Grumpy wasn’t so interested in bouncing off the walls this morning. (Sometimes I wake up Grumpy, and sometimes I let her sleep..) Indeed, she wasn’t really interested in getting up after yesterday’s long day of fun and frivolity. Besides, it’s hard to get motivated when you know you’re on your way home from a [...]

1. Florida, Day 1: Flying, Three Birds Tavern, and Apple Pork Chops Saturday morning, way too early, we oozed out of...
2. Florida, Day 2: Way Too Many Fishies, and an Unforgettable Spanish Meal Image Courtesy Kari Sheppard, ShepArt Studio The original Sunday...
3. Florida, Day 4: Harry Potter, Archaeology Gone Bad and Seuss Madness All I wanted to do was sleep, just a...

Today’s the day; the day the best damn calorimetry team you ever heard of packs up and leaves Washington DC for home…

One more breakfast in the small dining room at the Comfort Inn, elbowing our way through the crowd of eager tourists all stoking up for the long day of walking and touring. Juice, [...]

Today I attempted the impossible, or so it seemed at the time: I set out on a (relatively normal) business trip to China via Chicago and Hong Kong…

I got up at 3 A.M., as I needed to be at the airport at oh-dark-milddle-of-the-night to catch a United Airlines flight to Chicago. Which brings about [...]

Travel is such a pain, sometimes. We got up early and skipped breakfast, as we had a fairly early flight scheduled for our return to the States. (We didn’t want any breakfast, as we were afraid it would spoil our planned beef dinner on the plane.) PJ was slow to get started, and grumpy. [...]

We deplaned in a light drizzle at Dublin Inernational Airport, a bit tired and very excited. Clearing immigration in Dublin was a big hassle, though. They’re reworking a lot of the terminal, and space is cramped. We had to queue for almost an hour. Seems several other big planes landed about the same time we [...]

The Big Day finally arrived. We’re off to Ireland!

We didn’t have to get an early start, as getting to Ireland involves an overnight flight. We finished our packing and preparations, and somehow all the stuff that PJ bought, bartered for and borrowed was stowed in four carry-ons. I’m sure one of them is a [...]

The post-feast roistering lasted into the wee hours. Beer and wine in appropriate quantities actually help me stay up late. Grad school training, I suppose. (Does this mean I’ve still got it?)

Getting a few nice presents helps too, like Flight Simulator X (with Acceleration Expansion Pack) and a Saitek ST290 Pro Joystick. I stayed up [...]

Home beckons, and my bags are packed. I’ll miss India, this land of mystery, so full of contrasts and surprises. Immense cultural wealth in such crushing poverty. An overriding drive to be better, with so many barriers to improvement. So many spices and flavors in their food, and so little food to share.

Good thing I [...]

For the first time, I found out it’s possible for me to get bored in an airport.

I know you might find that odd. Your experience is probably more typical; all airports are boring. But I love travel and flying, and I avidly watch all sorts of mechanisms that fly. It was a shock to me, [...]

The Chile Underground’s Grand India Tour and Month-Long Snarf-Fest Curry Expedition got off to a prosaic, even mudane start, with a short hop from Austin to Dallas. With winds from the north at both airports (Thank You Gustav!), the pilot barely had to maneuver at all; up and down, 31 minutes and done. Shoot, I [...]