2 Weeks before the Mast

Before the actual day-by-day, I figured people might want a condensed sense of what a day on the ship was like. This video is from the sister ship, but was pretty accurate.

Now, back to my trip.

Day 1

First day of the trip. Absolutely nothing eventful happened. I most certainly didn't screw up my alarms and sleep until 2 hours before the flight, breeze through a miraculously small amount of traffic, and fly through a near empty LAX to arrive before boarding. Let's just not even discuss it.

Plane ride was nice. Instead of the usual media blitz, Ryan and I talked damn near the entire time. We got into Portland, grabbed the rental car and dumped all of our stuff at the hotel. The days plans then consisted of visiting Powell's book store and a couple fancy places for food.

Portland's appeal defied my phone camera's capabilities to capture it. Just imagine this photo, but wrapping around you in all it's foresty goodness.

We had a late lunch at Lardo's, an incredible sandwich/burger joint famous for it's pork. My burger had "porkstrami" on it instead of bacon... Good god, that was delicious. And I even had a tasty apricot cider to boot--Ryan's influence. This lack of Diet Coke is apparently doing horrible things to me. :)

Powell's was an entire block of books and coffeeshop. We spent nearly the whole time in the Scifi/mystery/graphic novel section, and I don't regret a second of it. I bought a recommendation of an oooooold book called "Chess with a Dragon" and resisted buying a kindle version of another book that was too damn expensive on paper.

If not for my ankle, we probably could have stayed longer. I needed to crash at the room for a while, then we went to Frank's Noodle House... Which is an actual house. Of noodles... Really great authentic deliciousness and homemade noodles.

Ryan had the brilliant idea at this point to, instead of lamenting that we missed Xmen, to actually see it here. We caught a late movie and it was worth the hype.

Day 2 - The ships arrive

We woke at a leisurely 10 and wandered to a favorite breakfast place of Ryan's. Tasty Catfish hash, but too much breakfast for me... Also, some sad dogs in the parking lot.

We decided to see a few more sights in Portland before we left. Voodoo Donuts was top of the list. There ended up being an enormous line, so we didn't stay to buy anything. But it was worth it, both to see this line and to see Froot Loop topped donuts and the bumper sticker innuendo...

After voodoo we decided to try our luck at the better-reviewed donut shop, but struck out due to power being out. Thusly frustrated, we opted for another route. TIME reviewed places in Portland to visit and one of the few we hadn't seen was the Chinese Garden, maybe two blocks from donuts. The gardens were quite a shock from the downtown scene and were definitely worth the visit. Unfortunately we were too full from breakfast for tea.

So, buoyed by our success, we once again struck out for donuts, this time at the sister-shop of Power-Outage. We found it and grabbed food for the road. I tried the maple and bacon... And it was as good as any in LA.

The drive was a straight-shot to Newport. Listened to the first Jim Butcher book the entire way, since RJ hadn't read it and loved the narrator.

We got into Newport slightly after we planned and I and the luggage were dropped off at the pier, while RJ kindly dropped off the car and walked back.. The ships arrived shortly after, I discussed the trip with some passersby and we made our way on board.

There was a whirlwind tour of the parts of the ship and then some time for sitting and chatting before the crew decided to head to the local bar.. Drinks were had, much chatting occurred and we grabbed food again after.

Was a good night, all in all, though I definitely would have liked some more time to settle in. I'm sure I'll have time tomorrow...

Day 3 - I HAD NO TIME TOMORROW!!!

Though, I had plenty of time during the night when I woke up every 2 to 3 hours. We rose slightly before 8 to be up and ready for breakfast. Despite not being hungry, I crammed some food in figuring I'd need it. Our first activity was training for the newbies and chores before the tour schedule begins. I was lucky enough to only need to clean the aft cabin (store) and empty trash. This will certainly change and I'll be scrubbing toilets professionally again. T.T

After chores, we got fitted with "funnies". Period specific attire. So, I'm wearing an offwhite pair of front fastening pants with more buttons than you could possibly imagine and a very nice flowing button down shirt. All in all, quite comfortable, or enough so that I didn't notice it while working HARDER THAN I EVER IMAGINED.

We got shown around the boat this time being the fire extinguisher tour and then continued with the two week safety checklist. Harness safety, Rigging training and more that will just be sinking in eventually through repetition. In between the training, I got assigned to man the stairs to the ship and I believe RJ was just answering questions and handling the crowd on the Captain's deck. The old Universal Studios event operations training kicked right in and I was able to answer everything I knew for the crowd and it was actually pretty fun.

