Can we go now?

Digging out the drive
Originally uploaded by Dr SpaceBunny

Although our early flight was cancelled, due to Reagan National still not being open due to the snow, we were able to get on a later flight and arrive in snow ravaged Virginia just after 1300. The Metro was not running overground but luckily the taxis were still driving and our driver was willing to drop us off right outside our house. Unfortunately the drive was under eighteen inches of snow so we had to trudge to the house to get the shovels to dig a path for the luggage. After a swift cup of tea we dug out the rest of the drive so we could get the car out and the removals van could pick up our shipping and then we got on with sorting out the house. In the house we had to sort out what we wanted: to take with us to the UK, shipping to the UK, to give away and finally what to throw away. Finally that evening we moved into a hotel for our remaining time in the US.

We then had the joy of cleaning the house which was made awkward by the fact all the furniture and our belongings were still in place because the packers were not able to pick up our belongings or the furniture pack because of the snowy conditions. Plus we had to negotiate the snow packed roads to and from the house apart from Wednesday morning due to a snow storm which paralysed the region, in fact that morning half of the snow clearing equipment had broken down and the remainder had been advised to to pull to the side of the road for their own safety. That didn't stop us getting out to the house in the afternoon using our superior British driving skills. Ultimately I was quite annoyed with the embassy as we made a huge effort to sort out the house despite the weather conditions and when they eventually got back to work they weren't willing to be at the house after our departure to ensure the shipping and furniture pack was undertaken so my work colleagues were kind enough to do this for us.

On Friday we took one last trip to the house to put out the recycling and rubbish as well as a couple of last minute jobs and then dropped Helen at the hotel so I could take our car to work for my replacement and finish off a few last minute things. Unfortunately by the time I arrived my computer account had been de-authorised so I could only complete the paperwork for the car and shipping, receive some gifts from the office and say goodbye. I then grabbed a taxi back to the hotel where Helen and I loaded our bags into a bigger taxi which whisked us away to the airport where we had a stiff drink and dinner before jetting off to the UK!

Snowpocalypse

A Great Lake
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

First of all I'd like to apologise for the hyperbole of this and the previous post titles but it is aimed, toungue in cheek, at the US media. Don't get me wrong, the snow is bad, the south is not used to this kind of weather but the entire DC region came to a standstill for three days alll because of a foot or so of snow. Plus we have been busy getting ready to leave the USA so I've not had much time to get round to writing up the blog.

OK, back to Friday ... we got onboard the plane to Chicago only to be told that we were to be subject to a four hour delay due to low visibility at Chicago O'Hare. Fortunately the delay was reduced and we only just had time to finish watching a film on my laptop before we took off. When we arrived in Chicago there had been a light dusting of snow and it was bitterly cold so we hopped on the shuttle to the hotel. Unfortunatley we arrived too late to get any food from the restaurant so we had to make do with microwave pizza for dinner.

The next day we had a lazy morning in the suite watching England v Wales and then caught the L train downtown to go to the Art Institute where we saw American Gothic and Nighthawks amongst others. Afterwards we walked through the bitterly cold conditions down to Lake Michigan and quickly turned on our heels to get dinner at Pizzeria Uno for a Chicago pizza pie. The crust of the pie was crisp and the filling was deep but oddly tasteless which was odd with the restaurant being the home of the Chicago style pizza.

On Sunday we went past downtown to the Science and Industry museum and had fun watching a immersive film on cycling physiology, going down a coal mine, seeing a U-boat, planes, model railway and lots of fun stuff. We wrapped up the day by watching the superbowl in the hotel bar before heading back to our room to pack our bags yet again.

Snowmaggedon

Not sure on the state of the roads to Squaw Valley we decided to book the free shuttle which meant an early start on Thursday, but at least the coach picked us up from the front of the apartment and it meant we could let somebody else take over the driving responsibilities.  The downsides of the ride were the thirty plus minutes picking up people from various casinos just over the border in Nevada and the two people that talked incessantly.

As soon as we arrived Helen and I grabbed our boards and grabbed a much needed coffee whilst the queue for lift tickets died down.  Although the lift ticket we had bought on Tuesday was meant to be for two consecutive days only the staff extended our ticket without any fuss.  Having explored most of the right hand side of the resort on the Wednesday we decided to hit up the runs on the left hand side including the Olympic Downhill which was challenging if only because of the flat light and big lumps of snow.  As they day progressed the clouds came down, it started to snow and then the wind really picked up so Helen and I retreated to the restaurant for huge bowls of thai food.

Sitting over lunch we used our knowledge of the resort and general mountain knowledge to decide that we would ride in the right hand bowls that afternoon.  The bowls were not only sheltered form the ferocious wind but the loose snow was being blown into nice floaty pockets so the only drawback wass being battered in the face by the gale force winds as the return lift breasted the ridge (check out the picture showing the spindrift streaming of the peak).  Our favourite bowl was effectively closed when the lift had to shut due to the wind so we moved to our backup area until we had to head down the mountain.  The lsat run down the mountain was quite challenging as the wind was against us making running on the flat very slow, a lot of the ridges had been scoured down to ice and on top of that the wind occasionally blasted stinging snow into our faces making it difficult to see.  Tired and cold we boarded the shuttle back to South Tahoe and this time only had to listen one of the two people whitter inanely on; Helen managed to fall asleep for a while but unfortunately I could not.

Back in the apartment we started packing and planning for the trip home.  We had been aware since Wednesday that a big snowstorm was due to hit the DC area and couse massive disruption and that Tahoe would get more snow.  The first part of the plan was to have an early start to give us plenty of time for the journey to Reno airport and check the weather and road advisories (sorry) in the morning.  As we expected the road out of South Tahoe had been designated as snow chains required, but not mandatory, so we drove steadily over the mountains and dropped down to the warmer weather.  At check in, again as expected, the leg of the flight from Chicago to Reagan National had been cancelled.  The bad news was that there were no flights into the DC area until Monday so we decided it would be preferable to fliy to Chicago and spend the weekend there rather than in Reno and catch the first flight out on Monday morning.  So, here we are sat in the departure lounge at Reno airport booking hotels and deciding what we will do at the weekend apart from watching the Six Nations and our last Superbowl

If you go down to the woods today

On Sunday we went to a timeshare presentation and it was interesting observing all their sales techniques but even better when we picked up our reward at the end.  Unfortunately our plan to ride at Northstar in the afternoon was scuppered by lack of space in the parking lot so we enjoyed the scenic drive back to South Lake Tahoe and then out to Camp Richardson for some cross country skiing.  Yes do read that correctly, cross country skiing!  Luckily we only had an hour so the injuries due to the severe lack of control were kept to a minimum.

We managed to get ourselves sorted out on Tuesday and after a few diversions made it to Squaw Valley which for us was very enjoyable due to the lack of flat traverses.  It did take a change in mindset to get used to such an open resort with very few named runs but we lived it up riding down steep runs, well groomed runs and through the trees.  As we drove home around the lake we saw the clouds coming in and the snow started falling.

On Wednesday we woke to a slightly snowy day but the roads we needed to go along to get back to Squaw Valley were closed to cars without chains.  We tried to drive round the lake but even though the ploughed and gritted roads were fine, we reached a point where they had just stopped and an icy snowy windy road suddenly did not seem like such a good idea.  To show how bad it was it took a good ten minutes to turn the car around and head back up the road.  After considering our options we drove to the west side of Heavenly and spent the afternoon on a couple of runs and running through the woods from one run to another.

Bananaman

I obviously don't get enough time off for snow sports as my thighs and calves were burning this morning!

