My Odyssey

I have had a long and stressful journey since returning to the USA at the end of July, 2022. The first three weeks went smoothly and I may detail them a bit more at another time after describing the more arduous weeks that followed.

PART 1: MONTANA

With sister Athena @ the Davis CA Amtrak Station 02:43, 8/23/22

At the top of my To-Do list: going to Glacier National Park in Montana with my sisters to scatter my father's ashes. He died April 5th, 2021. In his very brief will, he expressed the wish that his remains "be spread from Two-Medicine Pass if possible, if not in the Pacific Ocean". (On what I believe to be his last version of the document he had crossed out "Two-Medicine Pass" and wrote in "Triple Divide Pass", and equally arduous and potentially perilous day hike.) My youngest sister Margaret spent many years growing up in Cut Bank, Montana in the shadow of the park and had spent by far the most time with my father exploring the Montana wilderness. She spent much time, thought, and effort trying to make his wish come true, initially in 2021 but COVID concerns made that impossible, so she refocused on 2022. Many months of planning and of coordination would be required for multiple people to meet up in late August: accommodation rental, transportation, boat tickets, etc.

For my part, I envisioned this as an opportunity for we four remaining siblings to spend some quality time together and reflect upon a shared legacy from our father, trying to concentrate on the good stuff. This includes our common appreciation of nature's beauty and a preference of action and "adventure" over passivity and inaction. However, the disruptive presence of COVID in all its manifestations was not done with us yet.

The first sign that things may not go as planned arose months ago due to the pandemic-related travel chaos. Athena, Cheryl, and I were to fly to Montana to meet up with Margaret and her party as she was to drive up for a longer stay, meeting up with other old friends. Two times Alaska Airlines changed our schedule significantly. After the second time and upon hearing of many examples of flight cancellations and delays, I decided it might be more reliable if we drove. That idea was nixed, but we agreed Amtrak might be a good alternative and we had taken family train trips while young, so we booked two "roomettes", scheduled to leave from Davis, CA at 11:11 PM Monday Aug. 22, changing trains in Portland Tuesday afternoon, arriving in Whitefish, MT bright and early at 7:11 AM Wednesday. 

Things really started to "turn to custard" (as the Kiwis say) Monday Aug 15 when Margaret's husband Cory came down with COVID. (I had just had dinner with him, Margaret, daughter Xania and Cheryl two nights before.) Margaret and Xania felt fine, tested negative and drove off to Montana the next day. By the end of the week, Cheryl was feeling sick and also tested positive, so two of the core six in this pilgrimage were already out. Athena and I were asymptomatic, also tested negative, so decided we would proceed, however I had to spend many hours on the phone with Amtrak to change the reservation and request a refund for our stricken sister. 

There was no ideally convenient place to board the Coast Starlight, but it does stop in Davis where my childhood friend (and saint-like figure) David N. lives, so it was my bright idea he could pick us up and drive us to Davis in exchange for dinner. He was game. The dinner was the last thing that would go smoothly for me for a week.

The Coast Starlight shortly upon leaving LA was four hours late. Despite Amtrak's overly optimistic suggestion the estimated arrival time might be shorter as they sometimes makeup time en route, the four-hour delay didn't budge. This meant we finally boarded after 3 AM. David patiently whiled the hours away with us while waiting. I was afraid to nap for fear of missing the train scheduled for a one minute stop.

  Traveling by rail in a roomette is pricey because it includes full board, so after a few hours of sleep we didn't want to miss breakfast. As mentioned, the four-hour delay was never reduced, which endangered our Portland connection with the Empire Builder. Confusion reigned. Briefly there was an idea of off-loading us at Klamath Falls, OR and busing us to intercept the second train, but that was abandoned. So we did arrive too late for the connection, now putting us one day behind schedule. Amtrak did put us up at the nearby Crowne Plaza. I got the only good night's sleep I would have in a week, but awoke in the middle of the night temporarily with no idea where I was or why I was there.

Crossing the Willamette R. into central Portland

Portland Union Station

 

 

 

 

Although I never shook the absurd fact that I unexpectedly found myself in Portland, OR for a day, weather-wise it was a perfect day. Athena and I walked around the small but pleasant Pearl District and the Portlanders we encountered were remarkably friendly and helpful. We  visited the mammoth Powell's City of Books, got a Portland donut, bought fancy Lebanese chocolates, but alas it was too early and warm for me to justify imbibing a local artisan brew. The highlight of the day bar none (and as it would turn out, the high point of a fortnight) was the good fortune to connect with Mona S. Mona and family hosted Fayne and I in Ho Chi Minh City in December, 2019 in the Before Times.  She and the family returned to Portland after years of teaching and leading the ex-pat life in Vietnam. It happened to be her first day at the new job for orientation, and afterwards she biked from her nearby school for coffee and a prolonged afternoon visit.

