Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - Day 1
Last night was like Christmas Eve (for as long as I can remember, I've never been able to sleep then) - I slept for maybe 1 hour, if that...I mostly just laid awake watching the time go by...
For the most part, the flying went off without a hitch. Security caught my Swiss Army "card" which I forgot to take out of my wallet - I had to go mail it to myself, then go back through the security checkpoint, and I just barely made the flight with about 10 minutes to spare. The Denver airport was cool - the layover didn't even seem that long. I took a walk around the terminal, had lunch, did some reading...spent the whole flight from Denver to Portland talking to an older couple sitting next to me who live in Hood River (near Mt. Hood - we'll be passing by there on our road trip) and we had a good time talking about all kinds of stuff related to the trip.
Dwight was in very high spirits when I got in, and it was awesome to see him too - we went straight from the airport to pick up his brother Max from school (his friends there are pretty cool too) and then to his house in Lake Oswego, a gorgeous neighborhood south of the city proper, full of trees, winding roads, and beautiful houses. The Bussman house is really nice - it's going to be a great 2 days here. The Maxima is primed and ready for the trip - we took her for a spin today. The gearbox isn't quite up to my red Accord's extension-of-body standards, but it feels good - easy to get used to. And the six cylinders are really nice. The car's got loads of power.
Slight change in route - instead of Glacier National Park, which is still snowed in, we're hitting Yellowstone, before the summer crowds kill the experience. Tomorrow, though, I look forward to supposedly the best bookstore in the city, plus some kickass go-kart action just across the river in Washington St...