Unfortunately the overnight snow was considerably lighter than forecast and there was more snow back in Virginia but at least there are no power cuts here and some mountains :o)

It was also noticeably busier here today as the weekend crowd moved in but with our mountain smarts we found a quiet sunny spot and even spotted Bananaman (he's in the photo).  At the moment we've got one more day on our pass for Heavenly so we're going to try out another resort or two and hopefully find something with more pitch.

Heavenly

A few more days of sorting out what needs packing or shipping and selling/giving away things that didn't make sense bringing back to the UK and a little bit of tidying up behind us.  Then on Thursday we caught a plane from Reagan National via Chicago to Reno which meant an early start and a long day, but we did get to stay on the plane instead of disembarking at Chicago.

The drive down to Lake Tahoe was straightforward and quiet and we got to our apartment in good time.  Check-in was a bit over the top but we eventually got into our spacious suite and popped out to get some food (and beer) and then while Helen made dinner I prepped the boards for the next day.

Today we caught the bus from outside the apartments down to the gondola which gave us a very picturesque and lengthy trip up to the snow.  We had fun trying to find our way around a new resort especially as very few of the runs were marked (other than what lifts they lead to) and only vaguely resembled the maps.  Then at the end of the day we made our tired way back to the apartment with the thought of an overnight snowstorm.

Mmmmm chocolate

The weather has been all over the place with snow showers, rain and sunny days so it has been quite a shock to the system to be back in Virginia.

After a week back at work I took Helen to New York for her birthday; we went to a veggie Korean restaurant and then strolled along to Madison Square Garden to see Eddie Izzard.  Eddie was brilliant but I think Helen and I were the only ones laughing when he took the rise out of American football.

The next day we drove through Manhattan do Helen could get to JFK to go to the Geoscience L&T Conference.  I then drove home through the pouring rain and all the crazy drivers to get back home.  Helen had a bit of a problem changing flights at Dublin as the flight from JFK was late tasking off due to the rain and had to check in for the next flight and then go through immigration a second time.  Eventually Helen arrived at Manchester and met Kitty for Lunch and to hand over Christmas presents before heading on to Birmingham (Bournville) for her conference.

Monday was Martin Luther King Day and a day off so I kicked off the week by starting to sort out what needs shipping and what we're taking with us when we return to the UK.  For the next few days I had a training course in preparation for my next job and then picked Helen up from Reagan Airport on Saturday.

Time is running out

We needed to stock up on a couple of items and luckily we met Netty on the way to breakfast and she walked with us over to her variety store and opened up for us, there were no lights so she opened the back door to allow more light in. It's interesting to note that the only places with locks on the islands are the shops and restaurants. As the weather had taken a turn for the worse, a bit of rain and rough seas we decided to have a leisurely breakfast at Island Thyme and make our way up to Pat's store later in the morning.

We dodged most of the puddles by weaving up the road to see Pat and got slightly damp, she was surprised to see us as most islanders don't go when it is raining and even school is cancelled, it's a good job we don't do the same thing in the UK, eh? Following recommendations from lots of people we arranged to go to Pat's Place for dinner that evening and as we didn't fancy the walk (or bike) in the rain and in the dark we decided to get a taxi. Dinner at Pat's was delicious and we had so many sides, including beets and rice & peas. I had an island omelette and Helen had cracked conch which is prepared by bashing the heck out of it and then battering and frying [very meaty and delicious - Helen].

After a very relaxing day we decided to get SCUBA certified so we spent the morning studying and then aced out written test. We had fun in the harbour doing our practical work and had to breath without our masks (and then put them back on), breathing from a bypassing mouthpiece (sipping air from a full flow) and breathing from each other's back-up regulators which was very cozy :o). The upshot is we can now buy or rent SCUBA equipment and dive world-wide (accompanied by a Dive Master) up to a maximum depth of forty feet. our plan is to get a refresh when we go to Guernsey in the summer and then to get certified as Open Water Divers

Afterwards we sat in Coral Reef Bar and Grill and I tried, with some difficulty, to upload some photographs and update the blog; this is why I am updating the blog the week after our holiday. Some time later, after Helen left, I fell into conversation with Kevin & Don a couple of local fishermen. Now I thought that they used road and line, nets or pots to catch the various fish and lobster but it turned out that they free dived to about eighty feet! Eventually Helen dragged me from the bar and we went round to Island Thyme for dinner, followed by a delicious Coconut Bomb and finally a last howl which Helen bravely joined in with.

The next day we packed, settled our bills, said our goodbyes, went for one last dip in the ocean and flew to Providenciales, along with another couple, in a six seater charter plane. Helen sat next to the pilot and once again we experienced a much better landing than any of the commercial flights on this trip. The departure lounge of Providenciales was heaving and seemed to be mainly populated with very loud people on mobile phones but Miami was even worse. The flight from Miami was very delayed and we didn't get to bed until way past midnight so I was a bit late cycling to work the next day and with sub-zero temperatures it was one heck of a shock to the system.

Howling of a different nature

We had arranged to go scuba diving in the afternoon so we didn't make any plans for the morning and had a quiet breakfast and read after arranging to go to the Island Thyme Bistro for dinner. For lunch we went to the Coral Reef Bar & Grill and then afterward Debbie kitted us out and gave us a lesson on the basics of scuba diving. Then the instructor, Richard, led us into the harbour to do mask and regulator drills to make sure we were competent to dive in the open water. We aced the drills and were soon headed out to Shark Point where the mooring is about 20 feet deep and just inshore from a 20 foot wall. We did a tumble entry, which was great fun, and then slowly made our way down the mooring line. The visibility was amazing and we spent about 45 minutes pootling around looking at loads of colourful fish including Cleaner Wrasse, a Spotted Moray Eel, Parrot Fish, Trigger Fish, a Trumpet Fish (I'm not making this up), as well as Christmas Tree, Brain and Fan Coral.

Dinner at the Island Thyme Bistro was a relaxed affair and, as instructed, we entered via the kitchen and into the bar, where I declined further shots and stuck to beer for the evening. One of the endearing facts about the Bistro is you keep tally of your own tab and settle up at the end of the week and Porter was happy for us to serve our own drinks. In fact the Bistro wasn't truly open that evening which is why we came in via the kitchen as we had been invited to a karaoke evening with a small group of people; the atmosphere of the place is more akin to being a house-guest. Gardiner and Aubrey from next door were there as was Richard the dive instructor, Nick the owner of Pirate's Hideaway apartments, French-Canadian Dan, Sharon and Apol (Adrian Paul) the Bistro's talented Filipino chef.

When we were called through to the back yard for dinner the table was laden with all manner of side dishes as well as a pile of spare ribs, Helen had asked for coconut shrimp and I had kebabs both of which were both delicious. Once the dishes were cleared we got down to the serious business (and Japanese martial art) of karaoke, of which I will give the highlights (or should that be lowlights?). Nick kicked off with streets of London, I kept the atmosphere downbeat with The House of the Rising Sun and then Helen and I gave a breathtaking (!) performance of Delilah. Aubrey was enticed into becoming a zookeeper as I had a few days earlier and by spreading the drinking out over the evening she was able to qualify for her t-shirt as well as delivering an awesome rendition of Nothing Compares 2 U. All of a sudden it started to rain and we had to decamp to the bar where Helen tried to sing a medley of Abba songs, which was totally insane as there were about four lines from various songs and it took at least two lines to work out what the song was. I should point out that the karaoke machine was from the Philippines and although it had a huge selection the lyrics were a close approximation plus the music was quiet and not by the original artist; not a problem during Delilah though as most of the island could hear us. In keeping with the vague rugby anthem we wrapped up with Swing Low Sweet Chariot, which I think went down well, and then let Apol and Nick close the evening in a dignified manner.

