While in Philly...

Wow! Philly... I'd not been there since something like 8th grade? It isn't the city that I remember. It is cleaner! Yeppers... cleaner! There are other changes to the city, such as the Liberty Bell is no longer to be found on the green in front of Independence Hall. The Bell is now in its own building, protected from the elements and from those who would take pleasure in harming her. Good idea, but sad. One can no longer touch the Bell or see her up close. You can only view her from behind glass. For more info on the Bell, please see: Liberty Bell Center.

Another change from when I was last there revolves around the change to their public transportation. You can pretty much get anywhere in the city by regional, commuter train. They also have ferries that cross the river between the city and Camden, NJ. A commuter pass allows you to use the busses, subway and regional trains for the week at a discounted rate. One pretty much doesn't need a car! I liked it! We used trains, shuttles, ferries, taxicabs & busses to go everywhere! It was great!

We went to Philly for my husband's annual reunion for his old ship, the USS Joseph Hewes (DE 1078). A fair number of his shipmates and the ship's officers were there, including the ship's Executive Officer (XO), CDR Joe Famme (retired). Mr. Famme ranks right up there as one of my favorite people. Those who attended the reunion had several options of things to do while there. The only thing that was really an organized event was the presentation to the New Jersey museum and the memorial to the ship's crewmembers who are no longer with us.  Honoring them in this way, keeps them with us always.

Some other places we visited in Philly was their Maritime museum, which features the ship, USS Olympia C-6, which served as Adm Dewey's flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay, and a WW2 submarine. Yep... went on both of them.  The Olympia is in need of restoration but, even so, she is a lovely ship and a very important piece of our history.  Rumor has it that the city is planning on scrapping her as they say they cannot afford to keep her.  That is criminal!  This vessel is a National Historic Landmark.  She is the last of her kind and she was launched in 1892. While we were there, volunteers were working on her, trying to restore her little by little.  It would be a great shame to lose this ship.  The volunteers and I am strongly urging people to write their congressmen about her.  With all the money they are divvying out, perhaps they can divert a smidge her way.  Let's see if we can raise the needed funds to save her.

I am so ashamed of myself.  While on this trip, I ate way too much food - real Philly cheesesteaks, crabcakes, fried shrimp, pizza, crab soup, more cheesesteaks....  Anyway, today, I joined WeightWatchers to lose those pounds that I gained.  Oh well...  The food in Philly & Baltimore is fantastic!

More Travel...

Well, after bouncing around Baltimore for several days, we boarded an AMTRAK train bound for Philly. We did not take the Acela Express, but one of the normal trains. We arrived at Penn Station early as we did not know what would be required of us to board the train. In my ignorance (I'd not been on a train since about age 10 years), I asked if they accepted carry on luggage. I was relieved when they said, "yes". The ride to Philly was uneventful.

Once in Philly, we touched bases with one of Rob's shipmates, Al. We were to meet up with him at the 30th Street station, or, at least, we thought we were to meet him there as he got off the R1 Airport train on his way to Market Place East. Oops! Wrong info... We were supposed to geton the train and go with him to Market Place East.

At the ticket counter, I spoke to a young woman and asked her if they had any weekend passes or something similar that we could use for the weekend to get around town. She sold me two commuter passes for $40+ dollars and several times told me that they would be good through Sunday night. OK...

We got onto a train that was headed to Market Street East to meet up with Al. No one checked the tickets. OK... After bouncing around town for a couple of hours, we got onto another train to go back to the 30th Street Station. Again, no one checked the tickets. OK... Whatever... At 30th street, the trains had been delayed due to a severe storm and we finally got the 7:04pm train at 7:41pm, which was headed to the airport. Well, the conductor checked our tickets and told us that they weren't any good for this weekend. The woman who sold them to us, sold us tickets for NEXT weekend! We won't be here! The conductor just said, "they're idiots!" and didn't charge us for the tickets to go to the airport. However, we need to either get these replaced or get our money back from the ticket issuing agency. Sigh... It's always something.

Elaine & Rob's Excellent Adventure...

I'm not really fond of flying, however, I will get on a plane to go places. The lure of travel is much stronger than my discomfort at being 35K feet above the ground. So... Rob & I were flying American out of ABQ, to DFW and then, to BWI for a long weekend. Our flight from ABQ to DFW was perfect. We had a swift, smooth takeoff and an equally swift & smooth landing. Cool... we should arrive at BWI on time!

Oops... I spoke too soon. We boarded our craft on time but after some 30 mins, the pilot got on the horn and told us that there was a problem with the cockpit door and that they needed to fix it before we could leave. OK... at least, turn on the AC so we could be somewhat comfortable. Nope... ain't happenin'.

The mechanic comes & goes, the pilot starts the preflight. Damn! Another hitch! This time, the radar goes out! Again, a tech comes & goes... We've now been aboard for about 2 hours, more or less. OK. Radar is fixed and the pilot starts the engines and we go out to the flight line. Yeah!!!!

We're off!!!! Not exactly....

