Wedding Trip, Maui Hawaii (Day 3)

It took us a few days to get settled in and say hi to all of our friends and family who are down here in Hawaii with us, and with all the running around we had not yet had a chance to take a dip in the ocean. But we remedied that today, with a trip down the hill from our house to Launiupoko Beach.

The water was silkily warm, the beach was uncrowded. I've missed the ocean, and getting a chance to swim in it's waters again was rejuvenating. We were joined at the beach by Ursa's sister and brother-in-law and their two kids, as well as Ursa's best friend and her son. The kids enjoyed splashing in the wading pool while the adults got a chance to play in the gently rolling waves. It was all you could hope for from a trip to the beach.

My mom, my sisters and me

As our beach time drew to a close, we needed to head back up the hill to get showered and changed for our evening out. My parents were hosting a cocktail party to give everybody a chance to meet each other before the big day, tomorrow.

I'm glad that we got the chance to mingle with everybody, and to see that everyone finally got to the island safe and sound. There were a few late travelers that just got off the plane or were still recuperating from long travels, but they all made it out and it meant a lot that they did.

Wedding Trip, Maui Hawaii (Day 1)

Things have been especially busy lately, not only at work, but also preparing this trip; which is why it was such a giddy feeling as we boarded the plane at Ted Stephens Airport in Anchorage. Knowing that we would have a couple weeks to relax, have fun, and soak in some beautiful weather in Maui.
One thing that I always noticed about air travel is how much energy it saps from you, even though you are basically just sitting still for 8 hours. And so it was that we drug into Kahului Airport with enough luggage to last us for two months, even though we are only staying two weeks.

No single moment on any trip is as satisfying as when you first check into the place you are staying and have that first look around and realize that everything is going to be alright. The house that we rented has an absolutely stunning view of the ocean, and an equally stunning views out the front of the mountains in the center of the island.
After getting settled in, we went off to the grocery store to get all stocked up on food. Another run to the airport to pick up some friends, and ended a very long travel day with a lovely dinner with my parents and sister at Japengo, a really good fusion restaurant at the Hyatt Regency. We turned in early, hoping to get rested up for a tough day of relaxing and visiting friends and family tomorrow.

Milwaukee trip (New Berlin, WI)

I left work a week earlier than expected this time in order to fly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and look over some of the new equipment that my company had purchased before it gets delivered up north.

For those of you who don't know, my primary job on the North Slope is operating a Super Sucker, a powerful vacuum truck which we use to haul away heavy cuttings from the oil rigs for disposal. Super Suckers as it turns out, are built by Super Products whose factory is in New Berlin, Wisconsin (a suburb of Milwaukee) and when my company invested in 5 new vehicles, they wanted to send someone down who was a subject matter expert on how we use them in our environment, in an effort to make sure that the new units are ready to go to work when they arrive. 

I have often quipped that a Super Sucker is nothing but a 40 ton shop vac, but the truth is that I normally only say that for the benefit of my trainees who are predictably nervous about operating such a large, powerful and expensive piece of equipment. The truth is that keeping these units running, especially in Alaska's arctic, is rather challenging. The trucks are temperamental, high in maintenance, and tend to freeze in as many places as you can think of. So it takes quite a bit of foresight to operate them (just don't tell my new guys, because their nerves are frayed enough).

When I envisioned what a truck factory would be set up like, I suppose I went with what I know, and pictured our shop in Prudhoe Bay, where each unit is in it's own bay and parts get brought to it. But of course an assembly line would make a lot more sense. (I suppose that's why nobody ever put me in charge of a factory). The tanks are placed on a track system, to be moved from station to station to move the unit to the parts rather than the parts to the unit. It was a system that was good enough for Henry Ford, and it's still works today.

So, for my co workers who are reading this, there are a few differences that you may notice from previous models. There is a manual locking mechanism which has become standard on all models. This is a secondary set of locks that can be optionally used in order to better secure a load, rather than relying only on the hydraulic dogs. If you don't feel that you need them, they don't need to be engaged.

The new Esbar heater system has been included on all of the new units. Super Products has done rigorous testing on the heater with their arctic package system and has had positive results. It is true that there are still more ideas under development for heating the glycol system, but at the time of order, the Esbar was the best choice, and all five new units will be equipped with them.

