Seaman’s Log

This is our account of our sailing trip to The British Virgin Islands. My friends, Dick and Craig were on a four month trip and we would join them for 8 days.  

Diane and I took a flight from Salt Lake City that left at 11:55 PM to New York, JFK. Despite Diane’s worry about an overnight flight, we had a smooth and restful flight. It was aided by just the right amounts of meclizine and ambien. Better living through chemistry, you might say. We had some breakfast and some really fantastic coffee at JFK. Our second leg would be a long flight to St. Thomas. Although we were on the standby list for an upgrade, we found ourselves back in the economy cabin. However, on this 757, we were on row 19 which happened to be a bulkhead row and gave us leg room as if we were members of the one per cent. Without the other amenities, I might add.

We arrived in St. Thomas about 1:30 PM(Atlantic Time which is one zone east of the Eastern Time zone). The airport was crowded with mostly sun burned tourists who were trying to get a few last drinks in before they headed home. We took a taxi to the Ferry Building and went to the  Petite Pump Room restaurant located above the  ferry. As we sat overlooking the water, Diane could not believe how blue the water was. The ferry ride took us about an hour to get to Road Town, Tortola, BVI. It took us about an hour to clear customs. I wasn’t sure they were even going to let us in. I had lost one the forms we had to fill out. The not so sweet old lady decided that we were the ones she was going to hassle that day. Diane finally asked if we could get another form. Welcome to Tortola, have a nice day, mon.

We took a taxi to our hotel, Maria’s By the Sea. We could have walked, it was so close. We checked in and found that Dick had left a phone number for us. I tried calling it but could never reach him. We got settled and I decided to do a walk-a-bout. This worried Diane because it was dark and I tend to get lost a lot. I explored Road Town and was looking for a place to buy some food to take back to the hotel. I saw this food truck with some people milling about and noticed two older men with white hair. Everyone else I had seen was black. I can’t believe that I just happened to run into Dick and Craig. They were ordering from the food truck, called It Bang Good. Well, it was. We ordered up some ribs and barbeque chicken and headed back to the hotel. Diane was on lookout duty from the balcony and spotted us a block away. Our first dinner on the island was outstanding, or “It Bang Good”.

The next morning, Sunday, we ate breakfast at the hotel with a view of the sea. Dick and Craig came by and borrowed the shower(thank goodness). We set out to get provisioned from the grocery store and then loaded up the dinghy and went out to the Panacea, our home for the next 8 days. The Panacea is a 37 foot monohull boat made by Beteneau. It has two cabins and a nice salon and a head with a shower. There is also a shower off the back of the boat. The galley is roomy enough with a double sink, two burners, a refrigerator and a freezer. All the comforts of home, almost. Dick gave up his cabin for us and would sleep in the salon. The cabin was wide enough but for head room, it was like being in a cave or MRI scanner. You did not want to sit up suddenly. After getting settled, we got underway. We did a combination of sailing and motoring depending on the wind conditions and the seas. We headed towards Jost van Dyke to look for a mooring spot on Diamond Cay. There were none so we sailed back to Cane Garden Bay where we picked up a ball. We took the dinghy to shore for a walk on the beach and some refreshments. We had dinner on the boat that night. We had hot dogs, chili, salad and Doritos. Why does food taste better when you are on the ocean? Soon, it was bedtime.

We awoke on Monday feeling refreshed. We went to shore for more provisions and took a walk to the Caldwood Rum Distillery. It was closed so we could not take a tour. We set sail again for Diamond Cay but the seas were too rough to take an anchorage there so we went to White Bay. This was on Jost van Dyke. We found a mooring ball there and I took a snorkel swim over to the reef to see the fish. I spotted a barracuda and a tarpon as well as hundreds of brightly colored fish. We took the dinghy into the white sandy beach and hung out there for awhile. When we got back on the boat we tried out the grill and had some nice steaks along with a salad.

Tuesday morning, the galley slave, Diane made an egg scramble for breakfast and then we sailed to Marina Cay. We grabbed a ball and went to shore to use the internet and browsed around Pusser’s Store. That night we were entertained by Eric Stone, a singer of pirate songs and ballads. Diane took a chance and ordered a Painkiller, virgin of course. It was then onto the restaurant for a real meal. I had the coconut encrusted mahi mahi and Diane had Caribbean Curry. We were really roughing it now. That night it was windy and the boat was rolling a lot.

