UMTravels

A lazy morning around the house, well, not really. While CaddyDaddy made breakfast, I worked on:

• Making the Madrona Wine Merchants flyer for Children’s Trust two-up on 8 ½ x 11
• Printing out 80+ copies
• Making the review forms for the scholarship reading
• Printing out the review, tally, and financial needs form

We got out of the house about 11:15 or so, with a swing by the shop to drop off the flyers, then back on the freeway headed north, with only a stop in Mt. Vernon to do some thrift shopping. Picked up a bread machine to replace my dead one ($5), and six more wine glasses for the shop (.25 to .49 each).

And then we are back on the road again with Rich for his birthday. Last year it was Whistler and Cabo San Lucas, this year we are at the military hotel for three nights right on the beach in Waikiki.

I will say that the Bellingham airport is a zoo if you aren’t an MVP flyer. Three check-in agents for two flights – a big bird (737-800) to Honolulu and a small bird (turbo-prop commuter) to Seattle, all leaving within 10 minutes of each other.

Luckily we were both MVP and First Class, so instead of the snaking line, it’s like two people in front of us (neither who should have been in that line). Oh well.

Uneventful flight up front. I (and I’m assuming a lot of other people) drank then first out of Scotch, then Bourbon, then Cognac. Luckily CaddyDaddy was drinking Rum and Diet Coke.

Bags were going around before we could even get to baggage claim – then off to the shuttle, last on, first off, got to love that.

Upgraded to a Garden View room:

Before long we were off to dinner. Fourth meal of the day if you count that quick sandwich at the Bellingham Airport. I went for the steak salad, and CaddyDaddy had a salad and pork loin. Don’t we look happy?

Back to the room for a little junk television and off to bed.

[210.2]

On the way to the shop this morning, I swung by the apartment for coffee with Swanda and his sister (well, the sister doesn’t drink coffee, but you get the point). He was looking quite pleased to be back home.

We started the day with about six dirty wine glasses that didn’t fit in yesterday’s load, and by the time the mob that showed up for the Artist Reception from 3-5 (which ran until 5:30 – thank you Jim for letting me get out on time) we only had nine clean glasses left (well, when I left at 5). Whew.

Not a bad day at the shop, not stellar.

But if you want the stellar deal on wine, check this out:

http://madronawinemerchants.com/blog/2012/04/15/sodovino-it%e2%80%99s-got-to-go-special-and-we-are-pouring-all-three-today-sunday-april-15th/

Those are some seriously good case deals – needless to say, I called all my friends who are planning weddings. I even handed a flyer to the bus drivers who is a regular customer. We are taking the last of the 2007 stock from a micro-winery that was forced to move and go out of business because of the viaduct tunnel replacement project.

Dinner with CaddyDaddy – Pork Chops, Salad, Rice for Rich.

Didn’t get squat done on reading scholarship applications, or evening getting the review forms printed.

Guess we will be reading the apps on the beach, or by the pool.

[212.2]

Item One:

Trinkets from my CanadaLand trip.

From The Top:

• ViaRail Trainman badge (with clasps)
• Antique Canadian Pacific Railway fish knife
• Two Canadian Pacific uniform buttons (which I’m going to turn into cufflinks)
• ViaRail Pin

THANKS Jasper train station gift shop!

Item Two:

Swanda back at home in his apartment.

Needless to say he is happy as crap. As you can see by the walker and the oxygen, there is still some work to do.

Other than that – my day included swinging parking passes by the apartment along with some flowers for Swanda, then off to the shop to work the wine tasting and then close up. Dinner was at Jeff and Marvins in the form of a housewarming BBQ that I was the last one to show up. At least there was still some food left. There were several people I hadn’t seen there in years, some of them thirty years almost.

Left at ten while I could still legally drive home.

[212.4]

Damn 5:30 is early.

Got to the station 6:15ish… and the guy with tickets said I had to wait for the ticket counter to open since it was an Amtrak Rewards Ticket. The downside of FREE.

