Round 2 in Olympia: Went back to Five Corners and picked up moonstone runes. Probably won’t use them, but they’ll help me remember the town.

Portland was not what I expected. What I thought Portland would be turned out to be Olympia. It was nice to see Abie and her family on the west coast. We visited the Portland Zoo. Took some pictures, which I’ll post when I get back to Levittown. I don’t have many photos. I’m just not that type (despite the fact that I just finished a 100 Photos in 100 Days project). I prefer memories over photographs. And my Lord, there’re plenty of those from this trip. It’s like when I got a cell phone and didn’t need to remember phone numbers (although I still remember this one for no apparent reason). I don’t want to lose my memories.

Heading home. It’s the toilet phenomenon. The closer I get, the more I want to be there. So much shit to do when I get back. I’ll bring us through this. As always. I’ll carry you–kicking and screaming–and in the end you’ll thank me.

It’s called changeover. The movie goes on. Nobody in the audience has any idea.

Okay. I’m in Olympia. Now what? What am I supposed to look for? Give me a sign, damnit.
Washington’s great. If the cops ever find the bodies, I’m hiding out here. Everyone’s friendly. Seems familiar. Imagine Pennsylvania if everyone smoked alot of pot. Happy and helpful and really fucking slow on the freeway! er…yes.

I’m starting to get homesick. No, I’m starting to get bored. And I loathe being bored. I hate admitting I’m bored even more. The trip just isn’t as fun without a companion. I’m seeing Abie in 2 days, but that’s 2 days of…? At least I have a mission: Find out why I’m here.

When I was leaving Spokane this morning, I was tempted to travel northwest instead of southwest. Doubt…well, anyone is up there. But I was curious to see what’s so worthwhile about the area.

Yes, it’s like a nicer Pennsylvania. The people are friendly; the trees are taller; there’s more natural beauty. What am I trying to say here…I understand the whys. I don’t think that’s an excuse though. But like I always say, there are two kinds of good people: The kind who see the beauty of this world and want to preserve it. And the kind who see the shit of this world and want to eliminate it. This beauty on the west coast needs to be preserved while the shit of the east has to be fixed. Do what you gotta do. My path continues in Levittown though. At least for now.

South Dakota is breezy. Nothing else can be said about it.
Wyoming does, in fact, exist. I visited Devil’s Tower and saw prairie dogs. Wyoming is actually quite beautiful. And I saw my first “real” mountain, Abie. I forget the exact mountain range. I was driving up some hill and as I reached the top, these snow-capped mountains appear over the horizon.

I should be in Washington by tomorrow night.

Saw Sarae and her boy Andy yesterday. Good times. Both are good conversationalists. Andy and I made a nice “trade” and I made a video of their bunny Killer for Abie (30 seconds of bunny nose wiggles!).
Saw Tom today. Very quiet guy, so naturally I blathered on and on and on and…Iowa City is a spiffy college town. Lots of cuties running around. Mmm…Asian Starbucks employees. And no, Tom has not turned fratboy. He’s a fellow IT nerd.

Now I officially have nothing planned until the 25th. I’m heading to Olympia, WA to see what the town has in store for me. Hopefully there’s a Ramada Inn. These motels are great. (Just checked. There’s one right in Olympia.) I’ll be passing through Wyoming. Yeah right. As if it exists. I’ll drive towards the border and suddenly find myself in Idaho, missing a couple days and pants.

I <3 Ramada Inns and their beautiful wireless internet access.
Went out for Subway and coffee with Dez and Kat. Played with puppies (so adorable!). Forgot to take pictures with the ladies. Both are wonderful, beautiful people. I’m sure many men have had their hearts broken when they discovered Dez does not love the cock. You got some beautiful eyes, dezzypoo.

Since I was running ahead of schedule, I left Tennessee early and headed to Kentucky. Slept in my car for a couple hours. Got a phonecall informing me certain individuals broke up, but I’ve heard that before. Drove around the empty streets of Cincinatti. Seems like a nice town, but I say that at 4am. Tomorrow in rush hour traffic, I might be muttering other adjectives.

Taking Sarae and Andy out to dinner tomorrow. Yay!

I hope Dez and Kat don’t think I left because of them. They and their puppies are adorable and amusing. I would’ve loved to have seen more Tennessee poetry nights with them, but I wanted to get back on the road. I think I passed three cities tonight, which means three areas of traffic if I had waited until tomorrow morning to head up here.

That’s it for now. 7 hours of sleep = good thing. Sarae tomorrow (today, really), Tom on Thursday, then putzting through the country until Portland, OR on the 25th. Good times, good times.