Category: Uncategorized
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First Two Tours
I’ve been slow to update this blog about recent Drink•Eat•Walk happenings. The tours have started! I’ve been focused on cranking up the D•E•W Blog & social media profiles for daily-type posts, but intend to do deeper dives here going forward. Anyway, here are the posts from those other places. First Tour My first tour was…
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Let’s D•E•W DC Like a Local!
Is this thing still on‽ Welp, happy to announce that Drink•Eat•Walk is officially on! My first tour is this Thursday, July 3rd, and bookings are now open through the end of October. You can book directly here on DrinkEatWalk.com, but for now I’m trying to drive bookings through Tripadvisor & Viator to get some clicks…
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Auto Smells
My smell window is still open, and it has me seeing my world in a new way. Ex: I’ve heard the white noise they produce in the background, but never really noticed —or benefitted from?— the automatic air scent dispensers scattered throughout my apartment building. You people and your smells are so needy. Kinda reminds…
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RedWhite& Blue
Why so many flags are red, white, and blue → https://x.com/culturaltutor/status/1806208828116971801 Happy Birthday, USA!
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Work from Bar
The Euros are the best footie competition, even better than World Cup (everybody plays too scared there), and the first match was today @ 3pm. So, I asked my Boss if I could work from my favorite bar. He said “yes”, as long as I promised to still do some work. So, with this post…✅…
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Designing Quote Bubbles
I’m continuing with onboarding improvements, and today that means working in the design software Figma creating quote bubbles for customer testimonials. Subscribe at https://didyoudoittoday.com and then say something nice about using it and you just might make it onto the new page! #dydit #dyditlife
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Interesting Sculptures Exist
Interesting sculptures do exist in DC, you just need to explore a little to find them.
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Presidential Camino
Two future US Presidents walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/unexpected-camino-why-two-future-us-presidents-walked-victor-prince It’s President’s Day today here in the States. And my one-year anniversary of starting the Camino last year is coming up, so I’m thinking about it a lot. That is all.
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Lemming Myth
Lemmings don’t actually commit mass suicide → https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=56 Not sure any of us thought that Disney would be the bad guy, and Lemmings the victim, with this (mis)belief.
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Periodic Chart
Interesting way of showing how we use, in real life, each of the elements in the periodic chart → https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/502751/illustrated-periodic-table-shows-how-we-regularly-interact-each-element I was going to make it a tool theme here this week, but maybe it’s now transmuted into periodic chart week. You can even buy a poster of today’s chart here. I think I once…
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Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is an amazing appliance for easily, safely cooking meat → https://amzn.to/3G6eOYe It’s food week here in the States, so figured this was a good time to drop this recommendation in. This is my second favorite food appliance, and I mainly use it to cook batches of chicken: Empty a giant bag of…
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Geographical Memory
A fascinating, map-based, Twitter* thread the details how the geography & politics of pre-WW1 Poland is still impacting the regional demography, infrastructure, economy, and culture today → https://twitter.com/sheemawn/status/1714181402424738055 Maps are the best, especially when they can be used as the canvas to describe why history unfolded the way it did. Tough to fact-check all the…
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My Oslo posts seem to be mostly about food, so let’s keep it going! Waffles are popular, they’re all heart shaped, and they’re served with blood dipping sauce (not sure from what animal). Burger places are everywhere, and not just McDonald’s & Burger King. There are also lots of delicious craft burgers-n-beer-type places: The movie…
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I’m back in the States, but still have a bunch of Oslo posts in me. A critical one: The ubiquity of Mexican/Taco shops there. You always hear that you can’t find good Mexican food in European countries, but somebody forgot to tell the Norwegians. Taco places are everywhere, and they’re hugely popular: Every grocery store…
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Continuing with the “Mundane, Surprising Things in Norway” theme: There are outdoor table tennis tables everywhere in Oslo. In the middle of fields: In big parks: In small parks: In parklets: On trails: In apartment courtyards: Everywhere. Why? Is Norway highly ranked in the table tennis world? I have no idea. But they must be…
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Going to supermarkets is one of the things I enjoy when traveling, especially outside the States. You obviously get insight into local pricing, but you also get a feel for local values & quirks. Ex: I was surprised to see all the frozen pizzas in the first store I went to here in Oslo. Turns…
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I realized yesterday how much I love cobbler/shoe repair shops. They all pretty much have the same cluttered look & feel, and they’re always owned by a friendly old man. Plus, it make you feel good that you’re repairing them, rather than just throwing them out & buying a new pair. I think I’ve been…
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U Street
I live on U St here in NW DC. It’s often called “The Historic U Street Corridor” as it was one of the original big entertainment areas back in the day, especially for African Americans — it was once dubbed “Black Broadway“. It’s a great place to live, as it’s still a fun area with…
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One of the interesting offshoots of thinking about building things is that you start to see the world through different eyes. Ex: This is the wall in the restroom at The Salt Line in DC. I’ve seen this wall a lot, as I used to live next door to The Salt Line, and it’s where…
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I’m not sure I’ve ever used a pen so much that it’s run out of ink. Sure, they stop working all the time, but I always wondered what kind of person used, and didn’t lose, a pen enough to wear it out. Turns out, that kind of person is me. It’s especially weird that it’s…
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‘twas but August, so I feel like I saw something I shouldn’t have seen at this Mall
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MLK Library
I worked out of MLK Library in DC today. What a great place! It has lots of spots to work, a good cafe with some of the cheapest good coffee I’ve had in the city, and is filled with a wonderful cross-section of folks. The renovation was a grand success.
