...47...48...

Why, you might ask, if I had meetings in Kansas City, did I find myself in Nebraska? The answer is quite simple: because I could.

Not that I've ever had any great burning desire to see Kansas City (although it was perfectly pleasant, and former KC denizen Global Librarian came through with some excellent recommendations), but I was very excited about this trip for two reasons: Kansas and Nebraska.

As of Wednesday morning, I had been to 46 out of the 50 U.S. states. It's not like I ever set out to visit each state, but after a couple of cross-country drives and a couple of long driving vacations, I realized I'd seen a fair chunk of this beautiful land of ours. Among the states I'd never visited? You got it--Kansas and Nebraska (the other two are North Dakota and Alaska).

So Wednesday afternoon I rented a PT Cruiser in anticipation of checking those states off my list:



My plan was to drive north through part of Kansas on the way to Nebraska the next day, but it was still light out, Kansas beckoned mere blocks away, and the hotel had a brochure for a chain of stores featuring Kansas memorabilia. I was SO there. (The really impressive thing--and it was truly chock full o' Kansas stuff--was that none of their locations appeared to be near anyplace touristy...clearly locals have Kansas pride.) I quickly crossed the border and number 47...check!

The next day after finishing my meetings I headed north toward Nebraska. It took a couple of hours, but it was a truly excellent drive for several reasons:

--The speed limit was 70mph, so I could go a comfortable 75-80mph without being too worried about getting a ticket;

--Although if I wanted to, I probably could have driven 100mph because I didn't see a single state trooper--not one--the whole way there and back;

--Despite my lovely arm splint, my messed-up shoulder didn't cause me any troubles driving;

--It was quite pretty and not nearly as flat as I was expecting it to be (for some reason I pictured terrain as flat as a pancake with mile after mile of corn);

--As an added bonus, I got to drive through Iowa! I had already checked Iowa off the list--Gretchen and I actually met at a wedding there--but there's just something pleasant about Iowa. In this case, despite looking at maps beforehand I had somehow missed that I would be driving through part of Iowa (even if it was only 10 miles worth);

--There weren't too many 18-wheelers; and

--Perhaps best of all, people were really good about the whole pass-on-the-left thing...everyone was driving in the right lane except when they passed on the left and immediately moved back to the right. After living in Europe, where passing on the right is frowned upon (and can actually get you in big trouble), it was a big adjustment to come back to the DC area, where drivers think it's their God-given right to drive 56mph in the far left lane and have everyone pass them on the right. In roughly six hours of driving, I think I had to pass a total of two cars on the right...I usually pass that many here in the morning before I've even reached the next exit.

So anyway, north through Missouri I went, and then into Iowa (IOWA)! before bearing west toward Nebraska. My original plan had been to drive up to Omaha, which is supposed to be kind of interesting and have its own little indie scene, but I didn't want to feel rushed so I lowered my sights and went somewhere closer instead: Nebraska City, which as surely everyone knows is the home of Arbor Day. (Number 48...check!) To capture the moment (and prove that I was indeed in Nebraska), I got this shot of the man himself (or at least his statue): J. Sterling Morton, father of Arbor Day:



That was about all the excitement I could stand for one day (except for being surprised to discover that I could get frozen custard in St. Joseph, MO), so I took a state highway road south through rural Nebraska and eventually found my way back to the freeway. I got back to the Kansas City area more quickly than expected so I took another detour into Kansas and visited Leavenworth, which for some reason I thought might be interesting. Maybe I had one eye on my watch to make sure I got back to the airport in plenty of time, but other than maybe getting a view of the Missouri River (I'm a big fan of rivers), it's not going to be next on our list of family vacation destinations:



All in all, an excellent day. Now North Dakota and Alaska, here I come...

Twister

While I grew up slightly--and perhaps disturbingly--obsessed with tornadoes as a direct result of watching The Wizard of Oz, the fact of the matter is that San Diego isn't exactly a tornado hotbed. Instead I grew up having to think about where to go if an earthquake were to hit, and we also had regular testing of air raid signals (it was a military town, after all). These days we have to think about what we would do if there were to be another act of terrorism in the DC area. What I've never had to give much thought to (although they do occasionally happen here) is what to do in the event of a tornado. In the Kansas City airport they give you helpful reminders:



And if that isn't enough, tornado sirens like this one in Nebraska City are a necessary fact of life:



Sure enough, the same day I was driving in Nebraska, part of the state was hit by tornadoes (which I only found out about today when my mom expressed relief to hear I was OK).

