Madagascan cockroaches and bread pudding with chocolate chips!

Space Needle Seattle WA. Had my lunch at it's foot today

O.K. Seattle.

I knew I loved you before arriving for my second visit.  Now I have been here 24 hours,  my love for you is growing.

TT has chosen the most wonderful location for me to be on my own and without transport in this super city.

The Ramada  Inn,  , on 5th Avenue, is a couple of blocks from The Seattle Center, site of the 1962 World’s Fair with its famous Space Needle land mark.

I love walking around cities on my own and exploring. Even though there are buses, trams and the monorail runs overhead just outside my hotel window, I have walked everywhere so far.

Sorry there are no photos. Went about without a camera today. You can click on the links I’ve added to see photos and get more information, if you feel so inclined.

The hotel  is also only about 10mins walk from the waterfront overlooking Puget Sound and The Olympic Mountains.

That is where I headed after TT dropped me off at the hotel yesterday afternoon. The sun was shining and I sat overlooking the bay watching the people, ferries and sun set. It was a glorious sunny day and I didn’t need a rain coat for the first time in days.

I strolled around the colourful market. My favourite was the flower stalls and of course the famous Pikes fish market.

Here they have fun selling fish and are famous for their fish tossing! It took me back to some “Fish Culture” training I had to do at my job in Nashville. It was inspired by this fish market.

If you are interested in seeing the place in action and a little of this philosophy, just click on the Pikes fish market link. It’s great fun.

O by the way,first I must tell you about my hubby, TT’s slight brush with the law again. It came in the form of a charming  bicycle riding  Seattle Traffic cop just after our arrival.

Seattle is a busy city, with little on road parking. Out hotel does  have its own parking lot, but BB with his roof rack is too tall to use it.

Instead, TT parked in a “Shuttle Buses only” spot for a few minutes while he checked me in.  While we were at the desk, we spotted this law man through the window who had cycled up to BB and was taking out his pen and pad. TT rushed to explain and was let off AGAIN  from getting a parking ticket and fine.

Back to the Market. I bought some food from one of the stalls at the Market. I ate the soup and sandwich in the Steinbeck Park. The blackberry bread pudding with chocolate chips I carried back to the hotel for later.

It was delicious. I have never made such decadent bread pudding. I may now have to liven up my frugal WW2 version from my dear mum.

Today I walked to the Seattle Centre and had a great time. TT called me just now as I was sitting outside by The Space Needle. I love walking around cities on my own and exploring.

It’s late and I’m sleepy from all my walking adventures.

I will finish by saying that at the Seattle Centre I chatted with some actors outside the Children’s Theatre. They were rehearsing for a play and were playing a Glow worm. I told them to break a leg and then realized that Glow worms don’t have any.

Watched a National Geographic documentary about Lewis and Clark in one of the Imax cinemas in the Science Centre. Not C.S. Lewis but Merriweather the fearless explorer of the West!

Came across some Madagascan cockroaches who were also at the Science Center. One crawled  over my hand.

It was quite beautiful and not nearly as scary as the ones who used to scuttle across the Path Lab floor at night. I used to do the “Mid night Haematology Lab shuffle and stamp” when opening the door and putting on the light to scare them off. Always tried to keep one eye on the floor and the other on the microscope. Not easy when there are two eyepieces.

O forgot to say, I ran into a mum and daughter from Oregon this afternoon. Mary, the daughter was taking part in an Irish dancing competition. I went with them as it was free to watch.  The dancing was quite good but I couldn’t stay too long.

The make up, long curly wigs and over the top costumes put me off. The mum did warn me.

Went around the retail outlet there to look at the prices of costumes.  2nd hand dresses started at $800. Wigs $150. Shoes$150.

No comment!

BB takes a brake by the seaside. TT joins The Osmond Brothers in Indiana

Firstly a tribute to dear Big Blue.

He has taken us thousands of miles from Ocean City New Jersey on the East Coast of the USA all the way to Ocean City Washington on the West. Up mountains and then down to sea level several times.

Yesterday, he put on his brakes and refused to go another mile without a day on the beach.

It was the least we could do for our faithful friend.

Here he is.

We decided to hire a “Surrey without a fringe on top” to check up on him.  He was doing fine. He appeared to be taken a lot of interest in a sleek red sports car parked furthur along the beach. We warned him about the nature of sea side holiday romances.

Come to think of it. TT and I met at Eastbourne by the sea. Now 46 years later we are still together. Hurray!!

TT gets a substitute vehicle for Big Blue's day off at the Seaside

BB enjoying a day on the beach at Ocean Shores!

Had a few hours being oil changed and having his tyres attended to.

Now feels much better

 

 

 

 

 

BB gets some TLC

Tomorrow we drive to Seattle. TT then catches a plane to Indiana.

