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Uncle Markie out and about.

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Thu
8
Feb '07

Bullet Points.

11am ferry, cheap gas at the reservation on the way ($2.25 a gallon, regular unleaded).

Meet with Roy, respond to offer, inspect “listing” to see how long I’m committed. Shit, still haven’t found that paper work. No time to dig.

Pick up packages at Paper, Scissors, on the Rock — toner for the 5500, and hopefully three cases of wine. Four cases of wine, and I ordered the wrong toner — will right machine, wrong color.

Pack the van for the next trip to the city. More crap out of the attic. Washer? Probably not. Definately extension cords for the new house… construction and all. God help me, it’s going to be a long night.

A quiet dinner in the sanctuary. Reflect on island life, and the crappy, low-ball offer. Think about moving more stuff out. Time to pull it off the market and stage it? Jill and I have the furniture for it, Terry could redo the paint.

Back to town in the morning, so much for dinner with Lynne. Maybe I can get the directory done tonight (cover’s done) and not have to come back to the island, that would change the packing list!

 

Tue
10
Apr '12

Surprise In Edmonton.

Well, the “Surprise In Edmonton” was a success. I boarded the train at 7:15 and sent to the “Bullet Lounge” at the end of the train after stowing my bags hoping to find The Colonels. No luck.

A long train today:

Two coach cars, two dome cars and six sleeper cars. And oddly enough, they had sleeper cars on both sides of the dining car which annoyed the dining crew (and I’m assuming to poor folks in the sleepers next to the coach seats since they had to tromp through three times a day for meals. I did find them (had breakfast first, then waited to 9) by seeing the dining room steward who had the entire list of sleeping car guests. Knocked on the door, and I the look on their faces when the door opened was priceless — not unlike my mother’s expression at her 85th birthday surprise in Taos.

No, that isn’t their cabin, though it would make a nice one. It’s the downstairs bar in the Bullet Lounge.

Nice to hang out and catch up and see the sites.

I’d forgotten that headed west, today was a brunch day, rather and a breakfast and lunch day. Something about the train arriving in Jasper for an hour and a half right in the middle of a meal.

We all had the rack of lamb for dinner at the 7pm seating, and went to bed early as somehow I’d misplaced my empty Coke bottle for mixing drinks for the bar car, along with thinking that the whiskey and coke was now buried under my sleeping berth downstairs neighbor. Oh well, I needed the sleep more than another drink.

[? ? ?]

Sun
27
Nov '22

Trip Report: Across Canada By Train

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

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

And the view from the gate…

Views like this is why I call Seattle, home.

On Air Canada today, in the pointy end:

And lovely views on the way out…

And then the parade of food and drink starts…

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

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

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

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

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

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

And our first lunch…

Then dinner…

Then dessert…

Once the bed is made up…

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

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

The breakfast, on the other hand, is wonderful:

And we ARE prepared in our cabin:

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

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

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

And more pictures of hanging out:

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

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

Dinner tonight was French Onion Soup and Prime Rib:

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

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

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

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

And then we were in the mountains!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lunch was a Sylvia’s on English Bay:

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

The end to a fun trip.

[198.8]

For more blog posts, click here.

Fri
25
Mar '11

Trans-Canada: Day Four.

I’m really settling into a routine — the early breakfast, then back to bed followed by the shower and lunch interspersed with reading. Today I’ve started a Sandra Brown detective novel (bubble gum for the eyes and brain) called “Fat Tuesday”. Needless to say, it’s set in New Orleans.

Lunch was especially good today with the asparagus soup at a starter and the main was a Greek salad with grilled shrimp on top – – and I even had dessert since it was a black cherry ice cream.

There was a diversion to today’s standard afternoon – – a live singer songwriter duo headed back from Winnipeg to Toronto entertaining at 3pm in the forward dome lounge and 8pm in the “bullet” lounge.

They are really good together even though they don’t actually play in the same bands, but have been friends long enough to know a lot of the same tunes. This almost makes up for the fact that today, more than usual has been a day of stops and starts on the train. I’d say the economy has recovered judging by how many freight trains we’ve had to stop and let through.

