Day one (mostly) in the books

This morning when I woke up, there was like 5 inches of snow on the ground in Minnesota:

So, needless to say I was glad to get on an airplane heading out of town. Of course, I was less enthusiastic sitting on the tarmac of MSP for 45 minutes while they de-iced the plane. Oh well, that's one job you don't want them skimping on. Other than that, the flight was pretty easy.

I landed to a rainy Seattle (big surprise), but it didn't take long for John to pull up and find me. When you pack light, it's easy to make a quick exit. After a few minutes in the car, I was surprised to look down and see that the stick shift had SIX gears on it. That doesn't include reverse. John mentioned something about an anatomy-related joke that his significant other had cracked recently.


We drove down I-5, then west from Longview, Washington to Cannon Beach, OR. It was rainy, but still a fun drive. We got lost in Cannon Beach but then ended up at Ecola State Park. A $5 entrance fee was worth the stunning views of the ocean. It was still rainy, but nevertheless very scenic.


Now, after about 90 minutes of wet and dark driving up and down hills on US-26, we're in a 2-star dive motel on Burnside Avenue. But the upside is we're only a few blocks away from Burnside Brewery, which is our true final destination for the night.