Before mostly basketball and some baseball, a couple of news items of the day: Donald Trump will talk on the phone to Vladimir Putin tomorrow, and probably announce some sort of  cease fire regarding the Ukraine-Russia War .  Whatever eventually occurs, it will not be particularly favorable for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Donald Trump's popularity is below 50% , but  only 27% of voters have a positive view of the Democratic Part y. I unabashedly brag about how great Hawaii is.  Well, from station KHON,  Hawaii is the #10 least desirable state in the USA . Skyrocketing cost of living. Poor employment prospects. People here don't like outsiders.  Not only newcomers, but  visitors, too .  Those who work in the tourist industry appear to be nice, but are told to do so. West Virginia was the most undesirable, Mississippi second worst, then Louisiana and Alaska. NCAA basketball March Madness begins tomorrow, March 18, for men and 19 for women....

  Well, the good news is that we're back in Honolulu, and all is well.  Started off in New York City. Hotel said there was a set $70 cost of the taxi ride to JFK Airport.  Well, when you add the toll charges and tip, it was up to $90.  That in itself was okay.  So we checked in for our 1PM departure time, which was ticketed more than three months ago.  After we picked up our tickets, we went to the excellent Alaska Airline lounge and was beginning a leisurely breakfast when we found out that we needed to board the plane at 11:05, which was less than half an hour away.  We never got any notice for this change.  We came extra early to be safe, and it turned out that we only barely made this flight. Some photos. Bloody Mary and champagne in Alaska Air lounge. Here is about when we learned we had only a few minutes rather than a couple of hours in the lounge.  Our plane. Goodbye Manhattan from air. Then noticed the plane we were on was the  ...

Didn't do much yesterday, as it was threatening to rain all day.  As  I had two cans of Foster's beer, my big decision was whether to have a MacDonald's burger or Popeye's chicken, both establishments located across the street from the hotel.  Decided on MacDonald's for a quarter pounder with cheese and fries for $12.  Only a five-minute walk.  Began to rain as I arrived back at the Marriott Marquis. Have nice view of Times Square.  It's possible that this might well have been my most enjoyable lunch of this entire trip. As at 3PM this was to be my dinner tonight.  Added a Lay's potato chip bag with a second can. This is a very large can of beer at 25.4 ounces, or 750 ml.  A typical bottle of wine is the same size. Checked out of the Marriott Marquis and there is a $70 taxi price to JFK Airport. Some thoughts on our around the world adventure. Will take 53 days. Honolulu to Tokyo to Singapore to Munich to Copenhagen to Amsterdam by air. Three crui...