Planes, trains, automobiles, and boats (Sunday brunch: June 29, 2014)

Rounding Brant Point in Nantucket Harbor

Four trips, nine states, three hotels, and just about every mode of transportation short of a horse.  Business, family, and sports.  One drive that started before 6:00 am and another that ended after 4:00 am.  Can’t call it a vacation since I read only one book and I didn’t get to solve as many puzzles as I would have liked.  But I’m home and regular service resumes.

We have acrostics in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal this weekend.  As always, both Hex and Mike Shenk craft them well.  One of the hallmarks of a well-crafted acrostic is clues that hint at the quote or its source, and both constructors hit the mark.  

Cryptics?  The National Post (Hex: easy, comment and spoilers at Wordplay) and the Globe and Mail (Fraser Simpson: hard).  But the highlight of the weekend is the gigantic (25 x 25) puzzle LizR posted this week in honor of Matariki, the Maori new year.  Maybe I can convince Bangle to make another pavlova to celebrate.

Sure enough, Erica did blog the June Harper’s cryptic last weekend.  She’s trolling for comments so stop by and say congratulations to Sweet Vlad, who successfully defended his dissertation.