Seattle -- Rugby and Friends

Paul took a short trip to Seattle this weekend. His main reason for going was to watch a rugby game. It was quite an exciting match. Seattle beat Denver by 2 points, and the match ended literally with Denver on the 1 yard line trying to score. The weather was surprisingly delightful -- high around 55, crisp clear and sunny.

That made the vistas just stunning. As always in Seattle, when the weather is good you can look west across Puget Sound to the Olympics and then a few seconds later, you can look east to the Cascades. This was one of those days when you really couldn't ask for better views than this. Plus a nice look at Seattle's iconic skyline and "bingo" you have near perfection.

By far the highlight of the trip, however, was getting to see an old friend, Kevin Wood, his wife, Kelly and their two young boys, Ryan and Galen. You know it is going to be a good visit when the door opens and Ryan greets you with "I have a surprise." You ask "what is it?" and he says "two worms." Perfect.

Ryan is, indeed, a 4 year old pistol -- all boy with energy to match. He looks particularly good in the Batman costume that he wears. Galen, at age 1, is less well defined, but he seems to like laughing. It was a special pleasure to meet Kelly, whom I had not met before. She seems like a perfect fit with Kevin (but I guess they know that already!). They were kind enough to host a dinner at a local restaurant, St. Clouds, where I had a wonderful fish entree. And I highly highly recommend the coconut, chocolate chunk ice cream.

On the whole, a grand time was had.

Sacramento -- Old Town

So, this weekend I was in Sacramento to watch a rugby match. It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area -- temperature in the mid-60s, a cloudless sky, and a beautiful new rugby pitch. The game itself left something to be desired (the final score was 106-0 which even people who don't know any rugby at all will understand is a wipeout), but we can't have perfection can we.

Afterwards, the referee Aruna Ranaweera, and I used Yelp to find the "best bar" in Sacramento. We were directed to the Back Door Lounge in Old Town. I'd never been to Old Town before but the city has a "cowboy" theme to the old town, complete with horses, carriages, hitching posts and a bunch of tourists. It was a hoot and a half.

The Back Door is a "perfect" dive bar. And I do mean perfect. When we wandered in, we were caught up in a "pub crawl" to celebrate St. Patrick's day, amidst a crowd of drunken, singing Irishmen all wearing the green. Great fun.

Aruna and I were joined by two other rugby folks -- Kat Todd-Schwartz and her husband Ray Schwartz, both of whom are larger than life characters. At Ray's urging, I tried a Golden Cadillac, which is a wicked drink made with Galliano, Creme de Cacao (?) and some other stuff. Tasted yummy, but watch the kick. In any event, a joyous albeit slightly inebriated time was had by all.

Katy's in Costa Rica; Paul's Off to Sacramento

Katy is in Costa Rica for two weeks at a Spanish language class. She'll post on that when she returns. Meanwhile, Paul is headed to the West Coast to watch a rugby match -- U.C. Berkely v U.C.Davis in Sacramento. Off to the flight .....

On the Road to Chicago

Well, we've made this trip 3 times in the past month and we've got it down to a science. Door to door from DC to Evanston is 732 miles and it takes us 12 hours and 40 minutes when we work at it. Some highlights and lowlights from the trips:

Highlight: Sunrise over the Allegheny mountains as you head west from DC

Lowlight: The Gateway Restaurant in Breezewood, PA -- why oh why have I 70 and I 76 not been connected with a highway connection?

Highlight: Listening to US history tapes from the Teaching Company

Lowlight: Ohio is very, very flat

Highlight: Finding a Panera Bread outlet in the highway rest stops in Ohio [Yes, not really that high, but the scale is a relative one!]

Lowlight: Gary, Indiana still smells

Really Lowlight: Arriving in Chicago on a Friday rush hour where the express lanes are closed with snow and being at a standstill, totally, for more than an hour

Highlight: Arriving at our own apartment, not a hotel, in Evanston

Real Highlight: Seeing our kids and grandchildren 3 times in the first week.