The Adventures of Team Wil-Sun
Our adventures big and small.
This year I'm trying to flourish more and languish less.
Monday, June 6, 2022
Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 22
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 21
Sunday, April 24, 2022
Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 20
Saturday, April 23, 2022
D. L. F. -- Camp Wannarun Half Marathon Race Report
D. L. F. > D. N. F. > D. N. S.

Sunday, April 3, 2022
Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 19
Friday, April 1, 2022
15 years ago...
Rebecca, Barbara, and I all registered for our first multisport event: the No Foolin' Duathlon. It was held at Millersylvania State Park down near Olympia. The weather was strange -- it was actually snowing lightly about 20 minutes before the start -- but it cleared up in time.
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Barbara and I -- and the rest of the runners -- heading out. |
There were very few people registered for the event, as it turned out. I was really nervous, and didn't know what to expect. I just stood at the starting line and then, suddenly, we were supposed to be running. I took off too fast -- as usual -- running through the park to the entrance, then turning around. Of course, I was way at the back of the pack, and got to watch most people head out on their bike leg before I was anywhere near done with my run.
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blurred by speed, I'm sure... |
Got on my bike -- nearly forgetting to take off my run gloves -- and rode off. The ride was okay, though because it was a small race and because I was toward the back of the pack, I was alone the majority of the time, which meant that I got distracted.Pedal pedal pedal pedal oooh... look... a horse... what a pretty horse... I like horses... oh! Pedal pedal pedal...Saw a man carrying a bike back; he'd gotten a flat and was just calling it a race. Also saw a woman at the turnaround who had a flat and was trying to fix it without a patch or tools. She ended up riding in on a flat tire, very slowly.Got back to the transition area after the winners were long finished, and then had to go out for the last mile run. I had a cramp in my right hamstring, but plodded along. After 1:10 I finally made it to the finish line. Hooray!
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"C'mon, it's cold, finish up so we can go home." |
Saturday, March 26, 2022
New Mexico Trip 2022
For Wil's 50th birthday we had planned to go to Brazil. Carnaval 2022 falling on Wil's 50th birthday meant we could see the Christ the Redeemer statue as part of our "Seven Wonders" project, plus see the parades in the Sambadrome (a huge dream of mine), see spectacular Iguacu Falls, check out the modern architecture in Brasilia, and see the spectacular opera house in Manaus plus have a little more time on the Amazon.
But then, COVID.
I had booked all the hotels, but was holding off on flights and the Carnaval tickets because, well, it didn't seem likely. But in the "vaccine honeymoon" period, I was hopeful. But it wasn't to be.
So we thought about what else to do. I had left it too late -- again -- to find reasonable accommodations in Hawaii. So that was out. And we didn't want to go too far for my first post-brain-clot flights. And we didn't want to be in big crowds, for the most part. But then I thought, "New Mexico."
New Mexico feels really different, but it's not super far away. So we decided to book flights -- first class to treat ourselves! -- and I made a plan.
Day "0" - fly Seattle to Albuquerque
Day 1 - drive Albuquerque to Santa Fe
Day 2 - Santa Fe and Georgia O'Keeffe
Day 3 - Santa Fe Meow Wolf to Truth or Consequences
Day 4 - Truth or Consequences for Wil's Birthday
Day 5 - White Sands and Alamogordo
Day 6 - Carlsbad and Roswell
Day 7 - Roswell to Tucumcari
Day 8 - Side trip to Amarillo, then back to Albuquerque
Day 9 - Albuquerque to home
At some point during the trip I looked to see what was happening in Rio for Carnaval, and was somewhat relieved to see that the sambadrome parades were postponed until after Easter. So it was confirmation that we'd made the right choice.
I wrote up my notes as blog posts and backdated them to when they happened. I loved New Mexico -- the skies (and, despite it being NM and not AZ) the "little puffy clouds". I loved all the green chile. And I loved that feeling of freedom from traveling again.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 18
Sunday, March 6, 2022
New Mexico day 9: home to Seattle (eventually)
Up very early and out to the airport as we had a very early flight. Of course, it was super quiet, and we were flying first class, so we had no wait at the counter and we also made it through security in a matter of seconds.
