The lighthouse is #3 on TripAdvisor’s things to do in Bermuda list.
The view is gorgeous.
Pilar, Adriana and myself were up there on a really windy day. 
Category: travel
Henry VIII Buffet, Bermuda
Adriana, Pilar and myself enjoyed one of the best buffets we’d ever seen at a quaint, popular restaurant out close to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.
We were there for hours. The Nepali manager even came over to chat.
Needless to say, I had Bread Pudding for dessert. At Henry VIII the Bread Pudding get’s an exclusive buffet table. 🙂
back in Bermuda
I’ve returned to the triangle 🙂 where I’m helping out the Bermuda Gymnastics Association.
Temperature today 15C / 60F.
new backpack / briefcase
For Christmas I bought myself a National Geographic Appalachian 20 Inch Upright Rolling Suitcase. C$111.99 ($82.50)
Hidden backpack straps for off trail travel. I can wheel or carry. To save weight I cut off the side carry straps.
It (barely) still fits in an airplane overhead rack.
10 year warranty.
I like it. But was surprised it had no dedicated laptop sleeve. AND it’s fairly heavy.
Amtrak?
I love trains. Enjoyed my recent Seattle to Vancouver trip on Amtrak. Cost was about the same as fancy buses, about double Greyhound. Cheaper than the fast ferry Seattle to Vancouver.
I’m reluctant to take Amtrak mainly because of their horrible on-time performance.
The sorry state of Amtrak’s on-time performance, mapped (2014)
My trip was about 5 minutes late. Not bad.
Amtrak promised me Wifi. It did’t work on that train. 😦
Lion at the Rose Theatre Starlight Room
The film Lion is very intense. I cried several times.
Great cast: Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, …
Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple.
Twenty five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
The Starlight Room is a collection of comfy chairs, couches and loveseats where you lounge to enjoy a fine film. We ordered a bottle of red along with meals served just at the start of the film.
The night we were there guest speakers discussed the film both before and after the showing. Very interesting.
skiing Sunshine & Louise
It’s been quite a few years since I last skied. But I finally got around to buying new equipment. (My old stuff was from – perhaps – 1979.)
I warmed up at Sunshine day 1 skiing with Henry and friends. Mostly Greens & Blues.
Next two days I joined up with the Longs and friends for Louise and Sunshine.
It was typical weather for the Canadian Rockies in February. Cold but gorgeous.
The 3rd day at Sunshine was my favourite. Eagle Creek my favourite run. We had plenty of snow.
Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die
I downloaded Fifty Places to Bike Before You Die by Chris Santella from the library.
It’s not nearly as good as the title might suggest. And wasn’t what I was looking for.
I want to know the best cycle touring routes with the LEAST traffic. Santella’s book is not that.
But I did add a few of their recommended cycling destinations to my life list:
- Icefields Parkway Banff Jasper
- North Rim Grand Canyon
- Natchez Trace (Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee)
- Crater Lake, Oregon
- Mickelson Trail out of Rapid City, South Dakota
- White Rim Trail out of Moab, Utah
Texas hill country cycling out of Austin or San Antonio sounds great too.
Francis Tally in Phoenix
That time I defeated Francis Tally at One Fifteen Eight Ball Billiards. 🙂
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona
I was surprisingly impressed with these ruins and how they are presented.
Arizona had only 4 rivers in the past. The question Rangers try to answer is why & how did native people survive and thrive in this very harsh environment.
Answer = irrigation.
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument consists of the ruins of multiple structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period, who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century.
“Archeologists have discovered evidence that the ancient Sonoran Desert people who built the Casa Grande also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and extensive trade connections which lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 C.E.” …
Rick McCharles 