Summer Post Scripts

Seattle as seen from Elliott Bay

I took this photo of the Seattle skyline in September a few years ago as we crossed Elliott Bay en route to Bainbridge Island.  I can assure you, this September looks nothing like it. 

Sunshine has been scarce all year and now both the the leaves and rain are falling; evidence that summer's teaser  is over and autumn approaches. We just read  that El Nino is promising a wetter-and-colder-than-before winter.  All the more reason to start planning future travels.

But first, a post script to summer:

* I'm pleased to report that unlike Godot, our missing British Airline miles arrived in our Alaska Air accounts shortly after I wrote about them (such timing, huh?). Bottom line:  if the miles don't appear, let the airline know and don't give up on getting your credits. It's a good reminder of how important your loyalty is to the airlines.
* Bill Kitson, the British crime mystery writer whom we met while he and his wife, Val, were the small village of Loutro,Crete last spring, has a fourth book heading to the printing press and scheduled for a not-to-distant release.  If you missed his guest post about Harrogate, England on this blog go back and check it out. You'll be tempted to visit.

* Our 'armchair travels' during the lazy days of summer included a trip around-the-world with Seth Stevenson, as chronicled in his book,Grounded.  And after Stevenson's references to Phileas Fogg's journey prompted us to go find the book; we enjoyed Fogg's journey in Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne.  First published in 1873, the story not only provides a great travel yarn, but also a wonderful window into the world back then.

* Our long drawn out cruise-related contemplations that have entertained us all summer long, can sometimes backfire. One of our cruise stops is in a country that requires a visa if you aren't on one of the ship's official tours (we couldn't make up our minds on which of those to take) and now find the reasonably priced tour (about $60-70 per person) is wait-listed.  Next tour is in the hundreds of dollars per person - if we don't clear the wait-list we may see that country from the deck of the ship.