UMTravels

Three stops from Malmo’s Central Station to the Copenhagen Airport – and soon, I’m in the lounge – sadly, the lamest lounge of the trip. It would be the SAS Lounge, NOT the SAS GOLD Lounge. The only open bar is wine and beer on tap.

The Argentine Red was…ah, well, not the best, the Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc a little better. But just a little.

Light and airy…

With space for me to spread out and work.

And a really amazing cheese cutter crank thingee…

I had some of the curry soup (with a latte) …

As usual, what I needed was a nap….

A couple of interesting things in the shopping arcade…a Lego Store (Denmark is the mother ship for Lego):

And a smoking zoo – a place where you are on display dealing with your addictions…

And even outside of it, you could smell the cigarette smoke.

Unlike the way over, which were both 757-200’s, the return is on 767-300’s:

The 767 has 2-1-2 seating in “Saga Class”:

Yep, that’s a seat with aisle access on both sides that still doesn’t recline all that much:

For our flight, we start with this once we are up on the air:

Yep, whiskey, Pepsi, Champagne. Life is hard.

I’d booked the shuttle while I was in Malmo, so all I have to do was swing by the booth and pick up a boarding card – coming in from Denmark, no immigration to deal with so it was off the jet and onto the bus…

On the way into the city (45 minutes), passed a few amusing things – IKEA:

Swedish meatballs anyone? And the Penis Museum which I went to year’s ago on the recommendation of Leo Starfucker Sunshine:

Got checked in to my expensive “shared bathroom” flat – located in the city center, the only reason I sprung for it.

On the upside, right outside my door is the communal kitchen for the floor:

This is what almost $200 a night gets you in the middle of the city.

That meant no money to go out to eat, so I popped around the corner to the mini-mart for a little “heat and serve” dinner:

To go with my duty free and diet.

At least, unlike my visit last week to Iceland, I had a desk to use!

Tomorrow I’ll do a little exploring….

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For some reason, Hans was an hour early in our get out of bed and get to the station time. So I caught a train an hour earlier! Yes, me.

The return to Copenhagen and then on to Malmo, Sweden is a little simpler, but slower – direct to Copenhagen on the direct train with more stops. Get another ticket to Malmo and stay on seven more stops. It allowed me to restock liquor at the train station.

Hans drove me to the train station, helped me get my ticket and get settled in:

Aase made me sandwiches for the trip, and packed a couple of Diet Cokes:

I think that what I really needed was more sleep:

There was an odd announcement at the first stop in Sweden. If you were getting off here, please have your identification ready:

But, apparently for the rest of the stops in Sweden, you didn’t need to. Immigration control with a LARGE loophole?

Malmo is just an overnight stop for me, and it quickly becomes apparent that I should have maybe stayed a couple of days – for the hotel room, if nothing else:

The hotel was walkable (15 minutes) from the Central Station (once I got my bearings). And it was a pleasant walk through squares and parks:

Had dinner at the hotel because there was a note that if you signed up for their frequent stay program you got 20% off your food. SIGN ME UP!

A lovely burger, fries, and an Aperol spritz! Your basic $20 burger, $10 cocktail, and 20% off.

As far as breakfast was concerned, it was included. And it included LOTS of children – dozens of under 6. I’d noticed the buffet last night had a short buffet line for the kids – that should have tipped me off.

As I was checking out I did inquire about the large amount of children – the answer was, “yes, in summer, LOTS.”

A couple of stops on the train and I was to Copenhagen’s airport headed back to Iceland.

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Today is my final day of being a tourist in Western Jutland, Denmark. No nightlife, other than my own, but I doubt I’d have seeked it out if there were.

Hans is an amazing archivist – he was able to easily pull out a photo of the Fourth of July that he, Aase, and Jonas (their son) were in Santa Fe, and I’d driven down to see them while they were visiting my parents.

That would have been Miata number two – the Black and Tan model. Since I didn’t have much time off from Microsoft, we drove straight through from Seattle to Santa Fe in 26 hours. I think it took 30 hours to drive home at a more “leisurely” pace.

But enough about the past!

Today’s big adventure is to the just opened (10 days ago) Tirpitz Museum which the main exhibit (they have three, plus a rotating one) is on the Nazi’s Atlantic Wall – a series of bunkers and tank traps that was supposed to stretch from the top of Norway all the way to Spain.

The bunker has always been exposed, but the new museum was hollowed out from the sand dune so that from a distance, you don’t really see it:

That would be the museum on the right.

And there are slits, reminiscent of anti-tank traps for the entrance.

As you can tell, it was a gorgeous day, neither of us in jacket or sweater. A bit of an odd queue to get our tickets – you could buy your entrance or your beer from the same person. Some rope stanchions would have been helpful.

Since there is a LOT of material to cover, EVERYONE is given a listening device to point at the RFID enabled plaque, and get the story behind the exhibit.

Since it had just opening, it was a little on the crowded side (and, it was also a Sunday).

From the history of the Danish Coast, a real liferaft which would be manned by 10 beefy sailors

And from Denmark’s largest display of amber (Gold from the Sea), we have a Sydney Opera House model (architect was Danish) done all in amber:

For me, it was the bunker that was the main draw. Seems that IKEA wasn’t the first to come up with standard components – the Germans had 400+ standard designed that you could mix/match depending on how big a bunker you were building. Standard designs that centered around everything being built using concrete. The Army of Concrete was the nickname.

