News: August 7, 2005

August 7, 2005 (Redmond, Washington)

Back to Work

Some of you were probably wondering if I’d ever update my website again, since this is my first entry in over a year -- while others were probably hoping I wouldn't! Believe it or not, some folks were wondering if I was still alive. I laughed at an e-mail I got last month. An Ohio reader named Jim wrote in worried about my health, since I hadn’t updated my website in so long. Thanks for your concern, Jimbo, and yes, I’m alive and kicking.

So why haven’t I updated my website in over a year? One reason is that I watch the lowly Seattle Mariners baseball team play (and lose) each night. It’s like watching a car accident as you slowly drive by – you know it might be gruesome but you have to look anyway. And now that I'm back at work, I don't want to bore you with the banalities of my everyday life unlike a lot of bloggers out there, so as Yoda might say, spare you I did – and thankful you are.

Another reason is that I’ve been pretty busy at work. In December 2004, I moved from Bellingham, Washington to Seattle and went back to work after a 3-1/2 year hiatus. It feels good to be back in the office and, believe it or not, I actually enjoy putting in long hours again. Since I went back to work, though, I haven't had much time to update my website because I often work six or even seven days a week. But I’ve set aside this entire weekend to post an update. So read on you must.

A Brief Recap

For those who’ve recently stumbled onto my site or have wisely decided not to wade through its 423 pages, I’ll briefly bring you up to speed. In 2001, I was living in Portland, Oregon and working as a transportation planner and mapping specialist for Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB), a large engineering consulting firm. I was in a comfortable rut but wanted to shake things up, so I left my steady job on my 10-year anniversary and took what was supposed to be an 18-month break to travel. To document my solo travels, I started up this website, which I originally called DelsTrip. But then I realized that in all lower-case letters, delstrip looked like DelStrip, so to assure my readers (especially the female kind) that I had no intention of stripping, I changed it to DelsJourney.

The main goals of my trip were to:

1). Discover my roots by visiting places around the U.S. where my ancestors had lived,

2). Visit Australia and New Zealand, countries that I’d always wanted to see,

3). Hopefully inspire others to break out of their own comfortable ruts, and

4). Not to strip, if I could avoid it.

For reasons discussed elsewhere, my 18-month trip turned into 3-1/2 years. But now I’m gainfully employed again and am working at a new and interesting job in Seattle – while digging myself into another comfortable rut.

Now that I’m back at work, I’ve been debating about whether to keep posting website updates or take my website down. After mulling it over, I decided to keep updating it. Yes, I can hear the cries of anguish out there, but since I now get four weeks of vacation each year, I figure I'll be able to take frequent trips to distant shores. So I’ve got lots more fodder for good travel stories, which I’ll post on this site for years to come. Lucky you, huh?

Above left: Some shots at my Dad's house in Bellingham in 2004: Here I'm painting the picnic table for the 17th time. I may be incompetent, but I'm also persistent.

Above center: Doing an impression of Darth Vader in the basement while installing insulation. Have staple gun, will travel.

Above right: Celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister Doti (right) and friends in 2004. I made seven dishes that day. I also prepared some of the food (har, har).

Above left: This was my workstation for the past two years, in the den at my Dad's house. That's my affectionate and faithful sidekick, Lila, sleeping on the couch.

Above center: Lila, who's 15, is actually my sister's cat, but she's best friends with whomever fed her last. Lila is curious, insecure, and very lovable.

Above right: After chain-sawing massive pine trees while working as a ranger in Colorado in the 1980s, I've been reduced to cutting down a Christmas tree each year with a small bow saw.

The Job Hunt

In the spring of 2004, I was living at my Dad’s house in Bellingham and was getting antsy to return to work after taking three years off. Well, O.K., I was also getting tired of hauling tons of dirt in a wheelbarrow while landscaping the yard, as well as painting my sister’s picnic table 17 times (due to blistering issues – please don’t ask). Sure ‘nuff, it was time to go back to work.

