Mark and Karen go West

SanFrantastic!

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Two weekends ago, we jumped on a plane for a few days in San Francisco – Karen’s first four-day break since April. Youch! We landed on a cloudy Thursday and took a stroll through Chinatown to Coit Tower. Then a superb modern Indian dinner at Amber – yum!

Friday we rented bikes and just rolled the city. First up, breakfast at Eddie’s Dinner – Karen’s local greasy spoon. Mmmm, yellow food.

Then out to Golden Gate, up the De Joung tower and out to the beach to paddle in glorious sunshine, while watching pro surfers bob around. The Legion of Honour was another great stop, though hilly.

Back in town, we met up the sparkly Jeanne, over from London for a conference. We had a brief rooftop drink at a hotel without a rooftop bar (long story), then over to the Tonga room for the full tiki experience – drinks with umbrellas, cheesy music and a thunderstorm with real rain on the hour. Dinner at Absinthe with Ral, Scott and pal rounded off a great day.

Saturday was our big outing, up and over the Golden Gate to Mount Tamalpais. Stunning scenery from the ridge – although it wasn’t hot!

Back to SF again and I took a quick tour around the MOMA while Jeanne and Karen chatted and shopped. In the evening, tasty Peruvian fare at the highly recommendable La Mar on the Embarcadero, followed by dancing at the incredible Starlight Room on top of the Sir Francis Drake hotel. No bowls here!

After all that excitement, a relaxed Sunday in Portola Valley with aunt Ann and uncle Bruce, Bruce and Nicole, Julie and Tim and their charming 10-month twins, Drew (in blue) and Carson.

It’s Movember!

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And you know what that means – crazy pictures of me with ridiculous facial hair. It’s all in a good cause, prostate cancer, so if you’d like to sponsor me, head over to my Movember page and dig deep. Thanks!

http://mobro.co/meharris

Day trip to Charlotte, NC

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Yes, that’s right, I headed right across the country for a day trip to North Carolina, on a Sunday Times story to try to gain access to Apple’s famous but ultra-secret new data centre in Maiden.

I can’t say too much until the story runs in mid-November, but suffice to say that it was a fun day with a great snapper, Bob Leverone, who kept me amused as we drove all around in search of technology – and a story.

And if a picture paints 1000 words….

A quiet October…

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Not too much to report this month. Karen was working hard on the Kindle Fire project, I was getting back into paid stuff for The Sunday Times and we continued to (slowly) get the house into shape for the arrival of kids – adoption does take its own sweet time…

In the meantime, we babysat for Anna and Dash (Alison and Hart’s kids) one weekend, which was quite a giggle – although it made me realise just how knackered we’ll be when our one(s) arrive.

We also took a fantastic walk on Green Mountain just outside Bremerton (who knew?), seeing snakes, salamanders and great clouds of huckleberries.

But as it typical for this time of year – not much of a view…

More Kitsap, more colour, mostly grey

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Just two quick pics from the Kitsap Colour Classic, this year with Doug as Bill was feeling under the weather. And don’t be fooled by this picture – there was weather aplenty, with us catching a nasty squall from the Hood Canal Bridge into Poulsbo.

Doug had the crazy idea to ride up to Edmonds on the mainland too, thus turning a 42-mile jaunt into a 70-odd bone breaker. Worth it for the moment we blasted down into Edmonds, past the ferry ticket office, past the cops, past the ferry workers and straight onto the boat. Then the rope comes down behind us and we set sail moments later – sweet!

Autumn leaves falling

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With the departure of the Brits for the summer, it was almost time to bid farewell to someone else – Trika headed out for her new life in Rotterdam at the end of September. Before she left, though, a massive moving sale on 1st Avenue…

Great fun unloading all Trika’s crazy beautiful stuff on her friends, neighbours, passers-by and a few semi-pro yard sale dealers. No takers for the $25,000 Corvette, mind, even with our Buy One, Get A Vintage Barstool Half Price offer.

Here’s the lady herself all packed and ready to go the airport. Good luck lady – we love you and are going to miss you tonnes!!!

Brits ‘n’ Bumbershoot

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The next morning, we drove over to Roslyn – where ‘Alaskan’ ‘comedy’ show Northern Exposure was shot in the 80s and 90s. A lovely spot for rummage sales, seeing V8 chainsaws and acquiring some snazzy $1 trucker hats.

Then back to Seattle, for a weekend of local stuff. Of course, we had to show them the delights of an afternoon sail on Ulithi.

And the dubiously minty goodness of the gum wall at Pike Place…

On the Monday, we headed over to Bumbershoot for honk…

… corn dogs…

… and of course the monorail!

Brits ‘n’ broncos

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But you didn’t come here for jaw wagging and gossip mongering, you came to see some horses, some bulls and some wild, wild cow milking. Right, pardner?

There was a great patriotic opening number with the Stars and Stripes fluttering proudly alongside the official rodeo flag of various local companies – very cheesy!

Then down to the action at last…

Bucking broncos!

Steer roping!

Wild cow milking! (Highly amusing).

Livened by a certain amount of rodeo clowning – and the One Armed Bandit and his buffalo (bison).

Brits ‘n’ bandits

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Now our Western adventure really begins. Straight over to the Flying Horseshoe Ranch in Cle Elum, where we drop our saddlebags in our bunkhouse and get cowboy-ing.

Aimee and Joe took out some fine stallions on a ride, while Alex and I moseyed on over to Suncadia and did our bush-whacking on two wheels. “There’s a trail here just down there.” (Er, maybe not).

Back for a swim at the Flying Horseshoe then out to the Ellensburg Rodeo – yee ha! Here we are behind the scenes with the One Armed Bandit (more of him later), courtesy of good ol’ JC.

Here’s JC now – the most chilled out security guy ever…

Brits ‘n’ bathyspheres

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No sooner do we bid farewell to Emma and family than it’s time to welcome our next visitors. First up are Scott – a journo pal of mine – and his friend James on the first leg of their great American West Coast roadtrip. I shudder to think what this Mustang saw by the time they reached Tijuana.

They overlapped one night with the arrival of Alex, Aimme and Joe from Nottingham. Great to see my old best mate again, and having such a great time with his family!

We did a quick trip around Fremont/Wallingford, and caught a baseball, then headed out on our own Western road trip. First stop: Snow Lake at the top of the pass.

A hot, sweaty and tough hike up – but what a payoff…

We went right over the pass and camped for the night in a charming Forest Service cabin.

Salmon and potatoes roasted on the fire, marshmallows and, oh yes, just a little Rainier beer.

The Brooks on tour #7

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I’m stumped at how they got out of this one

Dungeness Spit. Longer and hotter and harder to walk than it looks.

Gap Kids ad #1.

Beach art!

The Brooks on tour #6

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After Forks, we push on to Second Beach. Wow. Just wow.

Nice kilt, Christian.

Arty.

Pretty idyllic – but hot and windy!

Ice creams at La Push, where Christian gets chatting with the owner of a Boss Hoss (V8 power). Of course, he gets offered a go on it…

Another lovely evening around the fire

The Brooks on tour #5

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My golden rule: you can’t beat Lake Crescent. Shockingly empty, stunningly beautiful, and a decent lunch in a vintage conservatory. If you think the beach looks good, the endless, deep, deep blue has to be seen to be believed.

A couple of hours here, then into Port Angeles for some light Twilightery and stocking up at the Safeway. Funny little town.

Get out of the way of the ferry, for dog’s sake!

Some late night reading

The next day was our REAL Twilight experience though, starting with the easily surprised one-vampire town of Forks. We did the school (demolished), the police station, the hospital (with props!) and the fabulous Dazzled by Twilight merch stores, of course.

Then, an all-American lunch at the In Place

The Brooks on tour #4

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At last, we meet up with Karen again, and shuttle the cars up Hurricane Ridge (after a quick lunch in a casino car park).

Wait a second – how many Maddys?

Our was ‘mostly’ downhill to Chippy, through a veil of mist and clouds, wildflowers and deer.

Snowball alert!

Then rush down the mountain to Altaire campground by the Elwha river. Hurrah! Two great spots right next to each other.

A beautiful morning!

Back on the road to Marymere Falls and some HUGE trees.

Family and waterfall. Perfect.

The Brooks on tour #3

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This was the week that Harstene turned into Artstene, thanks to the girls’ effort on transforming the new trail into a charming art walk. It all started with sand dollar mobiles…

Look how great they are in situ…

Which inspired us to add some memory stones…

And Emma’s glorious sunburst (plus a few surprises!)

I think we were all a little bit sad to leave, but the Olympics were beckoning!

The Brooks on tour #2

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Now for a boating theme. On the first Sunday, we piled on to the Ulithi and headed into Lake Union. Christian opened University Bridge.

Sandwiches vs chips. A tough choice, thanks to Doug and Susan.

More bridge antics on our return, followed by a lovely swim and a spotting of the fabled Laurelhurst bald eagle.

The next day, we packed up and headed out to Harstene – for probably the three hottest, calmest days of the summer. Lovely.

