AKA the good, the bad and the very, very ugly…
So, the daughter and I flew to Seattle early Saturday… Virgin America, flight 740… as expected, a great flight, a great airline… The co-pilot was proud of his new sunglasses… the cabin crew happy and joking… all was good. Clearly part of the good.
Brian, aka the son, picked us up at the airport in his jeep, large tire, long way up, grab a handle and jump into the seat…It’s a young man’s vehicle. Off to the north. On a whim we go off looking for Archie McPhee… (I have written about Archie McPhee before…) We find the store a few minutes before they open, they let us in… all is good, some postcards, a shopping bag (devil ducks) and a book, Steph gets some stuff. Hers comes in a Willowbee & Kent Travel Co bag, very Archee…
We check out and head north to reclaim the Saturn.
We find and recover the car… We follow Brian in the jeep to his apartment. It’s a navy bachelor pad, limited furniture but neatly folded clothing… Brian wants to show me his guns, but only finds the shotgun… says the rest must be at Johnson’s (a fellow sailor)
Off south to find lunch… Elliot’s on the waterfront… we in the Saturn, Bri on his motor cycle. Elliots is bit of a classic tourist waterside fish house but somewhat respected in town… Raw oysters, fried calamari for Steph, Salads and such for lunch. Then good byes and we head south, he north.
Brian hadn’t told me that the guns were missing… (he told me he must had left them at a friends…) He returned home to call the police and file a report...
Meanwhile, an hour south I note a clicking noise… a few miles further I need to check the engine… lots of oil, nothing loose I can find… still further the noise is significant… sounds like a broken spark plug. No signs of a leak, so continue on to Portland, the sound growing…
Portland, home of Apizza Scholls… Tony Bodain has featured the restaurant on his show… We arrived just after they opened at 5:00… on the first page of the list, I ordered a beer, Steph water… the wait staff were about as tight as they get… an hour later we are seated. They have two store fronts next door to each other, but only the adult beverages can transit the passage between the two, we had to go outdoors then in the next door.
From the press you might expect a hatty tatty restaurant, but it’s a neighborhood joint catering to families, many with babies or grandma in her walker… We had a Margarita pizza with anchovies… the greatest crust ever, nice red sauce, fresh basil and great anchovies…
Then off to Wallmart to buy a socket set to check the car further… nothing found…then a decision, drive north to return it to the garage which “fixed” it. We stopped at Powell’s bookstore, but I was too distracted to buy anything (this is a big statement… I never stop at Powell's and don't buy a book)
46 miles into Washington, 100 miles from our destination the engine blew… NASCAR dramatic hand grenade style, connecting rods our the side of the block… Clouds of oil smoke, running over parts dropped on the road... so at 10:00 at night, we are stuck on the side of the road in rural Washington.
About 50 minutes later a tow truck arrived… I love AAA… two locals had stopped to check on us along the way. The driver loaded the car… then drove us to a Portland Airport Hotel… we checked in… used the internet to buy airline tickets… arranged for the 6:00 shuttle, then laid down for 4 hours of sleep…
Up early, shower, downstairs for coffee and a muffin, Orange juice and bagels offered.. shuttle to the airport, checked a bag, through security then find the gate and wait. Portland has free wireless internet… coffee and email, a good morning (it can’t be great at 6:00).
United Airlines home… good flight, good crew, but they keep offering special services… special seats. I get tired of the up charges… The legacy airlines are just not keeping up. At least the Virgin America ear phones work on United, so I got to listen to the air traffic control on the way south…
Home by 10:00 am … check email and read the paper, but by 4:00 I am used up and take a nap… get up for dinner then back to sleep… I figure I slept about 13 hours…
Now Monday evening… I need to start packing for the next trip… The guns have been located, stolen by a “friend..” (or not)
Things are at least starting to look up.
Randy
Well at least now you know what the ticking was.
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