We are off

We lazed away the day in the sunshine to try to store some melatonin. The Super Shuttle was booked to pick us up at 6pm. At 5:50pm they rang to say that they couldn't come until 6:40 because the traffic was so bad. We cancelled them and caught the Long Beach shuttle that had no problems with traffic and we were the only passengers! Now we are safely enconsed in the United lounge for the next hour and a half.

What did I achieve on this trip? Wrist warmers to sell at the Guild 70th anniversary celebration this weekend.

We did get to the Getty Centre which is an impressive set of buildings on a mountain top with a European collection. The Impressionists were nice.

There was a cat.

by Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. Never heard of him.

Down day

Jo's cold has made a come back . . . . those over air conditioned conference rooms. So instead of trekking crosstown to the Getty Centre we relaxed this morning and shopped this afternoon. He did not find any white tennis shoes. He rejected the lack ones. But we did find some stuff at the local outlet mall. I got three organic T shirts for $5 each, some cotton leggings (5% elastic) for $8 and a wind and waterproof but breathable (they say) jacket for $41. 

Jo got a light weight fleece for $8! This is the place for a bargain.

And I found these photos in my camera:

Puffins at the aquarium

According to the cage card, these and other arctic birds were wild captured when young and put in the same enclosure but looking after them was like watching a soap opera and eventually they had to remove some of the more rumbuctious birds to other zoos.

Long Beach is a huge port and it seems cruise ships come here too. . . . probably to let their passengers look at the Queen Mary. We decided not to tour her. They say that she is haunted.

Down day

Jo's cold has made a come back . . . . those over air conditioned conference rooms. So instead of trekking crosstown to the Getty Centre we relaxed this morning and shopped this afternoon. He did not find any white tennis shoes. He rejected the lack ones. But we did find some stuff at the local outlet mall. I got three organic T shirts for $5 each, some cotton leggings (5% elastic) for $8 and a wind and waterproof but breathable (they say) jacket for $41. 

Jo got a light weight fleece for $8! This is the place for a bargain.

And I found these photos in my camera:

Puffins at the aquarium

According to the cage card, these and other arctic birds were wild captured when young and put in the same enclosure but looking after them was like watching a soap opera and eventually they had to remove some of the more rumbuctious birds to other zoos.

Long Beach is a huge port and it seems cruise ships come here too. . . . probably to let their passengers look at the Queen Mary. We decided not to tour her. They say that she is haunted.

Dinner with the Stars

Michael Teh is the only actor we know in LA. So he is the one.

Long Beach

Long Beach should be called Flat Beach. There are no hills but we are on the 12th floor of the hotel so can see a bit of view.

Jo is happily in conference mode that leaves me free to meander.

Yesterday I took four buses and three hours to get to Mood Fabric on the other side of Downtown LA. It was interesting to skirt the VAST dock area here in LB . . . biggest port on the west coast. The bus goes on the freeway with bus stops!

Mood didn't have any pure cotton jersey either. The Fabric Barn here in Long Beach, which I visited on Monday to test the public transport, didn't have any cotton or linen fabric at all. Mood had linen.

They were very generous (a half to 2/3 yard extra on each cut) and pure linen was $14 and $15 per yard. Good thing I had to hurry back home to the conference reception so didn't have time to explore the rest of the shop. Their bolts are on racks 20feet high which is pretty silly if you don't take a ladder with you. They are moving to a bigger warehouse nearby.

 They also, kindly, gave me directions back by train which halved the journey time.

Seattle

Said au revoir to Sally who drove home to Vancouver then Geoff drove us down to Seattle to Sean's. We stopped at an outlet mall en route to get some tennis shoes for Jo. There are no tennis shoes just runners or sneakers which is odd in the week when the French Open is on TV all day long.

Went to Sonomish for dinner. This small town, on a river, was full of folk clutching wine glasses as they moved from antique shop to junk store.

Lazy day

Nothing to do except knit and watch the rain fall, tennis on TV and knit. Jo slept most of the day and has, with luck, got over the worst of his cold.

We had dinner at the Semiamoo resort wher Geoff's boat is moored.

Blaine

Geoff has a new toy: a ride on mower. It show how unwell Jo was feeling when he declined to take it for a spin. 

They are full of plans to sell this house a move, somewhere.