A new addition that may give us some pause is the plunger system to hold the side tubes closed, and allows them to open automatically whenever the tailgate opens. This may create a problem in draining the side tubes when we park the units in our warm storage tents as that we cannot open the tailgate to allow the tubes to drain. Bolts on the tips of the plungers are able to be adjusted, which will allow the side tube to be cracked though not fully opened. New procedures may be required to better maintain the condition of the side tubes. But we will definitely need to work around this change.

Overall, I was happy to contribute to the process of purchasing our new equipment, and to lend my voice. I was also glad to see that we are collaborating with the manufacturer to produce a better product. I think, even though there will be a few small changes to the new SuperSuckers, that they will be the same, high quality product that we have all come to expect from Super Products.

Seattle Weekend (Day 2)

Well, the past couple of days have been quite a blur. I spent the afternoon of Friday the 13th exploring downtown with my brother-in-law, Jack. To begin with we made our way up and down the waterfront looking for someplace to have a late lunch. The place that we settled on a cozy looking fish place. At the window the young man took my order (a cod sandwich and a bowl of chowder) and asked if I would like that smoked or fried. I told him that fried sounded nice, to which he very politely told me that they don't make that there. Which of course begged the question, "then why did you ask?" but I just said that smoked would be fine and moved on. The cashier looked at my tray with my sandwich and bowl of soup and said, "sooooo, just the sandwich?" I said yes, and he charged me for only the sandwich.

After lunch we drove over to Fremont and tried out a few of the local pubs including Brouwer's Cafe, and the George & Dragon Pub. It seemed very fitting to knock back a few brews at a pub before heading to CenturyLink Field to watch the Seattle Sounders FC, play in the biggest soccer match of the MLS season. The Sounders had clawed their way from last place in their conference to second place, and would be playing the conference leading Real Salt Lake for sole possession of first place.

The stadium was abuzz with an electric atmosphere. The 53,000 fans in attendance were singing, and chanting, and excited. And the crowd stayed excited as the Sounders quickly went up in the match with two first half goals, and the contest was never really in doubt as they held Real Salt Lake scoreless, winning 2-0. I had never been to a professional soccer match, and I have to say that like many sports, soccer does not translate as well to television and the game is much more watchable and fun live, especially when one factors in the fan experience.

I had also never been in CenturyLink Field since it's construction. The only times that I had ever seen the Seahawks play was in the old Kingdome. CenturyLink is a a beautiful stadium both to look at and to be in. Getting 50,000+ in and around a venue can be a complex task, and this facility is well designed to do just that. Which brings me to the topic of concessions. While at the game Jack bought some garlic fries, which maybe should have been more accurately labeled as Garlic....(with fries). These things were the genuine article and I will have halitosis for the next month.
After the game, we met up with my friends Eric and Scott who were running late and had to miss the game because they were having their own misadventure on their drive from Idaho to Seattle. It was good to see them again and we spent the rest of the evening bar hopping around downtown.

Seattle Weekend (Day 1)

After all these years of traveling, one would think that I could be a little more well-adjusted when I fly. But I'm not. I remain a grumpy, irritable, fractious flyer. In fact I think I'm getting worse as I get older... no, I take that back, I was much worse when I used to smoke. I was an outright hostile flyer in those days, the same general peevishness mixed with nicotine deprivation was a potent combination.
At any rate, here I am, at Sea/Tac airport in Seattle, gnashing my teeth at everyone that I'm trapped in line behind, or have even a glancing contact with. My expectation of how much control people should have over their children has gone well past reasonable (unless one considers straight jackets and muzzles reasonable parenting devices). Added to my overall ill tempered flying mood is the fact that I'm exhausted from flying a red-eye. I left Anchorage at 1 am and couldn't sleep for anything on the flight, and landed at 4:45 am feeling like I lost a fist-fight.
And yet, as I sit down at Starbucks in Seattle for a coffee while I wait for my sister to pick me up I can feel the cloud starting to lift. I'm waking back up, the flight is over, and I've got a great week-end trip in front of me. I get to see some old friends, and my sister and brother in law and their little girl who is fantastic. And besides all of that, I had just needed to get out and stretch my legs a little. I have spent most of the summer around the Anchorage area, and the need to get out of town for a while was starting to weigh upon me. It feels good to get here and for another adventure to begin.

