Going and Coming

Sort of an NRAAM post, pics on the way there and on the way back...

All photographs © 2019 D.W. Drang and The Cluemeter.

On climb out from SEA

It got a bit hazy once we made altitude, but this gives you an idea of the local terrain.
(Click to embiggenate.)
I was on the wrong side of the plane for shots of Mt. Rainier.
Too far south for Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, or Glacier Peak.

Somewhere over the Mississippi weather started to close in.
Last 45 minutes or so of the flight into IND was rough.

On final into SEA, sunset over the Olympics 1

On final into SEA, sunset over the Olympics 2

On final into SEA, sunset over the Olympics 3

SEA has airplanes hanging from the ceilings, so naturally, IND displays race cars...

Obligatory local color/architecture shots:

The buildings in that part of town are all connected by a series of skywalks.
Most of them are not this fancy.

Clearly...

"Socialist Worker Peasant's Paradise" ≠ "Paradise".

This is why American tourists don’t want to travel to Cuba - MarketWatch

Indeed, the initial excitement about the formerly closed off country gave way to moral dilemmas over food shortages and other problems caused by tourism, as well as disappointment over limited working internet, lower hotel standards, and lack of running water there. The Allianz study found lack of travel infrastructure was a major cause of anxiety about traveling to Cuba for 13% of Americans.

The slide in demand has led a number of airlines to reduce or completely eliminate flights to the country...

Sumers suggested confusion over the approved reasons to go to Cuba is keeping the average American visitor away still. As of May 2017, visitors to the country have to select one of 12 categories for their visit, which include religious activities, humanitarian projects, “support for the Cuban people,” and journalistic activities. “You can’t go to Cuba to sit on the beach and have fun and that’s what Americans like to do on vacation,” he said. “Cuba is a bit of an outlier still — it is not easy to visit and for a lot of people it’s still a pain. You have to really want to go there.”

...

Cuba has a long way to go before it’s suitable for many high-maintenance American tourists. “This will come with certain expectations: Americans expect that cell phones will work, credit cards will work, and that access to internet won’t be limited,” ...

(Emphasis added.)

So, let me get this straight, you want my money, in exchange for not letting me do what I like to do on vacation? And you can't (or won't) let me stay in touch with the folks back home?

I talked the other day with a co-worker about a recent (Trans-Panama Canal) cruise she went on, and she's already excited about the Cuba cruise she is planning to sign on for: "Just waiting for a bargain rate." A cruise may be the way to do that, since you are not reliant on the "tourism infrastructure",  although it sounds like the Cubans are very insistent about the excursions allowed. (I.e., you have to go on their excursions. But then, it's a Socialist Worker Peasant's paradise, what other excursions are there...?)

I had heard that Cuba was a popular destination for Canadians and Europeans who wanted fun in the sun sans Yankees. Now I'm wondering if that was exaggerated.

At The Fair

One of our first dates (26 years ago!) was going to The Western Washington Fair. Later it was simply called "The Puyallup Fair", for where the Western Washington Fairgrounds are. (This is also where the Washington Arms Collectors have most of their gun shows.) Now it has changed its name again, claiming to be The Washington State Fair.

Whatever.

So, there you are, taking you 900 pound pumpkin to the fair,
thinking you've got it made,
and some guy shows up with an 1100 pound gourd.
And then some other guy shows up with one that weighs 1300 pounds...

The worlds biggest kohlrabi...

Which was spawning.

Hooray for hops!

Honorable tree-san.

Somebody gave the bacon beast a perm!

Hippie cow.
(Actually a Tibetan Yak.)

Horny cow.
("The Watusi Cow has such large horns as a cooling mechanism...
blood circulates through them and cools off...")

Once again ran into Daddy Bear at the Fair.

Did not have scones, which are a standard, at least here. Was supposed to meet a colleague from work, but a minor crisis led to our arriving late enough that she and her husband had already left, so  that beer will have to wait. (Then again, this year all the beer gardens, pubs, and the like are posted "No Minors", which sign on an establishment serving alcohol in this state also means "No licensed firearms.")

Didn't see any rodeo events, and missed the draft horses. 

Did stop and chat with the techs who sold us our orthotics, though, and Mrs. Drang had hers adjusted. Mine are OK. Picked up some honey, passed on the fudge as we still have some in the fridge from the spring.

Passed on taunting the democrats in their booth. Didn't see where the Libertarian Party was set up this year, not sure if I would have been able to resist the urge ask WTF they were thinking?!

