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I was back at the hotel, telling the story backwards today, around 11ish, and Deborah called as I was trying to get in. The parking lot was surprisingly full, so I had to park the rental in the back lot (which I had noticed before, meaning I did not have to search for a parking spot). Deborah called me while I was trying to use my room card to get into the building. I could not answer because my hands were full, and the card did not work.

I walked to the front of the hotel, it was cold, too, and then through the lobby to the elevator to my room. And, not surprisingly, the card failed to work there. I then reversed and retraced my path. Violet at the front desk re-made my card; it worked, and I arrived in my room.

There, I talked to a sleepy Deborah, wished her good night, and then got ready for bed. Jet lag is still an issue on this trip, and I have not been able to rest until after midnight. Even if I nod off, I often wake up in 30 minutes and then have trouble falling back asleep. Ugh!

I looked for deals on some solo-play games recommended by the Discriminating Gamer, Dr. Cody Carlson. I was hoping there were some deals out there for these, but nope. GMT Games offered their new reprint of I, Napoleon, a second edition. I did the paperwork to join that process for a discounted price. The game intrigued me (3 on his list) because it featured a simulation of political choices rather than combat. GMT Games produces many board games that focus on intrigue. I looked at another one, decided it was a repeat of things I could do now with what I have, but the solo (and expensive) Plague of Dracula got my attention.

It is published by Blue Panther and was released just a few months ago. I was fascinated by Blue Panther, which publishes short-run board games, and noticed that some of the games I saw are also available from another publisher as print-and-play versions. Blue Panther had some small-topic games that appear to be for museums to sell or advertise for various battlefields, at different price points and with various makeup options (i.e., the price reduced if a paper map is included instead of the printed cloth map).

A whole new world of options and thoughts comes to mind. Maybe that Jutland Card game I was thinking about might work. I found someone selling a card game for Cold War naval battles. Hmmm.

Before this, I was at Clint’s and Annika’s house, and I taught/remembered Root, and we played a basic game of the Cats vs. Birds. In the first game, I was able to push Clint’s Cats around, keep the points coming in, and never change the leaders. I won by twenty points, but it was a learning game. In the second game, Clint was still playing the Cats, and I walked into an ambush, and he had extra cards that did even more damage. I was not able to recover for some time and went through two leaders. Ugh! I was just about ten points away, which surprised Clint that I recovered so fast. Root is a bit clumsy with two players, but still, it was fun. We unboxed another add-on, and more options will be available if we play it on Saturday.

Thanksgiving was fantastic, with plenty of traditional foods, all made fresh (including baking pumpkins for the pies), with a butterball turkey breast as the centerpiece. Clint’s mother came (I forgot her name), and we tried the wines I brought. The red was carbonated and strangely flavored, but from the same county, very local. The local white, a tiny bit sweet, was better.

Tiny Epic Galaxies is, as it suggests, a tiny footprint game, but an excellent game with the right mix of random and risk-taking with resource management and worker placement. Clint and I played two games; I won the first and lost the second by 5 or more points (I think). Clint has purchased the extra dice for the game, but otherwise, it plays well right out of the box. There is now a playing mat and add-ons, but we mainly used the base game.

The hotel is surprisingly busy for Thanksgiving, and with me rising at 7ish, I was out for breakfast near 9 with my laptop, and the staff was making more food. I found a table, wrote the blog, and managed to eat the industrial, but complimentary breakfast. And Thanksgiving is not a day for a large breakfast!

Sleep, as I suggested above, was broken, and I woke fine but found that I wanted to execute a nap about noon. I wore a dress shirt with a red sweater vest for Thanksgiving. I let the bathroom steam up while the shirt hangs on a hanger, and slowly the wrinkles from packing fade. It works well enough to avoid the iron.

Thanks for reading!

 

Wednesday was another full day in New Hampshire, and I stayed out of most people’s way as they worked this week. I bought dinner for Clint, Annika, Ryder, and Riley at Longhorn Streakhouse, as I find its food a bit better than Texas Roadhouse’s (but it costs a bit more, too). I had a New York Strip that was perfectly cooked, and favorival (but not much better than I can do). I used a supplied heavy, sharp knife that could also fit in a post-apocalyptic world, and if you need to fight that last battle against a Zombie, maybe holding out in a Longhorn Steakhouse is not a bad choice. I do remember being in New Orleans not too long ago, and the waiter at Arnaud’s explaining that if your steak cannot be cut with a butter knife, send it back—but that won’t happen at Arnaud’s, we were assured. I did use the heavy, sharp knife; it was needed. Still, dinner was nice, and only Ryder’s shrimp were not a success (they were too spicy). After that, I was tired (the Gin and Tonic might have helped) and returned the rental car to the hotel.

