On Friday Steve and I got up and instead of going to the best municipal course in town (which he had selected before I arrived), we went to the worst (which I selected). The good course doesn't allow 9 holes during the day, and I didn't really want to play there anyway. The low-budget course is a 9 hole par 3 that doesn't take reservations and has loaner clubs. Awesome. Really, all I could hope for.

I like to think that I make progress in life, and playing a round of golf at Harvard Gulch made me think that I do. Golf, in America, is normally played as a competitive sport, something that people try to be good at so they can beat other people. I try to play it as a pleasant walk with an extra element, which I like to imagine being the way the game was originally conceived - as more of a game than a sport. I felt pretty far into the game zone on Friday, and it felt really, really good. I was also hitting the ball very well, and played to one under bogey pace, which I don't think I've ever done. But does that part really matter?

Afterwards we FINALLY got sushi - I had been trying to eat sushi for my entire vacation and managed it a few hours before getting on the plane to go home. Since we finished golfing around 2, all of the more traditional places were closed and we went to the quite Americanized Hapa. Our chef was "Larry-san" (no I'm not kidding).

The rolls were good, though. I had a massive, big-deal "vegetarian caterpillar roll", that I think would more traditionally be called a dragon roll: tempura asparagus rolled up with slices of avocado on the outside. Fabulous.

Afterward I pointed my compact over my shoulder and took this picture - didn't look back, didn't look at the picture until hours later, just took a chance. It felt very, very good - very vacation.

And then, of course, my vacation ended.