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SATURDAY

I woke up almost exactly as my alarm was supposed to go off at 6:30 am, so I quickly canceled it and got up to use the bathroom, shower, and otherwise prepare for the day. When I was done, Gary rose to do the same.

We left for breakfast about eight, stopping by Zevi Cafe and Bistro next door. There was a police car with its lights going in front of the old US Mint across the street. We went in and waited in line behind three beefy, bearded dudes who looked Mediterranean (which made sense because the menu was very Greek in cuisine). Our cashier was also nice-looking, if less burly and shorter in stature. Gary ordered French toast with strawberry kiwi Snapple, and I ordered the Zevi breakfast burrito with gyros meat, eggs, avocado, and potatoes, which came with a bowl of fruit, and a latte. Two nice-looking dudes came to sit on the bench either side of Gary, and the fellow on his right asked him if we were there for the Google convention. Informed we weren't, he asked where we were from and told us he'd come from New York.

After breakfast we walked up Powell Street to get pictures of the cable cars, and happened to land at Union Square at Geary and Powell. We took seats in a pair of low plastic Adirondack chairs next to the cornhole court, where a security guard wearing a black turban was throwing the beanbags. It was just after nine, so I tuned in the soc-motss Zoom call and we chatted for about ten minutes.

About 9:30 we returned to the room to use the bathroom, then returned to the BART station about ten. Gary got some good video of the arriving trains before our Green Line train to San Jose arrived. The seat in front of me had evidence beneath it of someone's adventure in shoplifting, consisting of two separate layers of security packaging that used to contain two small, high-value items. I got some good pictures of Oakland Coliseum as we approached that station and stopped there. When we arrived at Berryessa Station, the rapid bus to Diridon Station had just left, so we waited for the next one. There was a monster truck pull at the SAP Center so traffic entering the station was nuts.

We took the short walk toward True Brew where we were scheduled to meet KJ for lunch, but he passed the place and met us a few doors down to inform us it was closed. KJ recommended a pizza place he knew from soccer fandom, called J-Town Pizza, about a mile away. He called for a Lyft and we bundled into a relatively small car for the short drive. We split a large Godzilla pizza (basically a meat lover's recipe), I had a pineapple cider, KJ had a local IPA, and Gary had diet cola. Over lunch we traded stories of our recent and not-so-recent travels, including his soccer trip to Australia. At the end of the meal we walked together to the bus stop for KJ to return to his hotel, and we parted company and continued a block to our stop for Berryessa, which was one stop away via the same rapid bus. When we arrived at Berryessa, I took the opportunity to get pictures of the huge flea market and beer garden behind the station before our train arrived. I spent much of the return trip completing my journal of the day so far.

When we arrived at Powell Street Station, we headed to the north end of the station to find a store where we could pick up beverages and snacks. I spotted a Trader Joe's on 4th Street and, after some discussion, we picked up lemonade, iced tea, yogurt smoothies, and a small tray of fresh raspberries. Of course, there were a lot of snacks in barrels strategically placed along the maze leading to the cash registers, which so occupied the attention of the two young ladies in front of us that they occasionally had to rush to fill the gap in the queue before them. From these, Gary added some cookies to our basket, which I didn't mind at all. We checked out and took our purchases back to the room. There we kicked back for a few hours, ate the raspberries and the cookies, and watched baseball.

Around 6:30 we left for dinner at Johnny Foley's Irish House on O'Farrell Street a few blocks from the hotel, which I'd spotted on the way back from Union Square this morning. We were seated in the back of the bar, in a room next to the kitchen decorated with massive portraits. A cute cub with a ball cap on backwards sat at the table beside us with a lady. I ordered the Irish lamb stew with a local cider, and Gary ordered the wild mushroom ravioli with a diet cola. The stew was very flavorful, although a couple of the lamb chunks were a bit chewy and I was concerned about choking.

After dinner, I plotted a course to the Lone Star Saloon on Google Maps, and the shortest route had us walking west on O'Farrell to Jones Street to pick up the 27 bus (which is the same bus we used to catch from Civic Center Station). This placed us squarely in the Tenderloin, which is considered a non-tourist-friendly neighborhood. We managed, though, partly by relying on situational awareness (which comes naturally to Gary and has rubbed off on me) and partly because I didn't realize that was the Tenderloin until the bus was almost there. Thus I was more amused than offended by people's antics, like the entitled folks who parked in the bus zone, the dude who walked unsteadily in the street instead of taking the sidewalk, and the other dude speeding up the sidewalk on a scooter the wrong way, not to mention the handful of dudes walking curious, muscular dogs, mostly pitbulls. Gary spotted a banner advertising the neighborhood as the "Transgender District", and I did notice a curious couple waiting down the street, who presented as a dude in a pink suit and a lady in a big pale green dress. We also caught a few snippets of conversation from people passing by, like the dude (in the party of four which included a lady who strongly resembles my cousin Corinne) who, told the city was so beautiful, replied, "Everything is beautiful when you're drunk." This prompted Gary to chime in with a chorus of "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens. Eventually the bus arrived and we took seats on the back bench. It was a short trip, and I noticed the encampment on 8th Street south of Market appeared to be gone.

When we arrived at the Lone Star, it was fairly slow and our favorite bartender, Charlie, wasn't on duty yet. Gary ordered a cola and I ordered a dry cider, and we went back and sat on the patio. There was a trio of bears around the corner from us: two younger guys with blocky haircuts and a balding dude with (as Gary later overheard) a thick Scottish accent, impressive ink on both arms and shoulders, and some issues with his back which one of the cubs was managing adeptly with massage. At that point the other cub joked he was a "massage-onist" (obviously a pun on "misogynist"). This led to an awkward moment as I was trying to work up the nerve to introduce myself and Gary to the trio while Gary was not interested in meeting new people and instead was sharing some information about MLS teams. Fortunately, we came to an understanding, and when I went to the bar for another drink, I noticed Charlie was behind the bar and said hi before ordering another cider. Mission accomplished, I suggested we sit at the bar so we could catch up with Charlie between customers. When we arrived, Charlie refilled Gary's Coke and I ordered one more cider. I mentioned Julian and Greg, and Charlie shared that he was going to Tasmania in the near future and staying with a friend. After finishing my cider (Gary had long since finished his Coke), I went to hit the urinal trough and saw the ad for Bearrison Street Fair. As we bid Charlie farewell, I mentioned I'd be in Dallas that weekend and he mentioned he hadn't been to Folsom Street Fair either.

Once we got outside, I asked Gary to take my picture with the wooden bear out front, and then we walked the block and a half to the bus stop in front of the DNA Lounge on 11th. There was a trio of two girls and a dude who almost ran into us on the sidewalk, as well as two cute cubs (unfortunately there to pick up girls or spoil for a fight, or both). The security dude was amusing as he asked folks in line to have their IDs out and available. The bus arrived quickly, and we were soon walking back to the hotel and watching a small crowd outside the Mint on their way out of a social function in the space. We returned to the room and settled in for the night, catching the late news and dropping off to sleep about midnight.

FRIDAY

We left the house about ten after four. Our Lyft driver, Paul, was having difficulty with his phone app, which hadn't figured out he was already at our house. We rode with the windows down for a change. I mentioned Dave's name for that: 490 air conditioning (4 windows down at 90 mph). Paul dropped us off at the departure door since he wasn't picking up, which saved us a bit of a hike.

We were the first folks through security at the time we arrived. The scanner zoomed in on my crotch for some reason, so the very woofy security officer had to give me a rather intimate pat-down. As I told Gary afterwards, he was the best officer for the job. They also had to run my CPAP bag back through the X-ray machine. As a result, it took me a while to get recombobulated. I met up with Gary next to the gate and we watched the flight before ours, to Santa Ana, arrive, empty out, fill back up, and depart, all in the space of about thirty minutes. A few folks (mostly younger) mistakenly tried to board for Santa Ana when they had tickets for our flight instead. There was another flight scheduled to leave for Las Vegas right after ours, but it kept getting delayed further and further: as we were leaving, the estimated departure time was after 10 PM.

We took off to the northeast and did a giant U-turn, taking us out along the Olympic Peninsula. Just before dinner was served, Gary spotted a shiny white capsule at my feet, which he retrieved to find it was a pair of airpods in their charging case. I thought it might belong to the passenger in front of me, but they already had earbuds in. I tucked it into the seat back pocket, and when the flight attendant delivered my dinner tray, I told her about it and she retrieved it from there. By the time dinner was finished, the sun began to set out the window to our right, and the flight tracker showed we were almost at our destination. Once we landed, we had to stop briefly on the taxiway before we could get to the gate.

Once we entered the terminal we made a beeline for the restroom, then made our way to the BART station via the Airtrain. As it happened, we still had plenty of money on our Clipper cards for the fare. We had to wait for a train going out of service at Millbrae to clear the platform before our train arrived. I briefly smelled smoke with an electrical note to it and realized the dude seated behind Gary was vaping. Two tween-aged boys were carrying on between stops, and a woman managed to maneuver the wheelchair in which she was sitting rapidly down the length of the car and through the doors between cars.

When we arrived at Powell Street Station, we found a working escalator to 5th Street and emerged on the correct corner to reach the hotel without crossing the street. We checked in and reached our room right before ten. We decided to go to bed early and wake up early for breakfast before making the trip to San Jose to meet KJ for lunch. So after catching the news on TV, we went to sleep around 11:30.

