Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day 13: "Vehicle Repair"


"Alright start the car"..."Wait. Let's say a prayer."

States: Oregon - Washington
Miles: 497.1
Weather: Chilly then Warm



$$$

Gas: 90.42
Car Parts: 27.49
Tacos & Beans: 8.50
Motel: 73.73

Total: 201.34

Signature:+3
58/100


Dreaming… (Phil’s phone rings)… awaken. “Aw, you guys let’s get up!” Fall back asleep. (Phil’s phone rings) Mmmmm! Holy $#*! It’s cold! Fall asleep. (Phil’s pho…. You get the gist. We wake up at the Crater Lake campground in the middle of Oregon. It’s a lot colder than we anticipated and we’re all too cozy to move for the first 5 rings of Phil’s phone. Disgruntedly we all get up to the battalion of mosquitoes waiting outside our tent for breakfast. We pack in 25 minutes and are out. It was interesting that it only took 25 minutes, because of the landfill Phil had created in the 4Runner last night trying to futz with the Fuel Pump and seal and such. We did it though.
We knew that gas was leaking and we lost an average of 4 miles to the gallon because of the problem. Our plan: Get to Portland and we’ll fix it there. Portland was our destination for the night, so if we are going to sleep there anyways than why not work on the car the whole time anyways. So we hurry to the top of Manzama mountain to see the lake. As expected beautiful, though it was hard to take in, because there was literally a black cloud following us. We could smell the gas after we parked up there. It was leaking fast and you could the trail of drops that had followed us. We exit the park.
We figured on the way out that we’d stop at Eugene 1st so as to get the parts Phil thought necessary to fix our problem. He led us through a “short-cut” that supposedly saved us 45 minutes at least. It may have but it took a toll on the outer of the truck for it was a gravel road. I’m not necessarily the softest driver. It was like louge through branches, fallen trees, and potholes. Some potholes couldn’t be avoided (that was the 1st time I ever got air in a car). We stopped at our first gas station on when we got out and discovered a chrome piece missing from the muffler. Oops. It doesn’t harm us though. O and in Oregon they do full service at the gas stations. We didn’t have to get out! Sweet.
Eugene: Another somewhat big city in Oregon but not the coziest. There were quite a profound amount of bums and some were those you’d think were just an old-timer walking down the street taking in the rays. Nope. Of course we were asked a favor to gnaw at the branches of the homeless rather than cut at the roots (some cash for coffee rather than a solution to their depravity). There was a festival, like everywhere we’ve been this summer, and we soon found an auto shop. Phil bought a gas filter, oil plate, and a goop that’s called QuickSteel (it seals something I think?). We spent an hour in the parking lot and were on our way to Portland. Phil found that the problem was not a clogged filter. One block out of the way. But he did find there was a hole in a line that went to the Fuel Pump system The plan was to use the QuickSteel in Portland. So we went to Portland.
Portland: the biggest city in Oregon. Not rated at the top of my favorites. It was hard to find a good parking spot to fix the car but we had to fill up again. We did and some dude named John filled it up for us. A talkative fellow whom mentioned nude beached to us and said he’d been to Chicago. It was hard to understand him. Through the mumbling and Ebonics I noticed the words “Red-Caps” and “The Cling”. I assume he was talking about murder and Cook county jail. Nonetheless we found a spot in a thick alley parallel parked.
It was actually a good time hanging in that alley. We got comments about a “rich” smell; we ate $1 tacos on the corner, saw hippies playing an odd genre of music that included yelling and hitting wood, and heard a verbal brawl from down the street. I played the ukulele for kicks with my Grand Canyon hat out and actually earned 91 cents! DUDE… a hobo even complimented me. Then we explored the shoreline of the river where there, of course, was another fair flea-market thing going on. Phil fixed the leak, after a few prayers, and we were back on the road without the smell of gas staining the air.
Washington. The speed limit of course is 15 higher than Oregon’s snail 55 which made us happy. Plenty of green and mountains. O I forgot to say… we ditched the stay at Portland idea and decided to get to Seattle instead to perhaps find a Motel or something to stay in, because we’ve camped so long we think we deserve a treat. So Seattle, mmm, very enjoyable and cleanly cut. Here’s the first human observations we made while parked searching for a Motel through the technology world. A group of different females were gathering together. Hmm? In a parking lot and they all seemd very lively. Ooo. One grabs the other and they hug. Hmm. They kiss. Oh! And proceed with the snogging. Woah! Yes, I believe there is some homosexual holiday going on in Seattle during this particular time, because driving around we saw more same-sex hand holds than the regular boy girl mix. I think the West is going gay. I mean we just dodged the gay parades in Frisco and now this! O well, just a bit of culture. Hehe.
Well, anyways, we didn’t exactly find a Motel in Seattle, but we did find one in Seatac. A nice smoke/pee smelling Motel on the outskirts of Seattle. A lovely Lorena set us up with a room understanding our money dilemma and told me I was 17 for the night and she also added a few other “discounts”. Lovely lady like I said. We got our room and situated. Phil did his own rituals while Matt and I called ad after ad from the TV just to talk to people. It’s interesting how off topic you can get RosettaStone, Sleep Number, and such people’s away from their original job, which is to send you stuff (they don’t actually know the prices off the top of their heads). We stop and now go to sleep. That’s the day. Wow!... the was a long day… TaTa.

MJ

1 comment:

  1. Wow. That is sooooooo reassuring to me to know that you guys are mixing and mingling with homeless people and ex-convicts. It's also good to know that you can make a living working "the streets." I guess it's all part of the fabulous experience you guys are having! Love to all, Mom G.

    ReplyDelete