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I noticed BreezoMeter was listing "moderate air quality" for a bit yesterday morning so I geared up and made a run for the marina. It was nice to get out.

https://instagram.com/p/BnBzeWNAzVk

I got an email recently from Live in Everett asking what I thought about several ideas they had for me to write about, and ended up with a couple of assignments. One's food related, just have to make the trip out there to check the place out. I was completely prepared for the other, a series of pieces about places to walk and hike around Everett! I chose Japanese Gulch first, which should come as no surprise.

It was really quite easy to sit and write that piece the same day, since all I had to do was type out a lot of the things I think about when I'm there. The harder part was choosing which photos to share from my huge album.

I told them it's a lot easier for me to write stuff than it is to decide what to write about, so I'm glad to be tasked with a series that'll net me several pieces.

BONUS Saturdogs

Many thanks to:
Animals Being Dicks
Señor Gif
k00l 4 k@+z
Almost Famous Cats
Cats, Beavers & Ducks
Derpy Cats
FAT CATS
FUCKYEAHFELINES!
CHEEZburger
Every Day is Caturday
Cats and Dogs
And everyone else who happened to put a cat or dog where I ended up seeing it this week!

The air quality was only "moderate" according to the app yesterday, but I needed to get out, so I did a quick 4.3 miles at Edgewater. In addition to the normal stuff, I also got to see a pair of swimming corgis, and even met them when I went in the car to retrieve the time lapse camera and stretch.

The best part, though, was getting rained on a little bit. It hasn't rained nearly enough lately.

Plus later on, I noticed that the Japanese Gulch Group saw my post about the gulch and shared it on their Facebook and Twitter. That was cool.

https://instagram.com/p/BnKNXoIgdWs

I love a holiday weekend with just enough stuff to do.

We had plans for a party on Saturday and thankfully when my brother's daughter who came for a visit suggested getting together, the host said it was ok to invite them along. The party even happened to be about halfway between our respective homes! My pinwheels were a hit. I think everyone should make signs when they bring stuff for a potluck.

A rare photo of my brother and quick video of Teddy the dog from the party.

https://instagram.com/p/BnNBl85AMg4

Sunday morning was gorgeous out at Langus. Versions of some of these photos got a lot of attention on the cloud group I'm ad admin of.

https://instagram.com/p/BnOvG11APVD

Monday was a nice walk at Japanese Gulch. I didn't take a lot of photos but the time lapse with the view of the Boeing plant is pretty neat. I also started experimenting with overhead panoramas, which are extremely difficult.

https://instagram.com/p/BnRT2m3gW3U

It's sure hard to find a brunch on a Monday holiday. The only places to go are the ones that do breakfast food every day, and we didn't feel like any of those, so we settled on lunch at Scuttlebutt. Garrett had a craving for oyster crackers, so I took him on his first trip to a Cash & Carry, which if you aren't familiar, is a restaurant supply store. They're fun, but of course the quantities are large and you can't really buy most of the stuff unless you're obsessed with it or actually own a restaurant. We won't run out of oyster crackers for a while.

BONUS Saturdogs

Many thanks to:
Animals Being Dicks
Señor Gif
k00l 4 k@+z
Almost Famous Cats
Cats, Beavers & Ducks
Derpy Cats
FAT CATS
FUCKYEAHFELINES!
CHEEZburger
Every Day is Caturday
Cats and Dogs
And everyone else who happened to put a cat or dog where I ended up seeing it this week!

The first really dark walk at any destination each year is always weird. It happens every year, of course, but there's just no preparing for the sudden onset. Especially this year because as I pulled into the park on Sunday, a car was pulling out, and two more were parked between my parking spot and the place where the trail heading North splits from the main road. I still didn't run into anyone during the walk, but the entire time on the way heading out, I felt like I might.

I recently mentioned that the large loop trail around the area they've been digging out to be a salmon spawning habitat was getting smaller. The West side of the loop got a fence with a No Trespassing sign, and this trip out I was shocked to find the East end of the road is now gone. That's not an exaggeration at all. There were two backhoes on the road and they'd been recently used to dig out the road. I quit sharing the maps ages ago, but here's an easy way to show what's become of the large loop.

