The untimely demise of Technip-Coflexip's Concord, CA office led to an unappealing offer to transfer to the Houston, TX office. Fortunately I was able to find another job in the Bay Area which saved me from having to break my promise of never living in Texas again.

So I had a week in between jobs and decided to go to Washington D.C. to see my friend, Chelsea and witness the Cherry Blossom festival. D.C. in the springtime is beautiful and I had a great time touring the city, the Capitol building, and meeting a bunch of Chelsea's friends. Since it is the nation's capital, everyone I met was heavily involved or interested politics, lobbying, activism, etc. and led to many enlightening discussions.

While I was there, it suddenly struck me that another good friend, Noe, was living in D.C. with her boyfriend. Fortunately, she just got back from a trip to Alaska (she's quite the adventurer), so the three of us drove up to Baltimore to sample Maryland blue crabs. While we were at the Inner Harbor, we got to see a great exhibit on Ernest Shackleton, British adventurer who attempted the first crossing of Antarctica on foot during the beginning of World War I. His ship got trapped in the ice and marooned his crew on the ice for two years after which he and a small crew braved the ocean and the crossing of an uncharted island in order to reach a whaling station and finally return and rescue his crew. Amazingly, everyone survived that journey.

We also visited Edgar Allen Poe's gravesite in a small church in Baltimore. Every year on Mr. Poe's birthday, someone leaves a rose and a bottle of red wine on his gravestone. The best thing is, nobody tries to figure out who does it.

And finally, the great debate of west coast dungeness crab vs. east coast blue crab was settled: Blue crab tastes better.