The Briar Patch

 Again, going way away from what I was working on but had a minor holiday somewhere new. Or somewhere I haven't been in years, so I figured a travel lite blog might be in order. We went down to Kelowna for a few days; it was a good time in a beautiful area. For me, it wasn't my first time in Kelowna. Years ago, like 30-plus years ago, I remember going with my mom and her boyfriend. If I am honest, I don't remember much of that. Of course, I vaguely recall Flintstone Park. People trying to race snowmobiles across water and camping. I don't think we stayed right in town that time. Then, it was a long time until I was back. I was in my mid-twenties, so 15 - 20 years later. This time, I was with a group of friends my age. We camped, I think, in West Kelowna. Honestly, most of that trip consisted of a couple of days of drinking on the beach. We did see the town, but not overly. I woke up one morning with Hells Angels at my picnic table because one buddy invited them to share...

  The next morning started out very similar. My wife was up before me, or at least active before me. I watched music videos and news clips of the protests the day before. Again, the only news from the Americas was the Trump trial, and yes, everyone thought it made the USA look dumb. Our breakfast again was a Parisian breakfast, which I still love. Meat, cheese, fruits, and coffee. This morning was a lesson in being early. We had a tour of the Louvre that morning. Google Maps said it was a 20-minute car ride to the Louvre from the hotel. We had a cab called 45 minutes early, 5 for the cab to get there, 20 for the drive, and 20 for safety. Tours don't wait for you. To be fair, they MAY give a tiny grace period while they get organized, but they aren't about to wait too long. We got in the cab and watched the clock. A pro tip is to check drive times when you are actually going, not the night before. Rush hour is going to be a lot slower than nighttime. In the end, the 20-minute gr...

 So, the boat was chaotic to get on. Half a dozen boats load up, and you follow signs, hoping you are on the right one. It isn't complicated, but I will be honest: for some reason, it made me nervous that I wasn't getting on the right one. No idea why. I have done this in other places, and we do it at home all the time, so what's the big deal? We were on the right one. However, we were almost at the cut-off time, so what were probably the best seats were all gone. The best seats would be on the top, right on the edge. No one obstructs your view; you are high enough to see everything. There are also seats inside with a window or in the middle of the boat inside. Why would you ever want to sit there and see nothing? We were on the outside on the bottom. Some seats wrap around the boat. They are right on the water, so they are a bit chilly. They are definitely chilly on an overcast, drizzly day, but they don't have anyone in front of you. They are lower, of course, so it i...

Quick Daredevil rant, not edited and full of spoilers. I wouldn't read if you haven't watch the season yet.  The MCU isn't dead. As much as people might say it is. No it hasn't been the same since Endgame.  They still have enough viewers to make B grade TV. In fact they needed to bring back the original face of the MCU in RDJ. No one wants him to be a variant of Tony as Doom, I am guessing they have worked out quite the story for him we will all soon see. While I really hope Thunderbolts is good, it seems like they are hanging a lot on Fantastic Four and the coming of the Mutants soon. Besides all that fans of Daredevil were super pumped for that series to be back, maybe it can save the MCU and finally give them a decent TV series. Season 1 is done and here are some quick thoughts on it. A lot of people were thinking Disney would not be a violent as Netflix had been with the original run. Turns out they are. I think the thing they missed here was the violence wasn't...

Sticking with blogs around 3000 words this one cuts off half way through the day. The full day would be too long a blog, so that one will come out next week. Or something like that, either way with these blogs sorry for some random ends. I will try to keep them fluid. My traveling companion, my wife, is much different than me when it comes to getting ready in the AM for travel. I could hop in the shower, brush my teeth, slap on pitstick and cologne. Then clothes and a ball cap and I am ready to face the world. She, on the other hand, loves to take pictures. She also wants to look her best. So, almost every day, she is in the bathroom getting ready at least an hour before me. I caved and, most days, at least combed my hair rather than a cap. Of course, once she is awake, though, I am. So that was my time to read, write, or just lay and do nothing. Well, actually, some mornings, I did yoga stretches for my back. The shitty thing was grabbing that bag before it fell really did hurt me, an...