life in the old lane

I have two travel lists. A Universal 2Do List and a Universal Packing List. Last night I opened up both of them ready to make modifications for the impending trip north. 

Decided that a new item was required on the 2Do List. And indeed it needed to be at the top of the list. “Inventory Meds and Take Action”. So, this morning I got out 4 little pill bags and filled each one up with 7 days of meds.  Turns out I have sufficient drugs for the trip. No Action Required. And, my meds are “packed”. 

After that, I knocked off some of the easy items on the 2Do list. Also, work, zoom yoga, and the obligatory nap. 

Nice cool damp day today. Excellent time to field test my Allbird Muzzies and rain jacket. They passed. Not that they are new. But, I don’t usually intentionally go outside in the rain. Just wanted to be sure everything still works. 

Taught my Origami Cicada class this morning. If I am still around 17 years from now, I can do it again. Sure.

The food at The Asylum is taking another hit this week. Due to “lack of cooks” the number of dining choices has been drastically reduced. And, they seem to be running out of dishwashers too. Maybe next week, we will have to bring our own plates and forks. Hoping that management gets this problem solved by the time I return from the north. 

For no apparent reason, I agreed to teach people how to make origami cicadas. A Japanese pre-school can make them. Not so sure about those of us at The Asylum.

It would be summer here already. 93 degrees according to Alexa. It’s 49 degrees in Skagway. And 57° in Seattle.  

Still playing with the notion of schlepping a real camera. But, this picture pair should convince me to stuff that idea. Anyhow, back in the day, I took some damn good pictures in Alaska with a Kodak DC 260. I am not a wildlife photographer. Or a landscape photographer. And I am not interested in tweaking raw images anymore.  

Old Age has won the day. I am tired tonight and am just going to bag it up and hop into my bed early this evening. 

But, then again, I could just be going into a food coma after scarfing down a plate of quesadillas.  As Mr C was fond of saying “moderation just leads to long life”.

Took some cicada pictures today. There are more today than yesterday. Might be even more tomorrow. I’ll go look. 

Also pretty much talked myself out of taking any “real” camera on The Trip North.  If I have a couple of pounds to spare – I think I would rather have a pair of sandals than a DSLR. Might take the GoPro. 

From May 21, 2001.

I guess that at my age I should check to see if I have enough meds to last until July 6th or 7th. 

Everything will fit into my 25L backpack. All of my outerwear will have to fit in it. And, it will not weigh more than 15 pounds. Total.  Max. That 15 pounds includes the cameras and electronics. 15 pounds is all the I feel comfortable schlepping  2 or 3 miles. Up and down stairs etc. Alaska isn’t a rollaboard kinda place.  Neither are trains. 

Part of my general feeling of things being out of control over the past few days is because my origami work area really is out of control. I put stuff away this afternoon. And that is good. Tomorrow I will get the stuff out and plan my class on cicada origami.

Late this afternoon I realized that I will be heading North in 15 days. Most people plan a trip to Alaska months in advance. I am no good at long-range planning. 15 days is my idea of long-range. 

I still need hotels in Bellingham where I have decided to hang out for a few days before Going In. And Seattle where I plan to spend 3 or 4 days before hopping on the Empire Builder for a slow trek home.  There are plenty of hotels in these towns. Unlike Skagway and Sitka. Will do that tomorrow.

Had a floor party tonight welcoming the folk who bravely moved onto our floor during covid. Then joined my bests for pretty good prime rib in our “formal” dining room.

Feeling fairly mellow this evening. Could be the beer at the floor party and the wine at dinner.  Do you think?

All of a sudden, I have a bunch of little things that need doing.

1. 1. 1. Come up with “nibbles” for a party tomorrow evening. That sounds like a job for Trader Joe.
      2. Get serious about my Origami Cicada Class. It is Monday morning. Best case. No one comes. 
      3. Finish making reservations for my trip to Alaska.
      4. Start having reservations about my trip to Alaska.

