Fish Wednesday, Salmon Sammich Edition

The nice thing about having a gas grill is you can walk outside, grill yourself up a little something, then wander back inside and, you know, eat it with very little fuss. There’s no planning, no charcoal chimney, no fretting about if the kindling is too wet or the wind will take out the flame. …


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At the Quinalt Ranger Station

“Were you in Vietnam recently?” he asked me, pointing at my cap with the Vietnam flag just above the brim.  He was a broad faced guy, Nordic looking and very tan, maybe in his 50’s, extremely healthy – the picture of fitness you’d expect from a park ranger. He was sitting behind the desk at …


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Caption Contest: Free to Good Home

We’ve just returned from a few days on the Washington Coast. On the way out, we stopped at the Aberdeen Farmer’s Market where we encountered this animal loving policeman trying to find homes for a batch of strays. It’s a good thing I’m allergic to cats; this little guy is exactly the kind of weird …


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Postcard: Occidental Park, 930am

Occidental Park should be grand – it’s a lovely brick plaza with big leafy trees and totem poles, but more often than not it’s a gathering place for forgotten people. The plaza is often littered with wet trash and, let’s face, it can be kind of smelly. Every now and then, it gets a nice …


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Almost Famous at Alki

This morning our house is chock-a-block with jetlagged Austrians, they’re stacked like cord wood down in the basement. (If you’ve been to Austria, you know they are very skilled at stacking. They are a stacking people, a nation of stackers. ) Last night, we took them for pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) which I swear is …


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