FRIDAY

I planned for us to leave the house about 10 AM, so I got up around 7:30, packed, showered, and dressed. Gary had nodded off in the recliner downstairs and came to bed around four AM, so I let him sleep in. I prepared us breakfast of bacon, cheese omelets, and English muffins. It was ready just around the time Gary came downstairs. After breakfast, Gary decided he needed to mow the front lawn (rather a postage stamp in size, but a bit gnarly nevertheless) before we left, and so we ended up leaving about quarter to eleven. As a result we hit major traffic in Seattle, a bit better than usual in Fife approaching Tacoma, and a bit worse than usual through Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

By the time we reached our favorite restaurant in Lacey, Shari's, I was rather desperate for the bathroom. We had a nice lunch: I ordered a burger and soup, while Gary ordered a sandwich and fruit. After lunch I plotted the remainder of our course on Google Maps, and we followed US 101 out of Olympia to pick up the route to the coast which we'd taken on previous trips to Ocean Shores: WA 8 to US 12. We made the left turn at Montesano to pick up the Raymond Cutoff (WA 107) back to US 101 (which does a full 180 degree turn around the Olympic Peninsula). After passing through Raymond, we continued south until the road reached a dead-end at the west end of WA 4. Instead of taking the right to follow 101, we went left on 4 and picked up WA 401 a few miles east, which deposited us back at 101 at the north end of the Astoria-Megler Bridge. We crossed the bridge and followed the loop ramp to the junction with US 30.

A left turn and a couple miles of city driving took us to the Hotel Elliott. We parked in the city lot adjacent to the hotel; there were many signs warning that the lot, as well as the surrounding streets, would be closed on Sunday for the market. At the front desk, we checked in and received a map showing where to park on Sunday as well as a little card letting anyone know that we were registered at the hotel and to call them if we were about to be towed. We retrieved our baggage and belongings and settled in at the hotel briefly.

At 6:30 we gathered at a nice Italian restaurant called Fulio's, around the corner from the hotel, for the foodie dinner. We shared a plate of antipasto and a plate of grilled vegetables, along with bread and oil and vinegar for dipping. We had two bottles of Montepulciano wine with dinner; the second was a bit pricier than the first as that first bottle was the last of its brand in stock (but it was also a better wine). I had the crab penne with Alfredo sauce, which was quite good. For dessert several of us had tiramisu (like the deserts miss the rain...) and Gary had spumoni. After dinner we all went to the hotel and checked out the rooftop patio until it got dark, and then we all went to our respective rooms to bed.

SATURDAY

Gary and I had breakfast in the hotel dining room. Kathryn joined us for conversation, but on her way in I overheard the desk clerk admonishing her that she was being aggressive.

We ascended to the roof deck to join Max's Zoom call. At first it was just the three of us, but eventually Robert, John, and George met us on the roof. We were having technical difficulties with the external webcam so I switched back to the laptop camera. While we were doing that, the desk clerk came upstairs and escorted Kathryn from the property, based on complaints from other guests at the hotel as well as their personal disagreement from the morning. We stayed on the call for about an hour and then agreed to meet at the Astoria Column. On our way out of the hotel, the desk clerk apologized and told us she was under strict orders not to allow "guests of guests" into the hotel based on Kathryn's behavior. This meant that Chuk and David, who were making a day trip, weren't allowed to join us on the roof.

Eventually we all met up at the Column. Chuk remained at the base but the rest of us all ascended the spiral staircase to get pictures. A nice young black dude took our group picture atop the column. As Gary and I were preparing to descend, an older gentleman told me he was the great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, for whom Astoria is named and who, he said, commissioned the Column. When we reached the base, we briefly conversed about whether his claims were plausible; considering Astor drowned on the Titanic in 1912, I think so. We explored the grounds beneath the column, and Gary and I picked up our souvenir fridge magnets at the gift shop.

From the column we went to lunch at the Astoria Brewing Company. While we waited outside for a table, we explored the riverfront pier and watched the trolley go by. I had a pulled pork sandwich and a local cider. We had a long and wide-ranging conversation over lunch.

We decided to go to Fort Clatsop, a short drive along the Lewis and Clark River south of town, after lunch. The main visitor center was undergoing construction, so we had to park a short distance away and follow a trail through the woods to the reproduction of the original fort (which, after restoration, burned down in the early 2000s). We sat through a demonstration of the many uses of the cedar tree before proceeding to the visitor center to see the exhibits.

After the fort, we split into two parties. Gary returned to town with George, Robert, and John (Emma didn't come to the fort with us), while Chuk, David, Kathryn, and I went to Sunset Beach, about 15 minutes' drive across the peninsula from the fort. Kathryn rode with me since Gary wasn't coming to the beach. Google Maps wanted us to approach the beach through a gated community instead of parking where the signs directed, which led us on quite the wild-goose chase. Eventually we parked in the proper place and walked through a gap in the dunes where properly-equipped vehicles could actually drive onto the beach. Chuk and David had already been there a while and we met them on the other side of the dunes. A pickup truck had gotten mired in the sand, while another truck with monster tires and belching black smoke stopped to assist. We stood in the surf for a few minutes (Chuk hung back a bit further), got some pictures, then headed back to town, arriving just after five.

We decided to meet at seven for dinner, karaoke, and a drag performance at Xanadu, the new gay bar in Astoria. I returned to the room and napped with Gary until it was time to get ready for dinner. I had dirty rice with pork-belly nuggets and the local cider Back to Black. I sang "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by the Crash Test Dummies and "Heathens" by 21 Pilots. Chuk was the only other member of our party to sing. In between sessions of karaoke, a local drag queen performed "Le Jazz Hot" and "Chicago" from Victor/Victoria, a number from Sunset Boulevard, and a couple other numbers. It was a fun evening and we got to meet the proprietor, Jeff, who also operated the karaoke machine and the spotlight for the drag show. We headed back to the hotel about nine-thirty, and Gary and I watched TV until we fell asleep.

SUNDAY

We returned to the Xanadu for brunch at ten. I had a flight of four different flavors of candied bacon (pepper, brown sugar cinnamon, raspberry, and orange) with biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs. Brunch was served in a little breakfast nook with a counter and booths. Jeff came over and had one of the waiters take a picture of him with the group.

Most of the folks were leaving today so we decided to meet at Cape Disappointment State Park on the Washington side of the river. We kept Alan, who was driving up for the day from Corvallis, informed and he met us at the park. Parking was difficult; both Gary and I, and George and Emma, managed to get spaces in the designated lot, but Robert and John (with Kathryn) had had to park in the overflow lot and walk the third of a mile uphill. Alan was lucky to find a spot in the ADA lot. When Gary and I had ascended the trail from the main parking lot, we took a breather in a large shelter beside the ADA lot, and had a conversation with a fellow from Stony Brook, NY who had parked there. Since Gary and I had arrived first, we spent some time on the outside overlook getting pictures of the river mouth and the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. After some time we realized everyone else had gone into the visitor center, so we joined them inside. We toured the exhibits for a couple hours, then went outside for pictures before going our separate ways: Robert, John, George and Emma headed for Seattle, while Alan gave Kathryn a ride back to Astoria.

We four met again at the sushi bar on the corner next to the hotel. The food was excellent and we had a nice conversation. After this late lunch/early dinner, Alan returned to Corvallis and the rest of us returned to our respective hotels for a nap. In the evening we returned to Xanadu for drinks and a light nosh. While we were seated at the bar, a nearby dude was taking selfies and posting to his buddies "hey look, I'm in a gay bar!" The lady next to him on the other side pointed him out to the bartender and he was summarily bounced. It was otherwise a very pleasant evening, and we wrapped up around nine and returned to our hotels.

MONDAY

We three gathered at a cafe on the block behind the hotel for breakfast around nine, and Gary and I parted ways with Kathryn outside the Elliott; she was to catch a bus later in the afternoon to return to Portland. We checked out of the hotel and got on the road at 9:45. We refueled at the Safeway in Aberdeen and picked up some drinks and snacks for the road back, then had lunch at Duffy's. Over lunch I planned to purchase plane tickets to San Francisco from my phone to use up the remaining credit from the Christmas trip, but it turned out you could not do so from the Alaska app, and I ended up texting the airline and cancelling the reservation, resolving to do it when I was at home on the computer. From Aberdeen we took our regular route home: US 12 to McCleary, WA 3 to Kingston, and the ferry to Edmonds. We arrived home about quarter after five.

FRIDAY

I woke up about 6:30 to pee, went back to sleep, and rose for the day about 9:30. I had breakfast and puttered around until Gary got up about 10:30. By 11 I was shopping for the trip, returning home about noon. I scrambled to pack up the car and grab a shower, and left the house about 1:30.

I stopped just before the turn from route 9 toward Granite Falls for lunch at Chipotle, and arrived at camp about three. A few folks I know from the Chorus are in the site next door. I got checked in and parked the car, and had a nice chat with Shaun before returning to my site (3A, which we'd used before), pitching the tent and assembling the camp bed. I took frequent breaks, and met Ty who is sharing the site with me. This is Ty's first campout, and I had to inform him of the need to lock up the food between meals so the bears don't destroy the campsite to eat it.

After the tent was up, about 5:30, I was super sweaty and headed to the beach for a dip in the river. I had a nice chat with a fellow named Anthony wearing a T-shirt reading "APP/UH/LATCH/UH'. He's from the corner where Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee meet. I also saw a couple wading in the river, who I met formally later this evening: Mike and Nick.

When I returned to the parking area on my way to the site, I saw Griff and we exchanged greetings. I dropped off my beach towel and chair by my tent and grabbed dinner from the bear locker. I didn't much feel like setting up the grill for cooking, so I ate a whole pound of potato salad with a little turkey jerky and trail mix for dessert. After dinner I sat with Ty briefly and let him know about the Meet and Greet over at Seed and Supply, and when he expressed interest in joining SMC I sent him a link. Then I went over to site 4 next door and schmoozed with Carter and Tyler from the chorus, and met another fellow chorine, and Brian and Paul who were sharing the site. Paul has a pleasant accent which I couldn't quite place, perhaps Aussie or Kiwi.