You used to be able to walk all the way up to the slough, plus explore all the land in the middle. I used to think I was going there too much, but now I'm glad I explored all of that while I could!

The good thing with this change is all the beautiful reflections on the new bodies of water.

And it remains the best spot for pictures of the sky.

https://instagram.com/p/Bngw3omARQK

We went to Harvey's for breakfast after and were delighted to find a new build-your-own bloody Mary bar! My favorite part was the hard boiled eggs in vinegar. I joked that one could easily skip ordering breakfast as there's plenty of food to put in your drinks.

New build-your-own bloody Mary bar at Harvey's

I did a lot last Friday that I haven't blogged about yet, because I wanted the Live in Everett blog post about it to come out first. If you know the way I write and you've been paying attention to actual events, you might spot immediately that the intro was edited quite heavily. I suppose that's always an issue when you're writing for another publication. Even though I've come to expect it since the latest editor took over, it's still a bit of a bummer, mainly because whenever anyone tells me they like what I write, they always say it's because of my simple style and personal stories. When my comic failures as a hiker get cut out and I sound better at it than I really am, it just feels like a little bit of that gets lost.

The bright side is that the next piece I need to write isn't one I connected with very much, but now I don't feel as obligated to try to start off with that, so that makes it a little easier to plan.

BONUS Saturdogs

Many thanks to:
Animals Being Dicks
Señor Gif
k00l 4 k@+z
Almost Famous Cats
Cats, Beavers & Ducks
Derpy Cats
FAT CATS
FUCKYEAHFELINES!
CHEEZburger
Every Day is Caturday
Cats and Dogs
And everyone else who happened to put a cat or dog where I ended up seeing it this week!

Tuesday was my last day at work for a week, and we left Wednesday for a couple of nights in Moclips. It's a perfect place to get away because there's really nothing there but a huge beach. On the road up above the beach, there's exactly one store.

The beach has a resort, where we stayed, and some houses. It's pretty great. I got a few time lapses, but the one from the first night was the coolest.

https://instagram.com/p/Bn7uTnLAPwi

The resort's in a neat spot where the beach ends at a river outlet, and has trails through the woods that lead to the river. It's really fun to explore that area on the way to the beach.

Here's a view of the resort from the beach. We had the top floor unit on the left, which has a wraparound deck. Very spacious, excellent views, really the only drawback is that you have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. If you're into digging for clams, this resort is ideal. You can tell when you're on the beach that you're surrounded by thousands of them just below the surface, and there's a whole clam shack set up for cleaning them. Not really our thing, but neat for those who want it.

The view from the corner of the condo.

We took the scenic, non-freeway route back so we could pop by the same casino I visited on my way back from Port Angeles that time I spent the night on the sailboat. Unfortunately, the restaurant and buffet were closed. I'd hoped for a fancy lunch there, but had to settle for something in the cafe. But! I played yet another version of my favorite Buffalo slot machine, and did great! I was down to about $18 from $60 put in, but right when Garrett found me, I got the coin combination that unlocks automatic free games, and those kept spawning more free ones. All told, it played through 55 free games on its own, and I climbed from $18 to over $126. I decided I'd play one more max bet spin ($6) and when that didn't win, I cashed out, doubling my original amount. That easily paid for lunch and our ferry crossing, where I took one of my new favorite photos.

We took a whole week off but don't have any plans for the rest of the days until I return to work Wednesday. This was a much-needed break. The vacation made me realize work's been really crazy since we got back from the last vacation, and it's been a long time since I had a hectic half year. Thankfully we're moving into a new phase on that project at work, and things should improve a lot. Maybe not right when I get back, but soon.

Here's what I was talking about when I said they dug the road out at Langus. The water's a little low in this photo, but when it comes up a bit, all the mud will be completely covered just beyond the heavy equipment.

Here's where there used to be a road that connected the West side of the former loop to the East, quite far South, though. It's now flooded so I'm not sure why they felt the need to start filling the road in.

