Getting to know some more of the neighborhood...

We're back from a short but fabulous vacation to a few of the choicest spots in the beautiful Northwest. Oddly enough, we left Maya here in Seattle in the enthusiastic care of her Nanna and Poppy. So Sarah and I got to play like teenagers with a stolen credit card and wide-eyed grins for a handful of days. In that light, I'll offer a few recommendations.

We caught "Blades of Glory" in Vancouver on our first night. That might sound a bit cheesy, but it was perfectly timed. If you can do so, see this movie in a theatre packed with Canadian teenagers. The mere fact that even a Canadian toddler gets a bawdy Zamboni joke is reason enough. Hilarious cast, ridiculous production design, entirely enjoyable goofballin'. My rating - a solid B.

On the other end of the cultural scale, we checked out the impressive Museum of Anthropology on the University of British Columbia's campus. The "First Nations" of what is now British Columbia produced fascinating art. The MOA's in the midst of a major expansion, so a rating would be unfair at this time. But I do highly recommend it.

One restaurant worth mentioning is Le Hermitage on Robson Street - masterful French country cuisine accompanied by casually elegant service. Yada yada yada. But the real treat was seeing the couple that had walked in just prior to us get engaged at the end of their meal. On one knee, ring in a box, tearful acceptance - the whole romantic shebang. Neither Sarah nor I have seen such a moment for another couple before. And I don't expect to have the chance again. Yet that one vicariously thrilling moment will forever ink in this restaurant on our rock solid "oh yea, worth it" list.

After a few days in Vancouver, we headed south and caught a ferry out to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. It's just before the start of the high season, so the Island was largely devoid of too many people, um, like us. Which is nice. We went for morning runs, walked along the trails in both the "American" and "British" camps (from the infamous Pig War era of the 19th Century), and had some seriously disappointing overpriced meals at both the Friday Harbor House (our B&B/hotel) and McMillan's Dining Room in the Roche Harbor marina. Regardless, we'll be back, even if not to those particular restaurants. Riding the ferry through the San Juans in and of itself is reason enough to go.

And so with greater focus, we return to life here. Iraq's a quagmire with yet another summer right around the corner, Dubya's starting his 63rd Crawford ranch vacation putting the total number of days spent there comfortably over 400 during his trainwreck Presidency, the widely-beloved Milwaukee Brewers impressively took 2 of 3 from the Dodgers to open an entirely hopeful season, Maya's apparently found a new love in our absence (gardening), and the temp in Seattle's forecast to maybe hit 70 today. Take the incredibly bad with the hopeful goodness, I guess.

Hope your own Congressional testimony isn't fraught with legal jeopardy today. Rock on.