I’m thinking that means no possibility up an upload during the 35 minute stop at Hornpayne. I’m guessing whistle stop at best.

Dinner was a lovely rack (5 ribs) of lamb, scalloped potatoes, Atlantic seafood chowder, a spinach mandarin salad – – and a free mimosa (to go with the remainder of last night’s bottle of wine) because of the delay.

After dinner it turned into a party in the Park Car – – the official name for the “bullet lounge” I’ve been referring to. The boys were back playing, that would be Michael Peters on the right and Keith Price on the left in the photo above.

Here is a little snippet of their performance in the Park Car:

And a great picture of the view from the top of the stairs leading up to the now vacant dome section.

After the concert I bought them a round, no wonder my liquor bill was $80 with tip for the night, along with picking up CDs (2 for $20) from each of them.

Yes, we are BEHIND the bar.

Most of the time they were playing we were stuck on a siding, this time not due to freight trains, but due to the train engineers running out of time on their clock (no more than 10 hours). So, here we wait for a replacement crew 30 minutes from where the crew was supposed to change – – nothing like seeing a pickup truck with train wheels pull up beside the car.

Now for the real question: What time will we arrive in Toronto?

[? ? ?]

Wed
23
Mar '11

Trans-Canada: Day Two

Woke up in Kamloops a little after six and lounged around in bed for another hour or so until we pulled out. I’m pleasantly surprised that the beds are actually more comfortable than those on the Amtrak long distance trains.

Open seating at breakfast in the dining car, which actually has movable chairs rather than benches, which is much better for the full bellied of us. And not a bad breakfast either:

After breakfast, off to the showers for the final cleaning of the morning. I did the teeth in the room before breakfast. FYI, there is a crapper in the room, but you can’t use it once the bed is down since it covers the lid (thankfully with a tight seal). And then onto the “bullet” lounge for a little sightseeing and blog work.

To get the real feeling of the car, hopefully I can insert this video which starts in the bubble dome “bullet” lounge car (for use by sleeping car passengers only) and back down the stairs to where I’m sanding in the picture above:

We are running a tad behind today .. . . a coupling broke on a freight train and we ended up ferrying workers back and forth on the mile plus long train, quicker than walking. At the moment looks like arrival in Jasper about 15 minutes late leaving less time to find the wi-fi signal and get blog entries and hopefully photos uploaded.

Lunch was a tomato Florentine soup, the Angus burger, slaw, and a skipped dessert. The dining car:

Might have a late update from Edmonton just before midnight Mountain Time.

[? ? ?]

Tue
22
Mar '11

Trans-Canada: Day One

I should have taken the bus to Canadaland.

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.

[? ? ?]

Thu
24
Mar '11

Midnight In Alberta.

Definitely Not Midnight At The Oasis.

Unless There Is Snow At The Oasis.

Extra post for today. Update from Edmonton where hopefully there is a signal.

This is a really bad still shot from my video camera because my main camera battery died while I was in the “bullet lounge car”. Almost looks like a sepia tone.

Dinner tonight was the pork no-so-tenderloin with Atlantic fish chowder, salad, roasted potatoes and pearl onions with a cheesecake for dessert. It’s a nice touch that they “gussy” up the dining chairs for the evening service (and I like the fact that they are not booth seating!):

And here is where I have spent the last 20 minutes waiting for a red signal. At the junction of train tracks just above the Edmonton tag where the blue line ends.

Hopefully I’ll have time to post the video for the last post. But alas . . . none of that is happening since the wi-fi here needs a password and we arrived late and there is no time to get off. See you in Winnipeg.

[? ? ?]

Mon
30
May '11

ClearWire SUCKS!

The promise of “the tower will be fixed within 24 hours” turns out to be patently false. For most of today my connection has been up about 20 minutes out of every two hours. I bit the bullet and signed on with Qwest-CenturyLink for their 7mbps service after enduring a connection from ClearWire that has slowly deteriorated over the last two and a half months. It was so bad that I finally just tethered my cell phone to my laptop.

New service live on Friday after I pick up the modem at the apartment.