The pilot revved the engines one time and then took his foot off the gas pedal. Huh?

The pilot revved the engines a 2nd time... Still a no go. WTF?

The pilot revved them a 3rd time, we traveled about 50 feet and then, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a serious engine fault. We are going back to the gate to see if it can be fixed." Oh joy... but better on the ground than in the air. Anyway, after another 30 minutes or so, they find us a new aircraft and we board her, get priority takeoff status and then, we're off!

Kudos to American for getting us on our way and kudos to the flight crew for their professionalism.

Good Hound Day on the Rio Grande

Back in 2002, Kathy came to Albuquerque to pick up her blue puppy dog, Slate.  She brought BJ's littermate, Allegra, along with her.  While here, she & I took BJ & Allegra down to the Rio Grande River to romp for a bit, off leash.  The attached slideshow has been put together from some of the pictures Kathy took that day.  Boy, did they have fun!

Enjoy...

BJ & Nampa - What is it with Red Brindles?

I swear BJ is alive and well in Nampa. Not only does Nampa resemble BJ, he barks like him. What is it with red brindles and barking? It seems to me that the red brindles never shut up! They always have a lot to say, and they take great pride in saying it and in letting the world know!

BTW, that's BJ to the left. The photo was taken by a friend, Penny Bolt. She did a great job and I'm very partial to this picture. She really captured Beej's intensity when he was lure coursing. Thanks Penny!

Here are some other BJ'isms that Nampa is channeling:

1. BJ was a toy monster; Nampa is a toy monster (see below)

2. BJ was a lunatic for the lure; Nampa grabs the lure and will not surrender it.
3. BJ was my shadow; Nampa is my shadow.

I am ready to change Nampa's name to either B-Three or B-Cubed!

Yours in peace...

Elaine

Yesterday...

We all deal with the loss of a loved one in different ways. I dealt with the loss of my parents, aunts, etc. and also with the loss of much loved pets. However, I've been having a great deal of difficulty dealing with losing Jib. Ever since her death, I've not wanted to do anything with the dogs. My heart just isn't in it. However, I believe I am on the road to recovery.

Yesterday, there was a NOTRA racing event being held in Colorado Springs by a new NOTRA club - Rocky Mountain Borzoi. After much nagging by my friend, Leonore (Borzoi Oxota), I packed up the necessaries and headed north with 3 greyhounds to support them.  I am so very happy that I did.  Everyone there was warm & welcoming.  And, it didn't hurt that with a total entry of 8 greyhounds (my 3 and 5 NGA bred dogs) our Banner was High Scoring greyhound for the day, winning all three of his races.  I must say, he won them in style!

Go Banner!

Elaine

PS - Many thanks to Leonore for the loan of her racing blankets!  I really do need to make some.

Launching of the Fishing Vessel - Echo Sound

Many years ago, I had my sailboat, Tyche, docked for a bit of time at a marina on Bear Creek, which was called, Bear Creek Marina.  At that time, it was owned by a member of the Hardesty family.  It was a working marina where people built boats.  Now, the marina is called Sheltered Harbor.


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Haven't been there in ages, so I cannot tell you much about the place, as it is now.  Back around 1987, however, it was sold by the Hardesty family.  Anyway...  While Tyche & I were there, a fishing vessel named the Echo Sound was being built.  She was steel and, if I remember correctly, about 65' LOA.  Not sure how many tons, but she was built to work the Carolina banks.  I didn't get any photos of her under construction, but I did take some the day she was launched.  Please see the slideshow of her launching!

Me? A Housewife? What???

Back at the end of April, through a series of circumstances, I lost my job at the hospital. Now, in this day & age, many would look at that as a tragedy, something to worry over. Not me! In truth, I believe the hospital did me a favor!

In the past month, I've been looking for work. But on those days where there are no interviews, I've been cleaning my house. Not just dusting, mopping & vacuuming, but really cleaning the house. I've been going through the closets, discarding clothing that hasn't been worn by either Rob or myself in years. I've been going through the basement, discarding all kinds of stuff. So, far, Goodwill has received something like 11 bags of stuff! Anyway, during this process, I've come across things that were long forgotten: dog ribbons & awards, old Christmas ornaments from when I was a child, etc. It's been an interesting experience. Every day, I'm finding something else that brings back a fond memory. In truth, I think I am preparing for retirement.

Prior to becoming unemployed, I made the decision that I was going to retire in no more than 6 years. The goal was to retire anytime between 2013 and 2016, depending upon sale of house, dogs, health, and disposition of all belongings. My goal is to retire into an RV and to travel. I want to travel the world and see all those places about which I've only read: Montana, Alaska, Oregon... I think I want to return to my "roots", but instead of a sailboat - a land yacht!

So, being offered for sale at some point in time in 3- 6 years will be a 2 story house, with a basement, on 2.5 acres of land in New Mexico with a 75' x 40', fenced dog yard with 12'x28' dog house! If you are a dog person and have ever thought about moving to NM... your chance is coming....