Polaroid Photo

Uncle Markie out and about.

Refresh for a different picture!

UMTravels

Choose a Topic:

Search Results:

Mon
3
Jul '17

Trip Report: Return To Whistler, Getting There

While I was at Whistler last week in DancingBear, I started putting together another trip to get the most bang for my buck (and have waitlist requests in for two weeks in August).

Since I could only get two nights (not even in the same unit), decided to break up the trip by stopping overnight half way up – turned out is was almost EXACTLY half – off by under five miles.

City of choice? The same city DancingBear and I stopped at for Costco last week – scenic Langley!

Welcome to the Langley City Travelodge…when it was just me, I was in a single double bed, but with Mags joining me, dropped another $20 on a bigger room:

I was pleasantly surprised at the room – you never know with mid-tier motel chains.

Turns out our door was featured in a Robert Redford movie, “The Company You Keep.”

Here I am in front of the same door…

Mags noticed an Airplane Museum within walking distance. If being about 5pm, figured it would be closed, but walked over to see what we could…

Turns out, even though they close at four, one of the younger volunteers let us in for a quick tour – and didn’t even charge us (though I did make a contribution):

What an unexpected pleasure – THANKS, Mags, for talking me into walking over!

Back to the motel for a couple of cocktails while watching the news. Ever the coupon-clipper, Mags found us a two-for-one entrée coupon at the local casino.

Good thing neither of us gamble! But to get the twofer deal, I had to join their “rewards club”. Means it also came with $10 free play as a new member, and another $10 because of a promotion – looks like we WILL be gambling after dinner.

It even came with a tape measure card keeper:

And we discovered that Tuesday night was $5 (Canadian) Highball Night — $8 for a double. Guess which one I got?

I ordered the Rueben Kincaid, Mags got the PBJ Burger – yep, Peanut Butter and Bacon Jam:

It was one of the best Rubens that I’ve ever had – and I’ve had a lot. It might be from the Montreal Smoked Meat and the marble rye they used.

After dinner, I did a little gambling, and won a little on the slots…started out with $20 (Canadian), but after a good spin, hit the cash out button and all hell broke loose for what turned out to be a $16 cash payout. Took the cash, played as much as I could, still $2 on the card (but the minimum is $5 to do anything).

Not a bad tab for a night out:

Off to bed, for tomorrow we are off to Whistler!

[220.4]

Tue
4
Jul '17

Trip Report: Return To Whistler, Fun In The Sun

Got to the condo around noon, let them know we were here (and to call when the room was ready), and headed into town to pick up Mags Mountain Pass. A little longer line than last week, but it was also a sunny day. A great day to head up the mountain.

As you can tell from previous posts, I love coming up to Whistler/Blackcomb in the summer.

After the Village Gondola to get up the mountain, next we did the Peak-2-Peak….

And then onto bus, down the hill a bit to the 7th Heaven chairlift —

Not as many people as last year when the place was packed with Summer Camp Skiing, but the view is still pretty spectacular.

Yes, that would be a cocktail at 7,500 feet!

Here’s a great 360-degree video from the top:

Already thinking about trying to come back at least once in August, maybe early September as well, though the 7th Heaven lift closes in a couple of weeks.

Had lunch at the Roundhouse – this time I went for the Kid’s Fish and Chips Combo, with a tiny bottle of wine, sadly, no photos.

Back on the Peak-2-Peak for a little more sightseeing, and down the hill to do some grocery shopping for dinner. Got settled into the condo, made some cocktails and put on the news.

Salmon tonight:

The nice thing about staying and the WorldMark Creekside is the BBQ on the deck. Handy for the salmon! Please note the use of the blender top to keep the rose chilled.

Speaking of chill, I put on the Speedos and headed to the whirlpool – Mags was content to hang out in the unit.

Early to bed for Mags, late to bed for me, so it’s 11 by the time we get out the door to once again, abuse our parking pass from last week to park at Cascade Lodge.

And up the hill we go again on the Whistler Gondola, then the nasty hike down the hill to the Peak Express, passing slalom skiers.

At the top with one of the Olympic figures in the background:

The Peak Express is the lift that one of the wine shop customers “lost it” on, not lunch, just freaked out on the way up and wouldn’t get back on the lift to go back down – it took them three and a half hours to walk back down to the Roundhouse (the terminus of the Whistler Gondola). Had she gotten back on it, this is the ride that would have given her a stroke:

Actually, the nasty hike is when you have to huff and puff your way up a thousand feet elevation chance. I made it, with MANY stops.

A little photo op before lunch…

We cut today short and caught the Solar Coaster, then the Wizard Express down the Blackcomb side – Mags was headed off to rent a bicycle and explore, I opted for lunch at Milestones.

Does this look like something I’d order to go with this?

Walked back to the car and headed to Creekside and the new room – I couldn’t find two nights in the same size unit. First nice was two-bedroom, two-bath, plus bunk beds and a fold-out couch (WAY too much for two people). Tonight is a one-bedroom, two bath, plus bunk beds (actually big enough for me) and a fold-out couch. At least I got some pictures of the “smaller” unit.

Ever seen bunkbeds with twelve inch mattresses – swanky!

Dinner was sausages off the grill – sadly I was a little slow in getting a photograph…

Headed home around nine, got back to town before three.

