Chicago - Sarnia

18 June – 23 June

Saturday:

We’re starting the last leg of our trip today with a short flight to Chicago.  We’re flying at 2.40pm and spend the morning trying desperately to get everything into our suitcases.   We’ve been consistently dumping off stuff as we go and we’ve not bought much since our last flight, but still our stuff seems to have about doubled.  Once we’ve got it all squished in we head straight to the airport to drop off our beloved Dodge Charger and wait for our flight.

Flying time is about 4 hours but we lose 2 hours in the process, so it’s close on 9pm when we pick up our bags and hop a train into town.  The first thing we notice about Chicago is that most people on the train are wearing shorts or dresses.  This is a most promising sign.   When we finally emerge from the station into downtown it’s near 10pm, but it’s a wonderful, balmy evening. 

It’s clear from the start the Chicago is a ‘proper’ city and I can’t wait to explore, but for now we need to find our hotel.  It’s nicer than we expected (how often does that happen?) and in a good location.  We dump off our bags and head straight out to try to find some food before everything shuts.  The hotel recommends a nearby pub/restaurant, which does the trick.

Sunday:

I’m not sure whether to blame the 2-hour time difference or to admit that we’re just plain lazy, but we’re late getting up and even later getting going.  Out on the street we find a café to get some late breakfast/early lunch (but certainly not brunch).

We’ve bought tickets to see the Cubs take on the Yankees at Wrigley Field tonight.  The game is not until 7pm, but we figure we may as well start heading in that direction on foot and see what we see along the way.  Our walk takes us across the river and along the Magnificent Mile.  You don’t think of Chicago as being a beach town, but there’s a beach pretty much in the city centre.  We go to take a look and find this:

It’s perfect: complete with soft sand and lapping waves.  The only thing missing is the salt.  This is of course Lake Michigan, but it’s so vast that it could be the sea.  We walk up past some more beaches and then cut into Lincoln Park.  There’s a soccer game going on, but I have to steer Nick away as he’s starting to want to shout at the players (and the ref).  There’s a zoo here too.  It’s free, so we take a quick look in.

After another couple of miles walking through pleasant suburban streets we find ourselves at Wrigley Field. 

We’re a bit early, so we find a spot for a couple of beers before heading into the game. We’re amused to find that all the buildings surrounding the stadium have built mini-grandstands on their roofs to accommodate more fans. 

The Cubs lose (this is to be expected, I believe), but the atmosphere is fantastic.  Every couple of minutes someone is walking the aisles with a tray of beer, hotdogs, peanuts…  We partake of more junk food than should be legal. 

When the game is over (we’ve worked out that games in pretty much all American sports take at least 3 hours to play out, regardless of actual playing time) we catch the ‘L’ back to our hotel.

Monday:

It’s another late start today, but Nick has done some homework and found us a good diner to get a late breakfast. It’s a twenty-minute walk away through the skyscrapers of downtown.  Despite its impressive skyline Chicago is somehow never claustrophobic: the streets are broad, clean and not too crowded.  We walk past the Willis Tower (previously known as the Sears Tower) – at a quarter mile high it’s the tallest building in Chicago.  It’s so tall the top of it is disappearing into the clouds. 

The diner is an excellent spot and we find out that it also marks the start of the legendary Route 66.  This place is steeped in tradition and one of them continues today: on arrival we’re offered milk duds (a kind of chocolate) and doughnut holes (er, the dough that is cut out of the doughnut to make the hole).

Once we’ve stuffed our faces we walk to the Architecture Foundation Store to book a river cruise for this afternoon.  We’ve got a couple of hours to kill, so we take a walk through Millennium Park, the highlight of which is the bean (officially known as Cloud Gate), which offers up crystal clear but at the same time wonderfully bent reflections of the skyline.

It’s time for our boat tour.  It takes us up all three branches of the Chicago River while our tour guide explains the history and architecture of the buildings we’re passing.  It’s a beautiful summer afternoon to be out on the water and it’s a great way to see the city. 

Back on dry land we spend a bit of time checking out the shops on the Magnificent Mile.  It seems a shame to look at all these skyscrapers without going into one, so we take the lift up to the 96^th floor (eek!) of the John Hancock Centre.  You can pay to go to the 94^th floor observatory, or you can go to the bar on the 96^th floor for free.  You can guess which one we picked.  The views are of course stupendous.  The best ones, strangely enough, are from the women’s restrooms.

