Providence

I flew into Logan, hopped the Silver Line to South Station, wandered up to the Boston Common and then down to Quincy Market, then took Amtrak to Providence. The walk from the station to the Biltmore was more challenging than I expected, since at 10:30 the place was crawling with people celebrating the last Waterfire event of the season. The Biltmore had overbooked, so they sent me up to the Rennaissance for the night - a bizarre retrofit of the old Masonic Temple

The conference filled most of the next four days. We missed the Columbus Day parade on Monday, but had a great dinner, with little wait, at Pane E Vino on Atwells. Early mornings were spent exploring the east side of town around the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown, wandering the river down to the hurricane barrier, and getting coffee at Cafe 101.

University of Washington

Two days of meetings at Oceanography offered several chances to admire the big stump that emerged last year following construction of the new genetics and bioengineering building. Modeled after the giant cedars that once might have grown here, and built from cedar 2x6s, I suspect this installation by Brian Tolle (Stronghold, 2007) makes people think just a little bit about how much our landscape has changed in the last couple hundred years.

The sundial on the physics building was 45 minutes off, as best as I could figure.

Icicle Creek

M and D surprised me for my 50th with an overnight at the Sleeping Lady in Leavenworth. This was a great way to get me away from house projects and email and fretting about my role in rescuing Wall Street. I've been here a couple of times, but usually I'm preparing presentations or juggling workshops on how to be a better bureaucrat. This time I could wander the grounds, enjoy the Sunday morning sunshine, listen to the creek and the wind, and wish for a longer weekend.

I spent lots of time sitting on the rock. The rock that was so cold on that crisp morning back in May while the Ospreys were soaring over the creek, but that this week was just right for sitting and pondering the passing stream that had been in the Enchantments just a few hours earlier.

Quite by accident, we discovered that Uncle Bonsai was playing across the meadow Saturday evening and M and I wandered in for the second half of their show while D worked out.

The resort is well stocked with outdoor art - animal sculpture by Tony Angell and Chihuly's icicle (looks more like a Christmas ornament?) and the parade of decorated salmon down near the river.

Fulford

This year we checked out the Rock Salt in Fulford. We liked it so much, we came back the next night with the kids (they're hardly kids anymore) - foregoing our usual visit to Auntie Pesto's in Ganges (which replaced the even better Bouzouki's several years ago). Rock Salt is right at the ferry landing - try the Bangkok Tacos and the Mojitos.

Saltspring Island

Back to Green Acres again for a week that ranged from gray and wet to hot and muggy, but which was enjoyed by all. Last year I spent it with whooping cough (or something with similar symptoms); this year M spent it with a broken toe (or something with similar symptoms); next year we will all be healthy. The TV stayed in the closet - most of the time - which leads to a better week, even if it means missing the Olympics every four years. We got to the Raven Market in Fernwood and to Rock Salt in Fulford, to the Saturday Market in Ganges, and to Get Smart at the Fitz. I visited Beddis Beach one morning before breakfast and managed several visits to Salt Spring Coffee. But mainly, we hung out at the beach and in the boats.

Thunderbird Stadium

This week, Vancouver is hosting the 2008 World Ultimate (and Guts - frisbee dodgeball - clearly a male invention) Championships. I guess it is held every four years, matching the Olympics, but so far, Ultimate hasn't been made official. So no crowds, cheap tickets, and no need to go to Beijing. We swung by UBC returning from fireworks and watched the U.S. womp the Finns in one of the week's early games. And then at the end of the week, on the way to Saltspring, we swung by and watched the Americans (the Sockeye team from Seattle) beat the Japanese in the semifinals.

Vancouver

Every year, we go back to the Sylvia and to English Bay for the fireworks. This year the weather started a little gray but kept getting better all day. A huge crowd, as usual, but we had front row seats, as usual.

The seawall was reopened so we did our regular loop, then D headed off for the room and the TV, while I rented a kayak down at the beach for an hour or two.