On Wednesday the seas were still rough and the wind was howling. We cancelled our plans to sail to Monkey Point for snorkeling and did a layover day at Marina. Later in the morning we took the ferry over to Trellis Bay and stopped for coffee at “D” Best Coffee. We went into the shops and watched as people set up for the Full Moon Party which is supposed to be a drunken orgy but we would be gone before that. We found a restaurant called the Mongoose for lunch. Diane had this dish called a Roti which is like a burrito with curry and spiced  chicken and vegetables inside. Quite good. We ferried back to Marina and then onto the Panacea. Tacos for dinner that night.

On Thursday, the winds were still a bit high so we motored over to Great Dog Island for some snorkeling. Diane and I got out and had a good outing but some one came and said we could not hook up to the mooring balls there. We headed out to Virgin Gorda. Columbus saw the island first and named it because it looked like a fat woman. We motored over to Leverick Bay and got on a ball. We went in for the Michael Bean Show that coincided with Happy Arrrrr. This was a one man pirate band. He was dressed up as a pirate, told pirate jokes and riddles, and had a lot of audience participation. He played a guitar, a harmonica, and he stomped his feet on plastic beer cartons for the drums. I guess he is pretty famous around these parts. Back on the boat that night Diane whipped up some roasted garlic fettuccini with marinara meat sauce and a salad. Still roughing it.

We left Leverick Bay on Friday and had good winds for putting the sails up. We went to the Baths and went to shore and left the dinghy at the dinghy dock  which is just a rope with buoys on it 75 feet from the shore. From there we swam to shore and took a hike on Devils Bay hiking trail. It reminded me somewhat of the Subway as we were in and out of the water and up  and down over boulders and it was cave like. When we came out of the caves, we found ourselves at another beautiful, white, sandy beach.. We reversed that route to get back to our starting point. Getting back into the dinghy was a bit of a challenge but we all accomplished it. We left no sailors behind, sir! We sailed over to Cooper Island and moored at Manchioneel Bay. Saturday, we set out to find the wreck of The Rhone. Diane and I went into the water looking for it and then Dick started waving to us. We  found  this sunken ship and marveled  at it. It was a British ship that sunk in a hurricane in 1867. It is very popular with scuba divers although we got a very good look at it. Dick even found some booty. He found an underwater flashlight near it. From there, we sailed to Norman Island where we parked the boat at The Bight and took the dinghy over to snorkel The Caves. This was a neat area where underwater caves had formed and you could go in as deeply as you dared. That night we had dinner at The Pirates Bight Restaurant on shore.

Sunday would be our last day on the Panacea. We sailed a short distance to The Indians, another snorkel site where I got to see a turtle and hang around with him for awhile. He was funny looking but I guess he thought the same of me. We  sailed on to Soper’s Hole, a marina about which there are many sailing songs. We had lunch there and then sailed to Road Town. It  was a long sail with rough seas and many tacks. We moored the Panacea in the bay in front of Maria’s by the Sea and took the dinghy in with all our gear and walked to the hotel. We said goodbye to Dick and Craig and took a real shower. The adventure was over but the memories will remain. The pictures, too!

Tom Mackin

                                                Tom Mackin

Hi, I am Tom’s brother, Jim. This past fall, Tom asked me if I would speak at his Memorial. More frightening to me than actually having to do it was the realization that Tom’s time here was becoming short. It did not mean that Tom was ready to give up the courageous fight he had waged for over six years. Tom never gave up at anything. In fact, he was even more determined to soldier on.  He said,

            “Now that I have crossed 59 years of age, I am determined to stretch it out and reach the big 6-0.  After that, all bets will be off. Maybe they are now and I don’t know it. OK by me as I still live one breath, one moment and one day at a time.”

My purpose today is to honor Tom’s wishes and beautify the connection that each of you had with Tom.

After I accepted Tom’s request to talk today, he had two things to say to me about it.  Well, he actually had more than two things but just two things at this time. First, he wanted me to wear the Sport Coat he saw me wear when I had a meeting in downtown Seattle last summer. He thought ya’ll(that’s the way Tom and I used to talk in Texas) would be impressed.  Number one is done!  Secondly, he asked me to try and remember his favorite motto, which is: “I am perfectly happy to be imperfect. I choose humanness and heart centeredness. “  Now, if you believed that Tom had only one favorite motto, then you didn’t know Tom Mackin. More will come up later.

