as i was driving up to seattle i noticed a few snowflakes here and there. as i got closer to the city it started piling up along the roadside, my fears of not getting through started to be realized. before i left i heard stories of half a foot of snow on the road, traffic going nowhere, but i stubborned up and went anyway. when i finally got to seattle, i saw the evidence of a huge snowfall early in the morning, but it had melted to the point that the only problem i had was puddles. lots of wet, puddles. when i got to the art institute, the note on the front door told me they were close due to the snow. so i called some friends and met up with them to go to lunch. the menu was thai, good food, not spicy enough. then driving to canada, nothing happened. some heavy winds, but no snow. crossing the border is always a nervous ordeal. even though i have nothing to worry about, i always panic and stutter when answering the simple “where are you going?” ” how long you going to be there?” questions. josh and i left canada on saturday to drive again to seattle. we got randomly selected by the computer to be searched. maybe it was josh’s driving through the border 10 times a week. maybe it was just random selection, but either way, the border guard was nice. he came out, talked to us, made us open the trunk and lift the cover off the spare. then he asked us what we were doing in seattle, after we told him, i think he wanted to go with us. but he talked to us about portland, and powell’s books and a little bar he goes to called red robin that is up the street from powell’s. i informed him that i think it closed, he didn’t know, he hadn’t been there for a while. my weekend ended with a 20th trip to starbucks, a nasty drink, and a long drive home, in which i made it in great time considering i stopped for gas twice and to pee twice. so minus the four stops totaling about 30 minutes, i made it home in 4 and a half hours to catch the simpsons. i think i smelled oil burning. now that i think about it, red robin is still open.

adam.

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