Lots of kayaking, swimming and paddle-boarding…

… and other forms of liquid refreshment

Even Emma had a (very brief) spin on the scary swing.

And more beach-combing than you can possibly imagine.

A lovely picture of my lovely sister

The Brooks on tour #1

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One of the real highlights of my year – the arrival of Emma, Christian, Tilly and Maddy at the height of summer, for two glorious weeks.

We started with a tour of Wallingford and Fremont (where’s Maddy?)

Including a tour of the famous Theo’s Chocolate Factory. Stylish!

Maddy’s on TV!

Relaxing on the porch…

On Emma’s birthday, we went to Green Lake for a dip, then into town and up the Space Needle. But not before birthday cupcakes.

View from the top

Then while Em and Christian painted the town red and stayed in a boutique sleepery, Karen and I took the girls to the very, very laid back Goddess Festival in Meridian Park just up the road. I bought a hula hoop! For me! Core strength, honest.

Bike ride to Hartstene

2011-08-03T16:03:00.001-07:00

While I was in NY, Karen was entertaining the Ginger & Kurt, Alison & Kurt and Trika down at Hartstene. I was keen to join them but how to get there? Two wheels, of course. I just made the 0830 ferry from downtown and was wheels down – in the rain! – by 0945.

It was actually a pretty easy run: courteous drivers, lovely countryside and mostly cool, calm weather. Here I am ‘enjoying’ a geoduck (look it up) & lemon ice cream in Allyn – my first and probably only foray into frozen seafood sweet treats.

Not much else to say about the day, except that it was amazing to see everyone down there and have a shower under the trees and a swim in the sound, and a lovely meal at Gig Harbour with Ann and Ted on the way home. Here’s Trika leaving in her Corvette.

48 hours in New York

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Last week, I flew out to NY for an interview – and to see Jess who was over to present to the UN (yes, she did meet Ban Ki-Moon)! I took the ever-unpleasant red-eye over but at least that meant I could meet Jess for breakfast before I headed up to New Haven.

In the evening, we had a quick drink with Laura at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central station before heading out to a cool UN party at the rooftop pool bar of the Gansevoort Hotel.

NY was hot. Seriously, meltingly hot. So naturally we spent most of Friday out of doors, initially at the High Line extension in Chelsea. Here, I am eating an avocado ice cream that tasted like frozen guacamole. Lovely.

Later we took the ferry to Governors Island. It’s my new favourite place: the ferry is quaint, there are no cars on the island, free bike rental and crumbling old Navy buildings are filled with pop-up art shows. We really didn’t want to leave!

But we had to head out to see the cousins at yet another rooftop bar with great views of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings.

Sadly, it started chucking it down soon after people arrived. Here’s the first batch hiding under the meagre plastic roof.

Some surprise additions. My old next door neighbours from Brighton, Nathan and Georgia, landed the same day, and gamely came out to brave the weather and their jetlag to see me. Hurrah!

We ended the night in a dimly-lit speakeasy-style bar. Not really worth all the fuss but a fine and classy place for a light cocktail.

We took things easier on the Saturday (it was even hotter!) but Jess and I did manage to spend a few hours in the MOMA before I had to fly off home.

Katleb’s wedding

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Big news in the Watts family this summer was the marriage of Kate and Caleb. Here we are outside the venue, the magnificent and sadly disused Union Station downtown.

Raleigh was MC for the day – not an easy job with acoustics so echoey.

Kate looked lovely, of course.

Overnight to Blake Island

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The week before Kate’s wedding, the Watts family started flooding into town, so Raleigh decided to treat Peggy and me to an overnight sail to Blake Island just beyond Elliot Bay.

We had a very light sail (mostly a motor) out to the island, whereupon the weather immediately brightened up.

Peggy and I set off for a walk around the island. It was a really lovely 3-mile woodland hike without a person to be seen – although we did have some company.

The island is also home to a relocated Indian village, where tourists can enjoy a salmon dinner and some native dancing. We just enjoyed grilled asparagus and tuna on the boat!

Not the best night’s sleep on board – it was roasting hot and I was still very much in recovery mode with my arm. But lovely to be out on Ulithi with such great company. It felt like a mini holiday!

Portland with Liz and Ben

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In early July, Ben, a friend of Karen’s from Amazon back in the UK, was over here for work. We all piled into Liz’s car and headed down to Portland for the weekend. First stop was the amazing nationally famous ice cream truck started by Karen’s friend, Kim! Mmmm, double scoops…

Then we took a trip up Portland’s most touristy public transportation, the cable car to a hilltop hospital. That’s Mount Adams in the reflection.

Ginger and Sam enjoying the view.

And here’s the view. Who knew Portland had so many bridges?

My first Independence Day in Seattle!

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In 2008, we arrived on July 12. In 2009 and 2010, we wisely went camping, so this was my very first 4th July celebration in Seattle. Here are Shaun, Amy and friends from a couple of doors down the road with their highly decorated lemonade stand.

And hats off to Doug for throwing a first class party in his garden (and to Susan for providing vegetarian victuals). My contribution was this rather strange-looking patriotic hummus.

After some light boozing at Doug and Susan’s we wandered/hiked down the hill past spontaneous arsonism in serach of a viewing point for the famous Gasworks Park annual display.

We ended up on Wallingford Avenue, about half a mile from the park. The street was closed to traffic and everyone had dragged out chairs and sofas to get a view. The atmosphere got even better when the city turned out the street lights a few minutes later (seriously!).

Here’s Karen, Doug and Susan enjoying the show!

And just a taste of the fireworks themselves. It was a pretty amazing show – much better than the impromptu testing sessions I used to have on Brighton beach. But perhaps lacking some of the thrill of imminent immolation…

Start of a Hartstene summer

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Woo hoo! First hot day at Hartstene, so what better time to pull out the power tools and clear some brush? Work broke down into about 70% talking, 20% chainsaws and 10% getting thorns in our hands. But the results looked great (er, not pictured).

After Trika arrived at lunchtime, we headed up to the trail Karen and I made earlier in the year to see if we could still see it. We could (just) and engaged in some light salal macheteing.

The most exciting bit was spotting a small saw whet owl, who fluttered down to check us out (and vice versa). So exciting, in fact, that I thought I deserved a break.

Before the evening’s strenuous activities of playing croquet and eating a huge family-style dinner. Another perfect Hartstene weekend.

Mount Rose hike

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Saturday was the start of a long holiday weekend here for the annual 4 July celebrations. Karen and I had a lie in, then jumped on a ferry for the Olympics. Our target: Mount Rose, just outside the National Park on the shores of Lake Cushman.

This was my first hike since the op, and I was surprised how smoothly it went – no sling and I was even wearing a backpack! But the walk itself was a killer: about 3000 vertical feet and about 6.5 miles in total. Here’s Karen taking a breather and spotting…

… a fantastic view of Mount Rainier about 100 miles away.

We didn’t make it all the way to the top due to slippery snow, steep slopes and a very chaotic lack of trail. But we did see this lovely waterfall to cool our tootsies.

Talking of which, we made full use of the lake when we got back down to our dusty car. I found that it is possible to swim with one arm, without going in circles too much! Here’s my Loch Ness monster impression.

And here’s a snap of charming downtown Shelton, where we stopped for Vietnamese seafood and excessive air-conditioning.

And we’re off!

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As usual, our Girasol float is the last ensemble in the parade – which just means that the crowd is warmed up (ie. well oiled). Despite the damp conditions, there was a great atmosphere.

The band truly played their hearts out, blasting out spicy Brazilian rhythms even without their full-power PA.

The pushers were great this year too – so much so that I could wander around and enjoy the parade without worrying about whether we’d make it through Fremont to Gasworks Park. Great work guys!

But of course the stars of the show were the dancers – here’s K busting some samba moves.

Before we know it (well, two hours later), it’s Gasworks Park and time to start breaking it all down again!

Time for a well-deserved pizza (in costume, of course!) and reflections on another fun, tiring, exciting, inspirational, busy parade. I’m glad it’s 10 months before we have to start worrying about it again, though…

Who rained on our parade?

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Just that pesky rain god, all day long. Saturday morning was spent in the annoyingly familiar task of duct-taped plastic sheeting to our float so that the musicians wouldn’t electrocute themselves.

Then Karen tried wafting our painstakingly printed streamers dry. Good luck with that – while it’s still raining!

Getting ready…

Michaela, our singer, puts on a brave face!

Isn’t Karen lovely?!

Some of the other ensembles – this cool Anti-Monopoly float was excellent.

But the prize for the simply the most artistic, beautiful and well thought out float was Brian’s ‘Nuclear Summer’. Simply amazing. As well as stilt-walking decontamination workers, they had a superb smoke-puffing cooling tower and a scary radioactive monster.

Solstice 11– One-armed float building

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So pretty much every spare minute in May and June is occupied with Solstice Parade-related activities. Here’s a quick run-through of the build. This year, the theme was ‘Awakenings’ – the dancers had a bit of a calmer choreography and we wanted to reflect that in a little less complicated, more flowing float. Plus I couldn’t lift, haul, cut or screw anything, so we did what we could. (Big kudos to Karen for doing far more than her fair share!).