He is performing “An Evening with C.S. Lewis” in the smart Honeywell Performing Arts Center.  Over 500 tickets already sold for Sunday!!  The Osmond Brothers are also performing there. I wonder how many tickets they have sold?

I shall stay and patiently wait in Seattle.  This city is one of my favourite places.

I plan to visit the fish market and gawp at the Olympic mountains and ocean.

See you there!

Take care my friends and family.

What state our we in? A state of confusion

Last Sunday, BB,  with TT at the wheel carried us through three states. California, Oregon and Washington.

During one of the many hours we were “on the road”, I asked my darling hubby,  “What State are we in now?”

TT looked at his watch.  “It’s 2:00pm Sunday, so it must be Oregon”.

A few moments later we were crossing a bridge in Portland, Oregon,  when we saw a “Welcome to Washington” sign.

When we arrived at the hotel in Ocean Stores, there was an Irish flag outside the Galway Pub.

To add to the Celtic feel, TT was performing in Aberdeen that night at the Calvary Chapel there.

Here are some of the lovely folk we met at the church.

Wonderful Zabrina who organised the event

Lunch with Pastor Sean, his lovely wife and family.

To help us recover from out travels across the country, we are staying put in the lovely hotel Zabrina booked us into for 5 days. We have no more bookings for a week, so it will be lovely to sleep in the same place for more that a night or so.

So we admired the drift wood on the beach.

TT helps with the laundry. He's a keeper!

Had a coffee and a chat in the Galway Pub, while BB had an oil change

Need to catch up on office work, get TT oops BB a good clean on the inside and out. I shall be sad to lose the Redwood Forest floor droppings by my feet. It must go as there may be remains of elk poo still underneath it.

Thanks to my eagle-eyed readers who spotted the mistake, now corrected, in the last paragraph!

 

George our Sat.Nav or GPS

A disturbing note about George, our GPS

Up until recently George has given us road directions with a very British, and somewhat aristocratic accent.   But suddenly he has seemed to have had a gender change.

Now George has a very sultry American female accent – all very odd….we are wondering whether it is the altitude.

George/Georgette guiding our path on the windscreen/shield.

If we cannot revert back to his original accent George will have to undergo a name change…..suggestions welcome.

Suggestions or instructions welcome on how to get our British George back!

Thank you.

Now in Oregon.

Brilliant time with the Redwoods today.

TT new tripod is dwarfed by Giant Redwoods

Now in Eugene Oregon after longish lovely drive.

Off to Aberdeen Washington State where TT does “An Evening with C.S. Lewis’

Just had nice supper in loggers cafe.

Had a browse through “Loggers Journal” there. You can buy a nice 2006 Loggers truck for $130,000.

Any takers?

Night night

zzzzzzzzzzzz

So much to blog. So little time. *sigh*

"Flat Lauren", her lovely Grands and pushy me at San Fran's Golden Gate Bridge.

Amazing trip continues up glorious Pacific Hwy 1.

So many wonderful sights. I’ll have to put photos up.

Just arrived in stormy Crescent City. http://www.crescentcity.org/ Tsunami destroyed a harbour building last week. Let’s continue to pray for Japan.

The internet connection in this seaside motel is a little slow. I wanted to upload some snaps, but the image uploading device is taking ages.

Watch this space.

TT has done a sterling job of going up and down mountains. Sometimes at over 6,000 ft. Then plunging down, hairpin and hair raising bends to sea level.

It’s now 11:20pm and past my bedtime.

Just wanted to stop by and stay”hello, good night or good morning” depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on. We have the Pacific just outside the door trashing and crashing on the beach.

Loads of folks to blog about too. Including those we have met at performances. Others we have ran into at various places like Yosemite, by the Golden Gate bridge in San Fransisco and at the Vagabond Inn. Not to mention the huge herd of Elk we watched the sun set with just now outside a little red school room. The sign said they belonged to President Roosevelt.

Unfortunately I still can’t upload the photos to prove it.

Hopefully tomorrow!

xx

Another brush with the law for TT. This time a Sheriff in New Mexico.

During the tour TT is doing a video log with his HD semi-professional camcorder. He is very proud and protective of it and his expensive tripod on which it proudly stands.

He’s filmed about 35 hours so far – editing it will be one of his jobs when we return to the UK in May.

Anyway back to his love affair with his camera and local Sheriff officers.

We were in Farmington, NM and TT was shooting a clip at a roadside cemetery.  Now don’t get worried, he’s not into that sort of morbidity.

What intrigued him about this cemetery was that right next to it was a sign which read “Wild West Taxidermy.”

His mind boggled so he stopped to shoot a clip.