Cama Beach

This was our first trip to Cama since the park opened in June. Unfortunately, we had to be back by midday Saturday, so it was a short overnight trip, but it was fun to see the place with kids and guests. I think the last time D and his friend A were up here was when I brought them up here for a really low tide when they were in 5th? grade. They played with the football and the frisbee for a while, but eventually started searching for teenager size logs to launch.

Snow Lake

I got up early this morning, swung by Fuel for coffee, the North Bend MacDonald's for breakfast, and was on the trail above Alpental shortly after 8AM. Which meant that I was already heading back out by the time the crowds from Seattle were arriving - heading into the mountains with gym shorts, sneakers, and sometimes, with a small Dasani bottle held in one hand.

The trail on the north side of the ridge, which drops down to the lake, was largely covered in snow and the lake was deserving of its name. It was a beautiful morning and if there was anyone else at the lake when I was, I didn't notice.

Kenai Fjords

Another all-day boat trip to see glaciers and wildlife. Fortunately, it came with dinner and D wasn't too bored to tackle the prime rib. Besides eating, he played cards and slept, although he joined us on deck now and then - probably when sleeping and playing cards got too boring.

We ate while drifting off the front of Holgate Glacier. The sun came out as we headed out to the Beehives and the Cheswell Islands, where we got great views of puffins, kittiwakes, and other diving-swooping-perching things. We managed to see several humback whales - including one or two that actually managed to get completely out of the water (which is pretty amazing for something that big, if you think about it).

Seward

We planned the trip way back in January and for various reasons our schedule had us arriving in Seward on the 4th. In hindsight, it's amazing we were able to find a place to stay, since the 4th is a big, big deal in this place. We arrived by train from Anchorage a little after 11AM and walked the 1/2 mile or so to Murphy's Motel where we unloaded our stuff, then joined the throng headed into downtown.

The big attraction is the Mount Marathon Run - a desperate scramble up and down the mountain behind town that grew out of a bar bet a century ago. They claim this is the oldest organized running race in the country, after the Boston Marathon. We were in time to see the parade, which was colorful and a little hokey, the way parades tend to be. We got to see Ted Stevens, the still-living senator they named the Anchorage Airport after. Then we walked up to the top of Jefferson Street to wait for the men's race to come up from town and disappear up the mountain. The runners scramble through the trees, up the scree, up the slabs and the waterfall, whatever works. 45 minutes or so later, they reappear, tumbling back down the slope, blood on their knees, mud and snow on their clothing, and waving at the cheering crowd.

Seward was pretty gray most of the time we were there - but the hotel had a TV so D could watch football (or at least football news shows about quarterbacks with short-lived retirements) while his dad wandered beaches backed by parking lots filled with RVs.

Ruth Glacier

The weather was so nice that we took the plunge and signed on for a flight around the mountain. We chose to pass on the glacier landing to save money, but then ended up getting it thrown in as they juggled planes and tourists for the afternoon flights. It was probably the most expensive thing we've ever done on a per hour basis, but I don't think we had any regrets. Wow!

They land heading up hill on the snow and then take off going back down. The takeoff was cool - it felt like sledding (in a big enclosed toboggan) and all I could think of was Calvin and Hobbes heading toward the jump...

Talkeetna

The weather stayed clear (or awfully close to it) so we continued back through Anchorage and then kept going north - calling ahead to find a room in Talkeetna - where we pulled in around 10PM. We checked into our room above the dining room at Latitude 62 - not much of a room, but the only place under $100 the entire trip.

We drove up to the big, fancy lodge on the hill to slum a little bit - and check out the views. D wanted stay in the car, but when we returned to tell him that a bunch of college age tour guides were tossing a Frisbee on the front lawn, he perked up. They played with the disk while the sun the sun set directly over the Alaska Range - we had to drag him away after midnight. It would probably have stayed light enough to play all night long!