I am five years older than Tom. We grew up in Beaumont, Texas with our two other brothers and three sisters. Tom excelled in all sports in high school and in our backyard where he learned to be fiercely competitive even against bigger and stronger kids. After high school, Tom attended college at the University of Houston. While Tom was still in college he drove to Corpus Christi to help Diane and me pack up and move back to Utah. Tom had put on a few pounds after his athletic high school days. In short, he was kind of fat. I had joined the running craze and I suggested to Tom that we do an out and back run. As we neared the turn around point, I told Tom to turn around and head back and that I would catch up with him. Now, what do you think Tom did with that? When I turned around, Tom was nearly out of sight. He was determined that I would not catch up to him. Being a Mackin, I was determined that I would. I ran as fast as I could, closing ground on him. I knew my only chance was to get close and then sprint at the end. It worked.  I blew by him and nipped him at the finish. What a puzzled look he had on his face. That would be the last time I ever beat Tom Mackin in a footrace. From there he took up running and became an elite marathoner.

Tom finished his education at The University of Houston and moved to Seattle where he began his career as a psychotherapist, married Ruth and started a family. Tom and Ruth welcomed two daughters into their family—Julie and Laura.  Now Tom found himself living with three females where he was often outvoted but never outmaneuvered.

My daughter, Jamie shared a special connection with Tom as they happily shared the same birthday and unhappily shared the same affliction of kidney stones. They would celebrate or commiserate, depending on which event was going on.

After Tom was diagnosed, he never slowed down. His disease really didn’t know what it was up against.  On a visit last summer, I had just barely arrived and we headed out the door with the golf clubs. I was going to caddy for him at the Par 3 course. I had my video camera with me and got a chance to capture that perfect golf swing that never abandoned him. After golf, we went to the soccer field, the one with the artificial turf. We played a few games of Bocce Ball. After that, we were walking to the car and he asked what I wanted to do next. I was worried that he had a one on one game of hoops in mind.  How about we rest a bit? I was tired.  

Tom accepted several mentors into his life starting with Dan Millman and his Way of the Peaceful Warrior. It was then on to Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle and others. They all presented the same theme—The Present Moment—The Now. I found a picture of a clock with all the numbers replaced by the word, “Now”.  I sent it to Tom and he was delighted. His fascination with “The Now” was manifested by what Tom’s answer would be if you asked him about a current book he was reading, movie he had just seen, or even a round of golf. It was always the best, the greatest. I always wondered how that could be until I realized that he was in the Now, the Present Moment.

A book I read last year and then mailed to Tom was Unbroken. For the last six years that word epitomizes what was going on in the Mackin House. It was not only Tom’s spirit to fight on but also the devotion of Ruth, Julie and Laura that showed that they too had unbroken spirits. They may have bent, but they did not break. For this, they all, Tom, Ruth, Julie, and Laura have my utmost admiration and love.

For Tom, gratitude was an important part of his life. He considered himself a lucky man. Here is something he wrote to me:

“Staying in the game this long has allowed me to have many deep and meaningful talks with all three girls. None of us should have any regret there.”

He goes on to say: “The most essential of the essentials of my life has been my family and my deep devotion to Ruth, Julie and Laura. You know that.”

Finally, I would like to mention meditation. For Tom, meditation was his sword; the source of his courage and strength. At one point Tom told me that he wanted the Memorial to be like a meditation. I have been wondering what Tom would say to me right now if he could. I think he would say, “Right now you are feeling the sorrow of me leaving. Underneath that sorrow is the joy of our memories together. As the sorrow slowly slips away, the joy will emerge. Live simply and joyfully”

What I have learned most from Tom was how to view the world. He taught me to view it with joy, gratitude, compassion, and loving kindness. It is the best lesson I have ever received.

I am going to tell you two ways to continue to connect with Tom.  First, hold on to the memories. Don’t let them fade. Tell people about Tom. Talk about Tom. This will bring you joy. Remember him. I will always remember his facial expression when you tell him a joke he likes. He rolls his head and says, “That’s Funny”.  Secondly, Visit Tom. I know where he is. He is in that space between thoughts. He has always been there and he still is. Go see him. I know I will.

