Road Trip 2018 Diary

 Sat., May 19th, 2018

Work was a bitch I had difficulty forgettting about. I wasn't out of there until about 7a.m.

I was pretty irritable a lot of the drive today as I came off of my prescribed amphetamine. I did my best not to take it out on Krystle.

Had lots of difficulty sleeping. Got only 2 hours in. Going to take some sleep aid now & get on a normal schedule.

Made it to Missoula, Montana today and are staying with Krystle's aunt & uncle. It was a lovely meal of salmon, green beans, rice-a-roni, and pasta salad after the long 11-something hour drive.

Going for coffee & bagels tomorrow morning, then it's a 2-hour diver to our destination in Idaho.

I am much more excited for the West Coast but trying to calm myself & enjoy life in the moment.

Played FF IV on the 3DS for the first time today. Looking forward to enjoying more throughout the travels. Trying to get further along in Pokemon Black but Tornadus has been a bitch to try to catch so far.

Tired, so leaving it at that.

Mon., May 21st 2018

Sunday morning we went with Krystle's aunt & uncle to Einstein Bagels. I had a small chai & the Farmhouse Sandwich with 2 eggs, ham, bacon, cheese, and cream cheese on a bagel sandwich thing. Then we stopped at City Brew for coffee. I got a vanilla chai frappuccino with 1 shot of espresso.

It was interesting to hear her uncle speak of his deployment in Afghanistan. He said that Afghanis were very poor and tribal, their society being much more complex in its relations than our own.

I decided Missoula (for being Montana) was pretty nice—I could see myself able to live there – and I seemed to like it more than Bismarck.

Surrounded by hills & snow-capped mountains—and a hip kind of place, known as the Seattle of Montana—with helter skelter interesting businesses dotting the downtown area. I remember seeing a kind of gothic, gaunt tall woman crossing the street smoking a morning cigarette.

We got onto the road soon after—making our way to Osburn, Idaho The terrain here is much the same, except it's gotten more mountainous. It reminds me of being at my aunt & uncle's house in the mountains of Colorado as a child. It was only a short 2-hour drive here yesterday.

It's been pretty uneventful here. This is a very small mountain town. The nearest Wal-Mart is a bit of a drive away. I guess we are going hiking later today.

I'm getting myself onto a normal schedule. So far it's going pretty well.

So far it's very R & R being here. There isn't much to see—we are just kind of hanging out. Im letting my aching body recuperate. I haven't worked out in 2 days. Not really much to add & I need to get something—maybe suck down the caffeine.

Wed., May 23rd 2018 8:48 p.m.

Meant to update yesterday, but never made it. This won't be as fresh. We went to the Mission place. Got coffee before that at Brewed Awakening—the best coffee shop I've had here—it was in a small town called Kellogg—which has this ridiculous amount of car dealerships along the main street with a nauseating amount of American flags on poles.

The coffee kicked in & I took many pictures of the Mission site! First we observed a movie about the site. My favorite part being the Father of the Mission negotiating a peaceful pact between the white man and native. Then we went through a museum & I took some pictures. The coffee made me want to read every display but Krystle and her Daddy were going through quick, so there wasn't much time.

Then we went to the church site itself—the oldest standing building in Idaho. There was a man in the church explaining the construction of the mission. Nails did not exist then. Wallpaper didn't, either. The structure was supported by branches with holes in them interlocked by other branches built to lock in them with the holes through the branch portion; shaped into the hole with a peg for the hole to lock them in place. The wallpaper was made of newspapers painted over with patterns. The walls were built with grass & mud. The tabernacle was made of woodwork done by the Father himself. He painted over it to make it appear like stone unmistakably—a neat and authentic illusion.

I took pics & played Pokemon Go which was fun.

We returned home & ate (I think?) and I fell asleep watching Jumpin' Jack Flash. While I was asleep Krystle went to the shooting range with her Dad. Then we went for Mexican at a local Mexican restaurant. Not much else of recollection, then it was to bed.

I need to do this daily as I am missing details (note to self).

This morning I watched Ruroni Kenshin, which I love like crazy. A very, very good anime. I had a personal-size Wild Mike's pizza and kombucha for B-fast.

We went to Wallace, Idaho today—a very historic tourist town. It was pretty interesting. We got coffee at an espresso bar—first time I'd ever been to one. Blended chai with two espresso shots.

There was a lot of fucking to do in Pokemon Go in Wallass so I caught many Pokemon I'd never before and got lots of Pokestops. We went to the Pawn Shop & I fucked it off getting Pokestops inside. I noticed they had free comic books as we were leaving & grabbed some.

