It's pronounced 'spo-CAN' not 'spo-kain"

October 7th, 2007 2:34pm



Current Location: Gonzaga University library in Spokane, WA

Next Destination: Coeur D'Alene, ID en route to Glacier National Park

Miles Driven: 1237 miles



Let's see...where did I leave off? So I spent 2 nights at Hannah's place in Olympia, WA. On the 2nd day while I was there, I went out and gathered about 40 to 45 gallons of the best quality WVO I've collected at this restaurant called Rambling Jack's. It's so funny how excited I get about good grease these days. You should've seen a smile on my face when I found their 55-gallon oil barrel full of this awesome oil. I've been having such a hard time finding good oil, I seriously did a little dance right after I came across Rambling Jack's. I have to give a shout out to the chef Josh and the bartender Heather there at Rambling Jack's. Not only was Josh and Heather hella friendly and helpful in getting the grease, Josh made me dinner (one of the best BBQ pork pizza I've ever had, by the way.) and Heather served me tasty local ales and gave me their restaurant shirt that has a picture of a pig on the back with a subtitle that reads "Praise the Lard!". And all on the house! What nice people! I didn't have such a great impression of Olympia at first, but Josh and Heather pretty much changed all of that. Thanx Josh and Heather again. 45 gallons of best WVO, a BBQ pork pizza, 2 pints of local brew, an awesome shirt, and nice locals I made friends with....Olympia, you are alright in my books. So the next moring, I bid farewell to Hannah who had been nothing but a generous hospitable hostess (by the way, Hanna, I left my slippers and my detergent at your place. Now you can stop poisoning the earth by using my environmentally friendly detergent. And enjoy the slippers too. I recommend wearing socks before weating them. If my memory serves me right, I don't think I've washed them once since I get them like 5 years ago. How the hell do you wash wool slippers anyway?), and headed up to Olympic National Park.



First of all, Onlypic NP is huge. I first drove up the east side of it just to realize that the rain forest was on the west side of the park. I'm telling you. Details have never been my forte. Anyways, good thing I only drove about 30 miles before learning this fact, I turned around and drove around the west side of the park. I drove through some of the most dense and wet forest I'v ever seen. After driving for 5 hours, I finally reached my destination: Hoh Rain Forest. I did some hiking through the forest and along the Hoh river before the park closed. It wasn't what you would conventionally think of as beautiful but it was absolutely gorgeous. It was lightly raining, cloudy, cold, and dark but you could hear the water dripping down from these long curtains of mosses that were hanging on these huge branches, you could hear the river flowing through, and birds chirping in the distance, and just random noises of the forest, and pieces of dark rainy clouds stuck in the middle of these thick moutain ranges.....it was absoultely gorgeously dark. I would love to come back and hike through the longer trail up to the glacier range sometime. Anyways, after the hike, it was 6pm, and I contemplated weather I should spend the night or drive and I decided to drive.



I drove through the winding roads of the Olypic NP (props to Bertha, I drove the shit out of her on this day and she just took it like a woman she is.) I couldn't tell you what I saw cuz it was dark. But I drove for good 3 hours before I got to Port Angeles, a small town on the north end of the olympic peninsula. I had one of the most amazing seafood Thai dish for dinner in that town. I walked into this Thai restaurant and everyone including the staff and the patrons was white, and I immediately had a doubt about this place, but I was just so hungry, I just decided to give it a try. I looked for the most seafood-ish dish on the menu, seeing how I was in "Port Angeles", and decided on their seafood mixer. Oh man, maybe it was my hunger or craving for some Asian food, but this thing was seafood heaven. It had crab legs, mussels, clams, scallops, prawns, and fish all sauteed in this crazy spicy Thai seasoning. I went to town on this thing. I literally licked the plate clean. It's funny how you come across the best food in the randomest place. Oh by the way, apparently Laura Bush ate here back in 2003. Every menu and brochures of the restaurant had a mentioning of this fact. I guess the first lady in a small town like that would be a huge deal.