International Rescue

Feeling somewhat tired but not unwell (!) we were awoken the next morning by Debbie asking whether we would like to accompany some locals over to Sand Cay to explore and do some snorkeling. We jumped at the chance and got all our gear together, made ourselves presentable and strolled over to the dock where Debbie took us and two other guests, Matthew and Huyen, to the east side of the island in the pick-up truck. I was so pleased I was feeling OK as the half hour crossing to Sand Cay was a bit lumpy and all we had between us and the fibreglass boat was a lifejacket. The island was absolutely stunning and as Ollie skillfully navigated around the reef into a crystal clear bay we took in the sight of a hill with an extended sand bar. While everybody went off beachcombing Helen and I got into our snorkeling gear and slipped into the bay. At first we saw only small fish on the bottom but as we got nearer the reef in deeper water we saw larger and more colourful fish before we surprised a sizeable Hawksbill Turtle which had been lurking underneath an overhang. Helen scooted over the top of part of the reef to try and get a good look at some red sea urchins before we cruised back toward shore encountering a large barracuda which seemed shocked to see us there.

After drying off we went to explore the island in the hope of finding an iguana. We saw plenty of small lizards, cacti and extremely sharp annoying burrs that stuck to shoes and skin alike but the iguanas were on strike or holiday. There were so many small lizards and you rarely saw them before they scooted off although many of them were happy to pose for a photograph or two from close range. As we crested a rise on the way back to the bay a small lizard caught my eye as it zipped in front of me and then I saw an iguana with its tail in the air heading hell for leather toward the undergrowth. Unfortunately Helen didn't see it and even though we peered into the undergrowth in the hope of a glimpse and photograph the iguana stayed resolutely camera shy.

When we got back to the bay we ate our sandwiches and stretched out in the sun as the rest of the group made their way back with some amazing shells they had found. While we were relaxing Ollie mentioned that we would have to mount a rescue expedition for a small turtle that had become trapped in some plastic which was holding it afloat. We assumed the locals would take charge but nobody seemed to be doing anything and Ollie repeated his statement a few times with no response. After getting ready for action and lurking by the waters edge Helen and I just headed onto the small island in the middle of the bay which stirred Ollie and Matt to join us. We could see the plastic after Ollie pointed it out and could just about make out a small turtle at the end of it vainly flapping its flippers as it fought against the surge pushing it towards the rocks at the end of of a vee shaped inlet in the small island. Ollie and Matt discussed whether they could get the boat into the inlet while Helen took stock of the situation and formulated a rescue plan including our exit strategy and fallback options. We climbed down to a ledge just above the water line, removed all but our bathers & shoes and first Helen and then I dived into the inlet as waves came through and then swam out to the Hawksbill turtle. It was about ten inches long, very shiny, with soft skin and it was firmly stuck in a plastic mesh. We carried it into shallower water and as Matt joined us we carefully tore the bag open, whilst being buffeted by the waves, being careful not to damage it especially as one of its flippers was also stuck in the mesh. After Matt had swum alongside it to make sure it could get out of the inlet we swam toward the other end and climbed out and up to the top of the cliff where the remainder of the group had assembled.

After our adventure on Sand Cay we returned to Salt Cay: due to the lower tide, a couple of passengers had to cautiously push the flat-bottomed boat over the coral at first, then we headed back to Deane's Dock. We decided to try and find somewhere to snorkel around the headland as the waves were still too big in front of the apartments and soon found a sheltered spot with a few coral reefs to explore. Less than ten metres from the sandy shoreline we explored the sizeable reefs in about 10 feet of crystal clear water and saw so many different fish including a puffer fish and a cow fish and at one point we even dived for a conch shell, after carefully checking there were no occupants. Back on shore after an hour or so I made the mistake of poking what I thought was an empty crab shell and it suddenly started zipping around like an out of control remote control car and of course it headed toward Helen at least twice before it made a beeline for the safety of the water [I was quite gracious about it and didn't squeal too loudly - Helen].

Ospreys and Wolves

On New Year's morning, after Helen communed with the feral donkeys (we almost started missing the swamp), we tried to call as many people as possible but the internet reception was very poor and even after heading to Island Thyme Bistro there was a huge delay on the calls so our apologies if we didn't get to speak to you. As we were in the bistro we asked Haidee to make us a picnic lunch for an expedition to the east side and arranged to have pizza for dinner there that evening. We strolled along Victoria Street and across the salina, the salt production ponds where the cay gets its name, and out to South Creek. Our leisurely stroll took some time as we saw the sights, took plenty of photographs and waved to everybody we saw. The North and South Creeks are really lagoons open to the sea and as the tide was out we took the opportunity to take our shoes off and wade in the shallow water, some of us being careful to avoid crabs. As the water got deeper we kept near the edge and soon saw a pair of ospreys, one on the nest and one on the ground and we got some amazing views of them as they cruised on the lazy winds.

We must have stared mesmerized by the ospreys for about forty five minutes before realizing that time was moving on so we headed toward the beach to have our lunch. En route to the beach Helen spotted a huge blue paddle crab which turned and raised its claws to defend itself from the camera. After our picnic lunch we spent some time taking photographs, paddling in the sea and peering in rock pools before heading back toward civilisation.

We decided that it would be pleasant to stroll up to the lighthouse to get a view of the island and the sunset on such a beautifully clear evening but we had to fight a rearguard action back down the hill after getting mauled by a swarm of mosquitoes. Beaten but not bowed we relocated to the shore to watch the sunset and I was lucky enough to see the green flash as the sun dipped below the horizon.

After a wash and brush up we headed over to Island Thyme for dinner to be greeted by Porter who immediately asked us if we knew about drinking there; intrigued we said no and he elucidated. The first thing was that he required you to say 'when' as he mixed a drink for you; being British we knew about this and had no problem with Helen's coconut rum and pineapple. The second was whether we wished to become zookeepers; intrigued by this we asked for more details and Porter explained that he would pour a shot which I would have to down in one and howl like a wolf, if I succeeded the shot was free but if I failed it would cost $40. What the heck I thought, free booze, how bad could it get? Well Porter pulled out a container of murky liquid from behind the bar which contained, he assured me, twigs and berries that he had foraged from around the island. I wasn't even allowed to smell the concoction so I steeled myself and downed the shot which I found reminiscent of Benelyn mixed with Pimms, not too bad, and with my vocal cords assaulted, lubricated and anesthetized I let rip with my best Canadian Timber Wolf alpha male howl which French-Canadian Dan judged to be sufficiently accurate. Feeling somewhat cocky I quickly agreed to the next round which required not only a different shot and a different animal but from this point on I had to do the motions too; well there was the tantalizing prize of a t-shirt if I managed to down three more shots. I won't go into the details of all the drinks that followed as my animal impersonation skills were sorely put to the test but I managed the snake (non-specific), Haitian Donkey (a clear liquor and sweet chilli sauce) and then the Yellow Snapper which really stretched my limited talents. At this point the lifeline that was our pizza arrived but with the promise of a deck of cards, every man has a price and mine can be quite low, I was enticed into a further shot and an impression of a Salt Cay Osprey which I thought was fortunate considering we had seen them earlier in the day. Like a skilled angler who has hooked a wily fish Porter played me some more by offering a commemorative shot glass from which I downed a further shot which turned out to be Mescal (without the worm) and then, tempted as I was, I declined the opportunity of five further shots to win a hoodie and moved onto beer.

