Grandluxe Railway vacation

Our vacation in August on the GrandLuxe Railway was wonderful as we spent about 6 days on this vintage train traveling from Tacoma, Washington to Jackson Hole, Wyoming through four national parks -- Mt. Rainier, Glacier, Yellowstone & Grand Teton. The scenery was incredible and the parks magnificent. We also enjoyed the train travel very much and met a lot of great folks. There were only 69 passengers on the trip so we had lots of time for pampering and visiting. 

Sadly we learned when we returned from the trip that we were on the second to last trip as GrandLuxe closed it doors and is trying to sell the railcars. Too bad because the food and service on the train were great and it was very relaxing for the most part. No TV, no phone, no computer most of the time. It was kinda cool too staying in the U.S. and seeing some stuff we'd never seen. 

We spent two days before boarding the train celebrating our 37th anniversary in Seattle. Lots of fun there too. At the end of the trip we drove back home from Jackson and enjoyed the scenery of Wyoming & Montana.

Speaking of masculinity

Apparently my brother in-law, Steadman Matthews, is very comfortable with his feminine side as witnessed by this photo of him (right) with our neighbor, Rita Krupp. Even with all the make-up his persona as a woman is questionable. The occasion was our Academy Awards party in which participants dressed as characters from some of the movies up for awards that year. Stymied by an idea, his wife, Judi, suggested the main character from Transamerica. Well, it certainly was trans-something, but a big hit at the party. Folks had to look quick too as he quickly shed his costume saying that his panty-hose were riding up uncomfortably and his heels were killing him.

Comfortable with my masculinity

My marketing director, Steve Temple and his new wife, Tina, thought it would be funny to give me the pink Fem-Hat you see here as kind of a joke based on my having to write something for one of our female contributors. The thinking that I had to write from a feminine perspective, I might need some sort of motivation if I had to do it again. Well, I'm pretty in touch with my feminine side (and very comfortable with my masculinity as well), so I don't really need the cap, even though I wore it all day after receiving it.