So after this amazing meal in a random town, I headed for Bainbridge where I would take the ferry to Seattle. I drove for another 1.5 hours on the winding roads of Olympic NP and finally made to Bainbridge just in time for the last ferry. The guy told me it was gonna cost $45 for the ferry since Bertha was over 20' long. Thank god I decided to just spend the night in Bainbridge and go in the morning. When I got on the ferry in the morning, it was $28. I didn't ask questions. I just paid the $28 and drove onto the ferry. By the way, the night in Bainbridge was probably the coldest night yet that I have spent with Bertha. In a way weird sick way, I kinda liked it though cuz it reminded me of Berkeley. It reminded me a lot of the frigid nights I have spent living in the Pink House. Oh, how well the Pink House has trained me. Actually, it probably wasn't as cold as some of the nights in the Pink House. I've gone to bed wearing 2 sweatshirts and a beanie in the Pink house before. I didn't wear a beanie and wore only 1 sweatshirt the other night in Bertha.



After taking the ferry, I arrived in Seattle, WA. Right away, something just kinda felt familiar. I drove through the town and I swear to God, some parts seemed and felt just like SF, espeically with the gloomy/rainy weather. I could also tell there was a good Asian population in this city. I saw more Asians in the first 2 hours in Seattle than I have in the past 2 weeks combined. Anyways, the first thing I did was find a 24 hour fitness so I can, at the risk of soudning like a beefhead, work out and, more importantly, shower. They have a really good 24 hour fitness here in Seattle, by the way. After the gym, I went on my tourist stroll.



First Stop: Seattle Central Library

I headed to the Seattle central library to get a map and do some research on biodiesel stations and update the blog. As soon as I got to the library my jaw dropped. This was by far the best/technologically advanced library I've ever been in. The first thing I noticed was their automated book return system. Once the book is returend, they are put on this conveyor belt that goes through a scanner. Apparently, every book in this library has a chip in them so as it goes through the scanner, the conveyor belt automatically spits books out to the respedtive section of the library according to the chip. And this runs through the entire library. It's amazing. Oh and the architecture of the building is unbelievable. It seriously looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. It also contains amazing green features like waste wood chip flooring, waterless urinals, all glass enclosures so the natural light can pass through minimizing the need for electricity, just to name a few. They have a reading room on the top floor which has a nice view of the downtown Seattle while you are reading. I guess that could be distracting. Amazing library, highly recommend it. By the way, Seattle was voted the most literate city in America. Apparently, last year they had the 2:1 ratio of the number books checked out to the population of greater Seattle. It's only fitting that they have such a cool library to go with that ratio.

Overall satisfaction: 8 out of 10. I would've given it a 9 except they only let visitors use internet for an hour.



Second stop: Space Needle.

$16 to enter. Bullshit! Almost didin't go in because of it. Was it worth it? Maybe. The view is absolutely gorgeous. They have a ton of information on Seattle and the space needle which is always good for visitors. However, would've been good for $10.

Overall satisfaction: 5.5 out of 10.



Third stop: Pike Public Market Place

I got there too late. As I was coming in, they were closing down. In other words, I didn't get to see them throw fish. I was really hoping that I would be able to throw/catch a fish while I was there but no dice. They close at 5 so if any of you are looking to go there, get there before 5. I can see how it would be a fun place to walk around in though when it's open. There are just so many fish, produce, flower markets, shops, and restaurants, you can probably spend a whole day here if you wanted to. Oh, I did get this crazy Russian baked good filled with spinach, cheese, and egg. I can't remember the name of the place right now but it was delicious. Anyways, even though I didn't get to see much fish being thrown, it did lead me to the restaurant Cutters which is where my night debauchery in Seattle began.

Overall satisfaction: Not applicable.



Fourth stop: Cutters and then....ah fuck, I don't remember.