Around ten to nine I disposed of the dinner trash, put away the remaining food, peed, and hopped into Ty's massive luxury SUV (he's a real estate agent) for the short drive to the upper campground to park it for the night and visit Seed and Supply. I introduced Ty to some folks I knew, including Shaun (the birthday boy), Brendan, and Nathan. When I went to introduce Griff, he was chatting with Mike and Nick who I'd seen at the river. I chatted with a tall fellow named Alex with a tattoo outline of Ohio on his upper arm. He's from Cleveland and went to Marquette so I mentioned our trip. Then we met extra-cute cubs Adam and Joel. Adam and Ty immediately hit it off, and spent much of the evening together on and off. Later we met Josh (Brendan's partner), Steve from Edmonds (who wants to join the Fireplace Bears), and Mike and Gary who were at Friends and Family weekend last year. Toward the end of the evening (more like one AM) Shaun told me he'd decided to audition for SMC as well, so I made a mental note to send him the link as well.

When the party wound down, Ty, Adam, and I went from there to Adam's tent in Site 2 with the rest of the rugby club. Adam went to chill out in his tent, and we sat up with some of the folks at the firepit (which had no fire) singing quietly with a guitar player. Ty hung out with Adam briefly in the tent before we stumbled back to our site around 2:30.

SATURDAY

I woke up about quarter to five, shivering badly and needing to pee. I didn't bother with clothes and watered the bushes in front of the tent, then retrieved one of my blankets to cover the top of my sleeping bag and went back to sleep. I rose for the day about eight, used the porta-potty (line 1 and line 2), and returned to camp to start my day: I sent Shaun the chorus link, let Gary know things are going well and to expect a delivery today, and updated my journal.

Next I fixed breakfast (bacon, eggs, and Aussie Bites) and had some of Ty's breakfast casserole of rice and sauce with Korean barbecue meat. He had some bacon and Aussie bites.

After breakfast was put away, just after 11, Ty and I headed to the river (I decided to skip Muumuus and Mimosas since I'd had enough to drink last night). The water was quite cold, more so than yesterday evening after the sun had warmed it a bit. A couple of dudes were skinny dipping with us. I told Ty, "Nice view, and the mountains are pretty, too." #dadjokes We all took turns soaking in the river and drying in the sun. Early on, we saw the Cairn Terrier who had been at the river yesterday and found out his name is Blazer. I told his keepers about Brandy. A very furry, tan dude named Chris brought us some spray sunscreen when I mentioned how pink I was getting. He and his partner had just been to Croatia and hired a boat to take them to a bunch of gay beaches. The chorus folks from site 4 were there too. We met a fellow named Aaron with long, stringy, graying hair. We also had a nice chat with Steve, the manager of the place during the week, and with Andrew from the Fireplace and Anthony from Appalachia.

About quarter after two I left Ty with Chris and returned to camp for a quick lunch. After lunch I was extremely tired and went to sleep about 3:30 until 5:30. I noticed I'd gotten very sunburned as well. Just before seven I grilled the bratwurst and offered some to Ty, but it was underdone so Ty pan-fried it to go in his casserole. Adam stopped by about quarter after seven on his way to Truth or Bare (a strip game show produced by Brendan). Ty finished preparing his dinner just after that. I applied sunscreen lotion to ease the sunburn and donned the Quake Rugby T-shirt I bought from Griff.

We left for Truth or Bare around eight, deciding to leave our chairs at the river overnight. Ty got an orange wristband and I got a blue one. Bill and a few other folks were seated at the back and I grabbed the last available chair. The show centered around the two teams with the wristbands, with challenges worthy of Let's Make A Deal crossed with Fear Factor.

After the show we all went to Trader Dic's for the after party, where i had a nice conversation with Bill and sent my mashup to the DJ to play. Afterwards I followed the stragglers to Seed and Supply for the after-after party around two AM. I hung out there until after three and then headed back to camp. I set an alarm for 9 AM and went to sleep.

SUNDAY

I woke up about seven with a desperate need to pee and a sour stomach. I felt like I was going to hurl, but the feeling passed once I lay down again. I slept fitfully due to leg aches, nausea, and severe nasal congestion. I turned off the alarm and stayed in bed for about a half hour more, then hit the porta-potty. I decided not to fix breakfast because I feared I wouldn't keep it down. Ty gave me a banana, and that and some vitamin water sufficed.

I moved very slowly to pack up my clothes, CPAP machine, and bedding. About 11:30 I headed to the beach to reclaim my chair, so I would have somewhere to sit after dismantling the camp bed. I sat in the chair and listened to the river for a few moments before packing it up. Ty met me at the little creek that separates the woods from the beach. I set up the chair by my tent and went to pee, and ran into Adam and Joel as they were leaving. I sat and journaled until 12:30 before resuming striking camp.

I left at two and arrived home just after three to find Gary in bed, so I joined him for a much-needed nap. Around seven we finally got up and Gary helped me unpack the car.

MONDAY

Woke up about 4:30 AM to pee, and Gary was wide awake in bed surfing the internet. I went back to sleep, and got up for the day about ten minutes to six, shutting off the alarm. Gary was busy folding and packing up the dirty laundry. I took care of my morning routine and we finished packing. Just after seven, we went downstairs for breakfast, then returned to the room to relax.

About 8:30 we left the room, checked out of the hotel, and waited for the next Hop streetcar to the Intermodal station. We arrived about ten minutes to nine and took seats in the bus waiting area. A black dude about my age or a little younger came by looking for money, and ended up complimenting us on our beards: he said I looked like a hillbilly and Gary like Moses. About 9:30 we ventured outside to meet the bus to O'Hare. The driver had a sense of humor, saying to Gary that I looked like a troublemaker and to me that he was kidding and Gary was the troublemaker.

Just as we got moving, I spotted a vintage observation coach on the railroad tracks nearby and struggled to get the phone camera to work, so Gary took it and snapped the picture. Not many people boarded at Milwaukee Airport, but there was quite a crowd at the Coach USA terminal just south. The driver joked that he was going to tell them the O'Hare bus was canceled and this was a charter trip to Michigan. Once we got moving again, he gave a little spiel in parody of the typical airline safety briefing. We made a scheduled stop in the parking lot of a random truck stop near Sylvania, WI. No one apparently boarded, but the driver took the opportunity to use the onboard restroom before resuming the trip. Our final stop was at a place called The Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI.

We reached the airport, checked bags, and were through security just after noon. Checking the map, I realized our gate was at the far end of the E concourse, so rather than walk all the way down to the gate and then all the way back to have lunch, I suggested that we stop in one of the restaurants at the fork between concourses E and F. The obvious choice was Stanley's Chicago Blackhawks Kitchen & Tap, which was decorated with replica Stanley Cups and banners (six of each, corresponding to the Blackhawks' actual Cup wins). I scanned the tabletop code with my phone to order and pay for the meal. I had a Stanley Burger, medium, with an Angry Orchard, while Gary had the Captain's Classic burger, well-done, with lemonade.

We proceeded to the gate after lunch and settled in for the long wait (over two and a half hours). In the meantime a flight to Portland was at our gate waiting to board for a 2:05 departure. I spotted a thick-bearded, silver-haired baggage handler with a fireplug build, and we watched him toss a large duffel bag over his shoulder and carry it to the far (aft) conveyor belt for the Portland flight. We also conversed briefly with a teenage boy and girl also headed for Seattle, who were seated across from us. The Portland flight was held up backing out of the gate while a smaller aircraft got out of its way, which in turn caused our plane (which had just landed) to have to wait on the apron for the Portland flight to leave. As soon as that flight left, we bought drinks and Snickers bars and settled into new seats. About twenty minutes to three, I ventured to the restroom before boarding opened for our flight. When I returned, a tall young dude with a ginger goatee and an elaborate mustache was seated next to me and asked us some questions about the boarding process since this would be his first flight. He's headed to Hawaii.

As we had first-class seats, we boarded early and we were soon settled into our seats. Early in the parade of passengers, I spotted Griff from the Quake rugby club, and by coincidence I was wearing my Quake T-shirt which he had designed. So when he recognized me, he started the conversation with "Nice shirt!" 😊 He's coming from a family visit to Iowa. During taxi our flight attendant confirmed our food orders and we selected ginger ale to drink. That settled, once we were airborne we both nodded off until we reached cruising altitude and our drinks were served. Our meals (fruit and cheese plates) were served not long afterwards. Maybe an hour later, an older gentleman came forward from the main cabin to use the bathroom, then tapped me on the shoulder and said, "We're proud of our son's rugby shirt." Obviously this was Griff's dad.

We landed without incident, retrieved our bags and caught the light rail to Northgate. Rather than mess with the bus, we caught a Lyft all the way home from Northgate Station. Almost immediately after arriving home, I fell asleep in the recliner and ended up napping for several hours.

SUNDAY

I got up about five minutes to six to pee and returned to bed. Gary woke up about eight so I turned off my alarm and took care of my morning routine, and caught up on journaling. We went downstairs for breakfast about quarter to ten.

Just after ten we left for the MKE Brat House to catch the free shuttle to the ballpark. We followed the Riverwalk on the west side of the river, passing a dude asleep sitting up on a bench with his shoes off and carefully laid to one side. It was a fairly short walk (four blocks).

We were greeted by a cute scruffy bartender who reminded me of Duff. We chose a high table opposite the bar, which afforded a good view of all the TV screens over the bar. Two screens showed a replay of the AHL championship game from last night. We split an order of cheese curds, Gary had a can of Angry Orchard (as they had run out of Strongbow) and I had a tall glass of Franziskaner Weissbier which I'd had in Germany nine years ago almost to the day. I overheard a lady complimenting the scruffy bartender on his T-shirt so I checked it out on our way to the shuttle van; it was a drawing of a brown and white bulldog captioned "yee-haw, let's break the law".

On the short drive to the stadium, we passed the MECCA arena where the AHL Admirals play, the Hilton where we boarded the bus yesterday, the Mitchell Park Domes, and a large doggy day care facility called Central Bark. After receiving instructions on boarding the return shuttle after the game, we left the van, snapped some photos, and got in line to enter the stadium. I made the metal detector beep but it was just my suspenders. We received free floppy Brew Crew hats, shopped at the team store, then made our way to our seats.

