"Chemical Change" - February 26, 2021

[RDaleHall]

On shore - had a thought where this was going from the start and enjoyed it. Fun puzzle. Time for a Metropolitan Krankshaft.

[HeadinHome]

yup - got it. Missed some things the first time thru, then went looking for the missing things and there they were. Duh.

Sticking with coffee... lotsa work to do before i sleep. But I can sit with my toes in the sand while I do it.

[jrdad]

Ashore. Very clever.

[Beth Tyrpin]

🏝

[stmv]

Got a late start, but now safely on shore.

For me this was not quite as easy as the preceding ones this month.

[BarbaraK]

Got a late start, but now safely on shore.

For me this was not quite as easy as the preceding ones this month.

I think that's the idea - getting gradually harder each week.

[otlaolap]

On shore. These puzzles lately have become a simple chore, lacking challenge or interest or elegance (albeit well crafted). So the job is done for this week. I long for the days in which I could count on a nice trip at sea, lolling on a gently rocking luxury liner, with a passtime at hand to keep me occupied while I awaited dinner an the opening of the bar. Perhaps I would fail in my endeavor (I was roughly 50-50) but the trip was fun. Let us hope that the Gods of the Journal see fit to restore this opportunity soon.

[b4alltime]

On shore in good time.
Jim

[Abide]

Just ordered a carton of cold zins for the beach crowd.

[Seadub]

On shore. Another quick swim. Looking forward to tomorrow's MGWCC week 4.

[Eric Porter]

Ashore--Ready for some more challenging ones in March!

Me too. None of the puzzles this month were much of a challenge. I'm sure in March we'll break the 2-star difficulty barrier.

[whimsy]

ASHORE --
-- on the beach for the big free and easy February finale.
Libations are flowing, music is playing, and delicious aromas are wafting from the food trucks --
Oh, look! There's one with no waiting line....

[Tom Shea]

Note to Bob:

First, thanks again for putting up with all of us knuckleheads. (Huckleberries for Phil Rizzuto fans).

I'm thinking this last set of puzzles should be in the *asterisk column for # of beachgoers. Also wondering if they're going to slowly ramp up the difficulty, which would make my last statement moot.

Then again, I hope I didn't jinx us all with a double pageant next week.

[gdshort]

As a physical chemist, it did not take long to reach the beach!

[Bob Kerfuffle]

Ashore. This week I'll have a pitcher or two of Sangria. I'll need all the nutrition in that fruit if things get back to normal next week.

[Tina]

On shore.

[Jeremy Smith]

Done and done.

[hunkra]

Ashore and solved before fully laying out all the pieces. Whew! Had a brain-challenging day, so glad this wasn't so difficult. Learned a new phrase in 52 Across - guess I should play more poker!

[Bird Lives]

Very nice. Tougher grid than meta for me!

This week's racoons look like a whole new bunch. What happened to the ones in the picture you posted before?

[Tom Shea]

Ashore from my dives on a lovely calm day in the gulf, and now ashore from my brief meta swim.

I thought I'd try to find a drink named after a chemical compound. Failed. I did find something called the "Periodic Table of Cocktails," but I would blush to say the risqué names of most of those drinks out loud. Never mind.

I'll stick with a nice safe single malt neat. When my youngest son was in the Navy, he was allowed to bring back one bottle of spirits after a port call in Scotland. He gave me his only authorized bottle, a cask strength Auchentoshan. I have just enough left to nurse until sunset.

Sea Tiger, Honolulu Harbor yesterday.
That's a frogfish in the center of the picture that I took from WAY too far away.