It was foggy most of the walk, but I stopped for a photo as it started to clear. There are a few others at flickr.

BONUS Saturdogs

Many thanks to:
Animals Being Dicks
Señor Gif
k00l 4 k@+z
Almost Famous Cats
Cats, Beavers & Ducks
Derpy Cats
FAT CATS
FUCKYEAHFELINES!
CHEEZburger
Every Day is Caturday
Cats and Dogs
And everyone else who happened to put a cat or dog where I ended up seeing it this week!

Coming back to work on Wednesday after a week off, I was prepared to spend the whole day catching up, but managed to blaze through almost 200 emails in 67 minutes. Thankfully my boss needs to cover much of what I do if I'm not there so it can't really pile up. That allowed me to pop out to the marina for a walk. It was foggy there, which doesn't happen often. The fog comes from the valley West of downtown and can't usually make it up and over the hill downtown is on to flow into the Marina to the East. Glad there was a bright, full moon, otherwise there really wouldn't have been a reason to make a video.

https://instagram.com/p/BoMlHMugQAC

I've wanted to try Zab Thai for a while, but it's in the South end of town along with a lot of other places to try, so it kept getting put off. Lisa wanted to meet up for lunch Thursday and told me to choose the spot, and since she lives even further South, it was the perfect time to try it. Check out this gorgeous appetizer platter we shared.

We also each had a lunch special, so I was nice and full and burping tasty Thai spices all afternoon.

Yesterday was another tattoo session on my back. We added a lot of '80s decorative elements around the DeLorean and colored in the sun between the keytars. I'll get photos when the swelling goes down.

I noticed this morning that the tattoo comes quite close to the top of my butt crack. Made me laugh.

Forgot to put this in the last post. My beard was getting pretty big and I took off enough that I had to pop the guard off my clipper to empty it. One thing that's really great about the cordless, waterproof clipper I use is that instead of a different guard for each length, there's just one, and it mounts to a sliding clamp to adjust the length.

Of course, when you put it back on, it goes back down to the shortest setting, and you have to remember to dial it back up. I forgot, took it a huge chunk out of my mustache, and had to take the whole thing down to stubble.

I don't hate the way it looks, but it's definitely weird to see so much of my upper lip area. I feel like I should be smoking a cigar in gay porn.

This week! All walk, no talk.

Here are some photos of the results of the latest tattoo session. Sun colored in between the keytars, shapes added and colored in around the DeLorean.

That was on Friday.

My coworker Tammy invited me to SnoHomo Bingo Saturday night and even picked me up since I live on the way! The theme was pajamas because they were doing a pajama drive, which was quite successful with four huge barrels filled overflowing with them, plus lots of money raised. Pajamas is such a great theme because people can go as crazy with it as they like, or just wear some pajamas. I don't have a full set, so I did pajama pants, my astronaut cat shirt, my robe, and a sleep mask. I really wish I hadn't tossed my old, trashed duck slippers, it would have been great to wear them one last time.

https://instagram.com/p/BoVnr6Lg1MP

Those guys behind me got engaged! I normally hate public proposals, but somehow it feels different when you're in the middle of hundreds of people cheering and the couple is crying.

Bingo was fun except for the extra long break while the queens who hosted did a costume change. Thankfully someone took advantage of the option to sponsor a message to be read over the sound system to let them know they were doing a great job but needed to pick up the pace.

I think everyone was wiped out and grumpy anyway because they keep it pretty warm in the senior center where it was held, which was packed.

Sunday was a nice walk at Langus and my piece for Live in Everett about it came out this week.

https://instagram.com/p/BoW4PJKgIyd

Did some short walks in the dark Monday and yesterday down at Edgewater Beach, and between the two days, only took one photo Monday. I was going to set up a time lapse today, but the camera batteries were dead.

That worked out fine, because my ankle was feeling pretty pushed to the limit after so many walks with no swims thanks to the tattoo healing time.

My early call Tuesday is now even earlier! 6:30. I stayed in.

Yesterday was a clear day at the marina with some fog rolling in at the end.