Today I made room reservations in Skagway and Sitka. Arranged for planes to get me from Skagway to Sitka. Nailed really cheap ticket from Sitka to Seattle on Delta. Delta must be trying to stick it to Alaska Airlines. And booked myself on the Empire Builder for the last leg of my trip. Figured I would be tired by then and would enjoy chilling on the train. There is no better place to do nothing than on a long train ride.  Arriving back at The Asylum on July 3rd. 

Think I’ll work on #3 a bit. Then off to bed.

 

Some aspects of life in an old folks asylum are rather creepy.  

Today, I finally stopped thinking about going to Southeast Alaska and snagged passage on the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Skagway, Alaska.  Leaving June 9 arriving in Skagway on June 12. Or thereabouts.  A DIY cruise of the Inside Passage. Now, I have to fill in all of the rest of the blanks on my trip grid. I figured that the ferry would be the hardest segment to arrange. 

And now I am tired. Two exercise classes, a little walk, and some work, and I am whipped.  Which I need to keep in mind as I plan this “adventure”. I have to build in Nap Time.  Two years ago I made it around the planet. Surely I can make it around Southeastern Alaska. 

When am I going to grow up and act my age and just take a bus trip to Atlantic City? 

I know that I should try again. Maybe after dinner.  Maybe not. 

And on a much happier note!

Found them on my walk in the residential area. All I had was my phone which is more than adequate for cicada photography.

Trip to Alaska coming together in my mind. But no reservations have been made. 

The asylum is in dire need of kitchen staff. They are cutting back on menu selections due to a lack of kitchen staff. Management seems to be surprised that some of the kitchen staff finished school and are leaving. Well, duh. If someone was going to school to be a nurse, you shouldn’t be surprised when he graduated and took a job as a nurse. I know that kitchen people are in high demand at this instant. That doesn’t really cut it for me. 

Decided to try a triangle box today. Like the square box, folding is easy. Assembly is problematic.

By the end of the day, I had finally gotten two triangles together. 

The objective is to not get all mad and crumple the paper up into a ball. But, it is so cool when the pieces actually go together.  

The question is, what am I going to do with all of these boxes? Recycle them I suppose.  When leads into the Buddhist practice of mediations on impermanence.

Still thinking about heading north this summer.  

Also, going to treat Peg to every Discworld book. The kindle addition. I am not going to buy them all at once. Just in case I don’t live long enough to read them all again in order.  Looking towards my dotage, I should get the audio versions too. 

Still having trouble capturing flying bees. But, I’ll keep trying for at least another year. 

OK – here is my imaginary trip. Lots of moving parts and places to get in trouble.

• • • Train – DC to West Glacier. Jun 1 – Jun 3
    • West Glacier 3 nights
    • Train – West Glacier to Seattle 2 days Jun 6 – Jun 7
    • Seattle 1 night
    • Bus – Seattle to Billingham Jun 9
    • Ferry – Bellingham – Skagway Jun 9 – Jun 12
    • Skagway June 12 – June 22 or so.
    • Sea Plane to Juneau
    • Alaska Airline – Juneau to DCA. 

Just a little adventure. Think I should spread it out to a month. More time in Seattle. Maybe hang in West Glacier and Juneau for a while. Maybe figure out how to get to some other places on the Alaska Ferry. 

If I really want to go to Skagway, the grownup way to get there is to fly into Juneau. Spend the night in a motel. And then get the seaplane or ferry the next morning to Skagway. A lot fewer moving parts.  This is what Carlton would do.

Note to self: You were 20 years younger when you were last in Alaska. And you weren’t so very young then!

I was early for dinner this evening. Smithwick’s was on sale for $2.00.  The company was great. The asparagus were outstanding.  We have a great bunch of high school kids as the waitstaff. I wish that we could do more for them. When bad weather is predicted The Asylum puts essential people up in a nearby hotel. One of the servers loved it because they got an entire bed to themself. One of the older kids walked with his mother across West Africa to escape tribal violence.  We hate to see them go, usually after they finish community college. But we want them to go. These first and second-generation American kids will rebuild a better America. 

And, finally, this ad from the Honolulu paper. Hawai’i, where you can get limited edition artist-designed flip flops. Known as slippahs.