Washington State of Mind
I once again have traveled out to the fine state of Washington, a habit as, um, habitual as paying my taxes, only much more enjoyable. This is the fourth year in a row that I've visited my friend Brad to spend some time in the majesty that is Washington wilderness. The landscape out here allows me to relax and think clearly. It was almost one year ago when I came out here to get some alone time and ponder life's big questions. It was at that time, the last switch flipped and I knew that I had to do what I'm about to do in Sierra Leone. At that time I didn't know the place, or even the organization, but I knew I had to go. This happened in December '04. Ten months and many conversations, thoughts, and prayers later, I turned in an application. The rest is in the process of becoming history.
| But this day, this trip, has been great. We drove down to Mt. St. Helens on Saturday only to be met with a layer of clouds at 4,000 ft completely covering the glory of the volcano. We camped out nearby and were blessed with a clean view of the mountain the next morning. Stunning. |
After soaking in the beauty for a while, we proceeded to drive to the Pacific coast. We grabbed some lunch in Astoria, OR, the home of Mikey, Bram, Chunk, Mouth, Data, & the rest of the Goonies. The nice lady manning the visitor center at the Astoria column (a monument of importance in that area … apparently they had a large sum of money to play with in 1926) provided us with a map of the stars. Astoria was the Hollywood of Oregon before the writers' strike of the late 90s. Some fine flicks filmed within the city limits were: The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. Yes. Apparently there was a third. See the photo album for sites from these movies. The little boy in me was smiling from ear to ear.