The Road to Oxford

At Kings Cross we paused for a selfie, then took the tube to Paddington to catch a train to Oxford to join friends for our hike to the source of the Thames. Somehow, instead of one tube train, we took four trains, or maybe it was five trains as we compounded our navigation errors.

View of MSP Gate G9 Jet Bridge

MSP, gate G9, soon to board for London LHR. Thunderstorms are brewing bringing back memories of a rather alarming aborted landing in Tokyo due to thunderstorm-related downdrafts. We accumulate our experiences.

Good Eats

Substantial dinner after planning a trip to Italy next spring with my sister- and brother-in-law: pork ribs, pork belly, walleye, roast Brussels sprouts.

Bridge to Platform

Biking with a friend, followed parts of a new light rail route, under construction. We stopped at a chain-link fence, trying to understand this elaborate structure connecting the road bridge overhead to the platform below. It looks like it’ll have stairs and elevators for pedestrians. The station is a short walk from Bde Maka Ska,…… Continue reading Bridge to Platform

Planning for the Inevitable

Bought snowbird flights for our winter getaway, cashing in a bunch of Delta e-credits that will expire soon. Come February, all these seats will be filled.

Planespotting

Woke up to a view of wet tarmac and San Francisco SFO’s International Terminal A. After a week of blue skies, rain was pelting down. Soon, the EVA Air (green tail on the left) flight will depart for Taipei, the China Eastern flight (on the right) for Shanghai, and we’ll be en route to Minneapolis/St.…… Continue reading Planespotting

(Not Quite) Minimal Backpacking

Soon we’ll be hiking inn-to-inn in California. We’ll stay 3 nights in a fake British pub with no tea kettle in our room. Confirmed this minimal (8 ounces) setup reaches the ideal temperature range for coffee (195-205°F). The kit includes Japanese-style filters, a trusty aluminum mug from my teenage years, and two slightly younger plastic cups (about 36 years old).