Well, we never were really in Detroit…
Tina’s sister Tanya and her beau throw a summer party every year… this year on a wim they invited us… on a win we accepted… so off to Detroit City… There was a bonus… our daughter Steph, living in Maryland was coming as well.
We took the red-eye in … landing about 8:30 on Friday (a bit late)… The daughter had arrived a few minutes earlier…
The flight was not exactly fun… (I seem to bitch about airline travel a lot... but it’s a target rich environment) North West Airlines… (or Delta, or Delta West or whatever they are calling themselves) were trying a new boarding system… or lack of boarding system... they first call the first class, high mileage frequent flyers and anyone who will pay for the privilege, then call everyone else... Its chaos... (apparently they really think if you don’t have a system it will work better, according to one insider they call it the chaos system.) Of course like all airlines they are charging for checked luggage so everyone is lugging on enough bags to Load Byron proud… No one was checking to see if you only had one bag and a personal item… so they ran out of luggage space with half the passengers still in the jet way. So the gate crew are called to gate check luggage… people object, people are angry... the flight attendants seem a bit frustrated… one tells us this happens every night. We surrender our carry-ons to the gate attendants (of course we have to pull cameras and such out, and the bags suffer) They have the pillows in large plastic trash bags tossed on the floor of the jet way... Tina gets the last pillow... We push back a half an hour late. We arrive half an hour late.
We met Steph at baggage claim. Kelly and the kids went home with Tanya, Steph rode with us. We met up at Tanya’s house for breakfast.
After breakfast Tina, Steph and I went to the Henry Ford museum… I had high expectations... I was blown away... Its not just a museum… it’s a destination…
It is the typical large building with stuff museum, along with the obligatory IMAX theater, multiple gift shops, and a cafe with the original Oscar Meyer weinermobile, stuffed with stuff... Really good stuff… next door is the Greenfield village... It’s a historic village on steroids... in between is a research library... they also offer factory tours of Ford’s Rouge River plant... We enjoyed it.
Back to Tanya’s for family time… as it got dark the fireflies came out… it was magical...
T and I went back to the motel, took a swim in the pool and went to bed…
Up late… Well, late in Michigan, in California it would have been normal. Back to Tanya’s for the party… It was fun… lots of people, lots of food, lots of alcohol. Tanya and Berry are not drinkers, but they have a tiki hut and a margarita machine… a Jimmy Buffet “Margaritaville” margarita machine...
As it got dark and the guests left, the fireflies came out again…
It was late when we said our goodbyes and headed to the motel… we were up early and off to the airport... and the slog... first the car rental company could check the car in and wasn’t able to print a receipt... They actually said “trust us”. The airport was a zoo... long lines, grumpy people (one follows the other) The guy ahead of us in the security line tried to smuggle a flask of booze and maple syrup through the line... He got caught
Now being aware of North West’s chaos boarding system we stand near the checking counter and are the first of the cattle to board, and as a result stay united with our carry-ons this time. Home a little before noon... The house stinks of cat... we have too many cats...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Off to the mid-west for the weekend….
Tina and I are off for the weekend… to Detroit... Michigan… Not your most common vacation destination…
Her sister and significant other are holding their annual summer party… on a whim they invited us, on a whim we accepted… Other family members piled on… so now there will be 4 of the 5 siblings, along with a couple the cousins including our daughter…
Off on a red-eye, arriving about 8:00 am… a day visiting the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village, (they have a research library too…) then an evening at the sister’s, the party the next day, then fly home early Sunday…
Its been hell week at work, summer camps, fire sprinkler replacement (this included moving and tarping the furniture…) a visit by the master gardeners, an advisory board meeting, 3 new volunteers were there today, and we have to give tours too.
We are 4 days into the week and I have put in 44 hours… The time card will say 32 hours. I was doing 90 miles and hour right up until I left the farm… I am tired.
Tomorrow we have two camps, including a performance for the parents by one camp… If I was working I would put in another 10 hours tomorrow…
I need to get away.