Somewhat lubricated but definitely holding my own I had a lengthy conversation with one of the locals which although slightly confusing (for both of us I blame it on his accent and patois) there were periods of lucidity as we ranged around the North-South divide on the island, politics, music (reggae and soul), cricket (Ian Botham and Joel Garner),education and Royal Navy eligibility criteria. Helen had a slightly less energetic although equally diverse conversation with Haidee and a couple of local ladies which covered what colour Delphine should paint her house, why there were currently so many mosquitoes (Helen scored some insect repellant from Caroline), the economics of Netty's Queen cakes, Dan's cabinets and sampling Delphine's prize winning grapefruit and condensed milk dessert.

New Year

First sunset
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

After Christmas and before the next snowstorm arrived we flew south to Miami airport then changed planes to Providenciales airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It got very local very quickly from that point on as the gentleman who worked for the airline that would take us on to Salt Cay was waiting outside baggage claim and escorted us to the check-in desk. We had to pay the pilot directly by credit card and while we waited for him to arrive we went to the cafe and I had a beer while Helen enjoyed a rum punch. When the captain arrived we were escorted back to check-in and after paying were told the plane would leave in about 15 minutes and to go through security which consisted of a wooden desk where we put our bags for a cursory inspection and a metal scanner which we walked through. After a few minutes we were walked out to the plane which was an eight seater twin turboprop and it turned out Helen and I were the only passengers. The safety brief by the captain was comprehensive; he pointed out the exits and told us where the life jackets were but added that we wouldn't need them because Caicos Express was a very safe airline. In fact the landing after the 20 minute straight line flight was far smoother than the two we'd experienced with American Airlines earlier that day. We were met by Debbie, the apartment owner, who gave us a quick orientation of Salt Cay town centre basically there is Airport Road which leads to Victoria Road.

Because the island is so small, approximately a 2 mile equilateral triangle with 63 permanent residents, everybody knows each other and you have to arrange what you will be eating for dinner with your restaurant ahead of time which is different but congenial. There are three small stores on the island, six restaurants and bars, three gift shops and a dive school but don't get the wrong impression everything is relaxed and you feel more like a house guest; indeed one of the restaurants is Pat's Place where you eat in her house.

We took it easy the first night and watched the sun set from the front of our apartments, cooked a simple dinner and went to bed at 9 because we were exhausted after the early start and all the traveling.

The next day we set off on bicycles to explore the island and find somewhere to snorkel on the North Side. We had a quick look round the south part of the island where most of the houses are before heading toward the Airport and the North Side. The road was deserted and somewhat bumpy but the reward was a beautiful deserted white sand beach which although being a bit rough for snorkeling made for wonderful swimming in-between some serious relaxing on the shore. Once we had gathered sufficient reserves of energy we remounted our mighty steeds and kept going north until the road gave way to a track where we continued on foot. We saw a lot of lizard tracks, including the elusive iguana's, increasing numbers of vicious mosquitoes and lots of hermit crabs but not a single soul. Helen's tyre was flat when we got back to the bikes but there was just enough cushioning to get us back to the apartment.

In the evening we went to the Coral Reef Bar & Grill for dinner and after a short respite back in the apartment we headed back to the bar for the New Year's Eve Rake & Shake. A Rake & Shake consists of local artists playing locally sourced instruments which included a saw with a screwdriver being raked across the teeth, a couple of plastic tubs, a lot of coconut maracas, somebody on spoons and an old boy playing a harmonica. The resulting sound, combined with the singing was quite unique and combined with the beer made a very pleasant evening. Nearer to midnight the band put down their instruments and put some records on and almost everybody got on the dance floor, even I shook my tooshie for one song with Debbie, but after Helen had been dragged up for a dance by a very attentive young gentleman I became quite possessive of her. Midnight arrived suddenly and after wishing everybody a Happy New Year we strolled the short distance back to the apartment.

What a Christmas!

First of all we had over a foot of beautiful fluffy snow. As we all know a dusting of snow can bring the UK to a standstill, well the DC area can be chaos during a bit of rain so a foot of snow sent everybody into shock and they cancelled flights for most of the region. As I was due to fly on Saturday from Reagan National to Philadelphia and then on to Heathrow to visit Mum, Kitty & Ben and Judy, Amy & Paul, this was a bit of a bind; so whilst the snow fell gently on the ground I spent several hours trying to get through to the airline to rebook the flight and change the UK hire car booking. Even though all the flights to the UK were booked until Christmas I eventually managed to get on a standby list for the Sunday but there was no guarantee I wouldn't get stranded at Philadelphia. In the end I didn't fly to the UK which turned out was a good thing as the flight back on Christmas Eve was also cancelled due to the bad weather in Europe.

At least the time off gave me the opportunity to shovel some snow from the drive (with the help of able seaman King) and halfway across the road to get to the one track the locals had made with their urban tractors. Unfortunately this meant I had to clear the ice caused by the melting snow which froze overnight on the drive and footpath despite the salt I distributed liberally. Most of the roads apart from those in our area had been cleared so we were left to fend for ourselves; fortunately our ice driving skills are up to par.

On the plus side the snow was a great opportunity to take some beautiful photographs, teach Helen how to make a snowman and be at home to meet Jerry our house-guest for Christmas. The snowbunny took a lot of patience as the snow was very dry so we had to wait a day or so but the results were brilliant and was the sole snow-based life-form in the neighbourhood until a classically made snowman appeared along the street.

Now onto Jerry the ferret; what a cute, inquisitive independent little furball! Ferrets sleep for up to twenty hours a day, but make up for it in the hours they are awake. Jerry managed to open the cupboard doors and climb in, continually try and get inside the sofa, steal one of my presents and patrol the entire house from top to bottom looking for anything interesting to get into.

To finish this entry off we had another minor flood Boxing Day evening as the rain started and all the snow melted. Luckily all of the pumps were functioning but we investigated an odd noise coming from the basement and noticed that some leaves were blocking the drain to the pump; emergency averted!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dS0UOy7PeQ&feature=related

This week was quite quiet apart from Wednesday morning when I fell down the basement stairs. What with me bouncing down the wooden stairs and then howling in pain Helen had no problem waking up and getting out of bed. I'm still suffering from the bruising but luckily no bones were broken and I won't be riding my bike for a while.

We picked up our Christmas tree this week and decided to go for a different style tree which looks a bit like cousin It from the Addams family. The drawback is that it is difficult to hang decorations (or chocolates) from the branches, but is is very pretty.

I took the opportunity to buy the last (I hope) Christmas presents this weekend, so with the tree up it should only be a case of delivering the last few presents, buying some stocking fillers and eating some mince pies before Christmas morning.

This weekend we popped round the corner to a party at Charles, Alex and Edward's house. It was great to meet a different group of people, even if a lot of them were pongos, and indeed such a varied group of people since I've been here, Brits, Aussies, Americans and French! The drink was great and the food was delicious especially the various pies, cakes and biscuits; I'm hoping that Alex will foist off some of the leftovers on Helen next time she goes round. It seemed that everybody had brought at least one child and it was quite hectic at times with children of various energy levels ran, crawled or sat around the house; my favourite (other than Edward of course) was Hector who was totally unfazed by all the activity around him and moved from crawling to guiding a push-a-long in patient circuits of the living room, dining room and kitchen.