Walked until our feet were killing us. Came home.

Quintana Roo, April 2016

Another Mexican Photo Post, most of the pics are after the break. (All photos copyright D.W. Drang and the Cluemeter.)

So, all-inclusive resorts are pretty cool,the food was pretty good, just wander up to the beach bar and grab a mojito.  Or, you know, the staff comes by and brings you one in your cabana.

We were staying at a place just south of Puerto Morelos, which is between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (AKA the Great Mayan Reef) is just offshore; we were told repeatedly that Jacques Cousteau had called it the second best SCUBA Diving and snorkeling spot in the world.

We made plans to visit Chichen Itza, but the morning we were supposed to go we had some medical problems and so did not. Guess we'll have to go back. There are other Mayan sites as well. Didn't do any of those, either. Maybe if/when we go back...

"Look, honey, there's a cabana right outside our room!"
Turns out you can get sunburned while lying in your cabana drinking your mojito.

Mexican Riviera Cruise, December 30 2015 - January 9 2016

Mostly a photo post. Lots of pics, not lots of talk.
All photos copyright D.W. Drang and The Cluemeter, or Ms.Elaine-ious, and Bearcat's Spin, 2015 and 2016.

All photos after the break, so as not to overwhelm slow connections...

Earworms, 01/09/2016

A great trip, but good to be home. Cats seem to have forgiven us already, which is worrisome...

Untitled

Mt Hood, with Hawk
Taken from the Mt. Angel Abbey, Silverton, Oregon
Copyright D.W. Drang, 2014

Seen last weekend

Now, the Washington State Ferry system is the largest government-run ferry system in the country, probably in North America. And, as it's part of the Washington State Department of Transportation it's considered part of the Washington State Highway system; this sometimes causes confusion.

Anyway, Mrs Drang tells me she has a post or two  about our trip to Orcas Island last weekend in the works, and most of the photos are on her laptop anyway, but I thought I'd share these I took at the ferry terminal:

It just cracks me up that someone thought -- probably on advice of council -- that a warning that weapons of Mass Destruction were prohibited was necessary.

Or would do any good...

Although reportedly not as many as we think. OTOH, a warning about the hoops to jump through before bringing them in would be nice.

Who's (in) Yer cabinet?

Altrnate Title: Bobbi and Bill, we found your grandma's kitchen cabinet!

Hoosier cabinet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Hoosier cabinet (also known as a "Hoosier") is a type of cupboard popular in the first decades of the 20th century. Named after the Hoosier Manufacturing Co. of New Castle, Indiana, they were also made by several other companies, most also located in Indiana.

The typical Hoosier cabinet consists of three parts. The base section usually has one large compartment with a slide-out shelf, and several drawers to one side. Generally it sat on small casters. The top portion is shallower and has several smaller compartments with doors, with one of the larger lower compartments having a roll-top or tambour. The top and the bottom are joined by a pair of metal channels which serve as the guide for a sliding countertop, which usually has a pair of shallow drawers affixed to its underside. The whole assembly, with the counter retracted, is fairly shallow, about 2 feet deep; the width and height are generally about 4 feet and 6 feet respectively.

Not what one expects to find in a pottery shop in Eastsound, Orcas Island, Washington.

A Hoosier Cabinet.  Sounds like it may have been a fairly typical one.

Flour and sugar dispensers.

Cabinets on top.

In case you forgot what you kept here...

Multi-tasking!

Helpful stuff...

Flour bin.  Kinda small, but the drawer on the other side is another one.

Lookee what I got!

Vacuum packed for freshness!

Special packaging, no doubt, to protect the contents during re-entry...

Order your own copy here, and read all the adventures at I Work On A Starship.

My sincere apologies, Bobbi, I have no excuse for taking so long to order my copy.

Not my normal souvenir

"Pigment, essential oils of spruce, fir & cedarwood."

"...and don't be surprised to find yourself squeaky clean and yearning to 'run with the BEARS'!"

Skagway and the White Pass & Yukon Route rail tour

More photos from our Alaska cruise. All photos copyright 2013 The Cluemeter or Bearcat's Spins.

Skagway River

Skagway River

Tight curve after that bridge...

Halfway to the summit.  Our boat is in front.

Is this seasonal, or a permanent

"Ghost Bridge", decommissioned in the late 60's.

Tracy Arm Fjord & Juneau

More pics from our Alaska cruise. All photographs copyright 2013 The Cluemeter or Bearcat's Spins.

Sawyer Glacier.  Did I already post this one?