I already know the way to San Jose, if fact I am sitting in the airport. All I want is a pilot that knows the way to Seattle and home. Been a long trip and I am ready.

Good seminar today, even had a nice lady give me a wonderful hat

This is the most famous wine area out side of France, yet after one day of tasting wine we are convinced that the Washington and Oregon wines are better.

We ate lunch at one of our favorite places in the world, Brix. It has been many years since we have been there and we were not disappointed. Michelle was our server and the level of service was wonderful.

We started with a rabbit pate which we loved. Tricia had the butter lettuce salad with egg and scallion. I had the tuna nicosie.

Dinner was at Jole in Calestoga.

School was not able to manipulate me into reading Moby Dick, so as a result I am a liath duine who has never read Herman Melville. He also wrote Typee, a romance of the South Seas, which I am presently enjoying.

Since the Scots in me is attracted to free I have taken advantage of the connection between my Sony Reader and Google’s library of classics. Treasure Island, a Robert Lewis Stevenson classic, is another recent adventure I vicariously enjoyed thanks to my Sony Reader.

Classics I find are, to quote Forrest Gump, “Like a box of chocolates.” You just never know what you are going to get. Some you never finish and some you want more of. I recently tried Charles Dickens, convincing myself that I was older now, sophisticated and intelligent, (I would guess that a glass of whisky might have influenced that assessment)  so I needed to re-read a Tale of Two Cities; after all Paris and London are two of my favorite places. After a couple of chapters, sobriety and reality won out and I moved on. Even deleted it from my Sony.

Why do we revere these books? Is their purpose today a sort of literary hazing for students? Could we just teach a few quotes instead: “They were the best of times, they were the worst of times.” or “Let them eat cake".

Of course who could survive without the macabre vision of madam Lafarge knitting in tempo to the dropping of the guillotine? And most of us would have no idea what Bastille Day was all about had we not learned the details from Dickens.

Now this is scary, this liath duine read A Tale of Two Cities over 40 years ago, how is it I remember these things????  Do I need to re-install the book??? I will leave it to my friend, and English teacher, Tim to sort that out.

There was a time Darwin was my favorite, I think it has lost its luster. Yes it appeals to the independent rebel in me, and for that I will always enjoy a trip here. But after many trips I find that it is limiting if one is confined to the city.

There are pubs with decent food that lacks imagination. Pizza is always good and the Wyugra burger I had was above average. It is beef from pampered cows, then it was served on a French roll with a slice of bacon (think British or Canadian bacon for you American readers). But still a burger is a burger as much as I like them.

Seafood is plentiful but usually beyond my budget. Thinking that I might deserve a really good meal I stopped at a place advertised to be the best restaurant in the Northern Territory. Half a dozen oysters for $36, prepared in a Rockefeller type style. When a bowl of soup is almost $20 I move on.

There are ethnic places, Indian, Viet Nam, Thai, Turkish, and they are the best bets.

At night Darwin on Mitchell street is a party, and too decadent for me. The day-time comfortable Monsoons transforms into a wild place, with shows and contests that I could not be part of.

I like Darwin yet one tires of Darwin, even locals tell me that unless you have family and activities associated with them there is not a lot here except the party life. Not my cup of tea.

Found some new places in Darwin. The waterfront is a fancy area, nice to see but not my style.

Monsoons during the day is better, a bit too wild at night though

Spent the month of April in Australia doing seminars. Went with the best intentions of many blog posts. Yet Internet access can be either challenging or expensive. Cafes that offer free wifi are infrequent, and the hotels are greedy in what they charge, thank goodness for McDonald’s and their free wifi. But that made it a bit hard to write and post.

I did seminars in Canberra, Sydney, Hobart, Melbourne, Darwin and Perth. And as always loved it there.

The exchange rate of old is a fond memory, so there is little savings, and food and drink are thus quite expensive. A pint is between $6 and $8 so there is a real bit of sticker shock, but priorities demand the sacrifice. My favorites in Australia continue to be VB (Victoria Bitter) and Coopers. Amazingly many Americans are surprised to learn that Foster’s is not at all ubiquitous, in fact you rarely see it.

Another thing I have never seen in 15 trips to Australia is a kangaroo, so I have come to the conclusion that the kangaroo is in the same category as the Leprechaun, the result of an over stimulated imagination. I just don’t know where the ones in our Seattle Zoo come from.

Here is a great place in Sydney, The Lounge. A retro place with fantastic pizza.

Here is on of me painting at Monsoon’s in Darwin, hot, humid and free wifi

Stockton does have some good places. Try Basil’s Sandwiches and Spirits. Laura is the bartender and she is one of the great ones. She knows the local crowd that comes in and makes everyone welcome. Seems to be a place for local busniness and retired. But attorneys are plehtiful, talked to Bruce, a retired international business lawyer. Guiness on tap, life is good.

Good to be back, Alaska is too cold right now and I am ready for Spring. The flowers are starting to bloom and it is great.

I am at Sea-Tac airport headed to Anchorage then on to Fairbanks. Cup of tea and free internet, life is good.