Despite surviving the recent wet weather one of our sump pumps has failed and we are having to use our submersible pump to pump water from the defunct sump to the working one. This is working so far, I just hope this spell of relatively dry weather lasts!

Thanksgiving

The big news is that after baking a pumpkin pie, making pumpkin soup and giving a bag of pumpkin flesh to a friend we have now run out of pumpkin!

I took thanksgiving week off to recharge my batteries and use some leave up. I had a lazy time playing on the computer, editing videos and uploading them to YouTube. For my birthday we went to the cinema and then to one of our favourite restaurants for dinner and proper beer.

On Thanksgiving day we got up early for Helen to run in a 10k event and then after freshening up at home we went into DC. Unfortunately pretty much everything in DC closed but we did manage to find lunch at Baja Fresh a Mexican takeaway. After lunch we went to the National Geographic Museum for the terracotta army exhibition which was smaller than I was expecting but sill remarkable and impressive. In the evening we had our own version of Thanksgiving dinner and collapsed on the sofa after our busy day.

This week just gone saw me abandoning Helen and heading back to the UK for a few days. I didn't manage to get any decent rest on the plane or during the week I was away and on top of that I had the beginning of a cold. On the bright side though I managed to see Judy and the kids for one evening which although brief was fun. We exchanged Christmas presents and I got to see Paul do his karate although I think I may have been a bit of a distraction.

As I type this it has started snowing but is yet too damp and warm to pitch on the swamp.

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Always Leaf Them Laughing

This week was very quiet as well as being quite cold and in the later part of the week a north wind blew in a storm front which made going out quite unpleasant. I did manage to undertake some maintenance on the bikes including re-wrapping the handlebars on Helen's road bike which has been bugging me for a while and sorting out a few issues with a friend's bike. I even got some fuses for the step up transformer which meant I could charge up the serious bike lights.

Cycling home along the bike path in the dark has been quite fun for me this week as the leaves on the path are slippery with the rain and with leaves either side of the path it is all to easy to ride off the path onto the muddy grass which you thought was part of the path. To make matters worse I have to contend with the lights of the oncoming cars shining in my eyes as the road is to the right of the bike path causing me to ride very slowly and sometimes even having to stop to avoid riding straight into a tree. Helen has also been having trouble with the leaves so it's not just me. The good news though is that this years colours for running or walking in the dark are the same as last year's; I'm not sure whether it is black or dark blue because I normally only see them fleetingly, but I'll be sure to ask when I hit somebody.

Wednesday was Veterans Day which meant a day off for me and I didn't get up to much on the day but I did go out with some friends from the office for a bite to eat and a few beers on the evening before. The evening shot by so by the time I got off the Metro it was quite late and even though I did slip half-a-crown into the bus driver's hand and begged him to be the 1230 to Mount Vernon he declined and I had to catch a taxi home.

In an amazing effort we managed to go out for the second Friday in a row! We drove into DC to see the Japanese drum group Yamato which was an amazingly powerful and occasionally humorous physical performance. I can't begin to describe what the performance was like but you will find a very small taster here.

On Saturday I got stuck in to pulling together all the boarding footage for the last couple of years and posted a couple of short films to Facebook and YouTube (Considerable Relief and Surprising Adventures) and then later in the evening we watched another lacklustre performance by England, this time against Argentina.

There is still plenty of pumpkin left in the freezer!

November

Bobby Kennedy
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We eventually finished off the few loose bits of candy left over from Halloween but there are still two big bags left which we will probably donate to Ben and Kitty to share with their friends the next time we see them. Speaking of leftovers, we still have plenty of pumpkin flesh left because most recipes involving pumpkin only require a small amount so even making the delicious pumpkin pie and pumpkin ice cream the forecast ahead is definitely ... pumpkin.

We managed to get out of the house quite a few times this week!

On Tuesday we went to see Rebecca Loebe, supported by Raina Rose at her CD Release Show at a club in Arlington and it was good to see them again although the set was too short. We stayed to hear a couple of songs from the next group and managed to get home at a reasonable hour for a school night.

On Friday Helen picked me up from work and we went to the cinema to see Men Who Stare At Goats which was absolutely brilliant and apart from the last couple of minutes very unlike a normal Hollywood effort, but then it was produced by BBC films.

On Saturday we caught the Metro to Arlington Cemetery and strolled around in the most glorious weather for November and visited the Kennedy Graves, Arlington House and the Tomb of the Unknowns. Afterwards we headed into DC for breakfast and a stroll around the west wing of the National Gallery of Art for a few hours, wandering in and out of lots of interconnected rooms. We needed to have a decent lunch after all the walking so found a microbrewery in which to recoup; and I wish I had a few more beers to help numb the pain of watching England and Wales get beaten by Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Halloween

Potter's Field
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Helen and I have mostly been eating pumpkin.

OK, so it's not that bad, even with me carving four large pumpkins Helen has been using her imagination and we have had spicy pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin cakelets, pumpkin stew, pumpkin cake and there is plenty of pumpkin left in the freezer plus Helen bought me pumpkin beer again this year. I had to go to Pittsfield, MA this week for a meeting and I'm already jonesing for pumpkin products, especially good old pumpkin pie. Hmmm, pumpkin ice cream anyone?

Talking of pumpkin beer, how is it that most american beer is cold tasteless fizz yet they produce some wonderful beers and have imaginative, wonderfully tasty creations like that; in fact the beer is from the fabulous Dogfishhead Brewery, possibly the greatest thing to come out of Delaware. The same goes for cheese and bread and most of the supermarket offerings, whilst cheap, are bland and textureless. Indeed if you want to buy something that isn't crammed with high fructose corn syrup, etc. you have to pay a premium and sometimes search long and hard to find it in the first place.

So the front lawn is still decorated with fresh graves, the pumpkins are still carved and on display and half of the candy is gone. We didn't have as may trick or treaters as we had last year, probably due to the rain, but they had some wonderful costumes and called on us until quite late in the evening.

The trip winds down

Helen and Sylvie
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

After the worst breakfast of the trip, the eggs were that bad I couldn't get close to finishing them, we pootled a short way down the road to Mt Rushmore which is a unique, impressive and literally monumental ... well, monument. We only had a short while to spend there as we had to get to the airport, but it was cold and apart from looking around the small museum and meeting one of the original workers and of course visiting the gift shop there wasn't a huge amount to do. I was disappointed that the nature trail was closed but we did see a couple of the big fluffy goats on the way out; the pictures are on Helen's camera.

All that was left of the trip was filling up the petrol tank, taking the car through the car wash and checking in at the airport. One thing I found out to my cost going through security in Rapid City is that snow globes are weapons of terror and not allowed in cabin baggage even if you put them in a plastic bag to be screened separately, sorry Lawrie that was your Christmas present!

Sitting in the departure lounge we were submitted to almost unrelenting news coverage of the boy in the balloon aftermath; oddly enough the news item on the official who refused to marry a mixed race couple was only given five minutes. Helen and I will certainly not miss the often trivial and nearly always speculative journalism on American TV and is looking forward to some good old BBC investigative journalism; I'm also looking forward to decent documentaries that don't over-dramatise, even most original BBC programmes are americanised.

Helen, who was flying on to Portland for the GSA a while later, saw Sylvie and I off as we flew back to what turned out to be a wet and cold Virginia.

Saturday morning was nice and relaxed and the only urgent task was to go shopping for veggies and milk for us and peanuts for the sqrls. Then in the late afternoon I drove Sylvie around the idiot hell that is the beltway, even worse in the wet, to Dulles airport to catch her flight home.