Maybe that’s we the entrance bands were glow in the dark, as the bunker itself was dark by OSHA standards:

Having had our history dose for the day it was a little further down the road to the lighthouse:

When my sis and bro-in-law were here a couple of weeks ago (before the museum was open), they had gray skies and drizzle. I like my weather better. And so do the people on the beach and in the dunes.

In the distance, you can see Esbjerg and the wine turbines in the water.

And more bunkers…

The view back inland gives you a feel for how all of this is built on sand dunes:

Our afternoon complete, it was back to the house for a cocktail (for me):

Hans and Aase waited for the wine we had with a dinner out:

It was a quite drinkable Lodi Zinfandel, but notice line “Wine of the United States of America”. A look at the back label showed that it was imported AND BOTTLED in the EU by an Italian producer. Apparently, it’s quite common to bring wine in large container-size stainless steel vats and bottle it in Europe. Guessing that then they send Spanish and Italian wine back to the US.

We all had the Weiner schnitzel at the restaurant. It was good, but there was a lot of it!

I had pondered the Mussels and Chips, but it was pointed out that the mussels no longer came from Jutland because of over fishing/harvesting.

Another after dinner walk by the beach – where some hardy young men were swimming (think water the temperature of Puget Sound):

Back at the house, we opened a second bottle of wine for the evening – ANOTHER California Zinfandel – 7 Deadly Zins, one of my mother’s favorites while she was alive. He’s came from Trader Joes, Hans bought his from Trader Joes corporate overlord Aldi, who has stores in Denmark in addition to their massive holdings in Germany.

This shot also gives you a feel for the upstairs living room with a view to the sea.

Tomorrow I start the process of getting back home, with a couple of stops along the way.

Yes, it’s going to be a long, strange trip.

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Woke up to a cup or two of coffee, followed shortly by the daily spread of meats, cheeses, bread…very civilized.

Today’s expedition is to a local Environmental Learning Center – at least, that’s what we would call them in the states. Very tranquil place…

The have a small unmanned museum that goes into the history, flora, and fauna of the refuge.

And some goats looking for a handout…

Winding our way back home we stopped at another park…that stretches from the sea for a mile or so, a greenbelt:

The white orbs of different sizes are the path lights (and things to jump on for the children).

The sun comes out for a bit when we return so that we can sit outside before dinner:

And another marvelous dinner it was – with a shrimp and avocado starter…

Followed by a pork tenderloin stroganoff…

After dinner, Hans suggested a walk the beach:

And a tour of the local architecture, including the “brutalist” style home and office:

And less brutal examples….

Detail of the thatching for the roof:

More examples on either side of the brutalist:

The ones above are just across the road from the beach, the ones below within a couple of blocks…

And even one property that was at the heart of a neighbor dispute over size, and had sat partially completed (with approved plans) for over eight years:

Guess that would be the payback for the complaining neighbor – a decade of an open sore next door.

It is the same neighborhood as yesterday’s first church.

It doesn’t get dark until after 10pm, and tonight we experienced a “close to” full moon – the before:

The after:

Another fun day in the less travelled (at least by Americans) part of Denmark.

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I guess I should explain who Hans (and his wife Aase) is – Hans was our American Field Service foreign exchange service student when I was in junior high. We’ve (as a family) kept in touch all these years. As a funny coincidence, my sister and brother-in-law were here just a couple of weeks ago.

They live is Esbjerg, which is on the western Jutland coast, and home to plenty of wind turbines, and is the base for Denmark’s North Sea oil business, so you’ll see lots of rigs in for maintenance and repair. More on those later. They’ve a lovely Danish Modern house with a view of the sea:

As is my usual way, I’ve slept through breakfast, but am definitely alive for brunch:

My sister-in-law explained the routine when they were here.

• Up for breakfast
• Explore the neighborhood and sea coast
• Lunch
• Hour nap
• Go off and do “the thing” for the day.

I’ve just truncated the schedule a little as I stay up later and get work done with its normal West Coast hours, then sleep through breakfast.

Today’s “thing” started with a modern church, built around 25 years ago:

And very modern bell tower:

Very light and airy inside:

With a massive freestanding organ:

So, the Lutherans church (Hjerting Kirke or the Church of Hjerting) was designed by Alan Havsteen-Mikkelsen in close cooperation with engineer Soeren Abrahamsen. THANKS, Hans, for the correction.

So, those were the Lutherans, next up, the Catholics:

The Catholic Church was designed by Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, who also designed the  Grande Arche of La Défense in Paris that the Arc de Triomphe was the inspiration for his modernist design. He got the commission with only the Esbjerg church in his portfolio, and he used the same “aeriated concrete” material used in the Esbjerg church.

Next up on the town tour is the Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre was completed in 1997 to designs by Jørn Utzon and execution by Jan Utzon.

None of the venues were open, but the lobby was stunning, and it is in the same complex as the Esbjerg Art Museum, possibly to “oddest” museum I’ve ever been to considering you had to thread your way through the building, only being able to access the first floor wing by going up and crossing over, and going back down.

One interesting feature to make more of the collection available was walls of art that you could pull out:

There were some pieces in the temporary galleries that were…visually disturbing, not in content, but physically. Spaces that were violently white that altered your depth perception as you got used to the light, forms appearing where there had just be blinding white.

It being a port town, there has to be a water tower (which is next to the performing arts hall):

Quaint city center:

A tall ship in the harbor:

The boat still trains Danish Navy cadets, though most of the harbor is now devoted to refurbishing North Sea drilling rigs, which I’m surprised I don’t have a picture of as there were dozens – you can see a couple of the upper bits back behind the tall ship.