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Dog 💩 Park
The gym in my apartment building looks out on to the building’s dog park. Yep, most fancy new apartment buildings in DC have their own private dog parks, usually filled with French Bulldogs & Labradoodlish-type dogs. Looking out on the dogs running & playing definitely helps break up the monotony of the treadmill. But, there’s…
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I’m finally doing some work with the projects listed on eyeintim.com, and I’d considered joining WeWork to get out of my apartment to work. Although it seems that option might not be available soon, it’s no matter, as I’ve really been enjoying working in the common area at the top floor of my apartment building.…
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I’ve been recently riding the bus here in DC a lot more, mostly to avoid walking in the stupid heat. My favorite is when there’s a double bus & you get this jump seat in the connecting area. You feel dumb & on stage sitting there, but that’s kinda why it seems so fun.
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I like to think of myself as a Minimalist, but I know I still have way too many things to really be considered a card-carrying member. Ex: This pile of backpacks, bags, and sacks that I pretty much never use. There has to be at least 30 of them in there. I store them stuffed…
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Ungodly DC summer heat + owning my own set of hair clippers =
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I’m astounded. I really did accidentally tip about 12 solid ounces of water directly into my computer’s keyboard a couple of weeks ago. The prognosis seemed negative after a week, but…. I’m posting this from that computer. It survived. It’s alive. It works! Perfectly. I didn’t do anything except wait because I didn’t want to…
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Update on the deer I bowed with earlier this year in Nara, Japan:
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I’ve been walking through it regularly the past couple of years, but just realized that Adams Morgan’s 18th street here in DC has been taken over by Streeteries. I love them, but admit they’re a tad ugly from the other side of the street, as these pics show. But they’re great to sit in, and…
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DC is small, so I assumed I’d hiked pretty much every place you could over the years. But I stumbled upon a new trail today. It connects onto a more well-known/worn trail, but still a nice little bit of urban hike newness for me in underrated DC.
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The photography project I was a part of during my Camino is now exhibiting in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Looks like I’m not one of the portraits they show, but many of the peregrinos I walked with are — ❤️ seeing their struggles & faces again! I guess I did my own version of…
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Many years ago, I proclaimed that I would never support the Washington Football Team until they got rid of their terrible owner. I honestly never thought it would happen in my lifetime. But the American football phantoms have answered, and the Commanders are now my second favorite team. It’s nice to have a hometown NFL…
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A video of a massive rainstorm that rolled through, and actually prevented me from going out, happily — I wanted to watch the storm instead
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Noticing statues in Iceland has opened my eyes to DC statues. We have all the well-known ones, of course: famous US Presidents, Generals, Statesmen. But DC is quirkier than you might think, and my favorite park, Meridian Hill, shows that with some of its statues. We start with a President, but not exactly the most…
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The Metro has gotten pretty crowded lately, and the heat makes it feel stuffier than it already is. So getting a car to yourself feels extra special these days, even if it means riding it @ 8am on a Saturday to get one.
