Road Stats

I'm cozied into my friends Daphne and Emily's guest bedroom here in the Mt.Baker neighborhood of Seattle.  Emily is in the kitchen, brewing up tinctures made with herbs and flowers from the community garden.  The sun is high in the southeastern sky. While it routinely ignores Seattle much of the fall, winter and spring, this sun ain't got nothin' but full devotion to this city at present.

It is full-tilt lush here with edible gardens in many nooks of Mt. Baker.  Construction workers are digging a trench next door.  Their conversations include flavored sparkling water, using essential oils for congestion, and how the other slept last night.
Awww, Seattle, a Patchouli-Lovers Paradise.

Lest you think I found my utopia, I'd like to draw your attention to a story about a package. Said package was robbed off someone's front porch, and the thief threw the packaging away in the bus stop garbage bin before making off with the goods. A couple days later, the people who were robbed received a note from a neighbor. This neighbor wanted to let them know she found the packaging in the bus stop bin and  1) it's recyclable and  2) should not be placed in the community garbage bin but rather their personal garbage.
Awww, Seattle, Home of the Hall Monitors. No thanks.


It has been five weeks since I left our nation's capital. Here are some stats from the trip thus far:

Miles on my chariot to date this trip:  3,800 miles
Number of corn silos turned into gas stations:   1

Number of times I've spun "All About the Bass" at full volume:  40

Number of times pulled over:  1.
I was just over the border of Kansas, near Missouri. It was 11pm. When I told the cop what I was up to,  he gave me tips on sightseeing in Wyoming and Oregon, and told me to add Alaska to my plans. Then he let me go without a ticket or written warning. My bra was hanging from the rear-view mirror when he pulled me over. I thought maybe that was banned in Kansas. As it turns out, I was going 54 mph in a 35 mph zone, and that was why he pulled me over.
Conclusion:  everyone, it is okay to hang your bra from your rear-view in Kansas.  So, go on and let it hang!

Number of hitchhikers I begrudgingly passed:    9.  
One had a banjo.

Stupidest decision I've made to date:  I drove 23 hours in a row.
I mean, I still don't think it was a horrible decision.
My mom had a different take-away on this one.
It was pretty cool to drive through Kansas under an almost-full and supermoon sky. And I was excited to get to Colorado. I was on a northern route, less traveled by the routine road crew. I passed seven cars through the entire state…and one fox-like animal... and three towns… and one, maybe two, trees. And  I never felt tired. Was it the pack of cigarettes I purchased at the border with  large-ass Snickers bar chaser? Mika's "Happy Ending" on mind-numbing repeat?  I did,, however, start to hallucinate. When the road became blood-streaked and it started snowing at 55F, I knew it was time for a nap. Thanks to Children of the Corn, I had to wait awhile to pull over until I was clearly in a town, and given I passed only three towns in 7 hours, the rest stop took a minute to reach. I was ready to skip over the KS-CO state line after my nap-coma, which was 45 minutes long, tucked snugly between my massage table and collapsible bike.

Take-Aways thus far:

• This country is vast and incredibly diverse in every sense.  I knew this, but to see/smell/feel it is a whole different ball of goodness and awe.
• I didn't really need to go anywhere to grieve or write.  I'm happy I did.  But I didn't need to. 
• The 80% of shit I packed that I didn't think I'd use is so not being used.  I wear the same obnoxiously-happy pants I got at a Brisbane flea market in 1997 almost every day.  
• My mother was right about everything.  This reality is going to take a few more decades to digest. 
• I like having a schedule and a job a bit more than I realized.  A lot more actually.
• This trip has been less about meeting new folks and more about re-connecting with dear, old friends.  I have the honor of being friends with some really fantastic, loving, fun people along these here highways.  I'm looking at you all of 15853, Katie, Brooke, Whitney, Jaime, Sandra, Concetta, Karl, Colleen, Lindsey, Scott, Myrna, Ken, Tashia, John, Jefferson, Daphne, Emily, Grace, Meg and Merrisa.  And Cowboy Jim. 

Next stop is today, and it is MAINE!  I will fly from Seattle to Maine to explore, well, many things.  Stay tuned!