Fall Fishing in Yellowstone National Park

Thank you, Teddy Roosevelt. You knew the value of a national park system and without your endeavors we could not have fished this Fall in Yellowstone National Park. Dick Weber and I left Salt Lake City on Tuesday October 4, 2011. We stayed in West Yellowstone, MT at the Dude Motel. Best price in town. There is a reason for that. We checked in and walked to Bullwinkle's Restaurant. The weather the previous week had been perfect. We had hoped for a repeat. That did not happen. It was cold, cloudy and rain was on the way. The next morning we ate breakfast at Ernie's and went by Blue Ribbon Flies and picked up our Park Licenses and a few flies. I got some Lime Trudes that were recommended by my friend, Dick Hauch. We were set. We drove into the Park. Dick and I argued over who would get to show their lifetime Golden Eagle National Park Pass. Dick won this time. A friendly rangerette greeted us and wished us luck in our fishing. We drove to Tower where there is a waterfall and a trail down to the Yellowstone River. We geared up, fishing gear, water, rain gear and bear spray. Yes, we were in bear country! We made our way down the trail and I walked over to the river I could see a few beautiful back eddies that looked like great holding water. I had already tied on my lime trude with a midge emerger dropper. I looked at the seam of the eddy and casted right along it. Bam, a Cut rose and took the trude. I could not believe it. First cast. I netted him, released him and casted again. Another! Cast again, this time the emerger enticed the take. I was in fishing heaven. Then, as quickly as it turned on, it turned off. Cast after cast produced nothing. It was time to move up stream. We hiked over a bluff and down to the river where a cove had formed and tried that for awhile. No luck there so we moved on. We found a beautiful stretch of river and went to work. Work it was. We could not tempt the fish. We knew they had to be there so we kept changing flies. We tried hoppers, foam stone flies, attractors, my lime trude, blue wing olives. We put nymphs on as droppers. There were not many bugs on the water, just a few blue wings and some midges. We tried zebras, pheasant tails, midge emergers, and my rainbow warrior. We started picking up occasional fish. We walked further upstream and found a place where where several back eddies formed a confluence of currents. I seemed to think that the fish were holding there. I caught one on a parachute adams and then I tied on a nymph that I wasn't sure what it was. It was next to my sow bugs so I thought it might be a type of sow bug. It was about a 20 and was flat with a shiny back. It kind of looked like a Ray Charles but had that green shiny back. Well, what ever it was, the Cuts really liked it. I started pulling in fish after fish. I was back in fish heaven. Dick started picking up fish as well.  It was starting to get late so we headed back. Dick wanted to stop where we had lunch to try his luck with a blue wing. It worked. I wanted to try my first spot and when I got there I found the eddies and caught three fish. One was actually a rainbow. Now we had the  half mile, uphill hike back to the car. It was cold and raining but it did not matter. We had a great day on the Yellowstone. We took off our boots and peeled off our waders and headed for Cooke City where we had reservations at the Super 8. We checked in and chatted with Danny, the clerk who was a fountain of misinformation. We ignored his advice and decided to eat at the Soda Butte Saloon. After an Elk Burger for me and a Buffalo Burger for Dick we head went back to the motel for a complementary chocolate chip cookie and then to bed.

We awoke the next morning anticipating another great day of fishing; not getting skunked and me being plagued by a toothache. That pretty much sums up the day but I will provide details. Our plan was to fish the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek. We drove past the Slough Creek turnoff and found a place to walk to the river. We found a section with a lot of riffles and started fishing. I went upriver and Dick went downriver. I found a section with some fast water that took a long cast to reach. I had a hopper on and a very large cutthroat went for my fly but I did not hook him. I was encouraged, however and fished that spot hard for the next 30 minutes to no avail. Without any further action there we left for another location. This was a spot with a lot of boulders and runs. We got shutout there. It was time to try Soda Butte. Long story, short--no fish. We decided to drive up the gravel road to the Slough Creek Campground and fish there. At this point my tooth was really starting to hurt so I called Painless Pete, my dentist. He did not have good news when I told him about my tooth. I needed antibiotics. Well, first I needed a pharmacy. It turns out that Cooke City did not have one. The closest one was in the opposite direction, Gardner, MT. Pete called it in and we drove to Gardner to try and get there before they closed. We had to go past Mammoth, out of the Park and about five more miles. I picked up the Keflex and took some. Why didn't my tooth feel better?  Actually, the ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and aspirin did take the edge off. We had dinner in Gardner and then drove back to our motel in Cooke City.