Me, Athena, and Mona

Athena and I boarded the Empire Builder, a day behind but still hopeful we would complete the task at hand, but...... not so fast. The train was overbooked in part due to additional passengers like us. Some travelers who had booked a bed through to Chicago were informed that they would have to go in coach part of the way, and for some unexplained reason there was no dining car out of Portland. My dream of the the "AMTRAK SIGNATURE FLAT IRON STEAK=Seared Flat Iron Steak | Rustic Mashed Potatoes | Baby Green Beans | Waxed Beans | Port Wine Sauce" was dashed, replaced by a cold sandwich and cookie enjoyed in our roomette.

Our plan was to continue on through to East Glacier where we would be greeted at the station by sister Margaret and niece Xania to hike and scatter father's mortal remains the next day. However, before retiring that Wednesday night, Margaret phoned to report she too was symptomatic and tested positive for COVID. This troubled me greatly and kept me up for hours sorting out what to do next. For the last week, day by day, the plans of a year and a half were unraveling. I had promised myself (and Fayne) that I would not do anything that felt truly unwise for me, not to be goaded on by my father's posthumous request.

Since 2020 we all have had to frequently do our own risk assessment evaluations. I have a practice of listing the positives and negatives of any options. We all may draw that line in different places. From the outset, this was to be a challenging task for me. I am fit, walk daily, but do very limited amounts of trail tramping. The path to Two Medicine Pass is described here, and would not be easy for my 71 year-old body, although I was confident I was capable of the one-day effort. Margaret reported crowded trails, and frequent sightings of grizzlies and other large wildlife even near parking areas, so she as equipped with bear-spray (with which she accidentally dosed herself). An active forest fire was in the northwest corner of the park and there were periodic lightning and thunder showers as well. Now three of the six core participants, people I had been with recently, were out with COVID. This viral strain was clearly very contagious, all of them were quite unwell and had tested negative before eventually testing positive. I decided at this point that it was no longer worth it to me to risk completing this assignment, so in the middle of the night I decided to abort the mission. I disembarked in Whitefish MT and booked a flight back to SFO that Thursday night. 

Whitefish Amtrak Station

Arriving, then separating with Athena

Athena chose to proceed and she and Xania met their goal of Two Medicine Pass after a strenuous day of hiking despite traversing the spine of the continental divide and gusts of wind up to 70 mph. Congratulations to them. I was not willing to jeopardize my next month of travels to New York State and Georgia. I spent the day dragging my suitcase around the idyllic alpine resort town of Whitefish until it as time to take the cab to the Kalispell MT airport for the return flight. From the San Francisco Airport I took the BART to the Ferry Building and caught the last ferry to Richmond. Downcast. disheartened, and tired, I uncharacteristically ordered a scotch and soda on board (along with Corn Nuts and peanut M&Ms) but promptly spilled my drink. Appropriate somehow. 

Whitefish Lake

On reflection, the whole experience was an apt remembrance of the father I knew growing up. It never seemed like we took a trip anywhere that wasn't plagued by disruptions, delays, and car breakdowns. Things were often more dangerous and disorganized than they needed to be under his leadership. Still I was very disappointed to not have finished what I started and could almost hear his favorite taunt "cake eater!" which he would frequently bellow to challenge my manhood. He was a very difficult one to please and I imagined him thinking "well that was nice, but I really would have preferred Triple Divide Pass". I made my peace with him years ago when I realized our competition meant more to him than to me and I didn't need to try excessively to please him. I know he loved and learned to respect me, but never felt he liked me much. May he rest in peace.

PART 2: HEADING EAST

 

After resting up for a few days and a side trip to Davis again for Greek food with David N  joined by Heather F. and Gerry & Betsy N. (it was great to see them all), I was set to resume with my planned four weeks back East, first to join Fayne in upstate NY. As I boarded my flight Monday August 29 I had no idea  what awaited me, the most difficult and disjointed air travel of my life. OAK to Las Vegas was smooth enough, but after spending a few hours there I queued up to board the connection to Chicago Midway continuing on to Albany NY when abruptly and without explanation all of the Albany-bound passengers were told the flight would not go on to NY. Everyone was very confused including the Southwest personnel, but eventually we were all given the choice to fly on to Midway and sleep in the terminal overnight or resume travel the next day from LV. I decided I would rather get one of the thousands of rooms in Vegas than take my chances in Midway. This started a cascade of travel nightmares. Fayne and family were tracking my moves and tried to get me booked nearest the airport but I decided I would rather be in the air-conditioned hyper-stimulating Venetian on the strip. I hailed a cab, and after getting out realized I had left my US cell phone in the cab. 