Must be us

Yesterday,

We had lunch with Janice in a very overcrowded restaurant, Founding Farmers. Cute name and self conscious food. Janice lives half the bear at Main Beach on the Gold Coast but we usually only get to see her in DC.  She reported a very sore tummy overnight and blamed the mushrooms.

After lunch we visited the National Art Gallery. Last time we were there the East Wing was mostly closed for extensions which have now been finished. They are impressive. The lift is an irregular hexagon. . . why not! One the top floor the gallery ceiling must be 20 feet high. It is a perfect place for their Rothkos. They were bequested a thousand Rothko paintings and will cycle them through his "room". Which is next door to the Barnett Newman room. (Lines of black paint on raw canvas 10 feet square).

Newman

rusty paintings in the 1950s by Mimmo Rotello, detail

We had dinner with Caroline and Richard whosaid that their cats needed us to stay with them . . next time. We chose a Syrian restaurant from the page-long list of places within a mile of the Bethesda Metro station. Richard had trouble reading the list and only realised in the restaurant that he had lost a lens from his reading glasses. The only difference from a Lebanese restaurant was the delicious lentil and rice mezze (we reordered it). 

We hopped back into the car and the battery was flat. So Caro walked us back to the Metro while the AAA man came. They got home at 11pm.

Today,

I schlepped out to Rockville to G Street Fabrics which used to be ourfavourite place (next to Price Club). It is nothing like what it was. So disappointing. There was only one pure cotton jersey that came in pink, orange or dark red. I got some pink that I will dye.

But the Renwich Museum was good 

Glass spinning wheel, Andy Paiko

and 

I found an truck that sells Ethopian food at lunchtime.

We have moved to be near the airport for our early flight tomorrow.

We are both coughing and blowing our noses so it was a cold I got, not allergies. I am getting better, Jo is feeling worse.

Was it us?

Yesterday was a perfect lane spring day so we walked across Key Bridge. That is Georgetown University in the background.

We had lunch with Richard and Janet beside their backyard waterfall. Janet is about to get hearing aids (hereditary but being in the army probably didn't help) and Richard has a new job (part time so it doesen't interfere with his travel plans). After lunch we walked to the bank on the corner where Janet's Zonta group (5 of them) was participating in a flea market. We had a little look, encouraged a couple of sales and as we walked away to catch the bus their tent fell down. We kept walking.

Get clicking while sniffing

I keep forgetting to take photos. Today's excuse is that my head is stuffed up. Yesterday while walking up from DuPont Circle I sneezed and sneezed. It felt like I got a nose full of allergens. . . . likely here in Washington. This morning I woke up with a streaming nose and a sore throat. It might be a cold, caught on the plane across the Pacific or allergies. Time will tell.

We had lunch with Lois at the same place that Jean took us last week. Followed by a frozen yoghurt that actually tasted of yoghurt. Lois is determined to keep ahead of technology and talks to Siri to get her around in VA (she is from across the river).

Then we had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, Present, with Vim, Charles, Shirley and Stan. Vim ordered, of course and the food was delicious. Shirley had a car accident this morning (pushed into a median strip by a speeding driver who shot off) and Stan did something to his rib(he heard it coach) when getting their pool ready for a grandchild's birthday this afternoon. I was amazed that they came out!

Friday in DuPont Circle

I worked my little mobile phone today to chat to those friends whom we won't have time to visit this trip and to confirm dates with those whom we will meet.

Then I walked over the hill to the National Zoo. I had planned to drop by the path lab where I volunteered but there is an automated gate that shuts out people as well as cars. So I walked through the zoo instead (not something that I had time to do when I worked there). I stopped by the panda enclosure to get a photo to use next year on our 30th anniversary. The day we got married we went to see the pandas at Taronga zoo who were visiting from DC. They hid behind a rock. Today they hid inside, out of view.

But the clouded leopard slept on a hammock.

The lions on the Kalorama bridge posed more majestically.

Tonight we ate like locals at the Lebanese Taverna with Fadia but I forgot to take a photo.

Jet lag cure

We got up at 4am yesterday to catch the first plane out (no delays) to Toronto and then to Washington. And last night I slept straight through. Maybe this is the cure for jet lag!

Or perhaps it was the early dinner with Janet a and Fred Stollnitz and Joyce and Don Kiester with lots of chat and no wine. Janet and Fred are off to China on Monday.

Our current hotel is not far from the best yarn store in DC. I bought some souvenir skeins.