Devil's Tower

Devil's Tower
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Next morning we got up early, packed our bags and grabbed breakfast before heading on the last long road stage, 540 miles from Jackson to Deadwood. The weather was threatening rain as we pulled out of Jackson and we had not gone more than ten miles when we spotted three moose, probably the same ones from the day before, as well as more Elk. The rain caught up with us as we climbed into the mountains and just as I'd got used to driving in the snow again we hit a big set of roadworks that took away the road as well so when we weren't driving in snow we were driving on mud; fun. We eventually came across some stationary traffic and the couple in front let us know a lorry had spun out ahead; they were travelling together in convoy with one driving a car and one towing a horse box and they were great fun! First off they kindly offered us some Oreo cookies and then they had a quick snowball fight which we elected to avoid by staying in the car.

When the blockage was removed we headed off only to stop again in Dubois to top up the petrol tank and check out the giant jackalope and jackalope museum, a major source of revenue in Dubois. We stopped again some distance down the road for lunch at the Crazy Woman Restaurant in Ten Sleep (great place name) before finally arriving at Devil's tower in yet another new state, South Dakota. The Devil's Tower, which was featured in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, was very impressive and difficult to capture in a photograph but I must say that the black tailed prairie dogs in the grounds stole the show for us. The prairie dogs were not concerned by our presence at all and just continued grazing, yipping and greeting each other, in fact the only time they got upset was when a mule deer and calf trotted through their manor.

After a well deserved ice cream and in the failing light we headed off to our overnight stop in Deadwood. Being low on petrol we tried to find the local filling station which was very local and so unobtrusive we drove straight past it and had to ask directions to get back to it. Finally and very tired we arrived in the infamous Deadwood for a well deserved dinner and even more welcome bed.

Chocolate Moose

Chocolate Moose
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

It was odd being in such a famous ski area as Jackson and not be boarding, but the weather was slightly warmer and the rain had eased up.

We made the most of not having a long day ahead of us nor an early start by having a late breakfast and then driving over the mountains, via the post office (stamps for Sylvie) and Staples (SD card reader for Helen), to Idaho where we failed to by any potato related products whatsoever. On our return to Jackson I stayed at the hotel to edit and upload photographs whilst Helen and Sylvie went to the visitor centre before a light lunch.

In the afternoon we met up with the Teton Science School to go on a Wildlife Expedition. We had to wait for a larger vehicle because there were two more people than they had expected, so after a short delay we headed out of town past the National Elk Refuge; there weren't any elk in the refuge because they only gather there for the rut and calving.

Somebody spotted a coyote and as we were heading back up the road to get a proper look we saw a group of three moose standing in a thicket. There were quite a long way away but we were able to use the spotting scopes provided to get a good view of them and in the poor light I pushed my camera as far as it would go to get a half decent photograph.

After watching the moose we drove further up the road and saw lots of pronghorn which look a lot like antelope hence the reference in Home on the Range! We also saw loads of bison, but they were so yesterday we weren't that interested although our guide was very knowledgeable and we did learn a lot about animal behaviour. En-route we stopped at an old Mormon settlement which was very picturesque in the dying light with the Grand Tetons in the background; Helen got some really good photographs.

We drove into Teton National Park to look for bears, but we only saw elk although hearing the stags bugle was very interesting. I did see something small and furry run across a gap possibly a marmot but mostly we saw elk.

Yellowstone

Beehive Geyser
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Friday saw Helen, Sylvie and myself fly from Virginia to Bozeman, Montana via a very cold and snowy Minneapolis/St Paul. Bozeman was none too balmy but was small enough for us to get in to the car and on the road very quickly. A short while later we rolled into Gardiner, past the local Elk to check into our hotel and then play hunt the restaurant. I know it was out of season, but so many places
were shut and the one place we found had very little to eat for me, even less as the ravioli was off.

We woke the next morning to a wonderful snow covered scene and gingerly headed into Yellowstone National Park where the ranger on the gate, after giving us the peak information pack, told me she didn't want me to run off the road or to hear about me over the park radio. Having European driving skills and common sense we proceeded into the park. The first feature, the cascades, was frozen despite being fed by hot springs as the water forming the steps was very shallow and with the snow still falling it was like strolling though a winter wonderland.

As we pushed on further, stopping occasionally to walk to see geysers, mud pots and sulphur pools the snow eased up and the roads and skies cleared up with only occasional snow and rain. We also saw plenty of elk and so many bison; in fact we stopped in the midst of one herd and were mere feet away from them and were concerned when they sudenly stampeded.

After a lunch stop we moved on to the Yellowstone Grand Canyon before arriving at Old Faithful. Our arrival was well timed as we only had to wait ten minutes for Old Faithful to perform and then minutes later the Beehive Geyser, which was much larger, erupted.

We managed to stop at another couple of geyser basins as the sun started dropping in the sky. Helen and I walked into the Midway Geyser Basin which was very steamy and spooky as we walked through huge clouds of vapour which left me incapacitated when my glasses fogged up.

Eventually and after chatting with a female flagman, being escorted through a very long set of roadworks and avoiding suicidal elk running across the road in the dark we made it to Jackson.

A bit more hectic

Sylvie arrived last week and Helen took some time off to do all the touristy things like going to DC, Alexandria and Shenandoah. I also took Friday off so we could travel to Salisbury in the furthest reaches of Maryland where Helen and I were going to ride in the Seagull Century. The Century is an annual 100 mile rambling ride from Salisbury university to the coast.

Because the ride started from 0700 we had to get up, get ready and check out of the hotel before dawn which was a real drag but necessary because the town was heaving with traffic. After a quick head stop we rolled our bikes onto the road and then along the road a bit to get away from the crowd; it's not just cars that cause chaos. There were bikes across the road, groups sat in the middle of the road as well as people pulling away without looking. The lack of cycling ability or road sense goes further as we saw at all the rest stops and I was almost taken out a few times; the correlation with cars also carries over into cornering ability which you would have thought is easier.

There was some serious drizzle but the weather was warm and the sun did shine through eventually even though the rain did not totally disappear. The course did not involve too many junctions and most of the roads were very quiet although there were a couple of busy ones. The rest stops were well run and there was plenty of food and drink to replenish the energy reserves and even banana bread at the seaside stop. We even had priority over the traffic at most junctions and the police were great at stopping the traffic so we could roll through. On the way back from the coast we turned onto the wind which had picked up and mad life a little harder but did not stop us from rolling back into town albeit very weary.

We had a wash up and change in the car and picked Sylvie up from the hotel where she had been stuck all day and headed off home via Denny's for something substantial for dinner. Once home we unloaded the bikes, showered and headed back out to treat Sylvie with a visit to Tiffany's for some live bluegrass. I'm not sure if it was the beer, but I certainly perked up and although we didn't last until 0100 we did make it through two sets before retiring for the night.

We're now sat in Reagan National airport waiting for our flight to Montana, delayed due to snow in Minneapolis, for our next road trip so expect some decent pictures from Yellowstone.

In the meantime, and in way of apology for the lack of pictures recently, here's a video for you - Sweet Million

All quiet on the western front

Coming to get ya!
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We enjoyed a few quiet days at home after our hectic road trip before Catherine jetted back to the UK and university life. After Kitty left the temperature plummeted causing us to switch from cooling to heating, but this soon changed on the first day of Autumn as we got hit by a rise in temperatures but now it is quite pleasant.

We've been really boring and other than an evening baby sitting for some friends it has been really quiet, although we we not at all quiet when we babysat.

