When time stands still you figure “what’s one more week gone by, I’ll catch up on my blog eventually.” Now that I find myself with oodles of time on my hands, I can rectify the situation.
Last I left off, Steve and Lauren were coming to town. One of the last times I’d be able to host anyone from home for quite some time.
First stop: Pike Place.
After exploring some smelly and not-so-smelly shops in the underbelly and loading up on snacks top-side, it was off to Ballard Locks. Neither Steve nor Lauren had ever been.
Birds certainly love this area. 
The larger of the two lock systems was down for maintenance. Spot the port-a-potty down there to get a sense of scale. 
From there it was off to Alki Beach for some sunset views.
The next day was pretty rainy, but we managed to get some fun in after work. Spent some time exploring Bellevue Square, then grabbed dinner at Mox Boarding House, where you can play games while you eat. The cafe portion was pretty darn full but we snagged a table in the gaming part of the establishment, where we could eat our food take-away style. Didn’t leave much room for games so we packed up and headed back home for a harrowing round of Castle Panic. Steve & Lauren had brought a set with an expansion which was dang fun.
Tasty Italian shop with self-serve samplers. 
Right in the childhood. 
I asked them if they carried anything more hard-core than Warheads, and they pointed me to this. I didn’t feel like testing it out. 
The next day was a trip around Whidbey Island. Headed up to the top, up and over Deception Pass, played around a bit at a beach up there, then headed down to Coupeville which is like the Grand Lake of Whidbey, for some lunch. From there it was across the island to Fort Casey, then down south to the ferry home, stopping by briefly to catch the sunset on another beach.
We took my Tesla, which was not fully charged when we left. Ended up cutting it fairly close range-wise. One of those drawbacks to EVs, which I became much more familiar with two weeks later.
It was very windy. 
Saw these paintings on the wall of the restaurant we ate at. Liked them so much I went to buy them but they only took cash or check. The tale wasn’t done yet though, and the next installment will complete the story. 
The next morning it was time to say goodbye. One of us clearly didn’t care how their hair looked.
And that was that!