Back to the house for what would turn out to be a stunning series of meals. This one if a free-form bacon-wrapped meatloaf – too funny as I do these at home, but in a loaf pan (I might have to reconsider by forming):

With sides of potatoes, gravy, broccoli…I am being spoiled!

Several bottles of wine and we retire upstairs to chat into the evening – though to bed MUCH earlier than last night for my hosts (closer to their usual bedtime). This was taken well past 10PM:

Not as light late as Iceland, but later than Seattle at the same local time.

One of the things that came up in late night chat is that Hans has a picture of him in the mid-60’s with Oscar Peterson in a trio performing:

That is a YOUNG Hans in the upper right-hand side of the photograph. Hans is quite the collector of Jazz music.

Off to bed, we have another adventure tomorrow!

[? ? ?]

My overnight in Iceland has come to an end. Here is my example of the weather here. Damp and windy:

Shuttle was on time at 9:20, and I was SHOCKED that by 9:50:

1. Arrived at the airport
2. Checked my bag
3. Gotten through security
4. Bought Duty Free Bourbon
5. Arrived at the Saga Business Class Lounge

Really, in just 30 minutes.

And what a lounge it is – just opened in the spring:

Even has shower rooms:

Breakfast was out when I got there:

And then they put out lunch – I might not be hungry when they feed me on the plane!

Or thirsty…

This was about all I could handle for “lunch” after my breakfast:

Two meatballs, a fish cake, a samosa, some egg salad and a cocktail.

Even the rest of the airport has that cool Scandinavian feel to it:

Funny thing I found on my boarding pass – do the math:

Board at 12:50 for 13:00 departure – gate closed 15 minutes prior.

And my flight to Copenhagen is, once again, lightly populated with 4.5 people (.5 is a lap child) out of 16 available seats:

No amenity kit on this leg, but they still offered the nice noise cancelling headphones (not for taking home). The cocktail course:

Complete with a box of Vikur – a pretzel mix (that I stashed in my backpack for another time). And lunch:

That would be the cold lunch of reindeer sausage, reindeer pate, salmon, bread and pudding. And damned tasty!

Icelandic Air does have a sense of honor in their onboard product – the saying stitched into the blanket:

And pillow:

Got an OK shot of our approach:

Flight was almost an hour late leaving REF, made up a little time in the air, but not enough for me to catch the quick train connection from the airport (even though mine was the first bag off) to Esbjerg in the western part of Denmark.

Above: the airport station. Below: the central terminal.

And comfortably settled in for the final leg:

With a wonderful Danish sunset with wind turbines:

Hans was there to pick me up at the station – only 30 minutes past when I’d hoped to get there. I’d been sending him email updates on my progress, so no need to pick up the phone for 20 cents a minute. T-Mobile gives you free text and roaming in 140+ countries – and cheap minutes if you need to chat.

Even though it was after 11pm when I got to the house, the made a plate of sandwiches for us all, opened a bottle of wine (then another). What a wonderful greating!

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This trip was to originally planned for Saigon to visit my buddy Sean. Circumstances changed.

Instead I’m meandering the world it seems.

Up at 4am after the Hot Dog Party (see entry below), so I could make a 6:225am flight. When you want to change your frequent flier ticket 60 days out from Saigon to someplace else, like Europe, in Business Class, in the middle of summer, you take whatever routing you can get. It’s going to be a meandering trip for 110,000 miles and about $300 in fees.

One the upside, I have enough time to check out the new Alaska Lounge at the end of C Concourse that opened a couple of weeks ago. That brings the number of Alaska Lounges at Sea-Tac up to three. The big one between c and D Concourses, the temporary, but pleasant one in the North Satellite (they are working to expand N Concourse and put a rooftop lounge in).

Basically, had enough time for bagel and cream cheese before heading to the gate. Sadly, the bar doesn’t open until 6am – and my flight is out of the N Concourse meaning I’ve got to take the train.

Flight is on time, which I love, and I’m in my favorite seat, 1C.

To be honest, I should have had half the bagel, since this is breakfast….

First stop of the trip is Denver, where I have a 5+ hour layover, which means enough time to have a quick cocktail in the Admirals Club:

And lunch with Dan and Lisa who have driven the 45 minutes from their house just to see me.

Like I need a third meal before noon – but ordered the half Rueben/half salad…

Sadly, it doesn’t hold a candle to last week’s casino Ruben Kincaid. The corned beef was too thickly sliced, and dry to boot. Even with the addition of some of the Thousand Island from the salad, it was still on the dry side…. And SLOW to get to the table.

They kindly dropped me back at the airport where I headed to the United Club that comes with an Icelandic Air Saga (Business) Class ticket – could have gone back to the Admirals Club, but let’s tray ALL the lounges on this trip. Maybe I’ll do a lounge report at the end!

I was headed to the gate when I realized I had forgotten to buy any duty free! An I know what liquor costs at my next overnight stop.

Made it in time, but of course, most of the plane was loaded by the time they delivered it to me – I should just make them bring it to my seat. This has happened the last half dozen times, and if I was sitting in the back, means I would have lost space for my carry on waiting to duty free. First World Problems.

Little did I realize that on this flight it wouldn’t be a problem.

1. Business Class
2. Only 8 out of 22 seats filled

The thing about Business Class on Icelandic Air is that they are basically domestic First Class seats on all the legacy carriers in the US. No lay flat on this 757-300.