No worries — time for a couple of breakfast burritos from MickeyD (McDonalds) in the station.

Got on the train and went back to sleep.

Wake up, deal with the border at Blaine, go back to sleep.

Wake up, eat hot dog, drink Diet Pepsi, go back to sleep.

Arrive, drive from apartment to house, go back to sleep.

Wake up, go buy gas and some groceries.

Logon, get excited about upgrade to first class on Monday’s Hawaii flight for Caddy Daddy and I. Not bad for $600 for the two of us, at least one way in First.

Pan fry steak to go with salad. Drink Lodi Zinfandel.

Fool around on internet and make this KLM photo of myself.

Go back to sleep.

[? ? ?]

Apparently, this trip is all about the entertaining.

Morning shopping for lunch ingredients.

Lunch today sautéed chicken breasts over a bed a greens, dinner rolls, and a nice bottle of cold white wine. Guests are Helene, The Colonels, and myself.

Nap.

Afternoon shopping for dinner materials.

With six for dinner, it’s more like a spread of heavy appetizers. Several kinds of hard sausage, some liver sausage, a pork loin, smoked salmon, lox, brie, white cheddar, a baguette, crackers, olives and mixed pickled vegetables and I’m sure I’ve forgotten something. Add a bottle of whiskey, three bottles of wine and a little chocolate and a lively evening of “Question The Homosexuals” ensued. I love the fact that The Colonels feel comfortable enough with my friends to ask all those questions that they’ve wondered about, but were afraid or more likely, no one to ask.

Only one picture today, of the beautiful sunny day in Vancouver.

OK, two. An evening shot.

My final act of the evening was to request at 5:30 wake-up call. Yet another early day coming.

[? ? ?]

Slept well (and long). Made it to breakfast at about 7:30 with the wait staff looking very harried — apparently we are arriving into Vancouver almost an hour early which means they have to move a lot of people in and out of the dining car quickly.

Time to say goodbye to my home for the last 26 hours:

Click on the photo to go to the ViaRail website with a description and specifications for the Manor cars. And time to say adieu to odd ViaRail signage:

The Colonels and I grabbed a cab to their hotel where the chances of their room being ready was much better than mine. When I called The Canadian to inquire, I was informed that nobody had even checked out yet this morning. At least I had a place to campout, check email, and update the blog.

Noon found us in search of food at the White Spot around the corner from their hotel. Oddly enough we all ordered salads. Maybe it’s all the good, but fat-laden train food we’d been having.

After lunch I headed over to The Canadian to hang out in their rec room where I knew there were nice comfortable couches to read and nap while awaiting my room that was finally ready at 3:45pm, just after I’d gotten back from doing the grocery shopping for dinner. Now THAT’S a run-on sentence.

The Colonels showed up a little after five for cocktails and then dinner. Tonight’s meal was broiled salmon (yes, I set off the smoke alarm) with a nice salad and a baguette. We whiled away the time chatting, drinking and doing their laundry (and some of mine).

I’m afraid I’m going to have to restock the wine and whiskey again for tomorrow night.

[? ? ?]

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 85^th 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.

[? ? ?]

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

http://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.

[? ? ?]

Up at 6am, out of the house 6:30am, onto the train at 7am, airport by 7:30am, through security (long lines, even in the “speed” line) by a little before 8, and safely in the Board Room.

So safe that I almost forgot to swing by duty-free to pick up some cheap booze. In this case it turns out that Wild Turkey was 20% off meaning $20.50 for a liter. I was a little surprised that with 70 something people on the flight there were only three people who got duty-free. Odd, considering the cost of booze and cigarettes in CanadaLand. Opps, I’ve just given a hint to my destination.

Identify the city and the airport — no consulting FaceBook where the mystery was solved by the first guess.

The view of the city from the balcony of the hotel.

The view of the airport view from the balcony.