After a couple of beers we come down to ground level and find a great little Mexican place for some food before tackling the walk back to our hotel.

Janet adds:  I’m not looking forward to my waistline finding out what I’ve been up to in Chicago…

Tuesday:

The Architecture Foundation talked us into another tour, so there’s no long lie-in for us this morning.  The elevated railway (known as the ‘L’), which loops through downtown, is Chicago’s signature.  The tour today is a guided ride/walk around this loop.  We learn the history of the railway and get some more insight into the city. 

It’s blazing hot and humid and after the 2-hour tour we’re about ready for a sit-down and some lunch.  We’re tackling the Art Institute of Chicago this afternoon.  It’s vast and somewhat disjointed.  Rooms keep appearing out of nowhere and we move from Impressionism to furniture to armor and then on to modern American paintings.  It is a good collection and there are some classics here. 

Our legs are taking a bit of strain and we probably don’t quite do it justice, but we do pass a couple of hours here.  Once we’re done we catch a train to Wicker Park.  I’ve heard that this is the ‘cool’ neighbourhood – supposedly full of boutique shops and interesting restaurants.  It’s more like a smaller, rundown Camden so we don’t linger long.  It’s been a long day so we pause at the hotel for a wee rest before heading back out again.

We walk for miles in search of a decent bar but in the end all we can come up with is a dodgy pub.  Unwilling to risk our stomachs on another beer and too tired to face the walk we catch a train back and get some food near the hotel.  As we’re coming out of the restaurant we notice that it’s been raining a bit, but think nothing of it.  Back in our room we see on the news that Chicago has apparently been lashed with violent storms this evening, shutting the airport and knocking out the power to many houses.  Somehow we managed to miss all that…

Janet adds:  This is the historic moment that Nick discovered ribs better than those from Café Sol in Greenwich.

Wednesday:

We’re leaving Chicago today, which means hauling our suitcases over to the car hire place to pick up our wheels.  We get a perfectly adequate Honda, but I can tell by his face that Nick is mourning the Dodge.  

We clear the city driving south and pass briefly into Indiana.  At the supermarket where we stop to pick up some groceries Nick’s driver’s license causes a bit of a stir: ‘well, will you look at that?  I’ve never seen anything like it.’  Slightly worrying, but nevermind.  We’re already leaving Indiana and entering Michigan.

We’re curious to see more lake beaches so we head up the east coast of Lake Michigan a way.  This coast is peppered with quaint beach towns and we stop at South Haven.  Again we’re surprised by how much of a proper beach it is, complete with a pier, lighthouse and kite-surfers. 

I keep licking my lips to taste the salt that isn’t there.   It isn’t cold today, but it’s’ windy enough to keep us out of the water so we settle for a walk along the beach and through the town instead. 

We get back onto the interstate to find somewhere to sleep for the night and find a motel in Paw Paw (good name for a town, but here are no paw paws in sight).

Thursday:

Today we’re cutting across Michigan towards Detroit.  We’ve come for one reason and one reason only: Motown – Hitsville USA.  It’s still in the original clapboard house where Berry Gordy founded Motown in 1959.

We arrive just in time to join a tour of the museum and studio.  The tour is fantastic fun.  Our guide is full of stories and tidbits and keeps breaking into song with most of the group singing along.  We even get a demonstration of the echo chamber  - a key feature of that Motown sound.  

He talks/sings us through the exhibits and then leads us through Barry Gordy’s apartment (complete with original furniture).  We also get a tour of the office and the control room, where the floor is scuffed up from producers in platforms counting in the musicians.  Finally we’re lead into the studio, which is in the original garage of the house.  This has also been preserved as it was, complete with the Steinway which featured on many Motown hits.  

Of course, the tour wouldn’t be complete without getting to give it a go.  Us ladies put our hands on our hips and bumble our way through ‘Stop, in the name of love’ while the men tackle ‘My Girl’, complete with the Temptations walk.  Nick manages to keep the rhythm for a while but then (like all white people) loses it.

It’s been fabulous.  There’s nothing else we want to see in the city, so we don’t venture any further into Detroit.  We head instead for the US/ Canada border at Port Huron/Sarnia.  We’re expecting this to take a while and we’ve booked a motel in Sarnia to be on the safe side.  