KC Masterpiece

As may have been apparent, this week I found myself in America's heartland. Despite having to cancel my trip to Philadelphia after my little incident, I decided that I could play through the pain and continue with my planned trip to Kansas City.

You know how you know you're in Kansas City? You get home from dinner, think you might have somehow cut yourself, but realize upon closer inspection that the mark on your face is actually barbecue sauce...

Couldn't have said it better

Saw a couple of things in the Post the other day that I enjoyed:

(1) It would be very like me to have regrets about summer before it even arrives. (I've been known to start getting prematurely bummed about the end of vacation just a couple of days into it. Come to think of it, maybe that's one reason I liked living in Basel--at Fasnacht one year a local Baseler was telling us that even though it's the biggest celebration of the year, it can actually be very melancholy for participants because they know it will end soon.)

(2) Just as Gretchen was rueing that we couldn't see the bad-in-a-good-way Eurovision contest this year, we got this summary of what we missed.

Roadtripblogging

So here I am at a gas station in Rockport, Missouri, driving back from Nebraska (I'll explain later), and I have just one comment before getting back on I-29: I could be wrong about this, but I have the distinct feeling that I'm not in Obama country...

Shameless parental pride

After looking at my posts about our vacation, Gretchen gently castigated me for not posting some of the cuter pictures of Mädchen (if for no other reason so that grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins can see her). So, since I'm all about making amends these days (especially since Gretchen now has one extra person to take care of), here are a few more:

More great moments in parenting

I'm typing this with one hand, so please ignore any typos.

As has been well-chronicled here, I'm a klutz. But today I set a standard for both clumsiness and idiocy that will be hard for even me to top.

One of our good friends came over with his daughter this AM, and we were walking back from the park when Mädchen started to get upset for no particular reason. Now, in that situation a child's mother might stop and try to talk to her, but not daddy...no, this called for distraction, and what could be more distracting than pretending to have a race? And it worked...the tears stopped.

At least the tears stopped until, at the end of the "race", I tried to run back up onto the sidewalk with her. It didn't really occur to me that in a jog stroller, if the front wheel isn't locked it can be prone to getting stuck. Sure enough, I hit our neighbor's driveway cut, and the front wheel immediately jammed. Since we were running at the time, the resulting momentum flipped her stroller upside down. Time pretty much stood in place as I watched our poor baby get flipped over...and then as I did a header over the fallen stroller and landed hard on the concrete (I'm guessing this isn't something a lot of moms have done).

Thankfully our friend was right there and immediately righted the stroller, plus she was strapped in well so while she had a scrape on her head and was understandably shocked and scared, she seemed to be OK (especially once Gretchen caught up with us--she didn't see any of it because we had run ahead--and took her in to comfort her).

Meanwhile, I started to notice my shoulder was hurting. A lot. But I wasn't going to complain because it was my own fault, and I was just so glad it was me instead of Mädchen. But when I realized I was supposed to be getting on a train to Philadelphia at 4:00pm (it was already noon) and the pain was getting worse, I decided that maybe a trip to Urgent Care was in order.

Six hours and a cancelled trip later, I arrived home with a sling on my arm and a diagnosis of a partially separated shoulder (not to mention a wounded ego, which didn't show up on the x-ray). Sweet Mädchen saw me and, having blissfully forgotten her own trauma, pointed at me and said "daddy owee."

This is yet another reason it might make sense to require men to get licenses before fathering children...

Vacaciones

Some random things from our trip...

