A bit of travel advice

Don't fly cross country during a massive winter storm. My old theory was that if I bought a direct ticket from DC to Seattle, I would avoid getting stuck somewhere intermediate. That has worked for years, but not this one, as we were diverted 300 miles away to Spokane. Along with twelve other flights. Alaska Air bounced 71 in total that night, leading to a bit of a jam the next day and so forth. I was booked onto a special flight Sunday, but they blew a sheet of ice into the aux power unit before take-off, and by the time they got that jury-rigged, Seattle closed again. Three days later, I lucked onto one of the few running buses home, which once I was on it, went surprisingly well. I'm writing this with the free WiFi on the Seattle ferry boat to Bainbridge. The weather in Seattle is absolutely perfect. Merry Christmas.

Annie get your Reuben

If you're ever in Austin, swing by Katz Deli-Bar if you can. It might seem a little strange to head to a Manhattan-style deli in the middle of Texas, but there it is. I should have taken a picture, but here are a thousand words instead. And here's a photo of the Caddy outside Katz.

congratulations all around

First off, I'd like to say congratulations to my sister Naomi and new b-in-law, Wade. They held their nuptuals last week in the post-cardesque town of Port Gamble, WA. And now that Wade's in the family, fair warning, the kid gloves are off!

Second, congratulations to Manuel and Heidi on the birth of their new son.

Third, congratulations to Giovanni on finishing his thesis exam.

Fourth, congratulations to Felix Hernandez of the Mariners, for only giving up one run over eight innings despite a real wild-streak in the 4-6th innings, and also to Rual Ibanez for his walk-off home run in the ninth, which I totally called. This was the best Mariners game all year. Why do I mention this? Because I had an awesome seat, and got to see it up close and personal. I now think that there are two basic ways to go to a ball game: Either hang out in the nose-bleed section for the beery ambiance, and or go front-row to see the ball laces spin.

Finally, congratulations to myself for getting to the top of Hurricane Ridge in the middle of a hurricane. Admittedly, we did drive up 5120 of the 5240 feet, and then I used my Mountain Rascal(T) to get the rest of the way up. And also, by hurricane, I mean light rain. Kudos all around.

Fort Desoto

From my recent, uh somewhat recent, trip to Florida:








It's a nice beach. And even coming from DC, where sweet tea can be found on the menus, stepping out for a week during March was very nice.