Day 123: More lazing about, and more post-vacation Lego!
Photos
Photos, usually taken by me. May be mirrored or imported from other services.
📚 Nightshade by Laurell K. Hamilton
44/2023 – ⭐️⭐️
Some potentially interesting situations hobbled by poor writing and in need of at least one more editing pass. Characters seemed to make out of character decisions because that was what was needed to move the plot along. Not one of the more impressive TNG novels.
Vacation Videos
As we were traveling, every so often I’d take some short time-lapse videos (using the apparently now discontinued Hyperlapse app) of wherever we were at the moment. I’ve collected those together into the following two videos: one of the SEA-NYC transcontinental Amtrak trip, and one of the NYC-LON transatlantic voyage (along with some London sights).
SEA to NYC
NYC to LON
Year 50 Day 122
Day 122: More lazing around. We haven’t even unpacked or done laundry yet! Today’s post-travel Lego build: A classic yellow New York City taxicab.
📚 Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
43/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Back to the wizards of Discworld. Last time (in Equal Rites) we had the eighth child of an eighth child, this time we have the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son, all wizards, making them a “sourcerer” — someone who can tap into the very source of magic to create new magic. This does not go well for the Discworld, or for hapless reluctant participant (not really a hero) Rincewind. Once again, somehow, while not necessarily doing much, the Luggage is a standout character.
Year 50 Day 121
Day 121: We’re home! After three weeks of travel, including a transcontinental railway journey from Seattle to New York City, touring NYC and seeing a Broadway show, a trans-Atlantic voyage on the Queen Mary II, four days in London, the flight back, and a couple nights to acclimate, it’s good to be in our own space again!
Also, during the months leading up to the trip, we found a few Lego sets that relate to the trip in some way. However, we didn’t want to build them just yet, as any photos might have ended up hinting at our travels, and we were having fun planning that without telling most people about our plans. So now I get to build them! First up: The New York City skyline.
Year 50 Day 120
Day 120: Today was all about napping and adjusting to the time difference. It was also an amusingly quiet mid-week stay at the DoubleTree with nothing else going on at the hotel. I’ve remarked on it before, but after spending so much time here over the past decade and a half during conventions, it’s always a little jarring to see the hotel this empty and undecorated.
Year 50 Day 119
Day 119: Goodbye London! We checked out of our hotel, caught a cab to Heathrow, and boarded our plane for home. After a long day of flying (two flights, with a brief layover in Calgary), we landed in Seattle. Instead of going straight home, however, we went to the DoubleTree Hotel near the airport (which, thanks to Norwescon, we’re very familiar with) so that we could spend two nights there huddled behind their heavy-duty blackout curtains in an attempt to force our clocks through the eight-hour time change.
📚 Mort by Terry Pratchett
42/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Death has made appearances in every Discworld book so far (my understanding is that this continues throughout the series), but this is the first where Death is more of a central character — though most of what we learn is through Death’s apprentice, Mort. A neat way to really start to flesh out Pratchett’s cosmology and how he approaches Death (and death) on the Discworld.
Year 50 Day 118
Day 118: Today we started off at Westminster Abbey, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries special exhibit, which has an incredible view of the abbey (but doesn’t allow photos) in addition to the extra artifacts on display. The abbey is beautiful, and it was neat to glance around and constantly be seeing another tomb or memorial with a historical name I recognized.
As we were waiting for our entrace time to the abbey we walked around the blocks surrounding it, getting some gorgeous views of the Palace of Westminster (Parliament) and Big Ben (technically the Elizabeth Tower; Big Ben is the bell), seeing New Scotland Yard, and some statues of famous people — including Abraham Lincoln. So yes, we went to London to visit a Lincoln memorial. ;)
After Westminster we walked over to Buckingham Palace, then took a stroll through Hyde Park to the Marble Arch (which is under renovation, so is currently serving as a Vodaphone advertisement), and then went on to Selfridge’s department store. Which may seem like a slightly odd tourist destination, but we had recently watched a surprisingly interesting PBS documentary on Henry Selfridge and the store that bears his name, so we had fun wandering through.
Finally, we ended the day with a visit to the London Eye ferris wheel and its beautiful views of London.