I think most trips begin with mixed emotions, and this one
was no different. I was so anxious, I
woke up at 5am on the Monday of my departure and couldn’t go back to sleep so I
settled for a cup of coffee and a gym run, then I was off! Sad, excited, nervous, hesitant, fearful,
joyful, and celebratory as I left McCall it was all very overwhelming but soon
forgotten because the smoke on the drive to Moscow was so thick I could smell
it and it made my eyes water. I was
afraid the road might suddenly be closed because the fire was so close, but I
learned from the flagger woman in Riggins all the smoke was coming from
somewhere over by Lucile….where ever that is…and I got through with no
problems.
Upon arriving in my stomping grounds, I did a little
reliving my college days for the next 24 hours, where I met up with some of my sorority
friends Megan and Meredith. 
Both on the
verge of graduating, and ready to be out of school we chatted it up while
giving Charlie a tour of the campus and ate lunch at the Moscow Co-Op. It was fun to see again and I was reminded
how pretty Moscow is in the fall. I
later met up my friend Jack who graciously allowed me to crash at his place for
the night where we made quesadillas at 11pm and visited while I admired his bachelor
pad ;) Yup, sounds like college! The
next morning I woke the poor guy up way to early and drug him to coffee at my
favorite cafe on earth (Bucers) where I enjoyed a latte and a warm bran muffin
before zipping off to Spokane, WA. 
The seemingly large homeless population, graffiti, and paint
peeled building rightfully earn the city its nickname, Spocompton. I would not say Spokane is a lovely place in
any sense of the word, but one of my best and oldest friends, Kyler, was recently
promoted at work and relocated to the scrubby Washington city, so the company was
greatly enjoyed and the town endured. We
went for a long run along the Centennial Trail which goes some 40 miles all the
way to Cour ‘d Lane and along the river.
Although we did not go the full length (obviously!) we did manage to get our
hands on some of the best pizza ever
at a little place called “The Flying Goat”.
They do deliciously unique thin crust pizza that is just right size to
split and the outside seating is excellent due to the large fireplace in the
middle of the patio. 
I was able to meet an old college friend for lunch on
Wednesday who is now a 5th grade teacher at a nearby private school. Such a grown up job!!! And it fits her like a glove so it was great to catch up
after so much time!
Sadly the drive to Walla Walla was not quite as smooth as
the previous legs. I quickly discovered
that I am not good with on-ramps, off-ramps, and freeway junctions. I can’t seem to speed up or slow down fast
enough and jam the gears in poor Stella until she screams while much honking
ensues. Luckily no accidents resulted
dues to my lack of driving experience, but many glares were cast in my
direction. In my defense, a person could
almost drive down Main St. McCall with their eyes closes and no harm would come
to them…it’s a bit different out here in the real world…
Arriving in Walla Walla was a bit of a shock. I drove through 3 hours of scabland and wind
farms before I checked my GPS to see how close I was. It says I will arrive at my destination in
approximately 10 minutes. Oh no!!! That
can’t be right! I am in the middle of nowhere! Did I enter the wrong address?! How
can this lovely town that I’ve heard so much about possibly be here?!
Sure enough, 10 minutes later Walla Walla rises out of the nothing and
within seconds I am driving through the lush green campus of Whitman College
wondering who the hell would have put this stunning town all the way out
here. I met my darling cousin Robbie for
lunch at a sandwich place called Graze. Packed with boys from fraternity rush, it was a tiny bustling place
downtown serving enormous-wiches for far too cheap and complementing its local grounded
feel with recycled paper liners and wicker chairs. It was right up my alley and the jalapenos on
my veggie torta burned my lips for the next two hours. It was perfect. After lunch Robbie gave Charlie and I a tour
of his fraternity house Tao Kappa Epsilon after which we left him to study for
his upcoming calculus test while Charlie and I wandered the all over the campus
and up main street. It is a marvelously
laid out campus with spectacular vegetation and water works. 
Some hipster with a milk crate strapped to
his bike stopped me on the street and said Charlie and I get the award for best
dressed in town (not in a creepy way mind you).
I laughed and said that I quite
the compliment since I made my dress and he said to keep up the good work and
pedaled away. So dear guy on the bike,
even if you are totally full of baloney, thank you. You made my afternoon.
After Walla Walla we piled in the car and were off to Pasco,
WA to visit my old friend Katherine, who lives in the cutest house I’ve ever
seen with her two roommates. Her and her friend are in the process of starting a tween clothing line called William and Leora (hope I spelled that right) and are creating their first collection as we speak. I got a sneak peek and of coarse all that I saw was adorable. Way to go girl!!!While waiting for her to get off work on Thursday I found a hot yoga studio downtown and took my first class ever. Let me tell you, when they say “hot yoga”, they’re not kidding. The room is heated up to some ungodly temperature and the instructor leads the class through 26 postures designed to open and cleanse every muscle, joint, and organ in the body. Sounds a bit hoakey? It could be. All I know is that I was so sweaty all I could think about was not getting it in my eyes and mouth. But I did feel very good after a shower and food so maybe it does work. Who would’ve thought. Anywho after a jog along the river the next morning Katherine helped me reorganize my trunk and I was off to Seattle!
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