 

 

I soon was in my PJs and nodded off, reading the WW2 battleship game rules. Deborah woke me with a call; it was not that late. Deborah and I, now on the same time zone, chatted for a while until we were both sleepy, and then it was time to read and sleep. I again woke at 1ish, turned off the heat, and went back to sleep, and woke early.

Before this, I was at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. Again, retracing yesterday’s failed trek. This time, the place was open. I also have tickets to do their tour of two Frank Lloyd Wright houses on Saturday morning. I have never been to one of these famous houses. Their collection was less than Portland’s and eclectic. It was organized mainly by the time of the art, not by the artist’s location or style. There was an excellent Picasso and a barely noticeable Monet. There was a hall of Dutch painters, but I did not recognize the names. The lighting and information about the various artworks were perfect, and while the collection was unfocused, it was still relaxing to walk the halls. There was more modern art than classic. For $20, the Picasso was almost worth the price alone. There was a Matisse statue (excellent) and some Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ bronze works that looked Art Deco to me (yes, I know it is American Renaissance). Again, just a pleasure to walk through.

I should add that somewhere on Wednesday, Clint and I stopped by the local school shop, no surprise that Clint has access, and we planed some boards for a build he is doing at the house. I helped clean up, but also wore safety glasses for all the right reasons.

Returning to my story about the museum, the cafe closed at 3, and I got the last cup of coffee before they closed. I sat in the garden cafe, which is built out of the original entrance (now you enter through a glassed-in area on the other side by the parking lot). There are two mosaics, two stories tall, of the great times and great races in bright colored figures, all embarrassingly white and American-looking from 1930. There is no comment on them. Rightfully so. I grabbed easy-to-pack items at the gift store.

Before this, I met Clint at Spyglass Brewers for their special, a Reuben burger, and a beer. He was running late, and I was running early. My quest for another used book store failed; the place is gone. Still, it was, without the rain from yesterday and some hint of sun, a lovely drive near the rivers. Also, Navigation sent me on a backroad trip, which I accepted, and I saw that the highway was blocked by an accident. It had re-routed me. An excellent drive.

Before this, I rose late, close to 8, and did my usual: make coffee, read email, and try not to read too much news. I often focus on the newest recipes rather than what new idea from the Trump folks to distract me from the fact that the files are not released, the transcript of why a convicted sex offender was moved to an easy prison has not been released, and that the estimates for DOGE were a loss of over 100 million for the government and increasing loss as more data becomes available. Additionally, I am deeply saddened by the deaths of the National Guard members in DC. I am still waiting for the government to send me $2,000 from the excess taxes and tariffs collected, while the same government is reaching record levels of deficit spending, which would mean there is no excess. These are not political statements, though many want them to be, but a search for facts. I simply want to know these things, shine a bit of sunshine on them.

Instead of balancing the Federal Budget or getting facts, I balanced my own spending and income and checked that everything is working on Wednesday morning. It is. I also see that my unrealized loss in my IRA is down to $10K after another weird day on Wall Street. Soon I will be making lots of money again. Crazy!

Thanks for reading.

I was still tired when I rose late, closer to 8 than 7:30, and soon was writing the blog and making coffee with the in-room coffee service. I am pleased that this IHG hotel has coffee in the rooms. So far, it is about a 50% chance now.

I wrote the blog, and Monday’s travel came to mind quickly, but I had to add one item when I looked at my photos. I finished writing in the lobby because I wanted breakfast, which is industrial but complimentary, and that particular flavor makes it work for me (saving $20 on breakfast). I chatted with the staff and thanked them for the food. They were happy to help, and the same woman will be making breakfast for us on Thanksgiving.

I learned that my room will not be cleaned on Thanksgiving Day, and that if I need towels, the front desk will have them.