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Ahhh, wild wonderful West Virginia
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Update: The Genius Bar instead put the “arrr!” in it: $1000 to fix (vs. $1700 to purchase anew). I’m so dumb — it’s only 10 months old! I can’t believe how much effort I put into protecting this little fella from the cruel world outside, when the actual enemy was the clown typing on it…
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This is my MacBook Air. I bought it about year ago in preparation for post-LiveSafe life, and it’s been my constant companion since. I carried it with me through Japan, France, Iceland, and even across the Pyrenees & Spain, adding precious kilos to the weight I was carrying, burdening me with worry about it getting…
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I’m now back in DC, which means it’s time to wrap up my Iceland trip #2 posts, which means a second post on the sculptures I love so much in this country. This one greets you right outside the airport as you wait for the Reykjavik/rental car busses: Along the water in Reykjavik: Perhaps my…
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I feel like “gorges” is the only thing I haven’t mentioned when describing the amazing scenery that is Iceland. But because waterfalls = rivers = gorges, of course it has some, and Fjaðrárgljúfur (here’s how you say it) is a spectacular one, especially with all the green summer growth: Embedded within is a confluence of…
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It wouldn’t be an eyeintim visit to a country without some toilet pics. Iceland’s were all about the setting, including this one that is along the Ring road, but the middle of nowhere. It even has a viewing platform on the roof (it also cost $2, meaning my visit was view-only). It wouldn’t be Iceland…
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One of my favorite things about Iceland is the weather. The norm is cool/cold, grey, and rainy/snowy, which makes the scenery & sights even more atmospheric (and, fun). So it was great luck that my re-visit to Reynisfjara Beach coincided with a spectacular, day-long, wind & rain storm. It was actually sometimes difficult to walk…
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Basalt columns, especially in waterfalls like Svartifoss, are magical, and always feel like a movie set
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One of the fun things about travel is figuring out how things you know well & use all the time at home are different abroad. Getting gas is one of those things, and since I rented a car in Iceland this time, it was something I got to work through here. My first experience didn’t…
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There are black sand beaches. And then there are black sand beaches in Iceland in the summer.
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I’m back in Iceland, and the scenery continues to stun. I know glaciers are made of ice, but two months ago they were covered with snow, so it was kinda hard to picture that they’re made of ice. Not now — the snow has melted in many parts and what’s left is clearly ice, sometimes…
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Ahhh, the first day of Summer. Which means trees start…shedding their leaves?
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Finally visited the new Tatte near me, and it’s a great hang-out-with-a-laptop spot — I was one of about 20 people on one when I was there today. I’ll definitely be doing lots of eyeintim LLC work out of there.
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Found a one horsepower old truck in Old Town (A Dad joke for Father’s Day)
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That’s it, I’ve decided: Swizzler has the best burger in DC, and it’s steal at $7.50. Thanks for the guidance https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/best-burgers-washington-dc/ . Probably good that it’s across town for me, though.
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A few months ago I was happily spending all day outside, every day, walking, walking, walking, living out of a bag, wearing the same thing every day. Now I spend all day on the computer (revamping this site & building others!) while a little machine pumps out pleasant (I assume) artificial smells into the rooftop…
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That’s it, I’m convinced. With their latest changes moving the security area, DC’s National is my favorite airport in the States. It’s small, but does pretty much everything right: • Easy access by Metro • Logical, coherent security area • Fantastic food choices (I’ve actually eaten at places upon arrival) • Easy to get around, even…
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Final haul from my flight cancellation: Overall not a bad experience, and jetBlue & all the passengers handled it well. That said, not having a job definitely made it easier for me 😉.
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I usually tell folks that nobody really cares about their flight delay or cancellation stories. So it’s only fitting that I get a taste of my tough non-love once in awhile.
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It’s nice to be back in Deerfield Beach
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I joyously went to yet another Nats game last week, and they had fireworks after. The coolest thing about it wasn’t the fireworks (I mean, do older folk really enjoy actual fireworks anymore?), it was that many of the players’ families sat on the field & watched, and some of the players even joined. It…
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The thing that’s most stressed me out while not working is my lack of health care coverage – if I’m going to go bankrupt, I want to have fun doing it. So I was relieved to finally sign up for some ObamaCare, purchasing coverage from my beloved Kaiser Permanente. It certainly ain’t cheap, but it’s…
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I haven’t really been on a real hike since the Camino, so it was great to get out there again today for a hike to Raven Rocks. The brewery at the trailhead most certainly factors in to this being a local fave.
