Circa Orbem

The Scottish Highlands

This Sunday morning, I start my 4th day here in the Scottish Highlands.  I must say it has been a tremendous journey so far -- all by public transit (i.e. - no rental car).

Thursday morning, I departed Glasgow on the West Highland Line up through the beautiful rainy countryside to Ft. William.  The train journey was very pleasant with views of the various lochs and mountains and glens along the way.

Just north of Glasgow on the West Highland Line

West Highlands and loch (I'm not sure which loch)

Enjoying the journey

In Fort William, the train arrived right on time where I quickly disembarked and jumped into a waiting taxi.  I told the driver my B&B and he promptly gave me a "Righty Ho" and we were off for a not-quite 5 minute journey just outside of the town to the B&B.  Thankfully, it was still walking distance to town, though I'm glad I took the taxi to avoid having to take my (wheeled) back-pack and other bags up the steep hill to the B&B.

I paid the £2.90 fare and went into the B&B - where no one seemed to be around.  Though, after a couple minutes, the husband-and-wife owners were walking out.  I said I had a reservation, and the wife acknowledged my name.  Though, the husband didn't seem to want to let me check in, as they were on their way into town.  She said that I could, of course, set my bags down in my room while they were away.  Up in my room, I settled in a bit, got my bearings of the city, and headed out in the ABSOLUTELY DRIVING rainstorm that engulfed the city for the rest of the day (well, until nighttime, anyway).  I had my umbrella which did little good, as I walked on the sidewalk along the main road (A82 motorway) and some cars would inadvertently splash me (though some cars and heavy trucks did swerve out the way a bit).  It was weird to be walking on the right hand side of the road and have cars appear to come right at me (instead of from behind, as they would in the U.S.).  At least I knew when to get out of the way for splashing vehicles!

In the town square, which was cute and small, I popped into the tourist information center for information of bike rentals and nearby trails to hike.  This entire town was jam packed with backpackers in all their gear.  It really is an outdoor center for the UK - indeed the outdoor capital of the UK, thanks to it's proximity to so many wonderful trails.  Being without a car, I didn't have access to the real great hiking trails (plus, it was, of course, raining so hard and snowing at the peaks that it'd be dangerous to do much hiking).  I decided to rent a mountain bike and make a run at some local trails, which the tourist center offered.  With some maps in hand, I walked to the local bike shop and inquired about renting bikes.  They had plenty on offer they said, so I promised to come back the next day (it was about 4 PM by now) and get a bike.

The High Street of Ft. William

The remainder of the day, I did some tourist shopping at the local trinket shops (for some reason, this is something I really love to do when traveling), drinking in a few pubs (OK - something else I love to do while traveling), and eating a nice Scottish dinner of lamb shanks, veggies, tatties, and a Tennents beer (this is the main lager made down in Glasgow).  After dinner, another drink in a pub, and the 15 minute walk back to the B&B, in the not-too-heavily-rainy weather.  I crashed in bed about 8 PM.

Friday morning, I woke up and had breakfast in the B&B.  I seemed to be one of the only guests there, so I enjoyed my morning eggs, sausage, toast, porridge, and coffee while looking out the grand picture window of the B&B dining room over Loch Linnhe and the mountains beyond.

View of Loch Linnhe and mountains from B&B front yard

Mountain Biking Scotland

After breakfast and showering, I went outside and took some photos of the surrounding area since there was decent light outside.  I then headed into town, browsed a local artisan shop, and went into the local bike shop.  There, I waited for an English couple to try on and buy biking shoes (there was only one sales attendant) before talking to the attendant about renting bikes.  Since it was just before noon, he only charged me a half-day, which was I believe £12.  He took my information, kept my driver's license (driving license as they say in the UK) and ushered me down to the basement which is where their bike mechanics were working and where I checked out the 19"-size Specialized mountain bike.  It wasn't too bad of a set-up, with a pump, spare tube, helmet, and maps. 

Highland Cattle along the Great Glen Way bike route (I only rode it for a couple miles to Ben Nevis)

With a general idea of directions to Ben Nevis area, I set out on the side streets of Ft William towards the Ben Nevis Distillery (no, I didn't go in) and onto a nice cycle path along the main road towards a liittle town along the M82 (I forget the name) where I pulled off onto forest roads up to the North Face Trailhead.  Originally, I would have started the trail from the Ben Nevis Gondola and Visitor's Center, but there was Forest Service road works (construction), so I took a detour to a different trail head parking lot.  However, this seemed to be a great way to ride the trail I chose -- the "10 Under Ben" trail.  At the trailhead, I saw well-marked signs for this trail (the bike shop dude recommended it, after I told him what kinds of trails I was looking to ride).  And so I set out.  The first sections were very nice and extremely well-maintained sections through the forests and peat bogs of this beautiful country.  The civil servants of the British Forestry Commission sure have done on helluva job keeping these trails maintained and very accessible.

For my MTB friends, here is some bike porn:

My kind of bridge

Nice trail system

Ben Nevis (I think) from the "10 Under Ben" trail

Why don't they have nice MTB bridges like this in WA?

Yeah, I got a little muddy this day

Another stream crossing

Very well-marked trail

Sweet single-track

Umm, yeah, I don't think so (I walked this section), though I've never seen a steep downhill switchback with pads and nets to protect people when they fall

As you can see from the photos, this trail is great!  It certainly was technical enough for me, with my mix of climbs (on both forest roads and single-track), views, cross-country single track, downhills (including a very very gnarly section at the end that I walked), and a stop in the middle at the Ben Nevis Ski Lift cafe for coffee.  And, most importantly, the weather held out the entire time!!  It rained just a little bit on my 3 mile road ride to the trailhead, though once on the trail, there was no rain - though there was plenty of mud due to puddles and stream crossings.

I didn't have much time to do any other loops of this, or any of the other numerous trails there, nor the mountain bike skills park (with various color-coded levels) near the ski lift, since I had to return to town and turn the bike in by 4:30.  Geez - why didn't I get up earlier and not doddle around the B&B.  Oh well, I manage to get this wonderful ride under my belt.

The road ride back into Ft. William (from Ben Nevis)

Back on the road ride back to town, I did stop at the Ben Nevis distillery, though there was a huge tourist bus full of French students, so I opted to not take a tour, and continued my journey into town with a stop in a huge gift shop just on the outskirts of town.  I locked the bike outside and bought a few trinkets before headed back outside, only to find that a huge downpour was again falling on the town!  I decided to just brave it and pedal back into town and return the bike.  At least the rain washed the bike and me!

Back in town, I dried off by having a pint in the ol' Grog & Gruel pub where I'd been to a couple times already and trudged back to the B&B to do laundry and catch up on writing and some reading.  Around 7, I walked back to town for a delicious dinner of Angus steak, chive&cheese souffle, couple glasses of wine, and a type of gooey chocolate cake, and a wee dram of whisky for desert.  Yum, yum!!

Journey to Skye

Yesterday morning, I awoke and had an early breakfast at the B&B (7:30) since I had an 8:30 train to catch up to Mallaig, which is the terminus of the West Highland Line.  A taxi took me to the train station where I bought the Guardian and Scotsman newspapers.  I hopped on the very empty train and read a few pages of the newspapers before the train took off, right on time.  There were probably 8 people on the train.  The train journeyed through some of the most beautiful countryside I've seen.  It didn't take too long during the journey before I abandoned reading the paper and just watched the scenery pass outside the windows.  I managed to take some photos, though they're not the best since they're through rainy windows.  However, the further north we got, the sunnier it became!  Yeah!