Gary settled in while I returned to the concourse to pee and buy drinks. I got a Leinenkugel summer shandy and a bottle of water. During the top of the 3rd inning, Pirates designated hitter Bryan Reynolds (no relation to our buddy in Columbus, at least that I know of) batted a 2-run homer, and the scoreboard began showing player trivia including the fact that first baseman Carlos Santana "has never collaborated with Rob Thomas". 🙂 🎶Oye como va...🎶 Across the aisle a row in front of us, a cute ginger cub was seated on the aisle, wearing a black cap memorializing the old County Stadium in embroidery of neon blue, green, and magenta and a powder blue T-shirt with the Nike "Just Do It" slogan. In the bottom of the fifth (no distillery promotion here 😊), Brewers right fielder Raimel Tapia batted an RBI bringing catcher William Contreras home from third. Señor Chorizo won the sausage race, which was held as a relay in which children donned smaller versions of each costume and lined up by first base to be tagged by their adult counterparts. In the bottom of the eighth, after two walks, Contreras batted in another RBI to tie the score at 2, and after yet another walk and a pitching change, Tapia hit another RBI for the go-ahead run. At the end of the inning, third baseman Luis Urias hit a ground ball to drive in two more runs, but was himself tagged out trying to reach second, for which he got a smack on the head with a glove from first baseman Rowdy Tellez (the hot bear Gary clued me in about before the game). Still, that was enough to win the game outright, 5-2.

We caught the shuttle van back to the Brat House, standing in the aisle at the front the whole trip. When we arrived, I sat on a bench on the back porch and exchanged messages with Nick, since he and his boyfriend TJ were in town (from Green Bay) to shop at DXL and Ikea. I was originally going to suggest they meet us at the Brat House, but Gary noticed some nastiness under the Tegaderm bandage I'd applied to my shin this morning and suggested we return to the hotel to clean it up. I informed Nick and we returned to the hotel by the reverse of the route we'd taken in the morning. We agreed to meet at Potbelly sandwich shop just across the river at 5:15 PM, about half an hour thence.

Nick and TJ were waiting outside for us as we arrived. They've been together 8 months, and TJ is only about 8 years Nick's senior (he graduated from high school when Nick was a fourth grader). Both Nick and TJ grew up in Wisconsin, although Nick was born in Romania and adopted as a baby. We ordered sandwiches and told many stories over an early dinner. We parted company about 6:30 with pictures and hugs.

When we returned to the hotel, we stopped to check out the pool and fitness center in the hotel basement before returning to the room to chill out. Gary fell asleep while I went downstairs to use the pool. It was rather busy but I managed to get some swimming in and a good soak in the spa. I especially noticed one dude conversing with two ladies in the spa, and then pulling one of them reluctantly into the pool. She eventually lost a piece of jewelry and a little boy wearing goggles found it for her.

When the pool got a little too crowded, I dried off and returned to the room. Gary woke up and I went to the lobby for Snickers ice cream bars and Powerade. I prepared for bed around eleven, and journaled and surfed briefly before calling it a night.

SATURDAY

I woke up with my 6:30 alarm and got in my morning routine, being careful to flush often after last night's adventure. I was done by seven, and we headed downstairs for breakfast before 7:30. By eight we were ready to catch the Connect bus to the stop for our coach to Chicago, which is behind the Hilton and across from the Doubletree Inn on 6th street. Because the coach wasn't expected to arrive until nine, we waited in the hotel lobby for a few minutes.

We arrived at the stop about 8:30 and were greeted by a talkative black dude who was headed for Lafayette, Indiana (near Purdue). He announced to all present (at that time that was us and a Hispanic-looking dude with neck tattoos) the bus would be 20 minutes late, so I found a seat on a nearby planter box and journaled while we waited. By the time our original revised departure time arrived, the estimate stretched to 50 minutes late. About 9:30 a coach from Badger Coaches passed by with a slogan on the side: "Honk if you love your freedom!" So I pulled out my hankie and loudly blew my nose. 😊 Two buses arrived about quarter to ten: the first bus was for people (including us) headed to Chicago, and the second one for people headed to points further east including Indianapolis and Columbus. We boarded and settled in, and soon were on our way to Chicago.

When we arrived at the bus station in Chicago, we headed for the bathroom (I'd gone on the bus, but still had more to go) and then walked a couple blocks to the CTA Clinton Station on the Blue Line. We purchased day passes with cash because Gary's card wasn't working. We ended up traveling one station in the wrong direction and circling back. At LaSalle, the last station before entering the Loop, we waited for what seemed like half an hour because of single-track operations which required us to wait until a couple of southbound trains cleared the zone. That settled, we switched to the Red Line at Jackson, the next stop. A Red Line train going the opposite direction was wrapped in Pride livery, so Gary snapped a picture. The train was reasonably full when we boarded, and became packed to the verge of crush loading by the time we reached our destination, Addison. The vast majority of folks on the train were obviously headed to the Cubs game, and for a while it felt like we were swimming upstream as Halsted was in the opposite direction from the station compared with Wrigley Field.

By the time we reached the festival and paid the suggested donation for entry, the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus performance had already begun. I stood for a while and got a picture of the chorus on stage, but soon tired and found Gary and me seats on a low concrete planter wall at the curb. While we couldn't see the chorus from that position, we could definitely hear them and they sounded fabulous. During the show, I pointed out to Gary a simply huge, furry bear in a pup mask making his way through the audience.

After the performance ended, I sent a message to our friend Carlos who sings baritone in the chorus to congratulate him and let him know we were there. After exchanging a few more messages with me, Carlos found us in the crowd, and we had a nice chat (during which the big bear in the pup mask stopped by and greeted Carlos) and parted with a few hugs. Next we explored the festival and I grew thirsty, so we stopped by the Cell Block bar for a drink. I had a Blake's Cider on draft and Gary had a Diet Coke. After finishing our drinks, Gary suggested a sushi bar across the street. We had a shrimp tempura roll, California roll, tuna avocado roll, and fresh salmon roll.

After lunch we walked one station north to try to avoid post-game traffic at Wrigley Field, which wasn't entirely successful as a number of Cubs fans did the same thing. I managed to find a seat though, and noticed the Red Line train filling up completely at Addison. There were quite a few hairy-legged dudes standing in front of me. At Fullerton (the second opportunity to do so), we caught the Brown Line to the Loop, both to ride a less crowded train and to shorten the walk to Union Station. There were a few cute cubs in Cubs gear.

We left the train at Quincy and explored the food court under the Willis Tower. We decided to skip the elevator to the Skydeck since it was a lot of $$$. We went to Shake Shack, where the ordering kiosks (all iPads) got rebooted all at once just as we arrived. We purchased strawberry shakes and I got a large 50/50 (aka Arnold Palmer).

After finishing our shakes, about six PM, we walked across the river on Jackson Street to Union Station, entering by the doors on the corner. Not finding a suitable place for dinner and since I was more thirsty than hungry, we stopped by the newsstand for beverages and a souvenir fridge magnet. We waited in the Great Hall for about an hour, then lined up to board the Hiawatha train departing at 8:05. We sat in the coach car all the way down the platform to the front of the train. The ride was fairly uneventful aside from the cute ginger cub conductor who Gary thought might be flirting with us.

When we arrived in Milwaukee, we made a beeline for the Hop, which was waiting for us. We got out at the usual stop at Wisconsin Avenue and stopped by the East Town Kitchen and Bar for a late dinner. Our waiter was exceedingly tall (at least 6'5" and appeared closer to 7' in comparison with other staffers), with tattoos covering both his forearms. Gary had a chicken Caesar salad and a Diet Pepsi, while I had shrimp and grits and a couple bottles of Cider Boys apple cider. When it came time for dessert, Gary had a sorbet (apparently orange and/or watermelon) and I had the peanut butter cup gelato.

After dinner we returned to the room to find it all tidied up as requested. I received a message from Nick in Green Bay regarding a shopping trip he and his partner would be making the next day. We got to sleep about midnight.

FRIDAY

I'd set an alarm for 8 AM but woke up about 7 to pee and decided to turn it off. Gary's alarm went off at quarter to eight. We got dressed and went downstairs to breakfast about nine.

After breakfast we walked from the hotel to the campus of Marquette University where Gary began his undergraduate education (which he completed at SUNY College at Brockport). I took a lot of pictures along the way, most notably the Marquette Interchange with a gnarly entanglement of entrance and exit ramps, as well as the former YMCA tower, the campus gates, the Varsity Theater, and the Church of the Gesu. In search of a place to sit, we passed a big dude seated on a bench in front of a statue which I couldn't identify from the side. As we passed, I snuck a peek and realized it was a statue of Jesus. We ended up seated a few yards away on a vacant bench with a nice view of the mural on the back of the Varsity Theater. After the big dude left, we went to sit on the bench by the statue of Jesus for a moment, then crossed the street and passed under the library bridge to visit St. Joan of Arc chapel. This chapel has a memorial fountain in front of it, because an eternal flame would be inappropriate. 😈

We next visited the nearby library building, where Gary registered at the front desk and we were ushered to the Archives on the third floor. There we were given access to four bound volumes of the Marquette Tribune, covering 1981-1985, in which all of Gary's movie reviews for the paper (nearly 30) were included. We spent a couple hours there reading the reviews and other pertinent information like the promotion of hockey from club to varsity (didn't happen), the raising of the drinking age, and the establishment of a Marquette Police force (who were definitely in evidence today).