Here’s the float getting painted over and repaired from last year.

Bill and Christy volunteered a Saturday to help – fantastic!

It starts to take shape (and colour)…

Cool evening dance practice at Gasworks Park.

Getting ready for the float roll the night before!

Yay! Trika donated her muscles for the evening!

Day trip to San Francisco

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At the start of the month, I jumped on a plane for a whistlestop trip to SF for the launch of some Apple products. This is quite a big deal in the world of geeks, and it was the first time I was asked. I arrived on the Sunday and spent the day walking.

My big discovery was Buena Vista Park, which I had never visited before – what a lovely woody oasis in the middle of the city – and beautiful views indeed!

More great views from the observation tower at the De Jong museum in Golden Gate Park.

And the outside ain’t too shabby either.

In the evening, I met up with the British PR group, including some old friends – David Phelan, Mark Prigg, Luke Peters and more. Delicious food then back to the hotel bar for a few grappas and a surprise performance by London band The Vaccines.

In the morning, straight off to the Apple launch, with thousands of others. Not much to report here – although here’s a picture of Steve Jobs explaining something deep about the Cloud.

Lots of work, then just time to pop into the SF MOMA for a pot of art tea before my flight home. Phew!

Sticks and stones…

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… and pavement, apparently. Four weeks ago now, I fell in the street and broke my right arm (humerus) quite badly. Here’s how it looked when I went to the emergency room that night.

As you might be able to see, the shaft of the bone snapped right through, and also part of the joint head separated, too. It was extremely painful. I had to wait a week for an operation at the University of Washington Medical Centre. Here’s an X-ray they shot while I was on the operating table.

I’m not sure what that metal thing at the bottom is, but certainly nothing good. It turned out to be a more complicated fracture than they had thought, and the operation took around 4.5 hours. I’m now recovering slowly at home, trying to balance my pain with my pain medications, trying to get some sleep (I have to sit upright) and trying not to annoy Karen too much.

Last week, I went in for a post-operative X-ray and some advice.

So there’s the plate they put in, complete with nine (I think) screws. This will stay inside forever. The wound itself has healed up quite nicely already but I have around six months to one year of recovery and physical therapy ahead of me.

I will find out in about four to eight weeks from now whether the surgery was a complete success. If not, I may have to have another operation or something more serious. Until then, fingers crossed!

Cycling Thailand in a day

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Well, not the whole country obviously, but at least the whole of ‘Ancient Siam’ history theme park in Bangkok’s distant suburbs. It sounds cheesy but was actually loads of fun – genuine buildings, scale reproductions and some brand new architecture too.

Plenty to gawp at, and lots to make Karen look good…

Who’s that crazy statue on the hill?

Here’s one of our favourite structures – fishy!

Monty did the honours on the temptingly empty Buddha plinth.

But check out this elegant silhouette too.

After lunch, we jumped in a cab back to Chang Erawan – the 30m tall bronze three-headed elephant that Mum, Jess, Paul and I visited back in 2004. Then, it was in a dusty backwater – now it has a six-lane motorway roaring past its tusks. Still insane, though.

That was our big day out. On our last day in town, we did some light shopping, found a great Tom Yam salad joint and loved the Bangkok Art Mall (BAM, I think?), home to the coolest ice cream bar in the world, and a wonderfully air-conditioned film café.

Monsoons, temples and palaces

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The next day, we braved some amazing monsoon weather to explore the Grand Palace complex and temples.

Saw the biggest, laziest Buddha in the world at Wat Pho, where Karen slunk off for an ultra-traditional massage at the school that basically invented it!

Chedis, temples and buddhas galore.

And some very cool wall paintings!

We stopped to relax at the museum café, where I bravely opted for the durian ice lolly. Upside? Seeing Karen crinkle her nose in disgust. Downside? Suffering ghastly durian burps for the rest of the day.

In the afternoon, we headed back into the klong to uncover the Royal Barges Museum, where we got to watch artisans restoring the King’s very own barge. Interesting.

Monty magic in Bangkok

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Our next excursion was to seamy Bangkok. Seamy because it was 38C and 95% humidity rather than any particularly risqué nightlife. Karen and I stayed at a wonderful new B&B (the Asadang) in the Old Quarter.

And then Monty showed up! Wahey! Great to see Monty looking so tanned and light and healthy, then it was straight out to tour the city’s unbelievably scenic klongs (canals).

There were temples, shanty houses, teak mansions, banana trees and huge swimming lizards. Ace!

Karen even had to fend off at one point when the propeller of our long-tailed boat got all snarled up.

We had a great seafood dinner and neighbourhood tour with Monty’s friend Sue, topped off with a lovely riverside drink (she also facilitates passports).

Trekking in Sa Pa – day two

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The second day walking was even hotter, but less of a descent. Again, we were crossing paddy fields and villages.

For a while, we were shadowed by this group of kids walking the same trail as us – on stilts!

Then we plunged into thick bamboo forests. Great fun, moving through swirls of green, avoiding muddy sinkholes by swinging on bendy bamboo poles. Poor Cindy got quite bogged down!

Watch out for that buffalo!

After the bamboo, we came across a glorious cascade of water. Clothes off and straight under for the most refreshing shower we could imagine – and with an unbeatable view. Then it was down the final trail, over the last bridge and a gentle walk along the river to our pick-up. Here’s Karen back in Sa Pa, ready for the train back!

Trekking in Sa Pa – overnight at Ta Van

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Just when we thought we couldn’t get any hotter or any more tired, we arrived at our homestay hut in Ta Van village. Time to drop the packs, change into flip-flops and head down to the river to cool off!

The girls look a little classier than us blokes.

At least, until you get a beer in them.

We had a great time at the hut – the locals laid out on a huge spread of seafood, veggies, meat and rice which we washed down with numerous toasts of powerful rice wine. We had the whole upper floor to ourselves to sleep – not a problem after the long day!

Here’s us with the family.

Trekking in Sa Pa – day one

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Scott arranged a trekking weekend for us in Sa Pa – a hilly region near the Chinese border of Vietnam. Our adventure started on Friday night, with a sleeper train from Hanoi to the town of Lao Cai.

The train was actually remarkably comfortable, with big bunks, air conditioning and no hooting! We arrived at 5am in jumped straight into minicabs for the 30km ride through morning mists up to Sa Pa.

It was market day – and also Communist stand around and drill day – so we soaked up some atmosphere while we prepared for our hike. Here’s Mr Hai, our energetic and very capable (despite his gormless expression here!) guide, deciding on a route.

It was downhill all the way (luckily), and one of our first stops was a primary school expecting some important officials that day.

Incredibly, it seems the local tribes do dress in those exquisite costumes every day, even for farm work.

Here’s a photo of us before we got too sweaty!

Here’s where we stopped for lunch. Karen bravely took the very rickety wooden bridge.

Intrepid explorers. Walking through the villages was extremely interesting, seeing how water was piped through bamboo to supply drinking and cleaning water and irrigate hundreds of terraced fields.

Sailing Ha Long Bay

2011-05-09T15:51:00.001-07:00

Mid-week, Karen and I took ourselves out of town to the famous (read: rather touristy) Ha Long Bay. We had berths aboard the Emeraude, a classy replica Colonial paddle steamer. All brass, teak and Death on the Nile.

Accompanied by perhaps a dozen other tourist boats, we sailed into Ha Long Bay, home to thousands of dramatic limestone karsts, hundreds of fishing boats and even a few floating villages.

The weather was misty – extremely atmospheric and rather charming.

We stopped at a cheesy cavern then motored further out to a wonderful kayaking spot – launching from the back of the boat.

After getting hot on the water, we cooled off in the water.

After drying off, more cruising, past a series of gorgeous coves, beaches and headlands, with eagles flying overhead. Very pretty!

In the evening, we dined on fresh shrimp bought from the nearest floating village and watched ‘Indochine’, a French epic set in 1950s Vietnam (and Ha Long Bay), starring Catherine Deneuve. Classy.

The next day, more sailing, then back to Hanoi.

Hanoi – Food

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Not that I want to go on about it or anything but the nosh in Nam is truly superb. The markets look fantastic – as refrigeration is still fairly uncommon, everything is eaten completely fresh.

Lots of cool old French cafés to enjoy ultra-sweetened iced coffee and tea drinks.

But Hanoi is all about the street food – here’s a stall just over the road from Scott’s office.

My favourite meal of the holiday – muc tien – squid grilled with chilli and garlic, dipped in a lime/salt/wasabi sauce. Heaven!

Even museum café found was exceptional – here’s a dish at the Museum of Ethnology.

But we had some fancy meals too, including a sumptuous repast at the famous Green Tangerine.

And what better way to round off a huge meal than with a trip to the T Bar (the disco that kept Scott awake every night). Great people-watching!