Another adventure complete.

[? ? ?]

Sat
12
Aug '17

Trip Report: Final Trip To Whistler This Summer

Managed to score some additional nights in lovely Whistler this August – one might in Creekside (where we spent two nights in two different rooms last trip), and three nights at Cascade Lodge, where we parked the last trip.

Lunch stop just after the border in Cloverdale. Boston Pizza was the choice – last time I was here was with CaddyDaddy when he was alive:

Steak strip French Dip, tasty, as was the salad…

You might have heard that there are wildfires burning in British Columbia – the smoke getting as far as Seattle and beyond. Here is the first example of the smoke. First photo is from previous drive up:

This photo is from the trip’s drive up:

I’ll post later about pictures of the mountain valleys, earlier in the summer, later in the summer.

Shopped for our veg and eggs in Squamish (cheaper than Whistler, and we brought all our protein) and some wine – but the grocery store in this hippy/hiking/biking/snowboarding/skiing town has a dispenser for growlers of Kombucha:

About our first night’s lodging, I love the BBQ and room size at Creekside, HATE the stairs. No way to avoid them, and we were on the first floor which is actually the basement floor, reception is on three. And it was the first night, so coolers, all the food, drink had to go down (and back up) lots of stairs.

That said, it was a nice place…

Living room above, second bedroom below…

And the SECOND bath:

And we had a nice meal….

In the morning, we repacked and headed to Whistler Village.

And up to the mountain we go!

Here is Mags playing with his tools!

I contrast these photos to late July’s photos of what the air was like:

And back to the present…

Talked Mags into appetizers and drinks at Christine’s – which wasn’t open my last two trips up this summer:

Great time around the mountain… one day we went to Pemberton, and a museum!

Our adventure done, back to the condo, with me going up the hill for lunch, and a wine flight:

And when we leave Whistler – it ramps up for Red Bull’s Crankworx. They are already assembling the video platforms.

No wonder rooms are tight for the next week!

Up to the top, across the Peak-2-Peak, and back into the welcoming arms of Dan, the bartender.

Who after he poured by BC VQA tasting flight….

Arranged for a little “amuse bouche”:

That is a lovely slice of paté on that crostini courtesy of Chef. Soon to be followed by the Vietnamese Pork Burger….

As you can see, the rosé vanished quickly.

Look at these photos – serious smoke in the air. Once again, my hiking has been thwarted.

Compared to late June….

Crazy wild difference.

Tonight’s dinner was leftovers, cleaning out the fridge – then out of the house a little after ten in the morning with a stop at the mining museum (too cheap to actually buy a ticket):

So, in the parking lot of the museum, there was this beautiful car camping hack – a 4″ black pipe mounted to the roof rack with a fill nozzle and a spigot to attach a shower to. In the sun, the black tube heats the water, and you get at least a warm shower in the afternoon. Brilliant!

Got into Vancouver around 1PM and Mags dropped me at Steamworks Brewery to meet up with Solus+. Got there early – ordered a Manhattan. What else!

And with Solus+…

And we both had the same meal – seafood chowder in a sourdough bowl with a small Caesar:

Wonderful meal, but it’s off to the train station to catch the 5:30pm to Seattle…didn’t know they had a Nexus line! I was business, so I would have gotten the same expedited service, but it’s nice to know:

Being the first one in line, the lady (turned out to be the Business Car attendant) gave me the best seat on the run – 1A, window, wheelchair blocked 1B.

Some nice views on the way home, and more than a few drinks….

Sadly, the train was running 45 minutes late into Seattle, AND I arrive at the station in the middle of a Mariners baseball game letting out. Total chaos. How far do I have to walk before I find a Lyft/Uber with non-premium pricing!

Made it home, made it to bed, for tomorrow, it’s off to work.

[221.0]

Sat
31
Jan '15

Trip Report: Bus Tour Of The Port Of Tacoma

So, the infrastructure geek in me signs up for these “public outreach” tours that both the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma periodically put on. I did a post on it back in 2008 when I did a Third Runway tour at Sea-Tac just before they opened it to air traffic. Here is the post: https://blog.unclemarkie.com/2008/09/10/runway-16r/, and below is a picture of me on the Third Runway:

But the tour that I’m on today with Mags is of the Port of Tacoma. They offer a bunch of tours during the year (http://portoftacoma.com/community/tours) and I’ve also booked us for the Earth Day tour which is a more “boots on the ground” kinda tour since it’s highlighting all the public access points along with restoration work they are doing.

But today’s tour was all on the bus – luckily not half full of retirement home residents like the last one I was on.

A light load today.

Out on the docks dodging containers.

Lots full of Korean cars for the US market.

And the saddest of all shots, of the Kalakala being dismantled:

Sorry it isn’t a better shot – here’s one that I grabbed from the web and the story behind the ferry:

Here is a link to the WikiPedia article on the ferry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Kalakala

And a picture of her getting scrapped that’s better than mine:

The bus tour over, Mags and I headed for lunch at the Poodle Dog, home of the Pup Room (their bar) that opens at 5:30am:

I had the Rueben with slaw, Mags the meatloaf sandwich which is really just meatloaf on top of some bread with mashed potatoes and brown gravy:

After lunch it was back to the city for the both of us. Another week, another (mini) excursion.