ABQ airport is cute; we sat upstairs in a little lounge and ate a breakfast burrito before making our way to the gate. We boarded first -- of course -- and were happily settling in. I noticed a woman with a dog -- not in a carrier, but on a lead. A passenger across the aisle said, "Oh, what a cute dog!" and the woman said, "It's a SERVICE dog" and huffed past. I remember thinking, "Oh, no, it's one of those people who paid $35 online to get their pet classified as a service dog so they don't have to pay for them to fly."
But we sat there, I did some writing and some stitching, and relaxed. The flight attendants took our orders so they could start serving right after takeoff. But then we heard the co-pilot come on the PA and say "As a reminder, FAA regulations require all passengers to wear masks during the flight. To be honest, I don't care about your thoughts on the matter. So put on your masks."
We could see the flight attendants anxiously looking down the aisle from up by the cockpit, but we couldn't hear any other hubbub. But then the pilot said that there was a warning light so we would be returning to the gate to have it looked at. (Groan.) So we taxied back to the gate and, when the door was opened, the police were there.
Eventually one of the officers went down the aisle, while the passengers chatted about "why can't people just put on their masks?" And still we sat there. At some point a guy walked toward the front of the plane, accompanied by an officer. He was shouting "Okay! We put on the masks!" but it was clear his flying was done for the day. And still we sat.
The captain told us we would need to deplane. We grabbed our stuff and headed into the terminal. We chatted with a few other passengers, especially because it didn't look like the entire plane had exited.
Then more officers arrived and several minutes later, a woman came off the plane. It was the woman with the dog. She was angrily holding a big plastic cup and shouting. Her boyfriend told her to "STOP IT!" but she was on a roll. Shouting about how she had been given a glass of water (certainly not that size of one!) and "you made the entire plane gang up on me" (no... ma'am, that was you...). Shouting that COVID wasn't real, that we were all sheep, that this country is going to f'ing hell, and that THIS IS A NON-REFUNDABLE FLIGHT TO HAWAII.
The officers just kept herding her away from the gate and down the terminal. Not touching her, but just shepherding her. She was defiant at that point, but other passengers told us later that she was crying.
Apparently she had made a threat, so all the rest of the passengers were taken off the plane, and inspectors came on to check everything.
Finally, we were told we would be boarding soon. The gate crew read their spiel, saying we had to wear masks during the flight, and we all laughed.
Then back on the plane, and, 3 hours late, we left ABQ. The flight attendants were kind and said "we have your mimosas chilling!" And they did.
... which reminded me of Georgia O'Keeffe's Above the Clouds, which we'd seen in Santa Fe:
I was happy to be home, but also happy that we'd had a great trip to New Mexico!
**A quick note about this post -- I'm catching up with my New Mexico memories and backdating blog posts to each day.
Saturday, March 5, 2022
New Mexico day 8: the long way to Albuquerque
Up early on a bluebird -- or Blue Swallow? -- morning.
The only thing we had on our list for the day was to get back to Albuquerque -- not a super long drive. So I looked at a map to get a wider view ... and it hit me. We weren't crazy far from Texas... and TORCHY'S TACOS.
I have a deep love of Torchy's from their early location as a truck in Austin. The last time I was in Texas -- after running half marathons in Kansas and Oklahoma, and spending a night in lovely Shamrock, Texas -- I made sure and stopped in Amarillo to eat at Torchy's.
Luckily, I didn't have to think "is it really a great idea to drive 113 miles -- each way -- just to eat tacos?" (I mean, obviously, it is a REALLY GREAT IDEA....). Because there's another attraction just outside of Amarillo.
CADILLAC RANCH!
Ten classic Cadillacs of varying vintages, partially buried, nose down, at a precise angle of 51° 50' and 40", the same as the angle of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The Cadillacs all face west, stretching about 140 feet in a field. On my last solo visit, I was sad not to have paint with me. Nowadays, there's a merchandise trailer that sells paint and other merch.
It was windy -- crazy, hair-whipping windy -- so we decided to just walk out to the cars to have a look. But when we got there we found bags and bags of spray paint cans. And we couldn't resist adding to the artwork.
All that spray painting -- and driving, of course -- had given us a big appetite. Hello, Torchy's!
We had three tacos each, PLUS chips and queso. Because, well, we won't be near a Torchy's again for a long time. Fried Avocado, Mofaux (with Beyond Beef), and the Migas breakfast taco, too.