Not only did Mädchen enjoy flying on the airplane, but she found plenty to do at the airports as well:



The pool was niiiice (which, by the way, Mädchen pronounces like Borat):



Seeing lots of lizards was fun for Mädchen, but nothing topped the daily visits to the pool by an iguana we named Charlie:



Since this was meant to be a sit-and-relax vacation rather than a run-around-and-see-the-sights vacation, we barely left the property (although I'd love to go back and visit Old San Juan and the El Yunque rainforest). The exception was to eat meals, since the food at the hotel was mediocre and outrageously expensive, and not even remotely local. One nearby place became a favorite, in part because of things like this grilled whole red snapper...



...and in part because there was a kitten on the premises named Pincho (the local term for kebabs), and after Mädchen met him for the first time she spent the next couple of days walking around saying "pet Pincho...pet Pincho...pet Pincho." When we returned, not only did she pet Pincho, but she also decided to share a book with him:



Not only do the supermarkets have many of the same foods that we have here, but they also have fine art for sale that you can't find just anywhere:

Foot ball

One of the things that I find endlessly amusing is that my mother thinks I'm a metrosexual. This is evidently based on two pieces of evidence: I use hair gel, and I put lotion on my face after shaving. Otherwise, even if I really cared that much about my appearance, it should be readily apparent that I'm WAY too lazy to put time and effort into buying and using lots of products. Shaving, putting on deodorant, and brushing my hair and teeth take enough time as it is, and on weekends I try to skip the shaving part as much as possible. So, needless to say, I'm not the sort to pay attention to foot care.

For whatever reason, Gretchen thinks my feet are gross. That may well be true, but my attitude is basically: c'mon, they're FEET! Who really cares? (Actually, Gretchen does.) For years she's tried to gently suggest that I might benefit from a pedicure, but I really don't want anyone messing around with my feet. This has especially been true since learning that a friend of Gretchen's was cut badly by the cheese-slicer-type-thing they were using on her foot during a pedicure. The closest I ever came to a pedicure was a foot massage at the Singapore Airport (which was actually fantastic).

I guess the years of being browbeaten about my feet finally got to me, because there was a nice spa/salon at the resort and I figured what the heck...not only could I score some points with my wife, but maybe it would actually be relaxing or something. So, on our last full day there, I swallowed my pride and broke down and made an appointment. Here are my feet upon arrival; my apologies in advance if they frighten small children:



I sat in the vibrating chair with the warm foot bath and thought, well, this might not be so bad after all. But then she went to work. Having my toenails filed was uncomfortable enough; by the time she started poking around my nail beds my body was twisted into a ball and I was sweating through my shirt. I thought this was supposed to be relaxing!!! Oh sure, she did a little rubbing of my feet and calves, which was about the only relaxing part of the whole experience, but overall I just didn't find the experience to be terribly pleasant, let alone relaxing. This was the end result:



I didn't notice that much of a difference personally, but Gretchen thought there was a huge difference. Whatever. My guess is that this was probably my last pedicure. Now, if I could just get another one of those foot massages in the Singapore Airport...

Geek

If there's any question about whether or not Mädchen will someday be embarrassed by her father, I think this counts as evidence that the day may come sooner rather than later:

On a happier note

While we had an awful return from vacation, our week in Puerto Rico was really nice. It's kind of funny how what we look for in a place to stay has changed over the years. Our priorities in no particular order now include: separate living and sleeping areas (so we're not stuck in a dark and quiet bedroom after Mädchen goes to sleep at 7:30pm); an in-room refrigerator for milk; quiet (so late-night revelry doesn't wake Mädchen up), but not too quiet (so Mädchen doesn't bother people too much if she cries or throws a tantrum); abundant shade (so that Mädchen and I can keep our Nordic skin out of the sun); easy navigation with a stroller; child-friendly dining options; comfortable furniture (for sitting with Mädchen and reading to her), etc. You may detect a recurring theme.

Overall, we were pretty happy with where we stayed on Puerto Rico's northeastern tip. We spent most of our time at the pool (there were two near our condo), but the property was so huge (we stayed in a separate village that was part of a much larger resort) that going anywhere else was quite a production. We were staying in these places up on the cliff:



...although we weren't lucky enough to have a spectacular oceanfront view; instead our balcony looked out over the parking lot (I guess that's to be expected when you get a reduced AAA rate)...



...and to get from our place down to the water entailed a cart ride (which was actually one of Mädchen's high points of the trip) to the main hotel...