After the library we ventured further west for lunch at Real Chili, where Gary had many late-night and early morning meals. The nice-looking dude working the counter wore a bright red shirt which read "Real Chili: it's not just for breakfast anymore." The chili was tasty, and reminded me more of Rochester hot sauce or Dixie BBQ's "The Man" sauce, with its dark color, fine texture, and visible chili oil, than Cincinnati chili. I ordered medium spicy; Gary chose mild and there was also hot chili available for an extra buck a bowl. The spaghetti was cut into short pieces so one could still eat it with a spoon rather than a fork.

After lunch, we walked another block west to WISN television studio, then returned to Wisconsin Avenue to catch the free (sponsored by UMO Mobility) Connect bus rapid transit (BRT) to the Milwaukee Art Museum. On the way we passed James J. McCabe S.J. Hall, which at first read to me as a retail partnership like Sears Roebuck, but I later figured out it was a dorm named for a Jesuit priest. On the walk from the BRT station to the museum, we passed the old Northwestern Mutual Life building which has copper-clad upper floors behind marble columns. The copper fixtures around the front doors have been restored and are shiny, but the remaining cladding is green.

When we reached the museum, we got wristbands which provided admission to the museum exhibits as well as the outdoor Lakeshore Festival of Art. As we were admiring one of the exhibits, a young black docent / security guard complimented us on our beards and bemoaned the fact he has been unable to grow one. We exited the museum building from the East End doors, walked along the lakefront, then returned to the museum via the Cafe doors and made our way upstairs to view the outdoor booths. Curiosity satisfied, we exited the festival via the outside gate and re-entered the museum to take the elevator to the footbridge connecting the museum with the city across a busy highway. We ended up taking the elevator down to the parking level (lowest of four) before picking up two ladies on the café level one above and riding to the top level with them. This resulted in some light banter about us being elevator operators.

When we arrived at the BRT station to return to the hotel, a disheveled man with frizzy hair like Bob Ross sat in the shelter babbling quietly and incoherently to anyone who would listen. He did not board the bus with us when it arrived. We purchased ice cream bars and Powerade in the lobby and relaxed in the room.

About six we went downstairs to the "kick back" reception in the bar area of the hotel. There was a long line for the bar, so we each had only one glass of wine and instead filled our glasses with soda from a fountain. From there we took the Hop to a restaurant in the Historic Third Ward we'd seen on the way from the train station, called Benelux. Gary had a salad with grilled shrimp; I had a watermelon salad and bacon-wrapped meatloaf with mashed potatoes. The food was delicious, and as I told Gary, one could tell that by noticing my eyes closed as I savored each bite.

From the restaurant we caught the Hop two stops north to City Hall Station and explored the area. There had been a water main break directly in front of City Hall so the street was closed to vehicle traffic. From there we walked north another block toward a festival in a nearby park. The "Cha-Cha Slide" ("Everybody clap your hands!") was playing at the festival and Gary bopped along with the music as we walked toward the river, drawing attention from some folks we passed at a valet parking spot. From there we followed the Riverwalk on the east side of the river back south toward the hotel. Along the way we were confronted by a homeless man who was looking for food or money while he picked up trash. We had a brief and relatively pleasant conversation under the circumstances, and Gary gave him $5.

When we reached the hotel we purchased drinks and Snickers ice cream bars from the pantry in the lobby, and kicked back in the room for the night. I had to use the bathroom and severely tested the capacity of the toilet with an embarrassingly large specimen. After six flushes failed to dislodge it, Gary suggested I leave it alone and later managed to get it to move with a simple trick and five more flushes. Afterwards Gary was convinced I was an elephant, at least in the solid waste department. (I didn't find that funny at the time but now I'm chuckling.) That settled, I took care of my evening rituals and got to bed about midnight.

THURSDAY

I rose about six AM to use the bathroom, and overheard someone bitterly complaining from the ADA suite (not so subtly designated Room H) that they had property damage from what appeared to be an overflowing en suite toilet. I then sat up in my bunk until about 7:30 and went downstairs to use the shower. The space was rather cramped, and I didn't realize until afterwards that the bath towels were over by the luggage rack, but I managed. Pam from dinner was waiting for me to finish so she could use the shower next. I returned to the room, waited for Gary to take care of his morning routine, then tested my sugar before we went to breakfast just after eight.

The same couple we met at breakfast yesterday were seated with us again. The gentleman across the aisle facing us reminded me of my uncle Larry except with sandy hair and beard (like my dad, Larry had jet-black hair until it started to turn white). We both had French toast with strawberries. Gary had chicken sausage and orange juice, while I had bacon and coffee.

After breakfast I took a second cup of coffee to go and we returned to the room to find the bunks still in place, which made sitting uncomfortable. So around nine, just after the stop in Fargo, ND, we returned to the lounge car in hopes the attendant will take the hint. About ten, after a stop in Detroit Lakes, MN, we returned to the room to find the bunks still set up, so I notified the attendant we were ready and we went downstairs to use the bathroom. I noticed Room H had been vacated with the door propped open, and the mattress was marked for disposal because it was contaminated with human waste. Ew. By the time we were done, the room was ready, and we settled in for the couple of hours before lunch. Gary nodded off while I surfed the net and occasionally checked out the scenery. Got pictures in Staples, MN (Yeah, we got that 😊) as well as the Broadway Bridge in Little Falls (northwest of St. Cloud which is just NW of the Twin Cities).

Just after one we went back to the dining car for lunch. We met a couple who are making a great circle trip by train: starting in Sacramento, via Seattle (or perhaps Portland, as we didn't discuss the part of the trip already taken), to Chicago for two nights, New York City for a few nights, an overnight in New Orleans and four hours in LA before returning to Sacramento. We both had Angus burgers and chips with Diet Coke: Gary had a brownie and I had the filled cake. During lunch we stopped at St. Paul, observing the Minneapolis skyline from a distance. We had a nice chat with one of the dining car staffers who is from Chicago and gave us pointers on what to do in town.

As we left St. Paul, the train crossed to the west side of the Mississippi River (which is more south than west at this point) and then followed the river bank for quite some distance. About 4:20, as we approached La Crosse, WI on the east side of the Mississippi, we headed for the lounge car for a light snack since we planned to get dinner in Milwaukee after checking in to the hotel. The dining car offered beef stew for dinner because on the original schedule the train should have been in Chicago long before dinner time, but we wanted to save that for the Chicago passengers. We stayed just long enough to finish our popcorn and beverages, then returned to the room. When we got to Tomah, WI, the platform was so short that our car was stopped across a busy street to allow passengers to board and detrain from the coaches behind us. This occurred once or twice previously.

We arrived in Milwaukee about 8 PM, retrieved our checked bags, and caught The Hop, a free streetcar service, to within a couple blocks of the hotel. We were checked in by 8:30 and walked the short two blocks (one of which was a bridge over the Milwaukee River) to Mo's Irish Pub for dinner. We split an order of fried cheese curds, then Gary had fish and chips with a Diet Coke, and I had a burger with corned beef, cheese, and bacon with a side of garlic mashed potatoes and a couple glasses of Magner's cider. The manager in his tweed jacket and short haircut reminded me of Conor McGregor in his Proper #12 whiskey ads. As it happened, Mo's has discontinued the free shuttle to Brewers games. There was a documentary about Bill Walton on the screens behind the bar.

We returned to the hotel and asked the desk clerk for the information about another nearby bar which provides a shuttle service. Then it was back to the room to unpack, relax, and plan the rest of the weekend.

WEDNESDAY

About 12:30 AM, as we were stopped in Spokane, the electric power to the room was interrupted, which meant the CPAP shut off and I fully woke up. Fortunately it wasn't out for very long. I caught up on a couple of things, added to my journal and went back to sleep. I woke up about three AM needing to pee and noticed we hadn't left Spokane, so I checked and the Portland train was over four and a half hours late. Nothing for that except to go back to sleep. After several false starts and power interruptions, we finally got underway again around five AM, when I returned to the fitful sleep of the early evening for a couple hours.

When the alarm went off at seven, I changed shirts, put on sweatpants, gathered my equipment and supplies, and used the bathroom and tested my sugar at the sink. That done, I returned to the room, stacked our bags at one end of the bunk so Gary could get up, and sat up on the other end, watching the scenery and the rain. I eventually stowed the CPAP as it wasn't going to be used anymore until the evening. About quarter to ten (Mountain Time), after Gary woke up and took care of his morning routine, we headed to the dining car for breakfast, just west of Libby, Montana. We each had 3-egg omelets with everything; Gary had orange juice and I had coffee and a side of bacon. An older couple came and sat opposite us; they live in Wisconsin north of Milwaukee, and she is originally from Watkins Glen, NY. When she found out we met in Rochester and I worked for Kodak, that became the focus of conversation for a while; then we turned to CPAP units (she's a retired respiratory therapist and they both use the devices).

We returned to the room, where the bunks were stowed for the day, and started reading and journaling. When we got to Whitefish, MT a couple hours later, there was a curious machine working on the adjacent track, chewing up black dirt or asphalt and spitting it out in heaps via a conveyor belt. One of the operators was easy on the eyes and, unlike his colleagues in rain gear, was exercising his right to bare arms. 😊 After the next stop at West Glacier Park, about 1 PM, I went to have lunch in the dining car while Gary slept. I had a Monte Cristo sandwich with chips and a Diet Coke. For dessert they offered butter cake or a brownie, so I took the brownie and asked for a second one to take back to Gary. An older lady was seated opposite me; she was headed from Half Moon Bay, CA via San Jose and Portland to Minneapolis. She explained that the Portland train had been so late joining us because of a fire near the tracks, involving grass or brush. Later, a younger lady (probably closer to my age) was seated beside me, who turned out to be the same lady who boarded the train with us in Everett. Her granddaughter had just graduated from Snohomish High School and she was returning to home in North Dakota. As I was finishing lunch, the train stopped again for freight to pass, and I returned to the room shortly before the train resumed its journey.