Bye for now, Randy
Her sister and significant other are holding their annual summer party… on a whim they invited us, on a whim we accepted… Other family members piled on… so now there will be 4 of the 5 siblings, along with a couple the cousins including our daughter…
Off on a red-eye, arriving about 8:00 am… a day visiting the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield village, (they have a research library too…) then an evening at the sister’s, the party the next day, then fly home early Sunday…
Its been hell week at work, summer camps, fire sprinkler replacement (this included moving and tarping the furniture…) a visit by the master gardeners, an advisory board meeting, 3 new volunteers were there today, and we have to give tours too.
We are 4 days into the week and I have put in 44 hours… The time card will say 32 hours. I was doing 90 miles and hour right up until I left the farm… I am tired.
Tomorrow we have two camps, including a performance for the parents by one camp… If I was working I would put in another 10 hours tomorrow…
I need to get away.
Bye for now, Randy
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Road Trip - Planning and Dreaming
I am going crazy at work. There is too much to do, no time. The more to do, the less time available to do it.
I need a respite. I have been searching my calendar, but between summer camps, fire watch, and commitments, there is only a single 8 day, 7 night respite, a chance to escape. My fellow employees seem to agree and will cover my section (They noticed not a good sign)
So, I am dreaming, planning and conspiring. Road Trip, a Walk About.. Into the desert. The planning process is significant. It is itself part of the trip, and part of the release.
The Plan
Off to Mesa Verde Colorado, via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, off via Monument Valley and a stop at the swinging stake house in Mexican Hat Utah to Mesa Verde, finally a visit to Arches and Ely Nevada on the way home.
This is a solo trip, by design. There is something special about making camp, with fire, tent, and lantern, then sitting is solitude, enjoying the moment.
Additionally, I have purchased a new camera… I need to test it, get to know it, make it part of my hand… Maybe that’s the real reason… at least officially.
It’s too many miles, too much driving, too few days, but good nonetheless.
It’s a long reach to get to canyon lands, the Utah high plateau. I figure on starting with a long drive to St George Utah… about 12 hours. The last day, from Ely Nevada to home is likely as long. In between the drives are shorter… allowing time to stop, look, photograph and occasionally explore…
I am likely to take less traveled routes… Google and AAA say I should get to St George via Barstow and Las Vegas. I suspect I will get there via Yosemite, then around the south side of Mono Lake, over Mt Montgomery then south to Las Vegas before turning north-east towards St George.
Similarly, on the way home I plan to stop in Ely, then either Hwy 50, known as the “Loneliest Road” to Carson City then across Hwy 88, or via Hwy 6 to 395, then over Tuolumne Pass in Yosemite…
There is much to do to make it happen… Work… trying to get things in order… The car needs to be serviced… It has 175,000 miles on it, and I have concerns… there are supplies to purchase… and music… one must have music on a long drive…
Once again I have changed the slide show… Now photos from a previous trip, lost in the west, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons… As usual my older albums are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/RandyHees
I need a respite. I have been searching my calendar, but between summer camps, fire watch, and commitments, there is only a single 8 day, 7 night respite, a chance to escape. My fellow employees seem to agree and will cover my section (They noticed not a good sign)
So, I am dreaming, planning and conspiring. Road Trip, a Walk About.. Into the desert. The planning process is significant. It is itself part of the trip, and part of the release.
The Plan
Off to Mesa Verde Colorado, via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, off via Monument Valley and a stop at the swinging stake house in Mexican Hat Utah to Mesa Verde, finally a visit to Arches and Ely Nevada on the way home.
This is a solo trip, by design. There is something special about making camp, with fire, tent, and lantern, then sitting is solitude, enjoying the moment.
Additionally, I have purchased a new camera… I need to test it, get to know it, make it part of my hand… Maybe that’s the real reason… at least officially.
It’s too many miles, too much driving, too few days, but good nonetheless.
It’s a long reach to get to canyon lands, the Utah high plateau. I figure on starting with a long drive to St George Utah… about 12 hours. The last day, from Ely Nevada to home is likely as long. In between the drives are shorter… allowing time to stop, look, photograph and occasionally explore…
I am likely to take less traveled routes… Google and AAA say I should get to St George via Barstow and Las Vegas. I suspect I will get there via Yosemite, then around the south side of Mono Lake, over Mt Montgomery then south to Las Vegas before turning north-east towards St George.