Bird Watching

Bohemian Waxwing

Spring has finally begun to arrive, and with it the birds have begun their migration to the northern reaches of the country. I am utterly unashamed of my new hobby of birding. I find it thrilling and fascinating, it both gives me a focus for my energy and distracts me from my thoughts. And I was overjoyed to introduce my brother in law, Jack, to birding as I was passing through Washington state on my way back to Alaska after my recent trip to Coachella Festival.

He had a perfect view of a small protected nature area outside the back window of his house and we had a lovely evening watching the variety of birds come and go, from common birds like the Lincoln Sparrow, to the amazing like the nimble Anna's Hummingbird that continued to zip around us. Jack and I had an altogether too long discussion about a Brown Headed Cowbird which revealed both of our inner nerd.

Spotted Towhee

It took me quite a while to identify the Spotted Towhee that was bouncing around the area all afternoon, and I was delighted to see the spring colors on an American Goldfinch that came by, but the real treat was when an absolutely incredible Red Tailed Hawk landed atop a nearby tree and left everyone in awe! What a handsome bird.

It's not always the rare birds or the ones you've never seen that can give me a thrill however. Sometimes it can be the common ones. Two such cases happened when I returned to Anchorage, on my favorite walking path, very near my house.

Steller's Jay

The first was a Steller's Jay who lives in the area, and I'd seen it often throughout the year, but I could never manage to get a picture of it. It was always too far away, or would flit off just before I could get the camera out, or I wouldn't have the camera with me at all, or there'd be a tree in the way, or the shot was out of focus. It was always something. That is until I was walking to the post office and for no apparent reason thought that I had better take my camera along and then poof! There he was, hopping around from branch to branch just off the side of the trail and giving me a perfect opportunity to get a pic. I was so excited and downright giddy just to get that shot of such a common bird that I have seen flying around my house all winter. 

The other bird was very much the same story, in that I have seen the Hoary Redpolls pretty commonly throughout the year around Anchorage, particularly in the trees around various parking lots, but I rarely get a very good look at them much less do I ever have my camera with me at such times. And so it was that I found myself, again on my favorite little walking path, unfortunately without my camera, when a perfect little Hoary Redpoll lands on the far side of a large rock from me and begins pecking in the leaves doing it's Hoary Redpoll thing and paying no mind to me at all. I stood there transfixed and fascinated because not only had I gotten more than just my usual cursory glance, but this time I had a fantastic view for as long as I'd like. Eventually I moved on, grinning from ear to ear and grateful to my little friend the Redpoll.

Snow Bunting

Then it was time to go back to work. As that the spring birds were just starting to arrive in Anchorage, I didn't hold out much hope that they be arriving all the way up north in Prudhoe Bay yet; especially considering that last week nature unleashed one last winter storm. But my luck was very good and as soon as I arrived the temperatures spiked up, the snow is beginning to melt, and the first of the birds are beginning to arrive. The Ravens, Snow Buntings and the Willow Ptarmigans are up here all winter so it's no surprise to see them, but now the Tundra Swans are arriving, along with the Cackling Geese, Snow Geese, Greater White Fronted Geese, and the Glaucous Gulls. These are all extremely common in Prudhoe.

Northern Harrier

So I was pleasantly bemused, driving to a work location glad to see the birds again when something strange happened. A bird of a shape, and behavior that was NOT common swooped past and perched on a roadside marker just in front of me. I stopped my truck right there in the middle of the road and grabbed my field glasses. I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing... a Northern Harrier, which is something like a miniature hawk with amazing blue/gray feathers on it's back and a pale underbelly, and is also the only North American birds from the family of Hawks known as Harriers (the most notable difference between the two is their hunting habits, Harriers skim the ground to ambush their prey, while Hawks strike from far above). I knew that they were up here, and I even thought that I might have seen one once, but I didn't really expect to get more than a flash of one as I drove by. And here he was. I rolled forward, hoping to get a little more into photo range, or that he might let the truck drive by and give me an up close look. He didn't, instead he swooped low to the ground, up about 3 more roadside markers, and perched again, and I continued forward; then he did it again, and again, and I found myself cruising down the access road at 5 miles per hour or so, gawking at this bird as it made it's way down the same dusty road that I was on. If you would like to know how happy the whole experience made me, consider this: immediately after seeing the Harrier I popped open my computer and spent the next several hours busting out this entire article about why I love birding... enough said.