...then a walk across the length of the hotel, an elevator down to another level, then another long walk, followed by a funicular ride to the marina...



If we had wanted to go to the beach, we would have then had to wait to catch a boat to an island. The thought of going to that much effort was enough to keep us close to home. Our one indulgence: a half-day at the onsite water park, where I (but not Gretchen) braved the speed slide. The blue speck is me about to hit the pool; I'm not sure who the blonde is, but I'm sure she was admiring my courage and bravado...

Requiem

On Wednesday afternoon we were riding in a taxi home from the airport after an excellent week of relaxation in Puerto Rico, when Gretchen’s cellphone unexpectedly rang. It was the kennel calling about Grady, and it wasn’t good. But I don’t want this story to start there…

* * * * *

November 3, 1999—let’s start there instead. We had bought our house several months earlier, and we both wanted to get a dog. A co-worker of mine had told me that the U.S. Customs Service had a program at their canine training center whereby dogs that fail out of their program to train drug sniffers were given up for free adoption to loving homes on a first-come, first-serve basis. Gretchen called one day and they had three dogs available, one of which sounded like a perfect match.

Naturally, by the time we got out to the training center the dog we thought sounded ideal had already been adopted. But the other two were still there, including one (named either “Viggor” or “Tre”) that Gretchen’s notes from her call that morning—which we saved—describe as “black lab…hyper…likes people.” He did indeed seem hyper, but against our better judgment when they asked if we’d like to take him outside and play with him, we agreed. When we got outside, he sprinted in frenetic circles around the play area, paying basically no attention to us except when he launched himself airborne to plant his muddy paws directly onto my chest in the midst of his running (I had to have my jacket cleaned soon after our visit). He was clearly a handful with way too much energy than we could handle. As it turns out, he had failed miserably in his training for the Customs Service. We got a copy of the report on his dismissal from the training program: “poor intent and interest…no desire to search…constantly influenced by distracting factors and displays equal interest in these distractions.” And this wasn’t his first failure—the Customs Service had acquired him as a dropout from a program that trained dogs to help the disabled. That program had in turn obtained him from a dog pound. So, at three years old he had already failed out of two training programs and, as far as we knew, had never actually lived in a normal household.

But like countless others who have said they were just going to look rather than rush into a decision, we agreed to adopt him right then and there (although I would sometimes insist later that it was Gretchen’s decision and I just couldn’t say no). And so it was that the dog we came to call Grady (named for a character named John Grady Cole in the Cormac McCarthy “Border Trilogy” books) came into our lives.



* * * * *

Back to Wednesday: it turns out that Grady had suddenly and unexpectedly fallen very seriously ill at the kennel (which is at a veterinarian’s office), and he was being rushed to an emergency animal hospital. We then had to make a very quick and painful decision about whether or not we wanted him to have emergency surgery (which would not be a guaranteed success and which would be very costly). After a wrenching discussion, we made the incredibly difficult decision not to go through with the surgery. He was already pretty old for a lab (12 years) and we were starting to see the first signs of physical decline, and we feared this would hasten a steep decline that might keep us happy but would be increasingly painful for him. So instead we drove over to the animal hospital, spent some time with him saying a very tearful goodbye, and held him as he peacefully departed this world.



* * * * *

As those who met Grady know, he had plenty of quirks. He was neurotic, and for many years he would just pace back and forth for hours on end. He would bark at us for no discernable reason. Despite being a lab, he seldom liked to play fetch and he hated the water. We couldn’t leave food anywhere near him, and as a result whenever we had friends over we had to either put him in another room or in the car if we served any food (and sometimes even if we didn’t serve food because he would still bark). He became so food-obsessed that he wouldn’t leave us alone until he had eaten three meals by 2:00pm, and we frequently had to use peanut butter to try to bribe him to be quiet. In Switzerland he was the crazy American dog who couldn’t be let off leash and who would snarl at the nice Swiss dogs who tried to approach him. He usually wouldn’t go out in the backyard unless we went with him. He had to be medicated because he left little dribbles of pee wherever he went. To be perfectly honest, over the past year he sometimes drove us so crazy that we would tell him we were going to send him to a farm somewhere (but just for the record, we never meant it).