More training, lunch and prep for the battle sail. This time, it was harness on and the first taste of real sailing. This was a Battle Sail day, so for 3 hours, the ships motor out of the bay, cut engines and sail maneuvers around each other firing fake cannons, and much to my delight, keeping score.. Much to the crew's delight, however, we were motoring out of the bay in the choppiest they have ever seen the channel. The waves looked to be 7-10 feet at times and the boat was rocking waaaaay up and down. Oh, did I not mention I was assigned to the forward deck?. We had water sweeping over the deck that with one wave was knee high. So, waterproof boots watered, we killed the engine and unfurled the sails. Things were much calmer once out of the channel... for the passengers, of course. Not us. We were scrambling around like mad, repeating commands that didn't quite mean anything, but by the end of the 3 hours started falling in to place.

RJ was the first of us to learn the unfortunate mistake of working on a heavy line and not whipping a loop around the pins on the rail to provide added friction when holding it. He got pulled off the deck at least a foot or two in the air before it blessedly let him down and he was able to secure it. So, me not being a smart man, I get handed a fairly heavy line and in the rush to haul the rope down and hold it, I have a fleeting thought. I'm holding a heavy line. I look up and say I should do something with this. And before the brain clicks in and says, "That's a great idea, BL, you just saw that happen to RJ", I'm dragged across the deck a foot to my right onto some unfortunate passengers. I'm yelled the exact same thing as RJ and am already in the process of getting back to that pin. Lord, I wish I was quicker sometimes.

By the end, my arms were tensing up sore, fingers raw and red and thirstier than I've been in a long time.

But so worth it. And as an additional treats after everyone left, we had a leisurely time putting things together for tomorrow's day at sea. AND WE WERE UP ON THE RIGGING. They took us up on the lower and middle yard arms and we furled the sail and tied it up. It was incredible and surprisingly (due in no small part to exhaustion, I'm sure) I wasn't the least bit nervous. There was an excellent moment where I lost one of my feet and clung for dear life to the thing. I was still clipped in but hadn't yet learned to be as comfortable with the safety line as I should be.

So, yeah. Sails furled. Ankle in one piece. Root beer imbibed. I go to bed. Exhausted and very very pleased with the day.

(Random pictures from the day)

Day 4 - Sailing the high seas

The day started out nice enough. Bleary from waking up a few times, I slept in till 15 mins before breakfast. But, I rose, dressed and grabbed pancakes. After the morning meeting, on the captain's recommendation, several of us went to pick up better foul weather pants. Upon arriving back, chores were done, our unneceasaries were stowed in bins and only what we need for 3 days in our bunk. It was actually nice to have some room up there for a chance. We got trained in the auxiliary water pump operation and then prepared to set sail.

I of course had forgotten all about the anti-nausea meds or ginger and just was enjoying the experience. For a time anyways. We had an incredible view of the ship passing under that giant bridge in the photos and then were out in the open sea. We had to wear life vests from the bridge out to the last bout and then Ryan was left to do watch for 4 hours and I was off duty till 8pm.

Ryan and I both had been getting a little queasy at this point. I took ginger and Dramamine before lunch and he took ginger. For the longest time we thought neither of them were helping. Then I started getting a bit sleepy. I stayed on the deck as I was still unwell and got to listen to some of the passengers on this voyage sing sea shantys. Turns out one of them with a booming baritone voice is a professional folk singer and they sell his CDs in the store. I was also quite glad I didn't turn in as we got to see a fairly large waterspout form offshore briefly. But after that, we ran into a very calm patch of water and RJ suggested it was a good time to go below and nap. I did so, and though I didn't sleep, I did listen to at least an hour or two of my book, the entire time enjoying the rocking of the ship. Even when the waves kicked back up, I never ended up feeling nauseated.

Woke up from the nap around 5:30pm feeling much better and came up for dinner then dressed in all my cold gear for the night's watch from 8pm to midnight. It was a gorgeous sunset, incredibly flat reflective water and for most of the time I kept watch over debris and ships and where danger might come from. But in between that and boat checks. Adding up to time of probably an hour or more... I was at the helm. Amazingly fun steering such a small ship, because it basically boils down to a simple game. On a ten second delay, make adjustments to the rudder that will eventually change the ship's direction. And add on top of that waves and wind. Kept me interested the entire time and more importantly awake. Though the rainstorm helped. Yes, on my third day on boat, I was steering at 11pm through a rainstorm with no moon. I can't believe they'll let us do this.