I ate dinner at this restaurant called Cutters. It was American Seafood/sushi place. Yeah I know. Don't worry. The sushi chef was this Japanese guy: Tom san. I caught just the end of the happy hour. Did I eve mention that I love Happy Hours! I had baked oysters, Seattle roll, Shrimp and Scallop ceviche, local ale called Mac and Jack's, and 3 Maker's Mark. All this for $50 ($28.50 was for Maker's) and it was DELICIOUS! Well, the Seattle roll was ok but the fish was hella fresh. Just to compliment this wonderful dinner, I watched the yankees lose in the 11th inning. FUCK THE YANKEES! Anyways, during dinner, these 2 gentlemen: John and Ed sat down next to me. We got started talking and before I know, we are buying each other drinks, telling jokes (John, all of our jokes were pretty bad compared to the bartender Dave's), and sharing some laughs. I highly recommend Cutters to everyone who's gonna be Seattle. The food is good, and the bartender Dave pretty much defines what a good batender should be like. He tells you jokes, shows your funny riddles, and shares not-so-positive parts of his life with a twist humor (best of luck to ya Dave). All around, a good bartender. Anyways, after Cutters, John, Ed, and I headed over to Kells. See? Seattle's just like SF. It was funny though. If you go to Kells in SF, everyone you meet is Irish. You will be hearing words like "dodgy", "gobshite", "wee wanker" being thrown around everywhere. Well here in Seattle, only 2 people that were Irish in the entire joint was the duet Irish band that was playing. Quite a contrast. Anyways, I drank a few more beers there than I don't exactly remember how it all came about but I was playing John's wingman talking to these 2 girls there. One of them went to Stanford, so we instantly had hatred connection. By the way, if I hadn't mentioned this, John is in his 40's and Ed...well I'm not sure how old Ed is but he's older than John. Well, this goes on for awhile and the girls must have not found us interesting enough so they left. Shortly afterwards, John and Ed went home as well. So here I was in Kells by myself with 8 beers in front of me. Oh, during the night, I made friends with one of the guys at the table next to us cuz I was trying to get a picture of him standing next to a fat chick cuz he was wearing this shirt that said "Chubby Chaser". Anyways, he and his friends gave us all their undrunk beers because they had to get out of there. So y'all can imagine how that went with me and 8 beers. Well, thank god, I didn't drink them all. Actually, I only drank 2 of those. So I left Kells and was walking to my bike to ride to this other bar that someone had recommended to me earlier.



Along the way, I got started talking to this couple just across the street from where my bike was parked. They were in a bar called "Can Can" just downstairs and invited me down. So I went down there and joined them but the place was dead except for this one girl who was having a birthday party. So being drunk as I was and naturally liking talking to strangers, I went up and started talking to her. Before I knew, I was totally crashing this party. And since I had the camcorder and everything, she loved being on film. Hmmmm...only if I was a single....what could I have done with a birthday girl that loves being on film?...hmmmm Anyways, the party was kinda dying down so I decided to leave but wanted to get her e-mail address so I can send her the pictures and everything. Well the bar napkin there was black so I ripped a small corner out of this page of a bartender magazine that looked like it's been there for ages. It had dust on its cover for god's sake. Well, the owner (in fact, now that I think about, I'm not even sure if this fucker was the owner) saw me and demanded that I buy that magazine for $5. You've got to be fuckin' kidding me. He was dead serious. So I threw $5 in his face, told him to go fuck himself and left the place.



