Blogs in the night

So, as I write this, Johnbai et alia are likely still out having a good time, and I and Otis are not there. The thing is, we didn't get back from Whidbey Island until about eight or so, and stopped by the apartment to clean up (sand, salt, sweat, & sunscreen), and that turned out to be a mistake. Energy levels dropped precipitously; Otis actually fell asleep about 8:45 and is still out right now.

We went out to Whidbey at about lunchtime, on the scooter. (It's cool to always be able to get on the next boat: scooters, like bikes, get cuts.) I had found this great-looking place on the net, Double Bluff Beach, and it was even cooler than it looked. A nice semi-circular sandy beach on Useless Bay, with a little parking lot cum sanitaire at one end and big bluffs at the other. We got there at low tide, and you could walk out in the water 75 yards and it would still only be up to your knees; just perfect for me! Even when the tide had come it, it was only hip deep for a long way. (We wonder if the shallowness is why this bay is useless.) So, we did the splashing / sunning / reading / sleeping thing all afternoon.

Before we left for the beach, we tried to get a ride in, but had a disaster instead. We drove down to the B-G dinosaur in Fremont and planned to ride out for an hour and then turn around and return. When we were in the U district, it was "Don't Cross" at one of the street crossings; I was in the lead and slowed, planning to stop next to a signpost. Otis was behind me but to my right, and she thought that the signpost was hers. We both tried to stop in the same place, knocked each other over, and the whole signpost as well, and we all fell in a heap. Kee-rash.

So, we collected ourselves, and there was much hyperventilating (Otis) and cussing (me), and we tried to move on, but Otis's wheel was out of line, so I had to mess with that, and we got it together, and moved on, and I realized my pannier was gone. With all my tools and stuff. And my wallet. And my phone. And my keys. And Otis's purse. And her phone. I think that maybe the title to my car wasn't in there, but you get the picture. Frantic and fruitless searching up the trail and back ensued, followed by a hopeful call to Otis's phone. The bag had indeed been picked up by a friendly person and was sitting in the office of the Dean of Social Work. After a brief tour of campus, we found the right place and retrieved the stuff. After that, we didn't much feel like riding, and had used up much of our two hours anyway.

We did go out to Bainbridge Island yesterday afternoon. It turned out to be a short trip, since we missed a ferry (even using cuts!) and didn't hit Winslow until almost 5:30. We got some teriyaki takeout and had dinner in Fay Bainbridge State Park; it's beautiful, but at high tide (as it was) there is no beach at all, so we didn't stay very long. We did take some pictures; here's one: