We're back in Aurora now (since yesterday afternoon). Kristen is out in the kitchen making several dozen Christmas cookies of varying caliber and ilk. Time-honored family recipes that are the cornerstone of her family's Christmas celebrations. Of course, I'm the lucky one who gets to taste them as they near completion. I've already gained one or two pounds on this vacation.
Last night I went to Hillsdale McMennamin's for a couple of beers with a friend I met through BeerAdvocate (his blog Rooftop is in the links section, below, on the right). We traded some homebrews and talked about beer, brewing, politics, our lives, etc. Admirably, he's not ready to give up on America and expatriate like we did (not yet anyway)!
---
The trip to Eugene was fun. Where did I leave off? Oh yes, on Sunday we went to the Piccadilly Fleamarket (one or two Sundays per month). A whole lot of crap under one roof, but I'm sure there are some valuable things here and there. We didn't buy anything apart from an antique bowling pin. Kristen has now officially started a collection (we have two of them). They will be staying in our storage room for the moment! After the fleamarket, Dad'n'Bev took us for brunch at Marie Callender's. We left quite stuffed, swearing that we would never eat again.
On Monday, we drove up to Sisters, OR to visit Jim'n'Judy. Tom'n'Nancy, Kelsey'n'Brandon, Nanny, Kristen'n'I all piled into a big ol' SUV and made it up there in about 2 hours. Nice drive through the mountains, along the McKenzie River. A beautiful day in Sisters. Jim'n'Judy's house was packed with extended family. It was one of those family Christmas gatherings like you see in the movies: kids running around, babies being passed between relatives, the lads out front playing basketball and throwing a football, stuff like that. We took a walk to Judy's stables to see her Friesians and say hello to the new addition, Smoke [video] (a young stallion that we first met on our trip to The Netherlands). It's hard to tell these horses apart sometimes because being perfect examples of the breed, they are all perfectly black and sleek.
We all packed back into the SUV and returned to Eugene that evening. Nanny took us all to Applebee's for some good ol' American food. After dinner, Brandon and I played Playstation 2 for a little while. One day I'll have one of my own... one day...
---
Looking forward to Christmas. On Friday evening we are going to Christmas mass. That should be interesting. I hope my heathen skin doesn't get flayed off as soon as I cross the threshhold!
-RP-
Wednesday, December 22
Saturday, December 18
Thanks to Starbucks, we have been able to ease the burden of jet-lag. There is one Starbucks in Norwich. But they are peppered across the US landscape like gas-stations. Some free-standing, some inside supermarkets, others with a drive-thru. All shilling highly caffeinated designer beverages with exotic names like Venti Iced Caramel Macchiato or Grande Chai Tea Latte. We're here in America, so we dove directly into the consumerism. Just easier that way!
We're currently in Eugene, at Nanny's house. Drove down here yesterday after I was finished bottling my aged barley-wine and cider (both of which I am VERY happy with, I might add... I can't believe I brewed that!). Anyway, after going to Old Navy to stock up on some clothing that isn't too small for me (as it has been in England and Belgium), Nanny took us to BJ's Brewhouse for dinner. Some good ol' tasty American fare, we each had the "Giant Stuffed Potato", mine of course accompanied by a pint of brewpub beer. My belly was about to burst by the time we left.
Today we spent the day with Kristen's Dad and Stepmom. Went to the 5th Street Market which is where we bought the rings we are wearing. It was the same jeweler, so we told her we had gotten married and still live in Europe. She polished our rings and reformed mine a bit because it had gotten a little bent when I smashed it against the metal buckle on this huge wooden trunk in our apartment in Belgium. She was jealous that we had escaped the Bush regime (a comment she had made the first time we were there). We talked a little bit about our favorite conspiracy theories regarding the Ohio ballots and about how a lot of people got upset about Bush getting a second term but now no one is talking about it anymore, you just don't hear about it. Anyway, probably the "coolest" jeweler we know (we don't know many). She must have been an "ex-hippie". She has that vibe about her.
After a dose of window-shopping, we went back to Dad'n'Bev's house and relaxed for the afternoon. Took a walk by the river. Had Christmas cookes and some other snacks. Now we're back at Nanny's vegging out in front of the tube. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is on in a little while, so we'll definitely watch that. It's not Christmas unless you watch Christmas Vacation.
"Tis the season to be Mary!"
Tomorrow we'll be spending the day with Dad'n'Bev again. Going to Picadilly Fleamarket and then to brunch.
