Brief Encounter with Jeanne

Yesterday the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne swept through Maryland. The rain and winds didn't pick up seriously till late afternoon. I was at Arundel Mills Mall waiting for Brad to come meet me when I heard the rain thundering on the roof of the mall. Amazing that I could even hear it above all the muzak and piped in announcements at what must be the noisiest mall in America.

We have been surprised by the weather on this visit. I guess we've been living overseas too long and didn't remember how warm it can be in late September. And aside from warm days, the humidity has been high. We both brought the wrong clothes. I brought turtlenecks and one heavy sweater...just in case 9hah!). I only brought one short sleeve shirt with me. I've remedied the situation a bit with some of my shopping sprees.

This morning we began our drive to Ohio taking a leisurely pace. We got a late start. Didn't hit the road till 9:30 a.m. and then stopped off at the Prime Outlet mall in Hagerstown for some more shopping. Our big purchases: I got some hiking socks on sale at LL Bean. Brad picked up a briefcase, also on sale from LL Bean. we arrived at Brad's parents' house just a little past 5 p.m. His sister Joyce stopped by to join us for dinner. Brad's Mom served two of the foods I've been craving: plump juicy tomatoes and delicious sweet corn. Yummmmmm!! I haven't had a decent tomato since we moved to England. And truly delicious sweet corn -- it's impossible to get in the UK. Now they will tell you they have sweet corn. They put it in their tuna sandwiches. But it doesn't come near to the sweetness and tenderness of good ole American corn on the cob.

If It's Tuesday This Must Be Maryland

This is our last full day in Maryland. Yesterday Brad ran errands while JoAnn and I went shopping and caught a matinee. We went to see Sky Captain. It was fabulous. I loved to sepia-tone look of the film, a rich evocation of the 40's era with superb "old-fashioned" sci-fi special effects. JoAnn and I had dinner at Lee's Szechuan, a great little chinese restaurant in GB. Brad had dinner with some of his cronies from Japan. Today Brad is at meetings at work in the morning. I will meet up with him at Arundel mills Mall. Then tomorrow we head for Ohio. I have to sign off now. I'm on the one computer in this hotel. It's very slow and there are always people waiting to sign on.

Travel Weary

Today Brad and I are lazing about in our hotel room in Linthicum, both of us a bit weary from several days of travel.

The flight from Manchester to Dulles went smoothly. It was the first time either of us had flown on BMI and we were both very happy with the service. The attendants were friendly and helpful, the food was...well, okay, the choice of movies good, and they even provided a few little extras for us peons in economy. The journey to and from each airport, however was nightmarish with rush hour traffic on each side of the pond, late check-in due to computer failure and other frustrations along the way.

We spent the first night in Maryland at Domenica and Brenda's. The next day, we met JoAnn at JL's place and then headed off up to NJ in two cars. Dawn's wedding was a lovely affair. She was a beautiful bride, truly glowing with happiness and joy. Her new husband Mitchell seems like such a nice fellow. We are all very happy for the both of them.

We arrived back in Maryland late last night. We stayed at D & B's again then came in to Linthicum to check in to our hotel.

We will spend the next few days in Maryland and then head over to Ohio for a visit with Brad's family.

The World's Cutest Kitty Cat

purrboy
Originally uploaded by LenGen.

I'm biased, of course. Today I will drop Ginger off at the Cosy Cattery where he will stay while Brad and I are in the states for two weeks. Usually we have petsitters come in once a day to feed him and check in on him, but he runs and hides whenever they arrive. I thought two weeks was far too long for him to go without human contact, so I did a survey of catteries in the Harrogate area.

The one closest to our house didn't pass the test. The facility was a virtual menagerie with birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs and cats. It had a pretty setting with lots of flowers and green grass, but it was so noisy with all the other pets. Additionally, the cat cabins are separated only by an open mesh wire, allowing the cats to have physical contact with their neighbor. They even let the cats out of their cabins to roam about together in a "secure" area. Another cattery was run by an elderly couple. It was very clean and the cats had totally private cabins but when I asked the owner how many times a day they visited the cats, he said "well, my wife feeds them twice a day." I asked if the cats ever got cuddles and he responded "oh, no, we haven't got time for that!" Eventually I settled on Cosy Cattery. It is a nice clean facility for cats only. The cats are separated by that open mesh wire but they have added a barrier of plastic at the bottom of the cabins so the cats cannot make physical contact with each other. The cabins are huge -- big enough for two cats to share -- and have an enclosed area with a big window that looks out onto a pretty garden. The staff visit the cats frequently for feeding, cuddles and grooming. I do hope our purrboy will be happy there.

The Nidderdale Show

Heavy Horse Competition
Originally uploaded by LenGen.

I attended one of the area's most popular agricultural shows today -- the Nidderdale Show in Pateley Bridge. The show is traditionally held on the second to last Monday in September. It was a cold and blustery day marked by strong gusts of wind and sudden icy showers that appeared while the sun shone brightly. The quirky weather produced at least three rainbows and lots of mud and muck. Even so, today's weather was much better than last year's when we had steady heavy rain all day long. That day Prince Charles visited the show and for that reason alone I made the trek out to Pateley Bridge. To view more photos from today's show and photos of Prince Charles from last year just clck on the photo of the horse.

Heart of Asphalt, Stray Rein, Harrogate

Heart of Asphalt, Stray Rein, Harrogate
Originally uploaded by LenGen.

I am certain this shape was formed naturally. I pass by it nearly every morning while taking my power walk. I love the name of the street it is on. And, I feel that my walk is not complete unless I pass the heart of asphalt.

The Money Tree

the money tree
Originally uploaded by LenGen.

