[Apologies to those who follow ricoblog primarily for my semi-informed blathering on about Greek stuff; this post is of a more personal nature. And I've been on holiday this past week (It's been awesome; thanks for giving me the time off, Bob!) so it is only fitting that my normal blog posting should take a holiday as well. If you want Greek blather, check this out.]

The time away from the office has been good. Outside of the obvious fun times that Christmas festivities provide, Amy and I were able to (finally!) get to Port Townsend for a day. Port Townsend, for those who don't know, is a small little town on the Olympic peninsula of Washington state. It is at one end of a Washington state ferry run, which makes it easy to get to from Whidbey Island (where I grew up). I know Port Townsend for artsy-type stuff and also for antiques; I also know there are a few bookstores in town. Until now, I've only been interested in one of those three things, but Amy has seen fit to educate me and expand my horizons.

So we parked on the Whidbey Island side, and hopped on the ferry as walk-on passengers. On the way over to Port Townsend, we were able to see a massive US Navy submarine (Trident nuclear sub? I dunno. Maybe.) with two Coast Guard escorts plowing its way through the sound, likely to Bangor or Bremerton.

Once in Port Townsend, we headed right down the main street, ducking in just about every door we could find, whether we were interested in the store or not. We stayed away from clothiers and restaurants, but went in just about everywhere else. One place we stopped -- and where Amy let me linger for a goodly portion of time -- was William James Bookseller. I found an awesome commentary on First Peter: The First Epistle of St. Peter: The Greek Text with Introduction, Notes and Essays by Edward Gordon Selwyn. And it was only $12.50!

After that we hopped in some more shops; most of them artist co-operatives with things far too funky or spendy for any sane normal person to want to put in their house. Then it was lunch at a Chinese food place. That was yummy.

Then we proceeded back down the main street, enjoying ducking into about any door we found. And then back up the next block, but it started to rain. So we went into a massive antique mall. I had no idea these things existed! There are a bunch of stalls; each likely rented out to an antique dealer, each stall full of all sorts of things. I mean there are tons of stalls. Here is where I received my education for the day. I learned all sorts of stuff; it was awesome. Have you ever noticed how when someone you care about is interested in something, you can take on that interest as well? I'd never really experienced that before, but now I see that it is true. Futzing about that antique store with Amy was some of the most enjoyable time of the day.

Then it was time to brave the rain (thankfully Amy had brought an umbrella so we both stayed relatively dry) and head back to the ferry. While at the terminal waiting, it was time to take a few pictures to prove we'd really been there.

And then we boarded the ferry. While on board, we learned that the dock in Keystone (Whidbey Island side of the ferry run) had been bashed by the ferry (the Quinalt) on previous landing. We rode an alternate ferry (the Klickitat) and by the time we arrived, the dock had been inspected and approved by the Coast Guard, so we had no problems. We hopped in the car (we'd lucked out with a primo parking spot) and went back to Oak Harbor to talk with a friend for a bit. Then we had some dinner; then we boogied on back to Bellingham.

All in all, a fun day. Who'd've (is that a word?) thought antiques could be so fun?