Short Version
Introduction
For those readers lacking either the time or the inclination to read
those 30,000+ trip-written words (or so says Microsoft Word), here's a
convenient, "short version" of the entire adventure.
Chronological format. I'll look into subsequent paragraph format,
reverse chronological list format, reverse alphabetized chronological
list format, and a pig Latin version. Enjoy!
Cast of Characters
|
Name |
Description | |
Cousin Chris |
Veteran TV news reporter in Seattle, WA | |
Cousin Kathi |
Log home decorator and assistant builder in
Provo, UT | |
Felix the Cat |
Feline entity in Raleigh, NC | |
Fred Hutchinson |
Cancer Research Center where Sara works | |
Kelly |
Beloved former co worker in Columbus, IN | |
Laurie |
High school classmate in Denver, CO | |
Maggie and Victor |
Feline entities in Churchton, MD | |
Mitch Miller |
Bandleader, former Columbia Records A&R
president, and artist most consistently listened to | |
Patton |
Canine entity in Columbus, OH | |
Robert P. Jones |
Washington State Fire Academy instructor | |
Rush Limbaugh |
Talk radio host most consistently heard from
state to state | |
Sara |
Beloved biochemical entity in Seattle, WA | |
Sara's Sister |
Lovingly slammed because we could | |
Sharon |
Commercial fishing satellite tracking
specialist in Churchton, MD | |
Unnamed Conversationalist |
Jerry Springer Show living desk clerk in
Salina, KS | |
Vice President Al Gore |
Talk radio topic most consistently talked about
from state to state | |
Yours Truly |
AKA Yours Classy, Yours Curious, Yours Delayed,
Yours Hot Blooded, Yours Immodest, Yours Not Thinking, Yours Out
of Sorts, Yours Uptight, Yours Younger, and Yours Y Chromosome-ed |
Seattle
- Sea-Tac - Arrive 12:45 a.m., airport fire station
- Renton - A-1 Auto Movers to apply, Lake Washington, Pizza Hut
- Wallingford - K-Mart, Sara's apartment, sleep on sofa cushions
- Lynnwood/Edmonds - Target, mall, ferry to Olympic Peninsula
- Olympic Peninsula - Sequim, Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge, Forks,
Hoh Rainforest, Dungeness Spit, Kingston
- Around Seattle - Fred Hutchinson, Lake Union, retired fireboat,
pontoon planes, Blue Angel, Seattle Center, Monorail, Westlake
Center, Metro station, Pioneer Square, Greenlake, Capitol Hill,
I-5 to retrieve ball cap
Everett - Boeing factory tour, Target, mall, movie, Black Angus
Steakhouse
Attractions - Seattle Zoo, Snoqualmie Falls, Pacific Science
Museum, Space Needle, Broadway Market, waterfront fire station,
fireboat
Bothell - Visit Cousin Chri
Day 1
- Renton, WA - Leave A-1 Auto Movers at 11:15 a.m., Wal-Mart, Billy
McHale's Steaks and Ribs
- North Bend, WA - Mount Baker, fire station, outlet mall east of
North Bend, WA - Washington State Fire Academy
- Clu Elum, WA - Post office, Bull Durham Tobacco billboard
- Yakima, WA - Target, fire station, old buildings, mall, A&W
- Oregon Border - Gas, snacks, postcards, dam
- Pendleton, OR - Travelodge, $49
Day 2
- Pendleton, OR - K-Mart, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, fire station
- 45th Parallel - Crossed
- West of Ontario, OR - Country Kitchen
- Ontario, OR - Wal-Mart, hardware store, fire station
- Caldwell, ID - Drive through
- Boise, ID - Mall, another mall
- Twin Falls, ID - Days Inn, $40
Day 3
- Twin Falls, ID - Snake River Canyon, Jack in the Box, mall,
Target, drive for miles following smoke, find no fires
- Pocatello, ID - Fire training facility at airport, airport fire
station, riding on wrong Interstate
- Malad, UT - Gas, snacks, car wash
- Ogden, UT - Construction accident, fire station, old buildings
- Centerville, UT - Break glasses, fix using chewing gum- like stuff
bought at Target, Wendy's
- Provo, UT - Spend night at Cousin Kathi's cool, new log-cabin
home
Day 4
- Provo, UT - Fix glasses with handmade splint, photograph more of
Kathi's home, roam canyon, look for wildfires, find
only base camp, Wal-Mart