The downside of tethering? It means that when I went to go print postage (which requires an internet connection) I’d have to print the envelope, then log-on to the wi-fi in the house, then log off to print the next one since it wasn’t capable of dealing with two signals at once.

Other than a frustrating computer day I got a couple of samples generated for one of my clients offering a couple of different adhesive options, moved a bunch of stuff out of the office and hallway in preparation for guests coming in from out of town, and invited myself to dinner at DancingBear’s place with the excuse of dropping off the call to be posted and mailed.

Apparently strange things happen when I invite myself to dinner… it turns into a full blown Memorial Day BBQ for eight. Luckily the challah I brought was separated into eight rolls, not that we needed them with the rice, potato salad, baked beans, brisket, burgers, two types of sausage, regular salad, and I assume I’m forgetting something. Quite the spread. Thanks DB!

My plan to pack for the trip to Reno before dinner got put off until after dinner with all the internet delays. It will be amusing to see what I show up in Reno with — I do remember packing a bunch of frozen meat.

[230.7]

Tue
10
Apr '12

On The Rails, Again.

ViaRail That Is.

Here is a link from last year’s trip going the other way:

https://blog.unclemarkie.com/index.php?s=bullet

Ignore the first post, but the rest are on topic.

More later on the topic once I’m back online again sometime on Wednesday. There might be wi-fi in the station in Edmonton, but it’s doubtful. I especially love the map I included on one post, as it’s from the Edmonton stop.

[? ? ?]

Mon
31
Aug '09

Back In The Air, Back To Work

An uneventful morning, and an uneventful flight in seat 1C — that was only 10-15 minutes late getting it which wasn’t too bad. My worry is for my flight on Wednesday for which Jill and I are hoping to dodge a bullet (or more precisely, a hurricane).

hurricane

Cabo San Lucas in in the red hurricane warning zone, but out of the rain and wind. I praying for a change in direction tonight or tomorrow or that we will be just delayed a bit as we fly around the storm. Wish us luck.

Got home around 3pm and immediately started sending out more trademark cease and desist emails, making work notes for tomorrow meeting, and generally cleaning up the mess of mail.

Pushed off a computer appointment tomorrow so I could chill out… and then I get email that one of my clients has dropped me as of September 1st. I guess this is just as well since my September is a mess.

This evening better improve. It’s freaking 7pm and I need a steak.

And a steak it was and some mixed vegetables, a little wine, a little TV and it’s the end of the day.

[220.9 — but LATE in the day, so that’s good]

Tue
8
May '12

Day One – The Canadian.

Checking Out Of The Canadian, Boarding The Canadian.

The blog post sounds confusing… Checking out, checking in, boarding, all The Canadian?

The WorldMark is at The Canadian, across from Wall Centre (home of the Sheraton). The Canadian is also a beer slogan (Molsen?), which BamBam had four of while we were hanging out waiting for The Canadian, the train that runs from Vancouver to Toronto.

Apparently, the Canadians like to call everything “The Canadian”.

My day, after The Canadian, and before The Canadian.

Up at nine, packed and out of the condo at noon. Off to the train station (via SkyTrain, C$2.50) to drop off my bag so they could put it in my “stateroom”, a.ka. a “roomette” on “The Canadian”. Damn, I’m about to wear out the ” key.

After dropping the bag (C$3, which they didn’t charge for the last time, but still totally worth it), I still had time on my SkyTrain ticket – got back on the train to go to the end of the Zone One area, but realized that the first stop was Commercial Drive where I know has nice restaurants for lunch (breakfast was a Slim Jim basically). Basically I have until 8:30pm when the train leaves to amuse myself. Commercial Drive here I come.

My buddy Pucci would like all the old Italian espresso bars, not turned sports:

My favorite memory of this place 20 years ago was of a couple of old Italian guys eating sushi, drinking espresso, and chatting in Italian.

Got off the train and remembered my buddy TomTuma often works from home. Called, and he was home, at least for a glass of fizzy ice water on the rocks before his next appointment:

Damn. Lose 25 pounds and you still look fat next to the skinny one.

Lunch at the Memphis Blues BBQ place close to Toms:

That would be the pulled pork on greens. Where I’m from, those greens would have been mustard and sautéed in bacon fat, not drizzled in a BBQ vinaigrette.