Shift ended and I went quickly to bed. Though this was thwarted by the aforementioned thunderstorm and the bunks were rolling like crazy. They have "lee cloths" which are canvas bed guards to keep you from rolling out. Mandatory during these transits and I was glad for it.

I slept for maybe an hour or two and the rest of the time was getting rolled around the bed. On the upside, I did have a set of dreams about speeding and crashing various vehicles...

(Random pictures of the day.)

Bonus video of the calmer transit!

Day 5 - Are we there yet?

Today we woke all hands to bring the ship in to Astoria. So, on very little sleep, I dragged myself out of bed and into all my raingear and into my harness and up on the deck. Everyone seemed really tired and just wanted to motor in, but the captain said it was a fine day for sailing. We prepped *all* the sails.

They looked incredible, but were a ton of work. After we rolled in to port, I got to go up in the rigging again and time out on the head rig as well. (bow sprint). After a bit of frustration at learning a new thing, we broke for the day. RJ and I decided to go to the a Brewery he missed on his last trip to Astoria.

We got there and were waved at by two other members of the crew. So, we joined them and it was a nice dinner. Then the rest of the crew showed up and joined as well and it got rowdier, but still fun.

After that, RJ and I retired to the ship. Chatted for a while and planned on watching a movie or something. Finally decided to watch Green Street Hooligans. It was violent and a great background... Since WiFi was out and I, of course volunteered to fix it. :)

(Random pictures)

Extra bonus pictures from a nearby helicopter tour

Day 6 - A day off! Sortof...

Today was normal except for the absence of captain. The rest of us really wanted to take a day off and go to the Columbia River bar museum. As luck would have it, the staff agreed and we ended up going. There were a lot of cool exhibits and it was made clear how dangerous the passage we just sailed really was.

The Columbia River crew actually ferry a pilot out to ships above a certain size to navigate for them. There were lots of other exhibits and a bunch of stuff about WW1 and WW2.

Fun fact. Sea Lions poke one fin up out of the water to warm up. Very amusing to see an entire group of them doing it.

Also, they're noisy as hell. Nonstop. Day and night...

The rest of the day, instead of consisting of rest, ended up with a houseparty at a friend of the crews. Turned out alright. The house was super old and cool in a turn of the century, goldpanning sort of way. I won a game of Farkle?(sp) and there were some delicious enchiladas.

Got back very late and didn't have time to write up the days events. The ship was pretty on the way back.

Day 7 - Chores from hell

Another 8am day. We woke and did chores. I had galley duty and so would be doing dishes for the rest of the day. That's exhausting enough, but also on the agenda was painting the bilges. This involves highly toxic sealant and paint, and ousting ourselves from our bedroom for a day.

We got down there and started gearing up for the painting job when the engineer on board brings up a problem to the group. The giant battery that starts the generator was overheating; probably boiling internally since the outside was 150 degrees. This beast weighs about 150 lbs and would be leaking sulfuric acid. He took stock of the situation and came up with a clever plan with a shopping cart, a plastic tub and a bunch of baking soda lining the bottom. The only problem was who could help carry the thing. I, of course, volunteered. All that deadlifting at the gym finally paid off. Jas and I carried the ticking sulfuric-acid bomb all the way off the boat, level and manage to keep it from exploding. Was a hell of a dangerous situation and hard to believe that things could get like that on the ship, but it goes to show, you never know.

After the excitement of being a hero, we set back to the task at hand of the bilges. The process is painstaking and involves hammering off the paint that has been compromised by rust and then vacuuming all that up. Then you remove some of the finer dust with Denatured Alcohol and a rag. Then you paint sealant over the parts you removed. Then, you add the final layer of marine paint. Both the sealant and paint cause horrendous damage to people and we were wearing respirators, full covering and nitrile gloves ducttaped to our sleeves. All told, it took about 9 hours to finish, though I skipped the last 2 to continue with dishes. I still had daily chores to finish and by the time I got everything done it was 10 pm and I just wanted to lay down and sleep. Which, I can't, because the fumes there will kill me.