But it does come with an amenity kit in a 50^th anniversary commemorative (if dented) metal tin.

And loaner noise cancelling headphones, free wi-fi, seatback entertainment:

With a decent amount of room…

Champagne before we took off (though I suspect Prosecco), and the initial beverage service oddly came with Carmel Corn rather than warm mixed nuts…

And the meal service lacked a salad, was served all at once (on a six-hour flight), and had an inch-thick pork chop the size of my hand. How many meals so far today is this?

Watched a couple of movies:

1. Death At A Funeral
2. Going The Distance

And a couple of episodes of Season Two of Fargo – with four more to go with the rest of my flights.

Breakfast a tad odd, but at least it come with little bottles of real Champagne!

That was a ham and cheese croissant and a whole lot of grapes.

WELCOME TO ICELAND!

And to think, I left Seattle in July for Seattle in January….

Slow immigration lines, basically no customs, clueless people about the shuttle to the Base Hotel/Hostel no far away – ended up getting a cab after getting some Icelandic Krona.

It is now 8am in the morning – and I’m shocked as shit (and grateful) that my room is ready. Here is what you get for $100 a night in Iceland…a shared bath, a comfortable bed, no desk, but a mini-fridge…

With a view….

On a former US Air Force base, that looks like this from above:

The Red (my building) and Blue at the top of the photo is the hotel – which is actually very nice inside considering they were most likely barracks…

My first order of business was grabbing a five-hour nap, followed by a packaged sandwich from the bar – salmon and egg salad on a poppy seed roll that was REALLY GOOD.

And yes, that Pepsi Max had bourbon in it…and this fun BIG magnetic chess set was available for use:

Back to be for another serious two-hour nap, before heading out to explore and find a place for dinner. My choices were exactly two within walking distance. I chose the more expensive one with better reviews…

You can tell that this was definitely an old Air Force base…at least the interior was pleasant…

I opted for the Haddock and Chips…

The chips were nothing to write home about, but the Haddock was three, inch-thick chunks. Way more food than I needed, but tasty. There specialty is the pizza, which I didn’t have, but all the onews I saw coming out looks amazing.

As I wind down my first night of the Land of the Midnight Sun – I close with a picture at 1am from my room:

See you all tomorrow when the adventure continues.

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Doesn’t everyone host 18 people for hot dogs the night before getting up at 4am to leave town for 10 days, taking the rare weekend off?

Had the dogs stashed in the freezer, but needed buns!

And some additional kinds of Ginger Ale for the Ginger Ale tasting portion of the 3^rd of July Hot Dog Party.

The vats next to the ginger ale are (left to right), a dry-style 80 proof Anise Brandy, 80-proof chipped up Jack Daniel’s barrels 80-proof Brandy, and finally an 80-proof Botanical Brandy (think Gin for the taste profile). All made from upcycled bad wine.

But, this falls into the category of, “You can order anything off of Amazon.”

That said – I did get a note that even though I was a Prime Member, that it would take 3 days rather than the standard 2-day delivery. Considering the box weighed 150# and was 2 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet and it shipped for free, I wasn’t complaining. Everything came from Lord Master Amazon, the black baskets, the food sheets, the hot dog trays, the condiment dispenser.

Since lots of people took the 3^rd off (Monday), to go with the 4^th – it was party time, though earlier (4-9pm) since I’m leaving in the morning.

A diverse mix of people – including some headed to the same place that I am tomorrow, albeit with a MUCH better routing.

And the weather cooperated – marine layer all day until about 4 when it burned off and warmed up enough for us to be outside.

Most everyone was actually gone by 9PM, with the exception of my neighbors who both had to work the 3^rd so they were delayed arriving – and even they were gone by 10pm. Sadly, I still didn’t get to bed until midnight. Four hours of sleep before a long trip…I’m wondering how many ends my candle has at 60.

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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 7^th 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 7^th 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.

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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]

After several weeks at home, it was time to hit the road again.

But first, it’s an 8am doctor’s appointment followed by waiting to new pills. The joys of being in a clinical study (no, I’m not dying, just trying to keep others from).

Pills in hand, headed north to hook up with DancingBear, and onto the road. Whistler here we come!

And into the condo I booked almost a year ago…

Threw the bags down and headed to Guest Services in the Village to pick up our season passes for the Peak-2-Peak Gondola. At the end of the day, no line at the counter – woohoo!

Grabbed some fill-in groceries to go with the quantities of food from Costco so we can make Costco roasted chicken pulled off the bone for a chicken Caesar salad – the Caesar also coming as a platter from Costco.

We actually made it to the mountain by noon after a nice “Mother and Child” scramble…

Lots of snow and eye candy on the mountain:

Up the mountain on the Whistler side – across the canyon on the Peak-2-Peak (above), and then down the Blackcomb side on the Solar Coaster, and open lift:

One of the reasons I opted for this first day is that if you are going to see Black Bears, you will most likely see them on the Blackcomb side – and we were lucky to spot one on our first day!

Apparently, “Hey Bear, Hey Bear” doesn’t get them to look up.

Back up the mountain we go!

For a lunch on the Blackcomb side – sadly, Christine’s, my favorite restaurant isn’t open yet for the season, so we are in the burger side of the place – at least they have wine.

