I'm bad at taking time off from work ... but when I do, I fall into a pattern I am REALLY looking forward to when I retire!

Anyway, maxed out my vacation accrual, so had to take some days. Washington State has fully re-opened now, and we planned to get away for a few days. I figured the weekends would be booked up, so I took Monday and Tuesday off, thinking it would be easier to find a place to stay.

Heh. Riiiiiiight.

After about 2 hours of intense Googling, phone calling, and calling in favors, I came with with exactly NOTHING available until late August.

But I also realized the Pacific Coast is about two hours away. So we had a lazy Monday morning, then packed the dog and some beach supplies in the car, and headed out in 80-degree weather for Ocean Shores, WA.

By the time we got to the beach, it was 60 degrees, overcast, and windy.... which is absolutely perfect for a Pacific Northwesterner like myself!! LOVED IT.

Moxie, our big baby Anatolian Shepherd/Husky had never seen the ocean before and was suitably cautious. She was appalled at how bad the water tasted, though! :-)

We wandered a long way down the beach, way far away from anyone else, and let her off leash to Be A Dog On A Beach, and she LOVED it. Watching the pure joy as she zoomed around in the shallow water and sand dunes was good for the heart and soul!

And that was the day after the Seattle Seawolves - the second-worst team in the Major League Rugby league - handed a stunning defeat to the NOLA Gold at home here at Starfire Stadium to a packed crowd.

I also killed a wasps nest this weekend, that stung my wife.

So all around, a lovely 4-day weekend!