I have to update quickly so I can get to bed soon.

The weekend was great. I found out Friday morning that I'd be going to New York next week, so I had to figure out when I could leave and what meetings I'd be taking while I was there. I made a number of calls and I now have flight plans, a room, and everything else I need to go. (Sorry, Mom, I forgot to tell you that on the phone yesterday).

After I finished up those calls I had to get out of the office and pack my things for the trip to Whidbey Island with Jen and Milo (her dog). I got ready, she showed up, we loaded the car and off we went. The ride was reasonable and we chatted and listened to music. At Everett we waited in line, then got on the ferry to Whidbey. That trip was only about 15 minutes, but it was interesting. I figured that there must have been around 110 cars on-board, so probably about 50 or 60 tons of vehicles (depends a lot on the weight of the cars). Yeah, I know; "Why bother figuring that out?" I have no idea. It's something to do.

We drove for a bit on the island -- not far -- and reached her house about a half hour before the sun set, so we threw our stuff inside and took the dog for a walk on the beach before it was dark. We all appreciated the effort. The setting sun and the water was great. And it was a nice change of pace from the ride in the car.

The beach was interesting. It was covered -- covered! -- in driftwood of all shapes and sizes. From branches to trees to telephone poles to boards to pieces of stairs to just about anything else. We had to step over all of it to get to the water. It was interesting to add this beach's personality to all of the other beaches I've seen. They're all very different and I'd never realized it before now.

Friday we went for dinner in Langley at a bar...the Dog House maybe...then walked around town for a bit. Saturday we slept in then Jen made some breakfast before we spent most of the day sightseeing. We'd planned to go to the farmers' market, but it wasn't there (or we'd missed it) so we drove to Langley, had some coffee and did some shopping at the various stores. I even managed to pick up a dress for the red dress party this Friday. Three dollars buys a lot in the right places. After shopping we drove to another town (where they filmed the movie Practical Magic (I can't remember the city's name) and we walked around and window shopped. Nothing major, although Jen picked up a small Japanese storage box for tea. There were a number of great stores. Afterwards, we drove back to the house and relaxed for the rest of the evening, watched the Eddie Izzard DVD that Brian lent me, and Jen napped a bit.

Sunday we were up early. Got the house in order and left. We caught the noon ferry back and I was home by about one o'clock. Jen had to get to an event, so she dropped me off, we talked for a bit about what a nice, relaxing, great time we'd had, and then she was on her way.

I spent the rest of the day running downtown to get comics, grocery shopping, reading comics, and playing Magic with Matt. Now my day is done.

I'm sure this will get around quickly in comic circles, but I just read on Jeff's blog that Julius Schwartz died. That saddens me, but he did some great things in his life, so he leaves a great legacy.