Actually got done with lunch in time to grab one of the last busses to the 7^th Heaven run… another open chair lift:

Passing over a summer downhill ski run that ends up at the Peak-2-Peak terminus on Blackcomb:

Even snowboarders are using the run:

And they have cocktails at 7,500 feet!

And VIEWS!

Pardon my hand in this photo….

Soon enough we are headed back down…

Apparently, that is my post-cocktail look. STUNNING views – a reason I keep coming back year-after-year.

Back at the Blackcomb main lift area we ran into this really cute Whistling Marmot….

Sadly for us this trip, no Alpine hiking due to the amount of snow still on the trails – maybe next time.

Popped back on the Peak-2-Peak and back to the condo.

Sadly, there are no grills at The WorldMark Cascade Lodge. That said, DancingBear brought his Sous Vide unit to get the steaks to exactly 129 degree (F)….

And then finished in a grill pan (which he also brought), along with sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, and the “forbidden” backed potatoes (at least we split just one of them):

After dinner, we retired to the hot tub before turning in for the evening.

In the morning, another scramble, another ride up the hill and across the top.

Today, we take the Peak-2-Peak BACK across to visit the viewing platform to see how the gondola works:

And back to Blackcomb we go to hit the Upper Village at the base of Blackcomb for lunch. I’d picked up a 15% off coupon (in addition to the fact that everything in Canada is 25% off because of the exchange rate) for Merlins, but it is back down on the open lift, and another encounter with a Black Bear (sorry, no photo).

And lunch came with Old Fashioneds!

And WAY too much food for one sitting – we should really just decide on one entrée and split it:

And I had to have a Manhattan after the Old Fashion…

We decided to call it a day and walked back the condo, stopping at a lovely little park along the way:

Tonight’s dinner was the Chicken Alfredo from Costco, with a lovely dip in the hot tub after…

After an eggs scramble, back to the mountain we go – with a BIG surprise animal spotting in a place I’ve never seen one before; actually, NEVER seem a Brown Grizzly up here:

Pretty close to the lodge and headed to the kid’s inner-tubing area – like Kiddie McNuggets. Easy to spot one a big white snow field on the Whistler side.

Saw that bear on the Peak-2-Peak, and at the other end – a selfie.

We actually got a shot at the end of the Sun Coaster (on the Blackcomb side) of the crew adding a chair to the chairlift.

Next up is the Wizard down to Blackcomb’s Upper Village – where we saw a Black Bear:

Back up the hill for lunch – I got the Kiddie Hot Dog Meal with a little bottle of wine:

Before long, it was time to go down the mountain – with a little stop along the way for some reason, but great for taking a couple of pics….

Once back in the condo – we are in leftover mode for our last night at Whistler. Leftover rib eye, warmed by the Sous Vide, a little potato salad, some Caesar…

Like the white wine chiller – the top of blender…

Our Last Supper at Whistler – bought way too much food, so hopefully the staff will that it home because I’m not throwing it out.

We even ate leftovers our final morning….so we left four eggs as well.

Soon, we were on our way home…one of my favorite bridges even though it’s a toll bridge.

Traffic wasn’t that bad getting back to DancingBear’s place, it was me getting home from his house that took twice as long as usual…

Another week, another journey.

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While Jim was finishing up the day at the shop, I was off to an industry dinner sponsored by the British Columbia, Canada government, winemakers, and chefs at Ethan Stowell’s Tavolata on Capital Hill.

And it was just us taking over the whole restaurant:

And the place was PACKED – 74 guests plus all the staff running around:

The appetizers were located on the bar, with not that much space for people to get through:

But they were tasty – I probably had a dozen oysters, and a bunch of the tuna:

Considering the menu, I said “the hell with the shrimp or the salmon pate bruschetta.”

And since it’s a wine dinner, you need a few glasses….

We started the evening with glasses of both a brut and brut rosé from BC wineries.

Everybody had packets of info, menus, luggage tags – the works:

After the appetizers, we got onto business with Dungeness Crab and Baby Beet Salad with Radish, Avocado and Watercress (served with a BC Sauvignon Blanc):

Followed by Herb Fried BC (Vancouver Island Kusshis) Oysters, Spring Asparagus, Northern Divine Caviar, Carrot Tarragon Crisps with Sauce Fleurette (served with a BC Pinot Gris).

Next up, Charred Geoduck with Squid Ink Strozzapreti, Kelp, Guanciale, Egg Yoke, Garlic, and Clam Nectar. For some reason, this was a shared dish – and WAY too much – four of these bowls for a table of sixteen (served with a BC Pinot Noir):

Dark, but tasty.

The main was Roasted Halibut, Caramelized Onion Foam, Celery Roots and Hearts, Black Truffles, Sunchokes, Maple. This was the most uneven of the dishes with the Halibut seeming mushy rather than flaky. And there was just some odd flavor mingling. That said, the Bordertown Vineyards and Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2014 was the standout wine of the evening. Sadly, none of the wines are available (yet) in Washington State, but I saw at least two of our distributors at other tables.

After three hours of eating and drinking, I was beat – I skipped the Dark Valrhona Chocolate with Peanut Butter and Banana Ice Cream with an Icewine (which BC is famous for). As I typed that I suddenly wanted to try it.

Came home and worked until 2:30am on a website design contract I scored a month or two ago.

Made good progress, and slept in.

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A tad late updating the bog with the final adventure in Uncle Markie’s May Train Month.

Because I need the miles, and I had a discount coupon I decided to fly from Seattle to Vancouver to catch the train, giving me most of the day (noon-6pm) to poke around Vancouver. Sadly, my buddy Solus+ was under the weather so there went my lunch plans.

