Best bets for the weekend

How about, instead — oh, we don't know — education!

Yes, let's get some education going.

And, as luck would have it, we're all about education today.

First, we transport you to the North Cascades Institute (Page 15), where you can find programs like "Landscape Watercolor Workshop" and "Searching for Kerouac in the North Cascades."

Our own Tan Vinh, who went off to explore the institute, thoroughly enjoyed himself, as you can imagine. And then, loaded with smarts, he put in some academic time with the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center, in the midst of its grand-opening celebration (Page 23).

What a guy!

Crack your books (my, is that a dated concept) and join in. Besides your 401(k), what else do you have to lose?

Should we choose to stay on the "what the @#^&!*& happened to my 401(k)" theme, let's peruse this week's Datebook (Page 7) with zero-based budgeting in mind:

There's a spaghetti bash at the Des Moines Activity Center — $5-$7.

There's a German dinner at the Sno-Valley Senior Activity Center in Carnation — $15.

There are Norwegian sandwiches at the Sons of Norway Hall in Bothell — $2. Two dollars! We're there!

There are harvest events, pumpkin patches and mazes everywhere, many in the $5-$6 range.

There are hikes for FREE — perfect before that Norwegian sandwich. And there is Quality Cruising for Cheapskates (that would be us), a travel class at Bellevue Community College.

Now, then, don't you feel smart and rich all over again?

Keep breathing. Happy weekend.