an outdoor lounge as well, but it’s not exactly the weather for it, but it did have a nice view of the train and the “bullet” lounge that is the last car on the train:
But soon enough I was settled into my compartment for the three and a half day adventure. Complete with welcoming champagne in the bullet lounge which was so crowded that I just brought it back to the cabin.
And off we go into the night . . . albeit slowly as we have to give way to all the freight traffic. No wi-fi on the train, next possible wireless stop is Jasper tomorrow afternoon, so this evening I just sit and read the paper and have a couple of cocktails and finish my smoked meat sandwich from lunch.
Breakfast at the Chatterbox where soldiers in uniform eat free. I’m not a soldier, and not in uniform, but I didn’t pay — Dan did.
Off to the airport at 10:30 for a 12:30 flight to Cincinnati, then on to Seattle, avoiding the tornadoes troubling Atlanta this morning.
First flight on time, second flight an hour late — more time drinking Woodford Reserve in the Delta Crown Room.
Dinner with Chris and Helene at some Italian place in Fremont, which was sort of a mini-disaster…. Helene on time, but then had to leave, us late and started eating, Helene there…. and then off to Graf’s to pick up Chris’ laptop which was in for repairs so he could have it for the Canada trip.
By this time I am seriously cranky. Email and bed. Can’t believe we have to be on the road by 9am in the morning to make the ferry to Victoria.
Up early, with Chris and coffee. Allows me to get an early start on the house today.
Today’s progress? Got the cans (lights sunk into the ceiling) in the laundry/furnace room and the pantry. Got the holes cut for the two cans above where the sink is going.
The evening is the symphony with SpaceOtter and Helene with dinner at the Wild Ginger across the street. Well, that was the plan — Helene called at 5:30 to say she was on a conference call with India that was scheduled at the last minute — so no Helene. But dinner was wonderful, as was SpaceOtter’s company — of course it always is, he makes a great concert companion.
The symphony was part of the Visiting Orchestras series — tonight it was the Philadelphia Symphony. Good program, only dozed through parts of it. Of course when I did, my neck snapped back sending shooting pain through my shoulder which Jayson(SpaceOtter) help massage out — a massage AND a concert. My lucky day.
It really isn’t a cruise to nowhere… just an overnight from Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA – with a couple of nights in Vancouver with friends at the beginning.
Since Swanda wants to see lots of selfies, this might be a report in selfies….starting with not getting to bed early enough…
But I make the train – cab is early so I boxed my breakfast and headed out. Luckily they boarded 40 minutes early so I could just chill and snooze.
Three hours later and a couple of drinks later, we stop at the Canadian border for a red signal…more delays.
Finally coming into Vancouver, British Columbia with snow-capped mountains in the background…
A beautiful day in Vancouver…
Had lunch with Solus+ at The Parlour – a great little Yaletown eatery. He was kind enough to pick me up at the station. We shared a bunch of appetizers:
Arugula — Anjou Pear, Red Onion, Butter Croutons, Parmesan, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Maple Shallot Vinaigrette
Brocco — Garlic, Shallots, Jalapeño, Pine Nuts, Sweet Soy Sauce
Stacked Short Ribs — Hosisin and Tamarind marinated, Granny Smith Apple and Jicama Slaw
Solus+ had a couple of stouts; I had a couple of Manhattans. What was I thinking! No selfie? No food shots.
Got to the condo after lunch – and only had to wait20 minutes to have my room ready – a couple of hours early. Hummingbird had left me bread and wine with the front desk – what else would a priest leave ( body and blood of Christ).
The early check-in gives me time to grab 10% off coupons and head to the IGA for some grocery shopping. Much wandering later the meal plan is in place:
Pupu platter which BamBam will decimate and not have it effect his appetite
Southwestern salad (pre-packaged kit)
Bread
Rolled pork roasts on a bed of multi-colored potatoes
Hummingbird showed up with white wine and dessert. Their friend showed up with more wine, which is good since there are four of us and all I have is two bottles of whiskey.
Great views from the apartment – we lucked out and got one of the few balcony units at WorldMark at The Canadian.
After dinner the silliness begins…
No, it’s not a stitched picture, it’s a times picture with two pieces of mirror in the background, showing off the BBC News we are watching.
The boys (minus Kevvy, their guest) spent the night since they now live north of town in the Frasier Valley. Way too much whiskey was consumed, so in the morning we were off to church after a breakfast scramble:
At the noon service he asks for healing thoughts for the family and friends of my buddy CaddyDaddy who would have been on this trip had he not crapped out last year. He is due to be planted tomorrow at 11:15am with full military honors in Olympia. The mere mention of him in the service left a huge lump in my throat – I can’t imagine the mess that I would have been had I attended his interment.
The boys were off after a quick run back to the apartment, giving me time to make a run for tonight’s dinner with Helene, and a quick nap, and some work on wine shop stuff (site updates, blog postings to other sites, graphics).
Tonight’s dinner:
Bread of Helene (a small baguette which wasn’t large enough for the carb carnivore)
Mixed greens salad for from the salad bar at the IGA
Broiled salmon on a bed of buckwheat noodles (leftovers from the boys – the noodles that is)
I love the condo vase with a couple of stems of fresh flowers. I’m sure that vase has NEVER held a flower in its life in the condo.