As the train travelled around the sweeping Glenfinnan viaduct, the few passengers on board all got up to look out the windows - as this is the bridge that was in the Harry Potter movies that the Hogwarts Express would take to the school.  In fact, two young Scottish school boys were in the carriage with me, so I kinda had a little Harry Potter moment as they peered out the windows at the viaduct.

No, I'm not on Hogwarts Express, just the local West Highland Line to Mallaig

Glenfinnan Viaduct

Ancient church

Getting closer to Mallaig, and sunshine

To Armadale (ferry terminal on Skye)

After passing through more beautiful scenery, we arrived at the tiny little village of Mallaig where everyone got off.  I walked immediately to the nearby ferry terminal, which was conveniently only one block away.  There, I bought a ticket for the next ferry up to the Isle of Skye - which was just over an hour from departure.  I asked the attendant about taking a bus from the ferry landing in Skye (Armadale) up to Portree, the main town.  She said that service was infrequent, but she looked up a timetable (and then gave it to me) of the buses to Portree.  Indeed, today would be my lucky day, as there would be a bus headed up to Portree about an hour after I would arrive at Armadale!  (and, I noted there was NO bus service on Sundays, so I'm very very glad I decided to head up to Skye on Saturday).

With my ferry ticket in hand, I strolled over to this little village of Mallaig and took some photos of the local "downtown" and the fishing fleet.  It seems the economy here is based upon oil and fishing.

The wee train station of Mallaig

"Downtown" Mallaig

I went into a grocery store and bought a few items for lunch, then went back to the ferry terminal and waited to board the ferry, which wasn't too long of a wait by this time.

Boarding the ferry to Skye

The journey on the ferry boat was very pleasant, and not too long.  I believe it was about an hour, though I was spending so much time taking photos that I lost track of time.  The sailing and scenery were similar to sailings that I've done in Washington State's San Juan Island archipelago.  There were rolling mountains, deep blue seas, blue skies, and forests of pine (though in this case, Caledonian pine).  I did manage to scarf down my sandwich and a diet Coke onboard the boat before we arrived at Armadale on the Isle of Skye.

Views from the ferry to Skye

Ferry boat is smaller than we have in Washington State

More nice views from the ferry

To Portree

At Armadale, I disembarked from the ferry and walked along the pier to the ferry terminal waiting room and asked where I would pick up the bus to Portree.  The friendly Scot behind the counter pointed to a little bus stand across the parking lot and said I may as well wait in here (an enclosed building) since it was now pouring rain, again.  A English husband-and-wife and the wife's very elderly mother had also gotten off the ferry and were waiting for the bus.  I read the papers some more, then got bored and walked around the ferry terminal to take photos as the sun was coming out again.  The English husband was doing the same (though not taking photos) and he found a little gift shop near the bus stop.  So, all four of us walked over to the little gift shop and browsed around.  A friendly Scot artist guy was telling old jokes and laughing at his two cackling parrots outside the shop.

Waiting for the bus to Portree (from Armadale)

I parked my rolling backpack outside and looked around a bit, though didn't find anything too interesting to buy.  After waiting for about 15 more minutes, the bus showed up and picked us up.  I paid the £6 fare for Portree, which was an hour journey along a most beautiful route around and through the Isle of Skye.

Bus journey to Portree

To Portree

Little village along road to Portree

Isle of Skye

Camp ground outside Portree

In Portree

Around 1:30 or so in the afternoon, we arrived in Portree where I made a beeline to the Tourist Information Center since I needed to get a room for 2 nights (I previously hadn't gotten around to booking a room, yet).  For £4, the information desk found a room for me at a little B&B just outside of the central town.  This was was smaller than Ft. William.  I think there's around 2000 people here.  It's small, yet bustling with tourists from all over the UK and Europe.  I haven't seen to many Americans at all on my journey here, so far.  I guess that's a good thing.  :-)

The information desk gave a map of town and directions to the B&B.  With this (and with no rain), I walked briskly up the hill outside of the town square and then back down a little shady side-street to the B&B.  There, a friendly older Scot took me to my little single room and showed me around.  It seemed to be a decent-enough place.  Nothing fancy, though certainly bad at all.  I plopped down my bags, got organized a bit, and then headed back into town for some photographing and a wee bit of shopping (I admit the shopping here isn't as nice as Ft. William or certainly Glagow).

The Portree harbor

Quayside in Portree

The Portree fishing fleet

Quayside in Portree looking back into the town

Church of Scotland, Portree

Drinking with the fisherman and dinner

After touring the town center, I saw signs for a little arts & crafts fair, so I walked up to the comunity center for this.  I was disappointed in the lack of arts & crafts at the fair, however, so I walked back outside into the rain and then down to the quay for some of the sights and smells.  Before too long I stopped into a very tiny little pub that was nearly full of Scot fishermen telling stories and jokes.  Heck, even their yellow and orange fishing gear (coats, waders, and boots) were taken off and strewn about the back table.  I stood along the wee bar and ordered a Tennent beer and listened to the fishermen tell their stories.  I heard about the various bad captains and the good captains (seems like most were bad ones).  After my 2nd drink, the (or one of the) town drunks came in and settled into a barstool and ordered a double dram.  Two very old men in the back rolled their eyes as the drunk went on and on about this bagpipe player in the town square.  Then, he got into it about his clan (the MacLeod's), and another man was there who was a MacLeod, though he came from a different island.  The drunk said that McLeod's from that island were not honest McLeod's.  The old man bartender was a McLean, so he wanted nothing to do with this conversation, and another man was a MacKenzie.  There was an Irish fisherman telling some great yarns who was a Callahan.  I swear I was in a movie or something with these Scottish (and one Irish) fishermen in a tiny little pub drinking pints and talking clam rivalries.  Such a great experience.  After my 3rd or 4th pint, I walked down the quay to a restaurant highly recommended in the Rough Guide book - The Lower Deck.  Boy, am I glad I went there!  I got there right at 6 when the doors opened and was their first guest that night.  Within 10 minutes, literally, the entire place (about 12 tables) was full of English tourists (and me, and a college-age couple from France).  I ordered cullen skink (since I loved it so much in Glasgow) and boiled mussels in a garlic chive sauce.  Wow - on wow - was this dinner delicious.  The sea food here in this town is as fresh as it possibly can be, since the fishing fleet is literally right outside the door.  I devoured my meal and finished it off with a Highland desert (I can't remember the name, though it was a sort of pink jello-y mix) and a dram of whisky from the sole distillery on Skye - Talisker (which is so far my favorite whisky I've had).  Honestly, I hadn't ever drunk whisky before this trip.  Now that I've had a few different whiskys, I've grown to appreciate it, and will now be able to drink it occasionally (though not as often as wine or beer as it really does pack a punch!).

Old boat in Portree

Tending his nets

After dinner, I walked around just a bit more before headed back out of town to the B&B for a great nights sleep.  This morning, I awoke and had a great breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs, black pudding, bacon, and brown toast.  Yummy!

Now, I'm going to set out and see a little bit more of town (is there anything else to see?) before my friends from Glasgow, Alan and Stuart arrive this afternoon. 

Tomorrow, it's off to Inverness for a night (I need to decide if I'm going to go tomorrow morning or in the evening) and then tour Loch Ness on Tuesday.

Glasgow to the Highlands

It's nearly 6 AM BST and I'm not able to sleep.  Part of the reason is that I'm anxious to catch a train at 8:21 AM from Glasgow's Queen St. Station up to Ft. William in the Scottish Highlands.  Another reason is that I'm surely jetlagged to some degree.  No matter, I'll make the most of it by posting an update here instead of lying in bed.

