I abandoned my Redmond-based-tech-company job back in September of last year, but I still keep in touch with a few folks who are keeping their noses to that grindstone, and I sprung a couple of them on a Thursday afternoon a week ago to make a canoe commute from Lake Sammammish to Lake Washington. These two lakes are connected by the Sammammish River, which is well known for it's paved bicycling path but doesn't get a lot of attention as a waterway in its own right. But it'

These February days have been unnaturally bright and mild, inciting the early bloom of cherry blossoms, the early buzzing of bumblebees, and awakening the paddling bug. Moving water has an incredible draw for many people, myself included. There's something powerful and soothing about being near a waterway, a kind of medicine of sorts, good to ward off the ill effects of cubicles, work stress, and overly full inboxes (check out this article for an exploration into the health