I was hoping to return to my job with PB in Portland, but there wasn’t much work in that office, so they couldn’t hire me back. I wasn’t worried about finding another good job though, because I had acquired a lot of different technical skills over the years (primarily due to my short attention span) and figured that the job offers would just start rolling in. In fact, you could’ve called me Captain Fearless because I laughed in the face of unemployment and impending homelessness.

Or maybe Captain Foolish, because my job search turned out to be tougher than I figured. That was partly due, I’m sure, to the wobbly economy here in the Northwest, still reeling over the dot-com bust. Without going into details, let’s just say that I learned several things during my six-month-and-often-frustrating job hunt, such as:

1). In a lot of ways, a job interview is like a first date. Maybe that’s one reason I don’t interview very well. That and my Donald Duck tie.

2). As my Dad always told me, it’s a lot easier to get a job if you already have a job. How true.

3). Don’t rely solely on Internet job postings, because tons of people apply for them and many positions are bogus. The best way to land a good job is the old-fashioned way, through phone calls and personal contacts.

4). Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies who won’t call you back after an interview to let you know what’s going on. Whatever happened to good manners?

By November, I was getting pretty discouraged with the whole situation. But then I got a call from my old boss from PB-Portland, who’s now in PB’s Seattle office. He heard that I was looking for a position and, knowing my abilities, asked if I’d like to do some contract work in Seattle for a few months. The next day, I drove down to Seattle to talk to him about it, figuring that I’d work there for maybe a month or two before moving back to Portland. As it turned out, though, everyone in the Seattle office that I talked to wanted my help, whether it was in transportation planning, web design, mapping, computer graphics, IT, or technical writing, so maybe my short attention span was finally paying off! To my utter amazement, I walked out of the office a few hours later with a permanent job offer.

So instead of moving back to Portland like I had originally planned, I moved to Seattle. Well, I actually moved to Redmond, which is about 20 miles east of Seattle. You may have heard of Redmond because it’s the home of Microsoft and there are lots of high-tech computer geeks running around here with pocket protectors – and expensive BMWs (truly the revenge of the nerds). Even more impressive, Redmond is the home of actor James Doohan, who portrayed Scotty in “Star Trek.” I’m sorry to say, though, that Scotty passed away in Redmond a few weeks ago, beaming up to the mother ship for the last time.

Above left: Moving out of my Dad's house in Bellingham in December 2004...

Above center: And moving into my apartment in Redmond, which is the 20th city I've lived in. Good thing I like change.

Above right: My apartment that day, with boxes stacked five-high. Now how do I get to the bathroom?

My Daily Routine

A lot of bloggers get into trouble by writing about their jobs, like posting office gossip on their very public websites. Because of that, I’ve been grappling with what to do about my sometimes-opinionated website now that I'm back at work. I decided that as much as possible I’m going to keep my work and my website separate: I’m not going to write too much about my job and I won't say much about my website at work. But I’ll give you the basics about my job if you’re interested.

My daily routine is pretty much the same. Each morning after dragging myself out of bed, I walk across the street and catch the 7:45 a.m. bus into downtown Seattle, where I work in the 54-story Wells Fargo Building. I work with a subsidiary of Parsons Brinckerhoff called PB-Farradyne, which specializes in “Intelligent Transportation Systems,” or conveying traffic information to the public so they can make better decisions as they travel. Examples include electronic signs over freeways that display traffic conditions ahead and websites that show traffic information.

I’ve been working on two main projects lately: developing a website for the Florida Department of Transportation and replacing an important-but-aging arterial called the Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle, one of the largest construction projects in Washington history. They’re both good projects and I’ve been learning a lot. In addition, the folks in the office are fun to work with and I’ve got a nice view of downtown Seattle from my office, which is up on the 24^th floor.

Every evening after work, I catch the 6:15 p.m. bus back to my apartment in Redmond, make dinner, and watch the Seattle Mariners lose. On most weekends, I go into the office to learn some new skills, then I ride the bus home, make dinner, and watch the Seattle Mariners lose. So other than the Mariners, things are going well and it’s good to be back at work.

Above left: The Wells Fargo Building (left) in downtown Seattle. My office is at the top of the photo.