Hanoi - People

2011-05-09T14:46:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know there are people in almost every photo here, but a few are worth mentioning specially. One day, I took a cab out to the Hanoi suburbs to take lunch with Chuc and her family. Her husband led the team that first synthesized the anti-malaria drug artemisinin in Vietnam. We had a delicious meal and I found out a lot about the work to bring this life-saving drug to Vietnam. Hopefully, I’ll be writing about this in due course.

Another meet-up in Hanoi was with Kate (SystaBB), an Australian DJ who I’ve been listening to for years online. It was a real blast to share a few Singapore Slings with her on the deck at (a very deserted) Press Club.

Sadly, I didn’t manage to meet up with an old school friend, Paul, who now lives in Hanoi also. So here are some pictures of Hanoi locals to compensate! Watching an artist at work…

Viet skaters practising hip-hop in a colonial bandstand!

And the city’s most famous resident, ‘Uncle’ Ho, now embalmed, waxed and available for a swift, eerie visit every day between 8 and 11am.

Hanoi trip – Places

2011-05-09T14:33:00.001-07:00

About a month ago now, Karen got on board some lovely Korean Air planes and jetted off to Vietnam to visit Scott. We arrived on a weekend, so Scott showed us around. Here’s Karen on the back of his scooter – I had to get a motorbike taxi (xe om). Great fun.

It’s a really fun town, where life is lived on the street for everyone to share – people eat their meals, get their hair cut, sell their wares and even have their teeth examined on a tiny strip between buildings and the choking, chaotic but remarkably safe roads.

Lots of cool stuff to see of course. Here’s the flag tower at the Citadel, with some revolutionary poses. Just around the corner were the remains of crashed American jets from their last, big war.

Just walking the streets was a lot of fun. There are buildings left over from the nearly century-long French colonial rule, and a few ancient temples, too.

Here’s Scott’s friend Cindy who showed up the day after us. We did a lot of sight-seeing together, as well as our big hill tribe trek – more details of that later.

This being a Communist country still (in name at least), there were some great flags, posters and murals exhorting citizens to vote or show courtesy on the roads etc.

Karen fitted right in, of course.

More hands!

St Patrick’s Day in Boston

2011-05-09T12:52:00.001-07:00

Sorry, way, way behind with the blog. I’ll try to catch up while I’m recovering from my broken shoulder but no promises!

Eons ago, in March, I went to Boston for the weekend to interview Dr Stephen Wolfram for The Economist and hang out with Bill. Here’s what happened. Red-eye to Bill’s, where winter still had a grip – the lake was frozen!

We went into town and explored the new American wing of the MFA, which was pretty impressive – despite the enormous Chihuly glass thingy in the atrium. This is me shaking my fist at it.

On the Sunday, we headed into South Boston (‘Southie’) for the St Patrick’s Day Parade, a heaving maelstrom of green clothing and pasty white skin. The tube in was insanely crowded – I thought Bill was going under at one point…

Plenty of Oirish characters to observe…

And I even got into the spirit of things!

Of course no St Paddy’s Day would be complete without a drunk Irihs policeman…

And a shamrock-encrusted HumVee. Good times.

As a vain attempt to up the cultural quotient, we went to the lovely DeCordova sculpture park on Monday – and it even started snowing!

Queso all-inclusivo at San Jose del Cabo

2011-02-15T18:23:00.001-08:00

We though, enough wet weather! Let’s just jump on a plane and find somewhere hot! And so we did.

Just four hours from Seattle, at the tip of Baja California are Los Cabos. We opted for a charming ’70s resort called La Posada Real.

Friday afternoon – straight out on to the beach with an (all-inclusive) Dos Equis and two nights of fun to look forward to!

Checking out the beach from a lifeguard tower.

You want cheese? I can do cheese!

On the Saturday afternoon, we walked up to town through a fantastic estuary and bird sanctuary that only slightly smelled of sewage.

The town of San Jose del Cabo is pretty darn quaint – and knows it.

The lovely Mission-style church looks out over a square that was home to a fun local festival of food and performance.

We watched the action from La Internacional, a stunningly cool ’40s style diner – it felt like Casablanca (film, not town).

Here’s Karen looking sexier than Ingrid Bergman.

Prancing at the Paramount

2011-02-15T18:11:00.001-08:00

What could be better than a behind the scenes tour of the gorgeous Belle Epoque Paramount Theatre downtown? How about a tour with Cornish students giving site-specific modern dance performances? Here they are in the jaw-dropping lobby.

And dancing in the stalls as we hang out on stage. Nice. (Er actually just a minute after I shot this!)

Karen has serious star power!

And the coolest bit of the tour – the projection and electrics room up in the gods.

Mount Rainier snowshoeing

2011-02-15T18:06:00.001-08:00

Get ready for these pictures! Somehow we managed to pick the nicest day of the year for our snowshoe excursion to Mount Rainier, with Ben, who was over from the UK for Amazon work, and Maiken.

Ben hadn’t snowshoed before but he was a natural and we were soon up getting lost among the trees. We took a circuitous route up to Reflection Lakes to avoid potential avalanches, but the effort was worth. Here we are enjoying can of Rainier beer at its source!

The attractions of my feta and hummus bagels were too much for this little critter to resist. Apparently, snowshoes make excellent perches while waiting for crumbs!

The walk over the frozen lake was simply sublime.

Here’s a nice contre-jour of me and Karen.

Great views of Rainier along the snowed-in road on the return leg.

Although it was a little nerve-wracking traversing this avalanche field. No sneezing at the back there!

Silicon Valley overnight

2011-02-15T17:56:00.001-08:00

Seeing as I was down in Silicon Valley to interview legendary VC Vinod Khosla, I thought I’d pop in on Julie and Tim just a couple of weeks before the twins arrived.

And also to check out Tim’s Pez collection of course!

After my interview, I tackled Windy Hill – a lovely hike but soaking weather. Excuse the blurry lens!

This felt just like being up on the North Yorks moors.

Before my flight, I even had time to sample the San Jose Art Museum – highly recommended!

A Christmas Discovery

2011-02-15T17:52:00.001-08:00

Probably the coolest Christmas present Karen got for me was the gift of garden work, courtesy of Adopt An Area at Discovery Park. The idea is very ‘Big Society’ – volunteers take responsibility for a plot at the park, clear out invasives, remove trash and replant.

Here’s our Before shot – REI has been through but there’s still a lot of work to do.

Karen hard at work in the snow.

We also had a few eager helpers – Anna and Dash. Thanks Team Rusen!

The rest of the park has some old Army buildings, a beach, some great woods, an Indian cultural centre and a sewage treatment plant. It’s a pretty cool park.

Another Portland New Years

2011-02-15T17:45:00.001-08:00

After the craziness of our London trip, it was great to head down to spend NYE 2010 with Ginger, Kurt and Sam. Here’s Sam helping me with my child-proof meds.

We took it pretty easy, but had a great walk up, er, some cool ravine in Washington Park is it? Lots of ice waterfalls and, especially for the Brit, some birds at the top.

Here’s the smiley crowd…

And me and Sam!

Family Festivities

2011-01-18T18:55:00.001-08:00

The highlight of the trip, of course, was hanging out with Mum, Dad, Jess, Emma and all the other family members who made it another Christmas to remember! Still missing you!

Dad, Helen, Pauline and Emma.

Mum’s 70th birthday!

Mmm. Yuletide nibbles.

But what can it be??

Aaah!

My glamorous sisters!

Bonkers!

Sledging in the dark…

Just the two of us

2011-01-18T18:48:00.001-08:00

The trip wasn’t just a chance to catch up with friends and family, and revisit some old haunts – Karen and I had a top holiday together.

On the beach in Brighton.

Having fun in the Basketmakers. Honest.

Mmmm. Fried food at Bills.

Possibly not having quite so much fun at this point.

But who can stay annoyed with scenery like this?

Do I know how to show my wife a good time or what?

Boris’s Bikes – great fun. Until you can’t park ‘em.

Finest Portrait in the Gallery.

I’ve decided to leave my corpse to a glass box, also.

And I had to include this shot…

Christmas places

2011-01-18T18:40:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the fun places we visited and things we saw while in the UK. First up, a copper on the bog in Brighton. Lovely.

Baby Madonna.

Burwash Church, on our epic train, walk, hitch and hike…

…to the very lovely (and very empty) Browns Oak Cottage.

Snowy fields.

The official 2012 Olympic mascots outside the National Gallery.

Kapoor’s mirror art in Hyde Park.

Ganeesh in the British Museum

Christmas faces

2011-01-18T18:33:00.001-08:00

Lordy, am I behind in the old blogorama. Here’s the first of a few posts all about the people behind our Christmas back in Blighty. No great drama here – just some of the people we love and miss and were very happy to reconnect with over a pint of beer or cuppa!

Starting, as did our trip, with family O’Rourke in The George.

Here’s Mr Ben Ashon-Lakeland, on top of the world.

Thence to the pub, as tradition demands. The Vine Street posse back together – Nathan, Georgia and Tor.

Cheer up James, it’s only scrumpy. Poor lad had much jet-lag. Don’t know what Keith’s excuse was, though.