But like Gretchen always said, he was our baby. Despite the chaos of the years before we adopted him, in our house he finally found a home (even if it took a lot of sweat and tears on our part to get to that point). He made us laugh. He gave us unconditional love. He was never the least bit aggressive toward us or any other people, and despite occasional bluster with other dogs he was ultimately a softie with them, too. He flew to Switzerland and back, and went to the kennel more times than we can count because of all our travels, but he always just rolled with the punches and seemed happy wherever he was. He stoically endured abuse at Mädchen’s hands, and in return he gladly cleaned up after all of her meals (they were really starting to bond in the past few months). He may have been a crazy dog, but he was our crazy dog, and he brought more happiness to our lives than we ever could have expected way back in November 1999.



* * * * *

So now the house feels much more quiet and empty than it used to (or at least as quiet and empty as a house with an almost-two-year-old girl can be). Little things constantly remind us of him, whether it’s the black hair that still turns up on everything (and probably will for years to come), the mess at the bottom of Mädchen’s chair after she eats that doesn’t get cleaned up, the gates we no longer have to close behind us, etc. We’re in a period of adjustment, which is tough but we know we’ll get through it (and let’s face it, we’ve dealt with much worse pain than this in recent years).

We don’t want to end this on a sad note, so if you knew Grady, we ask that you think of a time he made you laugh. If you didn’t know Grady, that’s OK—think of a time another dog made you laugh or picked you up after a bad day. And if you’re not really a dog fan, well…think of something or someone else that makes you happy. Because while we never really had a chance to talk to Grady about his end-of-life wishes, we’re confident that loving and being loved were the things that were nearest and dearest to him (followed closely by food, but that’s beside the point). Hopefully we’ll have much more cheerful news soon as we reflect on our fun time in Puerto Rico.

Hasta luego

Off for vacation in (hopefully) sunny Puerto Rico...

"Happy Day Mommy!"

I tried to work with Mädchen to say "Happy Mommy's Day", but I guess "happy day Mommy" will have to suffice. I'd like to say I had a wonderful day worth of stuff planned for Gretchen (or even, as suggested in the comments by Global Librarian, cooking and dishes for the weekend). But the reality is that we've both got a ton to do in the next few days because we're leaving for a week of vacation in Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning (her Mother's Day present), so I spent the morning of Mother's Day at work (!) and shopping, while Gretchen got to work in the basement and watch a cranky Mädchen. At least now she's going out with another stay-home-mom friend to get out of the house and get a pedicure while I have afternoon post-nap duty.

But even if it's turning out to be a pretty typical day around here instead of a reprieve, that doesn't mean Gretchen doesn't deserve a whole lot more. I know that even though my job pays much better than hers, her job as a Mom is way more difficult than mine. Mädchen is a sweetheart who is smart as a whip and who makes us laugh constantly throughout the day, but from day one she has never exactly been easy. She is as strong-willed as they come (a gift from her Mommy), and has always done things how and when she wants to. And what at one year old was simple stubbornness is now, at almost two years old, a strong independent streak. That's a good thing--she's very much her own person, and the things that make her so independent are also what give her so much personality--but it means some days can be a real struggle for Gretchen. But she handles everything with tremendous grace, humor and patience (which, before having a baby, she probably wouldn't have said was her strong suit), and is just an all-around fantastic mother in every way.

So, "happy day Mommy" to the best Mom (and wife) in the world!

Get them hooked early

This is the kind of thing that would probably warm Steve Jobs' heart:

Add them to the list

When planning travels (which, admittedly, we don't do much of anymore), we tend to be big fans of TripAdvisor for reviews of hotels. You can't rely on it blindly, and you have to take some of the comments with a grain of salt, but overall it can be really helpful in identifying nice places and avoiding dumps.