It’s another early morning of out of bed and off to the next terminus.

[209.7]

Three customers today. Maybe an all-time low, but not our worst day dollar-wise. That’s the downside of a sunny day in Seattle on Easter. People are surprised you are open, and buy lots of already chilled white wine and sparklers. Luckily Friday was good and Saturday OK — damn sunny weather.

At least I got all the typos we’ve discovered updated and reprinted. Only one bottle in the shop (and Oregon Pinot Noir) that doesn’t have a wine card for it. That and cutting naugahyde for the keyboard shelf (makes mouse much happier) and monitor stand (easier to clean wine stains from).

Jimmy popped in to talk about sign placement, which we disagree, but he’s the boss (2/3 vs. 1/3), and we do need more signage — should be up tomorrow while they are hanging the new art show. Picture to come next week.

On the up-side, it was great to commute to/from the shop with the top down. And Swanda’s bed got a sheet of 3/4″ plywood under it for his arrival home next week (thanks Fluffernutter and Josh — I just made up the plans).

Of course, I got home at 6 or so and tried to ignore the lawn that need mowing. Instead it’s time to pack to the trip to Canadaland tomorrow.

More details to follow. Just off to meet The Colonels.

Chicken Cordon Bleu over a bed of greens tonight — and the remainder of the tasting bottle from today — it won’t keep until next Wednesday when the shop is open again.

[209.4]

I was a little worried when it was a one customer day from opening at 11 to about the 3pm start of the tasting. Yesterday was a good day at the shop, but Saturday is out big day of the week. By the time I left a little after 4:30, my worries were gone, it looked like a strong afternoon. I’ll have to see what the numbers were tomorrow.

Headed home to get ready for dinner with Jill. Ribs and salad from me, fine wine from Jill (from her last France trip):

Jill brought along Murphy the Wonder Dog, but no bones for the mutt:

Really should have started packing for next week’s trip… but I didn’t.

[211.8]

Full day at the shop. I lost count of the deliveries at somewhere between 6-8 deliveries. With the exception of the Port delivery from C&G, everything is priced and out of the shelves. The problem with the Port delivery is that we wanted 375ml bottles, not the 750ml bottles. Jim gets to deal with next week.

I even managed to get a blurb out for last minute Passover wine sales:

With Passover arriving at sundown tonight (7:48pm in Seattle), Madrona Wine Merchants is happy to offer two Kosher red wines and one Kosher white. We are open until 7pm tonight for that last minute shopping.
2008 Golan Heights Winery Sion Creek White $15
Sauvignon Blanc, White Riesling and Gewurztraminer
From Galilee, this white has nuances of wild flowers and fresh herbs.
2008 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon $10
From Vin de Pays d’Oc, this French red has light cassis aromas and flavors, a soft mouth feel and a long finish.
2010 Yarden Mount Hermon $16
Galilee Bordeaux-style Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc)
Emphasis on fresh red fruits, such as raspberries and cherries, but includes hints of fresh herbs and black pepper.

Not around the family tonight? Check out the Wall Street Journal article on Techie Seders.

And I’ve figured out how to make Swand’s BedBoard (a stiffener for between the box springs and the matress):

Got home a little before 8 only to find I had no lettuce for my dinner. Off to Safeway go I so that I can have my leftover steak and fajita mix over a bed of greens. It also means I will have all the materials for dinner with Jill tomorrow after work.

[211.4]

Leisurely morning which I needed. Seaside boy was up before me, attached to the video console while I made up for some missing sleep.

Swung by the apartment to pick up mail for Swanda and a parking pass for his sister Janet who comes in for the long Easter weekend tomorrow. Measured the height of the toilet and the size of the bed. I still need to figure out how to get a 4 x 8 x 3/4″ sheet of plywood cut down to 4 x 6′ 6″, and the remaining 4 x 1′ 6″ split to be 4 x 9″ and 3′ 6″ x 9″ to make the bed firmer in his apartment. Maybe Missy has a bit of free time to at least pick up the plywood for me to cut down. This is one of the things that needs to be done before Swanda can return home — which is looking like the 16^th after a sleep study to determine his c-pap settings.