We moved all our stuff elsewhere. Several of us in the aft cabin, and the rest visiting the other ship. There's a minor incident with lies told to me about cookies on the other ship and a demand for dancing/lapdance and getting a bit reprimanded for not staying on the ship due to Galley Duty. (I have to watch the boat if everyone else goes out)

So yeah. Not my best day ever.

I did at least get nice pictures of the tankers in the river earlier...

Day 8 - Light at the end of the tunnel

I awoke today without waking once during the night. Despite being on a bench in the aft cabin, this is the most rested I've been yet. We grabbed breakfast and broke for chores. I think I had the easiest job being the day after galley. That and I was allowed to skip the main hold since it was still full of smelly death.

After chores, I donned my funnies (the period appropriate clothes) and headed up on deck to assist with tours. I was quickly retasked to write down data from the engineer's battery testing duties. So, off with the funnies, on with the clothes that can be splashed with battery acid. And on to the battery logs. This was slightly more difficult than it sounds as the documents all have diagrams of the batteries in different directions. All the video game orienteering came in quite handy and we were done quite quickly with little enough error. Then back on with the funnies and back to tours. Again, schmoozing with the crowd came easily since I had even more answers than before.

After tours, we ate lunch and I put on the harness for the 2 hour adventure sail. The first real sail where RJ and I might know what we're doing. It began with me on the stern of the ship assisting in taking the docking line. That went excellently and I moved on to unfurling the sails. I climbed aloft with two of the other crew and we went straight to the upper yard. 50 or 60 feet above the deck. :) The unfurling also went without major incident and we departed the yards for assisting with setting the rest of the sails. Over the course of the two hours, we slalomed through the tankers and fired a cannon at a passing paddlewheel boat. The engineer also led us in two sea shantys. Spanish Ladies and one called A Sailor's Not a Sailor Not a Sailor Anymore. We returned to the dock and I again went all the way aloft to furl the sails for more practice while RJ was on the deck for the docking lines.

There was enough time during this slower paced voyage for me to have time to just take a breath and enjoy the trip. No major screwups this time and I'm starting to get the hang of where most of the lines are. It's nice to be able to see some of the learning sinking in. Felt very relieved and accomplished over a delicious chili burger dinner. They asked for volunteers to assist with the sister ship's (Lady Washington) undocking. I helped cast off one of their lines and it went great. Despite having the night off, I decided to hang around and keep RJ company while he did the horrible galley duty. We were simultaneously rewarded by the appearance of brownies. I also decided to volunteer to help dock the Lady Washington, but as you can see, that was marred by rookie mistake. I took this rather harshly but managed to remember later that it was my first actual docking and the only knowledge I had of the fastening of the lines was from watching them undone. Brownies helped that too.

We then settled down to the aft cabin to watch Master and Commander. All in all an excellent day in the wake of the previous.

Day 10 - Another Great Day for Sailing

We were allowed to sleep in today til 9. Not exactly a restful night on the benches, but we're hopeful the main hold will be available for sleeping during the transit to Westport. Today was going to be two different excursions. An adventure sail and a battle sail. RJ and I were allowed to stay on board for both, though some of the crew had to go over to the Lady Washington. I don't remember all the details of both, but it was another excellent day. Starting to get the hang of being part of the crew and more names are still sticking . There was specifically one moment when we're bringing the ship back in under motor and I'm standing on the platform 50 feet over the deck and waiting to go down the ladder back to deck. I'm standing there holding on with one hand and just marvelling at the fact that I'm doing this.

RJ and I went to the bar near port and played a few games of pool. A couple of the other sailors showed up as well, so shuffleboard and more drinks were had as well.

Tomorrow's passage promises to be windy and unpleasantly rough. So, Dramamine taken, I'm off to bed.

Day 11 - Yup. Should have called it calm and smooth sailing.

The usual morning activities occurred. We prep for the passage by lashing everything down. Though, the captain surprises some of the more experienced crew by asking to rig a sailor strainer. Effectively a netting placed so that it raises the height of the rails, in case we get washed towards them in high seas.

