On the Road (again)

17 Sep 24

13:30 hrs LIma

     We are soon to be departing Cowtown. Our day started at 0400 with a musical wake-up call. The Sensei and his Lobster picked us up and completed the transfer to YQQ for a 05:40 boarding. The first leg was to YVR, about 40 mikes, with a reboarding to YYC. Li'l Sis said she would come to the terminal to say hi but we were loading in less than an hour after landing. Our next stop is YOW, the Nation's Capital. Flight time is about four hours, arriving at 19:05 hrs Lima.

23 Sep 23

16:00 hrs

     So, let me catch you up. The GPS that came with our rental car could not locate our Verbo because it probably hadn't been updated in at least five years. We figured this out by the fact that our phones could find the house which is four years old. For the rest of the trip we double checked our directions. 

     The house is great. Nice rooms. Kitted with all the amenities. It'll do just fine for the next week. 

     Well Kidlettes, the funeral went well as did the internment. Last night we met with a bunch of relatives at one of the numerous Lone Star restaurants. It's a chain of TexMex joints that started on the Nation's Capital and may even be in the Golden Horseshoe from what I was told. Food was great. I had the brisket sandwich. Outstanding!

26 Sep 23

09:30 hrs

     Our trip continues. We (myself, my Better Half and the Jr. Loin Fruit) are in tbe VIA Rail station waiting to board the train to Kew City, the second stop in our trip. We'll be staying at a friend's place for five days before backtracking to Bageltown where we'll have another BnB.

     We are looking forward to new sights and tastes. My Lobster's friend will be our host and tour guide. Can't wait. All of the family stuff in the Nation's Capital has been completed. We saw the war museum, the art gallery, the Deifenbunker - a Cold War establishment, parks, the national cemetery and other landmarks.

02 Oct 23

14:00 hrs

     We are in Bageltown. Yesterday, we had traveled by rail and then by cab to the BnB. Nice place. Two bedrooms, one bath, all the amenities. 

     Let me back up. Our stay in Kew City was great. My Lobster and I had never been there and her friend was an outstanding tour guide. The Citadel, the Olde City, the newer City, Poutine Island,  parks, and many, many churches. All wonderful. The company was excellent and the card games a riot. After five days it was time to press on.

     Last night we went to Schwartz's Deli for a smoked meat sandwich. Even the Jr. Loin Fruit, who is a dedicated pescatarian, broke down and had a sandwich. This trip has been a lot of walking. My Better Half and the Jr. Couch Monkey are inside the Basilica for a look see. I decided to catch up on the blog. After a twelve plus block hike this morning the three of us sampled a great bagel. Two of us has cold smoke salmon. One of us opted for bacon. After that my Lobster took me to a Japanese knife shop where I almost bowed down and prayed. These were forged chef's knives. Full tang with wooden or bone or micarta handles. Some of the blades were of Damascus steel and in lengths from four to nearly eighteen inches. All kinds of blade shapes and weights for all kinds of tasks. Did I buy one? Yes. I settled on a paring knife size as all of our paring knives at the Wayward Inn are crap.

18:00 hrs

     We are finally back at the BnB. After walking about 10+k and taking a wrong coming out of the Metro we walked about another 3k before realizing we were headed in the wrong direction. We reversed course, spotted a taxi and jumped in. Tempers are short. If I ever see the inside of another church it'll be too soon.

     A couple of points we have observed. In Kew City there are parks, very little trash,  yards are cared for and hardly anyone smokes. Bageltown is the opposite. Trash everywhere. Half the shops are closed or empty. Cigarette butts litter every sidewalk. In the former there was cell coverage everywhere and here ....nothing.

05 Oct 23

17:00 hrs

     We are home. The Sensei picked us up last night and delivered us to the Wayward Inn. 

     

     And be it ever so humble, there is no place like home. The kitties are so happy that we're home. Our showers. Our beds. Our stuff.

     One suitcase was damaged and I'll probably right it off. The Ram would not start. I jumped it with the portable unit and took it for a long ride to recharge the battery and my soul. We all had things to attend to. Banking, groceries, unpacking, tending to the kitties, etc. 