I even had to stop the car on my street on the way home because the fog was so neat.

And last night I used our new Instant Pot for the first time to make a lovely batch of boeuf bourguignon, one of my favorite meals. The bread is sourdough English Muffins toasted, rubbed with raw garlic, and buttered.

I was out of tomato paste and rosemary, but it didn't seem to matter.

BONUS Saturdogs

Many thanks to:
Animals Being Dicks
Señor Gif
k00l 4 k@+z
Almost Famous Cats
Cats, Beavers & Ducks
Derpy Cats
FAT CATS
FUCKYEAHFELINES!
CHEEZburger
Every Day is Caturday
Cats and Dogs
And everyone else who happened to put a cat or dog where I ended up seeing it this week!

On a normal Sunday I might be heading toward the car at Langus right about now, but I've known for weeks I wouldn't be there today. Two years ago I arrived to find the place mobbed, and when I couldn't figure out later on the internet what the event was, I really wished I'd asked around before heading out. Last year I got there unaware that it was happening again, but encountered the crowd on the way back to the car, and had a hell of a time driving out with all the people wandering around in the road. There must have been a sign or something, but I can't remember exactly how I found out the name of the event. Glad I did, though, because that allowed me to put an annual item in the calendar a few weeks earlier to check for the exact date and then put another item on that day so I know not to go.

Most years, that'll probably be a good day to just go to Japanese Gulch or something, but today it was a god day to just stay in. On Friday, I decided to walk the entire marina so I could get a good map to use for a Live in Everett piece, and after those 7.3 miles, my ankle's a little sore. Great walk, though.

My father-in-law turns 75 this week, so the four of us went for lunch at the casino and lost some money on the slots. Actually I think he's the only one that won a little bit. My winning streak is over. Got a good shot of Bella before we headed out.

Most of the food we've had at that casino restaurant his been pretty average, but yesterday's meal was fantastic. They're doing an Oktoberfest special and I had a really wonderful schnitzel plate.

It's a big casino and a bit of a walk for Dennis, so we relaxed for a bit near the side exit where we parked before heading out. They didn't notice me taking this. :)

I really like the cake Bev found. Four types of cake and not too big. I had the carrot, my favorite.

There was also neopolitan ice cream and I normally would not have had the chocolate, but Bev put some on my plate and I had it and kinda liked it! I've been saying for years I don't really like chocolate ice cream because it's never anywhere near as good as actual chocolate. But maybe it's time to try some more once in a while.

Bev was also impressed that I had coffee. I never have any when I'm there because I normally only drink coffee in the morning, but I had a party to go to last night and knew I'd probably be up pretty late.

It was the release party for Smokestackers!, a really cool Everett history book by Richard, my former editor at Live in Everett. I already have the book from the Kickstarter, but I got another copy to give to Bev and Dennis, plus a copy of his book of poetry. They hired Revolution by the Barrel for cocktails, and I'll definitely see if Nigel's available if I ever have that kind of a budget for a party. I don't normally drink whiskey, so I had his Whiskey Smash since I drove myself to the party and needed to slowly sip. I could actually drink whiskey more often in that sort of cocktail.

The party was at Soniphone Records, and the main reason I was there so late was a very informative tour of the recording studio in the basement. The owner Kyle (AKA Johnny Lee Ledford, the first performer), has tons of amazing vintage equipment, including the machine for cutting vinyl record masters, which he uses to directly create records. He can even record on vinyl live, which I had no idea was possible.

Another great part of the party was finally getting to chat at length with my new editor at Live in Everett, Henry. He's not only the blog editor, he also edits the videos, including Banh Meetup and the Fuego Hot Wing Challenge. It's funny, those videos get so many more views on Facebook than YouTube. About ten times as many, actually!

Henry said my recent pieces are killing it, which is great, because I would have written about the walking spots a long time ago if I thought people would be into it. Turns out, they are. I guess we could have timed that a little better, starting a few months earlier would have meant more people wanting to be outside. But autumn in Everett is amazing and they've already promoted the posts using that angle.

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