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I’m pretty sure I didn’t see even a hint of pickleball anywhere outside the US. But I’m glad I’m back playing it, making sure I stay in the wave as it crashes over the country & all its courts . (Next Up: Grab ahold of ChatGPT)
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Just kidding – golf again!
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Last week = Golf every day This week = Nats game every day
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Great to be back in DC watching the worlds most exciting boring sport
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Flying home from Bend I connected through San Francisco, and what spectacular views of the Cascade Mountains you get on that flight. That’s Mt. Shasta.
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Bend, Oregon is right on the Deschutes River, and they’ve done a lot to encourage recreational use of it. Local lore is that in Summer there are so many tubers on it you could walk across the river on them. It’s still a tad cool here, but even now it’s being used by some river…
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A question I always get after a #walkabout is “what did you miss the most about home”, and the answer is always “friends”. These fellas are amongst my best ones, as we happily brought our annual golf trip into its 4th decade, this time in beautiful Bend, Oregon. And what happens when golf trip coincides…
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Golf scenery is normally boring. Golf scenery in Bend, Oregon is not.
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I’ve seen some amazing scenery in the past four months on #walkabout outside the US. So it’s been easy to forget how much we have here at home.
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The Japan-France-Spain-Iceland portion of my #walkabout is done. Which now means scintillating DC content like recommendations for one-purpose appliances like this magic egg steamer.
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I’ve been back home in the States for over a week, and I still have so much I want to post about Iceland. But we need to move on with our lives here. The final day of the tour was spent on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, said to contain examples of all of the best things…
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I’m not a nostalgic person. So one of the things I dislike about posting every day is that it means I have to go through the 1000s of photos I’ve taken to find one to talk about. But, sometimes you come across a photo that makes it all worth it
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One of the best things about travel, if you’ve done it right, is coming home. To friends. To calm. To familiar. But, hopefully, you see things differently than you did before
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Wildlife time continued on our tour with a stop at a beach for seals: Mountains & ice always loom in the distance: Didn’t see many seals, but this one gave us some nice oohs & ahhhs It’s Iceland, so there’s always more to see nearby:
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Wildlife is one thing we haven’t seen much of in Iceland. But of course it has that also – Iceland is the best! So it’s whale watching we go, from the tiny port of Haugenes, a 45 minute drive up from Akureyri, the northern capital of Iceland. There’s our boat in the fjord: We’re all…
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As if it’s name wasn’t cool enough, Iceland brilliantly** calls itself “The Land of Fire & Ice”. We’ve seen lots of ice; it’s time for some fire. Hverir in the NW of the country, is Martian landscape that bubbles & steams like…um, I don’t know – this place was unique to me. **Iceland really does…
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It’s called Iceland, so there are many ice adventures to be had there. We walked on glaciers before, but now it was time to go IN them in Vatnajökull National Park. To get there, everybody jumps into a “Super Jeep”: The land starts looking like the moon: Group walking on the glacier, which is covered…
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The way I saw most of Iceland was via a small group van tour around the ring road (using fantastic https://troll.is/ – more on this in a later post). It’s lots of driving, and the money shot I always hoped to capture when on the road was the lone, red-roofed dwelling set in the stark…
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I don’t feel like writing today, so thank goodness this stunning place came up next in my camera roll
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I really don’t want to this become a waterfall blog, but it’s so hard to not always post about them from Iceland. It’s partially because there are so many of them, and partially because they’re all so gorgeous; so accessible; so different; in amazing settings. Skógafoss is a perfect example of this. You first notice…
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Went hiking on a glacier. Other than getting to wear crampons & carry an ice axe, the hiking itself wasn’t too exciting. But Iceland, as always, came through with some spectacular scenery.