Raven in the Arctic

Coachella Trip Day 8 (Woodinville, WA)

The restocking of my wine cabinent continued today as I went with my sister and brother in law to the wineries in Woodinville. There are more than 90 wineries in this area, most represented by a small tasting room, some by restaurants as well and a few, like Chateau St Michelle by a large estate. This is a wonderful side trip any time you visit Seattle. I picked up a nice white wine from Goose Ridge Winery, and a syrah from Airfield Estates, but the one that I am the most excited by is a petit verdot from Zerba Cellars, who were the 2011 Wine Press Northwest winery of the year, and the only winery that I've ever seen that makes a petit verdot, and I am excited to see what Ursa thinks of it when I get it home.

Spotted Towhee

After wine tasting we returned to my sister's house and had a wonderful evening enjoying the gorgeous weather, drinking more wine, playing with my niece, (my niece also took great care in helping to plant some herbs in the garden) and bird watching in the small thicket of native growth land that borders their house. (They have a gorgeous view out of their back lawn and kitchen window. We were all thrilled to see a red tailed hawk who had been circling the skies for a while finally land briefly in a tree across the field (we had an excellent view of him through the binoculars) and we had fun identifying a spotted towhee that had been hanging around the area all day and a brown headed cowbird as well. There were also groups of dozens and dozens of swallows that would meander through.

Coachella Trip Day 7 (Seattle, WA)

I packed up my stuff and hopped on an early morning flight up to Seattle to visit my sister and her family. We had a good lunch from this little teriyaki place and got settled in at their new house in Bothell. That gave us a nice opportunity to chat and to play with my niece.

In the evening we drove downtown to Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, one of the finest jazz clubs you will find anywhere, to see a performance by Martin Taylor and Amy Fox. The two guitarists intermingled their sound in an thrilling and fascinating way. The detailed ranging of Ms Fox had a way of drawing you in emotionally while the more melodic Taylor projected to the listeners. The effect was a lovely free flowing performance that was rejuvenating to the spirit.
We finished the evening up with a late dinner and cocktails at 13 Coins.

Coachella Trip Day 6 (Palm Springs, CA)

A view down to on the Coachella Valley

After the marathon of festival going and road tripping, it was really tempting to just hole up at my parent's place and have an easy day, but we decided to head out of the house, bright and early, to enjoy one of the favorite activities of Palm Springs, hiking in the San Jacinto mountains. My parents have a favorite trail they call "the cross" (the trail has an actual name but I never have heard it). It was a great way to start the morning before the heat of the day began to take over.
A nice cup of coffee after the morning hike is a tradition; a great way to relax and chat after some morning exercise. From there we went downtown to see a new public art instillation, a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe, and explored Palm Springs a little.

Coachella Trip Day 5 (Temecula, CA)

Picking up some vino in Temecula, California

This morning I woke up stiff and soar, nursing blisters and coughing up half the desert. But fortunately for me we would not be doing anything too strenuous, other than persuing another one of my favorite things to do... drinking.

As that I will be in wine country in both Southern California as well as Washington, it is time to restock the wine rack. So my parents and I made the 70 miles of twisting, winding roads through the mountains to the wine town of Temecula that has 35 different wineries to choose from. We made stops at Baily Winery which was probably my favorite but the Mount Palomar Winery was certainly the most beautiful. It was a small wine haul, but it will suffice. I picked up a white blend from Baily, and a nice grenache from the oldest winery in the Temecula Valley, the Van Roekel Winery, and a wonderful dessert wine from Mount Palomar. Those combined with a few wines from Washington here in a few days should have the wine rack looking better in no time.