I wrote a postcard to Mom Wild, too. I found more local postcards on my visit to the bookstore today. I bring spare cards and stamps with me.

Clint texted me Baja Tacos’ location to meet for lunch at noon. Annika would join us. I headed to the nearby Merrymac Games & Comics store. There I found an old I.C.E. role-playing supplement, Vikings (1989), for a bit more than I would like to spend, but I have not seen it for sale before (back in the 1980s, I.C.E. published the first Lord of the Rings role-playing material). I got that, some dice, and a figure I also could not resist (but unpainted).

I found I was backtracking; it was now light, bright, sunny, and cold, and I could see where I was driving. I would spend the day driving back and forth on the same track. I had the birria tacos, and this is the place I had lunch at before when I was here last year for New Year’s.

After we had a nice lunch and caught up, I headed to the Currier Museum of Art. I am in a rental, but I had auto-payment of the tolls turned on for the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. I used this, slowing and then getting a green light, at the toll booths on the highway here in New Hampshire. It was a buck, according to the sign. I usually see these on my car bill, or they are mailed to me by the local officials. Deborah pointed out that some states charge you extra if you don’t pay online. Hmmm.

I arrived via navigation on my iPhone. I ordered a USB-A-to-USB-C CarPlay cable to be delivered to the hotel that morning. I saw the parking lot was nearly empty and learned from the sign on the door that the museum was closed on Tuesdays. I had not checked. Oops. I did talk to folks, it was a training day, and learned that the museum hosts two Frank Lloyd Wright houses and tours can be booked for that (late, I would book that for me, Clint, and Ryder for Saturday at 9:30A.M.). I will be back!

Manchester is a nice-looking town, and I soon found the Bookery in the old city. I found parking a block away for a buck for an hour on the street, and you can do two hours without issue, for two bucks. The machine did not take AMEX, but printed a payment ticket for my rental’s dash once I used the Alaska Air Visa.

The bookstore had new books, as well as good postcards and stickers. I especially liked (and purchased) a sticker of a broken fortune cookie that read “You’re Fucked!” I talked to the manager and found coffee available in the back; jet lag had caught up with me again. I walked around the area and found their lovely old school city hall building, even with a clock tower. I did not stop into the candy store and passed by the brew pub.

I checked, and the only other museum nearby local history museum and the American Museum of Credit Unions. What? I tried the CU one, and drove across the river to what was obviously the lesser part of town. Going from Christmas lights to urban blight in about one bridge. I get to the building, my app saying it closes in an hour, but alas, it is no longer open, according to the sign on the door, closed to the public and requires an appointment. Well, that is two misses today!

I decided to retrace my steps and return to the hotel for a nap. Once again, I enjoyed the toll booths getting a green light. It reads the licence plate, as far as I can tell, and will bill the rental, which will likely flow to my bill. I suspect it will be under $10 when I am done. There were also tolls in Massachusetts, I think. I was driving in the dark and might have done a toll.

But before the nap, I decide to try another bookstore and head again south and find Balin Books. I see a card, and many signed books, including horror books, and the local Stephen King (just up in Maine) is included. I was tempted, but I would have to ship them myself. I settled for a card (even after finding some SciFi signed, too). Even though it will be retracing my trek again, I head back north to the hotel.

With a nap done, I headed to Clint’s and Annika’s house. I found the Nav took me down the local roads and soon arrived without issue. We caught up while Annika started on various pumpkins (for pie) and other prep steps. I got to pet the cat.

Ryder, their daughter, joined us for Taco Tuesday at a nearby place, Mi Jalisco. They mangled our order, but it came out with a few adjustments. I had been here before, Annika promised no tacos for Thanksgiving. It was nice to chat for a while.

I headed back to the hotel. I had a Church Council meeting at 9:30 (locally 6:30 in Beaverton, Oregon) via Zoom. I attended the meeting, which was longish but nothing controversial. I was having trouble sleeping, and I woke and went back to sleep over and over until late. The morning came unwelcomed at 7 when my alarm woke me.

With stock markets now flying up and bonds all over the place, I have nearly recovered $40K of the $60K in unrealized losses I incurred this month. I can see that Small/Mid-Cap stocks have not recovered, yet. Crazy! Historically, November is a negative month, and December historically changes little (with the usual window-dressing sales/purchases from investment advisors/houses), but this year, we are seeing different patterns. Belt-in! “Long live NVIDIA” seems to be the call of the season, rather than “Happy Holidays.”