The past couple days in Glasgow have been great.  Stuart and Alan have been tremendous hosts.  Their flat is very close to two different train stations (one being the Glasgow subway another being a rail station), so I've been able to certainly take advantage of the proximity to public transit.

On Tuesday morning I had a "lie in", as they might say here, which means "sleeping late" or getting up late.  I logged online briefly to check a couple emails, Facebook updates, and to look up the weather, which was not too encouraging - rain and wind, up to 24 mph gusts.  I crawled out of bed, got my gear together, and showered for the first time in a couple days. 

I headed out the door shortly after noon and meandered along some local streets to a money exchange near the Partick subway station which was about a nice 20 minute walk in sometimes rainy, sometimes sprinkly weather.  Now that i had pounds sterling in my pocket, I could buy a subway ticket and proceed into the central city.  I waited only a couple minutes for the subway to arrive.  When i stepped on board, I couldn't believe how narrow the subway cars are!  I had to duck to get in the car.  Glasgow sure did dig very narrow tunnels or tubes underground in construction of their metro system.

After 4 or 5 stops, I got off at the Buchanan St station and walked upstairs to the main central city.  I took out my umbrella and walked around the rather busy pedestrian shopping street of Buchanan St.  I spotted a Starbucks and went in for some coffee and to plan a navigational route for the day.  I had a hard time understanding the Starbucks barrista, due to the rapid Scottish accent.  Though, after saying "Sorry?" to him, he repeated his questions to me (Is this to "Sit in" or "Take Away?", "Room for milk?", etc) in slower Scottish English.  I sat at a large picture window overlooking the great city scene and drunk in the coffee and the atmosphere.

From there, I headed to George Square, which is probably the main central point of Glasgow, with the impressive City Council Chambers building taking up one whole side of the square (and the former central post office on another side, covered in scaffolding; and the former Bank of Scotland on another side -- quite an important place).

Glasgow City Council

I spotted the main tourist information office nearby the square, so I went inside to browse their little shop and to inquire about passage up to the Highlands.  A very friendly guide gave me various options to get up to the Highlands, including tour buses, public buses, and the train.  I figured on taking the train as that sounded much more pleasant than a bus.  With some brochures and train schedules in hand, I went back outside into the rain and wind and walked out and around the shopping plazas of Glasgow.  It really does seem that Glaswegians love their shopping!  There are many shops of all sorts and sizes with people rushing in and out.

Due to the heavy rain and constant wind, I didn't take too many photos.  instead, i browsed around the shops and bought a couple books at the large Borders Bookstore on Buchanan St.  Looking back, I should have hopped on a tour bus to take in a museum or two, due to my short time here, but I am glad that i was able to explore the commercial part of the city.

Shortly after 5:30 or so, I went back to the subway station and waited in the crowds of commuters to get on the subway back towards Alan and Stuart's near the West End.  Being rush-hour, and being the fact that one of the two lines was not running (essentially, the Glasgow subway is a huge circle around the city, literally, with one train going in one direction, and another in the other direction.  The trains are painted ghastly orange, so the locals call the system "Clockwork Orange").  It wasn't quite like getting on a packed subway in Hong Kong or Singapore at rush hour, though still it was packed, and due to the cars being so tiny, I nearly got a mild case of claustrophobia.

Back at the Partick Station, I got off and walked back in the windy rain to a Marks & Spencer food store for some snacks and then back to the flat.  Stuart was home from work (Alan was working at the wine shop), so we talked about the day and decided to take a quick drive up to Loch Lomond nearby.

Just a hint of blue sky in the lead sky at Loch Lomod

We hopped into the Mini and sped up the A82 motorway just outside Glasgow and pulled over at a couple vantage points, including near a little village called Luss.  We each pulled our camear gear out of the car, since there was a pause in the rain and wind.  I manage to click a few snapshots of the cloudy dark early evening scenery of the loch. 

After some snapshots and thoughts about the water, we piled back into the car and drove a little more around the loch area, before heading back into town heavy rains came back.

Back in town, we stopped at the wine shop where Alan works to pick up a bottle and say "hello" to him.  Stuart suggested some Italian take-away (carry-out) at a nearby restaurant, so we stopped there and picked up some absolutely delicious chicken pesto on pasta with garlic cheese toast.  It went splendidly with the wine back at the flat.  After watching some TV, talking politics, surfing the 'net with our laptops, and just generally "hanging out", it was past bedtime, so we all retired to sleep for the night.

Yesterday morning, I had another "lie in", though I didn't plan on it.  I just couldn't get myself out of bed.  I had a fairly busy day planned, though I'd have to curtail some of those plans.  By the time I'd showered and gotten out to the train station (not the subway yesterday; instead I took the train into town which was faster and much less crowded), it was just after noon.  I took the train to Glasgow Central station where I bought train tickets for the rail journey I'm taking in a couple hours up to the Highlands.  With tickets in hand, I marched out into the not-as-rainy day and bought a City Tours bus ticket.  This is one of those "hop-on/hop-off" tours that many cities have.  I figured it'd be the best way to spend my time and see a couple sights.

Classic British-style taxi cab in central Glasgow

My first stop was the Glasgow Cathedral.  I hopped off the old double decker tour bus and walked in the drizzle and wind to the Cathedral where I walked inside and milled about, taking numerous photos.  Soon, a woman approached and gave me a mini tour of the cathedral with great tidbits of information about it, Scotland, and the Church of Scotland.  After spending some time with her, I thanked her and carried about taking photos and then walked outside to walk up to the Necropolis just behind the cathedral grounds.

Inside the inspiring Glasgow Cathedral

At the top of the Necropolis hill, I paused to take in some photos (though it was to rainy and windy that taking a photo without water droplets on my lens was virtually impossible) and then slipped and fell walking down a grassy knoll as I headed back down to the cathedral.

A wet Brian atop the Necropolis Hill behind the Glasgow Cathedral

Back at the cathedral, I waited for one of the tourist buses to pick me up where I took the tour throughout the city passing through the central part of town, the old shipyards along the Clyde (where they are now building a British naval destroyer), the "Armadillo" Exhibition Center, the "squinty" bridge which looks very much like a twisted St. Louis Arch, and the Tall Ship museum.  My next stop was the Glasgow University where I did a bit of shopping in their gift shop and very quickly walked around the grounds of the drop-dead gorgeous campus.  I wish I could have spent more time there, though I was running out of hours in the day (it was nearly 4:30 by the time I finished walking around the campus); and needed to get back into town to head back to the flat.

I snapped a couple photos in the rain and gusty wind and listened to the various large groups of students as they exited their examination rooms (it's Exams week this week at the University).  For some reason, I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie with all the students talking in Scottish accents throughout this beautiful campus (though they weren't wearing wizard gowns).

Back on the bus, I finished the tour and got back off at the George's Square, where I started.  I got to the Glasgow Central station and waited for a train to take me back to the guys' flat.  Stuart was home from work, so we got caught up and made plans to have dinner at a wonderful fish restaurant called Two Fat Ladies once Alan got home from work, which wasn't too much longer. 

Dinner last night was beyond wonderful.  I feasted on a cullen skink soup followed by scallops with black pudding, veggies, and a great light cream sauce.  For desert, I had a pudding, which was more like a cake with toffee flavor on a bed of 'creme anglaise', or a light custard.  Mmmm, mmm.  I'm still kinda full.

Now, I need to shower up, finish the packing, and head out to the train station to head to Queen St. Station and my journey up to the Highlands.

Glasgow, Scotland

I've finally made it to Scotland, a country I've wished to visit for many years.  Last night, I arrived on a BMI Embraer regional jet from Copenhagen.

