Recently my wife and I headed up through the San Juan Islands just off the Washington State coast. Early one morning, before the sun came up, before the gale force winds settled down, before the old Plymouth van we were in stopped rocking and rolling, and before we could board the ferry bound for Sidney, Canada, the sun rose in a spectacular manner.

This particular weekend, rain hit the southern Canadian coastline so hard that roads washed out, trains derailed, and people drown. I think several towns were cut off from civilization for a couple days. It was a real mess in-land. But where we were headed it would be calm and clear. Salt Spring Island is sheltered from much of this kind of weather madness. It was a wonderful vacation for some of us. But it was pure terror for others.