Washington, Again

Cindy, Eric and I drove down to Seattle so they could pick up a car for the second part of their vacation. They got to experience my world. Many years ago I left my passport in a bank in the South of France. I didn't notice until we were outside Avignon. So I reported it in Paris. My friends and I enjoyed an evening with the Gendarmes while I completed some paper work. The friends went on to tour Paris while I went to the American Embassy. There I sat with Roman Polanske and his new child girl friend waiting to get a replacement passport. Since then, I have had to explain my life to every official guy who looks at my passport. Eric and Cindy got to join me this time as we crossed the American border into Washington. Cool.

I spent a few days with Maureen again while I had repairs done to my car. I found a place by Googling. It was great. The man even fixed my car door that has been closing on my shins for years. We experienced our first sunny days since this trip started. Maureen and I went to a small body of water to feed the ducks. Stephanie was home as well. It was a pleasure to see her again. She was very young when I spent this much time with her. Stephanie is finishing her last term in college. Hurray! She wants to teach, so it isn't over yet. But the worst is probably over.

Karen arrived on Sunday and we headed out to Moscow, Idaho the next day. The Cascade Mountains are between Seattle and Idaho. They were beautiful and green. There had been snow there before I went on my Alaska trip. Luckily, the road was clear while we were driving. We drove through the Palouse. This is a wheat growing region to the East of the Cascades. They grow a lot of different grains. Peter has said that all of Dijon's mustard seed is grown in Montana. That isn't exactly true. We saw a lot of mustard in the Palouse. Beautiful.

Why It's Called Snail Mail

I have always found it difficult to get all the components together when sending a card to someone. Or an invitation. Or a bill payment. There are just too many components. Let's take the card I wanted to send to a new friend. First I needed the card. Maureen had some, but we kept forgetting to look at them. And we were never in a store that had any. But finally, I got the card.

Then you need a stamp. This time I was prepared. And when I was at home, Adrian and I had the problem licked. No pun intended because I would never buy a stamp I had to lick. But this has been a big problem in the past. And sometimes it's hard to find the right size envelope if you weren't sent a return envelope or if one doesn't come with the card. That applies more to letters, though, and I think letters might be way too difficult for me.

Address? Well, if it's on a post-it in your purse, you're okay. If you have it in your contacts in Gmail, you might have a problem. Adrian sent a package to me at Maureen's address, but I had the wrong address in my contacts. Oops. That package was supposed to be a hare, but it turned into a snail really quickly.

The thing that really turned me into Andy Rooney today was trying to find a mailbox in these little towns in Idaho. We have them on every street in Southern California. Or does it just seem that way. I don't know if Marge will ever get her card. Karen left the card in the information center on the Nez Perce trail.

Call me an anti-Luddite. Call me a pre-Raphaelite. Just call me. Or better yet, send me an email. Or hey, what about chatting on Gchat for an hour or two. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Cruising Alaska

We did make it to Vancouver in time to board the Ryndam, ship of the Holland American Line. Cindy's plane landed in Vancouver just as we were passing the airport. How coincidental. We sailed from Vancouver to Juneau, then back to Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Vancouver.

As I mentioned previously, I spent a good deal of time in the spa. This was not a ship, it was a floating spa. I had 3 seaweed wraps and massages, a facial and had my hair done twice. Oh, it was wonderful. But that still left plenty of time for other cruise favorites. Like

Eating

This is our group at the special restaurant. We are Cindy, Eric, me, Ed, Marge, and Ed. The food wasn't always great, but the company was. You never knew who you would be dining with, but whoever you were with, the conversation was good.

We also saw some sights. As I said, I was in the spa a lot, so I didn't go on any excursions. But Alaska some how comes to you. My new friend, Ed, took some wonderful pictures. He became the official "Staff Photographer" for the Miller-Lundstrom-Norman group. Here are just a couple. I really couldn't pick among all the beautiful pictures he took. Some a quite breath-taking. It helped that the scenary was breath-taking. And a good camera. And a good eye. And was very persistent. Here are some of the pictures he took. Some day I'll put captions on these and put them in some order. But you must see how beautiful these pictures are.

Some of us got off the boat from time to time. Eric and I strolled around Juneau a little and did the same at Ketchikan. The Miller-Lundstroms also got off at Skagway and toured that town. It is really touristy and if you don't want to buy furs or jewelry, you are out of luck. Cindy went on a couple of excursions - a hike and kayaking. Ed and Marge went whale watching and viewed a glacier in Juneau.

One of the things that I liked best about the cruise was my state room. It was an inside cabin. Very quiet and peaceful. And it was a good size for one person. The guy who took care of the cabin, who I always called my house boy, but never to his face, was from Bali and the star of the staff night production of the Ramayana. They did it way past my bed time, so I didn't see him, but I'm sure he was great. They fold towels for you every night and leave them with chocolates on your bed. I sat with him on the next to the last night and watched him fold a bull dog. Cute. He folded an elephant for the final night. Cindy said she got the book on how to do these.

Something new to learn when I'm in Arlington!

Auntie Mo

Maureen is a world-champion hostess. We were not world-champion guests. Eric's wife, Cindy, was caught in a bind, trying to get out of Virginia with thunderstorms threatening. Would she make it to the Seattle airport in time? Should we camp out at the airport hotel? Should we stay at Maureen's? Eric was a bundle of worries. I don't respond well to worrying about things that you have no control over. And Maureen was in the middle of this storm.

I wasn't enjoying the angst, how could she? But she is a good friend and a world class hostess. She took us on a drive so we could see ALL of Seattle. It was fun and may have calmed a few nerves. We went to Pike's Market and saw the world's first Starbucks. We also had the world's worst salmon and fries. I still can't get that taste out of my mouth and it has been over a week. Everything world rated, but, as I said, our senses were on alert.

It all worked out - sort of. Cindy ended up flying to Vancouver, where the cruise started. Eric and I stayed at Maureen's so we could get an early start in the morning of the cruise launch. We both lost the price of the hotel by the airport. Cindy had to pay a kagillion dollars extra to switch flights. But that was nothing. Eric and I arrived at the airport just as Cindy's plane landed. We waited in a Walmart parking lot until she said she was ready to be picked up. Eric was so happy to see her. We got to the boat okay, but that is a different story, for a different state.

Next stop, Alaska.