Faster is better

This day promised to be a marathon but with nothing in between we were itching to see, it had to be done.  One thing we noticed was the difference between littering mentality.  In South Dakota, we scoffed at the threat of $100 fine for littering.  But passing through Oregon, we soiled ourselves at the potential $6,250 fine.  Roll up the windows and stuff all your garbage under the seat!

Overall, it was a long but yet another outrageous drive.  The thermometer hit 91 in Oregon while we went up and down more long, swoopy mountain roads. In the Denver area, we got our asses kicked in the passing/being passed game.  Our favorite phrase for hard acceleration is “UNADULTERATED POWER!”.  Of course, in a Viper, this would be appropriate.  The Hyundai’s 4 banger, though fuel efficient, does not possess jaw dropping acceleration.  And in the thin air of the Rockies, she was gasping which resulted in plenty of “being passed”.  But here in Oregon, we were back in the black, whizzing past everyone in sight.  Yeah, we’re really proud of ourselves.  Since I’ve now channeled Ferrari and Bugatti, this road will require something more obscene – Pagani Huayra perhaps?

Twin Falls twin mermaids

We did stop in Twin Falls, ID on the way which turned out to pretty excellent.  We got off on the first of 2 exits and recognized the cannibalistic meth head look so correctly identified in South Dakota.  But after crossing a massive gorge, we ended up in civilization.  The coolest part was that at the bottom of the gorge was this wild looking village and golf course.  Was it Shangri-La?  Or the secret mountain village of Atlas Shrugged?  I don’t have that answer but the spinach/red pepper/egg sandwich at IHOP was DEFINITELY the secret to prevent me from becoming the Hunger Monster.

As we got closer to Seattle, we made a stop at a random Subway staffed by a truly unpleasant toad.  Tyler ordered a toasted banana sandwich from the first lady at the counter.  He was then passed off to the Toad. When he asked to have his banana toasted, she snapped “I heard you before”.  Whoa, take it easy on the testosterone pills.

Turned out to be a good thing we stopped since they shut down the interstate about an hour from Seattle for “rock blasting”.  They did have the flashing traffic advisory sign but just as in NJ, the AM channel was virtually unintelligible though we did catch “single lane road closures”.  Which is a BIT different than closing the entire highway.  But let’s not split hairs.  Besides, when we were going to get another chance to lay down on a 75 mph interstate?

Zombie apocalypse is fun!

The entire affair was 2 ½ hours but it was super nice out and the other drivers were quite friendly.  Stepping out of the car to pee on the shoulder, I furrowed my brow trying to place the strong scent of pine.  Did someone smash a bottle of cleaning fluid on the road?  Did Tyler smear air freshener all over my face while I slumbered?  Nope, that would be the intensely fresh smell of the huge pine tress all around us. INCREDIBLE.  By the time they let us through, stars were out and the line up of parked cars resembled a zombie apocalypse movie.  Time to lock the doors and step on it for fear of being eaten by said zombies or the man eating wolves that surely stalked us from the nearby forest.

A valid question

We finally arrived in Sammamish, just outside Seattle to spend the night with Megan and Jim, friends of Sarah from college.  They live in a really nice area that is incredibly quiet at night.  We hung out for a few minutes but all parties were very ready for bed.  We both slept like rocks and could not be more appreciative for the hospitality – thanks Megan, thanks Jim!