Before arriving here, I spent a good portion of Monday afternoon in Copenhagen, Denmark, due to an 8 hour layover (after my 9 hour flight on Scandinavian Airlines from Seattle). 

Dinner on flight SK 938,  Mmm, mmm

Instead of waiting at the airport, I cleared customs (in literally 15 seconds, a personal record), stored one of my two carry-on bags in the Left Luggage area of the airport, cashed $40 into Danish krone, and made my way to the airport Metro station.  It took me some time to figure out which train to take nor where to go.  Since I didn't have a guidebook of the city, I felt pretty lost.  Though, after buying my ticket, I had gone to the inter-city rail platform.  However, it just didn't seem like a typical Metro (subway)-type station for me, so I scanned the signage and found signs pointing to the "Metro" being back towards the airline terminal.  I went to the proper Metro station and inquired with a police officer if this would take me to the Kongens Nytorv (of course, I didn't pronounce it correctly) station in the central city.  She responded that it would indeed, take me to that station.  I only waited 2 minutes for the next train to arrive, where I boarded and was whisked gently to the downtown terminal. 

I got off and fairly quickly got oriented (thanks to a free tourist map that I managed to find at the airport Information desk).  Since I only had a couple hours, I had to make best of the time.  So, what did I do?  I walked down the Strøget, which is a long pedestrian-only street full of shops on either side.  I'd been to other streets like this in various cities around the globe (including Glasgow, today).  I popped in and out of a few shops, including some American stores to see what the differences are in the U.S. and Euro versions (nothing, except the currency of the prices which are marked in Danish Krone).  In my few hours in the city, I never did get a hang of the conversion rate of their currency). 

Copenhagen

Copenhagen

I walked around the central city and was absolutely struck by how many people got around on bicycle.  I mean everyone rode a bike - young, old, men, women.  Granted - the bikes weren't the most up to date nor high-performance that you see in the U.S.  Yet, everyone was riding them.  At each metro/subway and inter-city rail station there were huge parking lots full of bikes.  In fact, I even saw double-decker bike racks.  I'd read somewhere that Danes love their hot dogs, so I got a hot dog wrapped in a toasted bun and filled with mozzarella cheese.  Pretty nice, and cheap!

Looking at the map, I saw a Hard Rock Cafe listed.  OK - so I don't really care for Hard Rock food or the style, but I have started collecting Hard Rock Cafe pins -- the lapel kinds of pins with the name of the city printed on them and sometimes the year.  Sure enough, they had some "Copenhagen"-marked pins, though alas without the year (except for holidays such as New Year's Day and St. Patrick's day, though, I wasn't there on those days in 2009, so I didn't buy one with the date).  After Hard Rock, I looked into the Tivoli Gardens, which I'd previously heard about, though I saw the price of admission in the hundreds of krone, and that didn't seem quite cheap, so i didn't go in.

Instead, I walked back down the pedestrian street and veered off to the palace where I snapped some photos.  I must say I was not too impressed with the grandeur of the palace, though I'm not sure if it's the exact residence of the Danish royal family.

View looking from near the palace towards an equestrian statue (though I never figured out who the man was riding the horse)

After the palace, I walked along one of the canal banks back towards the pedestrian street for a Carlsberg.  I figure I had to have a Carlsberg beer as it the Danish national beer.  Hence, I found an outdoor cafe and ordered a .5 liter glass at the bar inside.  Back outside, I sat and watched the Danish world go by...

Biking in Copenhagen

After the drink, I figured I'd get back on the subway towards the airport.  I walked back to the station where I started my mini city journey and bought a one-way ticket back to the airport.  I waited just a couple minutes for the train to arrive and boarded.  After the next station, however, the train stopped and the conductor came on the PA system with some long message in Danish.  A few people laughed and carried on their way.  Time passed, then more time.  Then the conductor made further announcements and some people sighed.  Next the train started up again and went back in the direction we came -- back to the station where we started!  OK, I had to get to the airport, but thankfully I had some time.  I asked a woman standing next to me what was going on and she said that a train ahead of us had it's doors stuck on the station ahead.  So, we had to wait.  Most of the passengers got off the train and found alternate transportation.  I figured I'd just have to break in and cash in some more money and take a taxi to the airport.  I had no clue as to how much this would be, but figuring how expensive this city seemed to be, I figured to cash in $100, just in case.  At the nearest money exchange, the clerk was on the phone calling in some orders made by a woman customer.  By this stage a small sense of panic had come across my system.  I still had a little bit of time, but I didn't know how traffic would be since it was right at 5:30 (and my flight boarded at 7:25) nor how much I'd need (I only had cashed in $40 originally at the airport, and had spent most of that on trinkets and the beer).  I didn't feel like waiting for the phone call at the money exchange to end, so I ran out and towards the next money exchange a couple blocks away.  There, I gave the young Danish man $100 and explained my predicament with the subway.  "Oh," he said, "there's a train station just down the street.  You can take that to the airport."  I thanked him for the advice, and declined on exchanging the money.  From there, I again took off and went to the Nørreport S-Line (suburban rail) station, which could connect me to the airport.  However, I saw signs of the Metro line with trains headed to the Lufthavn (airport) in 3 mins!  The city must have fixed the broken doors.  At last, I made my way down the steps to the platform for the metro and made it to the Lufthavn with plenty of time to spare!

Waiting for a (functioning) Copenhagen metro train

Back at the airport, I picked up my bag, cleared security, and ate a quick sandwich and Coca-Cola before clearing customs and waited about 20 minutes to board my flight to Edinburgh.

The flight to Edinburgh was longer than I'd expected, at 2 hours, 45 minute (or, as the Scottish pilot of the BMI flight announced "Two and three-quarter hours".  Then again, I didn't realize how far east Copenhagen was.  The entire flight crew was Scottish.  They must have been Edinburgh based and just stayed the night in Scotland, since we landed on time at about 9 PM, British Summer Time (which is one hour behind Central European Summer Time). 

After fairly quickly clearing British customs, I "reclaimed" my luggage and met my friend Stuart in the tiny arrivals hall (Edinburgh has a small-ish airport, on the scale of Las Vegas, for example).  Well, maybe even smaller than LAS.

We hugged and he welcomed me to Scotland, after all this time!  We went to the Car Park (parking lot) and squeezed into his car dealer's Mini (he had ordered a Mini, but it wasn't manufactured correctly, so he was driving one the dealer's cars).  We hit the motorways and sped towards Edinburgh where he gave me a quick nighttime driving tour.  I must say, it felt really weird sitting in the left hand side of the car and seeing the traffic come onto us on the right hand side.  At various points along the journey, I would put my feet on my imaginary brake pedals on my side of his car as I would see headlights coming directly toward us on the right-hand side of the road!

In central Edinburgh, we parked and walked very briefly on the back side of the Royal Mile where we sat an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous view of the castle.  It was lit up in splendor and a huge British flag flew proudly from the top.  The palace sure was on top of a big hill in this city.  Very imposing.  It surely provided great defence over the thousand or so years it's been around.

After the brief visit, we got on the M8 motorway that connects Edinburgh with Glasgow, which are only about 50 miles apart from each other, yet they're the two biggest cities in Scotland.  We raced down the freeway through rural Scottish farmland before shortly entering suburban Glasgow and it's bright lights.  In Glasgow, we drove around the central city and stopped in at a complex of bars where Stuart's partner Alan works.  There, we parked and went into the the bars for a pint or two (well, I had the pints, Stuart had some Irn Bru, which is the fervently Scottish national soft drink, similar to Inka Kola in Peru).  We chatted with Alan and some of the other patrons.  Being a Monday night, it was pretty quiet in the bars.  One of their friends who was there at the bar got a big kick out of me being an American and sometimes couldn't quite understand what I was saying.  I guess that's OK since I often didn't understand what he was saying!  :-)

Stuart and I then headed back to their flat, which is in one of the classic Glasgow tenement buildings that line the cities western side.  We stayed up, had a drink, and talked quite a bit before I crashed.  I'd been up for nearly 2 days after all! 

