Sleepless in Seattle

Shirley and I decided to leave town for my birthday. I had a companion fare coupon for Delta airlines and we decided to fly up to Seattle for the weekend. It was a quick trip and full of excitement! We were all aboard the plane in SLC ready to depart when the captain said there was a problem with one of the engines and they had the repair manuals open and were trying to fix it. Enter a little anxiety. It was decided that this plane was unfit to use so they were trying to find an alternate airplane. We were told we would stay on board until it was decided what we were going to do. I kept thinking of Jet Blue, 12 hours on the runway, etc., etc. After only about 10 minutes they had us exit the plane and walk four gates down the concourse to another plane. Although we had to go through the entire boarding process again we were happy to finally get on our way only an hour late. As we were beginning our decent into Seattle the Captain came on the intercom to tell us we were experiencing some problems with one of the engines but he did not think it would be much of a problem. He also said that as a precaution, there would be multiple fire and rescue vehicles on the runway when we made our landing. Turn up the backside pucker factor a little! After landing the plane stopped and we were encircled by fire vehicles as they checked out the plane. Every seemed to be OK and we taxied to the gate. After getting our rental car we finally made to our hotel just short of Midnight.

In the morning we got up early and had breakfast and started out on our day. We had planned on going down to Pike's market and shop around.

After spending the day shopping and driving around seeing the sites, we stopped at the hotel for a quick check on the NCAA games and it was off to dinner. We had reservations at a restaurant across the bay from downtown Seattle. Great seafood and the view was fantastic as the sun set on Seattle and the lights came on.

We woke up early today and was off to the airport and back home again. It was a quick trip but very nice to get away for a few days. All was well when we got home.

March madness!

I am in the height of glory - Lazy boy recliner, cold drink, remote control, and basketball galore! I am a huge fan of the NCAA basketball tournament. Then, to top it off, Jazz vs. Lakers later tonight. You would think it was my birthday - oh wait - it is my birthday! Well, it is this Saturday. Shirley and I are heading up to Seattle for my birthday. We will spend a couple of days there seeing the sites and enjoying some fresh seafood. I will post some pictures when we get home.

Here's mud in yer eye!

Oh Nate, I wanted to tell you I saw Christin Laettner in the Raleigh/Durham airport this morning. I was going to get you an autograph! Actually it took every ounce of self control to not bust out in laughter and yell "Duke sucks!"

Tar Heels stick it to the Dookies!

I had to take a business trip to Raleigh, N.C. for a few days. I was pretty excited because I was invited to go golfing at Pinehurst which to the non-golfer is a renown PGA golf course in N.C. I was pretty excited. Also, I noticed that the North Carolina Tar Heels was playing the Duke Blue Devils at Duke. Again, to those not into college basketball, this is the number #1 rivalry in all of college basketball. Two schools, 15 miles apart from each other and a bitter rivalry. I joked with those I was coming out to do business with that they should try and get tickets. I took a quick look at ebay to see what they were selling for. Well, depending on the seat they were $2000 - $3000. I guess watching it on TV was about as close as I would get. Because I am a huge North Carolina fan, my business associate suggested we take a ride over to the Duke Campus and check things out. Because Cameron Indoor Stadium (basketball arena @ Duke) is older and small - I think it seats about 8500 - the student body (better known as "Cameron Crazies") camps out in tents for days leading up to the game to get tickets. It is such a tradition they have even named the area after the coach - don't even ask me to spell it - see the picture below.



The Raleigh area had torrential rain fall for the past few days and it looks like the "crazies" paid dearly. I looks like pictures I have seen of the Woodstock concert. Trashed tents, soggy sleeping bags all over - a real mess.



Oh, I forgot to mention, because of the rain, there was no golf! :(


After we left Duke campus my friend drove us over to Chapel Hill and the campus of North Carolina. History Lesson: UNC is the oldest public college/university in the USA founded by Alexander Hamilton. After taking pictures of the "Dean Dome" where UNC plays their basketball games. He took me back in the woods to an old stone castle that was the site of the original "skull and bones" portrayed in the movie "Skulls". This was a secret society that many prominent US leaders were part of. The castle was the site of ritual meetings and ceremonies.



We decided to go to a restaurant in down town Chapel Hill and stake our claim to a spot to watch the game. We arrived at the restaurant at 4:30. The game however was not until 9:00! It really was a pretty fun atmosphere as students started to arrive. The local TV station was making live broadcasts from the restaurant throughout the game. By the time the game started there was no standing room in the place. It was almost like being at the game. They had a projection TV and the students were leading everyone in chants of "DEFENSE" and "TAR HEELS". The game was close and exciting. After the game, all of the students in all of the restaurants flooded out onto the street and started lighting fires in the street. Traffic was diverted and it was an amazing site! All in all, despite not being at the game, it was a pretty cool experience. But, as with all of my travels, it is sure nice to be back home!

Kitchen pass granted

OK, so I told Shirley I needed to go up to the cabin and do a security check to make sure everything was alright and that nobody stole our well. (she actually fell for it!) I had to twist Doug Illums arm into going with me. It was a quick trip - 2 nights and one day. It was very nice up there. I believe there was more snow up there than I can ever remember in 25 years. You could step off the deck into the snow that has slid off the roof. They had groomed the road all the way up mill creek and Doug and I made first tracks. It was a relaxing time as we didn't do much other than a nice ride and watched old cowboy movies. In a couple more months we should be able to drive in and hook the well up to the cabin. It will be so nice!