Obambastic!

This guy is good!

After watching many of the speeches from the DNC this week, capped off with Obama's address last night, I have hope that the we may soon see a positive upturn in the way things are done in this country. Throughout the week, there have been a number of references to climate, science, energy policy, and other timely topics--topics our current administration has ignored, if not scorned. What a relief!

Obama may not be the most experienced candidate, but he is bright, talented, seems to have solid intuition, can rally the masses, and understands that this country is here for more than pumping up the wallets of the oil companies!

Obama/Biden 2008!

Some Ponderings From An Adult Learner

So, it's a tough choice tonight: Bill Clinton's Democratic National Convention Speech or Red Sox v. Yankees in HD.  I'm bouncing back and forth, and figured I'd make a few notes about my first day of school.  To put it bluntly, I've had a bit of anxiety about returning as an "adult learner."  I was in the CVS the other day and the cashier dude asked me if I was a William and Mary student--I replied, "Yes, of sorts" and he asked me if I was in the law school.  After hashing out the details of my situation, he told me he was headed to college at ODU in January and couldn't wait...although, he was a bit nervous already.  I assured him that despite being on my way to my 3rd degree, I was pretty nervous too!  I mean, what do the kids wear these days? And I didn't even have time to stop into Grand City (aka "Grand Shitty," Maine Street, Brunswick, ME) to pick up my new pack of Crayolas and some notebooks.  And until late last night, I didn't even know what class I was taking today...turns out, I had two!  At any rate, I'm not the only adult learner and I survived, but made some of the following observations:

• Flip-flops are de rigueur
  
• Everything is electronic (except for the telephone list, which I think is just an oversight...or perhaps a southern thing)--even the syllabus is electronic!
• All the lectures are recorded and available as MP3s--how cool is that???
• Professors send out their lectures as PowerPoint files the day before the lecture!
• Textbooks can be downloaded from the internet!  Thanks to some professor named R.H. Stewart at Texas A&M, I am saving 100 bucks in textbook fees and merely downloading a PDF of his constantly updated book--what a concept!  This guy is awesome. If I ever meet him at a conference I think I will hug him.  He will think I'm nuts!
• I fired up my shiny new computer today and found it chock full of every program I could have asked for, including Tides and Currents--finally, an organization that realizes the importance of having the resources you need!
• 50 minutes goes by fast!  

I'm sure there's more, but perhaps the humidity has gone to my brain.  The heat of earlier this week nearly killed me, but thanks to a well air conditioned car, I was able to regain my senses on my commute home and it has subsequently cooled. I'm off to a good start!  School is fun!

Everybody Loves a Great Grand-Dogger

Before we left Maine we snagged a case of Old Thumper to start our new lives with and some fresh haddock at Gilmore’s fish market…and we couldn’t resist a snack of golden fried clams, so added that in to our order as well. Yum. Nothing like hitting the road on a belly of delicious, perfectly crisp, piping hot, briny fried clams…

We rolled in to Witch City and unleashed the hound on Babci. I sort of figured Babci would be a little indifferent to the Four-Legged Beast, but they became fast friends (despite the fact that Babci kept referring to the poor doggy as “he”—I guess technically she’s an “it” at this point, but I don’t think we can make a case for “he”). Babci tried to offer “him” some food—ham, perhaps? And something to drink—milk, maybe? When I told her the pup eats kibble and drinks water she seemed a bit surprised and a little bit dejected—after all, a good Polish Babci is put on this earth to make sure no one goes hungry, dogs inlcuded! It was only a matter of time though until Babci treated the dog—with a piece of misguided lobster that launched out of her lunch-time roll and smack onto the floor. She dismissed it saying, “Oh, ‘he’ probably doesn’t like that.” Figuring it could do no harm, we gave the nod and the Salty One was treated to a choice piece of Homarus americanus and soon realized this Babci lady was all right, even if the gender thing was a bit puzzling!

We had some good times catching up with the eldest member of my clan. Some typically choice mixed metaphors and comments about various athletes and politicians made it all the more humorous. One comment in particular should be relayed:

An ad for McCain came on the TV during an Olympic break. She disgustedly remarked that she received a letter from him. He wanted money. Hubby and I chuckled and I asked what she did about it. “I shredded it,” she said with disdain. Way to go, Babci!

