Untimely death of my nephew, Joe Kudabeck

We lost an amazing person on 10/22/08. Joe Kudabeck lived more in his thirty years than most of us will in 100 years. I've only known Joe about five years, I married his aunt 4 years ago and he was like another son to her. We received a most unique wedding gift from Joe, a dictionary. It was accompanied by a touching card that made the gift seem very reasonable w/ Joe's explaination of why he chose that gift for us. Reasonable from the perspective of a unique person like Joe.

Joe probably died from a connective tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome that resulted in aortic dissection. Nothing ordinary for Joe, a death from an uncommon cause for a unique guy. Joe, the world and those of us who knew you are better off as a result of the time you shared with us. Joe will truly be missed.

Joe's obituary: http://turbine.legacy.com/MidWeekNews/Obituaries.asp?Page=Notice&PersonID=119320517

A nice tribute from someone who only know Joe peripherially - http://goodlearning.com/2008/10/25/rest-in-peace-joe-kudabeck/

Breakfast @ the Hub

The Harmon Hub has become popular gathering place here in the Stadium district of Tacoma. Their lunch/dinner menu has evolved and offers good food/variety/value. I received an e-mail from the head Harmon guy, Pat Nagle, announcing the beginning of weekend breakfast at the Hub. We checked it out this morning and I give it a big 2 thumbs up! I had the frittata which has salmon, goat cheese & basal, yum oh! The biscuits and gravy were a hit w/ my dining partners.

Now that Woody’s won’t be offering breakfast (it was just for the summer), I'm thrilled to have the Hub as a new favorite breakfast place.

Woody's on the Water & the Museum of Glass

We had breakfast at Woody's On The Water on Saturday (Woody's is in the spot where the Blue Olive used to be in the condo complex next to the Glass Museum). Thanks to the tip from fellow Tacoma blogger, Tickle Me Tacoma ! It was very good, no parking hassle, way better than the crowds and sparse parking at Hob Nob or Shakabra (our usual breakfast haunts). To make it an even better morning we stopped by the Museum of Glass and watched the Maestro from Italy, Lino Tagliapietra, perform his glass art magic. I recommend Woody's and the MoG.

Chamber's Bay Golf Course

  Friday the 13th wasn't a bad one for us. I treated my step-son, Jeremy, to a round of golf at our new world-class links style golf course, Chamber's Bay in University Place, WA. This course will be the sight of the US Amateur Championship in 2010 and the US Open Championship in 2015.  Green fees are pricey ($115 for Pierce County residents) but in line for a course of this caliber. A van takes players from the club house down to the course. The green fee includes balls for warm up on the driving range, a chipping green and putting green. The starter offered us tees before we headed out. We were paired up w/ a father/son duo who turned out to be scratch golfers. The son is a caddie at the course so he offered us some advise occasionally. Jeremy and I didn't do great but not horrible either. Both of us pared at least one hole. The only disapointment was the greens; very sandy and slow (like putting on velcro, as Jeremy said). We were told they are still growing in since the course is only in it's second year. This isn't a course we'll play every month but it was well worth the expense for a great day on an amazing course. Like the ad we saw in the Alaska Air magazine says; "play the course begore the big boys do". 

www.chambersbaygolf.com

Boston & Cape Cod

We flew to Boston on 6/2, the Brazilian National Footbol (Soccer) team were also no the flight. The trip was business for me to attend the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. My wife got to play tourist while I attended the meeting. We stayed at the Lenox Hotel which was a nice old hotel w/ all the modern updates. It was across town from the Boston Convention Ctr but I was only a couple of blocks from one of the meeting shuttle bus stops. Monday evening we attend a customer Appreciation Night at Fenway Park hosted by bioMerieux (a microbiology systems company). The Sox were out of town so we got to see lots of the park. A tour took use to the seats above the Green Monster and into the Press Box. Dinner was catered by the park concessions so we got everything from hot dogs, brauts, BBQ & tri tips. Out tour guide told us even tho tickets are officially sold out for every game, tickets returned from season ticket holders can often be purchased at the Ticket Office the morning of the game. My wife got us tickets to the Wed night game on the 1st base line out in right field.  The energy of the fans in the small ball park was amazing. That capped off my big day at the ASM meeting where I presented a session on MRSA detection at 06:30. Yep, I was up at 04:45 to catch the 05:30 shuttle over to the convention center so I could have the presentation ready on the computer system and handouts in place for over 150 attendees. I decided there was nothing real interesting on the last half day session on Thursday so we took a Duck Tour of Boston. It was both informative and entertaining. 