-RP-
We're currently in Eugene, at Nanny's house. Drove down here yesterday after I was finished bottling my aged barley-wine and cider (both of which I am VERY happy with, I might add... I can't believe I brewed that!). Anyway, after going to Old Navy to stock up on some clothing that isn't too small for me (as it has been in England and Belgium), Nanny took us to BJ's Brewhouse for dinner. Some good ol' tasty American fare, we each had the "Giant Stuffed Potato", mine of course accompanied by a pint of brewpub beer. My belly was about to burst by the time we left.
Today we spent the day with Kristen's Dad and Stepmom. Went to the 5th Street Market which is where we bought the rings we are wearing. It was the same jeweler, so we told her we had gotten married and still live in Europe. She polished our rings and reformed mine a bit because it had gotten a little bent when I smashed it against the metal buckle on this huge wooden trunk in our apartment in Belgium. She was jealous that we had escaped the Bush regime (a comment she had made the first time we were there). We talked a little bit about our favorite conspiracy theories regarding the Ohio ballots and about how a lot of people got upset about Bush getting a second term but now no one is talking about it anymore, you just don't hear about it. Anyway, probably the "coolest" jeweler we know (we don't know many). She must have been an "ex-hippie". She has that vibe about her.
After a dose of window-shopping, we went back to Dad'n'Bev's house and relaxed for the afternoon. Took a walk by the river. Had Christmas cookes and some other snacks. Now we're back at Nanny's vegging out in front of the tube. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is on in a little while, so we'll definitely watch that. It's not Christmas unless you watch Christmas Vacation.
"Tis the season to be Mary!"
Tomorrow we'll be spending the day with Dad'n'Bev again. Going to Picadilly Fleamarket and then to brunch.
-RP-
Wednesday, December 15
We arrived in Portland yesterday at about 8:15pm. By the time we got to Aurora and hit the sack, we had been up for nearly 25 hours straight. A long day, but I vaguely remember us floating over Greenland on the way over the Atlantic. I went out like the proverbial light, but Kristen couldn't fall asleep right away. That's normally the case. I can usually sleep through anything (except daylight). We both woke up around 5:30am, but willed ourselves back to sleep for another two hours.
First order of the day was to go to an American supermarket/department store to stock up. It was great to again be in a true haven of capitalist virtue. We loaded up on caffeine at the Starbucks INSIDE the department store, then went down each aisle of the supermarket "division", loading up on all the various things we had been missing (like Quaker Oat Squares and NW microbrews).
Another craving we'd been having in the weeks leading up to this trip was for Taco Bell, a craving we ended up taking care of today as well. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, it was a less-than-sensational taste experience. Sometimes you hit a Taco Bell that just doesn't put the burritos or whatever together correctly or it's lukewarm or overcooked. Today was one of those days, but it was still pretty good.
Jake invited me to go with him to fly his Cessna from the Aurora airfield to Lenhart's (sp?). The plane had been repaired for a problem with one of the radios and now needed to go back to it's hangar. Of course, I jumped at this opportunity. Any time I can "head up there" with him, I'll do it! Lenhart's is only about 3 minutes from Aurora (by air), but we flew around for a bit first. Did a steep ascent to above the fog/smog layer and then a 70-80 degree turn or two, pulling a couple of Gs. Felt all of my internal organs sink into the soles of my feet. I don't know how fighter pilots do it without going unconscious! Even at 2-3 Gs, my peripheral vision started to flutter. Before we headed to Lenhart's, we flew over the house and I was able to take a picture of it.
Back on the homefront, the ladies of the house were decorating the christmas tree and drinking egg-nog. By the time we got back, they were done and relaxing in the living room. A beautiful tree and the house smells of pine-needles. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
I drove to Hubbard to have a quick rummage in our storage room, say hello to our stuff. Grabbed Kristen's Johnny Mathis Christmas CD, my Agneta Felskog Christmas tape, a box of assorted aged homebrews, and the serving line for the two 5-gallon kegs of beer that have been safely kept at the house. I plan to bottle them on Friday.
Kristen made Bruschetta and shrimp-salad for dinner tonight. A light meal to make up for our naughty lunch. Delicious!
-RP-
First order of the day was to go to an American supermarket/department store to stock up. It was great to again be in a true haven of capitalist virtue. We loaded up on caffeine at the Starbucks INSIDE the department store, then went down each aisle of the supermarket "division", loading up on all the various things we had been missing (like Quaker Oat Squares and NW microbrews).
Another craving we'd been having in the weeks leading up to this trip was for Taco Bell, a craving we ended up taking care of today as well. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, it was a less-than-sensational taste experience. Sometimes you hit a Taco Bell that just doesn't put the burritos or whatever together correctly or it's lukewarm or overcooked. Today was one of those days, but it was still pretty good.