After a scrumptious lunch, we said our goodbyes (with the majority of the sentimental moments being handed to the Fuzzy One) and we hit the road again—armed with home-grown tomatoes, Toll House cookies, and some Bagel World loot. That Babci, she’s okay.

We made for points south, but were way-laid by 35¢ tolls and a hella lot of NYC traffic. So, we decided for a dinner break on Exit 151 of the Garden State Parkway. If there’s one thing NJ can do well, it’s Italian food (and apparently Jamaican food too), so when we cruised by a little Italian joint, complete with shady parking, we decided to do a walk-up investigation. A quick assessment told us it was the right choice, but in our Seattle casual we would have stuck out like, well, an REI shopper at Tony Soprano’s hang-out. So, back to the car to reconsider dinner plans. But ah-ha! The virtues of carrying all of your belongings in a car is that, like Clark Kent, you can change! So, we pulled out some respectable but wrinkled togs and looked for the nearest phone booth. With those public changing rooms having gone the way of the dodo, we made like Hawaiians and discretely dressed up right there next to our car! Off we went to join Tony and his friends at dinner (note to Seattleites: we were still woefully underdressed). And it was a worthwhile stop. Good stuff. Maybe New Jersey is civilized…nah.

We’ll huff some natural and artificial flavors on the NJ Turnpike before turning in for the night, a few more states down and a few more to go.

Breathing Casco Bay Air, At Long Last

As already mentioned, there are parts of the country that are just better to fly over…like Gary, Indiana and Youngstown, Ohio. Wisconsin had some nice cows (at large) and we had a good time in Madison, eating tasty vittles and wandering around downtown, with a trip to the dog park before departing. Pennsylvania has some redeeming pastoral beauty, and spotting the vanload of Amish folks filing out of the McToilet did elicit a good chuckle, but mostly we were just eager to get to the Maine coast with some tasty lobster and salty water.

But before we get there, we should give a nod to Jamaican James in Ledgewood, NJ—these guys cook up some killer fried plantains and jerk chicken and provide papa’s homemade BBQ sauce to douse the stuff in. While he wouldn’t divulge the recipe, the cook admitted to a multitude of ingredients that we think probably included cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and all kinds of fruit juices. Jamaican James was a delicious hole-in-the-wall that provided great relief from the chain-restaurant juggernaut we had endured for the previous 2500 miles! Ah, civilization…NJ barely qualifies, but we’ll give it a pass on account of Jamaican James!

So, on to Maine we went, dodging all sorts of weekend traffic and nasty tolls. If my beloved complained about tolls one more time, I was going to relegate him to the rear and move the four-legged to the shotgun position. Tolls are a fact of life anywhere beyond the west…that means, well, just about everywhere we’ll be over the next several years. So, we bucked up and paid our tithe to NY, MA, NH, and ME, with a special deposit at the NH State Liquor Store for the traditional additional offering and to supply ourselves for the days ahead!

Upon arriving in Vacationland, I’m pretty sure I suffered a blood-pressure drop of about 25 points. Breathe deeply and smell the briny air. Amen. We swam, imbibed, sailed, tennis-ed, ate, golfed, ate, imbibed, walked, shopped, ate, boated, and chatted with our friends. All around a great stay in my favorite of places, albeit just a bit too short. The Salty Dog was back in her element too, with some running around, swimming, clam digging, and of course, getting a good dose of Atlantic brine. She seems to be weathering all the change—new scenery, new smells, and lots of attention—with aplomb. Of course, having more time in the sunshine and being free to run and play in the water may have something to do with it!

The Part of the Country People Fly Over

A few years ago the venerable satirical publication, The Onion, led with a classic headline: “Midwest Discovered Between East, West Coasts” with the article discussing the discovery of this unknown area people have typically flown over. Amen. Unfortunately, traveling on I-90 between western South Dakota and eastern Minnesota, you might as well fly—not a lot going on besides corn.