While hiking the footpaths and trails of North Yorkshire, I've encountered a number of oddities along the way, one of which is this log embedded with coins. I haven't done the research yet to find out why people pound their coins into dead trees. Is it just a superstition for good luck -- like throwing a coin in a fountain? Maybe someone else out there in cyberspace knows. Your comments are welcome.

My Friend Flickr

A funny little scarecrow
Originally uploaded by LenGen.

Drum roll please......

I have finally found a way to upload photos to my blog!!!! I'm using a service called , a fancy photo sharing thing. Aside from posting photos to your blog, there's a lot you can do with Flickr. If you click on the scarecrow photo it will take you to a page with other photos I've uploaded on the site. Go ahead and check it out.

This scarecrow, btw, was spotted while hiking with the Thursday Ramblers on the Mosaic Trail. You can't tell from this photo but the scarecrow was tiny -- only about 6 inches tall at the most. Guess he won't be able to scare anyone.

Getting to Know OS X (grrrrr)

I really love my new G5 computer. And I admire the efficiency and elegance of OS X. But the more I try to work on my Mac the more I encounter some frustrating moments. This is not my trusty ole Mac anymore, the interface I was intimate with. Things just don't work the same. I spent (no, wasted) about an entire afternoon trying to figure out how to burn a multisession CD. I followed all the instrux to the letter, but when I put my newly burned CD in the drive my computer acted like there was nothing there. After futzing and fuming a bit I went trawling on the Internet for some troubleshooting info. I found the solution alright and it was a real "duh" moment. All I had to do was restart my computer and my CD and all its files were right there where they should be.

But why should I have to restart the computer? That's not very elegant or efficient now, is it?

The Mosaic Trail Revisited

Last March I hiked part of The Mosaic Trail with my hiking group. Uncharacteristically, the group leader got lost. We only managed to complete about half the trail and spent about two hours trying to find our way back to our cars.

Today we took on the Mosaic Trail again. This time we completed the trail with little difficulty. (There were a couple of moments when we stopped and puzzled over our maps and directions.) It was a long walk, at least for this group -- 6.5 miles. There are other rambling groups that hike twice as far as that, or more. For me 6.5 miles felt like just enough. Aside from the mosaics, we passed many creatures along the way: piglets, grouse, pheasants and of course sheep around every corner. This week the wild blackberries are in season and many of the hikers snacked on them as we followed the trail. It is a great trail and one of my favorite. It is situated high up on the moors above Nidderdale. It takes us about 30 minutes to drive to the starting point (and quite a drive it is with steep climbs, hairpin curves and single track roads) but once we are there we feel so isolated. We passed by the odd farm or cottage here and there and a few derelict buildings as well. The views over Nidderdale would have been lovely if the morning hadn't been shrouded in mist. By noon, the sun had burned through the mist and it got quite warm. It felt good to be out there soaking in the sun's rays. Especially since the weather forecasters predicted today would be the last nice day until next April.

Pig Person
Pig Person required
to assist in general
duties on a 380
sow unit taking
progeny to bacon
in Wetherby area.
Cottage available.

Yes, folks, that's a real employment vacancy posted yesterday in the Harrogate Advertiser. Now I know I'm really living in the boonies.

Return From Edinburgh

We caught the train at 9:30 this morning from Waverley Station and arrived in Harrogate at about 1:45 p.m. Brad snoozed while I read on the way home. We had a wonderful visit with Michiko and her husband Hiroshi yesterday. It was the first time I had met Hiroshi -- he's a very nice fellow, quiet and unassuming. He lets Michiko do all the talking. Michiko explained to me that he does not speak much English. But he certainly appears to understand English; he reacted appropriately to our conversation.

Since Brad and I stayed at the same hotel as Michiko and Hiroshi, we met at the breakfast table. Michiko came in laden with gifts from Japan. In addition to the wonderful gifts she had brought for me, she also presented me with gifts from our mutual friend Fumiko, who had recently made a trip to Italy with her husband to celebrate their 25th anniversary. I in turn presented my gifts to Michiko. Over breakfast we planned out our day. Hiroshi offered to drive us to our first destination: The Royal Yacht Britannia, docked now in Leith. The Yacht has been decommissioned and turned into a museum. I had a blast wandering through the yacht, viewing the royal apartments, the sun deck, the various bars, officers mess, engine room, sick bay.... I was most surprised by the Royal bedrooms: the Queen slept in a separate room from Philip in a tiny twin bed.

After touring the Britannia, Hiroshi drove us to Linlithgow, about 25 miles outside of Edinburgh. We were very impressed with the fact that he seemed undaunted by driving in and around Edinburgh. We had lunch at a pub in Linlithgow before touring a site that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to see: Linlithgow Palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born and where all the Stewart kings had lived. The palace is a huge ruin now and we spent quite some time wandering around the halls and corridors, towers and stairways. We had gorgeous weather all day and the views from atop the palace towers were breathtaking. We were so grateful that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to go to Linlithgow; it was a right royal treat.

From Linlithgow we headed back into Edinburgh, stopped off at the hotel for a brief rest before heading out again, this time on foot. We walked partways along the Royal Mile, stopped off in St. Giles Cathedral, one of my favorite spots in Edinburgh. We left the old town for the new town. By this time (6 p.m.) Jenners department store had already closed. Michiko was especially disappointed by that as I had told her what a wonderful store it is. After strolling around in the new town for awhile we stopped off at The Dome for dinner. Dinner was tasty, conversation was lively and the setting was spectacular.

We walked back to our hotel, weary from the day's adventures. Michiko and Hiroshi met us again for breakfast this morning and then we said our goodbyes. They planned to spend one more day in Edinburgh before flying back to Tokyo. On their agenda were The Castle, Holyrood Palace, possibly the Museum of Scotland or the National Gallery of Scotland and, of course, Jenners department store.