To assist in preparing physically I have been spending a couple hours after work every day hiking in Fort Worden State Park with my backpack loaded to the gills with clothing and water. While the park is not too expansive, you can loop around the Chinese Garden's lake, hike up muddy trails to the old fortifications, and traipse along the beaches without becoming too bored. Today, as I was enjoying 30 mph winds, a light drizzle, and a balmy 55 degrees Fahrenheit near Point Wilson Lighthouse, I could not help but think that in just over two weeks I will be in Southern California. A location well known for its sunshine and dry conditions. The difference between the Pacific Northwest and the Mexico-California is only about 15.5 degrees of latitude, but let us compare next week's weather report for each location.

Port Townsend, Washington

Campo, California

We had an out of the blue (editor: pun? where?!) sunny weekend a few days ago, and I purposefully spent a couple hours outside reading on the deck to build up my "base tan" so that my skin has at least a fighting chance. But that first week of heat acclimatization? Going to be a hoot and a half.