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I’m telling you, Iceland does things just a little bit differently, and it’s magical
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Iceland is the kind of place where you can publicly declare that you’ve seen the best waterfall ever, and about 20 minutes, and 750 meters, later you see an even better one. Gljúfrabúi is special because it’s hidden in a crack in the canyon: After clinging to the side and tip-toeing across small rocks, you…
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Everybody knows this, but Iceland is stunning. Breath-takingly, “holy shit"-sayingly beautiful. I went on an eight day small group van tour around the country, and was instantly overwhelmed with the scenery, just from inside the van. I took a bazillion pictures, and quickly learned that my photography skillz were also overwhelmed. It’s impossible to capture…
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Reykjavik is much bigger & city-like than I expected, but it’s got a great feel. I especially like the public art they have scattered throughout. I’m most definitely not a sculpture-loving fella, but there’s something about the sculptures here that had me continually stopping, looking, and taking a pic: Hmmm – there seems to be…
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One of the cool things that happened on my Camino is that I was lucky enough to begin when the photographer Javier Iglesias Ramos was starting a new project. He calls it “IN ITINERE”, and it consists of taking a picture of each peregrino that arrived on their first day in Roncesvalles, and then another…
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A conversation I know I’m going to have many, many times when I get back to the States: Someone: How was the Camino de Santiago‽ Tim: I think it was the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever been a part of S: Whoa! How come? T: Well, umm, because, errr, ummm…I don’t know exactly S: Come…
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One of the rituals of the Camino is to get an ink stamp in your peregrino credential book at every albergue you stay at. Folks also get them at cathedrals, restaurants, and other sites along the walk. The purpose is to prove that you’ve indeed walked the camino, so you can get (for €3) your…
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I’m having a hard time wrapping up posting about the Camino. It then occurred to me…I haven’t posted a toilet in so long! Why do they have lids? Is it protocol to put them down when you’re finished?
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The symbol of the Camino is the scallop shell. It started back in the day as a way for pilgrims to prove they made it to Santiago (which isn’t on the ocean, but whatever). It’s also a nice symbol to show that all Caminos (there are lots in Spain, and many throughout Europe) lead to…
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Camino Stops
Timo’s Camino de Santiago via Camino Frances: Day 1 (7-Mar-2023): Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France → Roncesvalles, Spain (25km) Day 2: Roncesvalles → Urdaniz (24km) Day 3: Urdaniz → Pamplona (16km) Day 4: Pamplona → Puente la Reina (24km) Day 5: Puente la Reina → Estella (21km) Day 6: Estella → Torres del Rio (27km) Day 7: Torres…
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And then I was done. After an easy 30km trek from Muxia, I arrived at the 0.00 marker in Finisterre/Fisterre, “end of the earth”. It felt like the end, and I was glad I was done. Arriving in Santiago was emotional (still need to write about that — it’s hard); arriving in Muxia felt great;…
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Muxia is a stunning little town with turquoise ocean, and booming waves, and giant rocks, and decrepit walls, and a spare-looking cathedral built right into it all: It’s got a 0.00 marker to denote that it’s the end: And it was the place that those of us who walked to the ocean (🇦🇷 🇮🇹 🇩🇪…
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After reaching Santiago, a common extension is to then walk another 3-4 days to to the ocean. So after a few rest days in Santiago, I packed my bag again & got walking. The trail was as Galician beautiful as ever, but first seeing the ocean, after having just walked across the country to get…
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Long-term travel is a bubble, the Camino even more so. Having to do real-life stuff like taxes is thus an extra hard burst (especially when you haven’t had any income in four months…). But my room in Santiago, though it didn’t come with a bathroom, did come with a desk & a magnificent view of…
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* Day 1: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France → Roncesvalles, Spain (25km) * Day 2: Roncesvalles → Urdaniz (24km) * Day 3: Urdaniz → Pamplona (16km) * Day 4: Pamplona → Puente la Reina (24km) * Day 5: Puente la Reina → Estella (21km) * Day 6: Estella → Torres del Rio (27km) * Day 7: Torres del…
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Being in Santiago, a cathedral city, on Easter was pretty great. It’s not my thing, but even I was awed by the spectacle and the processions throughout the day Roman legionnaires leading: Masses of peeps carrying the holy ones: All congregating at the ancient churches throughout the city: I don’t believe, but I know a…
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32 days, 779km → I arrived in Santiago de Compostela
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One tactic to try and avoid the Easter week crowds was to get out on the Camino before the sun rose. I disliked walking in the dark — you miss all the beauty you’re walking through. But the reward was a moonlit sky A beautiful sunrise And no crowds, right?
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The Camino started getting very, very crowded after Sarria in Galicia. It was Holy Week, and Spaniards get the week off, so they showed up in droves for the nice, easy 110km/5-day Camino Frances finale into Santiago. So normally Jesper🇸🇪, Lucia🇮🇹, Vanni🇮🇹, and I🇺🇸 would have nobody behind us in a pic like this, but…
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