Flashes of Panic

My watch and my computer are still on East Coast time. I think I am somewhere between Central and Mountain. I’m physically located in Pacific.

I walked from our hotel over to a place called Columbia Shores, a massive (to me) condo development about a mile and a half up the river. I was hoping to sit for a while at the café I’d seen there last night, but it wasn’t yet open. There’s a McMenamin’s there which I can only spell thanks to Google and I am only mentioning to make Nicole homesick.

It was dark when I started the walk, and when I passed under the I-5 bridge there was a lot of chittering. I suspect it was bats, which made me think of Austin. I spooked a larger bird with bars across its tail feathers; I suppose it could have been a barred owl at the bat buffet, but I saw it flying, not perched, so I’m not sure. Any other suggestions?