[226.0]

Wed
11
Jul '12

Out Of The Woods

And Into The Cellars.

Broke camp at 10 this morning with Magnatrocia in tow. We are “convoying” from camp to cellars. He is along for the ride (and he has GPS) as we decamp from American Ridge to Yakima.

First stop is Whistling Jacks for breakfast. Not much on the menu that is carb-free friendly, but the omelet of bacon, spinach and feta with a hollandaise sauce is OK, except for the rye toast and hash browns. The toast didn’t get much action, but I’m afraid that the house-made hash browns fell off the plate and landed in my stomach. It’s hard to keep to a low-carb diet on the road in the land of temptation.

The first winery of the day is Southard, where we are meeting up with Scott Southard, the winemaker:

We carry Scott’s “Columbia Valley White” which is a big-bodied Rhône style white blend of 65% Viognier and 35% Rousanne. He sources all his grapes from off property with the exception of the Riesling which grows on the estate.

After tasting a hand-full of wines that had been open for a day or two, he popped open a couple of his Syrahs to try – tasty, but even the “tired” (his phrase) bottles open for a day or two were tasting good.

Over some more hills and dales to get to Yakima and check into the “Honeymoon Suite” at the Days Inn. On the website it was listed as a one-bedroom suite, but on the fire escape exit plan on the door it was labeled “Honeymoon Suite”. Trust me, the Days Inn in Yakima is not where you want to spend your honeymoon. They are in the middle of remodeling and it looked like our room had been done, but the air-conditioner in the bedroom wasn’t cooling and the lower portion of the fridge seemed a little warm, but it’s one night and it was $68 for a large suite with a hide-a-bed couch in the living room for Mags to sleep on.

A light lunch was had at a taco shack, another load of carbs from the tortillas. Damn.

Next winery up is Gilbert Cellars. I shared a bottle of their rosé with Solus+ last night since they share a common surname. Here I am with Justin Neufeld, their winemaker:

They had just finished a bottling run (which is a mostly mechanical process), but he still had enough energy to take us down into the cave to barrel sample half a dozen of his 2011 wines, including a Tempranillo-based Port that he is working on. Really fun to taste young wines like his Chardonnay that was still cloudy.

Justin recommended that we stop by Treveri Cellars to try their sparkling wines. We tried seven or eight of their sparklers, my favorite (of which I bought a bottle) was their Mueller-Thurgau-based sparkler. If Jim and I can ever find an evening to get together for dinner, I’ll bring that along with the 2006 Recess Red from L-Ecole that I picked up in Kansas City months ago.

In need of shorts to take advantage of the swimming pool at the motel, Sarah at Treveri pointed us in the direction of the Goodwill. Here is my $3.99 bargain priced Ralph Loren madras find. It also helped cool the room down while I was trying to dry them after the swim:

Yep, a real madras (little stitched squares).

Dinner at Bob’s Keg and Cork downtown. Small place (49 people max), good food, but oddly served on thick paper plates. Yes, I had the burger, more carbs, but at least I went for the salad rather than the fries. And super cheap – cheap enough that Mags picked up the whole tab, something he is not known to do.

[? ? ?]

Fri
28
Jun '19

Trip Report: Whistler — First Trip Of The Summer

Nothing like this on a driving trip:

Had a BUNCH of 10 cent off Safeway Rewards. They only let me use 10 of them.

We left on Sunday after I got off work – fortunately Mags lives close to the shop. Was only able to grab a one-bedroom at Birch Bay – Mags was on the Murphy Bed.

Since we had a grill, we grilled, we ate, we slept.

Morning brought an early “Owner Re-education Camp” at 8:30am – which I shouldn’t do, and won’t, ever again. Here was my “breakfast”:

Got out of the meeting, packed up, and headed north over the border, to have lunch with Solus+ at Two Lions Public House….Burger and cocktail special…$8.50 doubles

And Larry’s Poutine….

We were in Whistler by 3, and our room was even ready. Dumped our shit and headed into the village to get our lift tickets.

And our lovely dinner that evening…

In the morning, up the mountain we go!

And across to Whistler Mountain…

Onto a bus…

And up further and further – on the 7th Heaven Express…

To see Glacier skiing…

And to film a birthday video for one of my vendors from my Microsoft days…

Before heading back down Blackcomb Mountain…

To have lunch in Blackcomb Village at Milestones, which used to have a great Old Fashioned, but now it’s a Peach Bellini…

Here is the list of lifts that are open this visit:

We decided to walk back to Whistler and the condo….

And hang out by the pool since the sun was out…

The next day Larry went up early, but I was rewarded with the first bear sighting (for me) of the season!

It’s early in the season, so they are still at the lower elevations. It was a pretty clear day on the mountains:

And I was rewarded with two more bears in the afternoon!

Days were spent on the mountain during the day and cooking our meals at night. The car didn’t move once for the four nights we were there.

The final day, saw the final bear of the trip (other than me):

This was trip number of either three or four…last one in August is up in the air as it isn’t in Whistler, but Creekside and the lifts are running for sightseeing this year

[? ? ?]

For more blog posts, click here.

Thu
4
May '17

Tour Report: 520 West Approach Project

If you’re a longtime reader, you know I love my infrastructure, so when I got an email for the bridge tour, I jumped on it – these things fill up instantly. Had to randomly think about who would be available on a Wednesday – chose Mags. When I got the acceptance for the tour – learned Mags couldn’t make it, so subbed in Jonathan.