On the way back to the station, stumbled across this lovely duo busking on the street corner… cello and accordion. Can’t wait to check out www.sidewalkcellist.com to see if the accordion player is listed. He’s HOT.

Had to buy another SkyTrain ticket so I started exploring Zone One which is as far as you can go in an hour and a half. Down to Chinatown, Waterfront Station, Marine Drive, and eventually, back where I started: the train station.

The boyz (Hummingbird and BamBam) showed up at 4:30 for one last get together – and off we go to the place across from the train station which is part:

  • Bar
  • Youth Hostel
  • Odd restaurant

Cheap it was. Jameson on the rocks for C$4.50, beers cheaper, and for less than C$20, dinner for the three of us. Not exactly “take a date place”, more of a “pick up some rough trade” place. After lunch I didn’t needtoo much to eat (expecting and receiving sparkling wine and canapés on boarding).

Parted with the boys so they could have an evening, and for me to deal with the excitement of the journey. It’s a long train we have…

We have a seriously LONG train – and I’m in Car 213 which is smack dab in the middle of the train. There are THREE Vista Dome cars, and all-glass Panorama car (we lose that in Edmonton for the west bound run) and bloody TEN sleepers. Now I really see where all the old cool pre-Amtrak equipment went… to Canada. Good thing I’ve got the knee brace on as it’s a long way from one end to the other. Hell, there are even TWO dining cars on this run. 23 pieces of equipment – three engines, a baggage car, two coach cars and all the stuff I mentioned before. We lose the other engine and the Panorama car in Jasper tomorrow at 4 (thought I think we are running late).

The train was so long that to get it into the yard they had to split it in two – the coach/baggage/engines on track 4 and all the rest of the cars on track 5 – it still made for a half mile walk for the folks in Sleeper Car 210.

First – a shot of the Panorama Car which I have never seen on ViaRail before:

Sorry for the crappy picture, but it’s still better than AmTrak’s just for the number of people who can actually sit there… not a bubble dome, but can hold three times the people.

And I’m flummoxed over the last picture of the night, of the room (after the champagne and several cocktails).


So I did both.

One of the most interesting conversations on the train was with the “Bullet Lounge” car attendant who repeatedly had to answer… “Is this where I get breakfast”… “No, that’s the dining car, ask your room attendant.” That the Express Fares have filled up the train with many people who haven’t done this before (I’m channeling Swanda to not be snarky – it took me three times to rewrite that sentence.) Considering that normally my fare would be C$1800 and I got it for C$575 – it’s opened up rail travel in a sleeper to a bunch more people, hence, TEN sleeping cars and TWO coach cars (those were on sale as well).

[? ? ?] The last Alli® pill was on Sunday with my noon meal. And now I’m on a trip with three meals a day, doubtful any carb free. Started this trip at 210 and hoping not to come back as a blimp.

Wed
9
May '12

Day Two, The Canadian.

Rolled out of the compartment in yesterday’s clothes at 7:30am and was fed and back in bed by 8:30am for another two hours sleep since I didn’t go to sleep until 1:30am this morning. The rough life on a train.

Mr. Lobster decided to take the upper bunk and share it with my coffee mug.

After a shower, headed to the Panorama car to look at the scenery and start on this trips must finish book: Appetite For America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West – One Meal at a Time (Stephen Fried). A nice relaxing place to read:

Especially when we come up to Triangle Falls:

Too bad didn’t have my camera out in time for the remains of a derailment a week and a half ago – containers in the river, beside the tracks. Quite a mess.

To give you an idea about how long this train is, this was taken from the first dining car with is I believe the fifth car in the train (out of twenty, unless you are counting the engines).

Way in the distance you can see the final dome car (the bullet shaped one).

Breakfast was eggs sunny side up, one half of a slice of toast, breakfast sausage that only the Canadians can love, a mouth full of hash browns and a glass of grapefruit juice. Like I said, trying to avoid those carbs as much as possible.

Lunch was vegetable soup where the vegetables still had some crunch, so I’m guessing train made and the frittata of asparagus and smoked salmon, even topped with some lox. Quite tasty. Passed on dessert.