I got an all-day transit pass ($12.50 – 30% exchange rate) which got me from YVR to the train station where I ditched my bags for the beautiful day.

Ditched the bag and got back on the SkyTrain to Granville Station – the closest to the WorldMark at The Canadian on Hornby. Why swing by a condo that I’m not booked into? Coupons for 10% off on groceries (mixers for the whiskey I bought at Duty Free and 15% the food portion of my lunch at Relish, a couple of doors down from The Canadian.

Which helped pay for this:

That would be a Manhattan (duh!) up top, with a hipster Ruben (has avocado on it) and fries on the bottom.

Ended up hanging out there for a couple of hours – not like they had a rush – reading, drinking, relaxing.

Swung by the IGA for a six pack of Diet Pepsi – not my favorite, but it was the only thing diet they had in 16 ounce plastic. I’ve got a 28-hour train ride in front of me.

When you travel on The Canadian in a sleeper (for one), you get all your meals included, and the right to consume your own private alcohol in your stateroom – and access to the Lounges in Vancouver and Toronto.

I had ViaRail Preference points that needed to get used while they were having a 40% discount in honor of Canada’s 150^th birthday. I also have a coupon for 50% off on The Canadian which I need to use before the end of April.

Today’s train is a LONG one – 2 engines and 23 cars (of which, only two are economy). So many cars that there are TWO dining cars.

Boarded at 6:30 for a 7:30 departure (the train is so long the break it in half to load passengers:

But, here are some shots of my Cabin For One:

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Time for a cocktail before heading to the bubble dome car for some bubbles:

Since I’ve been on this route before – knew that I had to ask at boarding if there was a table available for my room:

And here is a shot of how the toilet and sink work (yes, you have to remove the table):

We they said “champagne” I was not surprised that it was really Italian Spumante – they “might” have had real champagne in Prestige Class where you get your own double bed and 32″ flat screen TV.

But, the view was lovely:

Having just the week before taken the The Cresent from New York to New Orleans I’d forgotten the difference between Amtrak and ViaRail in terms of food service. This was my morning breakfast:

Rye toast, eggs up, fresh ripe fruit, chicken sausage, grapefruit juice and coffee on china with a white linen tablecloth. On Amtrak, the plate would have been plastic, the white linen covered with butcher paper, and all options microwaved/reheated.

Lunch was equally wonderful – I started with the vegetable soup which had fresh fennel ferns in it:

For the main I got something I’d NEVER order on AmTrak – the Chicken Pot Pie, which looked and tasted like from scratch:

That would be a glass of Ontario red with my Chicken Pot Pie. Here was my choice of options for lunch:

Might as well get dinner out of the way before changing to scenery!

The salad course, followed by the main, which was rack of lamb…

Obviously, I’m not on AmTrak where the food was so underwhelming it didn’t even deserve a picture.

But the trip isn’t just about the food, it’s about the scenery!

Maybe a video clip or two?

Before I knew it, it was time to pack up and get ready to disembark in Edmonton. We were due in at 11, but it’s more like 12:30am when we arrive. I’ll use this moment to show you what the berth seats look like:

The upper pulls down and the lower pulls together, meaning the lower (cheaper berth) is a bigger bed!

Soon, I’ve Uber’d to the airport for my 6am flight – which check-in doesn’t open until 4. I actually manage a couple of hours of “flat” sleep on a “lounge couch” in the departures lounge. Before you know it, I’m checked in, through customs and immigration, which means that duty free has NO limits, other than what you can carry.

Oddly, I bought two more bottles (rum) because they gave me a free travel bag and a 22% coupon for more purchases the same day. Let’s see. Duty Free, 30% off because of the exchange rate, and a 22% coupon for two bottles of rum (which came with glassware). I could barely get my carryon into the overhead with all the extra weight.

The Edmonton Airport has some INTERESTING seating options (and no lounges):

I seem to remember a chorizo egg sandwich at the Starbucks because I ask about food on the flight in First Class, and the gate agent said, “minimal”. She was right.

I took the bite, it didn’t come that way. But I was on a E175 (operated by SkyWest) and I was in 1A, which is a single seat window/aisle seat.

Not bad for a regional jet! But I still look tired.

I look better with a drink, but not much. Nothing like a couple of hours sleep on airport furniture.

And I get views…

Not a bad view or seat. I was home by 7:30am in the morning with the time change – and went directly to bed.

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Check out is at noon and we make it – guess it would be nice to show you where we are staying:

On the ground floor is Mr. John’s Steakhouse – definitely upscale. Here is the backstory about Mr. John, from a plaque in the lobby:

The nice thing about The Avenue Plaza is that its right on the St. Charles Street Car line:

From the condo to Canal Street is like 15 minutes:

We are headed to the Waterfront (also Harrah’s Casino):

This is Rache’s day, so we are heading over to New Algiers, which means a trip across the Mississippi!

Rache wanted to eat at this place in New Algiers called the Dry Dock:

It’s half a block from the dock.

And has a wonderful “divey” quality to it:

We both ordered specials off the chalk board:

Rache had the boiled shrimp with fried green tomatoes and lump crab meat in a red pepper sauce (not bad for a “dive” bar!).

I opted for the fried catfish with crawfish cream sauce over mash potatoes – with vegetables I didn’t eat:

Lordly, that was a FINE meal.