When the details arrived Monday (for the Wednesday tour), there was a work/hiking boot requirement. Hello, Payless. Actually, got a decent pair of hiking boots for $35 – and I’ll need them for late June hiking around Whistler (yes, I hike – from bar to bar on loop trails from each of the mountain tops).

What the details DIDN’T mention was that this was a two-mile hike:

The blue line was our path – luckily our group did the long walk first.

Don’t we look great in our safety gear?

The first stop on our hike:

Nice day for a hike in the city.

This is where we are headed

A gaggle of orange ducklings…definitely in an active construction site:

Intersting to see the “ramps to nowhere” being torn down

.

Our tour was interrupted by a big bang – the sound of air brakes engaging fully. Apparently, a Microsoft Shuttle lost air power, which means the brakes instantly lock up. These people no longer have a good commute.

Man am I glad I don’t do that commute anymore!

These expansion joins are ready to be installed:

Soon, we were under the bridge

Here is a shot of the seismic bumpers the new bridge approach:

All in all, it was great to explore the Arboretum hiking back to the visitor’s center. Thirty-plus years in Seattle and I’d never explore one of our cities treasures.

And speaking of traffic messes…this truck got itself stuck trying to make an illegal turn….

Yep – that is a full 53′ trailer and a long cab tractor –stuck and trying to back out into rush hour traffic – ignoring the clearly posted sign that says, “No Combination Trucks”.

We found another way home that didn’t use that freeway entrance.

[218.4]

Thu
26
Sep '13

On The Land Again.

For me it was a tense morning – those of you who know me know that I don’t do well with tight connections.

Off the boat at 7:45am and a connection $75 later (cab) to Union Station for a 10:10am train to Seattle – well, fraught with panic on my part.

Coming into LA….

Gay boys on the train…..

 

Point A to Point B via C, D, E, F.

San Louis a something….

That roundy bout thing. Look, it’s the back of the train.

Mags is getting sick with a cold, I’m praying I don’t fall prey to it.

Steak for dinner with a “gasp” glass of wine.

Whiskey and work after dinner on a bouncing train.

{? ? ?]

Fri
27
Sep '13

Last Day Of The Birthday Ramble.

Skipped breakfast – or shall I say, I had coffee and the cheesecake left over from yesterday’s lunch. It felt better to sleep than eat a heavy breakfast.

I’m here to report that at least when we are in cell phone range, the wi-fi in the Parlour Car seems to be keeping up with everyone. Occasionally I can get a couple of bars in our downstairs room one car back.

Here is a little scenery from said Parlour Car:

And from the wine tasting that oddly enough started during our half hour layover in Portland…

Though as you can tell, we were moving again by the time I took this shot. Speaking of the Portland station – I’ve never had to walk so far to get to the Metropolitan Lounge (for sleeping car passengers) as I did this time – we were on the second to the last tracks away from the station so had to walk the length of the train to cross over:

We were about a half an hour early into Seattle, meaning that by 9PM I was home after catching a cab to Mags house where my car was parked.

Gone for a week? Look at the mail:

And what went into the recycle bin:

Had to make a taco truck run as the early dinner on the train was fading fast.

[? ? ?] we will see how much I’ve gained after 6 days of being fed three squares

Tue
23
Sep '14

Trip Report: Big Easy Quickie, Part Two.

Today’s mission: The New Orleans Museum of Art, which I’d read was free on Wednesdays… as it turns out free for RESIDENTS on Wednesdays. Oh well — $10 towards the arts and culture scene.

NOMA is at City Park which is at the end of one of the Canal Street Street Car lines (the other goes to the Cemeteries).

Reminds me vaguely of the Nelson-Atkins Gallery in Kansas City with the big columns out front.

Not a huge collection and a couple of wings were closed for upcoming exhibitions, but here are three of my favorites:

To which, when I sent it to my buddy Solus+ he said: “Is that a PENIS?” Answer: “YES, I believe it is.” Of course, being a priest he might find this piece less than….

And then there is the creepy Dutch Boy that looks slightly (well, not slightly) menacing. Man, did it get a bunch of comments on FaceBook:

  • I’ve seen that painting there! 🙂
  • It’s like some satanic boy on a donut box….
  • Would you recommend the NOMA? Thinking about going.
  • Not a huge collection, but a MASSIVE sculpture garden (which I didn’t see but have the brochure for). Lovely café that is an outpost of Ralph Brennan.
  • It looks like a selfie!
  • Dutchboy paints used this painting for marketing.
  • Slightly!?
  • Somewhere in Maine Stephen King is missing a piece of cover art.

Now for something tame… from my love of furniture.

Great lunch at Café NOMA which is a Brennan outpost. I had the BBQ Chicken Sliders:

Yep, a glass of red wine and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal – got my news fix.

From the St. Charles Street Car line.

A view down Canal Street towards the Mississippi. The rain from my first night in town has turned into just a muggy overcast.

Maybe a new profile picture?

That was the end of day one…dinner was pork chops simmered in BBQ sauce. Last night was a pan-fried rib eye steak, both meals came with salad – yes, I’m condo cooking in New Orleans, the land of great food (where the portions are HUGE as are the calories).