Which reminds me.  I'd 2:30 AM just now and here I am updating my blog.  I'd had a good day today, even though it rained consistently and was VERY windy.  Tomorrow morning, before setting out for the day, I may be able to update my postings from the events of today.  Unfortunately, there aren't too many pictures from today since it was so windy and rainy I hardly got my camera out.

For now, good night from the wonderful country of Scotland!

San Francisco Summary (and preparations for Scotland)

OK, everyone.  Be on the lookout for some blog updates as I prepare to embark on a journey to Scotland.

Before going into those details, however, I want to talk about a little weekend getaway I did to San Francisco two weeks ago.

I decided to take a little jaunt down the coast to the City by the Bay.  It was the midst of a cold-ish Spring in Puget Sound country, and I needed a getaway.  In fact, I hadn't left Washington State since Christmas - four-and-a-half months back.  A long time for me to not go anywhere.

In preparation for the SFO trip, I got a new tripod head (an Indury DM-01) for my camera system and a new lens (Tamron 17-50) for my Canon 40D.  I'm trying to get better at photography - and a tripod (with a good head) is critical.  I wanted to try out the updated tripod system and the lens in SFO (before the big trip to Scotland).  Previously, I had a cumbershop tripod head that was difficult to maneuvre, so I didn't use it much.  Now - with this new ball-type head, I can more easily get set up and take photos.  In fact, I did a mini "photo shoot" of the beautiful cherry trees on the Universtiy of Washington campus a few weeks ago.  I posted the photos of that exercise on my Flickr site.  I even started playing around with HDR image processing with the photos taken on campus.  Here's a great example of one of these HDR photos:

Not bad, eh?

It was a great experience to have this first "practice" shoot using the new tripod head and the Tamron lens.  I'm glad I did it.

On to San Francisco

I booked a round trip ticket on Virgin Airlines to fly to SFO.  It was my first time flying Virgin.  I did enjoy the flight and the airline.  The A320 was fairly new and very clean, with "mood lighting" along the aisle.  I should have taken photos of the purple-ish lighting they've installed.  Maybe next time.

The flight flew down the coast along a route just to the west of the Cascade Range and down the Sacramanto Valley before landing at SFO.  The weather in the Bay Area was wonderful.  I didn't even need my jacket.  It was just before noon, and I quickly marched to the SFO BART station, bought a return ticket and hopped onto a waiting train.  The route into the central city was not that long.  I disembarked at the Montgomery St. BART station and walked just a few blocks to the Hotel Triton, which is right across the street from the Chinatown Gates on Grant Ave.  A friendly desk clerk checked me into my room, which was thankfully ready.  I walked up to the 2nd floor to my room and unpacked, got situated, washed my face, and performed all my usual hotel-arrival rituals.  Before too long, I headed out to begin exploring.

My first stop was Chinatown.  i walked down Grant and by-passed all the Chinese trinket shops.  Sure it was the heart of Chinatown, but I was in the mood for food - and not from a restaurant that had staff reeling in (tourist) pedestrians from the street.  I walked along some side-streets and made my way to a somewhat crowded restaurant (with most patrons being Chinese).  It was a dim-sum place, yet I was in the mood for noodles, so I got a menu and ordered a very nice Singapore Chow Fun.  I devoured every bite, and washed it down with some hot tea.  After filling my belly with an abundance of noodles, I walked around Chinatown.  I popped into the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company and observed the ladies hurriedly making the golden fortune cookies.  An old man was giving our free samples, though I felt the urge to buy a sack of "adult" fortune cookies, fresh of the presses. 

With fortune cookies in tow, I walked more around Chinatown and made my way back towards Union Square for some quick shopping at the Apple Store and the (soon to be closed) Virgin Records, probably the last one left in the U.S.  The place had been pretty well picked over, so I walked out and went to a bar near my hotel for happy hour.  My buddy and co-worker Doug, who lived in S.F. for some years, gave me a listing of places to visit.  My first bar on the itinerary was Irish Bank, which is in an alley just behind my hotel.  The crowd there was an after-work Financial District crowd, and not completely welcoming, so after my first beer I left...only to walk to the hotel for their free happy hour from 5-6.  There, I sat and had a couple glasses of wine with some of the other guests. 

After hotel happy hour, I walked a few blocks into Chinatown and hit up the Buddha Bar, on Grant and Washington.  Sitting at the bar were four young men in their "casual Friday" attire; definitely a Financial District gathering.  However, unlike the Irish Bank, these guys were very friendly (and intoxicated) and were playing dice with the (also very very drunk) Chinese bartender.  I declined to play dice, but I did drink up several Tsing Tao's. 

Fun evening at Buddha Bar - S.F.

I soon noticed the sun setting in the sky and I wanted to take some dusk photos of Lombard Street.  I walked up the steep hill of Grant St. to what I thought was a Powell-Hyde line cable car.  It turned out to be a Powell-Mason line (too many Tsing Tao's).  I realized this when the car turned right on Mason, instead of going straight up the hill on Jackson.  Oh well, I got off at the bottom of Lombard St. and set up my camera for a very quick shoot.  Unfortunately, no "keepers" came out from that.  It was pretty much too dark by then, and I didn't have the tripod with me.

So, it was on to North Beach for some Italian food.  I walked down Columbus Ave. and passed by countless Italian restaurants along the way.  Soon enough, I got to City Lights and turned around to go back up Columbus on the opposite side.  For some reason, I settled on this place called E Tutto Qua.  All the staff (except the Mexican bus boy) were Italian.  I couldn't believe it.  After all these years of Italian immigrants coming to the U.S. and S.F., people (including 20-somethings) were still speaking Italian.  At one point, I asked the hostess as well as my server if they were actors or really Italian.  Indeed, they were Italian, including the food preparers and the management.  Amazing.  I don't think I've been to an Italian-run and managed Italian restaurant anywhere outside of New York or Italy (OK, maybe New Jersey). 

I ate a truly wonderful meal of beet salad, bread w/ olive oil, orecchiette pasta with a pink sauce, a few glasses of Montepulcianno, and banana tiramisu for desert.  Here's the entry from my journal that night (admittedly written after the happy hours and the wine):

Dinner
  Italian place - North Beach
  - Beet salad.
      wonderful, delicious
  - beets bed.  lettuce, topped w/ pine nuts + goat cheese
  - wine - 2005
      Montepulcianno
  - waiter - a hot
       * scruffy Italian
         with hardly
         any waist and
         his shirt unbottoned
         to show his hairy tone chest
  - dinner
        The "ear" pasta with
        a very light red
        sauce (not quite
        as pink as a vodka sauce
        but definitely not a
        thick deep red
              sauce)
        It has a (hint of)
        spicy sausage
        with the pasta -
        And it is delicious.
        I'm thinking this
        is may be one of
        the most authentic
        Italian places (server,
        at least) that I've
        been to outside of
        NYC metro
        area-
   Columbus & Broadway
     - This place is fantastic -
       recently arrived
       Italians.
    - OMG - the banana
      tiramisu was
      out of this world
      OK - I'm in heaven!!