We did kick things up a notch this Friday when we went to the Birchmere to see the Bacon Brothers in concert. The support act Rebecca Loebe & Raina Rose were a folk duo, had no support and played acoustic guitars as well as a washtub. Their voices were amazing and complemented each other perfectly - check out a video of them - Rebecca & Raina - Clean

Kevin Bacon was definitely the star of the show for most of the audience and he certainly seemed very at ease and had great stage presence but he whole band worked together well and certainly rocked.

The Birchmere is certainly a great venue as you get given a number when you arrive and then they call people through to the music hall where you choose a table and order and eat your dinner whilst waiting for the show to start.

We rounded things off wonderfully by going for a pootle on the fixies over to the National Harbour in the lovely weather today.

Rock and Roll

Rock flow
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Leaving New York and en-route to Pennsylvania we drove down Ringing Rocks Road and into Ringing Rocks State Park to play with some ringing rocks. The rain did ease up enough for us to get out of the car and clamber into the middle of the rock park. Some of the rocks rang like they were hollow when hit with another stone which was quite remarkable.

After our detour we continued on to a stormy Allentown to catch the Time Trial Team which was difficult to get to due to the road closures. We took refuge in a microbrewery for lunch and were able to see the teams pass by and get out in time for the last three to set off and finish. After some last minute shopping for warmer cycling kit we headed off to yet another hotel to try and get a food night sleep before our 100 kilometers ride the next day.

The next day dawned grey and wet and Helen and I left Kitty in Souderton as we pedaled around the hilly winding lanes of Pennsylvania. The rain did stop on occasions but not for long and we were thoroughly soaked and tired at the end of the 100k but we did finish. After lunch we enjoyed watching the professional riders, who had ridden the same course as us, complete eleven laps of Souderton to add another 100k just for good measures.

The next day was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the criterium at Doylestown and perfect for recovering from the day before. Kitty and Helen bought cupcakes and nibbled them whilst we watched the pros zip past. Then after lunch we pootled back home for a well deserved rest.

Windy night in New York

Windy night
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

The bad weather eventually caught up with us in New York but not after a few days sightseeing; and oh my did we pack the sightseeing in!

We went to Wall Street and saw the New York Stock Exchange and the Brass Bull; then we went to Staten Island on the Ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty. Then after lunch we went to Macy's, Grand Central Station and to see the UN.

The next day Helen did some work in the Hotel room and Kitty and I saw Kim Cattrall filming near Central Park, played on the Big Piano in FAO Schwarz, had tour of Radio City Music Hall, then we saw the Little Owl (used for the exterior shots of Central Perk in Friends) and Katz Deli (that scene from when Harry Met Sally). After lunch we went up the Empire State Building and finished of the day by going to the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio) which was not at all what we expected but we did get to see some good programmes there before heading back to Helen and dinner.

On our last day we spent a huge amount of time at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art ) which was well worth the visit and the lunch there, although pricey, was very good. Later that afternoon we walked up to and through Central Park, where we bumped into Shia LaBeouf filming Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, to the Guggenheim. Unfortunately we didn't have the time or the energy to go around the Guggenheim but we caught a cab back downtown to have a light dinner and watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Then we summoned the energy to drag ourselves up to the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck for a wet and windy view of the New York nighttime skyline and then back to the hotel.

Flying the Flag

Flying the Flag
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

We just finished our East coast odyssey and it's good to be home to recharge our batteries. Helen should be more tired than Kitty or I as she ran the Virginia Beach half marathon which started at 0700 and the 0 stands for "Oh my god it's early!".

The day before we went to the Virginia Living Museum where we saw native Virginian animals and we got to play with a rat snake and then relaxed in the hotel after trolling round the area to find a decent restaurant that was actually open.

After the run, and after she had finished her beer, Kitty and I drove Helen back to the hotel in a surrey (a our wheeler bike) that didn't have a fringe in top ... and we even took the brake off.
For once the wind was right and we flew our stunt kite which we got pretty good at and ended up taking out another kite and an inattentive seagull.

On the Monday we decamped to New York City in the remains of a tropical storm and decided to avoid the holiday traffic and take the path less travelled via the Cape May Lewes Ferry taking in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey in the process. Incidentally New Jersey was so named because Sir John Berkley and Sir George Carteret received a royal charter for a colony in the new land and named this colony for the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Carteret had been born on Jersey and had spent several years as Lieutenant Governor of the island.

On the Road Again

Nom nom nom
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

On the road again

Helen came back from her trip to the UK bearing chocolate and was relieved to see that Kitty and I had managed to survive without regressing to a primitive state or being overrun by wildlife; we even managed to eat healthily and only had pizza twice. Helen did a lot of travelling and visiting in the UK as well as working and attending her school reunion.

One result of the a/c failure is that we found out the real culprit responsible for the theft of the bird seed from the feeder and knocking the feeder down; I have formally apologized to and made reparation to the squirrels. With the windows open at night in an attempt to keep the temperature down I heard the bird feeder rattling so I popped downstairs with a torch (not the flaming variety)
and saw a raccoon loitering with intent. Apparently the raccoon had been climbing up the pole past the squirrel baffle, which explains why I found the pole on the ground a few times as well as the baffle disassembled. We started bringing the bird feeder in at night and leaving marshmallows out for the raccoon until one night when Kitty and I were sat on the sofa watching a film we heard a chomping and smacking of lips behind us and saw a young raccoon gobbling up it's supper. The raccoon is still a bit nervous of us but has been venturing almost within arms reach when we have seen it.

Setanta for one reason or another have decided not to show the Lions rugby tour to South Africa online and as we went for an online subscription and dumped the TV package I had to resort to a devious way of watching the matches. For the test matches I found a few sites that were providing live streams, which were not the best quality but good enough to see what was going on and probably not entirely legal but very interesting listening to the Afrikaans commentary. I also found a UK TV file sharing site from which I was able to download better quality footage as well as the midweek matches.

Whilst we're on the subject of legally dubious viewing over the internet, we've also found a way of viewing UK programmes available via the BBC iPlayer even if it can be a bit slow on occasions.

To celebrate US Independence day on 4th of July we watched the final Lions test match and I did my manly duty by having a barbecue in the back yard. We did rebel by grilling vegetables and veggie burgers as well as having a jug or two of Pimms; take that America! In the evening we watched the first day of the Tour de France (TDF); oh yes, three weeks of cycling coverage! I do feel a bit for Kitty as she's been forced to watch the rugby, been forced to learn about professional cycling and watch the Giro as well as three live bike races; we've even made her compete in the TDF fantasy cycling competition.

After a few days back together it is my turn to go on the road again. It's only to Massachusetts and for four days though.

Finally a great piece of news; we have a new niece! Well, she's not exactly brand new out of the box as it were, but she is new to us. Her name is Rhiannon she is seventeen and is Rob's daughter. Sadly we've only recently had contact with her and she did not get to meet Rob but we're looking forward to meeting her.

Livin' on the Edge

Home Brew
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

Livin' on the edge - video

On Thursday, Helen left to visit friends and family in the UK and Guernsey leaving Dad & I finding ways to occupy ourselves this weekend. At the top of our list was the production of our first home brew. Root beer home brew, that is! So, on Saturday, thanks to a Make Your Own Root Beer kit that Dad got for Christmas, our first batch of Root Beer (aka "Strange Brew" and "Squirrel's Brew") has been made and is currently fermenting its way to glory. We'll be sure to update the blog with the taste test results when the time comes.

