A Well Deserved Break

Last May, Kathy attended the graduation ceremony at Gonzaga University even though she hadn't quite finished her degree program by then. The rule is that if you're finishing in the calendar year then you attend the May ceremony. She didn't officially finish until Dec 14. 

During the last 5-1/2 years, Kathy has completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from WSU and her Master of Science in Nursing Health Care Leadership at Gonzaga. My wife of 32-1/2 years went to school full time while working half time. Unless you've experienced this as a spouse, I don't know that you can truly appreciate just how much time and effort this takes. But I digress.

We decided we would take a vacation to celebrate her achievement and take some well deserved down time so we scheduled ourselves to go on a cruise in the eastern Caribbean and then follow that with some leisure time in South Beach. Kathy completed her remaining homework on Dec 13. We left the next day.

Geoff joined us from San Francisco, thus making it a true family vacation. On Dec 13, he completed the paperwork and paid the necessary fees to establish the LLC for the startup he is working on. If you checked out the link and don't understand what it's about, I can provide a simple explanation. It allows two programmers to work together on the same code (pair programming) regardless of where they are located. It's a small market, but it's a large enough to make a living from it. But I digress again. We all went on vacation together.

This ship had a couple of FlowRider systems on it and the kids each took lessons.

That water is moving pretty fast. When you fall, you are unceremoniously flushed away into the back area.

I was fearful my aging body would pay dearly so I abstained.

The cruise photogs are always taking your picture at every opportunity.

This opportunity was one of the formal dinner nights. Notice how my great-looking family makes me look halfway presentable?

Just finished snorkeling at St Thomas. It was Kathy's first time and she loved it.

The kids playing in the water on the French side of St Maarten. This was the wave that swept Josh's sunglasses out to sea.

Kathy and I are well aware that it's easy to over eat on a cruise so we made sure we paid attention to what we ate and took time to exercise. We both used the track instead of the fitness facility. As usual I got lots of strange looks from people who are unable to fathom running barefoot. But there was a young man from Brazil who waited for me to finish one day and asked me about it. I showed him enough to get started and wished him well. Slowly but surely, one at a time, you too will be assimilated. Anyway, as far as the weight watching went, I lost two pounds and Kathy found them. Not too bad.

After the cruise we spent a few days just hanging out in South Beach. We went out to the Everglades where we caught an airboat ride. Flying across water and vegetation was pretty cool. 

Seeing the wildlife was also cool.

I patiently waited as this egret poised for the kill.

Lightning fast. I was surprised by the big splash.

Success.

On our last day we rented bikes and cruised around South Beach. By now we were longing for home where all those familiar things about a home were beckoning to us: sleeping in our own beds, cooking our own meals, enjoying a cup of tea with the morning newspaper, shoveling snow from the--wait, not that one. It was a fun and relaxing trip but we were thankful to arrive home late last night.

Now that she's done with school, Kathy has all kinds of free time. I wonder if I could get away with handing her the snow shovel.

Check Out My Tan Lines

I'm not going to dwell on it, but let me say that Hawaii was warm and relaxing. It was great to run in balmy weather. I didn't run as much as I should have, but I did manage to include one 7-1/2 miler. I'll finish Bloomsday without a problem, but maybe not as fast as last year. I also picked the guitar again and started rebuilding the calluses on my fingertips. Not that I play the instrument very well, but it's something I enjoyed for many years. With so many interests it's difficult to keep up at everything.

Kathy and I, along with Tim and Mary Beth (Kathy's sister), let the kids fend for themselves while we spent a weekend on Maui. That Sunday morning we skipped the free continental breakfast that came with the one hour time-share seminar at the hotel and went looking for breakfast. The restaurant we ended up at was quite the experience. The food seemed pretty good, but it might be because they're skilled at disguising it. This was the sort of place where in order to make sure everyone experienced the same service and ambiance the manager would've have visited each patron and asked questions like:

Was your table sticky enough?
Were at least half of your napkins clean?
Did everyone have something floating in their water?