Need I say more?  :-)

After dinner, I meandered across the street to Vesuvio's, which is an old Beat bar where the likes of Ginsberg, Kerourac, and Ferlinghetti (and my buddy Doug) would hang out and drink.  This was one of my favorite bars I've had the pleasure of drinking.  (in fact, I went back a couple times during my trip).  A very pleasant crowd, nice bar staff, good microbrew selection (Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada, and other CA beers).

After Vesuvio's, I walked down Jack Kerouac alley and down Grant back to my hotel where I passed out for the night.  A great day, indeed.

Friday, I woke up later than I wanted (OK, so yeah, I had the happy hours, the wine, and the Vesuvio's beers).  So, I missed the morning light.  By the time I ambled out of the hotel, the sun was way up in the sky (OK, it was around 10 or so) and bright blue skies were evident.  Good bye photo taking.  Still, I took my camera gear.  I walked back through Chinatown (I had to get an S.F. map since the one I took with me fell out of my pocket on the cable car the night before) and towards North Beach for breakfast.  I popped onto a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed some drip coffee and a bagel w/ salmon and cream cheese breakfast.  Not the best, but the wonderful sunny day made up for it.  I sat and read the New York Times before headed back towards City Lights Books where I browsed and bought a few Beat author books.  From there, I had a capuccino at Caffe Trieste, the very first espresso shop on the West Coast, and another hang-out of the Beats.  The crowd there  now is composed of old hippies, Beats, and cute bike messengers.  I did some reading of poetry and drank my coffee before heading up Telegraph Hill, just beyond Caffe Trieste and North Beach. 

After hoofing it to the top of Telegraph Hill, I paused to drink in the beautiful 360 degree views of the city and the Bay and the two significant bridges.  At Coit Tower, I paid $5 to take the elevator to the top and look out at the surroundings with the multitude of tourists from around Western Europe and South Asia (not too many tourists from the States, so I figured by the various accents).  After Telegraph Hill, I walked down towards the Embarcadero and walked to the Wharf where I bought a ticket to a tour of Alcatraz for the next day (Saturday).  I even checked out some bike rentals.  I wanted to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and take dusk photos from the Marin Highlands -- so I did it!

After going back to the hotel, changing clothes, and getting the gear ready, I rented a bike back at the Wharf and rode along the waterfront through Crissy Fields and across the Golden Gate Bridge and way up into the Marin Highlands.  Along the way, over in Marin County, I stopped at various vantage points for drop-dead gorgeous views of the Bridge and the city beyond.  Still, I climbed way up into the Highlands for some great panoramas.  Finally, I settled on a spot with a husband and wife photography team from Oregon.  I peeled off my backpack laden with camera and gear, set up the tripod, mounted the camera, and began snapping photos.  A group of 4 German tourists on rented Harleys were to my left overlooking the city and the two photographers from Oregon were to my right.  The evening was very very pleasant.  If only I'd brought along some water and food!  I wasn't dying or anything, though it would have been nice to enjoy a snack and some liquid refreshment (heck, even a beer or two) while I was waiting for the sun to set.

As the sun was setting, I snapped away.  I took many photos, with plans to turn some of them into HDR images.  Here are some of the photos I took (and which I'm quite proud of):

My Saturday evening, April 18, 2009 (a pretty good attempt at HDR?)

I like how I turned this into an a 1970s style image with the sharp colors

A classic postcard image of the Bridge and portions of the S.F. Financial District (including Transamerica Pyramid) beyond

Soon after sunset, it (obviously) started to get dark, so I had to pack up and hightail it down the mountain and over the bridge back into the city.  Down the mountain and across the bridge was easy.  It was through the Presidio and Crissy Field (in darkness without a light) that was a challenge.  I blindly led my way through the park while narrowling missing lone pedestrians.  Back at the Wharf, I got onto Columbus Ave. and headed back towards North Beach, where I turned onto Grand and rode (the wrong way down a one-way street) back to the hotel.  You know, navigating through S.F. streets on a bike isn't nearly as hard as I thought.  Sure, it was dark and I could have used a light, especially a rear blinky.  But, after all I had a great time and felt comfortable the entire time.

Back at the hotel, I parked the bike in my room and showered before heading out to the Castro.  I took an F-Line electric trolley car down Market St to Castro where I found a cheap burrito place for a late night dinner, where I scarfed down a couple tacos and black beans.  I walked down Castro Street and admired the neon of the Castro Theatre before walking into the (in)famous S.F. Badlands where I stayed and had a few drinks.  I admired the crowd for a while then walked up towards Market and popped into Twin Peaks for a couple drinks at the bar.  My bar-stool neighbors were all too happy to talk to me about my travels and where I was from and what I was doing in S.F., etc.  Finally, around 1 or 1:30, I settled my tab and hailed a cab.  The Russian cabbie sped through the streets of San Francisco as if he'd learned to drive by watching the movie Bullitt.  It was an adventure to speed through the hills and streets of S.F. in the back of a cab at nearly 2 in the moring.  Finally, I got back to the hotel in one piece and rested my head on the pillow for some much needed sleep.  What a great day!

Saturday was spent with breakfast along the pier.  I rode the bike down to the Embarcadero and returned it shortly after noon.  A very thick fog had rolled into the Golden Gate overnight, which lead to some nice photo-taking of the bridge peeking above the fog:

Foggy morning

Back on foot, I took a cable car back towards Union Square for some more shopping before refreshing up at the hotel.  I had a 2:30 tour to Alcatraz coming up, so I took a very crowded F-line street car to the Wharf where I got off and waited in line to hop onboard the ferry to the fabled prison island.  The tour was jam packed with people from all over the world.  I found it very interesting that a prison (now part of the National Park Service) would be such a tourist destination. 

The ferry boat pulled out of the harbor and across the Bay to the "Rock".  I snapped some photos of the city and attempted to make out the lines of the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog.  On the island, I got off and made my way up a nice steep hill to the main cell hours where I checked out an audio tour and made my way through the official tour.  The audio tour was very nice.  The narrator was an old prison guard from the '60s with interviews of former inmates and "graphic" sounds of events that took place here, including the "Battle of Alcatraz" of 1946 and the famous 1962 escape where inmates carved out a route from their cells through utility passageways.  I was taken aback at the small size of the cells.  From the movies I'd seen over the years, I thought, for some reason, that the cells would be larger.  Indeed, they were tiny.  Even the dining hall was small compared to what I'd expected. 

I thought this tour to be very fascinating and recommend it highly to anyone.  After a couple hours on the Rock, I made my way back down to the ferry boat landing and boarded the 2nd to last ferry of the day back to the mainland and food.  I walked back to North Beach for a couple drinks at Vesuvio's and the San Francisco Brewing Company before finding a table at an outdoor restaurant for some much-deserved pizza.  I drank some Anchor Steamd and ate the 'za while watching the world walk by.

After dinner, I walked back to the hotel and organized the photos of the day and fell asleep.

Sunday morning, I awoke early enough to have breakfast at Dottie's True Blue Cafe near the Tenderloin District.  By the time I got there at 9, a line was already out the door.  Still, I waited, as I had plenty of time to catch my flight, I was hungry, and I'd ready wonderful reviews about this place.  In turned out that the wait wasn't too long (thankfully, being a "single" can have it's benefits sometimes) as I took a seat on a barstool.  I ordered an absolutely delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and scrumptuous pancakes (with real maple syrup) and read the Sunday New York Times while listening to the cook's issues of the day.  What a great way to end a weekend in a wonderful city.

After breakfast, I took a couple photos of cable cars, though the sun was way out and shining brightly, so I decided to pack it up and head back to the hotel and prepare for the short journey home.

I don't know why I don't visit this great city more often.  It's such a short flight.  I do intend to visit more often.