This was slightly disconcerting , but we set out with the intention of being at the Knotty Pine Bar before closing. As we headed out of the Columbia River bar, we spotted the blowhole spouts of a whale, but weren't close enough to see him directly. And then the crazy seas began. I believe the captain said they were, at one point, nine foot swells and we were bouncing around significantly. I got quite nauseous on my two boat checks and the extended time I spent in the galley doing dishes.  Fortunately, our watch ended soon after and I took a Dramamine and went to bed. Not to sleep mind you... No, to sit and listen to audio for 5 hours. Couldn't sleep at all with the rolling around in my bunk. Fortunately, we made Newport as planned and crawled in to a nearly pitch black dock at 1am. Was very surreal and quiet. Felt like we were sneaking up on them.

But we made a quick docking and them RAN for the Knotty Pine.

We arrived just before closing and I grabbed an Angry Sailor. (Angry orchard cider and a shot of Sailor Jerry). We didn't have much time to finish them, so in short order, we were walking back to the boat. I was suuuuper grateful to be sleeping in a bunk that wouldn't move.

Random photos of the day

Day 12 - Another day of chores and training.

Again, morning went as usual. Woke up for breakfast at 10, went about our chores as usual and then un-Sea Stowed the boat for the rest of the trip which would be in harbor and river. This was particularly nice as all that was asked was "Hey Lang, can you do the square sails?". "Sure" and I was on my way. Again, feeling pretty good about being able to contribute. The Chief Mate on board (#2 in command) has said repeatedly that she's so glad RJ and I are on board. There must have been some pretty lousy recruits on here before us. :P

More chores abound, we deep clean the boat for tours and passengers the day after. Then have at least 2 hours of instruction on sails and lines and operation of the boat. Most of it was stuff we knew at this point which was encouraging. There's still some stuff I'm fuzzy on, but it's fine. It'll either sink in with the rest of the voyages or it won't.

I'm taking the night off of the usual evening bar run. A bit exhausted from the constant people and would love to just sit and relax.

Random Pics of the buoy caught the day before, more work and thirsty barnacle video...

Day 13 - Company Meeting and 4 hours of non-existent tours

Nothing major happened today. There was an hour long meeting with the boss where he discussed plans for the Aberdeen seaport. Then he requested we open for 4 hours of tours. Unfortunately it seems the small population of Westport was not aware of our plans and we had less than 30 people show up. Usually we break 200 for only 2 hours of tours. Very boring, though I got to grab my phone for the last hour and catch up on news.

Other than that, I had a couple moments where I was legitimately funny for the group and I was starting to feel a bit more a part of the group.

Random pic of Port and Starboard tattoos. (Pork and Rooster)

Day 14 - The VIP Sail

Ok, today interesting things happened. As part of the plans for the Aberdeen seaport, we are doing a 4 hour sail from Westport to Aberdeen with the creme de la creme of society. Senators and Mayors and bigwigs. The start was unique though, as for some reason we didn't have enough room for both ships at the dock. The decision was made to raft both ships together. This was extremely tricky as the yards had to be set to diagonal to keep from fouling the rigging with the other ship. Interesting end result though.

For me, this felt like just another low-key adventure sail. Everyone on board was very nice though they didn't ask too many questions, so I didn't chat much with them. The sail went well. We flew nearly all the sails and were outpacing the other ship.

At one point, we had to pass under a drawbridge and the captain had the cannon fired while in between. The echo of the shot lasted at least 2-3 seconds while bouncing back and forth between the support walls. As we passed the bridge, there was a marching band playing for our arrival. We shot them too. :)

We then arrived in Aberdeen in a fairly spectacular fashion. The docking requires someone experience on shoreside to assist in tying up the lines. Since there was no one available here, our engineer swung out on one of the lines like Errol Flynn to land on the dock and tie up the lines. It was quite cool.

So, the passengers were let off and everyone attended a seafood buffet dinner in one of the Grey's Harbor Seaport buildings.

The buildings are nearly all rusted and rundown since they seem to have purchased the site from a defunct milling operation or something. It'll be nice when they renovate it. The plans look very appealing.

Unfortunately tonight was the last night we had the engineer and medic on board. They left at the end of the party and I neglected to get a group picture before they were gone. The little impromptu family is slowly dissolving. A little bit sad. I didn't necessarily get close to either of them, but it's quieter without them.

Random other nice pics from the day...

Day 15 - Maintenance 2, Revenge of the Maintenance

Another slow day of maintenance and pointless tours. No one showed up, so it was mostly one of the last times for us to play around in the rigging before RJ and I leave. It was however, the cook's day off so RJ jumped in to help cook. He made an excellent taco salad to accompany the Boson's seafood cornucopia cooked up from last night's leftovers.