Voila! The glam Ms Lewis.

So surely Emma can’t be too far behind…

Here’s are the wonderful, brainy and fun Jeanne, John and kids – we stayed in their cosy madhouse for two fun nights.

Ah, can’t forget the Curry Club! Cheers, Mark, James and Rob.

And that’s not all. A hangover is not really a hangover without Dipesh involved at some point. (Not pictured, Jags, Debbie, Nicola, Jill and about 10 bottles of wine).

The civilised company of Ben, Simon and families was just what we needed after the madness of London.

And, last but very definitely, not least, Adrian, Carol, Lewis and some ducks.

Racing with the Rusens

2010-12-13T18:27:00.001-08:00

Alison’s dad Al owns a sailing boat that is, I hesitate to say it, even more beautiful and less crash-damaged than the Ulithi, although perhaps equally temperamental. This year, Alison earned her captain’s wings and has organised Team Loon – a ragtag collection of misfits to crew the boat and drink mulled wine.

First race day was last Saturday. Well, actually the very first race day was in November but engine trouble stranded us at the marina. The engine problem recurred but we prevailed, with Al (in yellow) defty sailing us from the dock by wind power alone.

Sadly, there was virtually no wind at all. See the glassy Sound unruffled by the faintest breeze. Which at least meant we could enjoy our mulled Black Beret wine (Brian), cheesy nibbles (Trika) and spicy carrot soup (me) in relative peace.

Not as peaceful as these sealions, though, which we passed serenely in reverse as the light winds failed the battle the ever-so-slightly less light current.

Eventually, Al called it a day, fiddled around below decks with a pliers to literally spark the engine into life and we retreated to Shilshole. But Team Loon shall return!

Bellevue’s Garden of D’Lights

2010-12-10T17:02:00.001-08:00

Here’s an hallucinogenic kick-start to the holiday season. Bellevue’s Botanical Gardens dressed up in half a million fairy lights. Ann and Ted took us here after a slap-up Italian dinner on Monday.

The place really has to be seen to be believed. It’s folk art with a serious bank roll – all done by volunteers.

At times, it feels like you’re floating through an 1980s pixellated video game. Tron – anyone?

At other times, it’s just incredibly cheesy, but always strangely beautiful, whimsical and even a little charming.

Uh oh, Ted’s getting some ideas for next year…

Snowshoeing at Mt Rainier - Carter Falls

2010-12-10T16:53:00.001-08:00

A sunny morning, Mount Rainier towering over the city. Grab snowshoes, make yesterday’s baguette into sarnies, pack the peanut butter cups and hit the road. A speedy two hours to Mount Rainier National Park and park up at a Wonderland Trailhead just up from Longmire.

Of course, mountain weather being what it is, this is the last time we saw Rainier all day!

However, we do see a bunch of snow, a million ghostly trees and not another soul. Which occasionally makes finding the trail, buried under three feet of snow, a little challenging. Brave faces all round!

Bridges are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it means we are definitely on the trail. But drifting snow makes them especially hard work – even following in footprints as big as mine…

We follow our ears as much as our eyes to Carter and Madcap Falls in the end. Shimmering streams of water and a delicate shroud of “ice sickles” (grrr).

When I see this face, I know it’s time to turn around.

Back to the car with plenty of daylight. Unclip. Swap socks. Freewheel downhill to Eatonville for a mug of tea and a slab of cake. This is the life.

A new trail for Hartstene

2010-12-10T16:41:00.001-08:00

A rainy weekend in November. What more perfect time than to do something we’d been thinking about for a while – blaze a new trail through the woods?

We started from Karen’s bench up above Ann and Ted’s and just headed off in the brush. A couple of hours later we had the pretty good bones of a trail laid out.

Of course, we discovered some dreaded holly along the way. Here’s Karen and Raleigh wrenching up some roots. If you’re heading down to the island, please walk the trail – it’s an easy 1/2-mile loop and it needs some feet to keep it alive!

Oh, and it was a particularly lovely weekend for a walk along the shore, too…

Mark’s Movember

2010-11-23T18:15:00.001-08:00

Hey, I just realised that I didn’t post anything up here about my Movember effort. It’s part of a global campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer, and hopefully raise a few quid, too. Here’s my facial fungus after one week:

And here’s how it looked after a fortnight. Trust me, the digital effects are only a good thing.

Watch this space for more Movember updates – and if you’d like to chip in, or just a leave a comment, my Movember page is here:

http://us.movember.com/mospace/927808/

It’s really easy to donate (in $ or £) and every little helps!

Snowpocolypse 2010

2010-11-23T18:12:00.001-08:00

Just when we thought winter was still a month off, Seattle was hit by a humdinger of a blizzard yesterday.

Whiteout conditions through the night but we woke this morning to a glacial, blue-skied dawn. It could only mean one thing – snow day!

Karen and I wandered down to Gasworks Park to watch the kids sledding and chill our fingers to the point we could justify holing up in Irwins Bakery to thaw out.

It’s hard to believe it’s not even Thanksgiving yet – despite seeing autumn colours with a foot of snow… Do we have four months of this to come?

A little work at home, then out again to lunch at Green Lake with Bill and Christy. Here are some super-cooled ‘upsicles’ from the shore.

Trolloween – the Fremont troll turns 20

2010-11-23T17:53:00.001-08:00

After a little light trick or treat sweet dispersal, Karen and I threw on our rather low-effort costumes (Venetian courtiers!) and headed down to the troll under Aurora Bridge.

Apparently, the troll celebrates his birthday on October 31 and this year he turns a very dignified 20.

We watched some undead belly dancers and then a couple of zombies showed up…

Then it was downhill all the way for a rocking, glam-ed up parade through Fremont…

Finishing up in a drumming micro-rave under the Fremont Bridge. With skeletons, naturally.

Pumpkins ahoy!

2010-11-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the delay getting stuff up on the blog – no excuses, except that I’m really very lazy. So, zooming way back to Halloween, we started with a fun pumpkin carving party at Jen’s – including some squash the size of small cars.

Here’s Karen elbow deep in seeds and yellow gunk.

But the results were worthwhile I think! That’s Karen’s Mr Pringle in the foreground and my angry Space Invader second from top.

DC Day 3, Georgetown

2010-10-18T19:26:00.001-07:00

This was a nice finale to our Washington trip, moseying around the old(ish) streets of Georgetown – and enjoying a surprise trip on a mule-drawn canal boat on the Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal.

Action shot!

Crazy houses!

Then some very sad goodbyes on the Metro into town. Missing Mum and Dad lots already!

DC day 2, the Capitol

2010-10-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

A slightly more relaxed pace today, thankfully! We took a cab to the National Archives, gawked at the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and strolled next door to the wonderful sculpture garden.

Then over to the National Botanic Gardens – probably the only time I’ve been into a palm house where it’s *less* humid than outside.

No time to waste. Hiked up to the Executive Building to my Congressman’s office for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the US Capitol. Here are the secret tunnels so pols don’t have to get sweaty walking over to vote…

Stunning interiors included the old Senate chambers…

The old House of Representatives

And of course the majestic Rotunda

Here we are in a shaft of sunlight…

We wrapped the day up with a trip up the Old Post Office tower. Sorry George, much better views than from the Washington Monument.

DC day 1, part 2

2010-10-18T19:13:00.001-07:00

Phew. We were busy. Lunch at the National Museum of the American Indian in their Native Foods café. Like the whole place, the idea was better than the execution. Then off to the National Art Gallery for some Vermeer, Impressionists, early Italian and much more.

Sadly, not our B&B but a great spot in the National Art Gallery to take five.

In the evening, we headed out to a famous beer pub for a couple of pints with Kate, Caleb, Lauren, Brit and Janine. Great fun (and great cask beers) but I could see Mum and Dad were getting a bit tired.

The Harris family peeled off, grabbed a bit to eat, and crashed out.

A slow to train to DC

2010-10-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

The day after the wedding, Mum, Dad and I braved a mightily delayed Amtrak to head down to Washington DC. We stayed at a lovely, ultra-gay B&B up by Logan Circle – and hiked out immediately to see if we could see if the Obamas were at home.

The next morning we basically did everything. Washington Monument? Straight after breakfast.

WW2? A little bombastic but breaks up the walk to Vietnam War and on to…

… the spine-tingling Lincoln monument. OK, this may not have been his most inspiring speech.

I like this picture!

No rest! Hike on over to FDR. Really interesting design and some wonderful statuary. Quotes are the best bit though, of course.

Jefferson – probably my favourite. Gorgeous open architecture, lots of words!

Jen and Joey’s big day

2010-10-18T19:00:00.001-07:00

Wow – it’s the season for unseasonably clement weddings. Here we are at the church in Pleasantville for cousin Jennifer’s wedding ceremony. Sunny!

Melanie and Melissa were suitably lovely bridesmaids.

Then back to Stamford, Connecticut for some SERIOUS noshing. Sorry for the bluriness of this pic of Dad, James and Charlie.

Bernie was looking radiant!

