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PacNW Vacation: Part 1

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest! Ryan and I are on our last hoorah prior to the baby�s arrival. We are at his parent�s �island home� which is a small duplex located in a gated community near Olympia, WA. It is a great home base for taking hikes through all the trees, down to the shore, etc. We arrived on Saturday and spent Sunday getting settled in, grocery shopping, and playing a quick game of table tennis at the community center. I got tired of bending over to pick up the damn ball every turn, so I wasn�t too sad that Ryan beat me two games to win our best of three match.

On Monday, we got up early and drove north to catch a ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, British Columbia. It was my first ever trip to Canada, and we were lucky to find great weather in Victoria on Monday afternoon. Selfishly, I�d chosen a hotel that also had a spa, so we wrapped up the day with facials though they called Ryan�s a �men�s shave� so that it was more manly. Hey, whatever it takes.

As one might have expected, Ryan and I did our best to wear out the Canadian stereotypical lingo with lot�s of �eh�s� and directives to �take off, hoser.� We lacked a bit of concentration, however, as Ryan is reading David Sedaris�s �Me Talk Pretty One Day� and had read the �Rooster� story aloud while we drove from Seattle to the island. This has inspired a wildly inappropriate amount of cursing throughout the trip. For example, when we stepped off the ferry and were greeted by the sight of a picturesque sun drenched port complete with gorgeous flowers, families relaxing on the steps and juggling street performers, I commented �This is mother-fucking quaint, bitches.�

This use of foul language followed us into small boutique shops (�These bitches really know how to select mother-fucking fine things� all the way to a lovely French restaurant with a cozy outdoor courtyard complete with personal fireplaces for each table (�Enjoy yourself some mother-fucking fire, bitches!�) and finally through a tour of Butchart Gardens:

Those mother-fucking flowers are fucking beautiful!�

As you can see, we weren�t all that creative, but it did provide for some humorous chuckles as we imagined the conversations the other tourists were having.

The trip did mark our first purchase for the baby. That�s right, the baby will be here in 88 days or so, and we still haven�t purchased a thing for it until yesterday. Anyhow, our baby is the proud new owner of a single knitted hat.

Funny aside about the picture of Ryan holding the hat� all the way out here, he obsessed over finding a barbershop so he could cut off all of his hair. He ended up going to a Russian barber in Canada yesterday who shaved his head and said, �you look like Brad Pitt, yes?� I think he looks a bit more like he�s ready to join the army, but what do I know.

10:08 p.m. - August 27, 2008

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