Jake invited me to go with him to fly his Cessna from the Aurora airfield to Lenhart's (sp?). The plane had been repaired for a problem with one of the radios and now needed to go back to it's hangar. Of course, I jumped at this opportunity. Any time I can "head up there" with him, I'll do it! Lenhart's is only about 3 minutes from Aurora (by air), but we flew around for a bit first. Did a steep ascent to above the fog/smog layer and then a 70-80 degree turn or two, pulling a couple of Gs. Felt all of my internal organs sink into the soles of my feet. I don't know how fighter pilots do it without going unconscious! Even at 2-3 Gs, my peripheral vision started to flutter. Before we headed to Lenhart's, we flew over the house and I was able to take a picture of it.
Back on the homefront, the ladies of the house were decorating the christmas tree and drinking egg-nog. By the time we got back, they were done and relaxing in the living room. A beautiful tree and the house smells of pine-needles. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
I drove to Hubbard to have a quick rummage in our storage room, say hello to our stuff. Grabbed Kristen's Johnny Mathis Christmas CD, my Agneta Felskog Christmas tape, a box of assorted aged homebrews, and the serving line for the two 5-gallon kegs of beer that have been safely kept at the house. I plan to bottle them on Friday.
Kristen made Bruschetta and shrimp-salad for dinner tonight. A light meal to make up for our naughty lunch. Delicious!
-RP-
Monday, December 13
Our tentative itinerary for the Oregon trip:
-Arrive Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7:55pm PDX (Continental Airlines, from Houston) and to be picked up by Kristen's sister.
-In Aurora from Dec. 14-17
-Drive to Eugene on Friday Dec. 17 to stay at Nanny's from Dec. 17-20.
-Drive to Sisters (a city in Oregon, to the unitiated) for the day on Monday, Dec. 20 with Tom & Nancy.
-Back in Aurora Dec. 21-28 for Christmas
-Depart Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 6:20am from PDX.
-Arrive in London/Gatwick at 6:55am on Dec. 29th
-Arrive Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7:55pm PDX (Continental Airlines, from Houston) and to be picked up by Kristen's sister.
-In Aurora from Dec. 14-17
-Drive to Eugene on Friday Dec. 17 to stay at Nanny's from Dec. 17-20.
-Drive to Sisters (a city in Oregon, to the unitiated) for the day on Monday, Dec. 20 with Tom & Nancy.
-Back in Aurora Dec. 21-28 for Christmas
-Depart Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 6:20am from PDX.
-Arrive in London/Gatwick at 6:55am on Dec. 29th
This Past Weekend
My dad has been in Denmark since October, on business. We had asked him to come visit us sometime before he flew back to Florida. He'd been so busy in Denmark that he wasn't able to leave until this past week. So he booked a ticket through London with a 48 hour stop-over. Originally, the plan was for him to come up to Norwich, but it proved to be too complicated so I decided to go down to London to meet him.
Actually, I was going to go to London anyway because I had been planning for about a month to go to the Digital Futures seminar at the National Film Theatre (a seminar focusing on the digital future of cinema with comparisons of 16mm, 35mm, and digital projection, then a panel discussion). I'm going to write my MA dissertation about this subject area, so this was to be part of my research. I had a couple of questions prepared that I wanted to ask the panel. Anyway, as fate would have it, my dad was flying in on the same day as this seminar. I booked two tickets so I could take him along.
The plan was to pick him up from the airport (Gatwick), go to the seminar, then check in at a hotel in London. His flight (Maersk DM205 from Billund, Denmark) was due in at 12:55. That would give us about two hours to get to the National Film Theatre. It takes about two and a half hours to drive to Gatwick from Norwich, so I left at 10:00am, too early to check the flight information since it hadn't even left Denmark yet. I arrived at Gatwick at 12:40. When he hadn't appeared by 13:30, I was starting to get concerned so I ran in to the terminal and checked the monitors: flight delayed, arrival at 13:51 (an hour delay!). Things were starting to look pretty grim, but if he made it out by about 14:00, then we might still make it. Mapquest quoted the drive time from Gatwick to be 47 minutes. The seminar was scheduled to start promptly at 15:00.
He didn't come out until 14:20. We quickly hugged "Hello", tossed his bags in the trunk, and took off. It was smooth sailing until we got inside the London Orbital (M25). I still had a glimmer of hope that we would make it, perhaps a bit late, but make it nonetheless.
When we were idling in traffic, nearly an hour later, I had lost all hope. Driving in London is NOT an option (see earlier post from today). We arrived at the NFT at 16:45. By then, I had given up on the seminar, but I wanted to see if there were any pamphlets handed out, so I went inside while my dad waited in the car, parked in a loading zone. The security guard told us we weren't allowed to stay there long and then went back into the warmth of his booth.