Filing this from Jasper in the late afternoon as it’s the only wi-fi spot from here to Winnipeg as I don’t remember Edmonton as having wi-fi. Parting shot, Valemount, AB – at the beginning of the Rocky Mountain trench:

And Mount Robson, or at least what you can see of it.


[? ? ?]

Sat
12
May '12

Off The Train And Into The Sky.

Rolled into Toronto on 15 minutes late which is good for those with tight connections to make. For me, it just means less of a nap after breakfast. Lordie knows what this trip is going to do to my weight loss program.

After disembarking, it’s off to the Panorama Lounge to check email and sync up the Ken Doll.

They did a stunning job renovating the space.

But before I go further, a couple of pictures from last night when I dragged the Aussie ladies to the far end of the train to see the bullet shaped “Park Car. The first shot is of us in the bar section:

Looks like we are having way too much fun. It might be because of our bartender Sebastian:

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog post… put a couple of hours in the lounge confirming that United hadn’t once again moved my flight forward, posting blog stuff, checking mail, retrieving two more New Yorkers for the plane right home, and swilling down free espresso and Diet Cokes.

For CAN$3 you can catch the subway right across the street from the station that takes you to the airport. VERY convenient even if it is two transfers along with way. An hour door to door. Maybe next time I can figure out how to do this trip in the reverse order.

No troubles with checking in, or customs, though their Nexus machines were down so I had to do global entry, which might actually be easier. Luckily I was travelling with my passport, nexus, passport card AND enhanced driver’s license.

Picked up a liter of scotch at duty free and stuffed it into my carryon – the advantage of having already cleared US customs/immigration – you get to take it when you buy it because when you land in Chicago you fly into the domestic terminal rather than the international.

Lunch at the Molsen pub – cheeseburger, but swapped the fries for a Greek Salad to cut down most of the carbs.

Uneventful flight to Chicago arriving early so my worries about a 55 minute layover being too short did not come to pass.

The last leg to Seattle was much more amusing having a pretty gay boy as my seat companion. The only reading I got done was when he passed out for a bit, the rest of the time we were chatting like a couple of old hens (well, one old hen, on chicken). He’s a bag designer for Detour, a bike bag company here in Seattle. His partner was stuck in the back of the completely packed plane, at least in an aisle seat. He was nice enough to take a fresh baked cookie and a glass of red wine back mid-flight (with the blessing of the really funny girl stew). He and his partner like near the Arboretum and know the wine shop on 15th that Jim used to be partners in. I might have just added two more customers to our database. I also steered them to the ViaRail Express Deals and the Quillayute River Resort.

Our flight got into Seattle a little early, nice to get a jumpstart on heading home to my own bed.

Since the car was at the apartment, texted Swanda to see if he was up (yes), for a visit (yes, again) so I stowed my bags, picked up some food for me (dinner was a long time back) and headed up for a short visit. Actually managed to get home before the 11 o’clock news, but didn’t make it past the monologue for Saturday Night Live, something about it being 2:30am East Coast time.

Want to see all the pictures from the trip? Click on the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/71686688/1/ViaRail2012?h=1e180c

[? ? ?] and worried about tomorrow’s weigh in.

Mon
1
Apr '13

Monday In The Print Shop With Roxy.

I think I know the owner’s motivation – another full day of training in how to run the print shop. Personally, with the half-hour crossover between our shifts, I get how this works, and if I don’t, it still goes out that day because pickup is at 4pm.

The way Roxy deals with this is “its work hours, I’ll as many as they give me, it’s all over in mid-June”. This from the guy who is working a 40 hour week at Nordstroms as well as this 25 hour a week gig.

Worked until 6, then it was back home for a quick cocktail before heading off to dinner at The Brooklyn downtown. The boys (CouchSurfers) wanted a truly Seattle meal and were willing to drop bucks on it.

We all started with the oyster samplers:

  • I went for Vodka Sampler (4 ½ ounce shots of different vodkas, four different oysters)
  • Aaron went for the White Wine and Oysters (same combo pattern)
  • Johnnie went for the MicroBrew and Oyster sampler

Four different oysters, four different vodka/beer/white wines.