Scotland up next

Tomorrow, at 6:45 PM, I take off on an SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) A340 jet to Copenhagen on way to Scotland.  I have a healthy layover in Copehnagen on Monday where I plan to take a quick trip into the city and then board a puddle jumper for a quick jaunt up to Edinburgh.  I plan to take my MacBook Pro on this trip, so I should have (hopefully) plenty of opportunity to update my blog with words and photos.

Cheers for now.

My ride Saturday

Tulip Pedal at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Great Puget Sound country weekend

Daffodils along the Tulip Pedal route

This weekend sure did bring wonderful Spring weather to Puget Sound country.  Heck, today, we got up to the 70 degree mark in Seattle.

Yesterday, I rode in my first "charity" road bike ride.  A charity bike ride is one where you pay money to ride an organized route.  The ride was the Tulip Pedal up in Skagit Valley.  I had heard about this ride for quite some time.  Ever since I got my "road" bike late last summer (actually, a commuter road bike), I've been anxious to ride some of these charity rides.  I figure the Tulip Pedal would be a good way to get broken into these types of rides.  I pre-registered and paid the $25 fee to participate in the ride.

Yesterday, when I woke up, the sun was bright and shiny - although the temperature was very cold, around 33 degrees.  Since all the clouds blew away, the cold weather came in overnight, though it would warm up quickly with all that glorious sunshine.  I packed my bike and gear into the CR-V and headed up to LaConner, WA for the big ride.  Along the way to LaConner, I-5 traffic was typical Saturday - OK until I got to Everett, then everything came to a halt.  Typical.

At LaConner, I decided to do the 40-mile route (which was around 45 miles).  With my physical activity level, I determined that this would be very "doable".  It turned out to be a good choice.

Headed out through farm country

I quickly realized that there wouldn't be any tulips in bloom.  Due to the late winter we've had, the tulips decided to stay in their buds for a while longer.  However, there were millions of daffodils out in full golden bloom.  I stopped at various times along the route to take photos of the daffodil fields.

Panoramic daffodil field

After navigating through the farm roads of tulip/daffodil country, the course took a northern route up to Sammish Island, which is, in fact, attached to the mainland.  Regardless of it being a real island or not, it was a wonderful cruise around this island.  There were many viewpoints of Padilla Bay (of Puget Sound), and quite a few coastal birds.  All along the island, I could hear frogs croaking and I smelt the delicious sea-salt air.  Very refreshing for a bike ride.

Pretty scene of Padilla Bay with San Juan Islands in the distance.

Bird resting/watching (not sure what bird it is)

After circuling the island along a wonderful flat loop, I pedaled towards Edison, WA.  This is a town that I never knew existed.  It's a tiny little town with some coffee shops, art galleries, and biker bars in the "downtown".  There is also a little middle school that was the half-way point of the ride.  I paused there for a water, bathroom, and snack break.

Other riders taking a curve

After the break, I geared back up, and headed to Chuckanut Drive, where I would turn south and head back towards LaConner.  Along this stretch, I stopped for some great views of the Cascades.  There were expanses of meadows and fields which opened up to wonderful views of the mountains.  Further south, there were some more daffodil fields to see.

Cascades on a beautiful sunny Spring day

I made it back to the Tulip/Daffodil fields area and wound my way along the route back towards LaConner.  I cruised past some tourist tulip farms and fields - with no tulips and hardly any tourists.  There were also some cattle and sheep barns that I sped by.  The pungent aroma of cow manure reminded me of the county fairs back home in Illinois when I was a kid.  The last 3-4 miles were starting to wear on me, and my body.  Still, I was in good spirits.  I made it back to LaConner after pedaling 48 or so miles (I went a little further since I got a little bit lost on Samish Island).  I loaded up my gear in the CR-V and headed back to Seattle -- but not before stopping at a wonderful biker bar in Conway, WA.

Downtown Conway, WA, overrun by Harley bikes and bikers

There was a sign on the side of the road, behind the downtown area advertising this bar, and that they had the "Best Burgers This Side of the Mississippi".  I figure I could use a good burger and some brewskis, since I'd just ridden nearly 50 miles.  I pulled into the little downtown and then realized that this place was full of Harley dudes.  I was a little leery, at first, though I did see a couple cars with (human-powered) bikes on their car racks.  That was good enough for me.

I parked the car and ambled into the bar, where the bartenders all gave me a cheerful "Hello".  An outdoor beer garden was heavily populated with leather-clad Harley bikers, and quite a few people were inside at the numerous tables.  I hopped onto a bar-stool and ordered a Mac & Jack and a mushroom (and garlic) cheeseburger.  The TV was tuned into the Michigan State-Connecticut game - so I watched it and talked to some of the locals who were seated around me at the bar.  One man was playing that pull-tab gambling game.  While I was seated there, sipping my beer, he had won three fishing poles from the bar!  A woman to my right asked if she could buy one from him.  I'm not sure how the transaction ended, as he went to sit by her. 

Conway Bar

One absolutely awesome cheeseburger!

The cheeseburger came out, and I devoured it.  It didn't even have time to get cold.  I was starving from the ride and put paid to that delicious piece of meat!  After another pale ale (I forget the name, but it was from some local brewery), I hit the road and made my way back to Seattle where I got home, cleaned up, and rested at home.

Headed home from the ride

This morning, I woke up with a question on my mind:  should I go mountain biking with some of the BBTC gang over at Banner Forest, near Gig Harbor.  Or, should I hang out in the city and have a "city day".  I hem-hawed around for a short while (I awoke around 7 AM, since it was so sunny) and decided to hang out in the city.  As much as I wanted to go mountain biking, I also wanted to try out a new lens I got for my Canon 40D - a Tamron 17-50 mm lens.  I was excited to try out this new lens, as it was only shipped to me from B&H Photo last Thursday.  I showered, and decided to eat breakfast at Tula's downtown.  It's one of the Tom Douglas restaurants and I recently been given the highest recommendation for their brunch.  Downtown I went and had a wonderful plate of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and toast.

Breakfast today

After breakfast, coffee, and catching up (somewhat) on the Economist, I walked around downtown and started snapping photos.

I walked my usual "circuit" of places downtown, Pioneer Square, Chinatown, and the Waterfront.  I briefly considered taking the ferry over to Bainbridge, but decided against it.  I had a cup of chowder at Ivar's and snapped photos of the tourists.  In early afternoon, I walked back to the car, stopping in the new Columbia Sportswear store along the way.  There, I tried on, and bought a couple pair of performance khakis.  On the way back to the car (still parked near Lola's), I was very tempted to grab a Bloody Mary and P.F. Chang's, but I opted not.  I got to the car and drove to Glazer's Camera where I bought a new backpack for my camera gear.  I perfectly fits my Canon 40d, the 28-135mm lens, the 12-24 mm lens, the 50mm /1.8 lens, and my new 17-50mm lens; together with my G10, and even my MacBook Pro!...with room to spare for a book or two, and a couple magazines.  I may have found the perfect camera bag.

Tonight, at home, I've sat on the deck and read the Economist and listened to music on the Apple TV.  I'm firing up the grill and preparing hamburgers, baked beans, and (oven-baked) French fries.  Should be a great way to end a great weekend!

Bike Mugging(s) in Seattle

Another bike commuter at work has warned me about these thugs who mug people either in the Mount Baker bike tunnel, or as bikers are leaving it.  The Seattle Times reports a blurb about a cyclist who was mugged last Thursday just after exiting the tunnel in the westbound direction (which is exactly the place where I ride my bike when I come home from work).  Admittedly, I haven't biked to work in a few weeks (wintery days, after all; and I'm a cold-weather wimp).  Still, it's going to make me think twice, or three times, as I ride my bike through that tunnel.  I can just imagine thugs blocking either entrance to the tunnel as I'm in the middle of it.  The blurb mentions carrying a baton weapon. Hmmm, not a bad idea.