Full Day Number Two: the goal is the Mexican Consulate’s Art Gallery to see an exhibition of Five Generations of Mexican Art – focusing on printmaking. Damn fine show! As I said to the gallery director as well. Hard to find. The address on Convention Boulevard finds you across from the Convention Center at a Hertz car rental. It’s a slightly run down building which if you walk around the east side you find the Mexican Consulate on the ground floor, and if you walk around the west side you find the gallery, which you have buzz someone to unlock the door – guessing they aren’t listed in any of the “art gallery guides”. I just stumbled across them on the interweb (as Mags would say).

Also on my agenda – though just added when I noticed it on a directional sign at transferring from the Canal Street Street Car to the Waterfront Street Car was the Museum of Southern Food and Beverage which looked to be close to the Mexican Consulate. When I couldn’t find any other signs for it, tapped it into the phone to find out some sad news:

SoFAB will re-open to the public on Monday, September 29, 2014 following a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.

Exploring their site on-line led to this interesting entry:

The Southern Food and Beverage Museum and the Museum of the American Cocktail are located  at 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70113. Street parking is available, or you can take the St. Charles Streetcar line to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and walk three blocks to Oretha C. Haley Boulevard.

Who knew? Guess I have another reason to come back to New Orleans….

Walking back to the street car almost stepped in this:

Not sure how it met it’s end, but doesn’t look pleasant.

And now a couple of random “tourist” shots – the cruise terminal on the Mississippi next to the Riverwalk Outlet Mall…

Harrah’s Casino – now on-land rather than a boat:

Another restaurant with a cool neon sign:

Headed back to the Avenue Plaza to whip up a little dinner…

And before bedtime headed out to pick up more of the cheap “bourbon” since it wasn’t that bad…

Before settling into bed…

For tomorrow it’s check-out at noon and meander to the airport for my 5:55PM flight.

 

The Road Home….

 

It’s wonderful to have a late afternoon flight (though that means getting in rather late as well) – no need to worry about setting alarms, having enough time to make breakfast, etc. It takes about two hours using the cheap public transit to get to the airport – but I’ve got plenty of time, and the check-in desk at Alaska doesn’t open until 3PM anyway.

There isn’t a Board Room at the New Orleans Airport, but there is a Delta Sky Club that I have privileges in, albeit in a different terminal which means going back through security to catch my flight. And when I get there, the place is PACKED – there were more people in the Sky Club than were in the concourse – apparently due to a couple of delayed flights.

But the food was good and the drinks were strong.

That would be the Chicken Salad with walnuts and cranberries, marinated olives, and a Jack and Diet – not shown, the Italian Wedding Soup with meatballs (also good).

Alas—no gate upgrade to First Class for my trip home. And there was a tall muscly guy in the middle seat…spent most of the flight leaning towards the aisle. Looks like my “upgrade luck” finally ran out.

[? ? ?]

Mon
23
Sep '13

Back At Sea On The Golden Princess

Another boat ride, another couple of lines:

WP_20130923_001

Not as bad as Seattle – 1 hour compared to 1.5 hours. This time there was a Preferred Line for the frequent cruisers like me and my guest so that knocked half an hour from the process, and the dual boarding ramps helped as well.

By a little after 1pm we were settled in our cabin and Magnatrious was fiddling with his radio that picked up all the crews radio signals – he’s an ex-Merchant Marine:

WP_20130923_005

And it’s a nice shot of our “Mini-Suite” which comes with a complimentary glass of welcome aboard champagne. I couldn’t hold the camera AND the champagne so this is what you get:

WP_20130923_003

The weather is supposed to turn once we are out of protected waters, but for now it’s a lovely sunset before dinner at 7pm:

WP_20130923_014

We opted for a shared table for dinner so that we could eat at 7pm rather than when a table opened up. We have an 8:30pm date with the LGTB (Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, BiSexual) Group meeting in the Wheelhouse Lounge.

As for dinner – same menu as the Seattle to Vancouver run which was also noticed by another couple at the table who were on the Star Princess as well. I did get her to try the Chilled Peach Bellini soup. I’d had a 5pm Bratwurst/Knockwurst snack so I was eating a little lighter. A nice bottle of wine – probably marked up a ton. I’ll have to check when I get back.

The LGBT Gathering was a little disappointing in that it was the same time as a dance band struck up making it a little hard to talk. We finally got about six people, but since we were all a little late our “host” had left thinking no one was showing…. So I’m guessing no LGTB event on the schedule for tomorrow so we all decided to just show up at 5PM Tuesday and take over the lounge when nothing else is happening. It would be night if they put up a sign or something. Guess they think we are like the “Friends of Bill W” who don’t want to advertise that they are a bunch of recovering drunks. Oh well. And once again all G’s no BLT’s – though a couple who was there said that on an Alaska cruise they took in June it was packed with Lesbians and they were the only gay couple to attend the gatherings.

Actually got to bed at midnight, which is early for me and late for Mags.

[? ? ?]