A very healthy crowd were waiting for the bouquet

And here’s Mum and Dad busting some moves on the parquet

Mum and Dad in NYC

2010-10-18T18:55:00.001-07:00

Another year, another wedding in New York! Karen, Jess and I flew in on the Thursday before Jennifer and Joey’s wedding – and we all spent the Friday together in the city. Here we are soaking up humidity and the occasional sunbeam on the HighLine in Chelsea.

Karen looking like a movie star!

Mum camouflaging Jess!

After a fantastic lunch in a cool Italian bar, we headed uptown to the Met – the bamboo structure on the roof is well worth checking out…

In the evening, us kids headed out for unforgivably expensive and disappointingly average tapas – but great company from the cousins.

And finishing up with a late night drink and some pimped out low riders at Bryant Park. Fun!

And before we left Manhattan, we somehow managed to fit in the best flea market in the city – the annual attic clear-out at London Terrace.

Buy them, Jess! Buy them!

36 hours in Vancouver

2010-10-18T18:44:00.001-07:00

What does one do after disembarking from an all-you-can-eat cruise? Go to breakfast, of course! We chose possibly the worst value – and quite probably the sheer worst – breakfast buffet in the city, at the top of the Cloud Nine non-revolving restaurant.

Here is Karen pointing out some mist while attempting to keep down some ghastly ‘meat’ and cold eggs. Note the empty plate in the foreground – I had no such culinary qualms. We spent the day wandering round the city, mostly Granville Island and Yaletown.

A little vintage shopping then Karen left us to get the bus back to Seattle. For some reason, Jess and I then went up another non-revolving observation tower (the LookOut), this one a vast improvement if only due to the complete lack of lukewarm baked beans and stewed tea.

The next day, we hiked rather slowly around Stanley Park.

Naturally, we stopped for public art…

… totem poles…

… starfish…

… and lunch.

In the afternoon, an extremely civilised train ride home…

Cruising north

2010-10-18T18:05:00.001-07:00

Back to Seattle for just one night before we’re off again – this time with the minimum of effort. That’s right, it’s the Harris siblings very first cruise…

On the Sapphire Princess – first things first, grab a glass of bubbly and hit the hot tub. Check out those nails!

I’m not saying I could do a full seven-nighter, but there was something pleasantly novel about gliding through the Sound on a boat where you *don’t* have to pull any ropes, cook on a spluttery wood stove or worry about hitting rocks…

Naturally, we dressed for dinner. Which wasn’t half bad, as a matter of fact. Oh yes, our cabin had a wee balcony, which was well worth it.

Check out that sunset! Straight from a tour ship brochure…

Then a cheesy covers show where Karen fell asleep (during ‘Neil Diamond’!), an even cheesier disco, some highly enjoyable karaoke and, of course, what better way to finish the night than with an artificial rodeo?

And here’s the view we woke up to in the morning. Vancouver at dawn looks lovely.

Leben it up in Leavensworth

2010-10-18T17:56:00.001-07:00

Ah, good old Leavensworth. It’s still one of my favourite places in Washington – not least because of the wunderbar bieren (and baren). Here’s our first beer at the bear house.

Bear but no beer.

The surprisingly tasteful 365-day a year Christmas shop.

Bavarian carparks

Truly nutty nutcrackers

And a charming salmon festival, with a very cute grizzly (and a very svelte salmon, I must say).

Enchanting trip. Some rain.

2010-10-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

My big trip with Jess was up to the Cascades in a vain effort to see some sunny weather. Sadly, the dampness followed us over the pass and all the way to the foot of the Enchantments at Bridge Creek campground. Still, we got a lovely spot by the river…

… which we promptly abandoned for a trip into Leavenworth for a hot toddy. But back to the camp to cook our (second) dinner and get a good night’s rest for our big walk the next day.

We were heading up to Colchuk Lake and Asgard Pass.

Scenery? Check! When he got to the lake, it was still earlyish so we decided to head up on up the pass in the hope of spotting some goats. See those clouds? We were *way* above that…

Here’s Jess helping out with Cairn duties.

On the way down now, we were starting to get tired. This boulder field had us foxed for a good 25 minutes. Much more exhausting than trail walking – at points we were climbing up and down each rock just to go a few feet.

And a final rest (and hard-boiled egg) at Colchuk Lake before we hurried down and out to Leavenworth.

Jess in Seattle! Woo hoo!

2010-10-18T17:41:00.001-07:00

Straight after Tesla – in fact the same day I came back from San Jose – I picked up Jess at Seatac. So good to see her again, and to have the chance to show off my city to another Brit. We started off with the neighbourhood, of course.

Next stop, Lenin!

Someone is smiling because of the beers, not because of the miserable Mariners performance…

Straight after the baseball, we headed down to Laurelhurst for a spin in Ulithi. Shame about the rain but I think we all had fun…

The girls looked jolly at least.

We stopped off at Ivars to pick up fish, chips, fizzy drinks, Doug and Bill, in that order.

Later that week, here’s a picture of Jess and I with Ted and Ann

Tooling about in a Tesla

2010-10-18T17:31:00.001-07:00

Sometimes being a journalist is great. And sometimes it’s bloody great. This was one of those days – test driving a $120,000 Tesla Roadster Sports 2.5 – the fastest electrics sports car in the world.

I was required to drive it before interviewing CEO Elon Musk. With the help of car blogger Alex Kierstein, we zoomed out to Snowqualmie for a bit of old-meets-new photo action.

The car is simply incredible – like a spaceship with a steering wheel. Unbelievable acceleration and just a joy to drive: one gear, regenerative brakes and a kick-ass sound system.

Karen seems to have liked it, too! I picked her up and we headed out to Alki for a fancy Mexican lunch. Carbon footprint? Zero. Well, nearly, as I did have a Dos Equis beer.

Bill and Christy get hitched

2010-10-18T17:25:00.001-07:00

Talk about organised – Bill and Christy even managed to nab one of the few sunny days this ‘summer’ for their nuptials. It was a gorgeous day out on the Peninsula, at Kitsap State Memorial Park.

Karen and I actually camped at the wedding – just a minute’s walk from the venue. A great idea although not the easiest place to get smartened up (for me anyway, K scrubbed up nicely).

Here’s Bill and Christy freshly married. And check out the cool North-West style log cabin.

Needless to say, much hilarity and fizz had by all. Here’s Jen and, er someone else, checking the hula hoop for structural integrity.

And the happy couple enjoying their first (but far from last) dance. Yes, that is a Texan wearing a kilt.

The basement – finished?

2010-10-18T17:13:00.001-07:00

I wouldn’t be quite that bold, but September saw us polishing up the one quarter of the basement that we think we might be prepared to spend more than a few minutes in.

First, a quick reminder of what it looked like when we moved in.

Then here it is a few weeks ago:

This weekend was all about laying FLOR floor tiles. Expensive, but made from hippy recycled materials and (despite Karen’s expression) incredibly easy to fit.

The final touches (actually cutting a few wonky ones to fit).

And here it is complete! Or at least as complete as it’ll be until we get the lighting sorted. It never ends.

Before you know it, it’s autumn

2010-10-18T17:04:00.001-07:00

Blackberries. For 50 weeks of the year, an evil, invasive weed that crowds out native plants and gets into your bike tyres. But for one precious fortnight, you can forget all that and go crazy for the fruit.

We popped over to Alison’s mum’s house on Vashon Island for the 2010 Black Beret wine party. The mission was to turn a terrifyingly huge bush of blackberries into sweet, sweet blackberry wine.

Here’s Hart attempting to pick without chainmail gloves or eye protection. The fool! Brian’s pith helmet at least encapsulated our spirit of adventure.

And here’s the result at home. Just one of Karen’s delicious blackberry pies. Roll on Christmas when the wine should be fully mature…

Mount Burroughs and some clouds

2010-08-27T16:24:00.001-07:00

The latest excursion in our summer of hiking and camping was Mount Rainier, on the one cloudy weekend of August. It was just an overnighter, so we threw our gear in Chippy and headed up to White River campground, below Sunrise.

The first part of the walk took us up along the river – with occasional glimpses of the Emmons Glacier (above) but never more than a hint of Mount Rainier itself. We then came out into subalpine meadows, and almost simultaneously hit the cloud level…

It was a lovely, lonely hike up this south-facing slope of Mount Burroughs. We can only imagine how pretty it would have been in the sun.

The summit was bleak – no vegetation, no people, no sun, no sky. There was a stone bench and some chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, though. Good thinking, Ms Watts!

And pine cones!

As you can see from the background, the cloud was getting thicker. The inevitable finally happened and the last four miles of our ten mile walk were conducted in rain. As were the next four hours of camping and cooking at the campground. And the eight hours sleeping overnight, and all but the last ten minutes of our stay.

Still it was a great mini-break and now I want to go back when the view’s out!

A couple of stories I wrote

2010-08-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to update you with a couple of features that have just gone live. The first is my epic fMRI lie detection feature for IEEE Spectrum. I’m really happy with this, not just because it’s my first full-length article for a US outlet but because it’s been really well edited and presented – and it’s the cover story of the whole mag! It’s quite techy but I hope you like it.