To our surprise we’re through in about 5 minutes and get checked in early.  It’s not a bad thing – we’re out of clean pants so we use the time at the Laundromat.  I take advantage of the quiet street to go for a run – got to justify hauling the trainers around with us.

Janet adds: Motown was the best tour ever.  I now believe that ALL black people can sing.  Does this make me racist?

Port Angeles – Seattle

11 June – 17 June

Saturday:

We hadn’t really planned on exploring the Olympic peninsula, but as we’re here it’d seem rude not to.  The skies are heavy and overcast today so there doesn’t seem much point in heading up the much-lauded Hurricane Ridge. I don’t think we’d get to see any more than the inside of a cloud.  Instead we set out to follow the west coast.  The road takes us through thick forest on the banks of Lake Crescent, with deer grazing on the roadside.

We turn down towards the coast.  We’re in Twilight country now and there’s no way we could forget it – we can even buy Jacob Java if we wanted too. 

Neither of us are Twilight fans, but the scenery is beautiful.  We stop off at La Push to check out the third beach.  It’s all in shades of grey, with massive piles of driftwood.  I say driftwood; these are actually whole massive trees that have been washed up.  Weird pillars of rock stand out at sea.

A short walk through the forest takes us to second beach, which is very similar to the third beach if not even more beautiful.  Back in the car we drive through Forks (the setting for the Twilight series), meeting up with the coast again in the Kalaloch region where we stop to admire Ruby beach.  The sun has come out for a bit but we’re still not going anywhere near the water.  It’s chilly.

Our next detour takes us into the rainforest on the shoreline of Quinault Lake.  A nature trail takes us through towering trees dripping with moss.  Everything is in shades of green. 

Another short walk takes us to a giant cedar.  The tree is dead, but still impressive.  It’s hollow inside too, so we get to walk inside and check out the view from inside a tree.

We’ve got to get moving: it’s after 5 and we need to find somewhere to stay tonight.  A bit down the road a desperate looking motorist flags us down.  He says he’s feeling unwell and would like us to call him an ambulance, so Nick gets to dial 911.  We wait with him for a while, but his neighbour happens past and tells us he’ll wait until the ambulance arrives.  We pass the ambulances a few minutes down the road.  Hopefully he’ll be all right. 

It’s after 7 by the time we eventually pull into a motel.  Worn out we head to Denny’s for some quick food.

Janet adds: our dirty little secret – we’re both starting to like Denny’s.

Sunday:

A quick blast down the interstate gets us to the turn off for Mt St Helens.  From miles away this volcano dominates the horizon.  It’s a mountain that has quite literally blown it’s top.

On 18 May 1980 an earthquake caused the whole side of the mountain to come crashing down in a massive landslide.  This in turn triggered an eruption in the active volcano.  57 people were killed and the mountain itself lost 400 meters off the top to be left instead with a mile wide crater.  The scars on the landscape are still clearly visible.

Our drive takes us to within 5 miles of the crater.  It’s beautiful and quite humbling.  The nearby visitor’s centre has various displays and survivor stories.  Once we’re done we travel a bit down the valley to walk through the hummocks.  These cones of rock and earth are the remains of the top of the mountain, deposited here in the eruption.  It’s quite a neat, serene landscape. 

It’s time to get back on the interstate and continue down to Portland.  We’re staying in a motel on the outskirts of town and from here it looks very industrial and not very promising.  By the time we get checked in we’re too tired to go out exploring.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.  It has nothing to do with the fact that the NBA playoffs are on the telly.  Our adopted team the Dallas Mavericks win the playoffs for the first time.

Monday:

We’ve come here to check out the nearby Mt Hood, so we head off in that direction.  As we get near it is clear that we’re not going to get even a glimpse of the mountain: the clouds are low and heavy.  Still, a trip to the ranger station gives us a few options of things to do.  We decide on a 7-mile round trip walk that winds through gloomy but pretty forest.  The walk takes us past a beautiful tall waterfall swollen with spring melts. 

The way back is through an area where the pixies and elves live (or so the ranger told me).  It certainly looks the part - with moss covered ground and babbling streams, but the pixies and elves are hiding today.

