mikesusz

Day 7: Fort Smith AR to Nashville TN

today we drove from the westernmost edge of Arkansas, to the middle of Tennessee. we stopped in Nashville to have dinner at the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and we decided to stay in town tonight. i’ve got a vibration from my passenger side front wheel that isn’t making me feel special. so we’ll find a dealer tomorrow to check it out before we leave town.

Arkansas and what we’ve seen of Tennessee already was nice. lush, rolling green hills. Nashville seems like a neat town, but i haven’t seen too much of it. i hope to see the Parthenon replica before we jet out tomorrow; it depends how much time the tire thing will eat up.

tomorrow we head northeast, through Kentucky and winding up somewhere probably in Ohio. within a day’s striking distance of Buffalo, is the goal.

Day 6: McPherson KS to Fort Smith AR

well, we’re here. in Fort Smith, Arkansas. we didn’t get to leave Hutchinson/McPherson until about 3 in the afternoon, so we didn’t make Memphis today.

i have now driven in Oklahoma (down from Wichita KS through Tulsa to Fort Smith) and i have to say: your roads suck. SUCK. Oklahoma, you’re NOT OK. i just paid 8 different tolls to drive down a couple hundred miles of what you call a freeway, and i think my kidneys are bruised.

i’m exhausted at about 12:30am and that’s good; we’ve been stuck on Pacific Time. i think we’re finally hitting MDT at least, if not CDT.

Day 5: Hutchinson KS

Day 5 was pretty laid back. we stayed in McPherson another night, and visited some friends in Hutchinson Kansas. hung out at their house most of the day, and then went to the Kansas State Fair for a few hours.

Day 4: Golden CO to McPherson KS

wow, day 4’s driving is really… unspectacular.

Day 3: Denver

day 3 was spent in Denver/Golden. quite a lazy day, i must admit.

we had breakfast at Einstein Brothers Bagels, then dealt with some paperwork for the house. then we got one of my tires balanced (that threw a wheel weight somewhere in Wyoming) and had lunch/dinner at Falling Rock Tap House. after dinner we drove around Denver a bit, stopped at Argonaut to pick up some local beer to take with us, and went back to the hotel.

Day 2: Ogden UT to Golden CO

day 2 started out with finding a Starbucks (in Utah? yeah, there are a couple) we found one in Riverdale. after buying our good cup of joe, and a pound of coffee to be sent to our troops, we headed out. this is the mountainey view from Riverdale:

and here’s the entomological carnage from Day 1:

Day 1: Everett WA to Ogden UT

we left Everett, WA around 9am yesterday (Sept 3rd, Labor Day). a stop in Issaquah for coffee & breakfast, then we headed east across Snoqualmie Pass. at Ellensburg, we turned southeast towards Yakima, and eventually Oregon.

we finally saw hops growing in Yakima, albeit at highway speed:

Goodbye House

we left the house yesterday. the buyer’s inspector was just showing up. let’s hope that went well.

also trashed my home-improvement shoes. lots of miles on these, all within the boundaries of this lot (well, and to the dump & back)

moving toward moving

so, we’re getting there. slower than i would have liked, but we’re getting there.

first, news: the house is subject to inspection. so, hopefully all will go well tuesday and we will have sold our house.

second, carrie is back in town and helping me to liquidate our remaining possessions here. we’re hoping to have it all sorted out by tomorrow.

third, that means that on sunday, we could leave on our 2nd trip. i will blog about it here, but the second trip will be the “fun” one.

last time i have to…

so, for the past few weeks i’ve been aware of random things that were the “last time i have to” do something. like – last time i fly into SEATAC (well, last time i fly home to SEATAC).

yesterday was: last time i ride the bus to/from work. today has been full of lasts. last time i post to my corporate blog, last time i attend my daily meeting. last time i get coffee @ the starbucks downstairs. last time i get water from the water filter machine. heh.

in about 20 minutes, it’ll be the last time leave the 39th floor. gonna miss the view, that’s for sure.