Here is a shot of the grab rails in the shower area (sent these to him to show to his physical therapy folks in the rehab center):

Two bars inside the shower, one on the wall just outside the shower, and one on the wall behind that isn’t in the shot.

No really much time for more than a turbo-nap before Wonderful comes over for dinner and to talk about The Great Art Party which is happening in September after a three-year hiatus. For me, yet another work gig that doesn’t pay. It’s a good thing I’m building up lots of karma points.

Steaks and salad. Boring but nutritious.

Tomorrow starts a three day run of work (that pays). My first Friday (I have my task list printed), then I open on Saturday, have dinner with Jill on Saturday night, then work the Sunday shift, then prepare to leave town. Where am I going to fit the bed problem in. Maybe next Friday when I’m back from seeing the Colonels.

[209.1]

The things I will do to help people out.

Drove three hours to Astoria to pick up a friend so he can take the Amtrak Thruway bus tomorrow to attend his grandmother’s funeral.

It would have been easier to find out this need sooner than 8pm last night. Oh well, take one for the team.

So that’s how I spent my day, driving. Got there at noon, got back to Seattle around 3:30 with enough time for a turbo nap.

But at least it’s sort of sunny here in Seattle:

This is a piece of artwork that Serena and John gave me for my 40^th birthday — made by Serena’s sister. Looks lovely against the blooming quince.

Ribs in the convection oven for the SeasideBoy and I. Saffron rice for him, salad for both. I’m finally figuring out how to make decent ribs in that oven after trying for the last couple of years. Tonight’s recipe was to marinate them for a bit in a vinegar/spice mixture, then apply Arthur Bryant’s original sauce for the cooking. Done in an hour which isn’t bad.

While the ribs were on I had an interesting made-up cocktail:

• Two parts Virginia Lightning Corn Whiskey (100 proof)
• One part Perucchi Gran Reserva Rosso Vermouth (30 proof)
• One cherry
• 1/2 teaspoon cherry juice.
• Mix and either serve over ice, up, or with one very large round ice-cube (which is what I did)

I’ll be taking suggestions for a name for this moonshine-based cocktail.

I went to bed before SeasideBoy as he travels with his own Xbox360 so he was up gaming.

[211.2]

Before I could finish up the last stuff for the shop install today, I got this lovely photo from Lightning taken during our recent trip to Hawaii. Here is:

Just FYI, that t-shirt is an XL, not an XXL. Help me, I’m SHRINKING.

Here is how the sign came out:

And the new window display rack:

And the before picture with the plastic card holders:

And the after with the new wood ones:

So, my plan was to just install all of the above (minus the sign — landlord approval needed) on a day when the shop is closed… only into it an hour to have Jimmy show up for bookkeeping and a plan to mop the floors. And then there is the discussion about the front banner.

Home for dinner. Beef stir-fry over a salad.

Rest of the evening deal with impending SeasideBoy visit. Let’s hope it works out with all these emails. Hopefully I won’t have to drive down to pick him up.

Still on tap to get him to Spokane. Bus = $44, fly him there and have one more night $160.

[209.3]

A very full day starts with breakfast followed by tasting 40 rosé wines, followed by paté, cheese, salami, fruits, followed by three different local gins.

Next up it was to the apartment to pick up Chris’ mail, then off to visit Chris. Here are two great pictures from the visit:

Chris in the rehab bed, and me, in The Hummer wheelchair:

Got ribs afterwards which will provide lunch and dinner (ordered 1/2 pound, got over a pound, enough for two meals). Then off to Office Depot for green Sharpies (for apartment parking permits), then Home Depot for a 2×2 and a 1×4, then home.

