I am trying to keep this first part as politically generic as possible. Make your own decisions…I know I have made mine. – S

I have been seeing many travel articles about many major changes involving visitors to National Parks here in the States – especially foreign tourists. With regards to the changes to foreign visitor entry requirements, visas and regulations changes, all I will say is to do your due diligence in figuring out if the place or country you want to go to is really someplace you want to go and what do you need to be aware of if you do go.

Check out multiple trustworthy resources; that does not mean FB, IG, Threads or any other social media site – quit relying on those places for facts and legit travel info. They are nothing but full of lies & hatred and are the one of the biggest reasons the world is as effed up as it is. Find factual news sites; I asked a coworker who was a poly-sci major about the best sources of non-biased news and he said either BBC News or Al Jazeera. If you do look at their sites or broadcasts, it is next-level news. I have had extensive experience with BBC when working in television. I have watched Al Jazeera a few times. Both are incredibly straightforward and serious and you can “feel” the difference. Other networks are nowhere near the quality and factual news that is not biased.

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Until this morning, I have not left the house since last week and have been working in the basement the last few days. There actually was more little stuff to do than I thought. When the scrap guy was here we did not get all of the smaller stuff out of the basement so that is what I am working on.

I started with gathering up all of the remaining metal, pipes, hardware, metal cabinets, shelves and anything else I can turn in for cash. The hardware was in glass jars and old coffee cans so that was all combined into the cans and the glass will be recycled. I found some NOS car parts in original boxes and those might be worth something to someone restoring a vehicle. There are also other old used car parts my dad picked up at auctions. There are also several old collectibles that will be stashed away and moved to deal with later.

Basically, I am getting all of the stuff from the basement I want to take in a corner by the door so it will load faster when time comes. As I move things to that corner I am going through it to determine its fate. I have gotten rid of a lot already and have tossed out more the last few days. When I am done it will look much better and I might end up with a few extra dollars in my pocket.

I would have waited a few more days to go to the store but I needed supplies too badly to wait even one more. I stocked up pretty well so I am set for a while. It was nice to get out and walk around the stores. Plus eating is never a bad thing.

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I saw an interview/live performance from Pearl Jam a few days ago. That album “10” is probably one of the best rock records and is certainly in good company with many other “grunge” artists, but Nirvana’s “Bleach” just kills. And “Live at the Paramount”…absolutely one of the greatest live shows of all time.

Thinking about those bands made me miss Seattle. I have professed my love for that city several times before. I have not been everywhere, but I have been many places and Seattle is right there with Amsterdam, Dublin, Galway and – to an extent – Prague. Seattle has a vibe that just screams “grunge music” and you can feel it all around. It’s pretty cool. Plus a great selection of different foods, and just the energy you feel walking around the city is amazing.

I really hope to get up there to Seattle again soon. I was thinking about the whole “East Coast early flights to Europe” where you leave in the morning from the East Coast and you arrive in the evening. I would like to try it to see if it is better, but it is tough to do without going the day before and waiting all night. You would arrive in Europe in the early evening so time for relaxing, dinner, and than a good night’s sleep – a fairly normal schedule for going over.

But from Seattle, you leave in the afternoon and arrive around 11 hours later plus the time change. This does depend on your itinerary too. My first time over we flew through Iceland, leaving Seattle at around 1:00 PM, arrive Iceland around 05:00 AM. Layover was about an hour or so and we went on to Amsterdam and arrived at 11:00. That was pretty good timing to get there. They do have non-stops to a few cities but damn…it is like 11 hours on a plane and it is an 8-hour difference from Seattle to Europe. I would still try it once.

Speaking of Prague…I found out something interesting. The joint I bought in Prague and walked around puffing on was probably not The Reefer. I watched a video by a guide who does really good videos about not getting ripped off in Prague and found out that THC is not legal in Czech Republic. THAT explains what was going on with that buzz and means I ended up smoking who knows what. It was fine the first few hits while walking around in the afternoon, but that night I certainly knew something was afoul with that joint when I barely made it back to the room from a nighttime stroll in Prague and could not stand or walk again for 90 minutes – my legs…they had no bones. That isn’t The Reefer doing that. When I see The Reefer again in other countries I will research that before I buy/smoke anything.

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That is it for now. See you next time.

Shawn