Luckily Helene brought wine, though with DancingBear dropping off wine on his way to dinner with friends, we didn’t get to it – but I was glad I popped next door and picked up another bottle of whiskey.
DB got home just as we were finishing dinner and we popped in the DVD that I bought the other night at the IGA – The Poseidon Adventure (the remake) which is appropriate since DB and I are going on a cruise tomorrow.
HUGE scramble in the morning:
Eggs (5)
The leftover potatoes from the first night’s roast
Seems it’s a WorldMark tradition to have scrambles in the morning with the leftovers from the night(s) before. Now you know why I pack butter, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (not the last for breakfast).
We (DB & UM) bail on the condo at 11:15am for the Golden Princess for our cruise home to Seattle. The lines were moving OK, in contrast to one of DB’s cruises from the same terminal when four ships were in port (as opposed to two today) where the line went out the door and around the building. Think three hours in line.
DancingBear and I booked separate cabins so we could each get 2 Princess Cruise Credits (rather than 1 for a double occupancy cabin). I booked a balcony, he booked an inside and the plan was that we’ve hang in the balcony cabin and he had Princess put him 4 doors down from mine…but the upgrade gods (yes, even on Cruise Ships there are upgrade Gods) intervened and he got bumped from his Inside Cabin to a Balcony (a two-class upgrade), and I got upgraded from a Balcony to a Suite – a sweet Suite. I hadn’t looked at what cabin I was in for a while so I didn’t notice the upgrade until I got to the room and thought “this looks bigger than I remember balcony cabins”.
Yes, that is a King Size bed on a Princess. Yes, there were TWO flat screen TVs. Now add a porch with a couple of lounge chairs and a table.
We had a quick drink in the cabin before heading to the Donatello Dining Room for lunch, bypassing the huge crowds at the buffet:
Our quite sit-down lunch at a shared table with other cruisers was:
A little quiet time after lunch and before you know it we are in full swing – 3:45pm is the Mandatory Life Boat Drill:
After the drill it’s time to get underway. Here is us sailing away under the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver:
Honest – I was trying to get my phone ready to take a selfie, and not drop my Manhattan. We were out there for the LGBT gathering – formally known as the “Friends of Dorothy” which I sort of miss… “code and all”, like “beard“. Apparently the youngsters don’t get the old reference. FOD is to the old gay world like FOB (Friends of Bill [W]) is for the people in “recovery”. It always amuses me on cruises with they have the recovery people meeting in a bar that isn’t open.
That party quickly moved to the Skywalker Lounge (17 Aft) because it was Happy Hour with Hors d’oeuvres in the Platinum Lounge with discounted drink of the day. We ran in to a couple of other Gay Short Curisers – or as they are known on Facebook as the Seattle Princess Sea Men.
Some chips and guacamole, a way-to-sweet top shelf Margarita for cheap and we were back to the cabin for another round before dinner – the way-sweet margarita was helped by watering it down with the last of the white wine we packed on board. The red wine was headed to dinner with us ($15 corkage fee – on Princess you are allowed to bring one bottle of wine per person free and the corkage fee only applies to having it in one of the restaurants.)
We probably DIDN’T need to order THREE desserts…
With Limón cello for me and Bailey’s in Coffee for DB (both on sale). My best shot is of the heart “broken” to share:
That’s the Princess Loveboat Heart in the foreground and the flan in the background (the other was a flourless chocolate thingee).
DB was done after that… and I surfed the internet until midnight (150 free minutes to use as a Princess Platinum) until hunger called again at a little after midnight. I didn’t reen the cheeseburger and fries (free) but I did need the Diet Pepsi Mixer ($2.25 with fees). I asked for a “bucket of ice” – and they brought me a damned bucket:
Things from duty free and some emptys… and the “bucket” next to the ice bucket:
Don’t worry – the ice is sitting in front of a mirror.
Up early – yet another meal in the dining room – so far haven’t hid the buffet at all – a record.
Separate disembarkation lounge for the Platinum Folk (both DB and I) so it was basically leave when you want and it was home by cab (in different directions) for both of us. I actually got a nap of over an hour before heading to work for the opening shift.
Dinner at Swanda’s for dinner with two mutual friends and then it was hone to bed. Long day. Or should I say long days.
Stayed up late last night chatted with Tokyo Dave… so the morning came early.
With his flight at 1pm and a little shopping to be done before, it was out of the house by 10am. No Jaguar for the run to the airport today (did it last night between rain clouds) but the Mommy Van instead. In the shopping run I saw a wonderful Mercedes factory limosine. Didn’t get a picture of the white one I saw, but did find a picture of a black one:
Pretty isn’t it….
But I digress. Lot’s of work yesterday and today on trademark infringement stuff — not my favorite, but it does pay the bills. Got the rest of the packing done for the trips with the exception of the booze for the Alaska trip (and I did pack the “Beer Belly”).
The highlight of the day is dinner with Helene and Jonathan and a bunch of champagne. We are celebrating Helene getting laid off yesterday. Yes, celebrating. Think big severance package for her fourteen years of work which doesn’t include to the two paid months off and all the vacation, and extended health benefits.
Now this is good news because she can now take the summer off while transitioning her life to Canada, which she was going to have to do this fall to keep her landed immigrant status.
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