Two other super-stories today from The Sunday Times yesterday. The first is a piece on The Gates Foundation’s quest for a superfood for the Green Business pages. It didn’t quite come out the way I expected and I had lots more info on other aspects of the Foundation but overall it’s a good read.

And then I also had the cover story in InGear on the world’s best roads for supercars. Cheesy and slightly politically incorrect, but perhaps a welcome break from the worthy stories above!

Port Ludlow posse

2010-08-06T17:04:00.001-07:00

Does anyone remember the slightly bumpy trip on the seaplane right before our weddding? Now was our chance to leave more at Port Ludlow than our regurgitated breakfasts, as Alison, Hart, Kurt and Ginger had organised a mini break at the small town.

Karen and I dropped in straight after our Flapjack hike. Trust Kurt to find some DIY to do even in a holiday home!

I like Hart’s attitude a little better.

The next day, we drove up to Fort Warden at Port Townsend, a charmingly decommissioned Army base. Here are Hart and Alison’s kids, Anna and Dash.

And a photo just for Dad. Kurt loved this too – he made us stop as two different self-saucing hot dog mascots just to get the perfect angle on the flag.

Flapjack Lake Day 2 (pm)

2010-08-06T16:56:00.001-07:00

Here it is – we camped up just behind that swimming rock in the distance, pitched our tent, put food on the bear wire and got straight back on the trail towards that sawtooth ridge in the not-so-far distance.

It was another slog up through trees but then an incredible payoff. A hidden alpine valley just shaking off the last of the winter’s snow.

The wildflowers were in full bloom, streams were bouncing down the slopes and the buzz of bees was everywhere.

But this is far as we would get – still too snowy, and too much chance of losing the trail or getting caught in a ‘slushalanche’

Back to Flapjack for a *very* brief dip in its glacial waters and then some well-deserved basking on the lakeside rocks. Bonus – no mosquitoes!

Here’s our camp. A nice secluded spot near the lake.

And to round the evening off, pasta a la Mark (nasty dried tortellini with a home-made sun-dried tomato and mushroom sauce).

And just one more picture from the long walk down the next morning : a splendidly gratuitous slow-shutter waterfall shot.

Flapjack Lake Day 2 (am)

2010-08-06T16:46:00.001-07:00

The next morning, we were up and out early to beat the mossies. The walk up to our first destination of the day – Black & White Lakes (yes, named after the whisky – long story), was incredibly steep.

But once we broke through to the alpine zone (at about 4000 feet), the scenery opened up and we found ourselves in bright sunshine and a swathe of wildflowers – here’s an avalanche lily (and Karen).

The views from the highest point were stunning.

But not as tempting the lakes themselves – we had a lovely long swim here and then had lunch enjoying the view.

It was then a roller-coastery walk across to our campsite for night two at Flapjack Lake itself…

Flapjack Lake Day 1

2010-08-06T16:41:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we packed our bag, squeezed dry pasta into Ziplock bags and headed out to the Olympics National Park for a three-day, two-night backpack trip. Here’s Karen looking fresh (but rather overloaded).

Honestly, there was just as much stuff in my pack – it’s the angle or me being tall or something!

We camped the first night at Big Log campsite by the North Fork of the Skokomish. We had the entire campsite to ourselves, with exception of about a million mosquitoes! Still, I couldn’t help feeling at one with nature.

The Olympics are truly an amazing place – so beautiful and calm. No cars, not even any planes that fly over. We went a full 24 hours without seeing anyone else…

Fog and currents at Deception Pass

2010-07-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

A slightly more civilised start on Sunday, when we planned to motor through Deception Pass at slack tide. This dramatic rocky pass experiences some incredibly fast tides – up to 7 knots! – and slack water lasts a mere 20 minutes.

Sadly, the morning fog made another appearance and as we approached the mouth of the pass it just got thicker, and thicker, and thicker, until we couldn’t see either side of it. Plan B – head back to Hope Island’s neighbour – Skagit – and wait until the next slack at 3pm.

And what a cracking plan. Not only did we get to row around Washington’s newest state park – Kiket Island – we then beached on Skagit and fell in love with it.

It’s fringed with dramatic madrona trees, with a windy path that takes you on a complete circuit, over rocks, shrubs and beaches. The island was used as a hideout by one of Jesse James’ old gang back in the day. Now, it’s just home to a bald eagle or two – and probably the best skipping stone beach I’ve ever been to.

But the tide waits for no man, so we weighed anchor and headed back to Deception - just as the sun came out. Here’s the last photo before the currents got too fast to do anything but steer! We had 4.5 knots behind us as we shot through standing waves crashing and frothing all around. Exciting stuff!

A couple of minutes afterwards, through into the Rosaria Strait, it’s like a completely different day. Calm waters, blue skies and harbour porpoises dancing at the bow. I’ll spare you the details of the mad rush to register at Skyline Marina, the sweltering bus ride to SeaTac and the expensive cab home…

Anacortes delivery run – winter in July

2010-07-23T18:01:00.001-07:00

No, I haven’t just discovered a cache of photos taken in February. This here is a lovely summer’s day on the Puget Sound.

Last weekend, Karen and I delivered Ulithi from Seattle to Anacortes, ready for Bill and Mary, and then Raleigh and pals to tour the San Juans. We had to get an early start (6.30am!) to catch the right current at the Clinton/Mukilteo crossing, so we slept on the boat at Shilshole Marina – the second weekend in a row within earshot of the traintracks…

We missed that ferry by miles, honest. The fog lifted by early afternoon and we had a good (if long) cruise up to Hope Island in Skagit Bay, where we got the last mooring buoy – phew! First things first – get in the dingy and explore!

It’s a nice island with dozens of little rocky coves and charming beaches. And a surprisingly lush, unspoiled interior..

In the evening, grilled salmon and mushrooms, a bottle of beer and Scrabble as the sun went down. Aaaah!

Another camping post – bored yet?

2010-07-23T17:53:00.001-07:00

Sorry for yet another camping blog but that’s about all we’re doing this summer – especially when we see a glimpse of sun. Two Saturdays ago we decided on the spur of the moment to try camping at Chuckanut Drive up the coast. We started with a hike from Larabee State Park – great views of the San Juan islands!

Goal of the walk was Fragrant Lake – a beautiful like gem of a place surrounded by hills that was even warm enough to tempt Karen in for a dip after a sweaty climb.

Down the hill and just in time to get one of the last camping spots at the State Park. Tried out the new(ish) Eden 2 tent. It’s super light and very breathable but its crazy, unstable three-pole system is a bit too sci-fi for its own good.

Why is Karen so happy?

Because Trika, Troy and Ivy are here, of course!

Two sweet motors with only 24 inches and $24,000 separating them.

In the cheesy footsteps of Lewis and Clark

2010-07-07T18:40:00.001-07:00

Before we headed back to Portland on Monday, we took a walk through Ecola State Park – the place where intrepid Anglo explorers Lewis and Clark would have starved to death if they hadn’t been told about a massive rotting whale carcass on the beach by local Indians.

No rancid blubber on the menu for us, though, just a beautiful grey day, a few surfers and miles of virgin sands. We hiked up Tillamook Head – which shares it's name with the North West’s most famous cheese dairy. If you ever get the chance to eat some Tillamook Cheddar, pass it up. In the distance there is a lighthouse. Oooh.

Family Hettleson hiking the trail.

Cool/spooky WW2 gun emplacements at the top. Things get overgrown *fast* here in the North West.

Firework insanity

2010-07-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

If you ever get the chance, head down to the sweeping crescent beach at Seaside, Oregon for the Fourth of July. It’s a cross between a warzone, Burning Man and Fireworks Night, a crazy mix of organised displays, beach fires, sparklers, roman candle duels and (probably) more than an eye or two put out.

The perfect environment, in short, for a six-month old baby.

The clouds rolled off just in time for a glorious sunset. Here’s me getting in the way of it (thanks Kurt!).

Sparklers! Enough said. The whole evening made me a little bit nostalgic for my fireworks testing nights on Brighton beach, I must admit.

And despite Ginger’s misgivings, the cacophonic detonations, the sizzle of (veggy) hot dogs and our incessant whooping, Sam slept through almost the whole evening…

Beaches and babies

2010-07-07T18:30:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July is a long weekend in the States, so rode the train down to Portland, then headed out to the Oregon coast with Ginger, Kurt and baby Sam. This is Haystack rock, home to many sensitive puffins (no fireworks allowed on the whole beach).

Also home to the giant sand squid, a ferocious creature that nevertheless is most considerate in arranging its victims’ footwear neatly.

It brightened up enough later on to enjoy a glass of wine (or milk) and some cheesy crackers in the dunes.

The next day, it was drizzly and grey – what better time to skip the 4th of July parade (see cute dog below) and head to the beautiful Short Sands bay for some boogie boarding.

Hood, booties and gloves obligatory – this water is cold!

Kurt seems to be enjoying himself though…

As did Karen and I! Super surf, clean water and gorgeous surroundings.

