What I'll Miss Most

Mountains: Flat places just aren't as exciting.


An Ideal Location: There's world-class rock climbing, year-round alpine ice climbing, winter waterfall ice climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, road biking, sea kayaking, sport rock climbing, sailing, and ice hockey all within a small area. Though it will be good to get back into diving without having to wear a 14mm wet suit! Bellingham itself is a good size with plenty to do, and has easy access to Vancouver and Seattle for the bigger city feel.

Gray Wolf: This is the best job I've ever had. Who pays somebody (reasonably well) to do the sort of activities they'd be doing anyway? Backpacking in the Olympic Mountains, backpacking in the North Cascades, kayaking the San Juan islands, kayaking on Ross Lake, skiing at Mount Rainier, and hiking on the outer coast. Plus all the perks like free cookies, the cottage, and patagonia clothing (yes, I know I listed cookies first). It's only because they're small operations that companies like this don't end up on the "Top 100 Employers" list.


My Friends from Gray Wolf: And (believe it or not) the Gray Wolf residents. You are the real reason that job is so much fun. Please come visit us in Turks and Caicos!

The REI Bike Shop: REI... not so much. But working in the shop has been a lot of fun. There's just something about a shared appreciation of two-wheeled transportation, fine Brooks leather, and well adjusted bearings.

Our Apartment: We were on the waiting list for two and a half years to get this place, and now we're not even finishing the lease! It's right downtown on the main street, has 20 ft ceilings, and a spiral staircase that leads to the loft. The windows overlook the waterfront and San Juan islands. And it's affordable (you can't get that in a big city).


Idiom Theater: Who would have thought there'd be so much talent in such a small place? Their claim to fame is that they put on more original productions than any other community theater in North America - mostly due to their 48 hour theater festivals where a series of plays are written, directed, produced, and performed in just 48 hours. Sadly they "went dark" for last season to expand and improve, so we they've been much less active for months now.

Dave and Maggy: You guys are a lot of fun and we're both sad to be moving so far away. Fortunately, South Caicos is a good meeting point between Germany and Washington (right?).

Kasi: Dave can't take Kasi to Germany, and we were first in line to adopt her if we stayed in Washington. And we nearly decided to stay just to have her!


Hockey: I don't imagine there's much ice on the tropical islands.

---What I Won't Miss---

Bad Pizza: The Italians came to New York and never left. What they call "East Coast" style out here is barely better than frozen pizza.

Bad Bagels: I guess the Jews didn't leave New York either (too much rain for people originally from the desert, I guess). Would you believe that our local bagel shop doesn't have toasters?! How's place like that stay in business?

The Rain: Out here, when summer finally comes you really feel like you've earned it. Winter days are short (sunrise at 8:30am and sunset at 4pm), and you can go days without seeing the sun through the clouds. I used to try to act like this wasn't a big trade off for so many other Pacific NW benefits, but I gave up. To be fair, the summers are dry, sunny, and temperate, and they can't be beat.