I was very distressed by my bone-headed error (hint: not the last or the worst of the trip) and ended up spending several desperate hours attempting to locate it. The casino lost and found was no help, so I called the credit card company I used for the cab. They were able to give me the number of to processing agent in New Jersey, who gave me the number of the Las Vegas Taxi authority, which gave me the number of the Yellow Cab Company. I got the cab ID number and after a few calls I spoke to a woman who confirmed it had been turned it to their office. Since I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. for a flight at 5 am, I couldn't wait for the office to open at 9 a.m. I had to pay taxi fare for my phone to get a ride to the Venetian, but we were thankfully reunited. 

As multiple flights had been cancelled the day before, I had no choice as to the itinerary. So it was LV to Midway, layover there, then a flight to Albany via Pittsburgh and Baltimore/DC. LV to Midway went fine as did the initial connection to Pitt, but there we were told we would be delayed several hours waiting for bad weather to clear in Baltimore (in my experience a common occurrence). We were told we get get off the plane, stretch our legs, get something to eat, and they would notify us when to board. I took them up on this, called Fayne to give her the update, and was warned sternly "Don't miss that flight!". Well stupidly and unforgivably, I did. 

There were extenuating circumstances but no excuses. I was exhausted and disoriented as to what time it was as I had been in four time zones in the last few days. My watch was on Chicago time, not reset to EDT, and stupidly I was listening to something with my earbuds. As I wandered back I slowly realized another flight was listed at the gate. The staff at the desk confirmed I had indeed screwed up and I was as distraught as I have been in a long, long time. Nearing tears and nearly inconsolable, the customer service person was so kind and after several calls offered me a new plan. I would fly from Pitt back to Midway, then catch a nonstop flight to Albany. 

There was another complication. When I took my walk-about, I had left my backpack and carry-on suitcase aboard. Someone had spotted and removed the backpack, which was now in the baggage area. I had only a few minutes to rush out to baggage, pick up the item and return through security in order to not miss the Chicago flight. 

I arrived in Albany nearly midnight, fully spent and quite dysfunctional, but Fayne and the Heddens were there as was my backpack, my cell phone, and even the suitcase because the people in Pittsburgh alerted the flight crew who located the bag in overhead storage and let it continue on to our final destination. All's well that ends well?

Fortunately the New York State visit demanded very little of me and afforded me several days to get some rest and recover from my travel trauma. Fayne was taking care of family business, so I could mainly chill and reestablish my equilibrium. The agenda included a trip to Syracuse to try to continue to help brother Gary out and visit some rest homes. I've come to enjoy walking round Syracuse, comparing it to our January 2022 visit in the bitter cold. here are two contrasting photos at Columbus Circle in front f the Onondaga Courthouse. 

January vs August 2022

I even had time to visit the Erie Canal Museum and learned quite a bit about this important piece of American history, like how to operate a weigh lock and the very cruel life for many child mule drivers.

Canal Boy and Mule (1987) by Tom Tischler

Since we were in the East, it was a very high priority for me to visit Tom and Melinda Blum in Mystic, CT. Tom and Fayne and I all met at UC Berkeley in 1973 and have been fast friends since. Due to the pandemic etc. we have not seen him since our Italian trip in 2018, perhaps the longest stretch ever. I rented a car in Albany and drove to Mystic, the charming New England seaport. The weather was great and we could not have been welcomed more warmly. The brief two day stay featured walks, catching up, and fabulous seaside dining. Stonington is a picturesque village five miles east and is home to the largest and most delicious scallops I have ever had.

View from the deck of the Breakwater Restaurant in Stonington CT

This experience was matched by our dinner on the rooftop of the Sift Bake Shop in Mystic, with another serving of scallops.

Out to dinner with Tom and Melinda in Mystic

Did I mention the scallops?

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday September 4 we flew from Providence RI to Atlanta without incident to begin three weeks in Georgia with Sofia and her family. More on that at a later date.

Cryptic Teasers

The Know Buddies Quiz Team

 

Someone's 96th Birthday?

Large bug or small wife?