Back at the car it seems that the day has disappeared on us and it’s time to get back to our motel.  We’re still tired, so we don’t go out exploring tonight either.  This gives us the chance to watch game 6 of the Stanley Cup – it ends up 3 games apiece, so game 7 will be the decider.

Janet adds: when and how did we become American sports fanatics?

Tuesday:

We’ve spent 2 nights in Portland and haven’t seen anything of the city yet, so we set out to rectify that this morning.  Once you get past the surrounding industry, the city’s green, leafy streets lined with old brick buildings are quite charming.   The Pioneer Courthouse Square has a colourful exhibition on at the moment: a map of the world made out of flowers and plants.

We make our way over to Powell’s City of Books – arguably Portland’s most impressive landmark.  According to their website it’s the largest used and new bookshop in the world. It fills two buildings and there are colour-coded maps at the entrance so you don’t get last.  I start browsing the fiction section and don’t even get halfway through the alphabet before it’s time to leave.  I’ve also accumulated an enormous stack of books I can’t possibly take with me.  I pick one out to keep but the rest have to go back.

The sun has decided to show its face, so we decide it’s worth giving Mt Hood another try.  There’s a scenic drive that will take us all the way round it.  At first it stays shrouded in cloud, but finally we round a corner and there it is.  It’s a very impressive mountain, dominating the horizon. 

We drive up to Timberline lodge on the lower slopes.  This was used for the external shots in the film The Shining.  We’d heard that Mt Hood was a year round skiing destination, but it’s still a bit of a shock to see people skiing in mid-June. 

Dropping back down the mountain we drive through the valley until our road joins the broad, mighty Columbia River.

There are plenty of places to stop and take in the view, but we limit ourselves to just a couple, one being the beautiful Multnomah Falls.

We’ve run out of day and so we stay once again on the outskirts of Portland.

Wednesday:

It’s time to start heading north again.  We’re headed for Seattle, but on the way we detour into Mt Rainier National Park.  It is once again overcast and rainy, so we’ve got no chance of seeing the mountain.  Still, there are plenty of other things to see.  First stop is Nerada Falls, where a 5-minute slide down the icy banks takes us to a good viewing point. 

Next up we drive to Paradise.  I couldn’t tell you if it is aptly named or not because it’s covered by a lot of snow.  And when I say ‘a lot’, I mean about 20 feet or so. 

There is a car flipped over in the road nearby.  It doesn’t seem like anyone is hurt, but it’s a strong reminder to take things slow.

We drop down out of the snow again and the road takes us through tunnels and past dropping waterfalls. 

Our final stop is to walk through the Grove of Patriarchs: a stand of 1000-year old trees on an island in the middle of the Ohanapecosh River.  A bouncy suspension bridge takes us across to stand in awe at the feet of these giants.

Another couple of hours up the road and we’re on the outskirts of Seattle where we decide to stop for the night.  It’s the final game of the Stanley Cup and we watch Vancouver lose horribly

Thursday:

Before we go into Seattle we’ve got one more detour to make: Snoqualmie.  Or, as some of you may remember it, Twin Peaks.  It’s a geeky thrill to stand in front of the falls looking up at the Great Northern Hotel (really the Salish Lodge). 

It’s an even geekier thrill to stop by the RR diner for some cherry pie and a ‘damn fine cup of coffee’.  (Actually Nick had a burger and coke and I had tea with my cherry pie, but hey).

It’s early afternoon as we drive into Fremont in northern Seattle.  We’ve decided to have a bit of a look around here before checking into our motel.  There are some lovely vintage shops to poke through and some rather interesting public art, including a statue of Lenin rescued from Slovakia and a huge troll lurking under a bridge. 

Our motel is a short drive away in central Seattle and once we’re checked in we take a walk into town.  The city is starting to light up against the darkening sky.  

We’re not doing any sightseeing tonight but we do stop by the Pike Pub and Brewery for a microbrew before finding a good spot for dinner.

Janet adds: Couldn’t live around here.  The temperatures are set to crack the mid 60s today and everyone is really excited.  C’mon, it’s mid-June!

Friday:

I think we walk Seattle flat today.  We start off at the Seattle Centre, home of the iconic needle (which we don’t go up).  Then we wander along the waterfront.  The sun has come out today and Puget Sound is sparkling.  Our walk takes us to Pike Market, which is colourful and interesting but about as busy as Covent Garden a few days before Christmas.  

