Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Travelogue Filler: Planes, Trains, and Catamarans

Greetings, gheorghies. It has been a while. 

While most of you were rounding out your spring with college basketball, baseball's hope-springs-eternal season (mon dieu, the Mets already), and silly things like going to work, this gheorghie was draining every bank account and leveraging his organization's generous leave policy while soaking in life as if it were in the home stretch. It's almost like I'm on sabbatical like rob!

Travelogues are obnoxious and filled with look-at-me stuff, but since our tiny dictator is now on Island Time and you lazy bastards aren't posting with any regularity, you're stuck with it. 

Here's what I've been up to lately. Eyes wide open as if you care, people. 

As the squirrel out front told you, my travels began in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh, Scotland
March 9 - 13
13 fraternity brothers/rugby players and fans from William and Mary
Drinking pints in pubs and watching rugby

Spots: The Last Drop, White Hart Inn, All Bar One, Oxford Bar, Murrayfield Stadium, Castle

Not four years, but 34 and counting
Takeaways: 
  • Nothing beats old friends; make big efforts to see them, travel with them
  • If your group lacks beautiful tradition, make them up from scratch and repeat them
  • Rugby = universal camaraderie
  • The Scottish brogue can be challenging to some, even a few of our nerd friends from WandM


Barcelona, Spain
March 13 - 17
My elder daughter and I
Catching up, touring the city, eating and drinking like royalty
Spots: Paradiso, Dow Jones Bar, Dr. Stravinsky, Maná 75, Surf House, La Sagrada Família

Life near the Med, Jager at Dow Jones Bar once the market crashed

Go to Paradiso and order ridiculous drinks
Takeaways: 
  • Nothing beats seeing beloved family, especially your first-born after she's been half a world away for months
  • Barcelona is as cool a coastal culture as I've encountered
  • Send your kid abroad if you can; go visit them in their new immersion if at all possible
  • The Catalan Español can be challenging to some, even a cunning linguist from WandM

British Virgin Islands: Tortola, Scrub Island, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, Peter Island
March 24 - April 1
7 would-be castaways on a 42' catamaran
Tooling around the Caribbean and coming ashore for nightlife
Bars: Soggy Dollar, Foxy's, Willy T's, Bitter End, Saba Rock, Nova, Lobster Trap, Pirate's Bight

Takeaways: 
  • I'm a sucker for a beautiful backdrop, and a view of that water down there gets me every time
  • Painkillers are wondrous and live up to their name... piña coladas, martinis, Mt. Gay + tonics, rum punches, margaritas, and a Carib or Red Stripe w/ lime ain't bad, either
  • Don't drive a Jeep on the salt flats
  • Karaokeing "Going Back to Cali" is a winner, even outside the U.S.
  • Mal de Debarquement Syndrome is real and can be challenging to some, even an old salt like me
4,069 miles separate The White Hart Inn and the Soggy Dollar. They couldn't be more different in look, but the feel -- well, that's the same. Whether it's Robert Burns (And surely ye'll be your pint-stoup / and surely I'll be mine / And we'll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet / for auld lang syne) or Jimmy Buffett (Livin’ it up / It’s takin’ all of his time / But he ain’t givin’ it up / It suits his temperament fine), it's about new times with old friends and family. 

Back to work this week. It's a doozy already. So get out there and live your lives to the very last drop, gheorghies. 

Cheers...

15 comments:

Whitney said...

A very happy birthday to the doofus overlord. Cheers to ya, Tejus.

Whitney said...

Donna, please reissue what you commented at the close of the last post

T.J. said...

Thank you, Travelin' Man... jealous of your journeys.

and yes, Donna, please post that again - 'twas good

OBX dave said...

Curious what G:TB legal department makes of Trump indictment. While I recall the old saw that a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich, the burden of actual prosecution is significantly greater, and thus a grand jury can choose not to indict if members think charges frivolous or un-provable. That said, they apparently thought charges had at least some merit.

And I've read for weeks that cases against him by Georgia folks into election monkeying and by DOJ are actually much stronger and more substantial.

Donna said...

So, on this post, Whitney -- so jealous...what fun! Hope the re-entry with work isn't too bumpy.
Here's the link again that I'd posted in post before this one -- for those who hadn't seen it and if you're interested,
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O6DH5YN-DfHI_NGB9CpD99OfJ7b2EAlHvi_iFSk4lGc/edit
(it's Easter sermon from last year that includes "Lasso" illustration)

Enjoy some sun and fun if you're getting that chance. Have a drink for me!

zman said...

I too have heard people say that these particular charges against Trump aren't really that big a deal, and to them I say Michael Cohen would beg to differ, particularly when he was sitting in prison for his participation in these activities. Put more succinctly, if deed is bad enough for the the bag man to go to jail, the boss should too.

The NY and GA cases are not federal, so we don't have MAGA morons screaming about "Biden's DOJ" wrongly persecuting DJ Trump. That's good because Trump's supporters will say Biden is using the DOJ merely to harm his political opponent and throw mud all over both cases. Of course, Trump tried to withhold Congressionally delegated funds to gain dirt on his political rival but that's fine. Collusion!

All of that said, I am completely flabbergasted that I watched Trump incite a riot to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in real time on my television, and nothing happened to him. There is no doubt that it happened (unless you watch Tucker Carlson) and yet Trump continues to skate. Mindboggling.

Marls said...

Happy birthday Tejus!

rootsminer said...

I'm praying for Whitney's liver after that recap. Happy belated, Teej.

T.J. said...

thanks Marls and rootsy - it was a tweener birthday, will never cut it in the league, too small to guard bigs and too big/slow to keep up with guards

rootsminer said...

Don't sell yourself short. I think you could be a featured player on the new era Nicks.

Whitney said...

Liver getting a little rest this week. Much needed.

rob said...

just snorkeled off of little st james island. you know it better as jeffrey epstein’s place. weird. the reef was amazing, tho.

Whitney said...

Hope the traffic wasn’t bad getting there. And that you passed judgment while you saw beautiful fish.

Professor G. Truck said...

wow-- what a trip whit! and rob! meanwhile, i'm stuck in jersey and the weather here sucks . . . spring break?

rob said...

got caught in an honest to god st john gullywasher while trying to sneak in a morning hike. lesson: i’m an idiot. and also, don’t tempt ol’ mom nature.