Thu
27
Aug '15

Trip Report: Breitenbush & Bend

I haven’t been to the Radical Faerie Gathering at Brietenbush Hot Springs in a couple of years, but since it was being put on by Lightning and DancingBear, thought I should give it a whirl. It’s a lovely spot up in the mountains an hour east of Salem, Oregon. These shots should give you an idea:

Above is the Main Lodge, belowis my cabin:

This summer I’m sharing the cabin with Mags and H.O. Though it’s totally against the rules, and probably because of that, there is a tradition of the afternoon cocktail party hosted by Punch, who, like his name, makes Punch every afternoon from a whole lot of fresh squeezed fruit and handles of booze. The turn “handle” is one I’d never heard before to descript ½ gallon (1.75liter) bottles of spirits — because they generally have handles.

In addition, Punch also put out things like hot sweet and sour meatballs and pulled pork sliders as an appetizer to our wholly vegetarian meal in the lodge. Thank you Punch! And for the curious, the buffet line in the lodge:

Gathering started on Wednesday and wrapped up Sunday – I was less participatory than usual, making it down to the lodge for lunch and dinner, doing part of the talent show and all of the auction/fashion show that I was in wearing my zebra lederhosen. I do have a people of my buddy Sierra wearing them before the gathering:

(See other posts for pictures of my in the zebra lederhosen.)

There is another tradition that I follow at “The Bush” – the ritual breakfast in town, this time with H2OBlanco, at the Cedars. I went for the biscuits and gravy, H2OBlanco, the steak and eggs:

Did I mention the Peach Bellini as well?

Sunday, prying H.O. from the gathering was a chore as he’d fallen ass over teacup for this guy from Portland – me, I just had a little fooling around on the couch in the lodge. It also meant that I had the double bed to myself for all but the first night.

But off we went to Bend on what turned into a fool’s errand. The original plan was to hook up with my buddies Stan and Denise, and then look at some old cars on the way out of town but H.O. started having serious stomach issues after our dinner down the road from the WorldMark Eagle Crest where we were staying. The place was Niblick & Greene’s. The meal was good, but it was just too much food for his skinny little system to handle.

I had the fish tacos, he went with the American Dip – and I SHOULDN’T have helped him finish the fries as that left me feeling bloated for the rest of the evening eating tums. Guess those would have been Freedom Fries to go with the American Dip


In the end, by the time morning rolls around, H.O. had been hurling all night and was travelling with his trusty Ziploc barf bag so I bailed on lunch and even bothering to stop and look at used cars – felt I needed to get the boy home and to his bed.

It was an interesting drive to Portland on Highway 26 – there was a stretch of 30-40 miles that was completely burned except for the houses that they managed to save. There was still smoke in the air from the fire two days ago.

Too funny that my wine shop business partner Jim and his girlfriend Suzanne (who were also visiting Stan and Denise) drove this road two days BEFORE the Warm Springs Fire and H.O. and I drove it two days afterwards.

The final photo of this post is of my other Portland area ritual – a burger and a glass of wine at Burgerville at the 1-5/1-205 interchange in Vancouver, Washington.

I had the Pinot Noir because I hadn’t tried it – other times it’s been the Merlot which I think was a better match. All of their wines are from local Oregon wineries. Classy touch for a burger joint.

Got H.O. delivered to Everett, then headed back to Seattle to unpack and start load after load of laundry.

[213.6]

Tue
2
Aug '16

City Report: Touring Amazon’s Headquarters

I really would have preferred to tour one of their fulfillment centers – but alas, nothing in the state and nothing with slots open (I would have FLOWN to get on a tour), so Seattle Headquarters it is.

Here is a map of the fulfillment centers that offer tours:

And I was serious about flying to do a tour! Just rechecked – Jeffersonville, Indiana has an October 4th opening…sigh. And now I have spots for two people. Where the hell IS Jeffersonville! Across the river from Louisville, Kentucky it turns out.

I’ve got friends in Kentucky – The Colonels, Babs…but it turns out The Colonels will be in NOLA (New Orleans) during that time – might have to reschedule.

But back to the HQ Tour! We start at “Day One North” – because in Amazon speak, “Every Day Is Day One”, in this case North, but we parked in Day One South – separated by a free Banana Stand for everyone (Amazon or not):

We were early so we wandered down to Lake Union, stopped at my Credit Union for cash, ogling all the “worker bees” before our tour.

And off on the tour we go, with two guides (and BADGES!):

Random shots of the “views” from various Amazon buildings (12 spread around South Lake Union and Belltown):

All the buildings are named after Amazon’s history – this building, Rufus, named after the first “office dog”. Currently there are about 2,000 dogs at work per day – doggie biscuits at all the reception desks. Rufus is also the name of one of our “shop dogs” – i.e., dogs what drag owners into Madrona Wine Merchants:

Lots of rooftop gardens!

And a candid shot of my tour buddy Mags:

Lots of walking – should have brought my hat from the car.

For me, the highlight was the Tote Robot (nicknamed Tottie) that delivered our “swag” – here is the video:

Please note that the robot is running at 20% of its normal speed – now you know why I want to get a tour of a fulfillment center!

Here is the SWAG and my “badge” from the tour – one of the stops was at the “reading room”, filled with advance copies of books which we could take one with us – I grabbed a “thriller” call “The Capitalist” – appropriate for an Amazon tour!

Selfie stick, badge, book, and not pictured, pen and stickies set – not sure where that’s gone to!

It was a fun day – we’d thought about doing the Gates Foundation Visitor Center, but we’d run out of energy. OK, I’d run out of energy!

