Northbound

Looking out over postindustrial Baltimore from the window of the Northeast Regional. The Amtrak route does little to flatter this struggling Mid-Atlantic metropole. Throw in a spotty coat of dirty snow and a dash of muted January sunlight and you'd swear you're watching b-roll footage from The Wire.

Taking advantage of my now completely empty schedule to celebrate 35 trips around the sun in Midtown Manhattan. It's not New Delhi, but it will do in a pinch. Allie caught the Empire Service down from Syracuse for the rendezvous, and we'll spend three nights at the Shoreham Hotel on West 55th.  Holding cheap tickets for Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic tomorrow. Literally in the back row of the theater. Beyond that, I imagine we'll bounce around on foot seeing what's open and available in Midtown amidst the omicron spike.

Grateful for a soft landing in VA this week. Fortunate to have supportive friends and family to cushion the blow. Still nursing a bit of whiplash from last week's upended travel plans, but I'm hopeful circumstances will stabilize with time. The edibles I purchased in DC appear to be helping.