We recently got an email with their list of readers' top 100 destinations in the world. Of course any list of that nature will be subjective, and it all depends on what you're looking for, but it was interesting to scan the list and see where we had been, wanted to go, etc. So, the list (with places we've been starred *) and a few editorial comments:

1) Milford Sound, New Zealand - 5 out of the top 100 are in New Zealand, which we've never been to--how much did the Lord of the Rings films have to do with that?
2) Queenstown, New Zealand
3) Philipsburg, St.Maarten
4) Cayo Largo, Cuba - I'm sure it's nice, but since our ever-so-effective embargo of Cuba is still in effect, I don't imagine we'll get there anytime soon.
5) Rhodes, Greece - Greece was one of those places I always felt like we should go, but I never really wanted to go. So, we never went. Mistake?
6) Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
7) Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Island
8) Bridgetown, Barbados A string of nice Caribbean places we've never been...but we are going to Puerto Rico next week, which we're looking forward to.
9) Banff, Alberta, Canada I confuse this with numbers 19, 77, and 88. But I hear it's nice.
*10) Lake Tahoe California, United States - Hey, finally someplace I've been! Beautiful, but Top 10?
*11) Salzburg, Austria - Gretchen has been, but not me. We almost went on a side trip from Munich (#75), but we couldn't pull it off. Supposedly the Sound of Music tours are kitschy fun, but since I'm one of the five people in the U.S. who's never seen that movie, it probably wouldn't have meant much to me.
12) Cape Town, South Africa - As much as I'm glad I got to Africa (Senegal & Kenya), I never got out of the cities and Gretchen never got to go at all. This probably would have been the easiest place from which to explore one corner of Africa, but I guess 'twas not meant to be.
13) Amalfi, Italy - We almost went, but someone (perhaps The Big Finn?) helpfully pointed out that you need to take stairs everywhere in Amalfi, which wouldn't have exactly been convenient with a baby and stroller. So we went to Capri instead, which ended up being a good choice.
14) Bath, England - For some reason, this is one place I really never had any interest in seeing.
*15) Siena, Italy - Loved it.
*16 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
17) Hamilton, Bermuda
18) Dingle, Ireland - I just love that name, "Dingle." It brings out my inner Beavis and Butthead.
19) Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada - See #9
*20) Bruges, Belgium - Overrun with tourists, but certainly nicer than Brussels. I think I might want to see the movie, "In Bruges".
21) Marigot, St. Martin
*22) Sydney, Australia - Should be higher.
*23) Cairns, Australia - Shouldn't be on the list at all. The surrounding area is great, but the advice we got from everyone we talked to was to fly into Cairns and immediately head up to Port Douglas (#60) instead.
*24) Kyoto, Japan - Definitely.
*25) Lucerne, Switzerland - If you want to see a quintessentially Swiss city, this is probably the one to see.
*26) Vatican City - Certainly, but couldn't this be combined with Rome (#87)?
27) Edinburgh, Scotland - Of all the places we missed in Europe while we lived there, this ranks really high on the list of regrets.
*28) Big Sur, California, United States - Everyone should make the drive from Southern California to Northern California (or vice-versa) on Highway 1 at least once in their lives.
*29) San Gimignano, Italy - Pretty, but there are so many more tourists than locals that it didn't feel like a real working town. We liked other hill towns better.
30) Byron Bay, Australia - When I looked on Google Maps to see where it was located, I saw that it wasn't far from Woodenbong, Murwillumbah, Mullumbimby, Pallamallawa, Wee Waa, Toowoomba, and Blackbutt. I don't think any place in the world has better names than Australia.
31) Male, Maldives - We really, really, really wanted to vacation in the Maldives--although not in Male, which I hadn't thought was all that great--but it was just too expensive.
32) Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands
*33) Florence, Italy
*34) San Francisco, California, United States -This should be much higher...definitely in my personal top 10, maybe top 5.
*35) Chichen Itza, Mexico - I spent more time driving there and back than I actually did at the site, but it was still worth it.
36) Pompeii, Italy
37) Auckland, New Zealand
*38) Poipu, Hawaii, United States - It was fine, but if I had to pick one place on Kauai it would be Hanalei, not Poipu...and it wouldn't even be close.
39) Abu Simbel, Egypt - I know it's dirty and chaotic and noisy, but I still think Cairo should be on this list somewhere.
*40) Sedona, Arizona, United States - All the new age stuff is a little over-the-top, but if you can ignore all that the red rock formations are spectacular.
*41) New Orleans, Louisiana, United States - Haven't been back since Katrina.
42) Galway, Ireland
*43) Heidelberg, Germany - Probably worth being on the list, but top 50?
*44) Monte-Carlo, Monaco - I liked the train ride along the coast from Nice, and I'm glad I went just for the novelty of it, but overall...eh. Definitely not top 100.
*45) Carmel, California, United States - A bit hoity-toity, but see #28.
46) Wanaka, New Zealand
47) Oranjestad Aruba
48) Christchurch, New Zealand