Oh well, it doesn't all matter _too_ much, since my office is moving up to Bothell, WA in mid-April.  If/when I bike to that office (which is 20 miles away from where I live), I'd be riding the very well traveled Burke-Gilman trail - where it should be safer. 

Maybe I should join Critical Mass?

Inspiration

For 8 hours today, I attended a National Geographic photography workshop.  I learned quite a few interesting tips and inspirational thoughts from photographers Michael Melford and Eddie Soloway.  This was a wonderful workshop with plenty of the photographers studied.  I especially enjoyed hearing the stories behind the photographs.  This workshop gave me great inspiration to get out there and explore more of this world of photography. 

I look forward to more photographic journeys with my upcoming trip to Scotland this May, and a road trip back to Illinois this summer.  Be on the lookout for my blog postings as these adventures begin.

kdk_0141

kdk_0141, originally uploaded by brianholsclaw.

I wonder what my car will look like when I return to Seattle on Thursday afternoon??

Winter Greetings from Central Illinois

Downtown Elliott, IL

I made it back to Central Illinois for the 2008 Christmas season.  This was not such an easy task.  The day I left Seattle (last Thursday morning), a late autumn snowfall dumped several inches of snow onto the city's hilly streets.  Many city buses quit running, especially in my neighborhood of Madison Valley where Madison St has a very steep stretch between 23rd Ave. E. and MLK Jr.  I attempted to take the #11 bus by catching one on it's snow route, to no avail.  It didn't take me much time to figure out that I was _not_ going to get downtown via bus, so I hoofed it up out of Madison Valley and up-and-over Capitol Hill.  I had a duffel bag and backpack strapped to my body keeping me somewhat off balance on the icy streets.  All along the way, people were out and about on foot since a) buses were parked (or stuck) on the streets and b) cars simply were not moving.  The only traffic was delivery trucks sending their good to the stores.  After an hour or so of walking, I made it to the Convention Center bus stop just in the nick of time as the #194 bus, which goes to the airport, had just pulled up.  I hopped aboard with many other waiting passengers and descended into the depths of the Metro bus tunnel which runs under 3rd Ave.  Every one of the stops had dozens of people trying board the bus with big suitcases as they couldn't get to the airport via taxi or personal car.  By the last couple stops at Pioneer Square and the International District, the bus was jam packed and couldn't allow any other passengers onboard!  The bus nudged it's way onto a very slow-moving I-5 expressway towards the airport.  The chains on the tires rattled as we headed southbound.  It took about an hour to get to the airport, where a traffic jam forced the bus to take an alternate route into the bus-stop.  Finally, I got to the airport at 11 AM for an 11:30 AM flight.  It was fairly busy, though thankfully the security checkpoint line was not too bad.  I made it through security at 11:25 and found, to my amazement, that my gate was literally right across from the security checkpoint exit!  The flight was just doing pre-boarding at the time.  I had made it!  If I was even 5 or 10 minutes later, I wouldn't have made the flight, which was a wonder since any subsequent flights would have been severaly impacted due to the subsequent snow storms that blanketed Seattle over the weekend.

I arrived in Chicago about 30 minutes late, which wasn't bad, considering what I'd gone through in Seattle.  I took the Blue Line el train to my friend Tom's place.  It was late when I got in, so we caught up and hit the sack. 

Friday, we got up and planned the day.  Tom went to work and I went to downtown via the #151 bus down Sheridan Road.  I hit my usual stores up and down Michigan Ave.  I didn't enjoy the walking nearly as much, though, due to the slush all around.  The temperature was about 35 degrees or so, which meant the snow which fell over night had turned into a slushy salty mess in the streets and along the sidewalks!  My new leather boots which I got before the trip served me well by not allowing slushy water into my socks, but they did get a salty crust enveloped around the leather! 

Goofing off at "The Bean" in the Millennium Park - Chicago

I walked south along Michigan Ave towards the Art Institute where I wanted to see a photography exhibit of Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Along the way, I stopped at the Millennium Park (which still amazes me with it's beauty, even in winter) and watched the ice skaters.  "The Bean" always yields great fun with people taking pictures in the mirror.  I must say I was disappointed at the Art Institute with the weak Cartier-Bresson exhibit, though I did revisit old favorites in the American and Impressionist galleries.  From the museum, I walked up through the retail sector of State Street and wandered around the old Marshall Field's (now a Macy's) department store on State and Lake St.  I bought some Frango chocolates and made my back along Wacker Drive to Michigan Ave. where I got back on the 151 bus to Tom's place.  We had dinner at a very nice Indian restaurant called Marigold.  Though, since the streets/sidewalks were hard to negotiate, we decided to take a cab back to his place for the night and watch a movie.

Saturday was a quiet day with a late brunch and some minor shopping at a nearby Border's bookstore.  In the early afternoon, I took the bus to Union Station and checked in for my 4 PM train to Champaign.  Since I had about an hour to kill, I walked around the old main lobby and snapped some photos and did a bit of sketching.

Panoramic Union Station photo taken with my camera phone

That old waiting area of Union State sure did look nice with the tasteful Christmas decorations.  Shortly before 4, I went to the (not nearly as appealing) train departure area and waiting in a short line to board the train - the 393 Illini.  It's wonderful how the state of Illinois has very frequent service between Chicago and various downstate towns on the Amtrak train.  Right at 4:05 PM (scheduled departure), the wheels on the train started moving.  How's that for keeping to schedule.  I sat next to a woman who lived in Champaign and we talked the whole day down.  Funny how time goes by quickly when you're chatting to your seat-mate.

At the Champaign train station, my parents were waiting for me - along with the many other people waiting for their relatives/friends.  My guess is that half the passengers on the train from Chicago get off in Champaign as it is a major destination along that route.  It's always nice to see people hug and greet their loved ones (including me, of course).  It had gotten considerably colder on the way downstate.  I nearly slipped on the sheet of ice that served as the train station's parking lot as I walked to my parents car with my duffel bag.  We got into the car and drove to a restaurant for dinner and then headed home.

The wind had really started to pick up and was blowing hard.  Back at my parents house in Elliott, IL the winds were raging.  We sat and watched TV for a bit and got caught up.  By bedtime, I felt like the house was going to blow away with the winds.  Sunday morning, I woke up and looked at my parents thermometer -- it was .9 degrees!!  That does not take into account the wind chill.  I did manage to get dressed to take some photos of the beautiful ice formations that covers everything.  Though - this was a mistake.  I stepped outside into the howling wind and immediately got a headache from the -35 degree windchill.  My exposed skin quickly dried and probably got mildly frost bit.  I only stayed outside to take a few photos and then went back inside.  Even though I grew up there and lived in the Midwest for almost 30 years of my live, I don't recall being in such cold temperatures!

End of the road of South St in Elliott, IL at the edge of the prairie

Back inside I stayed for the rest of the day, and for most of the trip so far.  The extended family came over for an early Christmas Sunday night (since I'm flying back to Seattle Christmas day) and we had a small family gathering at a restaurant in Gibson City last night.  Tonight is a visit to my sister's place in Fairbury, IL. 

It's been a very nice trip thus far.  Tomorrow night, I take the train back to Chicago and will stay overnight in a hotel downtown.  Christmas morning, I get up early and fly back to Seattle.

Merry Christmas, everyone!