There are people queuing out the door to get into the first ever Starbucks.  We give it a skip and opt for some grilled cheese sandwiches, which we eat down on the grass. 

The rest of the afternoon is spent strolling the streets and looking round the shops.  There are some pretty cool buildings about, the most interesting of which is probably the library.  We go in to ride the neon escalators and get some great views of the city.  Our legs are wearing out so we go back to our motel for a rest.  In the evening we drive out to one of the suburbs to get some food and then set about the difficult task of trying to make all of our accumulated stuff fit in our suitcases.  The last leg of our trip starts tomorrow with a flight to Chicago.

Janet adds: Either it gets really cold in Seattle or they have really wimpy trees, but I noticed that many of them (the trees that is) were wearing jumpers…

Vancouver to Port Angeles

5 June – 10 June

Sunday:

As it’s another sunny morning and I already know my way round town, I start the day with a quick jog.  It’s been a while since the running shoes have been out of the suitcase…

It only takes us 2 hours or so to get into Vancouver this morning.  As it’s way too early to get checked in, we drive over to North and West Vancouver.  Despite getting a bit lost we find ourselves a section of seafront (not quite what I’d call a beach) to have our lunch.  It’s pleasantly warm, but certainly not hot enough for swimming.

After lunch we find our way to Lighthouse park where a short stroll through towering trees takes us once again to the seafront, this time with some stunning views across to downtown Vancouver with snowy mountains as a backdrop.

The traffic is quite horrendous, but we do eventually make our way onto the peninsula that is downtown.  We’ve booked a last minute room and are thrilled when we arrive to find we have the penthouse suite with sea views.  Ok, so maybe the building only has 3 floors and it is pretty hard to find anywhere in downtown that doesn’t have some kind of sea view.   We’re also in the Lewisham of Vancouver, but still: we have a kitchen (a kitchen!) and a sofa. 

It’s out first anniversary today and we’d planned to go out for the evening, but having a kitchen and being able to cook is more of a treat than eating out these days.  We opt instead for a quiet, romantic night in watching Rambo: First Blood to see what we can recognise from yesterday.

Monday:

We’re still luxuriating in all our extra space this morning, so it’s a bit of a struggle to get ourselves out the door.  We do get out eventually though and find Vancouver instantly likeable and easy to explore.  The seawall path loops us round the outside of downtown allowing us to take in the sights of the city and the coast at the same time.  The sun is out again and Vancouverites are making the most of their impressive outdoor space. 

Another Stanley Cup game is on this evening and Vancouver has gone hockey mad.  We’re in the historic gastown and it’s a great atmosphere, so we pile into a bar to watch the game. 

I like ice hockey, but with the 60 minutes of actual playing time being stretched out over 3 hours it can become a bit of an endurance test.  With 20 minutes left to play Vancouver is 4 nil down and the atmosphere is souring somewhat.  We leave to tackle the long walk back to our hotel, enticed along by visions of our kitchen.

Tuesday:

It’s another slow morning, with the overcast skies doing nothing to help motivate us to get going.  Eventually the sun does come out and so do we.  We’re taking to the waterfront again, this time looping around the outside of the vast Stanley Park.  It’s low tide and we’re treated to some interesting wildlife, including this racoon out digging for shellfish. 

Low tide is not a good time to be a starfish.  The seagulls are having a right feast and it amuses me no end watching them trying to stuff whole starfishes down their beaks. 

Despite their shocking loss last night Canuck-fever is still running strong: even the statues have shirted up.

Back at our hotel I rest my feet for a while but it was such a nice loop I decide to go round it once more – this time in my running shoes. 

Janet adds: Didn’t realise it was just over 10km round when I decided to run it.  This is going to hurt tomorrow. 

Wednesday:

We say a fond farewell to Vancouver (and our kitchen) then head to the ferry terminal.  We’re crossing over to Vancouver Island.  The crossing takes a bit over an hour and a half.  The water is calm as a pond and we cruise past the beautiful Southern Gulf Islands.

This is prime whale-watching territory and we’re glued to the deck, hoping for a chance sighting.  Although it’s another sunny day once we get out over the water the wind picks up to gale force and it’s freezing.  Our efforts are in vain and we don’t spot any whales. 