The next day, Friday was our day to fish Slough Creek. We had hoped it would be our best day fishing. It would be our most strenuous day, for sure. We got up, had breakfast and got "most" of our stuff together. It was a 50 minute drive to the Slough Creek campground. It was cold, snowing and overcast. We had hoped for an early start. It would have been ideal to start on the trail between 8-9 AM.  We almost made it, arriving about 9:30 AM. I got my winter clothes on with my waders and boots and looked at Dick who was frantically going through stuff in the car. A few choice words were coming out of his mouth. "What's up, Dick?", I asked. "I think I left my %@$#ing boots at the motel." Well, I assumed that would be a deal breaker. So much for an early start. I suggested that we fish the upper part of Soda Butte that we had yet to be humiliated on. At any rate, we had to go back to the motel because all he had were his loafers. We headed back and he started making a case for still doing the hike into Slough Creek. He said if we could get back to the trailhead by 11, we could still get some fishing in. Well, we made it back by 11:30 and he still wanted to go. It was a 6 mile hike in. We would be backing in our fishing gear and we would be walking in our waders and wading boots and parkas. Yes, it was snowing. I kept picturing something not being optimal about this. Then I pictured something unwanted happening. It could be anything, bear encounter, wolf problem, injury, weather turning bad, being stranded, etc. To cut the suspense, none of that happened. What happened may have been worse. We left the trailhead and immediately the trail starts to climb, and climb, and climb. This was the worst part, said Dick. I believed him. I got pretty short of breath but kept on. Thankfully, it did flatten out for awhile before we climbed some more. When we hit the two mile mark, I could hardly believe that we still had four more to go. The scenery got beautiful. The first meadow was gorgeous. I asked why we don't fish there. Dick said we would do better at the second meadow. When we came down the ridge to the second meadow, my spirits were lifted. We still had a half a mile to go to get to the creek but there was liveliness in my step now. We got to the creek and saw that one of the campsites was occupied, by a buffalo. We were pretty hungry  so we had lunch before we started to fish. It had taken us 1 hour and 52 minutes to go the 6 miles. We examined the water and we each took off for a spot that looked promising. OK, another long story sort of short. No fish. Here''s my story. The water was very low and the riffles we expected to be holding fish we clogged with algae. There were no bugs hatching but we tried some dry flies anyway. Then we tried dry-dropper combinations. I even set up a nymphing rig with two flies. That was my algae collector. We fished until the drop dead time that would get us back before dark. We trudged on back. Now our boots were collecting mud and had doubled in weight. We saw some bear footprints on the trail on the way back. We made it back in one hour and 57 minutes. We were tired, blistered, hungry, and skunked. It was back to Cooke City and the Ore House Saloon for some dinner.

On Saturday, we would be heading home. The weather was better than on the day before so we were hopeful that we could go through the Park to get to West Yellowstone. We stopped an "Stop the Car" store and I picked up some cute mittens for Diane. When we got to the Park Entrance, I asked the rangerette if we could get to West. She said, "Sure, you just go up to Mammoth...". That was the long way we were hoping to avoid. That was would give us a 10-11 hour drive. We made good time through the Park and went past Mammoth, Gardner and into Livingston, MT. From there we went past Bozeman and then to West Yellowstone. We had lunch at Ernie's and then Dick took over the driving for awhile. We pulled into my house about 6 PM. The trips had it's ups and downs but it will occupy a prominent place in the good memory bank of my brain. Except for the toothache.

PS: Root canal scheduled for Monday October 17. That is if I survive the pain this week while working in Wyoming.

Little Cottonwood Creek

I have found a wonderful spot to fish on Little Cottonwood Creek. It takes 8 minutes to drive to and 5 minutes to walk to after that and I am fishing. So far I have caught Brookies and Rainbows. Yesterday I picked up four Rainbows. The fish are crafty. It took me an hour and a half to bring these guys in. I was surprised that a couple of them went 10 and 11 inches. Nice size for a small creek like this. The fish don't hold in the fast water but prefer pools and back eddies. I had to wade in the water to prevent my backcast from landing in a tree. When I catch a fish, I always move on. It is one hole, one fish territory. I had success with attractors; stimulators, royal wulff and trude, and parachute adams. I know there must be some bigger fish lurking in the fast water but so far have not been able to bring one up out of there. Here is a shot of one of the Brookies.

Where did Summer Go?

Wow! Where did the summer go? I had so many things I was going to do this summer and now it looks like Autumn is beginning. Did I go to Zion? No. Did I go fish Slough Creek in Yellowstone? No. Did I fish the Owyhee River in Idaho? Not Yet! So, there are still some excursions that I may get in before the snow flies.