I asked the NFT box office if there were any pamphlets handed out for the seminar. They told me to ask one of the ushers when it ended (which was supposed to be 15 minutes later). I tried to go in just to stand in the back for the last bit, but the ushers stonewalled me. So, I went to pick up my tickets. OK, fine... you can sit over here in the back of the theatre. I watched about 5 minutes of a digital projection of The Wizard of Oz and then they brought up the panel of experts for questions. I stuck around for about 20 minutes, but I was concerned that my dad was getting hassled by the security guards (and he also had mentioned at the airport that he really needed to pee), so I left before it ended. It had already run over by about 30 minutes, so it was due to end any minute anyway.
I went back out to the car and we followed out Mapquest directions to the hotel near Hyde Park (a scheduled drive-time of 6 minutes). An hour later, we arrived and checked in. Oh, I forgot to mention that we were running dangerously low on gas by this point. Petrol stations are not abundant in London. Two strokes of good fortune, though: since it was a weekend, we could park on the residential street through Sunday (instead of paying 30 lbs. per day to park in a lot). Plus, we didn't have to pay the congestion fee for driving in central London because they only charge that Monday thru Friday.
After dumping our stuff in the hotel room, we went out to have dinner. We tried to go to a pub that I had been recommended but it was jam-packed, so we went to Cafe Rouge (a French restaurant chain). Pretty good food! Then we walked around a bit before heading back to the hotel. We stopped in the lobby bar to have a beer and I caught the last 20 minutes of the X-Factor results show (Steve/Simon Cowell won).
On Sunday we ambled around central London for the day: had full English Breakfasts for brunch; walked around Oxford, Bond, and Carnaby street; salivated over all the amazing new computers at the gigantic Apple store; bought chocolate from Charbonnel et Walker (my dad bought a massive amount of chocolate for Kristen and I); rode the Tube; took a breeze-through tour of the National Gallery (unfortunately, my favorite Caravaggio painting "The Supper at Emmaus" was at an exhibition in Naples); and stopped back at that pub from the night before (Churchill Arms) to have a pint. Then we went back to the hotel to pick up our bags, which we had checked in with the concierge. Then it was time to head to the petrol station and out of London.
We tanked up just fine. Then we tried to get out of London. It took us nearly two hours to get to Gatwick (a total of 36 miles)... again, I refer you to the earlier post about driving in London. I had planned to get on the road by 18:00 to go back to Norwich, so I wouldn't get home too late. I missed that deadline by an hour and a half. My dad checked in at the Gatwick Hilton and we headed over to McDonald's for a quick dinner. I didn't really have time for anything else.
Arrived in Norwich at 22:15... knackered beyond belief! But then I loaded Kristen up with all of the goodies my dad had brought from the US and Denmark, and the chocolates from London. Early Christmas! I'm looking forward to going through all of my grandfather's 8mm films (I asked my dad to bring them from Denmark). There were more than I realized (a prolific filmmaker, I guess)!
Despite the spirit-dampeningly large amount of fiascos over these past two days, I had a nice time with my dad. It was good to see him, even though it was just a quick trip. Now I just need to get my mom and sister over here for a visit. Well, 2005 is just around the corner.
Tomorrow, Kristen and I leave for Oregon. We'll be there until the 29th. One of my classmates offered to give us a ride to Gatwick (yep, back there again)... very generous of him, especially since we have to leave by 7am at the latest! We owe him big time!
-RP-
My dad has been in Denmark since October, on business. We had asked him to come visit us sometime before he flew back to Florida. He'd been so busy in Denmark that he wasn't able to leave until this past week. So he booked a ticket through London with a 48 hour stop-over. Originally, the plan was for him to come up to Norwich, but it proved to be too complicated so I decided to go down to London to meet him.
Actually, I was going to go to London anyway because I had been planning for about a month to go to the Digital Futures seminar at the National Film Theatre (a seminar focusing on the digital future of cinema with comparisons of 16mm, 35mm, and digital projection, then a panel discussion). I'm going to write my MA dissertation about this subject area, so this was to be part of my research. I had a couple of questions prepared that I wanted to ask the panel. Anyway, as fate would have it, my dad was flying in on the same day as this seminar. I booked two tickets so I could take him along.
