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In small companies like ours, you really notice when one of the team is on vacation. It just proves how valuable everyone is to the operation and, from the owners' perspective, how much each one's contributions are appreciated.

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If this column had eyes, they'd be red. We took the red-eye back from Seattle this past Monday in the wee hours. Can't say we'd done it before and can't say we like to do it again.

But there was a good reason. Our entire clan (immediate family) got together at Dan's place for the first time.

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They were having a bit of a heat wave there. The weather people were warning that the temps were going to go all the way to 90, so everyone should stay inside and "take it easy."

Part of their problem is that not many folks have air conditioning. I'll take their upper 80s anytime, though.

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One day when Dan was needing to work, the Camelis and we hit Pike's Market and then went for a ferry ride across the Puget Sound and back.

It happened to be "Seafest," so the Blue Angels were there practicing. We had ringside seats on the boat and they put on an impressive display of sheer power and speed.

The cost to ride the boat was cheap compared with the reported $1 million per hour for the Blue Angels.

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I am sure other grandparents experience the same thing, but why do little boys have to stand so close to the edge of everything? Every place we went the rails weren't close enough and the barriers weren't high enough to suit me.

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One morning, as we were sitting in a water's edge restaurant having breakfast, I thought I'd see if grandson Alex knew his geography. So I asked him if he knew which ocean was close to us.

Before he could answer Louie, the younger brother, pointed out the window and said, "That one!"

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We saw evidence of heightened security in Seattle. Two Coast Guard speed boats with manned machine-gun turrets were patrolling the waters alongside the ferries. The locals said this began after the London bombings.

Did I feel safer because they were there? I thought it over and my conclusion: Not really.

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Some regions of the country are planning for their future in a big way. Hermiston, Ore., is a global leader of our Internet future.

It is part of a region in eastern Oregon and southern Washington that has created a high-speed, 600-square-mile Wi-Fi hot spot that anyone can hook into-including all residents, schools and law enforcement. And the town doesn't even have a traffic light.

They say Internet should be just like water and electricity. Good idea.