Heading west

0725- sleeping
0813- starting to get things organized so we can scatter to the winds
1212- sleeping as my sister, brother, and I head west
1925- transferring my stuff from Maria's car into Harry and Beth's

Lunch- 10 piece chicken nugget, fries, and a sweet tea at McDonald's (the KFC was shut down)
Dinner- beef and pork pieces, rice, and bread with some single malt

Random fact-  Samoa and Tokelau are moving back across the international date line, so now they are aligned with various Asian countries that are their current trading partners.  They moved to the US side of the dateline in 1892 to facilitate trade with the US.  This switch means there will be no 30 December 2011, although people scheduled to work that day will be paid as if they did.

One of my favorite things about falconry is the fact that there are few enough falconers there are just one or two degrees of separation between each of us no matter where in the world we are.  Back when I was a first year apprentice I used this to get in touch with Harry McElroy, a falconer in Arizona who has written a number of books on falconry, and managed to talk him into letting myself and 4 other college kids into staying at his house one night on our way to a conference.  Since then we've kept in touch and I usually come visit he and Beth for a week or so each season.  My brother, sister and I headed west this morning about 930, stopped for bagels in Albuquerque with the kitten to keep us amused (seriously, how can she possibly think sleeping wedged between the door and the front seat, with her head behind the seat and her feet on the arm rest is comfortable?).  This year I had to leave the birds home due to the truck drama, but between Harry and Jamaica's there will be enough falconry to keep me out of trouble.