The plan was to pick him up from the airport (Gatwick), go to the seminar, then check in at a hotel in London. His flight (Maersk DM205 from Billund, Denmark) was due in at 12:55. That would give us about two hours to get to the National Film Theatre. It takes about two and a half hours to drive to Gatwick from Norwich, so I left at 10:00am, too early to check the flight information since it hadn't even left Denmark yet. I arrived at Gatwick at 12:40. When he hadn't appeared by 13:30, I was starting to get concerned so I ran in to the terminal and checked the monitors: flight delayed, arrival at 13:51 (an hour delay!). Things were starting to look pretty grim, but if he made it out by about 14:00, then we might still make it. Mapquest quoted the drive time from Gatwick to be 47 minutes. The seminar was scheduled to start promptly at 15:00.
He didn't come out until 14:20. We quickly hugged "Hello", tossed his bags in the trunk, and took off. It was smooth sailing until we got inside the London Orbital (M25). I still had a glimmer of hope that we would make it, perhaps a bit late, but make it nonetheless.
When we were idling in traffic, nearly an hour later, I had lost all hope. Driving in London is NOT an option (see earlier post from today). We arrived at the NFT at 16:45. By then, I had given up on the seminar, but I wanted to see if there were any pamphlets handed out, so I went inside while my dad waited in the car, parked in a loading zone. The security guard told us we weren't allowed to stay there long and then went back into the warmth of his booth.
I asked the NFT box office if there were any pamphlets handed out for the seminar. They told me to ask one of the ushers when it ended (which was supposed to be 15 minutes later). I tried to go in just to stand in the back for the last bit, but the ushers stonewalled me. So, I went to pick up my tickets. OK, fine... you can sit over here in the back of the theatre. I watched about 5 minutes of a digital projection of The Wizard of Oz and then they brought up the panel of experts for questions. I stuck around for about 20 minutes, but I was concerned that my dad was getting hassled by the security guards (and he also had mentioned at the airport that he really needed to pee), so I left before it ended. It had already run over by about 30 minutes, so it was due to end any minute anyway.
I went back out to the car and we followed out Mapquest directions to the hotel near Hyde Park (a scheduled drive-time of 6 minutes). An hour later, we arrived and checked in. Oh, I forgot to mention that we were running dangerously low on gas by this point. Petrol stations are not abundant in London. Two strokes of good fortune, though: since it was a weekend, we could park on the residential street through Sunday (instead of paying 30 lbs. per day to park in a lot). Plus, we didn't have to pay the congestion fee for driving in central London because they only charge that Monday thru Friday.
After dumping our stuff in the hotel room, we went out to have dinner. We tried to go to a pub that I had been recommended but it was jam-packed, so we went to Cafe Rouge (a French restaurant chain). Pretty good food! Then we walked around a bit before heading back to the hotel. We stopped in the lobby bar to have a beer and I caught the last 20 minutes of the X-Factor results show (Steve/Simon Cowell won).
On Sunday we ambled around central London for the day: had full English Breakfasts for brunch; walked around Oxford, Bond, and Carnaby street; salivated over all the amazing new computers at the gigantic Apple store; bought chocolate from Charbonnel et Walker (my dad bought a massive amount of chocolate for Kristen and I); rode the Tube; took a breeze-through tour of the National Gallery (unfortunately, my favorite Caravaggio painting "The Supper at Emmaus" was at an exhibition in Naples); and stopped back at that pub from the night before (Churchill Arms) to have a pint. Then we went back to the hotel to pick up our bags, which we had checked in with the concierge. Then it was time to head to the petrol station and out of London.
We tanked up just fine. Then we tried to get out of London. It took us nearly two hours to get to Gatwick (a total of 36 miles)... again, I refer you to the earlier post about driving in London. I had planned to get on the road by 18:00 to go back to Norwich, so I wouldn't get home too late. I missed that deadline by an hour and a half. My dad checked in at the Gatwick Hilton and we headed over to McDonald's for a quick dinner. I didn't really have time for anything else.
Arrived in Norwich at 22:15... knackered beyond belief! But then I loaded Kristen up with all of the goodies my dad had brought from the US and Denmark, and the chocolates from London. Early Christmas! I'm looking forward to going through all of my grandfather's 8mm films (I asked my dad to bring them from Denmark). There were more than I realized (a prolific filmmaker, I guess)!
Despite the spirit-dampeningly large amount of fiascos over these past two days, I had a nice time with my dad. It was good to see him, even though it was just a quick trip. Now I just need to get my mom and sister over here for a visit. Well, 2005 is just around the corner.
Tomorrow, Kristen and I leave for Oregon. We'll be there until the 29th. One of my classmates offered to give us a ride to Gatwick (yep, back there again)... very generous of him, especially since we have to leave by 7am at the latest! We owe him big time!
-RP-
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