On the road again: Portland, day 1
Awakening after less than ninety minutes of sleep is not a good way to start a day. In fact, it sucks. I worked a bit in the airport, then nodded off as best I could through much of the first plane flight, reading between catnaps. On the second flight, I got a bit more rest and also completed a fair amount of work.
Portland greeted us with rain that turned to hail and then to sleet. We waited until the sky was clear and blue, then went walking to get soda and water; I hate paying the outrageous minibar fees. Before we were halfway done, a wet gray blanket covered us, and rain fell hard and thick. Fortunately, we spent time in shops and so avoided getting wet.
After more work, we had a very good dinner at Paley's Place, the best meal I've enjoyed there in quite some time. Standout dishes included the rabbit salad and the pork two ways. My last few trips had left me tempted to drop Paley's from my regular Portland restaurant rotation, but its place on that list is now secure again.
Lying in bed last night, unable to sleep, I had a revelation about a plot point in Children No More. That made me happy, and so I finally drifted off with contentment.
Posts
4 comments:
Your blog brings back horrible memories of air travel. I once did 22 flights in one year, mostly intercontinental. Aircraft are the worst way to travel. Thank God, London is now on the growing European ultra-fast rail network. Trains are more comfortable, more reliable, shorter journey time and in all ways more civilised than planes. If only they weren't so expensive (because planes use untaxed fuel).
John
Alas, for Raleigh to Portland a train, even a very fast one, is not a good option. Unless, of course, it was insanely fast, which is kind of fun to contemplate.
There has already been a paper study on the viability of an Atlantic tunnel for a very high speed train!
John
I have trouble picturing such a project succeeding today or even finding funding, but it would be an amazing thing indeed.
Post a Comment