We entertained ourselves by placing napkins and paper coasters on the table, setting a plate or cup on them and then trying to remove the napkin/coaster intact. We were 0 for 12. After Tim almost flung his coffee in the air while trying to pick up his mug I got the idea to press our plates and cups firmly onto the table to see how the hired help fared when it came time to clear them. Our evil plot was thwarted as they deftly broke the seal before lifting each item. Well, at least they have experienced staff on hand. On the way out we stopped at the front door to look at the T-shirts for sale in a display case. One of the girls that served us came up and asked, "How many?" Tim reminded her that we just ate and were on the way out. "Oh, I thought you guys looked familiar." Maybe so, but you'll never see us again. You're probably wondering what the name of the restaurant is. Well, life should be full of surprises. If you end up there you'll know as soon as you're seated.

After breakfast we saw a sign for an arts and crafts fair at the Lahaina Community Center. I really enjoy off-the-beaten-path things so we went for it. As luck would have it I got to meet an interesting musician in an out of the way place just like last summer.

This guy was playing an instrument I've never seen before. It sounded great but I was puzzled. All he was doing was pressing his fingers onto the strings like he was using both hands on the frets of a guitar. But the sound was phenomenal. So I struck up a conversation with Michael Kollwitz and learned he was playing The Stick. The Stick was invented by Emmett Chapman back in the 1970's. Kollwitz was one of Chapman's early students and he's been playing for over 30 years. The right hand plays the treble strings on the left side and the left hand plays the bass strings on the right side. All you have to do is press on the strings--well, in the right places of course. We bought all three CDs he had for sale. You can see a couple examples of him playing on YouTube.

Rather than show you my fish-belly white torso looking like a big tasty morsel bobbing up and down in a shark cage, here are the tan lines I worked so hard on.

This morning before I rode to work bearing gifts of Kona coffee and chocolate covered Macadamia nuts, Kathy asked if I remembered to bring a towel. Hah! Why would she ask such a silly question?

Temporarily Off The Grid

The family and I are taking off for spring break. I may or may not post anything during that time. Most likely not. Catch ya later.

I Should Be Someplace Else

Back when I was in high school, Tom T. Hall got stuck on Spokane and wrote this song.

I don't know what I'm doing here, I could be someplace else
Like in Atlanta drinkin' wine, wine, wine.
I don't know what I'm doing here, I should be someplace else
Like in Kentucky drinkin' shine, shine, shine.

The dogs are running down in Memphis
And them nags are running in L.A.
I'm stuck in Spokane in a motel room
And there ain't no way to get away.

Willie Nelson's picking out in Austin
And Waylon's hanging out in Mexico.
I'm stuck in Spokane in a motel room
And Kris is making movin' picture shows.

Hey, I don't know what I'm doing here, I could be someplace else
Like in Atlanta drinkin' wine, wine, wine.
I don't know what Im doing here, I should be someplace else
Like in Kentucky drinkin' shine, shine, shine.

Well I know they're dancing in New Orleans
And old Chicago's bright as day.
I'm stuck in Spokane in a motel room
Lord, I wish I had a Dolly Parton tape.

Well Hill and Bear and Billy Joe they're gambling
And ol' TP's fryin' crappie all night long.
They're down at Tootsies eating chili.
I'm stuck in Spokane writin' a song.

Hey, I don't know what I'm doing here, I could be someplace else
Like in Atlanta drinkin' wine, wine, wine.
I don't know what I'm doing here, I should be someplace else
Like in Kentucky drinkin' clear moonshine.

The family and I can relate. We got to the airport and found our flight was still scheduled. After checking in we learned that the Portland airport was considered marginal. We hung around the waiting area for an hour and they announced our flight was skipping Portland and going straight to it's next destination--Sacramento. There were no flights to Hawaii available for us from there so they told us to pick up our luggage, which was already waiting for us in the baggage claim area, and go home. So home we are.

More Than A Bird Cage Liner

These last two mornings my routine has been severely sidetracked because the paper didn't make it here what with the snow and all. Reading the paper online is less than satisfying. I have to click the mouse, log in to my premium account so I can read everything, and click the mouse forever more being careful to keep biscotti crumbs and tea off the keyboard. And it's not organized the same as the printed form. I miss turning the page with my left hand taking the opportunity to slurp my tea from the cup in my right, all the while biscotti bits scattering all over the place. Even in it's shrunken state I hope the Review sticks around in printed form.