We decided that we'd start off Sunday slowly to save our energy for the evening's events and so after a chilled morning, we ventured to a nearby spot where we'd seen groundhogs a couple of weeks before. We set up camp and did manage to get a few photos but the groundhogs weren't really up for putting on a show and kept diving back into the undergrowth so we soon moved on to the park. There, we went kite-flying for the first time this summer and even though the wind wasn't very consistent, we soon got the hang of it (even if I did manage to get the kite stuck in a tree at one point) and managed to impress some of the local children.

That evening, we set off to the Nissan Pavilion to go and see ZZ Top and Aerosmith in concert. We arrived a few minutes into ZZ Top's set but still managed to catch some songs that we recognised and were impressed by their performance (and their beards!). However, it must be said that the highlight of the evening was most definitely the headliner. Aerosmith were awesome and full of energy from beginning to end. How the people in front of us managed to stay seated for the majority of the set we will never know. I still can't believe I've seen Aerosmith live - I think I may be in shock.

Who'll stop the rain

Back Yard
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPan-rEQJA

As you can see we've had a drop or two of rain. Unfortunately whilst I was away in Long Island there was a huge storm leaving Helen & Kitty to deal with an inundation of the basement which tripped out half the electrics and put the air conditioning a/c and hot water out of action. It took a week to get an engineer in to fix the a/c, but as he didn't bother to sort out the hot water I had to do it or face more time with cold showers, brrrrr. Helen was lucky to be away at a conference so she had the power of hot water and cool air after suffering with us for a couple of days, I also had some respite at work but poor Kitty suffered all week.

Then, a week after the last inundation and a day after restoring the home comforts we had a ten minute downpour which went straight through the saturated soil, taking enough soil to help block the drain, built up a three foot reservoir behind the basement door and started pouring around the door jamb. Luckily we heard the water pouring through and Helen womanned the brush in the basement sweeping water into the sumps and I unblocked the drain standing thigh deep in murky water. The fuze box shorted again but the water didn't get to the a/c or boiler this time.

You can see the waterlogged back yard but what you can't see is the six foot hole made by the streaming water washing soil through the stairwell wall into the drain. I filled the hole with rocks topped of with soil and under instruction from the landlord blocked the drains into the stairwell with test plugs. So far so well ...

Kitty and I have spent most of our time hunting for hidden biscuits, watching wildlife and viewing classic films. This weekend we're hoping to go to Alexandria, mountain biking and off to a concert.

Music to watch girls go by

Women's start
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

For the past three weekends we've been going to watch bike races, first in Baltimore and then nearer home in Arlington and also watching the Giro d'Italia on the TV; quite an introduction to the sport for Kitty.

In fact this Sunday Helen and I rode in a public event ably supported by Kitty's cheering and photography. The day started cool and damp but soon warmed up and the crews cleared the standing water off the closed course. It was great not only riding without having to stop but riding with people who, mainly, could comport themselves on a bike. I managed to complete eight laps for 62 miles with cramping muscles at the end and Helen, who was stopped from doing her last lap, did 55 miles.

Afterwards we watched the real riders toil in the hot sun whilst we enjoyed all manner of delicious food and then wearily wended our way home to feast upon a Chinese meal with lashings of beer and wine.

Normal service ...

will be resumed shortly.






















It's hard to believe that the last post we made was in mid February. Our snowboarding holiday was very cold, very tiring and loads of fun and we've got plenty of pictures from all the resorts that our flexible pass allowed us to visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/11463478@N00/collections/72157614033013110/.
The weather has been all over the place and although the cold weather looks to be behind us the rain does not and although the basement has only flooded once the swamp and the squirrels are still very soggy.

Kitty is now in country and after much chasing has got some voluntary work sorted out; Helen has had an interview for a job back in the UK and I am just plodding along.Back soon with an update and hopefully something from the other contributors ...

This is how I feel

How much is that doggy in the window?
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d33b1vE2MYY

After a day at home I caught a plane to cold and wet Florida; admittedly it was warmer than Alexandria, but definitely not the weather I associate with that part of the USA.

Then after flying back and spending another day at hime we flew to Colorado and drove to Boulder for a couple of days while Helen did some work at the university. I did some walking and had my first go on a velodrome which was scary.

We then drove on to Breckenridge for some snowboarding and have had a day of snow and a couple of days of sun. We're getting a bit bored of this mountain now and will probably head somewhere else tomorrow.

I really could do with a good night's sleep and good slope conditions to help me feel better.

Crossroads

The Crossroads
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

We've just recovered from our 200 mile Elvis pilgrimage , did I say recovered, possibly in a week or so.

On Saturday we drove down to Memphis after experiencing the joy of Cracker Barrel restaurant en-route! The next day we rolled out of bed and walked down through a deserted Memphis to a deserted Beale Street for breakfast and then visited Sun records and the Museum of Rock and Soul and then a great evening in Rum Boogie listening to The Plantation Allstars.

Monday was a big day for us; all we did was visit Graceland. We got VIP passes and because it wasn't very busy we had the place pretty much to ourselves/ It would take too long for me to write about all the jumpsuits, gold records, planes, rooms and cheeseburgers but I will say I was very impressed.

On Tuesday we popped across the Misssississississsississpi to Arkansas for breakfast (at Waffle House) and then went to the Stax museum. Afterwards some locals drove into the back of our car and we drove into the 'hood before calling the police. We recovered from our ordeal by going to a Soul Food restaurant. In the evening we went to BB Kings Blues Club and saw a pop band ...

On Wednesday we went to the Civil Rights Museum and I hung out and took some pictures. We then drove down to the crossroads and then to Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. We eventually arrived in Nashville and I went to bed while Jo and Helen went to the bar!

On Thursday we went round the Country and Western Hall of fame and then a tour of RCA studio B (where Elvis recorded half of his records). In the evening we hit some bars and saw two and a bit bands.

After a bit of a lie in on Friday we took on the task of driving home and got back to a snowy/icy Stratford Landing about 2130!

Ice Ice Baby

Along the road
Originally uploaded by d_j_critchley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxN_pbMOFk0

Well. it's back to work for us both now, my first job was to book travel for my meeting in Florida; oh warmer weather!

We headed up to Wisp for some snowboarding, it was a long journey but it was cold and we were expecting precipitation. The conditions were great and we got a few runs in even if it was very cold and then the freezing rain arived. Not quite the precipitation we were after and certainly didn't enjoy the icy lift seats or extremely slick conditions at the top of the mountain. Luckily the slopes were OK and it was fun getting coated in ice. The journey home was fun as the ice kept accumulating on the car and when we stopped for petrol there was over a centimetre of ice we had to get rid of; fortunately the ice melted of the car by the time we got home.

The temperatures stayed low for the rest of the week; very low, so much so my sweat froze on my glasses to and from work which was tough.

Joey arrived in time for Helen's birthday and we had a lovely evening eating cake and drinking and chatting. On Sunday we went to the Inauguration "We Are One" concert and "saw" Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. As well as Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington reading historical passages!

Then on Monday we took Joey to Whitetail for some snowboarding in lovely snow showers; it was hard going for Joey but she did well for her first effort. We had some good runs down the mountain and then had a very relaxed evening. Then on Tuesday we caught the Metro into town for a little thing called the Presidential Inauguration, it was damn cold, but I'm glad we made the effort. Helen and Joey ventured into the crowd while I chilled, and I mean chilled, by the Lincoln Memorial. Listening to the speeches I thought it was apt I should be standing by the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

After all the speeches were over we walked up to the Zoo to see all the animals that weren't there because they were in bed because it was so cold and they we joined lots of people on the Metro for the ride home.

Peace!