It boggled so much that he drove off to shoot another clip 40 miles further on. Go out of Big Blue, went to set the beloved camcorder on its tripod and found he had left the tripod back at the cemetery.

He jumped in BB and sped back to retrieve it.  Unfortunately he sped too much and came across a car that was poodling along.   Alas in that car was the local Sheriff.

The sheriff obligingly pulled over to let TT pass and then caught up with TT lights-a-flashing.

As he got out TT could see the sheriff unclasp his gun holster.

Where was John Wayne when you needed him?

His first words to TT?  “What’s the rush!”

“I’ve left my tripod back at a place I was filming” said TT lamely.    The Sheriff was quite unimpressed.

Looking very unconvinced, the law man continued  his interrogation, “What were you filming?”

“A Wild West Taxidermy sign” said TT even more lamely.

“Why?”   TT tried to explain that he was on tour and was shooting a video log.

At least his camcorder was in full view and that helped to back up his story.  After looking at TT’s license he said “Can I see your insurance?”

At this point TT’s lame replies reached an all time low.  “I’m not sure where it is.  If my wife was with me she’d know…she’s back in Farmington.”    “Wait here” said the sheriff. Not that TT was about to do a runner.

The sheriff went back to his patrol car to check the license details and then came back to TT, returned the license and said “The speed limit’s 55mph….I suggest you stick to it….have a good day sir!”

A relieved TT sped off again (at 55mph) but when he reached the Wild West Taxidermy sign there was no sign of the tripod.  The sheriff drove by, saw TT, did a u-turn and got out to help TT look for the tripod…but no luck.

Then TT heard a shout.  There was a house about 100 yards away and a man got into his pick-up truck and drove to TT.

“Yer looking fer a tripod?” he asked.   “Yes!” said TT hopefully.  “A guy with a white pick up truck drove by about 40 minutes ago, got out and took it.”

TT ordered another tripod from Amazon…and that’s another story!

TT and the much-loved tripod before it got pinched in New Mexico

“May there always be starlight on the Path”. A snowy visit to The Lowell Observatory. Brilliant!!

TT and I have just returned from an unplanned trip to The Lowell Observatory, just a few miles away from our Flagstaff hotel.

It was so exciting I have to blog about it immediately as it was brilliant.

We arrived in Arizona yesterday. The morning started at 4:00am in Bethlehem PA when the alarm went off. We drove to Philly airport, changed planes in Chicago arriving in Albuquerque in time to collect BB from the Sheraton car park, drive the 5 hrs to Flagstaff Arizona all before sunset. Good job we were heading west with the sun.

Nice lady in the visitor centre gave us book about Flagstaff and tips on seeing sunrise at the Grand Canyon

Today it was cold and snowing most of the day. We stayed in and caught up on housekeeping chores, washing, emails etc.

It was too cold, snowy and blowy to do any outside touristy stuff, but we discovered that The Lowell Observatory was just up the road.

It was open until 9:30pm tonight and promised a look through the Clarke Telescope to the starry skies. This is the very same telescope  through which Percival Lowell and his co astronomer discovered evidence for the expanding universe.

They reported their findings at a conference at which Mr Hubble was present and he took the idea and ran with it.

Pluto was also discovered here. The telescope and spectrograph that were used are still there. Pictures below.

I get to touch the eye piece of this glorious famous Clark telescope

We listen to Tom as he tells us about the observatory and telescope. So exciting. Couldn't open the roof and let us look through the 'scope because of falling snow. Sad sad

What a beauty!

Todd explains about the spectrograph that was attached to the Clark 'scope to help discover the expanding universe. Gorgeous piece of equipment, reminded me of those old brass microscopes we used to have in our Pathology lab.

The snowy drive up to The Observatory at 7,200ft. Breathless on Mars Hill

Planet pathway to "Pluto Observatory" where that planet was discovered. Each inch on the pathway represents one million miles. Hope Todd reads this and checks the facts. He told them to me just now. Hope I've got it right.

Not sure what this is. Maybe Todd will tell us if he finds this blog.

Another nicely decorated cylinder thing near the Pluto Observatory

Placque on the side of the Pluto Observatory

Found this lovely thing on the side of a rock in an area that had little plaques to people who had contributed to the Lowell Observatory. Love the quote at the bottom.

I think in my next life maybe I’ll swap Haematology for Astronomy.

An absolutely brilliant informative evening.

Now back in bed in the hotel. Brrrr it’s cold. Bought TT a “Lowell Observatory” hat like Tom is wearing in the photos. Stopped for a chilli and jacket potato from Wendys on the way home bought TT a pair of gloves from the Gas Station next door.

night night.

Will catch up on Philly and Bethlehem happenings soon.

No more living out of one suitcase!

