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On the beach, this quiet small town was bathing in the sun. 📷

Auto-generated description: A serene coastal scene features a curve of pebble beach bordered by driftwood, with houses nestled among lush trees and a steep bluff.
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A trip to Rosario Beach in the afternoon finally turned on the “vacation mode” switch in my mind. Walking the trails near the cliffs and being surrounded by quiet and nature, and not a single piece of trash in sight, it’s shocking. New York parks are so dirty 😔

A warm-up photo with my camera 📷

Auto-generated description: A wooden table is set near a window looking out at islands on a misty sea, with a pair of gloves resting on the table.
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Breakfast is veggie lasagna with a glass of intense juice at a local French cafe. A walk with a fluffy dog is next on the agenda.

A plate of lasagna with a side of greens is set on a glass plate on top of a woven placemat, accompanied by a drink and a napkin.
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Note to self, again: don’t write long posts. It doesn’t work well, especially after not blogging for several days. Short posts already take enough time between writing, editing, uploading photos, checking links, and spreading the word. Long posts never see the light of day. Split ’em.

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In Washington, it seems there are parks around every corner. A park for a walk. A park for sitting on a bench and relaxing. A park for you and your dog - and then a dog park inside that park as well. There’s even a spot for gnomes.

Fun times. 📷

Auto-generated description: A wooden garden sign leans against a fence in front of a red building, with several pumpkins scattered on the ground. Auto-generated description: A wooden bench is nestled among lush greenery and trees beside a leaf-strewn path. Auto-generated description: A small gnome figurine is nestled in a mossy nook of a tree trunk amidst a lush forest.

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I don’t know Bob yet, but this place smells nice 🥯and it is much cheaper than flying to NYC, for sure ☺️

A sign for Blazing Bagels lists humorous reasons to visit, such as liking Bob, enjoying caramel-fudge brownies, and the guarantee of getting a hole in every visit.
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I’m up. Way too early for Seattle, but normal for New York. I’m ready to make coffee and ready to work, jump on my emails, fill up my schedule, drop down to pushups.

I don’t understand this time off. I’m not sure I like it just yet. What is happening?

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Extra money for priority boarding. Buy lunch on the plane if you want more than crackers and juice. Pay up if you want space so your knees don’t touch the seats in front of you. Faster WiFi that allows you to work is premium.

And ads. Ads everywhere. On the walls of the jetway, on the terminal top walls, when you have to see them as you slowly zigzag in line to the security check. Before movies. After movies. On brochures.

Services are crappy in advance, so you have to pay your way out of the imposed sub-minimum. Sad.

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We arrived. Krickland feels colder than New York, probably because of the humidity next to Washington Lake. It’s a chill kind of evening here, with no obligations. My stomach is full, and I’m ready to go to bed, but it’s too early for me in this time zone.

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We’re headed to Seattle tomorrow to meet friends. I’m excited to have a camera with me in a place I don’t know again, and I could use some time off.

Today, I broke down and wrote in my Emacs journal instead of my written one for the first time in over a year. There was just too much to write, and there were too many places I wanted to mention and link to, something I can do easily with Emacs OSM package, as I mentioned before. There was resistance at first since I was writing something personal since Emacs is not as intimate as my notebook, but the words came flowing soon enough. I’m glad I did it this way. We’ll see if I switch back or not; I’m not sure at this point.

On the other hand, I almost finished my pocket notebook and I’m ready to start a new one. It’s been good. I like that I can open it and look through my various reminders and notes and start working on things I need whenever.