Fun day in the city.

[212.2]

Fri
16
Sep '16

City Report: Two Tours Not Open To The Public

Being in town the week – I know, how unusual – got to keep busy. I set up these two tours a month or so ago for when Jonathan is out of school (and not working).

Tour Number One:

Not open to the public, it just happens that my buddy Seth is one of three machinists at the, part of UW’s Nuclear Program.

What you need to understand is that Jonathan is an engineering student at South Seattle – so this is cooler for him than me, that and I’ve been here before to meet Seth for lunch.

Here is the overview of the place – a view I HADN’T seen before:

And some of the individual machines….

Most of the equipment is World War II vintage – but as you can see, has be upgraded to the modern world. I wouldn’t want to help move ANY of these machines.

One of my favorites of this shop is how they recycle stuff that has served its original purpose, but is now “upcycled” into other useful things:

Nice reworking of Lucite shipping mounts.

Tour Number Two:

This tour WILL be open to the public in about a year and a half – it’s of the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Kent, Washington. Turns out that I know the guy that is in charge of all the center tours in the US – like the one that I had booked in Indiana for October 4th, that I cancelled when I got a much better option called, no airfare, hotel, rental car, just ugly traffic.

The downside, blogging wise, is that it’s a photography prohibited area, so, you get the outside…

And the lobby signage:

And the secure nature of the faculty – badge coming in, metal detector coming out – my buddy has a plastic belt buckle and a wooden watch (I kid you not, CLICK HERE for Wooden Watches on Amazon) to speed the process (and the watch is cool!)

But it was an amazing tour – it was an incredibly efficient Rube Goldberg Device of pick, pack, robots, multiple sorting, dump it on a truck. Our hosts quest is to eventually make this the “gold star” tour of fulfillment centers in the US, to couple with the tour of Amazon Headquarters that Mags and I did in August. CLICK HERE for ink to that post.

If you’d like a list of Amazon Fulfillment Centers that are currently open for public tours, CLICK HERE. Mind you, they are popular and book up quickly.

So, that’s how I spend my non-travelling weeks, exploring the odd bits of my region.

[213.6]

Sat
21
Sep '13

Birthday Ramble – Day One.

Too much puttering around that with nasty traffic I was over half an hour behind schedule.

And more ugly traffic trying to get to the Cruise Ship terminal. Oh well, we don’t sail until 3:30.

Magnatrious clocked our time getting through the check-in process to actually getting on-board – 1.5 hours. Maybe I should start skipping getting on-board in time for an appropriately-time lunch. No crowds getting on the boat at 2pm.

A quick burger for lunch – it was the shortest line, then the it was the 3:15 safety drill with the wonderful Benjamin – a shy member of the orchestra:

Never did find out what instrument. Then we were back to the cabin for some relaxing:

Until the deck got too hot and I had to strip down to the Speedos for cocktail time:

An early dinner at 6 as the LGBT Gathering is in the Wheelhouse Lounge at 7:

Prime rib for me, peppercorn medallions for Mags.

And off to the Wheel House we go – no time for dessert. Wow – a one night cruise and 40 guys in the bar – and apparently another 20 missing.

Too cold for Movies Under The Stars – even with the provided blankets – I don’t like Star Trek THAT much.

I can’t believe later we both ordered room service (Club and a Croque Menou) AND did a brief drive by of the buffet before bed.

This will be the last day of that sort of behavior for me.

{203.1]

Fri
16
Aug '13

First Full Day With My Polish Guest.

First off, let’s get a better picture of Koral, who at the summer camp in Flathead Lake in Montana, the staff referred to him as Charley since Carol is a woman’s name, unless you are a retired ex-Air Force Lt. Colonel who travels with me.

I called him Karol, with a more guttural East German accent.

The pic:

Guess I should have taken a second picture just to be sure. You can’t see the blue eyes.

He was up and out before I was out of bed – off to the EMP (Experience Music Project), Space Needle, Monorail, Pike Place Market…. Got a text at 5 saying he’d be back by dinner time – but he got a little lost and was back at 9 rather than 7, Mags and I saved him leftovers which he snarfed.

Pork loin roast over a bed of roasted root vegetables, a big salad, the left over bread.

A good time. Life is hard.

[205.0]

Tue
23
Jul '13

More Travel Plans.

Finally got dates from Obrad as to which days he is going to be in Kansas City for the 40th Anniversary American Field Service students placed in the Kansas City area. I’m not going to that, but I thought it would be nice to see Obrad for a couple of days (Monday through Wednesday). And, I need the Alaska miles.

Here is what my Alaska needs are:

Miles To Go Before I Sleep With MVP Silver 2014

 

Trip Miles

Balance

5-23 still need

 

17,690

Kansas City in August

2970

14,720

Cabo in September

3770

10,950

SFO-SEA in October

678

10,272

Hawaii? (BLI-HNL)

5430

4,842

Hawaii? (BLI-HNL)

5430

-588

Nowhere need enough miles to even try for MVP Gold this year. I’ll have to be happy with Silver MVP on Alaska, and Gold Premier on United.

Thinking of staying at the Savoy Hotel in Kansas City for the two nights. $105 for a suite, which includes a massive breakfast in the morning from the Savoy Grill next door (http://www.savoyhotel.net/breakfast.html). Years ago when I travelled on business to Kansas City I used to stay here.