     Before I leave you Dear Readers I need to impart something to you. While in Bageltown my Lobster,  the Jr. Couch Monkey and myself went to a Holocaust Museum. On entry, the first thing we noticed was the level of security was near what you would expect to encounter at a bank - a security guard, a man trap and a magnetometer (a metal detector). Sounds shocking? Not really when you take a long look at what the Jews had suffered through the years. It's sobering to see the evidence. And, if you have seen any of what has happened in the Hugh-ess during the last administration you will recognize how close the You-Alls are (still) to repeating the Third Reich. If you think im joking, I'm not. In the 1930's it started with the suppression of knowledge - teachers, intellectuals, writers - and blaming all of society's woes on a single group - a focal point to rally the populace. At the same time, books were banned and burned. Books that, for the most part, taught the reader to expand their knowledge and how to think critically. That was Gemany in the 1930's. Move forward nearly 100 years. As of yesterday in the Hugh-ess there are over 3,200 book titles have been banned. Over 65% of those titles are in just 8 states (all Republican) and 42% of the titles are banned in Florida a state that for some unfounded reason (fear?) has halted teaching courses in LGBT+, African-American studies and others. Why is no one, especially the credible news outlets, calling the hard core Republicans for what they are. Fascists. They may not be Nazis but they are fascists.

     Think about it.

Getting Ready

14 Sep 23

07:00 hrs

     Good Morning Campers! Today is Thoughtful Thursday and today we're going to do some deep thinking. I would lime to know why buildings are called buildings when they're already done building them. Maybe they should be called Builts or Crumblings. Just a thought. And, what is causing the huge rise is knife attacks in this country? In Ontari-ari-ari-oh, le Belle Provence and here on the Left Coast. It's crazy. One such attack was a random assault where three people were admitted to hospital. The perpetrators was a guy let out on an unsupervised day pass from a correctional facility where he had been serving time for stabbing his daughter to death in '06, found not criminally responsible in '08, was on an unsupervised outing in '11 when he stabbed someone else. Obviously, this Mook needs help and should not be outside.

15 Sep 23

13:00 hrs 

     Try to follow this train wreck piece of logic - the Ultra-Right Toads in the Hugh-ess are now beginning the process of  impeaching the current Prez. However, they know that there is no evidence of any "high crimes and misdemeanors" committed so they have demanded that The Prez provide they with the evidence for the crimes (?) that they will then convict him of. Does this make any sense to you? It's like a parent bullying a innocent child to "tell me what you did!" and then punishing the child afterwards. Crazy.

     20,000+ That's the estimated number of dead in The Sandbox. Earthen dams do not last forever. Something our Southern Neighbour's should think about since every natural body of water in the country has been dyked, dammed, levied or altered in some manner. Most of with earth. Water has enormous potential energy and moving water can be an unstoppable force. Just ask the people in Fukushima. 

     Two days....not even two days really and we will be off to the Nation's Capital. Excited? A little bit. My Lobster and I haven't been there since we moved the Oma-nator to the Left Coast. Now, we are taking her home. My Better Half has lots of activities planned. Better to have too much planned than nothing unless you're Out in the Weeds where nothing planned is a good thing.

     For lunch I scarffed down some spicy pickled carrots that Chef Blaine had made a couple of months ago. Pretty damn good. The Jr. Couch Monkey likes them, I think. If not, more for me. My gardening skills suck. But, there is a great farmers market nearby so that's where I got the carrots. And other veggies as well. I understand that a cousin of mine in The Peg dug up the whole front yard and turned it into a garden. Good on him! Home grown veggies are the best and if you know how to preserve them it'll cut you food bill over the winter months. I remember as a kid seeing a house in Skatoon, on 1400 block of Ave G, that had nothing but potato plants in the front yard. Mush have been 50 or 60 hills. Now that's a lot of spuds. My grandmother had a huge garden that fed the10 in the household. The Sages had a large garden too. They scaled it back when Li'l Sis and I moved out.

     I read the pundits are all over the military for allowing (?) Justin's Polaris aircraft to crap out at the G Conference. First of all aircraft do go unservicable. And secondly, there are only five CC-150 Polaris aircraft in the inventory and they are heavily tasked unlike in the Hugh-ess both Airforce One and Airforce Two - the backup bird - travel when The Prez goes overseas. We do not have that luxury here in the Great White North. Not to worry, the Polaris fleet is being replaced with nine Airbus 330s. They will be triple tasked for transporting everything from soup to nuts to personnel, strategic tanking - air to air refueling - and VIP transport. Talk about busy. But then again it's SOP for the CAF to do more with less. I'm just surprised that someone came up with the cash for new hardware.

     When Iwe het back from our trip my friend From Over the Hump is going to give me a hand locating new base camp for us on The Rock. I don't mind traveling to the one on the Mainland but I would like to have something I could get too more easily. So, we'll take our fishing rods and our camp stools, the gps and scope it out. Maybe even drop off some audio recorders too. Whoop!

     My Cuz'n in Sktoon was taking his wife, who was in labour, to the hospital. They didn't make it. He had to pull over on the side of the freeway and delivered his new daughter then, with the assistance of a King's Kowboy and some flashing lights, continued to the hospital. Mom and child are good. The proud father was a wreck!

     Well Folkes, that's about it. Watch for more from down East.