Riding is good for the Constitution

2010-07-07T18:22:00.001-07:00

First camping trip of the year – and we got a lucky, with a (mostly) dry, warm weekend on Orcas island in the San Juans. While Karen hung out with some old high school friends at Hartstene, I rounded up a trio of blokes for a bike, beers and World Cup break.

The ferry was due to hit Orcas Landing at 11.20, US vs Ghana kicked off at 11.30 – and we were six miles from the nearest telly. Cue massive speed burst to Orcas Golf Course club house - $3 microbrews, comfy sofa and – yes – putting at half time. That’s Doug (left), Jesse (centre) and Bill (right).

Here’s Doug in Moran State Park with a nasty warning sign. We lost Jesse en route with a bad pack (he took on valuable campsite locating duties).

And then there two. Only Doug and I made it to the summit, as Bill’s front chainring didn’t make the grade (sorry). Truly amazing views from the top – that’s Mount Baker peeking over the clouds in the distance. Matia island, hiding behind my right wrist, was where I crashed the Ulithee last summer – luckily no wrecks this weekend.

Here’s my Little Britain at the West Beach resort – mmm, cold Newcastle Browns. And then a hot tub soak. Heaven.

The next day, we got up early for a footie match that I have blocked from my memory and spent the day touring the island. One place not to miss – the Howe Sculpture Garden packed with uber-cool kinetic steel sculptures.

Fremont Solstice Parade 2010

2010-06-23T17:35:00.001-07:00

Bring bring! Bring bring! Who could be calling us at 7.45am the night after the float roll? Uh-oh. It’s the band. They’re at the float and it’s raining. Hard. Cue last ditch trip to the hardware store for miles of plastic sheeting and duct tape…. We ripped off the float’s lantern fittings and turned them in a makeshift roof – too busy to take photos, sorry!

Luckily, by the time Gilles and the other pushers turned up (and Doug there in the background with pineapple mimosas – yum!), the rain had drizzled off. Turn to earn our keep!

Not quite as glamorous as the actual dancers mind…

Here’s Karen and me before we got all sweaty…

And we’re off!

Huge crowd this year – about twice as many as 2009, despite the weather, from our viewpoint.

Just so much fun watching the crowds, enjoying the music, kicking the wooden can-can legs on the float and spinning our very own moulin rouge!

Here I am again! A bit more tired this time, just before I took over back at the front – and promptly dumped the float into a pothole. I broke the pushing pole extracting it but no real harm done.

By the time we got to Gasworks Park (about 3pm), we were utterly cream-crackered. Too tired even to enjoy the bands, beer garden, boozed up hippies and all the other paraders…

In fact, we got right to work dismantling the float and getting it ready for another 11 months back under Ballard Bridge.

All in all, a really fantastic day – roll on 2011!

Float roll 2010

2010-06-23T17:22:00.001-07:00

It’s the night before Solstice and the Powerhouse is pumping! A dozen things to saw, hammer, cut, drill and stick before we’re ready for tomorrow. And the weather’s not looking good…

Quite happy with the design at T-12 hours.

Thanks to the pushing/decorating team for showing up late on Friday. Now push! Or, more accurately, hold it back from running off down Fremont Avenue and int o the lake…

Hey, here’s Trika, fresh from Afrika! And Troy to help her stay awake.

Nancy and Neva take a well-earned rest.

And while we’re at it, here’s a photo of Karen and the GiraSol troupe dancing up a storm at the Bahia Streets Benefit the week before…

Sunshine and ice – Annette Lake hike

2010-06-23T17:15:00.001-07:00

Karen’s old workmate and good buddy Ben Elliss (he also shares my birthday!) popped over from Slough for a work visit so we piled into Chippy and hit the road – along with another Amazonian, Maiken.

It was one of the first hot days of the year, so naturally we headed out of town and up to the Cascades. Cue babbling brook. Higher up, the lake itself was still covered in a thin layer of ice. And before you ask, yes I did take a dip! It was lovely!

That didn’t tire us out sufficiently, so we took a very warm walk up to the old Snowqualmie rail tunnel. It used to be a bike trail beneath the pass but was closed off (not very efficiently) a few years ago after bits keeping falling off it.

And yes, before you ask again, I do intend to go back with a bike and risk the darkness/water/mutant rats to ride through.

Here’s Karen, Maiken and Ben at Snowqualmie’s Big Log.

World Cup brunch party – England vs USA

2010-06-23T17:07:00.001-07:00

Everyone is (still) very excited about the World Cup – in fact, among my Seattle mates I reckon it’s a bigger deal than the Superbowl, the World Series and March Madness put together. With a side order of Stanley Cup. See if you can guess who’s supporting whom…

We had a little help from Winnie and Her Maj.

Anyway, we decided to throw a brunch for the first game in Group C, Limeys vs Yanks. Naturally, the house stood a little Anglicising…

We had a pretty turn out – Bart and Ella, Alison, Hart and Dash, Scott, Bill and Christy and Jonathan all assembled to ingest vast quantities of doughnuts, muffins, pastries and – naturally – gallons of Bucks Fizz.

Rainy Memorial Day at Harstene

2010-06-11T17:54:00.001-07:00

Looking back at the gloriously sunny photos from the same time last year, it’s hard to believe we spent most of this Memorial Day weekend getting wet, getting dry or stoking up the fire. Here’s Karen with Jack and Zora – Mike and Michelle’s kids.

We had great fun digging for clams on the Sunday. Put your back into it, Jack!

We dug many fruitless holes until we hit the mother-lode at the tideline. Clams, shrimp and moon snails galore.

Here’s Karen, Mike and Zora making a break for it in the row boat. They’ll be back for mariniere. No one can resist fresh clam mariniere.

The Monday was brighter (just as we were about to leave – typical!). Here’s the official Crab Bothering League of Hartstene in action.

How about this picture of the Lafons? Cute!

Does this float float?

2010-06-11T17:46:00.001-07:00

It had better. To the accompaniment of driving rain, storms, drizzle and a very occasional glimpse of sunshine, Karen and I have spent the last few weeks bashing the GiraSol samba group’s float into shape for the Fremont Solstice Parade. Here’s a quick photo run-down of our progress, starting with Bill bravely volunteering to hoist basically the entire parade from Ballard Bridge up to the Powerhouse.

A year under the bridge has left our float in sorry state – covered in bird poo, dust and a few scraps of last year’s design. First job is to brush, wash, clean, re-panel and put a primer coat down.

Not bad for one and a half weekends, eh? We had HUGE crews this year so thanks to everyone who came out to clean, paint, saw, hammer, paint again, cut, fix and generally bodge it together.

Weekend two involves some background painting and cool silhouette stencil’s from Nancy’s son, Leo.

Hmm, that windmill looks a bit weedy.

Weekend three and the pressure’s on. Our artistic guru John starts adding in the details.

While Karen waxes the legs into shape. Remember, taking pictures is really hard work and counts just as much as this practical stuff.

Here’s where we’re up to with just a week to go….

Expect a few surprises on the day – don’t miss it! 12noon, June 19 @ Fremont.

Rounders with friends

2010-06-11T17:35:00.001-07:00

Karen was in organisational over-drive and ‘meanwhile’ had booked us tickets for the Mariner’s game that Saturday night – and got Bill and Christy along, too. Cue giant foam fingers, Mariners headwear and lots and lots of Cracker Jacks.

We had literally the back seats on the highest row in the stadium but who cares about seeing the M’s go down 1-0 to San Diego, there was warm beer to drink!

Then out to the Arctic Club to discuss opera with Raleigh, Scott and pals.

Before the inevitable and much-anticipated hotel room 80s dance party at the W.

My head hurts just remembering it…

So that’s it. A whirwind week-long extravaganza of Manwich, Batter Blaster, PBR, LIttle House on the Prairie, Taittinger and British snacks galore. Come back anytime girls – Seattle misses you already!

Seaplanes to Wee Brtain

2010-06-11T17:28:00.001-07:00

Or Victoria, on Vancouver Island, as they still insist on calling it. The experience of taking a floatplane was well worth the early start – plus free brekkie at the Portakabin terminal. Love it!

With stunning views of Vancouver and the Sound from the windows, the 45-minute flight, well, flew past.

The plane landed right in the middle of town, just walking distance from the Fairmont Empress – our destination for the night.

Yes, it’s as fancy as it looks, so dressed up and headed down for High Tea, complete with several bottles of bubbly, sandwiches for 10(!) and more dense, chocolately cakes than even we could sink. Karen flew in from Seattle too – how classy is that?

Karen and I rolled out of there and into the Parliament building next door. Extremely cute. Watched a little light legislating before heading back to the Fairmont for a dip in the pool. Aaaah!

The next day, it was a little more shopping and nosing around, then a ‘whale watching’ tour that – from Badger’s face – you can probably tell involved no cetaceans.

Lots of sea-lions, though!

Finally, a crowded trip home on board the Clipper and just time (it’s always time) for Taco Time. As long as you’re driving a car.