Put The "Done" Stamp On That

John and I had an amazing and arduous backpacking adventure around Mt Rainier. We experienced beautiful scenery, mosquitoes, gale force winds, hot days, freezing nights, rain, sleet, steep ascents/descents, fording a freezing white water river, and ninety-three miles of walking with 40+ pounds on our backs. We had originally planned to finish in eleven days but bad weather forced us to speed up and cut it to nine.

Loaded For Bear

Tomorrow I drive to Tacoma and meet up with my brother John. Thursday morning we begin our eleven-day trek of the Wonderland Trail. Later.

You Can Meet The Neatest People...

...in the neatest places. While on my way to Ross Lake last Wednesday I stopped in Winthrop to hang out for a bit. I was wandering around looking for interesting photo opportunities when I heard some great music. A cellist was playing on the patio between an ice cream shop and a hot dog stand. And he didn't sound like any cellist I've heard before. He was playing Ravel's Bolero and he sounded amazing. It was as if he was playing all the parts. I stood there and listened. A crowd of people hardly paid him any attention. Amid the noise of the food purveyors, cries of "Mommy, I want ice cream,", and "Do you want tartar sauce with your onion rings," this man was playing the best rendition of Bolero I'd ever heard. A woman, who turned out to be his manager, handed me a flyer introducing the cellist as Ashraf Hakim. (If you like you can read more about him at his site.) After finishing, Ashraf came over and we chatted for a while. He told me his story of coming to America from Egypt and proudly showed me his Permanent Resident card and his Washington driver's license. My question to him was, "Why is a musician of your caliber playing on a patio underneath the sign listing all the ice cream flavors?" "It's a long story," he said. I said I'd listen to it if he wanted to tell it. He and his manager were going to check out preparations for the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival being held next month in Twisp and Ashraf decided to try camping. Their idea of camping was staying in a cabin. The quiet and dark of the night was frightening for him. Ashraf, being a city person, was worried about cougars and bears. Even though he knew it was irrational he still fretted so much that he couldn't sleep. "My fingers," he explained, "What if a cougar or bear eats my fingers? I have to think about that, you know." So at 5:00 am that morning he woke his manager and asked her to please take him out of there. They drove to Winthrop to put gas in the car. His manager checked the oil and saw it needed a quart. She took care of that and then Ashraf started driving. After 10 miles Ashraf knew he was very sleepy and told his manager he couldn't drive. He got out of the car and while walking around the front he saw and smelled smoke rolling out from under the hood. "We are burning!" he cried. They opened the hood and oil had spattered all over the engine compartment since his manager forgot to replace the oil cap. She put the cap back on and they went back to Winthrop to get more oil. Because of that Ashraf decided that God must want him to spend the day in Winthrop and that was how he came to be playing there. He was very enjoyable to visit with. He talked and talked and then apologized for talking so much. I told him I was backpacking for the next three days and if I saw a cougar or bear I would take a picture and send it to him. He didn't like that idea at all. So I'm sending him a photo of a deer that kept hanging around camp. It didn't make a move for any of my fingers so that should be okay.

Ross Lake

Josh and I went to Ross Lake last Wednesday. We canoed six miles along calm waters to our first camp site at Rainbow Point. The mountains surrounding the lake are beautiful. Rainbow Point has three camp sites so we shared the spot with several other people.

The next morning we hiked along the East Bank Trail to May's Creek.

Later the wind kicked up pretty strong and we had to paddle three miles over rough waters to Devil's Junction. The wind, although coming from behind, kept catching the canoe and trying to turn us sideways. Every once in a while a big wave would splash us. It was just a little frightening for both of us. Along the way we stopped in at Devil's Creek. The waters were calm there so we rested and glided up the creek. It was awesome. After a snack we headed back out on the lake and went the last mile to Devil's Junction. It's a single camp site so we had the place to ourselves. The next day we paddled nine miles back. Fortunately the winds were calm so it was an easy three-hour paddle.