But before the long, boring stretch of highway, we did see some classic American landmarks. We departed the Worst Western and headed for Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. In typical fashion, we decided the entrance fee was not worth paying and opted for some roadside photo stops. The red earth on the hills around the tower was almost as impressive as the tower itself and made for dramatic landscape vistas.


We cruised south toward the Wyoming/South Dakota border and set sail through the Black Hills…right about reaching the Jewel Cave stop, we got some good news on the house front and opted for a celebratory lunch at some chuck wagon-style joint in Custer. Not exactly gourmet in the style of foie gras and champagne, but it did the trick.



We cruised through the Crazy Horse monument, but again opted out of the entrance fee due to a lack of time to roam around the expansive complex and contented ourselves with some pictures of the monument. Then on to Mt. Rushmore, where the story was the same. While there’s no charge to view the monument, the Park Service has conveniently allowed a concession for parking—uh, I didn’t exactly see a public transit system allowing non-driving access to the monument (this is like the airlines charging for baggage, in my opinion). We boycotted on general principle and again were content to snap a photo of the dead guys on the hill from afar. So, lest you think we’re being cheap, we chalk it up to being principled!

After a swing through the Badlands, which was REALLY hot and had rattlesnakes, we got ourselves back on I-90 for the long slog east to Sioux Falls…thankfully our hotel was much better than the last one. Apparently, it was also a hot bed for Sioux Falls call girls (incidental, but very apropos pun, I may add).

We did get to experience a true midewestern thunderstorm, which, at 70 miles an hour, did a great job cleansing the Grey Goose of the zillions of bugs acquired over the past 2200 miles!

Montana is a Big State

We drove for what seemed like days, but was really just one really long day and a little…Montana is no tiny state. It is a big Western territory with all sorts of varied topography, geology, and character. And some very impressive scenery and fun towns, to boot.


We left our little cabin this morning after a visit by four beautiful loons and got a killer-great breakfast at the Montana Coffee Trading Company in Columbia Falls—truly D-Lish. We had a little biznes to conduct and managed to download what we needed while chowing down—and we forgot some things so poached more internet from a hotel in Kalispell (a little road-trip trick of the trade) before heading south along Flathead Lake. There was a pretty good fire raging somewhere west of Polson and we saw all the fire crew staging areas and lots of backcountry fire equipment out and about—this is a unique high-country concern. I think people who live outside of fire-prone areas fail to appreciate how much fire and fighting fire influences the way of life in the American west. Take a fire-evolved ecosystem, add people and houses, and you’ve got some issues.

At any rate, our travels took us to Missoula (for more biznes and a romp at the bark park for the 4-legged), Butte (for some spectacular landscape and crazy mountain pass driving), Bozeman (for chow and some leg stretchin’), and Billings (for…well, we didn’t stop—it smelled bad), before crossing into Wyoming and landing at our hotel. Note to self: do not stay at the Best Western in Buffalo, Wyoming. The people were nice, the hotel sucked. Our 189 bones (!) got us a dingy motel room next to the ice machine, with a leaky toilet, cigarette-burned bedding, paper thin walls, and no sleep...and internet was out of the question! Yee-hah! We’re just grateful we didn’t get bedbugs. Yuck. Lesson learned: we did some internet searching and are off to a better place at a lower price tonight.


To end on a high note: we picked up a SWEET beer kozy for the start of our collection today…it has bitchin’ flames!

Glacier National Park

Spoiler: The Going-to-the-Sun Road is one of the most stunning roads in America.


Story: We got to the entrance of Glacier National Park a little later than expected and joined the line-up of cars waiting to get in. Sadly, the Park Service has a no-win mandate: serve millions of visitors without making an impact to the landscape, on a pittance of a budget. Well, cynicism aside, it was our lucky day. We were waved right through the entrance--because the line was so long, the gate-keepers had to wave people through to get it slimmed down. While I was feeling quite lucky that we were let in free, it does make me a little sad that our car, as well as probably hundreds of others, got in without having to pay their dues, dues the Park Service is highly reliant upon for their operations. Okay, there’s some more negativity, which I will now abandon because we had a truly spectacular day.