As we approached East Glacier Park, I noticed between the angle of the sunlight, the mist from the rain, and my glasses, the very tops of all the evergreens along each ridge glowed a brilliant blue which, sadly, could not be captured on camera. At the station I spotted a station agent in striped bibs over a blue T-shirt with a matching engineer's cap, and Gary pointed out the cute ginger cub he'd seen in the dining car at dinner and I recognized him from lunch. I'd also noticed a darker-haired cub at dinner wearing a conductor's hat. After we left East Glacier Park, we descended from the Rockies into the Great Plains, with brilliant blue skies punctuated with white fluffy clouds. At Shelby, MT, there was a crew change, and the new cub conductor on the platform was even hotter than the one we saw at dinner. Also, we regained our network connectivity and posted some pictures from the train to Facebook. Our dinner reservation was made for 6 PM, so we had an hour or two to relax.

At dinner we were seated with the older lady we dined with last night, and a different, younger lady named Pam who is originally from Cortland, NY and is taking the train from Seattle to Milwaukee and then flying home to North Carolina. The couple we had breakfast with were seated across the aisle. Once more we had a pleasant conversation. We both had Caprese skewers (tomato and mozzarella balls drizzled in thick vinaigrette), and Gary chose the salmon which I enjoyed last night, Meyer lemon cake, and ginger ale, while I had flatiron steak, chocolate mousse cake, Cabernet, and water. During dinner, the train stopped at Havre, MT, where a digital message board enumerated all the stops from there to Chicago, and a welcome sign gave the local pronunciation as "Haver".

After dinner I took the opportunity to pee and we settled back in the room for the evening. About eight we ventured to the lounge car for a snack and some sightseeing. The attendant made up our bunks about 10:30 PM and we were soon out for the night.

TUESDAY

We caught a Lyft to Everett Station around 4:30 PM, checked our bags and waited outside for the train since the weather was nice. The train arrived right on time, about five minutes to six, and we were shown to our roomette on the left (north) side of the train. A small slip of paper was left on the seat to inform us of our dinner reservation at 6:30. We were seated with a lady from Seattle close to our own ages, and a younger lady from San Francisco, both heading for Minneapolis. We both had shrimp for an appetizer and cheesecake for dessert; Gary chose chicken for his entrée and I had salmon. The food was rather good considering the constraints of en-route cooking. I had a glass of Cabernet and some water with my meal; Gary stuck with ginger ale. We had a pleasant conversation with our table-mates as we passed Gold Bar, Index, and Skykomish.

After dinner we returned to our room, and Gary soon fell asleep in his seat as we traveled through the long tunnel under Stevens Pass. I got a few pictures during the descent into Leavenworth, our first station stop. At Wenatchee, the next stop, I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and take pictures. Our car attendant offered to take my picture with the train and I gladly accepted. The sun began to set shortly after we left Wenatchee, around nine.

About quarter to ten, Gary left to get snacks from the dining car, and while he was there, the attendant made up our bunks for the night. Gary took the top bunk for two good reasons: he's lighter than me by about fifty pounds, and the electric outlet for my CPAP is on the bottom bunk. He went upstairs as soon as he returned to the room and was soon fast asleep. I set up my machine, stripped to underwear and socks, finished my journaling for the day and had lights out by 10:30. I slept fitfully as the random motion of the train jolted me around.

MONDAY

I slept fitfully and woke up about ten after five. I had intended to leave by six, but had a far worse hangover than previously, as Jack Daniel's is a bit stronger than Kentucky Gentleman whiskey, and both bars poured more heavily than the hospitality room. Thus I moved very slowly to do my morning rituals and pack up. Around 6:30 I used Express Checkout, dropped off my room keys, and got into a waiting cab to the airport. The driver had to loop around to the north side of the airport because there was an accident on the south side. We arrived about ten after seven for a 9 AM flight.

I found the Alaska counter and dropped off my checked bag, then got through security without incident. I bought a cherry Coke, carefully parked myself at the gate and nodded off until it was time to board. Once aboard the plane, I traded seats with a fellow in my row who wanted to sit with his wife instead of across the aisle. As soon as I was seated, I nodded off again until it was time for breakfast. After finishing the meal, I finished journaling and went back to sleep in my seat. I woke up just before our final descent into Sea-Tac.

After using the restroom and catching the train to baggage claim, I was rather nonplussed to find our flight had been assigned baggage carousel 8, halfway across the terminal, and due to construction there were precious few seats. So when I got my bag, I needed to use one of them to rest my sore knee before venturing back to the light rail station. Thankfully, I was able to catch the shuttle cart. I took the train to Northgate and the bus to South Everett, where Gary met me in the Kiss 'n' Ride lane. We got home and I sat with Gary for an hour or so sharing tales from the trip, then we both took a much-needed nap. I overslept the alarm I'd set for rehearsal and realized that wasn't going to happen, so I sent my section leader an email and went back to sleep. Gary had to call and wake me for dinner about quarter after nine.

All in all, it was a great experience and I only wish Gary could have come, although I think the crowds would be overwhelming for him.

SUNDAY

I had set an alarm for 9:30 but rose for the day about nine. While taking care of my morning meds and glucose test, I realized I'd be late for the hotel breakfast buffet, and at ten I returned to bed for another hour before showering and dressing.

Around 11:30 I caught the bus to the Round-up Saloon and Thomas sat with me, with Matthew and Jimmy opposite us. When we arrived, there was a long line to enter the bar so we had to walk around the corner. I misjudged the uneven sidewalk and went down in a heap, sustaining a skinned knee and a minor abrasion on my palm but otherwise good to go. After navigating the long line and entering the bar, I fixed my plate and sat at a folding table to eat. Across from me, a couple of older bears from Vancouver, WA, Peter and Mark, ate their lunch and we chatted a bit. After lunch, I headed to the upstairs patio to get away from the crowd and give someone else space to eat. My knee was bothering me though, so eventually I got a Jack and Coke and found an open seat by the dance floor where the closing ceremony was held. The bar began to clear out after that, and David arrived with his friends Roger and David. He'd driven to the event from Chicago so he arrived by car, and offered me a ride to the Hidden Door with him and his friends.

We bypassed the line for the bus and bundled into the car for the short trip. Once we got inside and bought drinks, I found a seat under a tree by the front fence and texted our local friend Chris to let him know where to find me. Chris arrived while David was getting us another round of drinks, and we chatted briefly until David returned and I introduced them. After we'd chatted a bit longer, Chris excused himself to go mingle, and we went in several directions. I said hi to Justin from the bus to the waterpark, and he pointed out the barstool tucked behind the door to the patio, which I used as soon as I got another drink. From there I spotted a big red-bearded bear (yay!) wearing a Michigan shirt (boo!), as well as a thinner black dude wearing a NY Giants shirt. Around that time, David let me know he, Roger, and David were going back to the hotel. I caught up with the Giants fan later and he introduced himself as Devondre or just D for short. I mentioned hockey and Gary's Islanders vs. Mike's Rangers, and D responded, "Fuck the Rangers." He was accompanied by a young dude and a lady with blonde cornrows. She proclaimed her allegiance to the Cowboys and said she'd give Gary a hard time if he were there. Returning from another drink run, I chatted with a nice-looking shirtless dude who had a Pacific Northwest Salish tattoo which incorporated salmon or orca as well as bear icons. When the DJ put on "Together Forever" by Rick Astley, I had an episode and texted Gary to let him know I was thinking of him.

It got to be about nine PM and I was hungry, as apparently was David as he texted me. We agreed to meet up at Hunky's Hamburgers; he drove and I caught the run bus, changing from the inbound to the outbound bus at the hotel. I had a guacamole burger and fried pickle chips with a Crackberry cider. David drove us back to the hotel and we had another amazing cuddle session in my room, which ended after David observed I was "making those choking noises" and needed to strap on the CPAP and sleep. I set an alarm for 5:30 and went to sleep about 12:30.

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FRIDAY

Woke up about 7:30 and used the bathroom, then returned to bed and slept till 9:30. Got a shower and dressed for the Waterpark excursion. In the lobby I grabbed breakfast and checked in with Nino who I met at Octobearfest in Denver. I met David, a cute cub from Kent, Ohio, and also Mario who I friended on Facebook but hadn't previously met in person. I also saw Chuck and Robert from Kansas City (by way of Bremerton). Robert came with us on the Waterpark excursion but Chuck stayed behind.

We loaded up the motorcoach and made our way to Epic Waters in Grand Prairie. When we left the bus we were directed around the line to purchase tickets. I got changed and stuffed everything into my locker, then hit the Lazy River for most of the afternoon, relying on my big belly for flotation. The first few circuits I followed a big, inked bear on a tube, who I later chatted with and he introduced himself as De'Ron. (I'd seen him at Hospitality last night but we hadn't met.) There were many children we kept bumping into, as well as many hot bears - a fair proportion of whom were not with our party and had kids in tow. A particularly shining example was a daddy bear in a sawed-off T-shirt reclining in the cockpit of a large video game beside a girl of about ten, presumably his daughter. I had a Walking Taco (basically a bag of Fritos topped with taco meat and other fillings) for lunch, then did a couple more circuits on the Lazy River before drying off and getting dressed. I hung out with David and Mario in the arcade until it was time to board the bus back to the hotel.

When we arrived, there was a rush for the elevators. I sat up and watched TV briefly in my room, but decided to take a disco nap about 4:30. I woke up about an hour later, refreshed, although my left hip was still acting up. I decided to dress for Bear Dance and head downstairs in search of dinner. I spotted Chuck and Robert on the escalator and asked to join them. We ended up being a table of seven (Donner, party of eight... 😈) with four other young bears they'd met earlier. Most notable was Andrew who is local and has been working in the vendor market. He's a cute cub with a wispy light-brown goatee and darker brown hair. We had an amazing yet simple dinner at Birds, Bourbon, and Brews. I had the Sticky (Korean) fried half chicken with collard greens and a cranberry-blackberry (branded Crackberry) cider. Over dinner we had a wide-ranging conversation and I filled in a few notable things that happened since Chuck and Robert left the Pacific NW. After dinner I returned to my room to chill out until Hospitality opened at nine, and chatted with Zach on Messenger.