  • For dinner, I had the duck entrée
  • Johnnie had the Goat Cheese Pockets (Pockets my expression, they had some Italian name for it)
  • Aaron had a cup of the chowder and the foie gras over scallop

Bottle of Writer’s Block for dinner – it’s Jed Steele’s son’s label if I remember correctly from my time in Lake County north of Napa and Sonoma.

And then it was time for dessert. Poached Asian Pear with mascarpone:

With no Grappa Sampler anymore, I had (another) Manhattan, with the Bullet Rye I believe (or some local rye):

The boys split the Port Sampler (I think that makes FOUR samplers for the night!):

We lingered so long at the restaurant that the bartender had the key to my car – avoided a $9 valet charge! But with a two-seater, the boys took the bus back to the house – and got there 15 minutes after I did – shocking! They hit the bus stop downtown the same time the bus showed up. No traffic at 9+ at night.

Stayed up (again) too late – must work in the morning.

[207.2]

Fri
5
Jul '13

Home Again, Home Again.

A pretty chill morning around Casa Jacobs.

My printed boarding pass doesn’t say pre-TSA. So sad. No quick security.

Got to the airport in plenty of time – and when I checked my bags they issued me a new boarding pass… pre-TSA approved. Yahoo! And I learned something else – the Premium check-in lines (not the bag drop lines) are at the South End of the West Terminal…. With one short escalator ride to the pre-TSA line. Next time I’ll get dropped at the end of the terminal.

Had a lovely chicken Caesar salad and a couple of Manhattans at Elway’s (as in John Elway, the sports dude) in the B Concourse. Spendy, but right up there with the Brooklyn in Seattle, food-wise and drink-wise. They made my Bullet Rye Manhattan with Carpano Antica Formula red vermouth and those expensive cherries that my mother loves so much.

And they had the most unusual salt and pepper grinders on every table – mixed black/green/pink peppers in the pepper mill.

Landed a little before 5, was home a little after 6 after some dinner shopping.

Nice to be home, nice to be able to sleep in my own bed. Nice not to have gained a ton of weight on the trip.

[207.0]

Mon
16
Mar '15

Trip Report: Tokyo & Yokohama

Oh the joys of family. My planned two-night stay in Tokyo has been turned into a one-night stay in Tokyo and a one-night stay in Yokohama, where I am the .005% — which has turned out to be…I’m at a loss for words, but not at all negative.

One of the things that I love about JapanLand is the attention to detail….TokyoDave got his shirts back from the laundry – tied with a ribbon:

Nice touch.

I spent my morning in Tokyo, not sightseeing, but working on the last blog post, eating toast and yogurt and Japanese-brand Laughing Cow, before Mitsio (TokyoDave’s wife) returned home and made coffee. I’m at a loss in their kitchen.

By noon or so I’m at the station to catch the train to Yokohama – in theory meeting up with TokyoDave on the train. They gave me one of their “ORCA” cards (actually that’s a Seattle thing, but same principle), though it was drained so I had to go through “the dance” and then top it off before the end of the trip. Apparently the same card works all over Japan, which should be handy – just need to mail it back since I think it’s like Seattle’s with a $10 charge to buy one.

Small misconnection with TokyoDave, but with the joys of email, we have a backup plan, and I have a “chair”, I mean suitcase, that works as a seat, and before you know it we are here:

And then we are checked in, after a bit of a walk – not my fault!

Tight quarters, but not my dime, nor Circus, nor Monkeys.

First up – LUNCH!

Nothing says Tokyo like plates of food on a conveyor belt – though we ordered the lunch special. We just needed a snack to tide us over until an early dinner (5:30):

The joys of mechanization, Tokyo Style.

And then there are the vending machines… not the porno ones in the “entertainment district”, but more mundane:

I love the “Japanese” Juan Valdez hocking coffee….

