Vacationing

Tim and Stephanie visited this past week - so I took a few days off to tour guide/travel around the region some more. And get them addicted to Piroshki Piroshki.

Notes:

Hurricane Ridge - been there 3 times, it's been an entirely different place all 3 times. First time in April there was near 10 ft. of snow on the ground. Second time over the 4th of July there was moderate snow cover though patches of dry ground with small flowers. Latest time at the end of July there was grass and normal trail hiking and tons and tons of traffic.

The Hoh Rainforest - great place for an overnight camping trip - bit far for a day trip. Seems it would be better in winter/early spring as it would be greener - lots of the mosses were dormant presently. The Hoh river looked great at this time of year though - very light blue due to glacial meltwater.

Portland - still weird. The Japanese gardens were greener than earlier in the year - very tranquil place. Found a locally produced Absinthe - for better and for worse you can sample it along side a traditional French absinthe - it's perhaps smoother but more candy-tasting - less floral. And the necessary maple bacon donut. Since the original sampling I'm not ashamed to bring home-cooked bacon to our local donut shop and just buy a maple bar. It's that good of a combination.

Vancouver BC - still cloudy/rainy even in August - oh well, even more excuse to visit the art museum. Interesting exhibit on comics/manga/animation - not a culture I'm that familiar with outside of Pixar/Family Guy, but it explained some of the history behind the different media. At least it cleared up for the final day and a half - being able to walk around Stanley park on a clear day is worth the trip on its own.

A border crossing between WA and BC... what's the point? The roads change to km, but that's about it. Just holds up traffic... for an HOUR AND A HALF... state DMV offices are better run than this. really.

Back to the Tues-Sat work rotation. It's not bad - the Saturday calls reminded me of my previous job - rather ragged people having to implement changes on the weekend after working all week. Even if they're getting paid overtime it's not worth it. I'm really glad now to have two defined days off where I don't have to think about work at all. Even if it's Sunday/Monday - one day for errands, the other for relaxing... works out really well.

Headed into a quiet week and a half around the city before the parents fly out for a long weekend and a Prairie Home Companion show.