The Bus is Crowded. Really Freakin' Crowded!

OK, so I've seen the bus crowded before. But now, my favorite bus (the 8:44 a.m. 577 from Federal Way) has been full to the point of people in the aisles for the last few times. And it's summer! People are on vacation, or at least they were last year. Maybe they're having to work more to pay for utilities. The 177, or the slightly earlier bus, isn't quite as bad, last I checked, but they are fuller than they have been. So's the 196. I am so, so thankful that I don't have to drive to work anymore. That would be three gallons of gas every two days, at best, and it would be awful.

So Much For Going Back to Jamaica Anytime Soon ....

And it's too bad, because Cheryl and I went there about seven years ago and had an awesome time -- eating jerk chicken, climbing up a beautiful riverbed, etc. But this is just horrible (and scary):

This past January, Gareth Henry fled to Canada. He is only 30, but
13 of his friends in Jamaica had been murdered. He is awaiting a decision on his
application for refugee status. He is not an effeminate man and he does not
dress extravagantly. It may seem Jamaican thugs must have a more highly
developed gaydar than most gay men, but it's more likely that it isn't easy to
keep secrets in a small island society.

It makes Bermuda look almost welcoming ... they weren't planning to kill us if our Rosie cruise stopped there: Just yell at us about how we're ruining our children's lives, etc., etc.

The Quickest Camping Trip Ever

So Cheryl bought the boys a tent. It's adorable, just big enough for them. And they decided that they wanted to camp out in it -- in our backyard -- last night. Good time for it, too, as the weather has been HOT and their room doesn't have A/C. Well, after much excitement, the reality of the whole "camping out" thing set in. They demanded lights and quiet (awesome time to be running Bobcat for hours, Neighbor With Junkyard!). They got the former. We tucked them in, and ... 20 minutes later they were in their bed. Which means they just missed the thunder, lightning and rainstorm. Perfect timing! It was a weird rain, hard and quick, like hot angry tears, and gone in minutes. This morning, it was almost like it hadn't rained at all... but our cars, which we so carefully (NOT!) washed this weekend, were dusted up. And it's still hot.

I see cruise ships!

I love a blue-sky day, and cruise ships at the pier. Of course, I'd love it more if the family and I were getting on one ... Lookslike this will be a year without a cruise. But Disney, and another Rosie cruise out of Seattle, loom.

San Diego: What a Great Vacation!

So we're just back from a trip to San Diego, and wow, did it turn out great. Really, one of the best vacations ever, and I think it's spoiled me on non-"World Famous" zoos. (The San Diego Zoo is, as we learned, "World Famous.") You feel like you could almost reach out and touch the animals. You know, if you have 10-foot arms. But it feels really close. We were closer than 10 feet to a tiger when we stayed the night at the Wild Animal Park. And then there's Seaworld, which I thought might be kinda cheesy. And it was, but it was cheesy good. And I got to feed and pet dolphins and pet rays. I love rays. There's something cool and calming about them ....

If you go to San Diego, definitely hit the zoo, and make the drive to the Wild Animal Park. Costco has a good deal on five-day tickets that allow you to go to whichever of any of those parks that you want on whichever days you want. I also recommend, if you can, that you Dine With Shamu. You'll get to be with the killer whales right in front of you, in one of their auxiliary tanks. And the trainers are right there, answering questions, etc. Awesome.

Kissing at the ballgame

Seattle made national news lately when a couple of lesbians were booted from Safeco Field for kissing. Well, we're at the ballpark now (albeit Cheney Stadium, home of the M's AAA team) so I asked Cheryl to take a stand for civil liberties and smooch me. She's shy, so, you know, no tongue. But she is REALLY shy and won't kiss me at all. And she is resentful of my phone-blogging and net-surfing. So that is two strikes against me at the old ball game.

couldn't give blood ...

So I decided to be a good citizen and offer my veins to the bloodmobile. Arteries, too. I'm a giver. But they didn't want me or my lousy 35 hematocrit. (Gotta be at 38 to give.)

Cheryl says the problem is that if unchecked I will eat crackers and spray cheese for dinner every night. Which isn't too far from the truth, though in fairness to me, I often eat broccoli for an afternoon snack. Clearly, though, I need more iron.

The bus tunnel - claustrophobic

So here is the view from the bus, while in the downtown Seattle bus tunnel. I think I have been in it before (before it closed to tweak the tracks for light rail), but I don't remember it being so claustrophobic. Odd that it strikes me that way 'cause I love subways. Maybe it is that I am used to buses out in the great wide (albeit trafficky) open.

The trains are gonna be cool. I see them doing practice runs andlong for the day when they'll come to Federal Way.