I’m in the parking lot of the Orcas Island Library, which offers free WiFi access. It turns out the neighbor’s WiFi that I’d been, um, security auditing the past few days disappeared yesterday afternoon, so we’ve been offline for a while. The library’s network doesn’t seem to like picture uploads, either, so you won’t see much until I can solve that particular problem. Shame, too, as its absolutely gorgeous here.
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July 2007
Glorious Morning
We awoke at 5:30 PST to the sound of kids scheming with each other. Hallie and Travis slept in the same room and began to chat excitedly around that time. To our surprise, I was able to settle them down for another 45 minutes of snoozing.
Before I went back to bed, I peeked out the back window to see the sun creeping up in an almost completely clear sky. I wish I’d grabbed the camera at that moment and waited it out, because I’m certain I missed a spectacular sunrise!
A night of sleep did me good. I feel much better! I’m feeling much better, health-wise, and I think that jet lag was an issue and isn’t much anymore.
On deck today is an attempt to hike up Mount Constitution, elevation 2,407 feet (734m), in Moran State Park. Kelly and I did it last time we were here and loved the stunning view. It should be a great, fun-filled day.
So Tired
I’m not going to post pictures this evening because I’m flat-out beat. I’ve been dealing with some kind of stomach bug this whole trip and it has sapped my energy. In fact, Saturday morning my breakfast became airborne well before I did.
I hope this all gets over with soon, since I don’t want to be a drag on my family. Everyone is fired up about being here and I feel bad about not having the energy to keep up.
I’ll try to post pictures in the morning (and provide a handy link for them as well). For now, though, good night!
At Our Orcas Island Home
We made it our home on Orcas Island about two hours ago. Spent an hour making beds, bringing in luggage, and reading to the kids. The next hour was spent napping, for I, at least, was feeling incredibly tired. We woke to find unexpected neighbors across the street: three deer, grazing in among the dandilions near a patch of woods.
We’re enjoying a snack of gelato before taking a short walk down to see the beach. We can see the water from our back deck. It’s wonderful.
By the way, I found our location on Google Maps but it unfortunately falls within a low-resolution area of the maps. If you’re still curious, you can see it here. Oh, and pictures to follow later this evening.
Waiting for the Ferry
We’re in line for the ferry to Orcas Island. There is no internet access here (though a few closed access points are apparently nearby) but I thought I’d spend the time waiting in the car by writing a post.
Our Dutch breakfast was enjoyable. Once we were done with that, we headed over to the Anacortes Safeway to pick up most of our groceries for the week. All that’s left to buy is the perishable items, which we will get at the island grocery stores.
The weather in Seattle yesterday was phenomenal! It was partly sunny with a nice breeze and a temperature of 70F. Today in Anacortes we have overcast skies (ceiling around 2000 ft, in my estimation) and 59F. I’m now wishing I hadn’t forgotten to pack my jacket, though now I have a great excuse to buy a nice souvenir jacket! On the other hand, most of my clothes I brought are for cool weather, so overall I’m in good shape.
The sound is beautiful, just like I remember it. Even when its cloudy there is a certain peacefulness about it. In fact, the clouds add a bit of mystery, which I think appropriate for this area. There is a certain magic to the place. Its a place man will never completely tame.
In a few minutes we’ll drive onto the ferry, then climb up into the passenger areas. We’ve talked up the ferry ride to the kids so much that I hope it doesn’t disappoint it. I’m sure they’ll love it.
More when I get time to write. By the time you read this, we may be settled in our house.
In Anacortes
We made it to Seattle and Anacortes yesterday afternoon. The flight went smoothly: our kids are outstanding travelers. The only thing that drove Kelly and me crazy was Travis’s non-napping on the flights. We specifically took his carseat on the plane with the expectation that he’d be more comfortable in it and fall asleep. Wouldn’t you know it, we were on final approach to Seattle-Tacoma when Travis’s eyelids began to flutter!
It was tough gathering 10 days of bags together to get them into our rental car, but we somehow did it. After a detour to the Trader Joe’s near the University of Washington, we were soon in Anacortes and checking into our motel room.
Dinner was a disaster. What we needed was quick and easy and we got neither. We went to a place suggested by the hotel staff, Randy’s Pier 61. It was a bit overpriced for us, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the service, which was absolutely horrible. We waited on an outside patio for close to an hour, all for soup, salads, and two kids meals (fish and chips). The food was actually pretty good. Once we got it, that is. By the time we left, Travis had rubbed lemon juice in his eye and was bawling and Hallie was whining, too. We were all obviously tired from our very long day.
The place we stayed last night, the Islands Inn on Commercial Avenue, is something straight out of the 1950s but is charming in its own way. It is no thing of beauty, but did have beds in two rooms, complimentary breakfast, and free Internet in the lobby (yay). We were so knackered, we were all in bed by 7PM, Pacific. Despite a little noise from neighboring rooms, we slept amazingly well. I think we slept close to 12 hours!
We’re going to shop in Anacortes for groceries before trying to catch a 10 AM ferry to Orcas Island. We check into our cabin at 3PM, before which we should have plenty of time to explore the sights around Eastsound.
Now a nice, complimentary Dutch breakfast is in front of us (the inn owners are Hollanders. Hi, Guus!). I need to put the laptop down and enjoy it!
In Phoenix
Our vacation began in earnest this morning as we took Southwest Flight 1017 from Raleigh to Phoenix. Our longest leg of the trip is behind us now.
The plane was completely full, so we shared our two rows with other passengers (though they were friendly). The kids enjoyed looking out the window and were great travelers, as always. A unexpected tailwind put us in 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
We’ve got about a half-hour before our next leg begins boarding. Then its three hours up to Seattle, where we’ll pick up our rental car and head even farther north to Anacortes for the night.
By the way, I’m posting this using the Phoenix airport’s complimentary wireless internet. If only all airports made their WiFi free!
On the Warpath with AT&T
Bellsouth (now AT&T) has crossed a line with me. They have mistakenly attached my name and social security number to an account to which I have no connection: an account which is now apparently overdue. At no time did I ever provide my social security number to them in reference to this account. I believe (and AT&T denies) that someone at AT&T looked up my residential account information and fraudulently placed my social security number on the overdue account.
I am currently seeking legal recourse against AT&T, starting with a complaint to the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission Public Staff. If AT&T won’t take my word for it (and they apparently will not), its time to gather up a posse.
5Min – Video How-tos for Just About Anything!
I’ve always thought that the video craze that Youtube and others started would be great for teaching people things. You know, stuff that might not be flashy enough for regular TV. Looks like I found just such a resource this morning in 5min.
5min bills itself as a “life videopedia,” offering Flash videos showing you how to do almost anything. From guitar lessons to skiing to fixing your computer, you can find it on 5min.
I wish I’d thought of it done it myself!
Where to Buy Computer Books?
I walked into my nearby, multi-storied, big-chain bookstore looking for computer and technology books. To my surprise, their section was put behind the escalators and left a lot to be desired.
So, where do y’all buy your computer books? Is their a local bookstore (or chain) you recommend? I know I can get just about anything online. I’m looking for a place I can browse.