Above center: And here it is, with a bookshelf stuffed with yellow "Bibles" (The Photoshop Bible, JavaScript Bible, etc.). Yep, I'm a real Bible-thumper.

Above right: The million-dollar view from my office. Interstate 5 and the snow-capped Cascade Mountains are in the distance. The red-roofed building is a historic church which, unfortunately, is scheduled for demolition. Seattle could learn a lot about historic preservation from Boston.

Above left: As you may know, volleyball is my favorite sport: I like to play it, watch it, coach it -- and photograph it. Since moving to Seattle, I've become a big University of Washington volleyball fan. Here they are (in white) in the 2004 NCAA tournament in Seattle.

Above center: Head coach Jim McLaughlin, the 2004 National Coach of the Year and a real class act.

Above right: The UW Huskies (and perpetually perky Harry Husky) after another win. They advanced to the NCAA Final Four where they lost to Stanford, ending the season at 28-3. We'll get 'em next year!

A Career in Blackjack? Don't Bet on It

Although working is nice, traveling is better, and I’ve fortunately been able to take a few recent trips. Earlier this year, I flew down to Las Vegas for a couple of days on business with David, a co-worker. I’ve never liked Lost Wages, since it’s everything I’m not. I actually lived in Las Vegas for a few months back in 1999 and discovered how sleazy it really is -- and it's really sleazy. But it is an interesting place to visit and gawk.

Here's Elvis Presley singing that classic, Viva Las Vegas.

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The highlight of my recent trip was getting a free upgrade at the Treasure Island hotel, from the basic room I’d booked all the way up to a $400-a-night luxury suite. Why? I'd like to say something pretentious like, "Membership has its privileges," but I'm not a member of anything except AAA, so who knows. To be honest, I'm just as comfortable staying at a Motel 6 -- or a decent campground, for that matter. High maintenance I'm not.

After I checked in and had dinner, I thought about playing some blackjack that evening. In the winter of 1988, in between my summer jobs as a ranger in Colorado, I became pretty interested in blackjack. I learned that by keeping track of the dealt cards, a good player could gain a slight advantage over the casino. I don't really like to gamble, which to me is synonymous with losing money, but I figured that if I could earn money while playing a game, why not?

I spent the entire winter of 1988, therefore, doing nothing but learning how to win at blackjack ("Let's see, four decks and a +7 count with six Aces dealt, dealer shows five and I've got 14: Hit me."), then I headed down to Reno to try it out. I was doing pretty well during the first week, but then I played at Harold's Club where two dealers -- and I still remember their names: Sam and T.J. -- scammed me and I lost most of my winnings. I'd heard about such things and didn't believe it, but now I do. And so that was the end of my blackjack career. By the way, a few months later, the Nevada Gaming Commission shut down the Harold's Club for blackjack "improprieties" and it never reopened, so I feel a little better. The lesson I learned? Playing blackjack is a really hard way to make a living and I don't recommend it. It's much easier to be a consultant for an engineering firm.

Although I've forgotten my card counting strategies, I still play blackjack once in a while. It takes a person just 10 minutes to learn the basics so they can play statistically even with the casinos (but do most players bother? Nope). I didn't feel like playing blackjack that evening, though, since I don’t like to mix business and pleasure -- or get kicked out of casinos for counting cards -- so I just walked around the Strip and snickered at all the tacky gaudiness. Las Vegas is a kick but it's still a slimy place, and I was glad to get back home and take a shower.

Above left: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (or in my case, the Poor and Insignificant). This is the free upgrade I got at the Treasure Island. At $400 a night, it's just a tad better than a Motel 6.

Above center: Outside the Treasure Island waiting for the nightly Pirates show. It was called off due to high winds, though -- pretty wimpy pirates, if you ask me.

Above right: At the airport, heading back to Seattle.