*49) Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany - Like San Gimignano (#29), it felt like it existed purely for tourists. But we also had a great meal at a Kartoffelstube there, so that counts for something.
*50) Venice, Italy - It was one of our favorite trips, but then again we were there when the crowds were light and the weather was beautiful, and our room had a terrace overlooking the Grand Canal...I've heard plenty of people complain about the mobs of tourists, the stench of the canals in the heat of summer, etc. We got lucky.
*51) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Canada's Seattle (hey...why didn't Seattle make the list?).
*52) Napa, California, United States - Should be Sonoma, not Napa.
53) Luxor, Egypt
54) York, England
55) Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
56) Lahaina, Hawaii, United States - I love Hawaii (even if I've never been to Maui).
*57) Paris France - Only #57? C'mon, it's freakin' Paris!
*58) La Jolla, California, United States - Spent four five years going to school there...really beautiful, but so wealthy that it's not the easiest place to be a poor college student.
*59) Melbourne, Australia - Nice, but I'm not sure how much we would have enjoyed it if we didn't have friends who lived there. The Great Ocean Road was, well, great. Melbourne seemed like one of those places that would be great to live but less interesting to visit.
*60) Port Douglas, Australia - Should replace Cairns (#23). Would go back in a heartbeat.
61) Quebec City, Quebec, Canada - How have we not been here when it's so close?
*62) Prague, Czech Republic - If I wanted to see a well-preserved Central European city that hadn't been completely overrun by tourists (which, sadly, would eliminate Prague), I'd take Krakow.
63) St. Petersburg, Russia - One of my colleagues had a meeting there and was propositioned by a prostitute in the elevator of his hotel--while his wife was back in the room. Evidently someone also kept checking their doorknob throughout the night to see if it would open. But I hear the city is nice.
64) Versailles, France - Missing this one is sort of embarrassing. I actually had a colleague who drove there from Basel--about a five-hour drive--with his wife and two children, saw Versailles, then got back in his car and drove back that same day.
*65) Assisi, Italy - I seem to remember we really enjoyed it, but it was also the 349th charming hill town we saw on our trip to Tuscany and Umbria, so we were a little jaded by that point.
*66) Jackson, Wyoming, United States - Gateway to the Grand Tetons (or, very roughly translated from French, the "Big Boobs"). Beautiful area.
67) Stratford-upon-Avon, England
68) Jerusalem, Israel
69) Ubud, Indonesia
70) Ephesus, Turkey - Supposed to be nice, but no Istanbul?
*71) Wailea, Hawaii, United States - See #56.
*72) Interlaken, Switzerland - This is a bit deceiving, because Interlaken itself is nothing that special (it even has a Hooters!), but the area surrounding it is absolutely spectacular.
*73) West Yellowstone, Montana, United States - We keep saying someday we'll do a big drive around the West to see the national parks...I guess the key word is "someday".
74) Positano, Italy - See Amalfi (#13).
*75) Munich, Germany - A cool city, and probably an excellent place to live, but can't you be a little edgy and find room for Berlin on this list?
76) Cayo Guillermo, Cuba - See #4.
77) Whistler, British Columbia, Canada - See #9.
78) Noosa, Australia - See #30.
*79) Singapore, Singapore - We enjoyed visiting friends, but the city (or is it a city-state?) didn't seem to have much of a soul.
*80) Amsterdam, The Netherlands - LOVE Amsterdam. Love it. Did I mention we love Amsterdam? Should be much higher.
81) Aix-en-Provence, France - Along with Edinburgh (#27), I regret that we didn't get to Provence.
82) Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand - We could have taken a day trip from Phuket, but opted not to. What I like about this place is that "Phi Phi" is actually pronounced "pee pee".
*83) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States - There are probably 20 places in Hawaii that could be on this list...and Honolulu isn't one of them.
*84) London, England - Should be higher, although having to take out a second mortgage on your house just to afford a couple of nights in a mid-range hotel doesn't help.
85) Killarney, Ireland
*86) Copenhagen, Denmark - We're pretty sure we could live there.
*87) Rome, Italy - We're pretty sure we couldn't live there...but it sure is a fun place to visit.
88) Jasper, Alberta, Canada - See #9.
89) Knysna, South Africa
*90) Barcelona, Spain - I'm getting hungry thinking about it.
91) Hana, Hawaii, United States
92) Bar Harbor, Maine, United States
*93) Innsbruck, Austria - I'm pretty sure Gretchen has been there.
94) Boulder, Colorado, United States
*95) Tokyo, Japan - One of the most fascinating big cities in the world and it's only #95?
96) Mont-St-Michel, France
97) Machu Picchu, Peru - I wish...although I feel like every time I hear about someone going, they have a story about being violently ill at some point.
*98) Charleston, South Carolina, United States
*99) Toledo, Spain - Toledo, Spain: yes. Toledo, Ohio: not so much.
*100) Monterey, California, United States - If things like money, family, and friends were not an issue, this might be at the top of my list of places to live.