We rented a car Thursday afternoon and headed out to Mystic, Connecticut. We stayed at the  Pequot Hotel Bed & Breakfast which was originally a stage coach stop. Lots of history and very friendly and informative hosts. We visited the Maritime Museum and the Aquarium, had lunch at Mystic Pizza made famous by the movie 20 yrs ago, had a great dinner at the D&H Oyster House on the water by the cool old drawbridge and had some tastey home made ice cream at a couple of shops. 

Next we headed to Wood's Hole to catch the ferry to Martha's Vineyard.  We stayed at the Hanover House B&B in Vineyard Haven.  Nice place but not as quaint or personal as many B&B's.  We spent a couple of days exploring the island, enjoying the beaches w/ seals looking back at us from beyond the surf line and sampling the good eats the Vineyard has to offer. 

We left the Vineyard on Tuesday and headed out Cape Cod to Dennis, Mass for a couple night stay at the Scargo Manor B&B. Nice old house on Scargo Lake and a few minutes drive to the beach. Our hosts directed us to a great seafood shack at the local marina where we had some tastey 'lobsta'. We shared an outside table w/ a couple of local school teachers who gove us some tips on what to see on the Cape the next day. We headed out the Cape to Provincetown. Had a fun tour of the sand dunes w/ Art's Dune Tours, informative and entertaining.  Our last day we headed to Plymouth. Didn't see the rock since it was under construction...... actually the portico surrounding it was being overhauled so the rock was under plywood for protection.  We headed back to Boston and flew home out of Logan back the the left coast.

 

Boston & Cape Cod

We flew to Boston on 6/2 for a business trip/vacation. The General Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology was there from 6/2-5.  We checked into the Lenox Hotel Sunday evening. We got a great room rate (relative to the usual room rate of $300-400) thru the Boston Travel Bureau. Small rooms but nice and impeccable service. My wife, Patty, checked out the tourist attractions while I attended the meeting. She bought a City Pass online before our trip which gave her admission to a number of museums and tours which ended up being a great bargain. We attended a Customer Appreciation event at Fenway Park on Monday evening hosted by bioMerieux (microbiology lab products company). The Sox were out of town so it was a great way to see lots of the park. We took a tour and got to sit in the seats above the Green Monster and in the Press Box. Our tour guide informed us of ticket availability so we were able to get tickets to Wednesday nights game by being at the ticket office at 10am the day of the game. Patty got us tickets in the old seats on the 1st base line for $30! Wednesday was a long day for me as I had to get up at 4:45am in order to catch the 5:30am bus shuttle to the convention center for my 6:30am presentation on MRSA detection methods. It was drizzling on the way to the convention center and rained later in the morning and was wet most of the rest of the day. It let up late afternoon so it was dry for the Red Sox game that evening. The energy in Fenway Park is amazing when it is full of fans. I had to get myself a Sox hat and tee shirt even tho I remain a Mariner's fan (even now that they are playing the worst ever!!).  

Our Bulldog, Geroge .......... RIP 5/24/08

Our bulldog, George, lost his fight to recover from post-op complications from his surgery on Thursday. He was a snorty little guy who had trouble breathing when he got excited or exerted. Our veterinarian suggested we have a local vet w/ laser surgery experience see if he could open up George's airway while he was under anesthesia to be neutered. There was lots of excess tissue in his soft pallet the vet removed during the surgery. After surgery George's throat swelled, requiring a tracheostomy and transfer to the The Animal Emergency Clinic here in Tacoma. The veterinarians there did all they could for him but he lost his battle to recover this morning at about 3:30. George would have been 2 yrs old next month. We've never had a pet so full of personality and life. We are devastated by his death and are haunted by questions of, 'did we do the right thing?' The vets think his airway limitations would have been a problem at sometime in the future but who knows. A moot point now........ Rest in Peace, George, we love you.