Nephi, UT - Fire station, Forestry Service office
Scipio, UT - Start of shortcut to I-70
Salina, UT - End of shortcut to I-70, Denny's, lock keys in car
Somewhere in Utah - Oooh-ed and aaaah-ed by rocks and rock
formations
Thompson, CO - Gas, snacks, fire station
Grand Junction, CO - Airport fire station, Wal-Mart, fire station,
Sam's, mall, Toys 'R' Us, Bennett's Bar-b-que and Steaks
Rifle, CO - Rusty Cannon Motel, $40
Day 5
- Rifle, CO - Burger King
- Glenwood Springs, CO - Visitor Center, woman sleeping in truck,
fire station, hot springs-powered public pool
- Eagle, CO - Snacks, follow fire truck to natural gas leak, fire
station
- Vail, CO - Fire station
- Copper Mountain, CO - Fire station
- Georgetown, CO - Fire station, railway trestle
- Eisenhower Tunnel - Fail to be shown facility fire trucks
- Empire, CO - Fail to find railway tunnel
- West of Denver, CO - Write in car, watch thunderstorm, call
Laurie, small wildfire sighting
- Denver, CO - Black-Eyed Peas with Laurie and daughter, roam town,
write while sitting in car at night next to fire station
- Byers, CO - Middle of nowhere, Fleabag, $50
Day 6
- Byers, CO - Photograph Fleabag
- Limon, CO - Gas, snacks, post office, railroad museum, fire
station, standing room-only McDonald's
- Goodland, KS - Wal-Mart
- Western Kansas - Boring as Hell
- Hays, KS - Mall, Montana Mike's, Wal-Mart, fire station, old
buildings, grain silos at dusk
- Salina, KS - Unnamed hotel, late chat with lesbian,
mother-of-four, thrice-divorced, recently raped ex-con
Day 7
- Salina, KS - Old buildings, cool fire station, McDonald's
- Kansas Turnpike - Sing Kansas City songs to toll attendants
- Eastern Kansas - Way more interesting than Western Kansas
- Kansas City, MO - Toy museum, toy stores, The Plaza, fire station,
record store, downtown buildings
- Boonville, MO - Days Inn, $45
Day 8
- Boonville, MO - McDonald's
- Missouri River - Winery, discover borrowed camera may be broken
- Warrenton, MO - Outlet mall, toy store, music store
- St. Louis, MO - Exit to photograph Arch
- Somewhere in Illinois - Construction, traffic stopped
- Effingham, IL - Gas, call Kelly
- Terre Haute, IN - Call Kelly
- Indianapolis, IN - Stop on shoulder to photograph airport
- Columbus, IN - Hour with Kelly, Days Inn, $49
Day 9
- Columbus, IN - Burger King, cool buildings, local AAA office, all
fire stations, Bob Evans
- East of Indianapolis, IN - Meijer megastore
- Centerville, IN - Gas, snacks, postcards, call car's owner
- West of Dayton, OH - Meijer, scratch 'n' win cards
- Columbus, OH - Downtown at dusk
- Zanesville, OH - Cracker Barrel, laptop open
- Cambridge, OH - Days Inn, $39
Day 10
- Cambridge, OH - K-Mart
- Wheeling, WV - Suspension bridge over Ohio River, one of world's
longest
- Washington, PA - Lost for in rural Pennsylvania for hour, Long
John Silver's, gas, car wash
- Bedford, PA - Ice cream
- Breezewood, PA - Exit Pennsylvania Turnpike
- I-270 - Doing 90 into D.C.
- Largo, MD - Sharon's workplace
- Alexandria, VA - Deliver car
- Annapolis, MD - Steak Night at bar, toy-looking store, Ben and
Jerrys, follow fire trucks
- Churchton, MD - Spend night at Sharon's
Day 11
- Churchton, MD - Morning with Sharon, Maggie, and Victor,
Chesapeake Bay, Anne Arundal County
- Deale, MD - Fire station, marina
- West Annapolis, MD - K-Mart, fire station, prison
- Annapolis, MD - Carrol's Creek, waterfront, fireboat, old
buildings, water taxi, mall, Barnes and Noble, Tower Records
- North of Richmond, VA - Cracker Barrel, laptop open
- Henderson, NC - Gas, snacks
- Raleigh, NC - Arrive at 11:45 p.m.
Raleigh
- tanner
- thinner (somewhat)
- still wired
- under stimulated
- ninety damn rolls of film to develop
- walking out of 3 out of 4 movies
- still not much of an appetite
- ready to do it all over again
Copyright 2000 by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros
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