Alaska summer

Just arrived in Juneau after visiting with The Boat Company folks in Poulsbo, WA last night.  Weather here is warm (54) and dry today, but rain comes back in tomorrow.  We're preparing for another cruise on the Mist Cove with new and old friends for a week.  Will send pictures when I can, but not much WIFI out on the water.  Check out the twitter for a glimpse of what we see:  http://t.co/x0vAJWE

passages couverts a paris

If You Need Inspiration...

If You Need Inspiration...

Hot Air Balloon?

Irene Crowe, Winsome McIntosh, Caroline Gabel

My dear friend Irene Crowe has been "cooking" this idea up for almost a year and we finally nailed down a date that we and Caroline Gabel (close friend too) could drive to the Pennsylvania border with Maryland and fly free with the wind.  It was a wonderful experience, starting with our meet-up in Harve de Grace at an exceptionally "funky" and wonderful B&B for the night of "women talk" and dinner.

Best Friends Forever bracelets!

Up at 4:30 am and in the car traveling about an hour to meet our pilot, Mike.
Strangely, it was hot, but also foggy.  We had to wait for a time for the fog to lift before we could start the process (actually in was Mike and Jason who did the work) of sorting the "flight deck....a basket for four" and inflating the canopy/balloon.

Caroline's new Volt

The flight was glorious.  Who knew that you didn't "feel" wind at 1000 feet?  Your sense of height is minimized by the lack of sense of movement.  We were drifting with the currents.  We watched our shadow move below us, animals warily watch us above, get used to the sound and heat of the flames above us used to keep us afloat, and wonderful talk with our pilot.  Mike was a Navy pilot with a hobby of ballooning that turned into a very fine business in retirement.  His love of flight is enhanced by his love of poetry and quotations.

This is what you see when you look up from your basket

Our shadow passing below

Once packed up and ready to be returned to our cars/starting point by the chaser call, we stopped in a local state park by a lovely stream and toasted our journey with sparkling cider.  What a lovely morning we had before the long drive back to DC.   Thank you, Irene, for the celebration like no other!

Caroline, me and Irene grounded again!

A Wedding in the Mountains

I was privileged to attend Greg Sutherland's wedding to Jessica Miller.  Greg is like a 4th son to us and his mother, Liz is one of my best friends.  They are a California family, so we don't get to see each other that often.  However, with the wonderful communications tools we now have in email, skype, mobile....our friendship continues to run deep in its 40+ year life.

The wedding was lovely, all friends and family delightful, and mountain weather perfect for a day of celebration.

Now back in DC and looking forward to some "down time" from travel which will afford me the opportunity to organize both my professional and personal life!!!  Next adventure is a hot air balloon trip across Maryland countryside with my best friends Irene and Caroline.  That will be a great adventure since I've never been up in a balloon.

Reno anyone?

Hi All
I've landed in Reno, stopping overnight on my way to a close friend's wedding in Tahoe, CA.  Interesting comparison for me to see Reno (I've never been through here before) and compare it to Las Vegas.  Like night and day.  My impression is that the Casinos/Resorts are marketing to the lower economic sector of our society in all presentations.  For example, rather than plush restaurants to choose from, there are plenty of mall-like food centers and cafeteria options.

I'm going to have a neck/shoulder massage this morning and then hit the road to the wedding destination in the mountains.  A fun day tomorrow with friends then back to DC in time for a hot air balloon ride at sunrise with my close friends, Irene Crowe and Caroline Gabel.  It's my birthday (67 big ones) gift from Irene!!!!

Michael tells me Colin and Jada made it back from Mexico last night, will be in town ONE DAY and then heading north, picking up Rufus, and spending the next month in Montreal.  Anybody want to visit them there?

Day of filming and packing

We're winding up our trip with some last minute work back in ClientEarth offices this afternoon and will have a last dinner at the Market Brasserie in Shepherd's Market (one of our favorite spots) and ending the day with the challenge of packing.

The sun is bright, sky is cloudless, and the temperature to reach 70 degrees today.  Smiles on everyone's faces as they hit the streets on their way to work.  I'm doing my last power walk of the trip, camera in hand and music in my ears.  My Nike pace setter is monitoring my progress to burn up 300 calories.  Wonderful scenes to record.  Did you know that London still has in service some of its oldest buses?  Saw one on Piccadilly heading for Trafalgar Square and loved it!

I then crossed over into Green Park and took in the everyday scenes of horses, dogs, and people enjoying what is to be a spectacular day...

across from Buckingham Palace

An English Bulldog, ofcourse!

what a lovely coffee break

I once found the chairs in the park so inviting I thought I'd sit a while.  Suddenly a chap ambles over and asks for a fee to use the chair.  Had no clue it was a business, thought it was a charming life style of a British park for everyone's use!  That was years ago, ofcourse.  I've noticed they are branching out from the traditional stripped canvas to floral prints as well.  Very nice, indeed.

Looping back around St James Palace (this is where Prince Charles and his family live) I watched the guards go through their paces at the gate.  I've been in the office section of the Palace for several meetings with Sir Tom Shebbeare over the years.  Tom is the Prince's Administrator/Advisor for all of his charitable work, which is enormous.  He's a great guy and has been helpful to me in my quest to establish ClientEarth with James.

I read, by the way, in the paper yesterday that Prince William and Kate will be taking up residence in the Kensington Palace where Diana lived with the boys after their divorce.  A great spot for them.

spring has arrived and flowers grace the streets  

We actually reached the offices of ClientEarth on time and spent an hour and a half filming interviews for future use in a variety of ways.  I pushed Michael to do it first since he was very uncomfortable and wanted to script himself very briefly.  I have no idea what they got out of him!  My filming went ok I guess.  I pleaded with the camera man to use good filters on his lenses and treat this old body kindly!  We followed that with a gathering of the London staff on the terrace roof for a glass of wine and a chance to get to know us and our history.  I, ofcourse, came prepared with some lawyer jokes to break the ice.  

We returned "home" to Mayfair, battling traffic in a cab, and stopped at the Market Brasserie for a last dinner before tackling the packing chore, leaving a wake up call, and watching one last bit of English TV on the tele.  By the way, we've decided that the Al Jazeera news station here is first rate and have watched it a number of times.  There seems to be a lot of women journalists, and we suspect that is broadcast to the western audiences.  I doubt the Middle East would accept women in this role, do you?

One last observation.  It is an institution at Pubs (at least in this area) to drink out on the sidewalk with buddies....almost all male.  Who knew????

Bye, bye from London....and the end of this blog!!!