Looking Cool in Florida

I had a much more interesting trip in the spring of 2005, when I flew to Florida to do some work while spending a few vacation days there, too. Before leaving Seattle, I’d reserved a sporty car from Thrifty Rent-a-Car in Miami with visions of me dashing around Florida during spring break with a beautiful woman while looking really cool. But when I got to Miami, all Thrifty had left were honkin’ huge Chrysler behemoths, so that’s what I got. As I proved during the next week, it’s hard to look cool while zipping around Florida in a Chrysler. But frankly, I’ve always had a hard time looking cool.

Here's my man, Jimmy Buffett, singing Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.

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One of my main destinations was Fort Pierce, a funky old city about three hours north of Miami. During World War II, and long before I was born, my parents lived in Fort Pierce where my Dad trained for the "Scouts & Raiders," the Special Operations branch of the U.S. Navy now called the SEALs.

I'd never seen Fort Pierce before, but being a family history buff, I drove up and spent a day retracing my parent's steps. While there, I stopped by the Navy SEAL museum for a few hours and enjoyed talking to some old WWII veterans and hearing their stories. By the way, if you ever saw the first Survivor show on CBS, which was won by the fat naked guy, you might remember the crusty old ex-Navy SEAL named Rudy Boesch. As I learned recently, Rudy and my Dad were in the same Scouts & Raiders unit in Fort Pierce in 1945 right before my Dad shipped out to China to serve in World War II.

After camping in the pleasant-but-mosquito-filled Dickinson State Park that night, I headed to the west coast of Florida where I spent a few days in Bradenton (pop. 50,000), south of Tampa. Back in 1987, I lived in Bradenton for several months while I worked for the Bradenton Herald newspaper. I moved to Bradenton back then because, 1). I’d always wanted to live in Florida, and 2). After spending a week driving around the state looking for a place to live, I thought Bradenton was the nicest city in Florida. In fact I still do, and it was great to be back. The Herald is still there as are the long sandy beaches, where I spent hours lolling each morning before going to work every afternoon at the Herald. My job didn’t pay much but it covered the rent and it was fun, which was all I cared about back then.

Above left: My parents wedding portrait in Fort Pierce, Florida during World War II. My Dad, an Ensign and later a Lt. Commander, trained here for the U.S. Navy "Scouts & Raiders," now called SEALs, before being sent to the Pacific. The Scouts & Raiders were a select group of men trained for special Naval operations, such as amphibious invasions.

Above center: My parents and grandmother in Fort Pierce in 1944, shortly after the wedding.

Above right: Downtown Fort Pierce today looks much like it did during World War II. It's a great town.

Above left: From my parents letters, I tracked down the house they lived in: 1230 Easter Avenue.

Above center: The Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce recounts the history of the Scouts & Raiders, UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams), Frogmen, and as they're known today, the SEALs.

Above right: A display in the museum showing some of the weapons that my Dad was trained in.

Above left: Camping at the pleasant Dickinson State Park, south of Fort Pierce. Is it just me, or do Chryslers look out of place in campgrounds?

Above center: Fueling up. Cool car, huh?

Above right: Hunkering down in Lakeland for a few days while working on a presentation.

Above left: The Bradenton Herald newspaper, where I worked in 1987. The Herald is a great paper and I really enjoyed working there.

Above center: And my old apartment (top floor) in Bradenton. Only $365 a month back then.

Above right: This is Cortez Beach south of town, where I worked on my tan each morning before working on the paper each evening.

The (Florida) Keys to My Heart

After spending a few sunny days in Bradenton, I drove down to the Florida Keys, a 100-mile string of islands that juts into the Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Keys are unlike any other place in the country and have always been special to me. When I was a kid growing up in Michigan during the 1960s, my entire family drove down to the Keys, twice in fact: when I was four years old and seven, and I remember each trip well. The most vivid event occurred during my first trip to Florida when I stepped on a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish at the beach and screamed for an hour. Fortunately, my other memories of Florida are a bit more favorable, and much less painful.

