"I'm back," said Bilbo.

I don't actually recall if that's the last line of The Hobbit. But I am back, and have not sorted out my memories of the trip--Calgary, Edmonton, Drumheller (all in Alberta), and then a car trip out east, including the only single malt distillery in North America (or so they claim, and heck, who's checking?), Fundy National Park, Halifax--easily my favourite city to visit, a fistful of historical sites including Louisburg (-berg?) and assorted places of Acadian gayness (hey, the Acadians knew all about dykes, okay?), PEI (to revel in tourist tackiness in Cavendish), the Digby neck (and if you like lodges, the Brier lodge is great, and might even look good when it's not socked in by fog). The tidal bore in Truro was underwhelming, but maybe if the moon is full it's a little more impressive.

The people were almost uniformly pleasant and cheerful. The Glenbow Museum in Calgary deserves much more time than I had to devote to it (I didn't get past the warrior exhibit on the, what, third floor). Drumheller was good--that's a seriously good museum, even if you're travelling with children.

Books read on the trip include Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford, Counting Up, Counting Down by Harry Turtledove, the latter (Strathmeyer-slashed) version of the first Nancy Drew book (Secret of the Old Clock, I think), as well as others that don't come to mind immediately though I'll probably swear they were okay--I read no total duds, for example, or discarded them too quickly for them to make an impression.

I turned 44 (thanks) and discovered my first gray hair. (Okay, the first gray hair on my head; there were a couple in my moustache a few years ago but I shaved it off.)

Question that was never answered but made for interesting bar and restaurant conversation: Everybody has a body part they figure looks pretty good. In women, I usually hear this as, "I may not have great boobs, but I've got a good ass." (Nobody's complimenting themselves on their forearms yet.) But when I started asking around (because that's the kind of person I am), there was no agreement on what makes a great woman's ass, from a woman's standpoint. Anybody want to jump in and suggest what their ass needs (or has) in order to be a great ass?

I have not yet opened the bottle of Glen Breton--doing so on the trip seemed like an invitation to disaster, so I wrapped it carefully and hit it in the vehicle. Reports forthcoming when I do so.

I'm trying in odd moments to get through various Friends pages and backlogged comics and unopened mail, but it's nice to be back.