field trip: Edmonds, Washington

The weekend before school started I boarded a Bolt Bus for Seattle and the surrounding suburbs, my main goal to meet Ethan and Kaylee's son, Anker. The deal was sweetened by John being in town for a film premier, and Nicole making the drive down from Bellingham like it wasn't no thang.

It was wonderful to do very little of anything besides eat, stroll the streets of sleepy Edmonds, ride bikes with Addy, and pass tiny Anker between us. It's rare these days to get this many of our friends in the same town, what with everyone being strung to the far corners of the earth, so I relished every minute we were able to spend together. Seeing Kaylee and Ethan in their roles as Parents 2.0 was an added bonus.

Hey guys, when are we gonna do it again? i miss you already.

field trip: the oregon coast

Last week Adam and I seized a mild Portland afternoon and drove out to the coast with a bottle of wine and a picnic. Adam steered us to Sunset Beach, just north of Seaside, where the draw is that you can drive your car right out on to the sand. Naturally, said sand was only fun to drive on until we got stuck and had to be pulled out by a kind stranger and his four-wheel drive. The weather on the coast was much more blustery and fall-like than in town, but the afternoon was the perfect symbolic end to the summer. Hello, fall, I've missed you!