Similarly, on the way home I plan to stop in Ely, then either Hwy 50, known as the “Loneliest Road” to Carson City then across Hwy 88, or via Hwy 6 to 395, then over Tuolumne Pass in Yosemite…
There is much to do to make it happen… Work… trying to get things in order… The car needs to be serviced… It has 175,000 miles on it, and I have concerns… there are supplies to purchase… and music… one must have music on a long drive…
Once again I have changed the slide show… Now photos from a previous trip, lost in the west, Yellowstone and Grand Tetons… As usual my older albums are available at http://picasaweb.google.com/RandyHees
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Fire, or the month from H@&#
It’s been the month from H@&# (its the “h” “e” “double hockey” sticks thing)
The House (the museum, work, not home) has problems… the most immediate with its fire sprinkler system… It’s been a months (years?) old ongoing problem which as now become a crisis…
As I wrote previously, three weeks ago, on a Friday, I was leaving the farm (aka work, home of the “house”) I saw smoke coming out of our garbage dumpster… It was after 6:00… the park employees had left… A park interpreter from a nearby park drove up… We house the park’s fueling station, next to the dumpster… She needed gas… One of the employees from the “Picnic People” our on site caterer was there with his electric cart…Collectively we were the response team…
The interpreter tried to radio in (she had a park district radio) without success… she abandoned that and called in on her cell phone… She played 20 questions… She finally explained our problem… 8’ x 24’ container, fully involved in flames… fuel tank 50’ away, Eucalyptus trees overhead… (Eucalyptus trees have two tricks… they burn like roman candles, and they fall down and crush things… we were more concerned with the first trick)
As a local I knew there was a hose nearby… as interpreter talked to the fire dispatcher, I ran a hose over to the dumpster… the “Picnic People” guy went out to guide the fire truck in… we started to fight the fire… Interpreter took the hose… I ran a second hose in… We could knock the fire down but couldn’t kill it… The fire truck arrives… they have better hoses with higher pressure… They take over… They are professionals… They have shovels, rakes and implements of destruction… I leave a business card and leave…
Five days later, Janie, the fire inspector arrives… If you have a fire, you can expect the fire inspector…
Janie doesn’t like what she finds at the farm… It’s mostly minor stuff, signs, storage, organization, the park is sloppy… When she gets to the house (she spots the fire connection for the sprinkler connection) she is without humor… “Where is the fire sprinkler riser?”… We have one, door marked by blue reflective tape, local fire house with key to door, so far so good… But we don’t have a “5 year sticker” and have a leak in the riser (complete with bucket to catch the water) Janie is not amused… We don’t have a working alarm… She is less amused… About a two thirds of our sprinkler heads have been recalled by the manufacturer… We have tried to get them replaced for a year… We have not been successful… This is now an issue.
Two hours later I hear from Building Maintenance… and again a couple of hours later… Then again 5 times between 6:00 and 7:00… the poo has hit the rotary oscillator. Conferences and meeting are being held at City Hall… people are not happy… their unhappiness is working its way down the food chain… I an at the bottom of the food chain… Calls will continue tomorrow, but for now, the powers have decided that whenever the house is open we have to stand fire watch… Every 15 minutes someone has to walk about and confirm the house is not in fact on fire… and then sign a log attesting to that fact…
People are running about, they are trying to explain to others why this can happen… people are coming in while on vacation… poo is flying.
On the up side… my backside is not at risk… I have reported the problems to the authorities. I have submitted Quarterly Building Inspections stating we have concerns about our sprinkler system… Others have not responded to my reports…
On the down side I am standing fire watch… every 15 minutes… Eventually I bring in PT staff to stand fire watch… I have camps in session… I come in early and leave late… We have a Girls Camp, we have the neighborhood camp coming over at 3:00 each afternoon. I am thinking of a cot in the office.
Its been several weeks… next Monday the fire guys are replacing the defective sprinkler heads… last week we fixed the leak… Maybe we can get off fire watch next week…
I hope so.