Great moments in homeownership

There's nothing like getting several inches of rain overnight and discovering that not only has the sump pump outside the basement door stopped working, but there is also water entering the basement from some undetermined source along one of the walls. Oh, and the basement is filled with boxes of things we never quite got around to unpacking from our move back to the States. Sigh...

(Actually, this is all hearsay since I conveniently had to rush off to work this morning, leaving Gretchen to deal with the mess downstairs, call the plumber, etc. Hey, I figure it's a nice change from doing laundry, right?)

Packing heat

My visit to Minneapolis was relatively uneventful since I didn't have free time to do much (other than have an excellent dinner at the 112 Eatery). I had been there once or twice before, and my impression remains that it's probably one of those cities that's much more interesting to live in (if you don't mind bitterly cold winters, which I do) than to visit...and I suspect that Gretchen, who went to school there, would probably agree. Anyway, while walking to dinner, I passed a bar that had a big sign on the door saying that guns were not allowed. I figured it was just meant to be part of the ambience, but then I noticed restaurants, stores and other places, all with signs saying that guns were verboten. I never really imagined Minneapolis as a place where a lot of people are carrying weapons, but there you go. My hotel was about a block from the Orchestra Hall, and you should be forewarned that if you're planning a visit to Minneapolis and are thinking about catching a performance there, you would be well advised to leave your firearm at home:

All the news that's fit to print

Just for the record, although this took place in my hometown, SDSU is not my alma mater. (But it did always have a reputation as a huge party school that we were alternately disdainful and jealous of.)

Also, yesterday while I was on a work trip to Minneapolis, Gretchen insisted that she felt an earthquake (which are exceptionally rare here). Sure enough, there was a small earthquake, although this article makes it sound like you wouldn't have really felt it much beyond the immediate area (about 8 miles away from our house) where it occurred. But she insists, and who am I (who grew up with earthquakes) to question my lovely wife (who felt the first earthquake in her life on a visit to L.A. ten years ago or so)?

Yep, that's my life

A friend, who is a fellow stay-at-home Mom, told me a funny story yesterday. On Wednesday, it was "Career Day" at her older daughter's school. Her daughter, who is in kindergarten, brought home a picture (with captions) that she had drawn at school describing her parents' careers. It went something like this...

"My Daddy goes to work and my Mommy does laundry."

Pretty much sums it up, wouldn't you say?

Breaking the monotony

Just in case anyone actually still reads this blog, you might be getting tired of seeing the Warholized picture below every time the blog comes up. So, just to get something new on the blog and move that picture down, let me just say I can totally envision the scene described in this article about a run-in with a squirrel on the Mall. I'm telling you, people adore the little buggers...