Category Archives: Uncategorized

Seattle to Sumner, Washington. Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Catholics have St. Peters. Turks have the Hagia Sophia. Christian Scientists have the Mother Church in Boston. I have the REI flagship store in Seattle. An outdoor store so huge and comprehensive, I never visit Seattle without making a pilgrimage. No picture can do it justice. IContinue reading “Temples of worship”

Seattle, Washington. Monday, April 29, 2024 This was one of those days that was so delightful, so full of fun, that there’s not much time to blog about it. After a great breakfast and more conversation with Bob and Carolyn, it was just a quick ride over to Annie‘s house. I lived with Annie forContinue reading “Too special for words”

Marysville to Seattle, Washington. Sunday, April 28, 2024 I can’t think of Seattle without this song coming to mind. It was the theme song for the short-lived series Here Come the Brides starring the teeny bopper heartthrob Bobby Sherman. My sisters, tweens at the time, couldn’t get enough of him, or the show. Seattle. TheContinue reading “The bluest skies you’ve ever seen in Seattle”

Bellingham to Marysville, Washington. Saturday, April 27, 2024 Or maybe I should say water zero. Part of this little conceit I have about the highpoints is that I want to start from sea level. So whenever I begin a new leg, I have to “zero out” at an ocean or some place contiguous with one.Continue reading “Ground zero”

Vancouver to Bellingham, Washington. Friday, April 26, 2024 It’s Blanche DuBois all over again. Many times in this blog I have noted the kindness of strangers, always amazed that people you’ve never met are willing to bend over backwards for you. Today was no exception. Chris Xie is the owner of the lovely B&B whereContinue reading “The kindness of strangers”

Still in Vancouver Thursday, April 25, 2024 Well, that was foolish. Daring the punishers to keep bringing it on. FedEx has a tracking number status page, updating you on progress towards delivery. As the morning began, things looked set: the package with my crank was in Vancouver, still expected to be delivered by noon. AsContinue reading “Crank calls”

Vancouver, British Columbia. Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Richard III got nothing on me. The karmic punishers continue to mess with me. The flight last night finally took off two hours late; the seat had lots of legroom, but my seatmate, though perfectly pleasant, was corpulent and spilled over a bit into my space. I canContinue reading “For want of a nail”

Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Montreal to Vancouver Back in the 1980 presidential debates, Jimmy Carter would launch a spirited, thoughtful challenge to Reagan’s simplistic platforms and world view, only to have Ronnie dismiss him with “there you go again.” Three years after my tripis interruptus, I’m at it again. My blogging has been sparse, we’veContinue reading “Here I go again”

[OK sports fans, breaking radio silence. It has been 11 months since my last confession—er—post. This summer it was Jane’s turn to plan the vacations, we walked the Cornwall coast and e-biked England’s Lake District in May, and just got back from Italy. We’ll start with the latter, actually the story starts 43 years ago]Continue reading “Roman à grief”

Gaithersburg, Maryland to Washington DC November 1, 2021 For a science major, I seem to lard my narrative with a lot of literary references. Most of us have seen Les Misèrables, and many have read Hugo’s novel. A pivotal scene is where Jean Valjean, on the lam from Javert for years, learns another man hasContinue reading “Jean, Rabbit, Bill, and Jay”