Two weeks ago, Dick Hauch and I went to Idaho to fish the Salt and South Fork of the Snake Rivers. We stayed with Hasty and Grace Arnold in Irwin, Idaho in their beautiful home on the banks of the Snake River below Palisades. Dick and I were interns together at L.A. County-USC Medical Center in 1973. We try and get together to fly fish at least once a year. This time we fished our first day on the Salt River above Palisades with our guide, Travis Taylor. His father, Bart has been a fishing guide in the area for over 30 years. We had a great day fishing on the Salt and the next day we fished the South Fork from Conant to Byington, 9 am to 9 pm on the river. It had rained the night before which put a damper on the really hot fishing, but we caught fish nonetheless. We just had to work harder. The two main flies we used were a Chubby Chernobyl that imitated a large stone fly or grass hopper. Behind this we trailed a Hemingway, a size 16 caddis imitation that we fished wet or dry. We tried other flies but we always seemed to come back to this combination. On our last day, we bid goodbye to our wonderful hosts and stopped at the Grey's River to fish in the morning before we drove back to Salt Lake. I put Dick on a plane and that marked the time to officially start planning our next year's trip.

Riley in coming for a visit this week and after that Diane and I are headed to Mesa Verde and Hoovenweep for a few days. I will report on that after that. Or, I could just make up some shit now. Nah, I'll wait.

New York City

My First Trip to NYC

Yes! I was excited. Diane and I were headed to NYC for a week to celebrate Diane’s 60^th birthday. Diane’s sister, Julie would meet us there and we planned to share a suite at the Hotel Giraffe.

We left on Saturday, July 2, 2011. Diane and I had a layover in Memphis where we lunched at the International Bar-B-Q. I had the pulled pork, beans, and cold slaw. I had truly started my vacation. In part, it would be a culinary adventure. Food would be one of the many highlights of our trip.

After arriving at LaGuardia airport, we hailed a cab and headed for the hotel. Julie had already checked in(non-stop, first class from LA). After getting settled, we embarked on a short walk that took us to Mario Batali’s place called Eataly (Yes, a play on words). What a place! It is an emporium of several restaurants and shops selling cheeses, meats, wines, beer, chocolates, gelatos, etc. We settled on a restaurant called Verdure. I had the eggplant caponata. It may have been the most delicious dish I ever had. It was a Saturday night and it was quite crowded, which added to the “New York” experience. With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel and turned in.

Sunday July 3, 2011.

The next day, Sunday, we awoke to a steady rain. We had raingear and umbrellas so that was no problema. We went to the Subway and got our 7 day Metro cards and boarded the subway for Greenwich Village. Diane had booked us on a food tasting and cultural walking tour.

We met our guide, Marie, in front of the Murray Cheese Store. Even though it was raining, our spirits were not dampened. We began our tour by crossing Bleeker Street and entering an olive oil store called O and Co. The owner told us about various olive oils and how they are produced and rated. He warned us that there is no regulation that provided for the listing of possible other oils in olive oil. We tasted a basil olive oil that was delicious. Then we had a chocolate spread that was magnificent. We would come back later and purchase both of these. We then went outside, turned the corner and entered Joe’s Pizza. It was one of the very first pizza shops in Greenwich Village. They import a tomato from Italy that they use for their sauce because it has few seeds. The crust is very thin. We all were treated to a slice from a pizza that was just out of the oven.

Our next stop was Palmas, a rustic Italian-French restaurant on Cornelia Street. We went through the restaurant and through a garden to a private room where we were served a dish of cauliflower, pine nuts, and currants cooked in olive oil. Back out on the street, Marie gave us the history of Cornelia Street; its restaurants and its people. She pointed out Po’s Restaurant, which was Mario Batali’s first restaurant.

From Cornelia Street it was a brisk walk over to Centro Vinoteca where we actually got to sit down. We were served deviled eggs and dates wrapped in bacon (Riley would have loved that). We continued our walk to a section of the village where Washington Irving and Aaron Burr had owned homes. We stopped at the Milk and Cookies for a tasty cookie. This place is a favorite of David Schwimmer’s. We stopped in front of the Cherry Street Theater, an off, off Broadway theater. It was right next to a home owned by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Marie kept the historical tidbits oozing out of the buildings we walked by. We passed by a restaurant called the Little Owl, famous for being pictured as the Central Perk coffee shop from Friends.

Our last stops were Murray’s Cheese Shop, Faicco’s Pork Shop and Rocco’s Pastry. From Faicco’s we sampled home made rice balls during the start of the tour and now at the end, we had Wisconsin Reggiano, hand picked olives and a cheese that had been soaked in red wine. Our very last stop took us to Rocco’s for an intensely rich canolli. We headed back to the hotel so stuffed that we thought we would never eat again. That would not be the case.