By the way, on a separate issue… on Monday, after the fire… (before Janie’s visit) I am off to visit City Hall… I get on the freeway… I get on the second freeway.. something is going on off on the side of the freeway… it’s a fire. A guy is trying to put it out… I pull over, I have a couple of gallons of water… I have a shovel… a second driver pulls over… He has a large water bottle… Collectively we knock it down and put it out… Fire is haunting me. I smell like smoke. I like smoked food, I don’t like smoke.
The House (the museum, work, not home) has problems… the most immediate with its fire sprinkler system… It’s been a months (years?) old ongoing problem which as now become a crisis…
As I wrote previously, three weeks ago, on a Friday, I was leaving the farm (aka work, home of the “house”) I saw smoke coming out of our garbage dumpster… It was after 6:00… the park employees had left… A park interpreter from a nearby park drove up… We house the park’s fueling station, next to the dumpster… She needed gas… One of the employees from the “Picnic People” our on site caterer was there with his electric cart…Collectively we were the response team…
The interpreter tried to radio in (she had a park district radio) without success… she abandoned that and called in on her cell phone… She played 20 questions… She finally explained our problem… 8’ x 24’ container, fully involved in flames… fuel tank 50’ away, Eucalyptus trees overhead… (Eucalyptus trees have two tricks… they burn like roman candles, and they fall down and crush things… we were more concerned with the first trick)
As a local I knew there was a hose nearby… as interpreter talked to the fire dispatcher, I ran a hose over to the dumpster… the “Picnic People” guy went out to guide the fire truck in… we started to fight the fire… Interpreter took the hose… I ran a second hose in… We could knock the fire down but couldn’t kill it… The fire truck arrives… they have better hoses with higher pressure… They take over… They are professionals… They have shovels, rakes and implements of destruction… I leave a business card and leave…
Five days later, Janie, the fire inspector arrives… If you have a fire, you can expect the fire inspector…
Janie doesn’t like what she finds at the farm… It’s mostly minor stuff, signs, storage, organization, the park is sloppy… When she gets to the house (she spots the fire connection for the sprinkler connection) she is without humor… “Where is the fire sprinkler riser?”… We have one, door marked by blue reflective tape, local fire house with key to door, so far so good… But we don’t have a “5 year sticker” and have a leak in the riser (complete with bucket to catch the water) Janie is not amused… We don’t have a working alarm… She is less amused… About a two thirds of our sprinkler heads have been recalled by the manufacturer… We have tried to get them replaced for a year… We have not been successful… This is now an issue.
Two hours later I hear from Building Maintenance… and again a couple of hours later… Then again 5 times between 6:00 and 7:00… the poo has hit the rotary oscillator. Conferences and meeting are being held at City Hall… people are not happy… their unhappiness is working its way down the food chain… I an at the bottom of the food chain… Calls will continue tomorrow, but for now, the powers have decided that whenever the house is open we have to stand fire watch… Every 15 minutes someone has to walk about and confirm the house is not in fact on fire… and then sign a log attesting to that fact…
People are running about, they are trying to explain to others why this can happen… people are coming in while on vacation… poo is flying.
On the up side… my backside is not at risk… I have reported the problems to the authorities. I have submitted Quarterly Building Inspections stating we have concerns about our sprinkler system… Others have not responded to my reports…
On the down side I am standing fire watch… every 15 minutes… Eventually I bring in PT staff to stand fire watch… I have camps in session… I come in early and leave late… We have a Girls Camp, we have the neighborhood camp coming over at 3:00 each afternoon. I am thinking of a cot in the office.
Its been several weeks… next Monday the fire guys are replacing the defective sprinkler heads… last week we fixed the leak… Maybe we can get off fire watch next week…
I hope so.
By the way, on a separate issue… on Monday, after the fire… (before Janie’s visit) I am off to visit City Hall… I get on the freeway… I get on the second freeway.. something is going on off on the side of the freeway… it’s a fire. A guy is trying to put it out… I pull over, I have a couple of gallons of water… I have a shovel… a second driver pulls over… He has a large water bottle… Collectively we knock it down and put it out… Fire is haunting me. I smell like smoke. I like smoked food, I don’t like smoke.
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