When I used to stay here they had a bag of Gordano Mix and two minis of Bailey’s Irish Cream in a little basket by the coffee maker – hopefully they still do this.

Snagged a mini-SUV (oddly enough cheaper than the economy car) for $35 a day plus fees (total $98).

That done it was time to hook of with Magnatroica and get the rest of his Princess information filled out for the two cruises in September that CaddyDaddy was supposed to accompany me on before his untimely passing.

Next up UW Surplus where I found a couple of maintenance pieces for the faerie printer in the office. I’ve got plenty of toner, just not the maintenance kits.

And the final travel chore was getting Mags Amtrak Guest Rewards number on the Coast Starlight family room ticket instead of Caddys.

All done with planning for a while – more in late August when Alaska Airlines usually puts things on sale.

Chicken Fried Steaks from Omaha Steaks for dinner. Thanks RiverSong for the thank-you package for my work on the Winter Gathering.

[203.8]

Fri
19
Jul '13

Still More Laundry.

With the all in one Italian washer/dryer combo I have, it take many small loads to get them to come out dry. On the upside it uses something like $4 a year in electricity.

Sheets are done for the guest bed – I’d just moved to whole guest bed mattress into the station wagon for camping. That also led me to clean up the office a bit – still needs way more.

After I got the station wagon completely unloaded (yes, I’m slow) it was off to the car wash – yesterday I took the Miata through – both were looking seriously dusty (the downside of a semi-industrial neighborhood. Now what I REALLY need to do is clean and organize the garage so I can get both the Miata AND the Weiner Wagon to fit.

Dinner with Magnatrocia tonight – a simple meal of pork chops, salad and fresh bread (for Mags).

And just because I stumbled across this cell phone picture… Mount Rainier as seen from the Safeway Gas Station in Enumclaw:

[206.4]

Tue
20
Mar '12

Grocery List.

Today feels like a grocery list, but I’m not even shopping for groceries.

It’s that list of things you have to do, which I’ve already thrown in the trash. What I remember:

  • Blog
  • Swanda Update
  • CRFR site work
  • PayPal Donation Button
  • License Bureau— wrong paperwork for what Swanda needs to do, yet another notarized form
  • Harbor Freight to ogle tools
  • Short nap
  • Apartment to pick up mail
  • Gift shop to look for mags for Swanda — BAD selection, almost bought Martha Stewart Living
  • Pay for parking for long visit with Swanda
  • Home for dinner

For the pictures today, we have the “Swanda Series” of the big man himself, and all of this new appliances, including the Hummer chair:

And the commode:

And his walker:

And Swanda at 558.6 pounds this morning smiling in the afternoon:

After Swanda it was home for cocktails, dinner, and packing for tomorrow’s trip to see both of the “faux nephews” — that would be my dead brother’s widow’s new husband’s nephews, and maybe their dad as well depending on what time he gets in on Thursday.

[210.4]

Mon
18
Nov '19

Trip Report: The Pride of Palm Springs — Part One

So, I have a friend…there are both jokes and snide comments possible with that start, BUT she has tasked me with managing (and paying the maintenance dues) for her 12,000-point WorldMark account so she just doesn’t have to thank about it anymore. It was a sore point between her and her partner.

So far, I’ve used her points to go to Anaheim to see The Mouse (but was too cheap to buy a park ticket), and now to Palm Springs for the combination of Halloween AND Gay Pride. Pride in Palm Springs is always the first full weekend of November…but his year with Halloween on Thursday, it was a two-fer!

Any now, the pictures you’ve been waiting for. Gone for a week, and need to bring wine:

Arrived a couple of hours before actual check-in. Opted for the 2-bedroom unit with twin beds in the second bedroom. Probably should have looked at a property map and chosen a better location since we were at the back of the property. It was quiet, but no balcony overlooking the parade route:

Over the last year, I’ve had several people relocate either part-time for full time to Palm Springs, so lots of people to visit, starting with Jack and Stevee for dinner at PF Changs hosted by DancingBear:

We’d done some shopping so when breakfast rolled around, we had fixin’s, complete with Caesars (which is a Bloody Mary made with Clamato).

For dinner, we invited Mags, the other transplant for dinner:

By the following breakfast, Craig had showed up from LA to join us for the week:

Craig is pondering the move as well, so for lunch it was DB and I at Sherman’s Delicatessen, a tradition in more ways than one:

I started with a Sparkling Greyhound:

Before my grilled Rueben…

And DB bought a Key Lime Pie to go.

Halloween night dinner was at the condo – we had a grill, but no BBQ tongs. Called the front desk and they sent some over:

He is 6’4″ WITHOUT the heels – and works the Front Desk. Welcome to Halloween in Palm Springs! Tonight’s dinner is street tacos with John and Stevee coming to a late dinner:

And what are street tacos without a couple of desserts – including the Key Lime pie from Sherman’s and a cake from the Italian bakery.

Another day, another fabulous breakfast…

There was “pool time” involved…

And hot tub time after the sun went over the mountains. But it’s sort of rude to take pictures in the hot tub after dark.

I’ll wrap up this post because the next one will have a TON of pictures of the Palm Springs Gay Pride Parade (and videos).

Stay tuned.

[???]

For more blog posts, click here.