Only slightly marred by the non-stop coverage of what was going down on Lee Circle…

Back outside in the real world, for some odd reason, there is a statue of Louis Armstrong in New Algiers – he wasn’t from there, nor lived there:

Soon it was time to head back to the city and collect our bags from the condo.

Our last stop of the trip in New Orleans was to get another drink from Kevin…who showed us his cherry.

Technically, cherries – I had to buy some Tums from what we have done today…

And if you look at the bill, these are the cheapest, high quality, drinks in town!

Life in the Big Easy is hard!

A couple of city shots on the way to luggage collection….

Now THAT is a BBQ!

Before you know it, we are back on the plane:

Flying into the sunset:

I already miss this city.

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Done with the Ogden and still we haven’t used our 1-day Jazzy Pass yet – luckily, it’s a 24-hour pass, which means that we won’t have to buy one for tomorrow!

Some nice sites along the way…

The “plan” for after the museum was to hit Samuel’s Blind Pelican for Happy Hour. If you don’t get there by 4 when it starts, expect to wait for a table, and standing at the bar drinking doesn’t count towards your $3 a dozen oysters with the purchase of an adult beverage.

Since we were down close enough to Canal I thought we’d walk over and check booze prices at Walgreens compared to The Red Zone, the next block over from the condo.

MISTAKE.

1. More expensive
2. Got stuck in massive traffic gridlock because they shut down Lee Circle (finally remembered its original name – Tivoli Circle)

They brought in busses to get people between Canal and just past Lee Circle – combine that with rush hour traffic….

We lost an hour in traffic. We could have walked it quicker (except my dogs were tired).

By the time we got to Samuel’s Blind Pelican, it was a zoo, twenty minutes for a table.

They go through so many oysters, they have their own delivery truck….

And what looks like a massive broiler…though that could be for their ribs…

Not to mention the one that’s out front for shrimp and crawfish…

We do have enough time to get to Poseidon before 6pm when their happy hour cuts off – and we order like maniacs!

Oysters, $6.50 a dozen (but with a much calmer atmosphere than Samuels) so we each got a dozen, Gyoza for $3.00

Pound of crawfish for $5.00 (in Garlic and Hot Oil). Dynamite Crunchy Roll for $3.50

Pork Dumplings for $6.00.

That was a crazy amount of food!

By the time we got out of there it was time to head off to Houston’s for a little jazz:

We were so stuffed from dinner (and we took a little doggie box back to the room), that it was just cocktails and jazz:

Those would be Sazeracs…

THAT was a plenty full day. Tomorrow we fly home, but not until late afternoon – so more time for fun!

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Our big stop of our first full day in New Orleans is The Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Both of us had been here (me, several times) for a show years ago which I refer to as “White Trash Male Erotica”. You will find a link to my blog posts HERE. This museum never fails to move me. I no longer even look up what is on exhibit because it’s consistently good, with a bit of edge to it.

The Ogden is located right next to the WWII Museum – a museum that you could spend DAYS. Here is the view from the outdoor patio, including a Carnival Cruise line ship in the background:

Here are some of the highlights:

That would be Elvis, Jesus, and Robert E. Lee.

That would be Abraham Lincoln peering through the doorway.

Some of the above were from the special exhibit, but most were from the permanent collection, which they do a very good job of rotating the artwork.

I had been planning on buying a membership to the museum even before they let us in for free because they thought we were state residents – and convinced Rache to split a dual membership with me so that we could get the reciprocal memberships to places like the Tacoma Art Museum and Experience Music Project, now remarketed as MOPOP (which costs $25 a pop to get into). Dual Membership = $100, $25 cheaper than the same level at TAM (Tacoma Art Museum).

So, if anyone wants to borrow our membership cards, let us know. The more it gets used, the better value.

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With the late train arrival, my usual first night visit to Houstons is out – turns out they close at 9:30. In New Orleans, 9:30PM. How VERY odd. But we were hungry so we went to Poseidon, which is just across the street from The Avenue Plaza. Usually, I only go there during Happy Hour. We started out with a couple of Sazeracs, though they didn’t have Rye, so we opted for Bourbon:

And caught a look at the Happy Hour menu in case we want to come back tomorrow…

For some reason, I didn’t even take any pictures of the room – but if you search for Avenue Plaza on the blog, some will pop up.

We both got a good night’s sleep though on our usual off kilter schedule, with me staying up late and Rache getting up early. He spent the morning while I slept exploring the Garden District on foot.

We got out of the condo a little after noon – headed towards the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.

New Orleans is not all put back together, as evidenced by this shell held up with steel:

Our favorite (though we weren’t there together) restaurant, Purloo, had gone out of business on my last visit. We were surprised and happy there was a new restaurant in its place (Toups South) – and just as good as Purloo.

Nothing like a couple of cocktails to start the day!

I had the fried pulled pork special (think squished in a loaf pan, mostly frozen, then sliced), which came with all sorts of little sides:

Rache had the crawfish balls (there was some fancy name for them, but that’s the concept). Also tasty!

The place wasn’t all that busy, so we had plenty of time to talk travel with our server:

The restaurant is in the same building as the museum so I stopped by and checked out their bargain used cookbooks table – came away with three (which I now have to carry around all day).

Next stop was Dryades Market – basically a green grocer, fish market, meat market, with a bar in the center.

As luck would have it, my favorite bartender (Kevin) was on duty:

Yes, there seems to be some good old-style New Orleans day drinking going on!