Coachella Trip Day 4 (The Festival Ends)

Beach balls gone wild at Wu Tang Clan

Coachella's final day was a big one for the two large outdoor stages as far as the lineup goes. That meant being exposed to the desert sun pretty much all day. It took some careful water planning (and some help from a generous festival policy of giving away free water bottles to people standing at the front of the stage) to make it.

The Airbone Toxic Event

For myself, the band that I was most looking forward to seeing was not a headliner but an early day act, The Airborne Toxic Event. I have seen Airborne on two previous occasions, in Austin, Texas, and again in Boston, Massachusetts.

Seeing them again was like a long anticipated visit from an old friend. If you have not listened to this band, I cannot recommend them any stronger. They are beautiful musicians and lead singer Mikel Jollett is one of the most effective lyricists I've heard in a long time. My strategy for navigating the festival and getting the best spot was to choose only a few bands that I really want to see, then show up for the show before them, that way I'm seeing something random that I normally would not see followed by an act that I'm really jazzed for. In this case I showed up early and watched Ghost BC, a goth theater act which seemed like a pretty bizarre choice for a bright sunny summer day, but a little variety is

Dinosaur Jr

After Airborne played I went to the Outdoor Stage to see Dinosaur Jr, and again got there one show early, and saw the young folk/jam band Kurt Vile and the Violators who I enjoyed, but I think they would have been better placed on one of the smaller stages. I often feel like singer/songwriter acts are better presented in more intimate settings. Dinosaur Jr on the other hand was right were they belonged. Let me say this about Dinosaur Jr: the wings of the stage was riddled with long haired ruffians wearing black band t-shirts and bandannas. What does it say for you that you are the band that all the roadies make a point to see? I would like to think that the guys in Dinosaur Jr would take that as the highest form of a compliment.

Tame Impala

When Dinosaur Jr wrapped up I decided that I would be content to just finish the day out at the Outdoor Stage, and just held my position at the front rail for the next band, Tame Impala, an Australian jam rock band that I didn't even know that I knew. It was several, "Oh, they wrote THAT too?" moments. They were followed by Pretty Lights, an EDM act whose stage show proved that he was appropriately named. I see the lighting spectacle of an EDM show to be akin to a fireworks display set to music. Instead of the artist doing the entertaining, they let the stagecraft do the work for them, it's just as entertaining as traditional shows, just in a different way.

Wu Tang Clan

Finally, as the crowd began to sense that the headliner was approaching there was a huge rush to the front of the stage, and then a full orchestra began to file onto the stage, and the crush of humanity got worse, and then, finally, Wu Tang Clan took the stage and the whole place turned to bedlam. That crowd was nothing short of CRAZY! I feel a certain journalistic responsibility to confirm the reports that Wu Tang ain't nothin' to fuck with. That is absolutely true. Thanks Coachella, it's been a great time.

Coachella Trip Day 3 (the festival continues)

It's not a party until someone fires up the Tesla Coils

The second day of Coachella Festival was full of higher highs and lower lows than Day 1. The bands that were good, were crazy good; the bands that were not crazy good were thoroughly mediocre. The weather is starting to take it's toll as well. Yesterday temperature was in the mid 90's and the heat was taking it's toll on festival goers, also the grounds were getting pretty well trampled and any time the crowds would start dancing, a cloud of dust would choke the air like a stockyard. By the end of the night my lungs were so full of dust that it reminded me of how I felt when I used to smoke, and why I quit.

Reignwolf

The day started off with a bang... or rather a savage, bluesy snarl. Reignwolf took the Outdoor Stage and brought the crowd immediately to life. Most bands that play early in the day are trying to cajole the crowd out of there hangovers and back to life. But not Reignwolf, they were not there to stoke the embers, they were there to light the fuse. They tore through a gritty, blues-centric set that left the crowd screaming for more. Keep your eyes open for this emerging talent (especially my Seattle friends, where the band hails from) and if you see they are playing you need to run, not walk, to get tickets. This band is the genuine article.

Unfortunately such a pace could not be sustained by the rest of the festival, and the next couple of shows that I saw were pretty pedestrian. I hesitate to say they were bad, because they were both talented, but I just felt like I had seen a dozen acts like them before, or maybe it was lofty expectations, or the heat.

