Read Any Good Travel Books Lately??

Just a short post to share three of my favorite "travel books" that I believe you fellow travelers out there in the blogosphere will also appreciate:

(1) First choice: Around the World in 80 Days by Michale Palin (also in VHS tape);
(2) Second: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle;
(3) Third: War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq by Richard Engel - this is a new book that I am still reading (I'm up to Chapter Eighteen). Even though I have not yet finished reading this book, it is Excellent. I suspect part of the reason I like it has to do with the fact that I frequently travel to Kuwait and work in a location which is a mere 100 miles from the Kuwait-Iraq border! It also presents an accurate, unbiased account of what the Iraq (aka this generation's Vietnam) mess is really like. I strongly recommned this book.















If anyone has some favorites they wish to share, feel free to post a note.

PS: I forgot to mention one other "book"; my diary!! Everyone who travels a lot or goes a long way from home should try to maintain a personal diary. It will make for some very interesting reading when you are retired, no longer travel and want to refresh your memory about the "good 'ol days" when you were visiting all those far flung places around the globe. Just a suggestion!!

Scotland (Edinburgh and Aberdeen) - May 2008

Scottish countryside as seen from the Edinburgh to Aberdeen train.

Yellow flowers - Gorse - seen everywhere in Scotland.

Excellent views abound at Edinburgh Castle

Memorial in the City Center of Edinburgh, Scotland

Arthur's Seat - overlooking Edinburgh, Scotland

Oh what a great joy it is to finally have a NICE company trip to a place other than to some old, dirty, stinky, hot oilfield!! I had the pleasure of attending two company-approved business meetings in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, Scotland in late May. The weather was excellent (50's - 60's) with mostly sunny skies prevailing. The only problem were the two flight delays (I blame Continental Airlines for the poor maintenance of their aircraft which contributed to both delays): the first delay was on the flight out of Houston and that in turn caused me to miss my flight connection to Edinburgh from Newark, NJ and then there was the two-hour delay from Newark. Other than arriving into Scotland four hours late, the rest of my trip was splendid!! The work was fine, I met many colleagues, had some excellent meals (fresh salmon), stocked up on Scottish shortbread and tea, took many pictures, learned about new technology, had a paper of mine presented by a co-worker at the SPE Scale Symposium (Aberdeen) and had an overall enjoyable experience (despite the usual debilitating effects of jet lag). And the 2.5 hour train ride from Edinburgh's Waverly train station to Aberdeen went off smoothly (Monday, May 26) and allowed me some excellent views of the Scottish countryside.

On the return trip, I had the pleasure of going through Heathrow's new Terminal 5. One bad note: the security folks in Terminal 4 fussed at my carry-on bag (they said it was too wide!) and they made me check my carry-on instead of, well, carrying it onto the plane. Boo, hiss!! At least the return Continental flight (CON 33) was on time!!

Hotel reviews: Peebles Hydro Hotel (south of Edinburgh) and the Edinburgh Thistle Hotel (Leith St.) were both fine to above average. The Holiday Inn at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center was basically a "box": OK overall .... but nothing to write home about.

Houston's Art Car Parade

The winner and her "car"

My personal favorite - the toilet car: No matter where you go, you will always have a place to go!!

Houston's illustrious mayor, Bill White, in the lead car.

The crayon car!

The world's largest art car parade was held in Houston, Texas on Saturday, May 10. As always, lots of unusual cars ... and people!

Still Home in Houston

It's been awhile since I've taken a major (i.e., foreign) trip but that's fine. When I am away from home, I dream of being home BUT when I am at home, I dream of far-away places! Now why is that??!! Still, my next venture overseas will come soon enough. In the meantime, I am enjoying life at home.

Houston Has a New Park!!

Discovery Green - Houston's Newest City Park

I am well aware of the fact that for citizens of most other cities around the world having a new park may seem a not-so-newsworthy item to report except that for our fair city, a new park is most certainly a welcome change and a badly needed upgrade. Houston's largest park is Memorial Park, which happens to be larger than NYC's Central Park. However, yesterday was the opening day for "Discovery Green", a small (13 acre) park right in the heart of downtown Houston and across from the George R. Brown Convention Center. Finally, downtown residents can have a place to hang out and relax and enjoy some green space. Hundreds of people turned out yesterday for the ribbon cutting ceremony at 12 noon attended to by his Honor, the Mayor, Bill White.

Vacation - Tucson, Arizona

Finally --- some time away from the "rock pile" ( also known as my office). I managed a few days in Tucson, Arizona to visit a friend and take time to do some sightseeing in the area. February - March is probably the best time to visit Arizona as the daily temperatures are pleasant: not too hot (in the summer the temperatures are positively Middle Eastern in nature exceeding 100 deg F) and not too cold.

I visited the Biosphere 2 facility north of Tucson (an environmentalist's delight) and also toured Tombstone (where the gunfight at the OK Corral took place) and enjoyed walking along Allen Street (where the OK Corral is actually located) and looking at the old recreated parts of that famous western town. I also visited the Pima Air and Space Museum east of Tucson.

New Orleans!!

I had a wonderful time in New Orleans attending the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) annual Corrosion conference. It provided me with a chance to reconnect with colleagues, learn new technical information, attend some interesting papers (as well as endure a few really boring papers), have some nice meals and pick up a few "gimmies" from the exhibition area!


A VERY rusty pipe symbolizes the goal of the NACE Corrosion Conference - namely, corrosion prevention!!

No - I really did not gamble! I just passed by Harrah's every day on my way to the New Orleans Convention Center.

A New Orleans street car. Actually, this one runs past the "Riverwalk" mall. The famous St. Charles street car (the one memorialized in the movie "Streetcar Named Desire") is about a mile away from this line.

PS: I stayed at the Windsor Court Hotel - it is an EXCELLENT hotel! Expensive, for sure, but it has some very nice rooms. Suggestion: get a room on the city side - NOT the river side.