Blog Archives

I assume folks have been waiting with baited breath for a new photo in my Hotel Window series. This time, live from the Crowne Plaza in McLean, Virginia…my first visit to this hotel.

Being a “Crowne” with an “e” on the end, they provided a lavendar pillow mist to help me fall asleep. (Oddly, it was a lavendar pillow mist with absolutely no scent.)

Oooooooo! There were snow flurries today…I love snow flurries…they made me smile.

And then they stopped…and it just got frickin’ cold 🙁

This was today’s weather forecast as posted in the hotel elevator this morning. Oh, c’mon…you wouldn’t chuckle at this? 🙂

I wasn’t all-to-thrilled to fly east today, interrupting a beautiful weekend in San Francisco and a visit by our friend Paolo. But duty called, and Jeff dropped me off at the airport bright and early.

A non-fat Peet’s latte in hand, I boarded my on-time flight, thrilled to receive my requested upgrade to business class. I even got a light chuckle at the dozen-or-so foreign tourists with blue Seating Area 4 boarding passes try and board with first class…perhaps that was where my kharma went sour.

I was all smiles, until I inadvertently set my latte on an uneven surface in the overhead bins to free up my hands. For all of five excruciating seconds, after unexpectedly tipping over sideways, my latte rained down on the helpless gentleman who was to be my seat-mate for the next five hours.

He was calm…I will give him that. And fortunately, the latte dripped mainly on the water-resistant overcoat in his lap. But still…what a mess.

I darted into the bathroom quickly to get him tons of paper towels…and he quietly dabbed up the warm liquid. I apologized 100 times over, and tried to be as attentive as possible…but really, what can you do at that point.

It was a stupid accident, and for the next five hours, I sat apologetically quiet beside this silent man…who FYI acted an awful lot like Frasier Crane’s obsessive-compulsive brother. So, my little mess was probably a doozy for him 🙁

Oh uncomfortable silence.

For most of the trip, we were overtop dense, ominous snow clouds. But for the first hour-or-so, we were over some beautiful western landscapes. Certainly beat the crap movies, whose titles I have already forgotten.

Late yesterday afternoon, while I was in Seattle, Jeff spotted a surprise feathered visitor in the pine tree behind our house. He snapped this quick series of shots before the bird–a red tailed hawk, perhaps?–moved on to other adventrues.

Jeff believes he was searching for dinner, but Buster was a bit skinny 🙂

Following my last visit to Seattle (new hotel photo above), I wrote a scathing to Avis about their unsafe rental selection. Well, I am happy to report that Avis responded…surprisingly…and refunded me for two rental days based on my complaint. BRAVO to Avis for listening!

Of course, today, when I arrived in Seattle, I was “upgraded” to a bohemouth of a Chevy SUV. Where was this tank when I was slip-sliding in the snow on my last trip?

Somehow, my “upgrades” never quite match the weather…like the cloth-topped convertible they upgraded me to a couple of years ago in Chicago…in a Christmas snowstorm!!