Vintage Trouble

But for whatever reason I was wandering around a little aimlessly, feeling unfulfilled, and I made my way over to the main stage a little earlier than I had intended (because of the heat, one must carefully plan how long you want to cook in the sunshine at the main stage). I could not be happier that I did. The music scene has seen a resurgence of neo-soul acts in recent years, and Vintage Trouble fits into that category. But it's never fair to pigeonhole acts that are as unique as this. Their lead singer, who brought to mind the vocal stylings of Wilson Pickett, managed to dance his pants off... literally. Midway through the set he pointed out to the crowd that he had torn out his pants from knee to crotch, laughed about it then carried on with the show, their next song was appropriately named, "Pelvis Pusher."

Dropkick Murphys

Directly following Vintage Trouble on the main stage was the veteran brawlers, and native Bostonians, The Dropkick Murphys, who were playing the final show of their tour. They played a solid show and had an enthusiastic and active crowd. It was a great time, but exhausting in the heat, so, after that show, I had to retreat to a shady spot to listen to the next band, The Violent Femmes from a distance.

Franz Ferdinand

There were a couple other gems during the day as well before the sun finally went down as I was watching the ska band, The Selector. Then I caught the EDM act, Simian Mobile Disco before finishing the night at Franz Ferdinand, a band that I have been looking forward to for a long time, and have always just barely missed out on for one reason or another. I'm glad that I finally got a chance to see them and they did not disappoint. After Franz Ferdinand finished up, Phoenix was closing the main stage and I had originally planned on trying to catch that show, but after the long day spent in the oppressive desert sun and breathing a sand dune of dust for 12 hours, it was time for me to call it a night and I headed back a little early.
Just one day of Coachella left to go. I'm sure that tomorrow will be as stellar as the two previous days. See you all then!

Heineken Beer Garden

Coachella Trip Day 2 (The festival begins)

The Snail creeps it's way across the festival grounds

Welcome to Coachella Festival 2013! I planon putting up a more comprehensive post on all the bands that I saw the "Destinations" page, so for now I think that I'll just touch on a couple highlights from yesterday then scurry off to the shuttle bus for Day 2.

Metric

The middle of the day act that I was excited to see and did not disappoint was Metric who put on an awesome performance on the main stage. It was interesting that the band that preceded them was a good example of how a band could be very good on a smaller stage but looks very pedestrian on a larger stage. So after one disappointment, Metric took the stage and went in the exact opposite direction and positively owned the stage and the crowd putting on an exceptionable mid day performance.

The Palma Violets

After that I made my way back to the Mojave Tent (which had a stellar lineup all day long, and is where I spent most of my time) and caught a band that I had sorely underestimated, The Palma Violets who proceeded to unleash one of the best performances of the day! Their bass player thundered through their set like a pissed off Matt Smith and drug the crowd in with an unstoppable intensity. An unexpected and fantastic show.

Nick Caves performs with Grinderman

Both of the headliners on the Mojave Stage were also a better option than either of the main stages (which were featuring either Blur or Jurassic 5). The first was Grinderman. The promoters that booked the festival, in their infinite wisdom, decided to bless us with a Nick Caves double feature. His band Nick Caves and the Bad Seeds will be headlining on the main stage on day 3, but his other project came out to rock the smaller venue last night which was incredible. Nick Caves is a legendary showman and thrilled the crowd with his rawkus performance.

How To Destroy Angels

The final show of the night was one that I have been looking forward to for some time. Trent Reznor's side project, How To Destroy Angels has been much anticipated around the country, and this would be their third performance. Their stage show featured the band performing most of the set behind a semi-transparent screen, which added a mysterious and beautiful component to the performance. The audience was only able to see the artists as a series of silhouettes which focused more attention to the music. The final product was less a rock concert and more of a performance art project which once again places Trent Reznor firmly in the category of "genius".
There was much more to see and describe but I've got to hop my shuttle bus and get back to the festival. One thing to look forward to is that I got some excellent video to also post up so get ready for that as well. See you all tomorrow!