We are in the Spokane Galaxy, of the Washington Nebula
having endured 325 light years of bumpy, long slow climbs up mountain passes,
bumpy, long and much too fast descents from those mountain passes, and
generally harsh, bumpy roads.
We left
Kent (basically Seattle) at 9:30 and arrived here at 4:30. That’s seven hours but we can take out one
and a half hours for stops at rest stops.
So five and a half hours of driving to go 325 miles is an average of
about 60 mph. The Starship likes any
speed from about 55 to 65 mph. On a
really good road it will roll up to 70 without my noticing, but the real “Happy
Window” is 60 to 65.
The rig is a dream
to drive. It floats down the road and
has plenty of power until the really steep mountain passes and then it
downshifts pretty low in order to keep up a reasonable speed. I’ve been told the bigger rigs with the
diesel pusher engines take the steep parts better than the gas rigs, but the
Starship does OK so we are pretty happy RV’ers.
Yesterday was fun. We
had extended our Seattle stay by a week just so we could attend the wedding of
a dear young lady who we had the pleasure of watching grow from a 13 year old
kid to a wonderful woman who never lost her sense of humor, her sense of
wonder, her sense of adventure, or her smile that can, by itself light up an
auditorium. She married into a HUGE
Irish family and I think most of them were there. Her name is Trish, his is Brian.
The wedding was small and was at his (now
their) house.
The reception was huge and was at a local watering hole
called “Pono’s”. (No “r”). There was a
lot of laughing, a lot of drinking (the rumors are true, them Irish can really toss
‘em back), lots of dancing to a live band, and lots of toasts.
The most appreciated toast of the afternoon
was the favorite toast of one of the family’s great Aunts. I won’t quote it here because it has become a
tradition for their family. (However I
may use it in the future at some poor unsuspecting soul’s wedding.) As I said, I won’t quote it, but it does
include references to “the wedding night, the kitchen table, legs, and
drawers.”
The most memorable moment for me was when one of the groom’s
brothers and a very young niece sang a duet of the song “Consider yourself one
of the family” from the play Oliver to the bride. They really did a bang-up job and the tune
has been running through my head all day long.
I always cry at weddings.
I really, really want to run up to the groom and hug him close and whisper
in his ear, “It’s not too late. You can
still run away.” But I don’t. I simply wipe away my tears and smile gamely.
Tomorrow we head for the Galaxy of Butte, in the Montana Nebula. It should be another 325 mile day. Then we will detour to the planet of Ennis to
see some friends if they are in town and available. Otherwise we will continue our warp speed
blast toward North Carolina.
End First Officer’s Log
Captain's Picture Log 20-15-06-28
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| Admiring Trish's Ring Purchased in Ireland on a Recent Trip |
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| The Bride Greeting the Backyard Crowd |
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| Hugging My "Third Daughter" from Her Phoenix High School Years |
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