Next up was the Shinyokohama Raumen Museum…sort of an “odd” concept – you pay 310 yen to get in, and the place is set up to look like a 1958 townscape with stalls selling various styles of ramen…like I said, “odd” Covers two floors…

The only reservation TokyoDave could get for Teppanyaki was at 5:30 – which is a little early for dinner (for me…), but the show was fun:

Nice meal all around – though not cheap. Think 35000yen (now divide by 120). Luckily (for me) it was a business expense for TokyoDave since I’m his registered agent.

That was pretty much the end of the evening for the two of us.

In the morning it’s the breakfast buffet that is seriously crowded….but it’s included in the room, so we are up and out early since TokyoDave is manning the desk at his daughter Maya’s International Baccalaureate Art Show (the same sort of show that I went to for my niece Karen a couple of weeks ago. Here is a quick picture of Maya’s exhibit.

Maya’s would the second one in from the left. It seemed a little higher quality that the New Mexico show, but not hugely so.

Lots of interesting work in Maya’s – even got to meet TokyoDave’s in-laws, who were in town for the show as well, hence, why I was decamped to Yokohama so they could have the guest bedroom.

I have the day to kill before catching the Bullet Train to Nagoya to meet up with my nephew, Julian. First up is the Silk Museum, which was right next to the IB exhibition.

Not a huge place, but lots of traditional clothing throughout Japan’s history. Then it’s off to the Nissan Gallery at their World Headquarters – yes, I know, I’m breaking my rule of only one tourist attractions per day, but these were pretty cars to look at, and nice butts in rubber pants:

Then down the block a little more and it was to the Haro Model Railway Museum – apparently this guy has been collecting and building model trains for his entire life.

Then it was back to the district where my hotel was to grab my luggage – but not before trying to squeeze in one last museum, the CupNoodles Museum (yes, that’s how it’s spelled).

But alas, there were tons of people in line to just get tickets. Guess I’ll save that for the next trip. Time to grab a bite, pick up the luggage and head to the station (which luckily is right across the street from the hotel). And this would be my office inside the JRStation waiting for my train…time to work on the blog (but not finished it – which is too bad because there is free wi-fi and I’m stocked with Whiskey and Diet.

Da Train Boss, Da Train!

Stay tuned for Nagoya and Komaki.

[? ? ?]

Sun
26
Jun '22

Trip Report: Grand Canadian Adventure – Saskatoon To Vancouver

Breakfast at a reasonable hour at the hotel:

And then we were off to the train station!

This is our route for the next couple of days…

And after a couple of hour delay….the train:

And a thank you our train car attendant Tyler, who happily snapped my picture.

Actually, we have two attendants. Tyler is in training under Josh.

We are staying in the Monck Manor car…

And here is our initial room (Cabin For Two in VIArail speak) setup:

After we got rolling, I ask if they had any tables available – something I learned from a previous trip – and they did!

MUCH BETTER.

And they even made us lunch and dinner reservations – what a great crew:

Turkey wrap for Dan, an interesting version of Ginger Beef for me.

Starting off in the prairies, it looked like this…

And we have access to one Dome/Activities and a bar car dome at the end of the train known as Park Car which is bullet shaped at one end that is open to the public after 4pm. Earlier it is just for the Prestige Class customers who have paid a little over $11,000 CDN for rooms with double beds, unlimited liquor, card key access rooms.

If you are curious what Prestige Class bedroom look like if you are willing to pay through the nose…

Soon it was time for dinner:

Dan went for the chicken, I went for the prime rib – which was the most amazing prime rib I’ve had in a good long while.

More pictures from after dinner with the bed pulled down for the night:

Yes, I took my cheesecake to go.

And some CN Company Cars (for railroad executives to travel between their cities) that I spotted as we were pulling into Edmonton.

It was an early night for both of us, and against all odds we ended up in Jasper on time…at 6:30am!

And the inside of the station…

Before I got off the train, I’d had a little granola and yoghurt with a little old French lady from Bordeaux who spoke little English but I gleaned that her daughter was an au Pierre in Seattle, had another daughter in Vancouver as well as Toronto, and that she was her for a week. She managed to learn that I was a Merchant de Vin.

Because of the 3-hour stop in Jasper, it was a Continental Breakfast early, and then at reboarding at 9:30, it was a Brunch menu until 1pm.