We drove up to the Logan Pass visitor center via the Going-to-the-Sun Road upon entering. This drive is a bit harrowing, but takes you along the Flathead River where a hair-pin turn sends you several thousand feet upward around more crazy turns with amazing vistas in all directions! We had a lot of photo stops and I couldn’t help but notice the temperature plunging with each turn. By the time we got up to Logan Pass (at the Continental Divide and over 6,000’) it was a chilly 48 degrees F, with the wind blowing steadily and freezing the bejeezus out of my bare legs…as the doofus of the day, I had failed to bring pants. I donned all my jackets, fleecy things, a hat, and socks and shoes (blasphemy in summer!), and we headed up the Hidden Lake trail…along with hundreds of our best friends. We had planned to do the more off-the-beaten-track Garden Wall hike, but the noon-hour and the frigid weather made us reconsider the 11 miles or so. We got great views and saw lots of wildlife anyway, all without going hypothermic.



Of course there needs to be some mention of the charismatic megafauna, with some old goats making a grand appearance (and a baby goat too). And we saw some ground squirrels, marmots, and other little beasties of undetermined provenance. Fun! Even more impressive though, is the geology in the park. Basically my knowledge of geology stops at the major rock types: sedimentary, igneous, and…what’s that other one? But, I sure would have loved to have known a bit about what I was seeing—I guess there’s always the internet.


We headed down from Logan Pass and out the east side of the park, passing some grand attractions like the World’s Largest Wooden Spoon Shop and enjoyed some huckleberry pie at one roadside stop claiming they had the best (rarely do these claims pan out, but this was some respectable pie, even if not truly superlative!).



We made one last stop for dinner at the Isaak Walton Hotel before heading home for some more relaxation at the cabin, where the heartier of us capped off the night with a dark-sky dip in the lake and some adult beverages and we all watched a little bit of the Perseid meteor shower filling the clear Montana sky!

Little Cabin in the Woods

We made our way from Spokane through Idaho to Montana via the scenic route (US 2, that would be). There were lots of hairpin turns and hydroelectric projects and I think I may have found the river where Kokanee comes from (the beer, not the fish), but overall it was a pleasant drive through some moderately sized mountains and some good side stops like Kootenai Falls (also known to us as Kootenanny Falls). This was a great little leg-stretcher complete with a walk out to a Swinging Bridge that is not for the faint of heart, but makes for a great photo op!


I remember the passes on I-90 being more impressive the last time I did this trip, but perhaps the snow and icy roads just made it seem so. This time is was pretty agreeable, weather-wise, if not bright and sunny—but we were grateful for the sake of our four-legged buddy.


We arrived at our little cabin in the woods, on Spoon Lake just outside of Glacier National Park’s SW side. It was all I could get on 3 days notice, but damn, it was perfect! Except that I locked the keys inside the cabin not 10 minutes after arriving and we soon had to retrace our steps for half an hour to find the owner and retrieve a second key (thankfully she was only a short way into her long drive south, so met us in Kalispell). This afforded us the opportunity to pick up our fishing licenses and some flies and load up on some of the best American-Mexican food Columbia Falls, Montana has to offer! Yum.

So, we did get back to the cabin in time to launch the Old Town and take her for a spin! We headed down the lake and found a small cove with all sorts of funky algae and probably a seep or two, as the water was quite a bit colder than in the other parts of the lake (granted, my lacustrine ecology is paltry at best, but it seems to make sense with the algae).


We also saw a beautiful loon that let us drift to within 20 feet or so—all the while calling in that hauntingly beautiful way that only loons can. It was magnificent! Picture taking in low light from a canoe is a formidable challenge, but I did my best (not nearly up to the standards of the ornithologists I know, but good enough for now). We saw a few more loons and also some small beavers who let us know we were too close with some fierce tail-slaps! They made us laugh!
Basically, this is the best place we could have asked for! And we’re about 15 minutes from the park entrance via dirt roads, my favorite way to get anywhere! It always reminds me of trips on the Basin Road and that makes me happy.

And We're Off...