Thanks for reading!

 

The blog will be about travel, since that was all I really did on Monday.

I flew from Portland to Detroit all night, arriving before sunrise with no issues and no sleep. I watched a movie and may have nodded off a few times. I also have a non-conan Sherlock Holmes book with me, and follow along. I get a few pages of the next story done.

My app said I had a short walk to my gate, and with a more than three-hour wait, I had time to find breakfast and write the blog. But the app was wrong, and after putting on my shoes (my feet were uncomfortable for the four hours on the Airbus), I took the tram to the end of A gates. I had the last number, 78, at the furthest. I found a breakfast bowl full of wake-you-up spices at Qdoba, which I had never eaten before. It seemed fresh, and they were ready.

Chick-fil-A, I don’t like their politics, so I ignore them. Also, the long lines show that they are doing well and do not need me to survive. I tried to write, but all I wanted was a nap. I relented when Chick-fil-A was the only place in the area with coffee and got a cup. Still, the blog was not going to get done here. I sank into a not-that-comfortable chair and napped.

The three hours and some change evaporated, and soon my plane was called. But they were overbooked by eight. I saw the agents blanch when they realized how many there were. They offered $400 and a booking on the 2PM flight to Boston. I learned it is an auction with a higher price than paid. It was $700 when it ended. Wow!

There was a problem for a while with the loss of an email to me. The Delta folks, who were friendly and wanted to help, had to call their own accounts payable help desk and resend the payment. I have seen this issue before with some JavaScript screens. A mandatory field is cleared and reset, but not reflagged for re-entry. I once ended up with a one-day car rental picked up in Texas and dropped off in Louisiana (not the week I had initially entered into the screen); it explained the excellent deal I got! The email was blank; they discovered it, canceled the payment, and reissued it to me successfully.

I thanked the folks and headed back down A to gate sixty now. I then found a comfortable space, now fully awake, converted $700 into a $500 Delta gift card (my next flight will use that), and made four $50 gift cards for Olive Garden and related restaurants. I selected all gift cards that I know will work. I finished and published the blog. I forgot the email. The coffee only partially worked.

I found a not-that-comfortable chair at A60 and nodded off. The plane arrived, and folks deplaned. I thanked the agent for working the holiday, and that got a smile. And I was then given the worst seat on the plane. Yes, the aisle next to the toilet (it also does not recline), but I was offered a better one once I got on board. It was 90 minutes, and I had my noise-canceling earbuds (I only hear from one ear, not the one pointed at the toilet), and I was paid $700, so I was OK. It was not a problem.

I laughed through the new Naked Gun movie, which finished as the wheels hit Boston. I walked through Logan and did not remember any of this. I was here a year ago, but there is no memory of this place. I followed the signs and walked and walked and walked to baggage claim. My bag had arrived on my first flight and was waiting for me with the agent.

Sadly, there was an hour-long line to get a cheaper car from Budget. Instead of using Hertz and just walking out and taking a ‘gold’ car, I had to see the agent. Ugh! But I got to meet some folks, and we all, slightly frustrated, just put up with it. The line moved slowly, but it moved with the three agents they had. I suspect there are more today. Monday night, I watched the sun go down, and then got an SUV. But my CarPlay needs a cable for this model, and I only have a USB-C to USB-C cable. Even though this is a new car, it requires an A-to-USB-C cable. I will look for one (ordered one as Black Friday deal from Amazon, delivered to the hotel).

I spent some time trying to figure out the car, and CarPlay was a no-go this time. I then, with caution, left the parking garage and airport. Folks were waving and blowing their horn at me. After about an hour, with no ability to find anything in the car, I found the headlights, and poof, I understood and turned them on. Yikes! Now all the dash was lit, and I could see the buttons and other functional buttons.

Once on the long 31-mile straight drive to New Hampshire and out of the tunnels, funnels, and other interesting ways of moving traffic, and dodging a few aggressive drivers (Boston is slow-go-fast-when-you-can and angry driving instead of the passive-aggression of Portland), I called folks and connected with Deborah and Clint.