I had the boys deliver me the Transcontinental Breakfast:

I think I like having room service on the train!

Especially with the view!

And this video of these cool falls that you can see from the train. Pyramid Creek Falls Provincial Park:

And I saw a mountain goat (missed the bear sighting)!

When it comes time for dinner, I get the lamb. Dan has graciously given me some alone time today.

Salad starter:

Lamb Chops for dinner:

And the boys (Tyler and Josh) brought me a split of the Lemon/Raspberry Cake, and the Strawberry Cheesecake.

Last stop of the night was Kamloops, which, as a train station, doesn’t have much to recommend it, but it is the City of Tournaments (hockey, judo, curling, etc. – knowledge courtesy of Tyler)

And damned if the train wasn’t EARLY into Vancouver – supposed to arrive at 8am, and it was in the bloody station by 6:30 – but unlike Amtrak, the staff stayed on and served breakfast at the standard time of 6:30 to 8:00. And in the room, no less!

And our morning view…

Breakfast in a non-moving car, a nice change.

Not sure why my Caesar isn’t in that shot, but it was good!

And the final shot from the train journey, Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, BC.

Bye, bye, train, may we meet again soon.

[? ? ?]

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Tue
13
Jan '09

Two Pumps And A Quiver.

I wish that was how I could describe my time in Yelapa, but that would not be correct. Two pumps and a quiver is how BamBam describes the stallion’s portion of horse sex. I’m not sure why I like that phrase so much, but I wanted to remember it here today.

Today’s shot is a pantographic shot that I stitched together this afternoon while BamBam was doing watercolors and HummingBird was on the couch reading:

YelapaPanographLowRes

The shot is from our deck. To get to the beach you walk down the hill into town, then walk up the hill to the right, then back down the other side, and then ford a river to the beach.

I’m getting my exercise – we have been doing the beach every other day. Today’s exercise was a walk to the waterfalls closest to town – and definitely the town tourist trap – with all the day boats from Puerto Vallarta unloading their charges and marching them up the hill lined with booths selling this, that, and any other thing. Most of the stuff is traditional tourist stuff that was brought over from Puerto Vallarta – though there was a nice rosewood carver that was offering a shot of the local moonshine with any purchase.

On this, my last full day in Yelapa, my impressions …

  • Noisy – not a quiet life any time of the day or night. Roosters & ranchera (ranch music) bouncing off concrete buildings at all hours
  • Everything comes in my small boat – no roads at all – groceries, bags of concrete, beer, everything but some of the fruits from the jungle
  • There is now power here, and internet access, unlike when Hummingbird started coming here twenty years ago
  • Like any small town, everyone knows everyone’s business (like Lopez Island)
  • Many hills, many steps, much donkey poo to dodge – but I’m getting a workout
  • Ethnically, I think Yelapa is Mexican, Canadian, and then followed by the Americans – at least in the winter
  • Whereas it’s nice to visit, I still like Seattle better
  • Trash everywhere – but that is getting better with collection bags hung on all the major trails
  • Compost tends to go out the window or over the ledge to feed all the feral beasts
  • I’m not the type to go someplace for months at a time
  • Huge amounts of feral dogs and cats – PLUS those that are kept as pets. One of the locals was recommending just scooping up all the cats and drowning them
  • And finally, my general ambivalence about Mexico in general – just the sketchy nature of life down here

That said, I can’t think of a nicer place to visit if you don’t mind everybody living on top of one another on the hillside. For me, it hasn’t been about the destino (destination) but the company. The boys have a very nice life down here, and are generous to make the space available. Though I have to say, rereading the bullet list above doesn’t make it sound that it’s a great place to visit. The food is great, the people that I’ve met are great, I just don’t think I’ve got that snowbird mentality.

Who knows – the boys are here until March 2nd, so I might return if they’d have me.

Last night was taco night at one of the restaurant so we actually ate out. Tonight is camarones (shrimp) and pasta with a side of Cole Slaw… and if I have the energy, fire dancing and flan down the hill at the Eclipse.

Tomorrow is the 10 or 11am boat to back to Puerto Vallarta to wing my way home.