Finally after much preparation, some tears, and forgetting a bunch of to-dos we hit the road, Eastward Ho! We crossed the Hood Canal Bridge and took the Bainbridge ferry, waving to our friends as we drove down the Island. Upon docking at the Coleman Dock, there was no doubt we were in Seattle: gray skies and some sort of liquid sunshine. We took a deep breath and a long last view of the great city, giving a fond farewell to all our friends and family, before setting the Grey Goose on the course east...there was some temptation to take in the ballgame, but we persevered. Perhaps the drizzly skies made it easier to leave it all behind.


Of course, east of the Cascades the sun was shining and the Grey Goose cruised along, laden with all our worldly possessions and everything.


One member of the clan didn't seem so thrilled with her lot in life, despite the fact that she probably had more square footage for her size than either of us. But she seemed to adapt fine with each new sniff and stop. And when we rolled into Spokavegas and settled in to our hotel, she seemed more than obliged to snuggle up and watch some Olympics with us.

We're all looking forward to our next few days relaxing on Spoon Lake just outside Glacier National Park, decompressing and focusing our attention forward .

The Saline Canine, Exemplified

The Salty One had quite a day at the beach. I think she was glad her Papa was home. She pulled out her puppy-like obsessiveness and chased her ball like there was no tomorrow. Personally, I was most proud of her gung-ho wave jumping. I was damned and determined early in this dog’s life to make her like the water (she did not like the water and liked waves even less). She decided this was her day and caught a few good freighter waves, even taking one in the ear which left her with a funny cocked-headed expression—though it was nothing a little full-body shake couldn’t get rid of.


One of this pup’s most endearing qualities is her ability to entertain herself. My wise aunt once told me that she admires sea otters because they play well into adulthood. Well, this little furry beast should be added to that class. Sometimes it’s rolling around on the rug making funny noises, but today it was kick-and-pounce with the ball. We watched as she repeatedly chased and batted her tennis ball up and down the sand. She’d kick it soccer-style, run after it, and pounce on it, whereby she’d knock it one direction or the other and twist herself in circles trying to figure out where it went so she could pounce on it again…and this went on for quite some time, cracking us up with every iteration!




Thankfully, although we’re leaving this beautiful beach behind, we’ll soon be established near a different one. One of the reasons…okay, perhaps the most salient reason…for working in the marine realm is that it guarantees the opportunity to live and work in fantastic places and the utter avoidance of places well, landlocked. I’m a happy tourist to New Mexico, Switzerland, and even Idaho, but I’ll take life on the coastal edge any day of the week. Looks like the pup will too!

Unemployment Just Isn’t That Fun

Okay, maybe that statement needs some explanation.

I was figuring my last week on the Peninsula to be full of Olympic wildflowers, beach walks, maybe some crabbing, and lots of visits to the local haunts I have come to know and love over the last few years—and mostly no work. I guess I neglected to consider that picking up and packing up all of our worldly goods would take considerable time and energy. Ugh. Work. Just in a different form. And frankly, I would have been happier underwater, even in the Columbia River.

We did fit in some prolonged goodbyes, a round of golf at the local duffers course, time at the pub, lots of Elevated Ice Cream and of course one last wonderful stroll on the beach with our furry buddy. And that furry, salty buddy must have known something was up because she partied like it was 1999 (and then didn’t want to stand up the next day…getting old sucks). But that part of our week probably deserves its own post.

The bottom line is, packing up is hard to do. But with the Grey Goose all shined up, tuned, up and packed up, I guess we did it.

Bzzzzzzzzzz

The Hawaiian guy must have brought the good weather—finally we’re into summer. In Port Townsend, when shorts and a t-shirt are comfortable, you know it’s warm—in fact our little household weather station registered 81 degrees F the other day. I’m no Joe Cupo, but that’s hot, especially for Port Townsend.

Besides being thrilled that it’s been comfortable to be in summer duds, I’m also thrilled that the nice sunny daytime weather has brought the bees to our lavender (which is finally fully abloom) in droves! Tons of bees. Bees of several species, drinking themselves silly in some sort of Bacchanalian celebration of the nectar. I’m jealous.

Every year I look forward to this annual event. Bees are industrious. For this reason they are super difficult to photograph. But I tried and here’s my tribute to these stunning creatures, going about their business, and doing their part to turn the sweet lavender nectar into delicious honey.