High Iron and Rollin' Thunder

I am in Heathrow Airport in the London England having just returned from two weeks in Russia. MR and I flew to Japan, changed planes and flew to Seoul, Korea. We landed late at night and took the bus to the hotel. We had a package waiting for us and it was from Fred from the OWS. After touring we went to dinner with him locally. Great time. Next day, on to Vladivostok, Russia. Spent the night in the hotel, toured the city and caught the train to Moscow with a side trip to Mongolia. The suite was smallish, but comfortable. We spent 11 nights in that room, slowly working our way across Siberia, with stops in Kbarhovsk, Ulan Ude, Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, Novosibersk, Ekaterinburg, Kazan and finally Moscow.

There were some great surprises such as concerts, a BBQ on Lake Baikal, free time in Novosibersk, Red Square and the changing of the guard at the WW@ memorial in Moscow. There were also some stupid visits to churches and on the last day, a freeking convent. Go figure.

We met some great people on the trip and hope to see some of them again. All-in-all it was really a mind-blowing experience. Now, on to NY

YD

Busy weekend. We did a boiler wash on 3751. Interesting to take out the washout plugs, and hose out the boiler. Busy week ahead. I am all packed for Russia. The dogs go in today and we are leaving on Tuesday, May 13. The house sitter is ok so here we go.

YD

Sunday was a busy one as I got to Fullerton station at 10 am and went home from Redondo Jct. at 11 pm. We sold a lot of stuff at the station and were going to leave at 6 pm. Traffic held us up until a little after 8 pm. When we left we really rolled, getting downtown in 30 minutes. It took about an hour to switch us in the compound and another hour to shut down the engine. I got a ride to Fulllerton and MR picked me up. I was beat.

Monday was Cinco de Mayo at the Ritz. Nice time.

On Tuesday I got the call from the GJA about the Measure M Citizen's Oversite Committee that I applied for . I had an interview on Wednesday, May 7. It went well. (I think??)

Getting close to the trip to Russia

YD

A lot going on these days. MR is getting everything straightened out for the Russia trip. I have been working a lot on 3751, doing my best to stay out of the way when not needed. Each day there is a great learing experience. We fired her up on Thursday the 30th and got her ready for the May move to 8th street yard on May 1 That fell through and we shut her down for the night. We were on the site at 5:30 on May 2 and got her hot for the trip to Fullerton. This was great and we made the run in fine shape, really working her hard.

We have a plumbing leak and that sucks as we are going to have to get it fixed just before we leave
rats!'
YD