We checked out a mining & railroad museum & I took craptons of pics. I kept fucking in Pokemon Go. I used an old punch typewriter a bit. It was a bitch to type on and took lots of force. We stopped in some clothing store also but not much there.

I really want

ed to walk around Wallass & play Pokemon Go for hours but we left, went home, ate turkey burgers & pasta salad & watched Jumpin' Jack Flash. I almost passed out asleep again but made myself suck down the black tea and stay awake. Glad I did because we went to the shooting range & I fired a gun for the first time—1 .25 revolver the first I fired. Krystle's Dad taught me the basics.

I did 3 or 4 rounds of shooting with 6 or so rounds apiece. The last I shot at a newly-placed bullseye and actually hit the border of the red center. I watched them fire for a while & Krystle's Dad kicked her ass making a face—and laughing just like the dog from Duck Hunt on the NES which was hilarious.

Then we went home & Krystle's Dad left to the store while we stayed--Krystle suddenly super horny & needing attention so I fingered her to relief. Then we watched Ruroni Kenshin & spoke about the series.

We had ranch-style chicken baked in the over with garlic wild rice & cucumber salad for din-din. It was too tasty & I sucked down 4 chicken breasts.

Then we had the misplaced keys fiasco. We found them, though—and are focusing on packing up & leaving to Seattle tomorrow. Thus the Idaho chapter of the road trip is coming to a close.

I have mixed feelings. Overall I love Idaho more than I thought I would—very mountainous, hilly terrain with a rich history of mining, prostitution, not to mention a rich native history as well. Here at her parents' house in Osburn, ID it has felt like camping & getting away from it all & very refreshing. But it is outisde the comfort zone that the real magic happens and despite enjoying settling in, there is now the time to settle out and venture further—dangerous as the road may be, with no place home but driving forward—there is yet much to see & danger is counter-balanced by being able to explore and befriend new experience.

It shall be nice to be in 4/20 friendly Seattle & to experience some Nirvana memorandas.

For now I need to bathe, shave, wind down, and pack.

Going to that tasty Sams restaurant tomorrow then off to the road we go. I shall be driving for the first time tomorrow, so I'm kinda nervous—it's a 7 hr drive. Ta-ta for now.

Thur., May 24th 9:02 p.m.

I was kinda sad to leave behind John & Lisa—Krystle’s Dad & Stepmom—as I had just begun to grow warmer to them—but such is the way of life. Things come and they go. I shall see them again sometime.

What I loved about The Silver Valley area of Idaho was all the local businesses & how uncorporatized it was.

Immediately after passing into the state marker for Washington, about a mile or so after, there was a sign for a local cannabis shop. It got me very excited.

Stopped at the rest stop on the way. The stalls were very short and tall people could see down into my stall and my business. My inner voyeur was primed. There was also some club or charity shop there selling stuff at a rest stop of all places. So weird.

The terrain of Washington was very varied, which was surprising. Hilly and very foresty to start, then prairie and flatland and semi-desert, then hilly and foresty, and increasingly mountainous. We passed a national forest on the way which made me happy—it is important to preserve this land of Earth.

Burien, WA took a bit of congested traffic to get to. But in total it was only a 7 or so hour drive.

We are staying with Krystle’s uncle, Miles. He is a very accommodating, openly emotional man. Likes The Grateful Dead. Has a bumper sticker beckoning one to fish naked. He’s a very awesome uncle for Krystle to have.

We spent some time talking. He is a certified chef of some sort so he prepared us some leftover Indian food which made me recall my time eating in CA: after a Krishna worship service I had feasted upon delectable vegetarian food prepared by the Krisnaites.

It was great tasty food. Then we had blue cheese and triscuts with sliced pears while talking more.

We spoke of the inter-generational gaps in this country and how we needed to encourage co-habitation of generations to lessen the isolation of the elders in this country rather than keep older people alone in nursing homes.

Then we went off and walked downtown. I observed some crows perching atop vehicles and eating food thrown about the road where a nearby farmer’s market was closing down.

Miles gave us a tour of the old & new downtown here. We stopped in a bubble tea shop that was hot as a sauna. I got a blended matcha green tea.

It was neat to see birds shamelessly unafraid of humans. It was weird to have to be aware of passers-by & be sure to make room for their passing. There were so many shops & it was a lovely sunny day.

Then we went to The Joint, a recreational cannabis establishment. It was too awesome. A dream come true! There were so many options—it was pleasantly overwhelming!

Then we went to Papa Murphy’s & Miles bought us a pizza. Then we walked around a central market that was newly opened. Now I’m settling in, about to eat pizza, meeting her aunt Phyllis for the first time.