At Hospitality I had such a great time that I decided to skip the Bear Dance at S4. I asked Marc if he knew anyone who needed a ticket and he pointed me to these cute pups in his leather family, Bourbon and Trey. I gave the latter my ticket so it wouldn't be wasted. I had extended chats with Andrew who I met at dinner and with Oren who I met at the Waterpark. I also hung out with Justin and Ty-Ty from the Waterpark and their friend Javier, and watched as Pup Happy (Jorge) went through a number of costume changes. (His friend John stuck to his Bear onesie.) And I met a local muscle bear named Brent Gibert (G-bear) whose pictures I took at the backdrop and, through him, a cute cub named Kyle from South Carolina. Finally, I sat for a break with two big bears with canes, Gerald and Chris, from Oklahoma. When the Hospitality room closed at two, I hung out briefly with a nice-looking dude named Michael with the pretentious title (in his opinion) of "Assistant Attorney General of Maryland", then returned to my room and got to bed around three.

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

SUNDAY

I slept fitfully until the alarm went off at five. We were showered, dressed, and packed by six, and left the room about quarter after to check out. I called for a Lyft and we didn't have too long to wait for José. We made our way through the maze at Union Station drop-off and past the resident flock of pigeons to the LAX Flyaway boarding zone. On the way we used the elevator and joined in a rousing chorus of That Smell. (P.U.!) I sat with our bags while Gary took pictures. The bus arrived shortly after we did, and Gary presented our tickets on his phone and we stowed our luggage and boarded. There was far less traffic than when we arrived.

At LAX we left the bus, got some pictures, went inside and through security (where there was no line to speak of, and a cute cubby TSO in our lane), and soon found our way to the Alaska Lounge up an elevator right next to our gate. We were checked in and having breakfast by eight. Around 8:30 the lounge area was filling up and Gary suggested we head downstairs to the gate. I had another soda, we each used the restroom, and we left about nine, in time to watch the boarding process for the previous flight from our gate, departing at 9:30. The plane was headed for Loreto, Baja California, Mexico. A few people were searching in vain for a working power outlet for charging phones. Gary remarked while people-watching: Too many bears. In particular I noticed a younger brown bear with a thick, curly beard and a pear shape passing by; a long-legged dude with a trim brown beard in jeans and a Carhartt hoodie and wooly cap, sitting by the window with one foot propped up; and a big young bear with a thick neck covered by a trim, dark beard, wearing a printed casual dress shirt and black slacks and carrying a chunky pair of headphones atop his head until he tired of wearing them and stashed them in his pocket.

Our plane arrived about ten to ten, an hour before our scheduled departure. We began boarding about ten after and were soon seated on the aircraft. A large and very cute young bear with a tight haircut and trimmed beard sat in front of Gary, the Carhartt bear boarded shortly after us and was seated in coach, and the thick-necked bear in the printed shirt (blue with white anchors) was two rows forward and across the aisle from me. As we were informed at the gate, we had a long taxi to the runway, during which I noticed Gary snoozing and almost did so myself. We took off over the open ocean and then turned inland, overflying a few isolated wisps of clouds before encountering the thicker, uninterrupted cloud bank, at first below and then around us. The flight itself was fairly uneventful: we had our warm nuts, fruit and cheese plates with ginger ale, and gooey chocolate chip cookies. As we began our descent into Seattle, Gary and I discussed which NHL teams we'd seen and concluded we'd caught half of the 32 teams, none of the Original Six among them.

Once we landed, I checked in with Colleen via text. It was a short walk from our arrival gate to the terminal outside security, where we stopped for a bathroom break and proceeded directly to the light rail station about two. The train trip was uneventful but for the stop by Franz Bakery to change drivers. On the elevators down from Northgate platform and mezzanine, the buttons weren't lighting up, making people think they were broken. We caught the bus to Everett just before three. It rained steadily as usual. We were home by four and I called Colleen to catch up.

SATURDAY

I woke up about three AM to use the bathroom and take some Sudafed, and arose for the day about 7:30, turning off the 8 AM alarm. About nine we walked to the Hotel Figueroa for breakfast at Cafe Fig. On the way we noticed a series of small shops located in the former Downtown Car Wash, several just opening up for the day, and at least one staffed by a large Hispanic bear with a long curly beard. At the front door of the hotel not leading to the lobby, there was an inscription identifying the building as the former YWCA. We were directed from the lobby down the hall and to the left for Café Fig. The bar was open seating while there was a half-hour wait for a table, so we chose the bar. One of the servers was particularly good-looking, reminding me of a smaller Michael Strayhan. There was also a hot bearded dude with nice ink on his left forearm who stood at the bar beside Gary for a while to ask the bartender a question. We each had scrambled eggs with fruit, toast, and turkey sausage for Gary and turkey bacon for me. I also drank a couple of Virgin Mary cocktails.

By the time we finished our breakfast the rain had begun in earnest. We walked the short distance to the Grammy Museum, across the street in the LA Live complex. We spent a couple hours viewing the exhibits from the top down. The fourth floor housed the permanent collection and a special exhibit for 100 years of Peggy Lee; new additions included Betty White and Peter, Paul, and Mary. There was also a display of the unusual contributions from Seattle to the American music industry. On the third floor the focus was on the Latin Grammy Awards and in particular, Mexican megastar Marco Antonio Solis (with long, flowing hair and a thick beard and mustache). El woof! 🐻 Toward the end of this floor there was an interactive exhibit which could be set up to feature a Grammy for Judy Garland, so Gary took my picture with the exhibit in my Kansas City "from the desk of Toto" T-shirt. Then I got a picture of Gary with the oversized, highly decorated Grammy nearby for the 57th awards. The second floor was occupied by a new exhibit of Bruce Springsteen artifacts and a concert film playing in the Clive Davis Theater. We stopped for a bit and I received an email with instructions for the hockey game this evening, which prompted me to transfer Gary's ticket to his phone. On our way out we stopped by the theater. The performance on screen was early in Bruce's career and Gary remarked on how young he was. We made our exit through the gift shop and Gary picked up a magnet for the fridge which is a miniature version of the award I'd photographed him with upstairs.

We made our way around the corner and back to the hotel, stopping for a few pictures on the way. Where the sidewalks had been thick with people - mostly young dudes - last night, they were pretty much deserted in the heavy rain. We stopped by the snack bar and bought drinks, a parfait for Gary, and a cup of overnight oats with blueberries for me. We returned to the room and turned on the wild card game (Seahawks at 49ers). Gary pretty much immediately fell asleep and I worked on my journal and surfed the net, occasionally keeping track of the football game in progress. Unfortunately Seattle got beaten 41-23. About halfway through the third quarter I took more Sudafed, strapped on the CPAP and relaxed although I didn't sleep. I got up just before five, after the football ended, and dressed for the hockey game.

We left the hotel around ten to six since the premium entrance opened at six. It was a quick walk across the LA Live plaza to the arena. It was a little difficult to find the sign indicating the door we were to enter since it wasn't lit up and the stairs giving direct access to the doors were closed. We were directed down a ramp and around a corner to reach the queue at the foot of the closed stairs. Once we arrived there and the ushers organized us in three lanes, the queue moved fairly quickly. I set off the magnetometer, likely either by my suspenders or the heavy zippers of my leather jacket, so I had to get wanded.

We caught the elevator one level up to our premium seats. They were on an aisle, padded with leather or a reasonable facsimile, and extra wide, which suited us nicely and clearly was the reason for a number of similarly sized and larger dudes to select these seats. This included the gentleman directly in front of me. As soon as we were seated our server introduced herself, while a battery of infinitely aimable spotlights mounted in an oval straight above the glass and shining down created a visible curtain of light, assisted by fog machines. A couple of recorded tunes played, the last of which segued into the same song performed live on the organ. Shortly afterwards, Gary and I were featured on the scoreboard video bopping along with the music. We ordered food shortly after that. As the Zamboni machines started cleaning the ice, the organist played Lady of Spain which we found amusing because of Slap Shot.

The game began uneventfully but there was soon a missed goal opportunity waved off because the net came off its moorings before the puck reached the goal mouth. But it wasn't long before the Kings scored a power play goal on a cross-checking rap six minutes in. This was answered by a New Jersey goal, also on a cross-checking power play, with about 7 minutes left in the first period. A dude in the row behind us questioned why they scraped the ice so much, and Gary explained the "90-second" (we later discovered it's now a full two minutes) TV timeout based on his experience in production and our shared experience of other arenas.

During the first intermission a large mat was rolled out onto the ice and a troupe of about thirty dancers with pompoms performed to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance". It seemed like a lot of effort for such a short performance, but they did well. This being Dodgers Night, the Dodgers' house DJ, DJ Severe, was given several opportunities to spin tunes pregame and during intermissions. We were also handed sunglasses with Dodgers, Kings, and Blue Shield logos. There had been updates on the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the LA Chargers all evening, including actual TV coverage pregame. The Chargers had an ample lead early on but at the beginning of the second period the final score was announced with the Jags ultimately winning.

New Jersey scored a second goal almost three minutes into the second period. A few minutes later the Kings scored a power play goal on a slashing penalty, and almost immediately afterwards the Devils fired right back with a goal of their own. Then there was a cute segment called Sauce or Pass which involved two young dudes, trivia about the Dodgers, hot wings, and prizes. It closed with the (likely prepared in advance) Q&A: Why did the Dodgers move from Brooklyn to LA? Because it got them further away from New Jersey! The Devils scored yet again before too long, ending the period with a 4-2 lead.

