Leaving family always leaves a bit of a hole in my stomach even if my mom does stuff me with pancakes and Lil’ Smokies. But it was time to head south, and by 9:30 a.m. Sean and I were on the road. It’s been a typical Washington day…gray with drizzle and rain here and there. Traffic has been minimal, so we’ve made good time. Just about noon and we’re about 14 miles from the Washington/Oregon border. In 24 hours we’ll be back in California.

After a night in Rogue River, we woke to sunshine and a clear road home. It was a good trip. Something that should happen more often.

[Pictures from this trip can be found by clicking here.]

The sunny dispositions that Sean and I brought to the Pacific Northwest once again showed its power, as during 8:00 mass we could watch, through the large windows behind the altar at Holy Innocents Church, as the clouds parted and allowed the sun to shine through. A quick tour of town was included in the drive home after mass, though thankfully there as no quiz! The morning passed by with the reading of the newspaper, the watching of a football game and my meeting a neighbor who also happens to enjoy fishing (and makes a mean beef jerky).

Then Mark spirited us off to a department range for another manner of manly activity. After an abbreviated but still through session on safety and strategy, we were given the opportunity to shoot a 9mm pistol. I would dare say that Sean and did very well consider our limited training and experience. With a break to let some officers qualify, we took the nickel tour of the precinct house, after which we watched a few more officers run through their “quals.” Soon we had our own lane again and practiced some paired groupings (sight, shoot and as soon as you sight again take a second shot) and double taps (sight and shot two shots as quickly as possible). All of our shots hit the target and most were center mass. Not too shabby for amateurs.

After spending more time than expected at the range, we met everyone (parents and Mark’s family) at Ixtapa for a hearty Mexican dinner. That was followed up my much wrestling among an uncle, father and cousin, as well as dessert. It was a nice way to spend our last night in Washington.

[Pictures from this trip can be found by clicking here.]

Call it the seasoning of age or attribute it to the wisdom that comes with the passing years, but I find myself increasing grateful of family making time for our visits. My brother “donated” his time (and my thanks to his wife for allowing it) to make himself and his family available to Sean and I during our time here, so Saturday we headed to his house for a morning visit with his family while we mulled over any man-bonding activities we might undertake.

We opted to head to the now traditional man movie and ended up taking over a single theater. Afterward, back at the house, we kept testosterone levels high by shooting various targets with an airsoft gun. We later met a next door neighbor and, after I got my video game fix (and seeming to amaze the neighbor’s kids that this old guy can play XBox pretty well), it was time for a great family dinner with mom and dad. And dinner was followed by three desserts.

(While it might sound like we didn’t do too much, isn’t that sometimes what a vacation is about: doing less? But even while we did less we had the opportunity to simple hang out, which I think often is underrated.)

[Pictures from this trip can be found by clicking here.]

We again took our time crawling out from under the bedsheets this morning, to be greeted by the wafting smell of waffles. Moms – at least my/our mom – never forget how to take care of their kids. Stuffed with waffles we read the paper and awaited the arrival of my brother Mark with his kids. It was heart-warming to have Kaden enthusiastically jump into a hug with me. Little brother Levi was a bit more standoffish, but by the end of our trip would warm up to having Uncle Pat and big Cousin Sean around. We had a quick visit of about an hour, but after being away too long, it’s always great to find that we can quickly fall into the comfortable rhythms of being family. And despite distance, infrequent visits and the years that have past it seems that my brother and I always quickly fall into the goofiness that makes brotherhood so fun. …it was a good morning of reconnecting with my nephews.

Under threatening clouds Sean and I headed out the door in the direction of Seattle. It might be a reflection of the patience that comes with age, or the fact that we left when traffic would be minimal, or both, but it seemed that we pulled into Seattle quickly. Luck or perhaps our sunny dispositions must have influence the weather as we found sun and blue sky in the Emerald City. Without an specific goals in mind we wandered Pike Place market, where we bought some “Jazz” apples (a hybrid of Fuji and Braeburn apples). On the waterfront we fought cold winds as we walked between various shops.

We departed late afternoon to head east to Issaquah, the town (now a city) that established my first real connection to Washington, to accommodate Sean’s desire for a visit to Boehm’s Candies. Alas, he was to be disappointed as Boehm’s now focuses on their chocolates and does not carry the rice candy “fly saucers” that he recalled from his younger days. A drive through town dredged up some of my old memories of the fears and struggles of my younger days. Despite being so long ago the memories seem so fresh.

As if we planed it, we pulled into my parent’s driveway just in time for dinner…

[Pictures from this trip can be found by clicking here.]

It’s good to have connections. Rolled out of bed this morning, not too early, not too late. Buying into being “on vacation” and taking advantage of the guest room at the home of retired parents really does push one to take some time. Time for a bit of conversation over breakfast. Time to pursue the newspaper.

About mid morning we headed out to a Microsoft campus to meet with our “insider,” who then provided entrance into the company story. We took advantage of this opportunity to pick up a few upgrades and accessories…a couple of XBox 360 controller batteries and a few Microsoft applications.

We stocked up on some cold cuts and condiments before heading home, where we spent the afternoon simply hanging around, with sprinkles of conversation and technical support surrounding an old PDA that I bequeathed to my dad. For my parents it may have been more of a regular day, but for Sean and I was a day without the worries, deadlines or pressures of everyday life.

[Pictures from this trip can be found by clicking here.]