<p>Sadly no animal shared the morning commute with me today. At dinner, it occurred to my daughter she had forgotten to send an animal and explained she could not provide one at that moment because she was “not wearing pajamas” – tomorrow perhaps.</p>

<p>Of all my daughter’s animals, I’m most fond of Pierre. He’s quiet, cute and small enough to fit in my backpack, important because I opted to ride my road bike today on what might be one of the last warm, dry days of the year. Because I had limited space, this was the first time I interfered with my daughter’s wishes, choosing not to take Gus – maybe tomorrow buddy.</p>

<p>For the Labor Day weekend, some friends invited us to their cabin in <a href="http://www.destinationpackwood.com/index.cfm">Packwood</a> and we happily accepted. We drove from BI to Rainier via the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge">Tacoma-Narrows Bridge</a>, our first crossing of the infamous structure (it was considerably cheaper and faster to go this route – $28 for the ferry, $4 for the bridge). We arrived around midday on Saturday, ate some lunch with the…

<p>Series: <a href="/2008/07/15/sunsets-flowers-and-the-olympic-mountains/">Sunset</a> > <a href="/2008/07/16/sunrise-flowers-and-the-olympic-mountains/">Sunrise</a> > <a href="/2008/07/18/heather-park-trail-an-enchanted-forest-and-views/">Heather Park</a></p>