I’m now living out of three!   My luggage from England has finally arrived.   I loved British Airways at Heathrow but my love has waned as it took them eight days to get my luggage to me.   Come on BA….you’r'e British don’t you know.

After a great time in Farmington drove back to Albuquerque to get our flight to Philadelphia.  The scenery is breathtaking…..

En route we came across another possible mode of travel….have not told Big Blue yet as he can get very jealous..

TT is doing his thing tonight in downtown Philadelphia… and then to Bethlehem (not the one you are thinking of)….Bethlehem PA…then it’s fly back early Sunday morning and next  stop……………GRAND CANYON!

New Mexico Fedex man makes Roadie Grands day!

Joy O joy at 3 30pm a smiling Fedex man delivered my luggage to Calvary Chapel Church parking lot in Farmington New Mexico.
Deep joy. I last saw it in London 8 days ago.
Now have more than one pair of long trousers/pants to wear.
We had a spectacular drive to Alberquerque today. Will post photos. Off to Philladelphia tomorrow. BB is staying at the parking lot here at the Sheraton on the airport. V posh hotel. Photos to follow. Not blogging much as they charge for internet in our room. I’m using the fancy business centre computers while TT nips off to Dillons to get a nice New Mexican take away. O here he comes. Chefs salad, blue cheese dressing and pittza. Bon appetit and night night
Night night all.

New Mexico here we come!

It’s quite a long drive from Houston to New Mexico so we broke the journey at Wichita Falls and then Tucumcari; a town named after the nearby Tucumcari Mountain.

On the way to Tucumcari we stopped at Memphis Texas much smaller than its Tennessee namesake.  It’s in cotton and peanut country and there I bought TT a cowboy hat.

From Tucumcari we set out for Rio Rancho where TT was to perform.   As the roads are generally long and straight, he was able to drive the 900 miles from Houston to Rio Rancho mostly on cruise control…allowing him to devise a sort of minimal exercise program in the van.   It was not dangerous as one might expect, just rather funny.  I was dozing in the passenger seat when I was awakened by rhythmic marching sounds. I know the Psalms tell us that “The Army of The Lord encamps around about those who fear Him” but I’ve never seen or heard them. When I looked to TT he was marching on the spot doing his leg exercises.  Our Nashville doctor had recommended him doing these exercises in times of enforced immobility to help his aging knees.

We stopped at Santerland Ranch where they were raising rather magnificent grey bulls and rancher Ivan Jaramillo drove up to make sure we would not spook them...“They can be very aggressive!” he said  “These are bound for Argentina…the climate suits them.”

From Tucumcari the landscape is rather flat, light brown and spotted with small shrubs.  On a few occasions we saw the legendary tumbling tumbleweed being blown across the road, and yes it really tumbles.  TT remembers that this phenomena was the subject of one of his boyhood favourite singers…Slim Whitman.  Tumbling Tumbleweed was the song and here’s one of the verses…. “See them tumbling down, Pledging a love to the ground, Lonely but free I’ll be found, Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds” Ah! They don’t write songs like that anymore!

On the way to Rio Rancho the road rises to 6,000ft.   At the apex we stopped at the Flying ‘C’ Ranch Travel Center,  a store full of trinkets large and small including a stuffed buffalo that could stand proudly and menacingly in your front room if you could come up with $19,000!    TT passed on the buffalo  but, as it was both windy and cold, coughed up 20 bucks to buy me a real horse hair poncho which is very warm and cozy.   So, what does a girl need to go with her new Poncho?  A Davey Crockett ‘coon hat, of course, replete with tail.    I asked if it was real coon fur and the salesman said “Not for 7 bucks lady!”   Another nice salesman did try to convince us it was the genuine animal and the meat was boiling up in the back ready for ‘coon stew.’

I am still suffering from jet lag so TT did the gig in Rio rancho by himself.  There was a big crowd and they loved the show…..but the performance was peppered with the cough that TT has picked up.   Quite a few people asked if the cough was part of the show!    TT says that performing with a cough is very draining…he was exhausted when he got back to the hotel and after a small snack he fell into bed.  He even had a slight fever….but the next morning he was somewhat improved.   Hopefully the cough will be gone soon…..the next performance was in Farmington, NM.   Farmington is near the Four Corners, a region of the states where the corners of four states, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah come together.   The day after the show we did a bit of sightseeing….went to Durango, Colorado which is nestled in the Rockies.  We’d left our warmer coats in some hotel somewhere so we sought out some thrift shops in Durango and got two replacements for just $18.   We need them because all the places around Farmington are all above 5000ft in elevation and it gets very cold at night.   Next stop?  Philadelphia and Bethlehem.  Now, don’t worry, it’s not going to be a long drive.  Firstly it’s not the real Bethlehem but Bethlehem, PA and secondly we will be travelling at around 27000  feet on a plane.