We also got an excellent example of tidal fluctuation at this pier. The boat will go from handrails being level with to dock, to the handrail being 8 feet below the pier. If the ramp isn't set, we have to climb up the shroud and swing over. I have to admit that's been thoroughly entertaining.

Though, I'm certainly glad the trip is ending. My ankle has been worsening and today I had to take an hour off my feet and ice it. Very much looking forward to being able to be off them for a full day.

Aaaaaand after I typed all of this, someone got it into their head to start a bonfire! :) We went outside on the concrete part of the dock, grabbed some industrial container and the Captain set to teaching us about fire. Neither of us knew that the outside of the tree, the living part was called pitchwood or that it is the perfect fuel to start a fire with. Then once the fire got going, Sophie, from the other boat, brought over a bag of giant smores and plenty more people showed up. RJ, however was abducted/press-ganged into a beer run with the Captain, and therefore missed nearly all of this. He did however, learn to drive a stickshift.

So, for a nice while, we tended the fire, ate marshmallows, talked and sang shantys. Was a way better night than any of the other at the bars. The timing on this couldn't have been better since tomorrow is out final day and we'll probably be spending the evening packing.

And on the way back, I spotted a satellite passing overhead that the captain thought was probably the ISS space station, based on how bright it was. Really good night!

Day 16 - The Last Sail

Woke for breakfast as normal. Tours provided an underwhelming showing and we were stuck doing boring maintenance work sanding the rust off tools and shackles. However, the sail... The battle sail took us out up the Columbia River some more and despite the confines of the riverbanks, the captain managed a decent amount of maneuvering. All the calls we'd been trained for, I knew, and RJ and I were just useful. It was a great feeling. Also, there was a ton of wind, so we only used a few sails. The benefit of this being that we had fewer sails to truss up after the event. RJ got a bunch of good pictures and I spent most of the last half of the sail just relaxing on deck and soaking up the view.

After you get past the sawmills, it's effectively grassland and forest as far as the eye can see. Beautiful end to the trip....

Well, that and the trip to another dive bar. Because, it was our last night and despite my usual hermit nature, I was in high spirits and it seemed a shame to miss out on one last night of drinking with the crew.RJ and I ended up stumbling back around 1am.

But not before being treated to the traditional going-away song of the Hawaiian Chieftain. Explicit Lyrics follow...

Wow... :)

Bonus pics from the top of the mast

Day 17 - Land Ho!

Despite the excessive drinking from the night before, neither of us woke up hungover. We packed our bags, grabbed breakfast and each had our reviews. We passed with flying colors and are welcomed back to volunteer on the boats at any time!!! (Due in no small part to our early conclusion that excellent traits would be "No Whining" and "Work Hard")

We stuffed our luggage in the tiny Mazda 2 sedan and headed to Seattle. We met RJ's friend Cris Michael and his girlfriend for delicious sushi and spent most of the afternoon there and at Starbucks just talking. Afterwards, showered and a bit relaxed, we headed over to see Conor and have dinner with him and Jocelyn.

Conor's visit was even more fun for me. We met and went to an excellent Mexican restaurant called Cactus and chatted the entire time. I was absolved for missing the wedding, we discussed the trip, possible visits to Seattle again for PAX and just geek stuff in general. After Cactus, we went across the street to another Mexican place for a fried ice-cream and more chatting. We were told about a bar called the AFK Tavern, and really wanted to visit. But as things were wrapping up at 10:30 and the trip promised to be an hour and a half in total, we opted for bed. Bed turned out to be delayed as I got RJ to try the first two episodes of Archer, but sleep came soon enough.

Day 18 - How do I make up for two weeks of missed burritos?

We unfortunately had to wake at 6 to make the flight, but managed somehow. Drove out to SEATAC and managed to forget to fill up the rental car with gas. At Hertz, this turned out to be a $100 charge for a tiny car. We will be registering our displeasure with the office as we were *never* informed of the rates ahead of time like we were at Enterprise. Incidentally Enterprise's rates would have been half the cost. grrr.

But the airport and flight went fine. I'm typing up the last of this as we're about to land and get back to our various people and pets. This trip has been an incredible ordeal and I couldn't have been more glad to have gotten this experience. But dear god, do I miss Chipotle...

PS: The first burrito back is always the best...

PPS: Bonus pic of manly 2 week sailor beard