I found the hotel and checked in without issue. Violet, the desk person, helped and suggested Thai. I arranged stuff in my room, then found Thai across the street, and then walked around the area while waiting for a to-go order. Mussaman Curry with roasted duck. Excellent when I got into my room.

I talked to Deborah for a while, and soon we both needed sleep. Still, I showered first, as I needed to clean up after not getting a shower in the morning (nothing offered on the plane for showers, but they are provided at the flying lounges, but I was flying cheap and do not have the super-AMEX for that). I soon rang off and woke to the light on, local time 1 in the morning. I took my meds, turned off the heat, and then pulled up the covers. I woke late.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

I am without sleep after flying all night to Detroit, where I have a connection to Boston in a few hours. I could have had better connections, but it seemed short connections or hours, and I picked the sure thing of a later connection. The sun is rising over DTW as I write this.

Only Chick-fil-A has coffee, and I am not that desperate.  It also has long lines. The Qdoba spicy breakfast bowl was my choice. I talked to Deborah, who is also starting her day. It is good to be in Detroit again, even for just a few hours.

All flights are packed, and the airport is busy, but security in PDX was light late Saturday night. I had no events. I was in seat F, which means my unhearing ear is towards everyone. I was not able to speak with my seatmates except for a few words shouted when I turned my head to hear.

Sunday started with me rising at 7ish to freshly made coffee (I had gotten the assembly done the night before and pushed the correct button to enable the alarm to make coffee). It was a church day, and I started writing the blog with a loose time box since church isn’t until 11. I wrote the story on Saturday and published the next installment of the blog soon after. I showered and then assembled my luggage for my trip. I had a late evening trip. I had to pull a sweater and a pair of pants from the bag to make things fit. Those were moved to my carry-on. Now dressed and packed, I was ready for church. I boarded Air VW the Gray (which I had charged for an hour during the day, thinking I was taking it to PDX and leaving it there for a week). I would get it back into the 80s.

I ushered at church. Dondrea was preaching, adding a bit of Southern Baptist flavor to the service. The music was familiar, and it was stuff we had sung at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dondrea, recalling the sermon we heard in Atlanta: there are things we need and things we want, and we get them mixed up. That we also confuse the chaos of the world with what is important, love, and, though she did not use this word, clarity.

Much of the flooring for the refresh is now in place, and it looks marvelous. The rest of the floor is this holiday week!

(an idea?)

I head home, drop the tie, and nap. I do get some chicken from Popeyes for lunch. I talk to Dondrea and take an Uber to the church for the Charge Conference meeting. Dondrea will take me to Matt’s and PDX later.

We have a quick, mandatory, but prefunctory meeting on money, positions, and membership. We have no controversies, and it is quickly done. We had to find a room as the refresh is mixing up room usage. It will be grand when it is completed early next year!

Dondrea takes me a bit early to Matt’s place. The other players appear, and Matt cooks us burgers before the game. We are playing Dungeons & Dragons 2024 and are 7th level. We are reworking an old AD&D adventure set in Egypt and a fantasy complex in a pyramid. I have the original, but remember it was not a favorite.

We are enjoying it, and Matt has his 3D stuff out for this. Matt informs us that we’re on the same track as the other players (he has multiple groups playing the same stuff), but we, unlike them, manage to backtrack and fight more creatures from these missed locations. I can see Matt trying not to laugh at us. Still, it was fun, and we are slowly figuring things out.

It reaches 8:30ish, and my ride is already here. We wish each other happy holidays. Matt and my fellow players all got a pencil from the Carter Presidential Library (Niki got a sticker from the King Center). Dondrea takes me to the airport, and we are caught in traffic at PDX. I get dropped off, and soon the usual processes are followed, and no mistakes (leaving my phone at the bag tagging stations) or searches (my suspenders get me searched, but my bag is good). And soon I am at the bar getting a beer. I was watching a YouTube video and realized I had closed the bar. It closes at 10. I get a smile from the bartender as I say, “That’s a good way to start a trip; closing a bar!”

I watched the new Superman movie, nodding off a few times. I liked it the first time, and I like it again. Recommended.

That takes us to the next day. I landed in Detroit and found my next flight. But then I was offered $$$ to give up my seat…I did.

But that adventure is ongoing while I write this. More in the next blog! I really appreciate all the help from Delta with this process, an unexpected adventure!

Thanks for reading!