After I left Can Can, I walked upstairs onto the market place and saw these guys just out there smoking cigarettes, laughing...just being locals on a friday night. I thought it would be a good random shot to have so I took a picture of them and they all kinda looked at me weirdly. So I went over there and apologized for taking a random picture of them and explained my reason behind it. They eneded up being hella nice guys, this guy Jeff in particular. Jeff and I was talking and I was telling him about my trip and he was very interested, so he invited up to the bar where him and his buddies were partying. Mind you, it's past 2am at this point, all bars are closed. It turns out it's an after hour spot for a band called Widespread Panic who just had their show in Seattle that night. Apparently Jeff's brother is the owner and bartender of the place who is a good friend with the lead singer/guitarist of the band. So here I was at this random bar in the middle of the night partying with the band, their roadies, and their friends/fans (no crazy drugs and groupies though...that would've been some shit) and I didn't even know the name of the band. All because of a random picture I wanted to take. Funny how a small decision like that can lead you to something completely unexpected. I felt like a start at the bar though. So many people came up and asked me about my trip. I felt bigger than the band that was there. By talking to all these people, I got some great recommendations on where to go in Atlanta, GE, and Nashville, TN, got a free nug of stanky dank, dranks some free wine, talked to Candians and convined them to convert their cars, and got some great footage. Thanx Jeff. You are the man! and Thanx to everyone who gave me words of encouragement and recommendations on where to go even though I can't remember any of your names. Anyways, I left the bar around 3:30 and rode my bike back to Bertha. Oh Bertha. She's never felt so good in my life. I just passed the fuck out as soon as I got to her arms.



The next morning was vicious. 9am, I got woken up with the sound of road construction going on a block away from where I was. Man I felt like I was hit by a fuckin' Mack truck the night before. I went to the 24 hour fitness to shower and kinda wake myself up and went to this 24-hour diner called 13 coins for brunch. I had their hot crab and shrip cheddar melt. Man, the food there was so incredibly oily, I would've been disgusted normally, but my god, that shit was the best thing for my hangover. All that grease just coating my stomach..mmmm.....heart attackingly good. So in my incredibly sleep deprived and hungover state, I left Seattle and headed for Spokane, WA. Instaed of taking the 90, I decided to drive up to Everett and take the Hwy 2. I figured it would be a much more scenic route and boy it was. The 2 drives right through the cascade range and man, it was a beautiful drive. It was just perfect timing. It wasn't too cold, and all the leaves were changing colors...it was gorgeous. Right after I cleared the cascade range, I experienced first real landscape change. No more mountains, just rocks, and plains. I guess I am starting to enter the midwest. By the way, on the way, I drove through this town of Leavensworth, WA. It's this really charming and touristy Bavarian town in the middle of WA. Who would've thought? It looked like it was a ski resort. I'm gonna have to come back and check it out sometime. Anyways, 7 hours driving, 3 over heating, 20 gallons of WVO later, I arrived in Spokane, WA. I haven't heard anything positive about Spokane yet, but it doesn't seem like that bad of a town. Well it doesn't seem like much of anything really. Just another American city with that suburbia feel to it. I'm hitting the downtown tonight so I guess we'll see. I'm currently in Gonzaga Univeristy library. I never knew Gonzaga was in Spokane, WA. I also never knew that Gonzaga had so many hotties. God, I can just smell the youth and their tight asses here. Learn something new everyday. Anyways, I'm off to Coeur D'Alene, ID en route to the Glacier National Park tomorrow. I'm gonna freeze my ass off there but it will be beautiful. Glacier NP is considered one of the top 10 natural wonders of America.

I really need to collect more grease before I get to Glacier NP. There are no more biodiesel stations between now and east of Dakotas, and I'm entering pretty rural parts so I wont' be coming up on any big cities with restaurants either. Come on Spokane and Coeur D'Alene...don't let me down. There is a big company called Sustainable Systems, LLC in Montana that does a lot of biofuel production but I'm yet to get a hold of them. Keeping my fingers crossed. Alright, wish Bertha and I luck. We are entering probably one of the hardest segment of my journey as the grease is scarse and we'll be in below-freezing temperature and we'll be cut off from the rest of the world for awhile. Good bye Washington!

p.s. Sorry no pix. I forgot to bring my cord. Can't download pix.