Category Archives: Family

West Coast Cruise

In October 2025 we took a spur of the moment cruise from Vancouver down to San Diego and back. Since a lot of Canadians are not visiting the US these days it was a good deal. It was the first … Continue reading

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Linda Gets Her Wikipedia Page

I’m please to see that Wikipedia finally has a page devoted to Linda. It’s about time! As WED’s first female engineer she was really a trailblazer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_McBride_Alcorn She recently contributed a chapter on her early experiences at WED to my … Continue reading

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Victoria, B.C.

Have I mentioned we’re moving to Canada? The combination of our daughter and her wife living in Vancouver, the politics of the US, and the heat and humidity of Florida have all combined to prod us to make some big … Continue reading

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Eclipse 2024

We planned a year in advance for the April 8, 2024 eclipse, with flight reservations and hotel bookings in Austin, Texas, since it was one of the longest duration points. We flew in from Orlando, and Dani and Trish flew … Continue reading

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Roadtrip: Chicago to Orlando 2023

With Dani and Trish moving to Vancouver, we decided to sell our condo in Chicago. So Linda and I flew to Chicago to cat sit while the girls explored Vancouver for a week, then we loaded up a rental minivan … Continue reading

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Road Trip: Pacific Northwest

This was a delightful 12-day trip around Washington State and part of Oregon. Dani and I initially planned it, but I was able to talk Linda into going, too. It was so much fun to have the whole family traveling … Continue reading

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Road Trip: Orlando to Chicago

In June of 2021 I sold the Lexus Ls460L to Dani and we took a road trip to transfer the car from Orlando to Chicago. It was our first trip since the Pandemic began in March 2020, so we started … Continue reading

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Linda McBride Alcorn Named TEA Master

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) – the global, nonprofit membership association for the creators of compelling places and experiences – has announced the slate of TEA Masters honorees for 2020. The TEA Masters program celebrates masters of their craft in the … Continue reading

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Australia 2017

The flight from Hong Kong to Sydney is overnight, and takes about nine hours. Dani had a rough night in coach, with three infants nearby, but Linda and I were able to get some sleep in business (thank you frequent … Continue reading

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Hong Kong’s Peak

Guest post by Dani. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 6 We had to check out of the hotel at 1pm, but our flight to Sydney wasn’t until almost 9pm, so we had a whole day to spend in the city. … Continue reading

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Ngong Ping Cable Car

Guest post by Dani. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 5 Today we were tourists doing touristy things on Lantau Island. Many companies offer guided tours but we decided to roll our own adventure based on the sights/activities I read about … Continue reading

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Hong Kong’s Cat Cafe and Amber

Guest post by Dani. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 4 We started our day with a leisurely breakfast upstairs and debated what we should do for the day. Yvonne warned us Sunday would be very crowded. Despite that, we briefly … Continue reading

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Hong Kong History Museum and Yum Cha

Guest post by Dani. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 3 This morning we had a leisurely breakfast upstairs. Dad had avocado toast with a poached egg, Mom had smoked salmon (as always), but I went rogue and tried all the … Continue reading

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Hong Kong Central Tour

A guest post by Dani. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 2 A rather impressive thunderstorm woke me up early. The rain drops clattered against the window and there were several long rumbles of thunder. I’ve always thought thunder sounded different … Continue reading

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Hong Kong Disneyland and Kowloon

Dani is our guest blogger. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 1 Our first morning in Hong Kong dawned sunnily but with some ominous dark clouds on the horizon. After a fairly restful night’s sleep I felt pretty much on schedule. … Continue reading

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Flying to Hong Kong

Dani is our guest blogger. Hong Kong 2017 – Day 0 Mom and Dad had access to a deluxe lounge in the airport before our flight to Hong Kong because of their business class tickets. They indulged in such wonders … Continue reading

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Total Eclipse

Everyone has seen photos of partial solar and lunar eclipses, and they look surprisingly similar. In person, the experience is somewhat different, because one happens during the day, and the other at night, but it’s not that much unlike the … Continue reading

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Comprehensive Bordeaux Tasting: 1989/1990

Every year, in preparation for their annual Bordeaux auction, Hart Davis Hart hosts a comprehensive Bordeaux tasting that offers an opportunity to taste two different vintages of nearly all the first and second growth Bordeaux, side by side. This year’s vintages were particularly … Continue reading

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Oriole With Our Wine Group

We saved the best for last! After several days packed with wine events, great dinners, museums and sightseeing, we had our farewell dinner at Oriole. And what a dinner it was! Chef Noah Sandoval and Pastry Chef Genie Kwon knocked it … Continue reading

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War Paint at the Goodman Theatre

Last night Dani and I saw War Paint at the Goodman Theatre. It’s an excellent show starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole about the rivalry between Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden. It opened in Chicago a couple of months ago, … Continue reading

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Summer Champagne Crush

This trip to Chicago was organized around two events, the first of which was the Hart David Hart Annual Summer Champagne Tasting. It was held at The Ivy, a popular wedding venue in River North. I guess the original intent was … Continue reading

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Delicious Disney at Golden Oak

For the first time in a long time we attended a Disney dining event, and it far surpassed our expectations. Usually these events tend to be rather corporate, and it’s been a long time since we felt like they were worth … Continue reading

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Another Kabooki Sushi Stunner

“I can’t believe we’re in Orlando.” That’s what Ron, Bev, Linda and I kept repeating throughout the ten-course omakase prepared last night by Chef Henry Moso. Yelp informed me it was my 30th visit. Out of perhaps 200 courses spread over … Continue reading

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Burgs at Berns

Thanks to Ron for setting up a nice weekend including dinner at Berns and lunch at Restaurant BT. Ron worked with sommelier Brad Dixon to come up with some great wines at great prices. They were mostly selected from vintages … Continue reading

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Riedel Stemware Seminar

A few years ago Linda and I attended a Riedel stemware seminar while on a Celebrity cruise. The premise of the seminar was that different shaped glasses make wines taste different. We went in very skeptical but came out completely believers. … Continue reading

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Chicago Museums

We picked the right weekends to visit Chicago. The weather was perfect. We originally scheduled this trip for our Next season tickets. The Alps-themed meal turned out to be lackluster, but we had a lot of fun anyway. We visited … Continue reading

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New York Dining

We’ve had a fabulous long weekend in New York, and although the purpose of the trip was to see the new musical, Waitress, we also had a chance to visit some favorite restaurants, and try a few new ones. Here’s … Continue reading

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Waitress

This anniversary trip to New York City features a lot of fine dining, but it started because of Waitress, a new musical based on the movie, and with a score by Sara Bareilles. Dani asked for tickets for Christmas, and … Continue reading

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Chicago, New Orleans, Orlando – Linda’s Road Trip Blog

I flew up to Chicago on Friday to spend some time with Steve and Dani. The weather is very strange this time of year – we had lunch outside yesterday and it went from very sunny to threatening to rain … Continue reading

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Alinea – a Return Visit

Alinea is widely regarded as the top restaurant in the United States, but when we visited five years ago we weren’t impressed. The service seemed stiff, and there were too many directions involved in how to eat each course. But it … Continue reading

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