Oddly enough, a few hours later we began to get hungry again. Later that evening we decided to go to the Blue Smoke Bar-B-Q. It had been recommended by Julie’s cab driver. Since there was a 45-minute wait for a table, we walked around the neighborhood before being seated. I was unable to decided on a dish so I had the combo of pork ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, and smoked sausage. It was all good including the calamari, the creamed spinach, and collard greens. Having no room for dessert, we ordered one anway—chocolate mousse silk pie. We stumbled back to the Hotel Giraffe and called it a night.

Monday July 4, 2011.

A new day would bring new adventures. We fortified ourselves with the Continental Breakfast provided by the hotel. The faire was quite good and was the same everyday. Along with their delicious coffee they provided juices, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and assorted bagels, pastries, muffins, and croissants.

We left the hotel, boarded the subway heading downtown and got off at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge taking in all the surrounding sights. This was a popular activity. We were joined by many walkers and cyclists. We crossed the bridge and dropped into DUMBO(down under the Manhattan bridge overpass). There was a mandatory stop at the Jaques Torres Chocolate Shop. We had a light meal at a little café where we had eggs in a cloud. This was a unique dish consisting of baked eggs whites looking like a cloud holding two egg yolks.

We took the subway under the East River to the Financial District. We walked around Ground Zero and saw the first replacement tower. It was only half completed but already was higher than all the surrounding buildings. We walked around Battery Park and the large Financial Center Building. With our dogs a barking, we returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening activities.

We had reservations on the Circle Line Boat Tour to go out on the Hudson River for the evening fireworks show. We took the subway to Times Square in hopes of catching a cab to the dock. There was no way to get a taxi and even if we did, they were all in gridlock. We hoofed it to the dock only to be placed in a line with hundreds of other people. We finally got on the boat and got out onto the Hudson River. After dark, at 9:30 PM, the fireworks started. They were spectacular and being on the water enhanced the view. After the show we disembarked with throngs of people not only from our boat but a host of other boats. We started walking, futilely looking for a taxi. No luck. We made it back to Times Square and took the subway back to the hotel. We were pretty tired by now. Who knew having so much fun could be so exhausting.

Tuesday July 5, 2011

After a night of good, restorative sleep we were ready to go at it again. We took the subway up to Central park and walked further to the American Museum of Natural History. One could spend a week in there and not see everything so we had choices to make. We went to the Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit. This showcased the largest of all the dinosaurs from birth to death to being dug up as fossils. We had tickets to a brand new exhibit called, The Brain and then we went to an IMAX movie called Tornado Alley where a guy built an armored car so he could get inside a tornado and film it. It was lunchtime and we had lunch at one of the museum cafes. After lunch, Diane and Julie abandoned me to my own devices while they went shopping. I had not had my fill of the museum so I stayed and went to the animal exhibits and then The Incan Trail Photography Exhibit and then the Tibetan Medicine Exhibit. I left the museum and went into Central Park and came back through the Park before I took a subway back to the hotel.

That evening we went to the East Village where we met Julie’s friend, Meg at Meg’s favorite restaurant, Café Mogador. It was a Moroccan restaurant. I had the sea bass cooked with hot spices and vegetables. The fish had been caught that day by the owner of the place, or so they said. Once again, I stepped out of my paradigm and ordered desert—Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream. We were back to the hotel by 9:30.

Wednesday July 6, 2011. Diane’s Birthday

Diane had filled the itinerary on her birthday. First, we toured the Empire State Building and then walked to the New York Public Library and then on to Grand Central Station where we had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. We had 2 PM tickets to see Billy Elliott—a fantastic musical about a boy from Wales who wanted to be a ballet dancer instead of following the family tradition of working in the coal mines, which were about to be shut down anyway.

That evening we had dinner at an Indian restaurant called Devis. Afterwards we explored an area called The Strand where they had one of the world’s largest bookstores. When we got back to the hotel, the birthday balloons and cupcakes that Julie ordered for Diane’s birthday had arrived. It was a grand and memorable day.

Thursday July 7, 2011

On Thursday, drill sergeant Diane had us scheduled to be out early. We took her orders but we did not have to keep being nice to her since it was no longer her birthday. She tried to invoke something about a “birthday week” but we ignored it.