Started working in the garage on stuff for the shop, kerfing out 1×2’s for card holders, then kerfing the 1×4 for a new front rack, and then back to HomoDepot for screws, and supplies for hanging a banner in front of the store.

Home to work on cutting down the “Coming Soon” sign to make a sign for the south outside wall of the shop (hanging banner goes in front), and getting it assembled and sealed.

Whew.

Ribs and salad for dinner, then another coat of varnish on the sign and catching up on stuff that’s slipped through the cracks.

Hopefully tomorrow calmer.

[219.7]

Work all day. Come home. Cook dinner for Tony.

Here is a great example of Tony’s work:

This is part of folio that I bought from him a year ago or so.

Tony came for dinner and scrap metal — he’s also a sculptor — motorcycle mechanic — bon vivant. And he also picked up my old electric lift for pickups. Hopefully I’ll get a custom kick-plate for the stove and a piece of glass working equipment for SurfBetty to make glasses for Old Fashions.

Luckily it was an early evening as he had to get back to Portland.

[211.5]

Rolled over this morning at 7:45am and panicked. We needed to leave the house at 8am for the airport and no one was up, including me. I had starting the morning in panic mode.

Luckily it’s the Oakland Airport so it’s not that big a deal.

After a little breakfast burrito at the gate, slept through the first half of the flight, then revived for a cheese plate.

Into a cab at noon, home a few minutes after that with the cab continuing on to Dancing Bears place in the north end.

Yes enough time for me to take care of a few things before jumping in the car and heading to the Wine Shop for my 1:30 shift. Talk about cutting it close, good thing all the flights were mostly on-time. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I missed the tasting, but it would annoy Jimmie, and that isn’t good.

Nice crowds through the store today, Jimmie didn’t get out of the place until a little after five, and I didn’t get out until almost 7:30 since a couple of customers came in right at 7. The joys of a merchant.

With stops on the way home for Scotch to trade for yet another printer, I didn’t get dinner into me until well after 8 and all I can say is “what happened to network TV on Saturday nights?” Paid programming and crap. I ended up watching Alfred Hitchcock presents in Black and White on one of the upper channels. I guess you get what you pay for, and since it’s free HDTV over the air, this is what I get.

Maybe I should have stayed in Hawaii where there was no TV.

[212.6]

No breakfast this morning, seems no one felt like cooking even though we had the time. Oh well. Just made for a little bit of a meltdown later in the morning.

DancingBear took BreticusMaximus and his stuff to his house in Hilo, but then for some reason, brought him back. It would have made for and more comfortable ride to have left him in Hilo. But they are in a relationship and it meant two more hours of being together.

At 11:30 finally got food at the slowest Jack in the Box on the Planet — but at least we finally got some food in our system.

Returned the rental car 2 hours over our 4 days, so that jacked the price up by another $30-40. While we were checking in, the Alaska Boarding Pass machine actually let Lightning upgrade his MILEAGE BASED ticket to First Class for $100. Now THAT’S a good deal.

At the airport with the boys.

Nice ride back to Oakland (where Lightning is staying for a few days), but the plane was running late so is was well after midnight when we arrived at Mark and Onyx’s place. At least we brought them estate coffee and garlic macadamia nuts.

Off to bed, for we need to be out of the house at 8am for our (DB and myself) flight back to Seattle. Loved the First Class ticket, hated the routing.

[? ? ?]

Just another lazy day reading the New Yorker on the KenDoll.

This place really is paradise, at least until the chipper starts up next door. At least that drowns out the chain saw. But at least one of the workers is cute.

DancingBear and BreticusMaximus went exploring around Puna, while Lightning got a massage and I just hung out reading.

Tonight’s meal was purple sweet potatoes (mashed), a tomato and green onion salad, and teriyaki pork medallions for the main. I’m afraid will have having to send lots of food home with BM. That, and a whole lot of booze! Too bad there spare room in my luggage, and I don’t really want to check a bag.

Last full day on the island.

[200, but I don’t trust the ancient analog scale]