And We'll All Float On Alright...

Modest Mouse

A few Sundays ago, we were invited to a birthday party for the daughter of one of our friends. It was a nice drive through the central Pennsylvania mountains to Jersey Shore, PA to the shores of Pine Creek.

The Jersey shore

Jersey Shore, PA

Our journey snaked through Amish country and we even had to dodge a few buggies along the way.

Amish...

Not Amish

The landscape of central Pennsylvania, or Farmer's Loop Road in Fairbanks.

The cabin where the party was held was along the shores of Pine Creek. This creek has carved out some pretty deep valleys through north central PA over the past 100,000 years or so. You wouldn't know it on this day as the lack of rain this summer kept the depth around one foot.

Pine creek has helped shape the landscape of north central PA through the eons.

The birthday girl, Ava, is tucked back to the left.

The Bennett-Bierly contingent.

Joey takes a break from paddling to inhale some cake.

Two Wrongs Make It All Alright Tonight...

Split Screen Sadness - John Mayer

There were two things wrong tonight. The blistering heat that settled over the entire southeast US and a tropical rainstorm that raised the humidity more than cooling things down. But a very excited 4 and 6 year-old made it a great time as we were able to see John Mayer in concert in Tampa.

John Mayer was finishing up his summer tour and the kids were finishing up their summer tour of west central Florida. The timing worked out that we could see the concert the night before returning to Pennsylvania.

The opening acts were James Morrison from Ireland and a singer that I have grown to appreciate very much lately - Ben Folds. John Mayer was as good as expected, starting his set just after that tropical downpour drenched those of us in the lawn section.

The Ford Amphitheater is located on the Florida State Fairgrounds about 10 miles east of the city of Tampa. We arrived about an hour before the opening act and were able to stake out a seat right in the front center of the lawn section.

Claire hydrates in the mid-90s heat and humidity.

The view of Tampa from the venue.

Claire takes some time before the show begins to learn how to be "carbon-neutral" at the Eco Village. This was after daddy demonstrated how to be "methane-neutral" earlier in the car.

Better out than in, I always say.

The crowd grows exponentially.

Joey tries to keep cool by blocking out the sun.

Joey draws a love note...but who will he give it to?

With Claire as support, he gives the note to the girl on the left. Good choice, Joey.

Ben Folds pounds the ivory.

Claire pounds the belly.

Joey says, "I'll be up there some day".

A storm is brewin'

Deluge.

John Mayer improvises on Gravity.

Dad explains to Claire that he liked Franz Ferdinand the first time around - when they were The Clash. Claire insists that the Scissor Sisters are actually just a rip off of Dread Zeppelin without all of the Elvis outfits. It doesn't get much deeper than that...

London Calling

The ice age is comin'. The sun is zoomin' in...


England's greatest export.


Not so great.

I had planned a trip to London to visit my friend Rafal from Poland who was working there for the summer. Originally, I had taken some time off of work to take the family to Poland but unfortunately, we weren't able to take that trip but I did keep the days off on the schedule.

I gave myself three days to go to London and it was going to be a nice break from the hectic pace at the house. I hadn't been away anywhere by myself in quite some time other than to Pittsburgh on a few occasions. However, when I saw that Claire was going to be off of school that Thursday for parent-teacher conferences, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Getting Claire overseas for her first trip out of the country (Canada notwithstanding) was more exciting to me than a few days off. Joey had school and Kim had to work so they were able to have some time together without the earthquake that is a 4 and 6 year under the same roof.

I am going to miss having the flight passes on US Airways when my seniority number eventually comes up for recall. It is so easy to check flight loads and list for a seat via the internet. I actually didn't list for our seats until two hours before the flight from State College, but it didn't matter because the flight had about 95 open seats. Since Claire is under five, she was free for almost everything.

What a great opportunity to see the world.

The news is full of stories on the woes of air travel - delays and cancelled flights. But we were lucky. There were no delays on either flight from State College and Philadelphia. We had about two hours before the overnight flight to London to kill at the Philadelphia airport.

"I'm so hungry, I could eat a slice of airport pizza".

Claire immediately made a friend in the boarding area. An eight year old girl from London who had the same shoes on as her. Is there any corner of the world that doesn't know Hello Kitty?

Claire meets Lamara from London. Both were sporting the same shoes.

We arrived on time and cleared customs with no problems. It was on to the train for the 30-minute trip to Victoria Station on the Gatwick Express.

Claire conquers the train with no problem.

Claire says to Victoria Station, "Your hustle and bustle doesn't scare me."


We transitioned from the train to the Tube at Victoria Station where it was just a short ride on the yellow line to Paddington Station and our hotel.

Our hotel was right in the middle of this map and only a short walk to Hyde Park.

We purchased an all-day Underground ticket (being three, Claire was free) since we had to meet Rafal that evening and would need to ride there. After a quick nap at the hotel, we hopped back on the Tube and took an afternoon trip to Piccadilly Circus.

After a quick sight-seeing tour, we took our time returning to the hotel and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Our next adventure would be to get back on the Tube to Oxford Circus and a short walk to the Red Onion restaurant where we would meet Rafal. Rafal used to work at the Red Onion and it is a popular stop for theatre-goers.

Claire was having a good time until her jet lag caught up to her and she melted down after bumping the table and knocking over her drink. Since she was so tired, it only took a short while for her to fall asleep in her chair. While it was nice that she was sleeping (it was already 9 PM local time), it did mean I'd have to carry her back to the Tube station. She is definitely a sack of potatoes.

We got back to the hotel after a busy day and it was time for bed.

Actual size of the hotel room.

Claire scarfs down her free continental breakfast. Then it was off for a day of sightseeing.

Claire eyes some ducks from the top of a double-decker bus.

Claire tells the guard's horse how lucky he is. She knows how they used to make Mr. Ed talk.

Wilbur!

C.T. - Phone home.