Back into the fray

After a totally relaxing five days away from the office, it's back to the mines.

Well, hardly.

An air-conditioned office will be a nice oasis, given a predicted high of 99 today and tomorrow, spiking at 103 Tuesday. Geez, what is this? Phoenix? Sure felt like it on the drive home from Orcas yesterday.

Things started off reasonably. Of course, it's going to be cooler if you're up and about by 6 a.m. I got up early to make sure I caught the 9:20 a.m. ferry back to Anacortes. On a summer weekend, it's always a good idea to arrive 90 minutes before your scheduled departure time. And so I did.

Yesterday was the first time in the four years or so that we've owned our cabin that things worked out where I could see a Mariners baseball game either on the way up or way back. I rolled into Seattle about 12:45, found a parking spot roughly half a mile from the stadium (even on the weekend, the lots charge too much), haggled a bit with a scalper for a field-level seat and found myself in place for the first batter at 1:10. A good thing, too, because he hit a home run and, just like that, Cleveland was en route to a 12-3 walloping of the home team.

It was 11-2 by the time I left in the seventh inning; Cleveland had already hit four home runs, including a grand slam. I was in the sun the whole time in 90-plus degree weather. But it didn't feel any cooler in the car on the way home -- a borrowed Honda Del Sol, by the way, a two-seater with makes 75 mph feel like 55. And there was no respite once I crossed the threshold into our home, despite Lori's best efforts with fans. Thank goodness for the A/C unit upstairs.

My last day on the island -- Saturday -- was as relaxing as the previous three. I pulled more weeds in the morning, took another four-mile run (this time from Obstruction Pass State Park, which offered some much appreciated shade), spent some time at the Saturday Farmers Market, bought myself a root beer float and headed off on a leisurely drive around the island. I consciously embraced the stereotype: middle-aged guy in a red convertible, with the Best of Led Zeppelin on the CD player as I zipped from Eastsound to Deer Harbor to Orcas Village and back to Eagle Lake.

I got back with enough time to take a shower and hustle down to the lake for the weekly potluck among Eagle Lake residents, most of whom are seasonal, like us. I met a handful of new people, ate well and, unlike most others, reveled in the surprise thunder-and-lightning show that resulted in a steady rain on the surface of an otherwise placid lake. It was so refreshing after the non-stop sunshine of the past few days.

Well, time to get dressed for work and have some breakfast. The mines await. May Rough and Rede's readers find themselves a million diamonds or, at least, a thousand rubies...