We got down to Battery Park where the boats leave for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour. Both were awe-inspiring. It is amazing what the immigrants had to go through. We read the Emma Lazarus’s poem so familiar to many.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

Breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

After the tours we went to Union Square and had lunch at the Heartland Brew Pub. This day was the first really hot day so we went to the hotel to cool down (and rest) before we returned to Eataly for dinner. After dinner we hung out at Madison Square Park and as dusk approached we saw hundreds of fireflies make their appearance. It was a delightful ending to a nice day.

Friday July 8, 2011

Friday was our last full day and we made the most of it. We signed up for a bike tour of Central Park. We not only got in a good bike ride but we got a cultural and historical lesson from our guide. There have been over 350 movies filmed in Central Park. At one point where we stopped near the Dakota Hotel our guide looked up and said hello to someone who pleasantly said hello back. It was Yoko Ono going for a walk with a companion.

Upon completion of our tour we asked our guide for a recommendation for a place to eat lunch. He first asked if we felt adventurous and then on to tell us about a Dominican Restaurant called Papasitos. We walked there as instructed and I ordered the Mofongo as instructed. Mofongo is a dish made from plantains and garlic and herbs all mashed together. It was very tasty. After lunch we split up again and I went exploring on my own. I guess there was more shopping to be done. I went back to the NY Public Library. I then gave myself a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I went by Rockefeller Center and then headed back to the hotel. That night we went to Lincoln Center to see a great play called War Horse.

Saturday

All good things must come to an end and so it was with our New York trip. Saturday was departure day. That did not keep us from going to the Breslin Hotel for a brunch. I had the baked eggs with spiced tomatoes and chorizo while Diane opted for the ricotta pancakes with macerated strawberries and candied almonds. After a last walk around the neighborhood, we bid adieu to New York City and headed for the airport. In the famous words of the Governator, “I’ll be back”.

Where's Sam?

On Saturday, we awoke to a beautiful morning. It was crisp and clear. A perfect day for a hike, Diane and I decided. When Sam got up we invited him along and shortly after that we were heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the Butler Fork Trailhead. It had been a huge snow year this winter but now, the last week of June, the hiking season was beginning. We started up the trail and soon got to a bridge that had a sign saying, "Danger, Do Not Use Bridge". It looked like it might crash into the stream at any moment but we went across anyway. The next section of the hike was a steep uphill climb. Following that the scenery just got prettier. We walked along a cascading stream that was running much higher than I remember. At one point where we had to cross the stream on wet tree trunk we had to decide to cross there or look elsewhere. Diane found a spot to jump across that only got all of us a little wet. As we went up the stream was overflowing its banks and drenching the trail. We trounced through mud and water getting our feet soaked. After crossing a meadow we came upon a wooded area that was holding a lot of snow. We had to cross several slippery snowbanks. The higher we got the more snow we encountered. This slowed us down considerably. Well, let's say it slowed Diane and me. Sam was off. Soon, he was out of sight. Diane and I trudged on, slipping and sliding and post holing. After a while of this. Diane decided to stop for a rest and I took off my pack and set out after Sam. After about 20 minutes I decided that I would turn around and go back and look for Diane. I figured Sam we get to the lake and turn around and come back. I got back to Diane and we waited about 20 minutes before we decided to head back down. We were pretty sure that Sam we catch up to us before we made it back to the car. We enjoyed that hike down; taking in the beautiful scenery. We got to the car and I checked my cell phone. Sam had left a voicemail saying he had overshot the lake and was up above it on a ridge. He said he was heading back down. All the way down Diane kept asking me if I thought Sam was all right. I reassured her each time. Now having heard the voice mail, we were relieved that we had heard from him. We waited, we waited; still no Sam. I checked the time stamp on the voicemail. It had been sent at 12:20 PM. It was now 2PM. Reluctantly, I now told Diane that I was worried. We had come down in about 40 minutes and Sam had headed down at 12:20, which was an hour and 40 minutes. The thought entered my mind that he might have gone down a different canyon, either a couple miles up the road at Mill D Trailhead or even possibly into the neighboring canyon, Millcreek Canyon. My phone pinged. A text said, "Pick me up at Wasatch and 3800 South". Somehow he had managed to end up in Millcreek Canyon. We got in the car and headed down and around to where he was. As I suspected, he had hitch hiked out of Millcreek Canyon. What I did not know was that he came down the mountain 4 miles above the winter gate and he had to run 4 miles to get to the road where he could catch a ride. By the time we saw him he was one tired and hungry kid. Well, we were all tired and hungry so we had burrito bowels at the Mexican Joint near there. A nice hike and another, "All's well that end's well"