Off the ferry we find a bench in the sun along the seafront and sit down to warm our bones and eat our lunch.  From here it’s a half hour drive into Victoria.  We manage to get checked in early and put some laundry on: we’re in urgent need of clean knickers. 

Once we’re settled we decide to walk into town.  It’s about a 25-minute walk but Vancouver Island is well equipped with cycle/walk/jogging trails.  We pick up the galloping goose trail across from our motel, which winds us along the Gorge Waterway into town.   

Game 4 of the Stanley Cup is on today and we’re hooked.  The Canoe Brewpub seems a suitable venue to catch the game: high, wood-beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls and excellent microbrews. 

We manage to stick out the whole game (maybe because we have seats this time), but it’s no good: the Canucks lose 4 nil again.  We drown our disappointment in curry and then walk back to our hotel admiring the sunset.

Thursday:

After our failed amateur attempts at whale watching from the ferry we’ve decided to do things properly and call in the professionals.  We get picked up just after 9 and driven down to the wharf where we get our first glimpse of the little beast that will be taking us out.

We’re 11 passengers and 1 crew.  Step one is to get us suited up: waterproof trousers, huge coats, hats and gloves.  It’s seems a bit over the top, but as the water temperature here hovers at about 8C it’s always going to be cold out on the water. 

We’re loaded into the boat and putter out of the harbour.  Then the skipper opens her up: boy can she go.  With speeds of around 50mph we’re soon flying along.  Word has come in over the radio of a possible whale sighting so we shoot over there.  For all its speed the boat has remarkably quiet engines and is actually pretty non-intrusive.  Then we see it: a humpback whale.  We stay with it for a while, watching it come up and then dive back down. 

We let the whale slip away and fly across the waves to Oak Bay.  We’re here to take in some of the other marine life and a slow putter through takes us past sea bird sanctuaries and some pregnant harbour seals.

Some transient orcas have been spotted not to far away so we make our way over.  This is what we’ve come here hoping to see.  And there they are: a mother and her (much larger than her!) son.  They glide through the water, cutting its surface with their dorsal fins.  To give you some sense of scale the male’s fin stands 6ft tall. 

They’re beautiful and we watch them for as long as we can.  All too soon our time is up and we’re shooting back to the harbour.  Cold but exhilarated we’re delivered back to the dock.  We take the chance to warm up with some chilli from one of the food stalls and then, because we’re not quite stuffed enough, top it off with an ice cream.  Ahh. 

We spend the next couple of hours wandering around Victoria.  It’s a great little city with historic buildings, plenty of water frontage, a compact and walkable centre plus all the bars, restaurants and shops you could possibly want. 

We’ve tired ourselves out so head back to the hotel to put our feet up for a couple of hours.  In the evening we walk back in for some delicious Mexican food.

Janet adds: love, love, love Victoria

Friday:

We’re catching the ferry back to the US today, but don’t need to check in till 1.30 so we have the morning to explore a bit more.  We drive out to Goldstream Provincial Park where a short stroll takes us to Niagara Falls (not the Niagara Falls). 

We’d been told that we could loop up onto an old railway line from here, but the only path we can find is a rather rough scramble up the steep and tangled bank.  Along the way we spot a tiny hummingbird, but he’s much to quick for my camera.  We do finally find the railway line just in time for it to take us over a high bridge. 

Nick is hesitant: he keeps telling me that he’s seen Stand By Me.  The views along the bridge are spectacular, but the sheer drops between the wooden beams we’re walking along are enough to keep us from lingering.

Safely across the path becomes idyllic: fringed with wildflowers and curving through forest.  It’s quite hypnotic too and we completely miss the path we’re meant to cut back down on.  We manage to find our way anyhow and walk back through the moss-covered trees. 

Back at the car it’s time to head down to the ferry.  We’ve got to be there early for US immigrations.  Despite a bit of a wait the formalities are minimal and pretty painless.  We’re cruising across to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula.  

Again the trip is a little over an hour and a half, and again it’s cold and windy once we get going.  We’ve left the sun in Canada and it’s cool and overcast as we dock.  We’ve booked a motel in town so we pick up some groceries and get settled.

Janet adds: I accidentally fell in love with Canada and now the US feels all weird and wrong.  No doubt we’ll be back to normal soon.