My fondest memory of the Keys was camping at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo during both trips. This unique park, which opened in 1963, is the oldest state park in the Florida Keys and includes a campground, marina, visitor center, and the only coral reef in the continental U.S., which is a few miles offshore. I pulled the Chrysler into a campsite and stayed here one night and as I walked around the park, pleasant memories of those earlier trips wafted through my mind. The park hasn't changed much over the past 40 years and it's still a great place. I've posted a few photos of the park below. For more photos of my family's visits during the 1960s, see my page on John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

The best part of my recent trip to the Florida Keys, however, was discovering Bahia Honda State Park, which is located, appropriately enough, on Bahia Honda Key, about two-thirds of the way down the Keys. I’ve been to the Keys several times but had never stopped at this park before, which is a shame because, as I learned, it’s a really terrific place. For one thing, it’s one of the few places in the limestone-and-mangrove covered Keys that has a long, natural beach.

I got to Bahia Honda State Park around 3 p.m. on a warm, sunny afternoon and set up my tent, then walked into a little store there to buy a bag of ice. That’s where I spotted a cute 20ish woman who looked exactly like my niece, Sarah, who lives in Philadelphia. This was the first time I’d seen anyone who looked even remotely like Sarah, so I thought it might actually be her. I kept glancing at her, hoping she’d recognize me and say, “Hi, Uncle Del!” But, alas, it wasn’t her – and I think I freaked the poor girl out in the process. Oops, sorry! I can imagine her telling her friends: “This old geezer in the store kept staring at me – and he was driving a Chrysler!"

After creeping out the Sarah-lookalike, I went down to the beach where I walked for a couple of hours and enjoyed splashing my feet in the warm 80-degree surf while the the palm trees swayed in the balmy breeze, then around sunset I headed back to my campsite to make dinner. I’ve camped at hundreds of places in the U.S., but this campsite was one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen: it was well-protected with lots of privacy but was just a few yards from the beach and had a beautiful view of the ocean. A tropical storm rolled in that night with lots of thunder and lightning and dumped about four inches of rain on my tent, but I stayed dry and cozy, and it was all clear the next morning.

Bahia Honda is a terrific state park and is an absolute “must see” in the Keys. But if you go into the store, don't stare at the young women. Especially if you drive a Chrysler.

Above left: The smallest post office in the U.S. is in Ochopee, Florida. Yes, it's air-conditioned.

Above center: "Bobby, get closer to the alligator so Daddy can take a picture of you." A good example of natural selection in action.

Above right: This is the mosquito-filled Palmetto campground at the southern tip of Everglades National Park, where I spent the two most miserable nights of my life -- in 1987 and 1995. No, I didn't camp here on this trip.

Above left: The swimming beach at Pennekamp State Park hasn't changed much over the last 40 years.

Above center: Here's my family camping next to the pond in Pennekamp State Park in the 1960s. I taught myself how to swim here at the age of 4. My brother Dave is playing the guitar (a very 60's thing to do), my Mom is lighting a cigarette (another very 60's thing to do), while half of my brother Don is sacked out.

Above right: Another shot from that trip, this is in Key West. With my arms crossed, I was getting tired of my Dad taking pictures and wanted to get on the Conch Train so I could apply my transportation planning skills.

Above left: Back to 2005 now. This is the original African Queen in Key Largo, made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Of course, "Key Largo" was itself a movie, also starring Humphrey Bogart.

Above center: Camping at the wonderful Bahia Honda State Park. This is one of the prettiest campsites I've ever stayed at. Later that evening, a tropical storm dumped four inches of rain, but I stayed dry in my tent.

Above right: Here's the view near my campsite at Bahia Honda. It was great to walk on the tropical beach here and I can't wait to get back.

Next News

May 28, 2007: Oregon Bound

Previous News

June 25, 2004: Life in Bellingham (Bellingham, Washington)

December 7, 2003: The Greatest Generation (Bellingham, Washington)

March 28, 2003: My Father (Bellingham, Washington)

October 30, 2002 (Bellingham, Washington)

July 24, 2002 (Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia)

July 12, 2002 (Lake City, Colorado)

July 4, 2002: Life as a Ranger, Part 2 (Lake City, Colorado)

July 4, 2002: Life as a Ranger, Part 1 (Lake City, Colorado)