I have been replaced...

Yes, that cute and snugly little dog-buddy in the last post, well he has a new love. ALICE

Since we picked her up, Alice has not had a moment's peace except during dinner. I'm sure she wouldn't have to even chew her own food if she'd just let him regurgitate for her. Her teeth will be nice and shinny for Nationals as she can't breathe without Chaucer sticking his nose in her mouth. Lick, lick, lick all the time. I kept waking up through the night to that soppy, slapping, smooching sound every couple of hours as he wormed his way closer to her washing ears, eyes, mouth, face, feet...just about anything he can get to without being snapped at. Ugh! Tonight we will have to start a kennel rotation so I can get some sleep!

And some people call them Dogs...

On a chilly Sunday morning there is simply

nothing better than my Snuggle Buddy.

The Rock

As some of you know I get to travel from time to time for meetings in hub cities around the country. Usually I get very little time to enjoy whatever city they plunk us down in. Sponsors often go for was is most convenient for them and/or is cheapest so that often means Chicago in the winter (or any time of year really) and Florida during hurricane season. If they are feeling especially thrifty there are also any number of suburbs around the Dallas/Fort Worth area, each with it's own brand of NOTHING to do.

This time however I lucked out. I was allowed a rare west coast meeting in San Francisco! Just a quick puddle jump down after work and a two day meeting in downtown. Now, 4th street directly across from the Bloomingdale's/Nordstrom building would normally be super exciting but my schedule was jam-packed with meetings and what I consider mandatory dinners. Okay I'm not complaining about the dinners, they are usually very good and always involve an open bar. I don't know what you call a rum, pineapple, orange, cranberry, and grenadine beverage but it was quite lovely. Cran-Daiquiri Sunrise perhaps? I'm not usually one for sweet drinks but this one ended up tasting a bit like a pink grapefruit daiquiri. Yummy.

Inebriation aside...on the second day I lucked out yet again...the meeting didn't last as long as originally planned and we were able to explore a bit. Some crazy lady in the lobby bought $500 sneakers *ack*. Never mind the shopping, I went to Alcatraz! It was a snap decision and the fastest wardrobe change the Marriott had seen in a good while I'd wager. Everything just fell right into place and there was just enough time to get to the island, take the audio tour and wander a bit before heading back and grabbing the shuttle to the airport. I wasn't planning on having time for an outing so I only had my cell phone for pictures. For a broke-down old prison it was beautiful! It was smaller than I expected inside but outside the crumbling masonry and strategically planted lilies and creeping vines were fantastic!

Everyone talks about Capone, Stroud, and the 5 or 6 other famous inmates in the last 40 years of it's operation but the older history was far more interesting. The army regularly imprisoned Native Americans there in the mid- to late-1800's for not agreeing to send their children to government schools. They were basically given life sentences and their children were taken from them anyway. The old prison is more like a brick cellar with arches and gates every so often. They use it as a theater now but I would guess it was pretty awful in it's time with no heat or drains. I am generally for the idea of prison being a negative experience but I'm glad we've moved past dungeons as a society.

I probably won't get many more meetings this year thanks to the economy but this was a nice way to start off the year. I'd like to visit Alcatraz again later in the season to see what the gardens look like in sun. It's hard to fully appreciate a place like that on a tight schedule but I certainly enjoyed what little time I had there.