I made a beeline to the bathroom at the start of second intermission. I saw a young dude leaving the bathroom who looked just like Sam Bass - at the age he was when we met in 2004. I also saw a couple dudes wearing what I've come to call "Magritte" sweaters because they read "Jersey" (i.e. this is not a sweater). Throughout the evening there was the Chug Cam: whoever was visibly drinking when the camera focused on them (and a few who weren't) was challenged to finish the drink. One rather hot brown bear was roundly booed for not doing so.

With about 12 and a half minutes left, a Kings player on a breakaway got hooked and ended up sailing into the net instead of the puck. He missed the penalty shot though. LA never regained the lead and NJ scored an empty-net goal with a minute left to seal the deal.

We exited the seating area and I waited for Gary to use the bathroom before we headed downstairs. Gary wanted to visit the team store but it wasn't possible to get there from outside the arena. I stopped to take photos and then we walked back to the hotel. We sat in the lobby for a few minutes to avoid the rush to the elevators. Once we returned to the room we sat in bed, set a wake-up time for the morning, watched the news and surfed the web until it was clearly too late to continue. I got up just after 11:30 to make final preparations for bed, realizing 5 AM wasn't far away. I was back in bed by ten to twelve and soon off to sleep.

FRIDAY

We caught a Lyft to Everett Station about quarter after eight so we could get the express bus to Seattle. Our driver, Quintin, was a nice-looking young black dude. On the bus we sat downstairs opposite the exit door. We switched from bus to train at ID/Chinatown Station. The train trip was uneventful and I spent much of it chatting with Zach on Messenger.

We arrived at the airport, used the restroom by checkpoint 5, and were directed to checkpoint 2 all the way at the other end of the airport for faster service. I had the presence of mind to pull both of my trays off the conveyor before recombobulating so I wouldn't be rushed. We headed downstairs to the shuttle train to concourse D and the circuit train to the North Satellite, then headed upstairs to the Alaska Lounge to wait the two hours and change before our flight. There we had drinks and snacks as we would be served lunch on the flight.

We went downstairs about one and boarded the plane 25 minutes after. We sat at the gate for quite some time after the boarding door had closed. I suspect they were waiting for a tug vehicle to become available. Once that was taken care of, we were airborne about 2:20 for a scheduled 1:55 departure. We took off to the south into a cloud bank and immediately turned to the east. I spent much of the flight watching home improvement shows: three episodes of "House Hunters" and one of "Fixer to Fabulous" (the latter featuring many hot Southern bears). Meanwhile, except when our nice-looking Asian flight attendant with a split-ring barbell in his nose served us our food, Gary slept most of the flight. On our final descent I handed Gary my phone to get some aerial photos.

We reached the gate, quickly deplaned, and descended into a brightly decorated tunnel recognizable from 1970s films and TV shows. At the opposite end we bypassed baggage claim and went directly to the LAX Flyaway shuttle stop, pausing briefly at the pink shuttle stop to remark on the last route identified: X LAX shuttle. Presumably it arrives regularly. (Gary, sotto voce: "Bitch.") As the next coach to Van Nuys (opposite direction from where we were headed) arrived and departed, a large family seated on the benches with two full carts of luggage spotted their ride (a full-size black SUV) across the street and scrambled to load up. We took their place on the bench until the next coach in our direction, Union Station, arrived. There was a younger dude at the stop about to wave off the coach because he was heading to Van Nuys, but we managed to convey to the driver we were going his way and he stashed our bags and beckoned us aboard. At that hour (5 PM) it was already dark and traffic was crawling as usual.

We arrived at Union Station a little after six, Gary activated our online tickets and we decided to call for a Lyft to the hotel. We found the pickup point after following a series of signs. Our driver, Chi, managed to navigate the tricky freeway route to the hotel and still keep up with conversation, asking who scored a hat trick in his NHL debut game (there have been 7, with the Leafs' Auston Matthews being the most recent and the only one to score 4 goals in that debut). We got checked in and took some pictures from the room, with the lights off to avoid reflections. This resulted in Gary tripping comically over the ottoman just like Dick van Dyke.

Once we were unpacked, we decided to have dinner in the hotel bar on the lobby level. Unfortunately, the bar was more of a snack bar, with pre-made salads and parfaits rather than a sit-down menu. So we went with the Yard House across the street. They were playing the Clippers game on most of the screens, with one or two showing a replay of the Thursday Night Football matchup between the 49ers and the Seahawks in Seattle earlier this season (to be reprised the next day in the wild card game in Santa Clara). I had a tall pub glass of Angry Orchard and an order of Nashville Hot chicken with pancakes; Gary had a bottomless glass of Dr. Pepper with his mac and cheese. There was a large and festive crew of young dudes gathered at the bar beside our table; one borrowed a chair we weren't using.

We returned to the hotel and I picked up some drinks in the lobby on the way back to the room. We took a look at the fitness center and pool but concluded neither would be useful in the predicted heavy rain the next day. I felt more than a little "rode hard and put up wet" so I got a shower before bed. We had local news on the TV and I was sound asleep by 11:30.

We got a Lyft to Northgate Station about ten after five. Not having slept much, we both nodded off in the car for much of the half-hour trip. We took the elevator from the mezzanine to the platform and were treated to a rousing chorus of 🎶 Ooh, that smell... (P.U.!) 🎶The train was of course empty (but for the occasional homeless dude) but it filled up along the way, to the point where the elevator down to the mezzanine at Sea-Tac Station and the walkway to the terminal were both close to capacity. On arrival at the Alaska check-in area there was a long queue for the bag tag kiosks because more than half of them were closed, I suspect because they were out of tag media. But it moved at reasonable speed under the circumstances. There was some confusion at bag drop because of different queues forming for a second set of kiosks and the bag drop itself. We considered using the First Class queue but we were informed the bag drop was far quicker, and by the time we were able to decipher the tangled queues there we found it was indeed quite short and fast moving.

We looked at the queue at checkpoint 5 briefly before being directed to checkpoint 3 which was running at 20 minutes as opposed to 50. I found the premium lane at checkpoint 3 and we were directed to a merge point ahead of much of the general screening queue. We were inspected by a sniffing dog in pairs, with me being paired with a random dude ahead of me while Gary followed behind. We were able to keep shoes on and bags unpacked, although I did take the precaution to remove my suspenders lest they set off the magnetometer. Gary kept his belt on and had to remove it and make another trip, and his bag got kicked aside for closer inspection. As a result I got to wait for him to get recombobulated for a change.

We stopped by Pallino Pizza in the food court and got bagel egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast; Gary had sausage and I had bacon. While we ate, a very cute young dude seated over Gary's shoulder, with a severely trimmed mustache and beard and bare feet, carried on an animated and cheerful conversation with, presumably, whoever was on the other end of his Bluetooth headset. We also were informed our flight was to be delayed about an hour. On the way to the North Satellite I spotted the Alaska Lounge and we checked in to wait, recharge phones, and watch the planes go by.

About 20 minutes before we were scheduled to board, we left the lounge and caught the train to the North Satellite. The waiting area was fairly full but I managed to find two empty spots either side of a nice-looking dude with a lot of luggage. Gary took the opportunity to use the bathroom and when he returned, the dude with the luggage moved over a seat so we could sit together, which was nice of him. As we settled in to our seats, the plane arrived and deboarded and the departure time was moved out another half hour. Shortly afterwards it was announced that the assigned pilots were on an airplane being de-iced in Portland and our departure would be updated once that plane took off. With that news, the nice dude next to Gary left and a cute young black dude sitting next to me asked which flight we were talking about. I told him the Cincinnati flight and he settled in and resigned himself to wait with the rest of us. A cubbish father wearing a plaid flannel shirt, black jeans, gray and sparkly blue Pumas, and a red Arizona Cardinals ball cap with sunglasses perched on the bill stood opposite us while his son took a seat. Eventually his wife (with light blue hair) and other son arrived; the boys ran off and the parents took seats. A big and tall bear with a white beard, wearing a Santa hat with sunglasses perched on the white fur trim, a grey Carhartt hoodie, jeans and comfortable shoes, occasionally got up and paced around near us. The plane from Portland was tentatively rescheduled for a noon departure due to weather conditions. Fortunately it appeared the pilots were passengers on that flight so they weren't in danger of timing out for our flight. Eventually a new estimate was posted which had us scheduled to leave at 1 PM, about an hour and a half away.

We left the gate area and went to the more spacious Alaska Lounge upstairs, so we could grab some lunch and a couple of the folks sitting on the floor from our flight could have our seats. An update showed on my phone moving our departure to 1:45. Again we sat by the window watching the aircraft come and go. Behind us the Seahawks game at Kansas City played on a big screen; they were already losing 17-0 when we arrived so we decided not to watch. Instead Gary concentrated on his book about the Seattle Pilots and I caught up on Facebook and Telegram. After noon we hit the salad bar for a light lunch. Departure was pushed back again to 2:30 PM. Having first-class seats and therefore Lounge access has been a lifesaver this trip.

About quarter to two we returned to the gate area only to find the pilots had just left Portland. The departure time was pushed twice more, ending at 3:30 PM before the flight was ultimately canceled about 3. We had to exit the security area and stand in a horrendous snaky line to rebook. Me: "This is what they call Irregular Operations." Gary: "Maybe they need some Ex-Lax." I received an email from the airline informing us their automated system was unable to rebook us within the next two days, thus making the entire trip moot, so I suggested we bag the trip and transfer the tickets to my wallet for future use, and Gary agreed.

After waiting in line for about an hour and a half, we reached the Oversized Baggage desk and overheard an agent telling another customer (a nice-looking young dude) that checked bags were sent to a warehouse and the airline would be calling to ask if we could pick them up or have them delivered. I confirmed with the agent that we did not need to wait in line just for bags, then we left the line and headed for the light rail in search of dinner.

I suggested Chinese food since they're often the only place open on the holiday. Gary suggested a restaurant in Capitol Hill, Broadway Wok. After dinner we returned to the light rail and headed home.

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A Day Like All Days

...full of the events that alter and illuminate our lives. And there I was.

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