Oliver Moss

* I am about to fling myself at Oregon's intercity bus system again and see how it goes. I am going to Garibaldi. Why? To take a train from Garibaldi all the way to... Garibaldi. There is an old steam train and some preserved tracks that for a long time were only used for photo sessions, but now they are doing runs along the coast. I am going out because they are doing night rides on nights when the moonlight should be strong. I booked one a while ago.

Hopefully, the winds hold and it wont be smoky. I am not terribly concerned about the coast itself, mostly the going there and back. I am reasonably confident it wont be terrible. We'll see if I eat those words.

I am trying to pack super light. Only 2 lenses! I just don't have the gear or experience for shooting landscapes from a moving train at night. I can do two of the three - night / moving / landscapes - but not all three at once. I'll just hope that the light is enough that I've got wiggle room on the shutter speed.

This is a very silly trip

* Then at the end of the month I have a ticket to a fan meetup for Guild Wars 2 players up in Seattle, where Arena Net is headquartered. I am probably just going to go there and back. There is a lot I want to do near Seattle, but not really in Seattle. All the side trips I'd want to do while up there would involve having to walk ten miles, or stay in a rural AB&B to split up the walk. I am going to keep it simple and go, stay a night and come back. I am taking a late train back so I will have a day to randomly walk the city.

The problem is that a few people who are likely to be there have 0 social skills and I don't think anyone else I know is going. But, oh well, I nabbed a ticket. It's a big gathering for people who play the game I've played for a decade. I'll ditch last minute if smoke is bad. Travel in August is just a bad plan.

There is a lot I really, really want to do in the Puget Sound. I really need to do a second Puget ramble, but not right now.