I’m sort of setting the agenda today, but everything I’ve suggested would have been on Rache’s list as well with the exception of swinging by Walgreens to check Bourbon prices.

Here are some random city shots from our walk:

Before this was a neighborhood being gentrified, it was a poor black neighborhood, and before that a poor Jewish neighborhood.

Art is everywhere in this city. Even the Doppler Radar Dome on one of the local TV stations has a bit of class to it:

Along the walk, I stumbled on this very nice wine shop – does this make the trip tax-deductible?

Though I will say that Jim’s comment was – they are storing the bottle upright, and high up in the space, meaning the corks will start drying out no matter how much air conditioning you have.

I was a little surprised when we got to Lee Circle that Robert E. Lee was still atop. I’d been reading where all the Confederate Statues were coming down – as it turns out, Lee was on the chopping block with initial police barricades already set up, and lots of people taking selfies:

Our big stop of the day is The Ogden Museum of Southern Art which I’m going to save for a separate post since there will be a lot of pictures.

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Fortunately I actually managed a couple of hour nap in the Acela Lounge at Penn Station after getting NO sleep on the plane.

East Coast sleepers are a single level, giving more headroom in the roomettes (still heavy on the “ette”). With a second set of windows near the top so when you are in the upper bunk you get a view.

Settled in.

Had to wait a bit for our car attendant to get us set up with ice in the room for our cocktails – perfect use for the in-room sink that folds down out of the wall!

With both the sink down and the toilet lid up.

We finally figured out where to stash our bags – turns out there is a shelf that extends out into the hallway ceiling.

B

If you are in the sleepers – food is complimentary in the dining car (sadly, not the wine). And it’s all prepared in this rolling kitchen:

Now for some random food shots:

Overall, the food isn’t as good as on ViaRail going through Canada – maybe that’s why I don’t have many shots of it!

But the sunrise/sunsets were worth photographing…

Thirty plus hour (the train was an hour and a half late) we are in New Orleans for next part of our adventure.

Uber to The Avenue Plaza!

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Looks like May is turning into Uncle Markie’s Train Month – though on National Train Day, I wasn’t on the train.

Rache is coming on this adventure with me, so off to the airport we go.

I didn’t realize that they could make a Cosmo in the Board Room until I heard someone asking for one, and the signature sound of a shaker!

Didn’t get upgraded to First, but pulled Premium. I think of it as Alaska’s answer to “shit we have too many 50K and 75K’s” to keep happy:

Premium is still three across, but it comes with 4-5″ more leg room, AND free cocktails and snack box:

Luckily, I got the luck of the draw – a 20-something chatty guy headed to Europe on a “buddy pass” as far as NYC:

We both look drunk and happy – I explained the rules of “premium class” to him – that applied even though he was a “non-rev” passenger, so lots of free booze for him.

Good weather as we are landing….nice views on landing:

So, this flight was a “red-eye” – left at 10PM, arrived at 6AM.

NOT my best time of the day, but I soldiered on since Rache had “a plan”.

The plan was to get a couple of trains from JFK to Brooklyn for breakfast with friends at The New Apollo Diner.

Clearly, I wasn’t awake yet since there are no pictures of the food (I had the Eggs Benedict because that’s something I don’t make at home). Luckily, I do have a shot (thanks Rache!) of our group:

After breakfast, we are off to Penn Station and the Amtrak Lounge:

Had I thought it though earlier, I’d have given Russ notice since he works in the neighborhood – Rache was luckier with the friend who couldn’t join us for breakfast:

The Amtrak Lounge is a little “tired”, with an odor of years of dust on the chairs – hopefully, they will redo this lounge like they have in Chicago, which has two floors, showers, and a real “first-class” feel to it.

Knowing there was no lunch on the train we both explored the station finding fresh-made, to-go sushi and other delights.

Next up, the train from Penn Station in New York to New Orleans.

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Amtrak Guest Rewards Double Points Days ends on the 20^th, and this is the only time I’m able to get away for the day – and use my upgrade to business class coupon. I still have a companion fare to use on Amtrak, but I have until July to use/lose that one.

Grabbed the 11:15am Amtrak Cascades from King Street Station in Seattle:

Another reason for the trip to take one of the last trips around Point Defiance – within the year they will be using different tracking to avoid freight and knock 15 minutes off the schedule. If they could get it up to 125mph, it’d be quicker than driving. But this is the view that you will lose:

Well, OK. The view was from the seats on the other side of the car. And there is Wi-Fi, and cocktails:

We were a little late getting into Portland, but Swanda’s sister was waiting for me at the station to go out for a nibble and a drink – which turned out to be under one of my favorite signs in Portland:

And we parked in front of my stop after nibbles, but more on that later.

The place is called Seres.

I ordered a Fig Manhattan:

Tasty. we both ordered chicken pot stickers which were very small and very fried – my second appetizer was MUCH better – the salt/pepper calamari:

It was great to keep in touch with her after Swanda’s death – my excuse is that I collect toiletries for her church to put together into kits for the homeless.

Spent $130 at the liquor store which would have been probably double that in Seattle. The half-gallon of Evan Williams was $27.95 (tax included). Occasionally you can find it in Seattle for that price, but then there is 30% tax to add in. I did stock up!

Soon enough I was back at the train station for the trip home:

And the view as we rolled out of Portland, headed to Seattle.

The load was so light on the way home that I got two seats for myself.

Just a quick daytrip to Portland. Thanks Roxy for the ride to/from the train station!

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