Day #131: Wednesday, August 16, 1995
1,365 Miles


When I had made the reservation for the motel I was staying in the last few nights, I had been told that they did not have any vacancies after Wednesday night (tonight). I would have to check out today. Unfortunately, none of the other motels in the area had any vacancies. All the motels were booked full because of a major event at the Tacoma Dome for the next few days. There was only one motel nearby that had a vacancy (for tonight only), and I immediately made a reservation there just before checking out.

The weather was fine -- for now. Although it was not raining, there were a lot of clouds in the sky, with "a very distinct possibility of showers"[63] later in the day.

My first stop was the largest building in the world -- the Boeing aircraft company factory in Everett, WA. It's official name is "Boeing 747/767/777 Division". I arrived at the factory at 9:45 AM and all their tours were already filled. I got on a waiting list and was Person #5 on the list. The tours start every hour, and the next tour (the one that started at 10:00 AM) had four cancellations!!! I was now almost guaranteed to get on the 11:00 AM tour, so I decided to wait. There was a gift shop nearby, and I bought another postcard there.

Each tour begins with a short film explaining what the Boeing company is all about. Unfortunately, the people on the waiting list (me) were not allowed to see the film at that time. We were told there would be a "general showing" later in the day, which would be open to everyone. After the film for the 11:00 AM tour was finished, a few people from that tour decided not to stay with the tour and went back to their cars. I was now the first name on the waiting list, so I joined the 11:00 AM tour along with a few other people on the waiting list.

We all boarded a bus that would take us to the Boeing 747 manufacturing room. On the way, we passed by some finished products of various Boeing aircraft, including their newest model, the Boeing 777. Some planes were not entirely finished -- some were missing engines and others were missing windows. Still others were being painted in the color patterns of various airline companies. All the 777's had United Airlines' insignias. The tour guide said that the planes that were missing engines were missing them for a very good reason -- those individual planes were available with different kinds of engines, and the airline company that bought the planes would decide what kind of engines they wanted! I did not know that -- the same kind of plane could contain different kinds of engines, depending on the airline company that bought the plane! For example, a United Airlines Boeing 767 might have a different kind of engine than a Delta Airlines Boeing 767! Also, the interior of the planes is also an option of the airline company -- what kind of fabric each seat would contain, how many seats would be in each class, etc. Until now, I had assumed that Boeing makes those decisions.

After that short drive by the flight line, we arrived at the factory tourist entrance. The only stop in the factory was the 747 manufacturing section. There are no photographs allowed inside this building, but I wish that photographs were allowed! The inside of the factory is unbelievable. I had seen the outside of the building, but seeing the outside only is not enough to realize how big the building really is! Of course, there is a very logical reason for the factory to be that big -- they are manufacturing the largest passenger plane in the world.

Seeing the Boeing 747 being built was something that cannot be described in words here.

When I had gone to Detroit, I had wanted to see the automobile manufacturing plants, but did not see them. Because of that, I had nothing to compare this factory with to give it a rating! I made a mental note to give this place a temporary rating, subject to change depending on how much I liked the film later.

The tour ended at 12:40. The film I was not allowed to see in the beginning of the tour would have a general showing at 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM. I had just enough time to drive to some place, eat lunch and come back for the 3:00 PM show, or drive to some place, eat lunch, drive to some place else (just for the sake of driving) and come back for the 4:00 PM show.

There was only one thing in Seattle left to see -- the Space Needle. I had wanted to go there after finishing with the Boeing factory. The next day, I had planned to go to Vancouver, Canada and spend the day there. I decided to eat lunch, then drive to the Space Needle just to see how to get there, then drive back to the factory for the 4:00 PM show, then drive back to the Space Needle. I left the Boeing plant and went to shopping plaza in Everett. I ate lunch at a Dennys there, then left the shopping plaza and started driving towards downtown Seattle at 2:00 PM.

2:25 PM Exited freeway. Got lost in downtown Seattle. Found my way. Drove to Seattle Center and tried to find a good place to park when I come later. I did not find any parking lot. Got lost again. Found my way.

Got lost.

3:00 PM By pure accident, I was back on I-5 North, Everett-bound.

3:15 PM Stuck in heavy traffic, still quite far from Everett.

Went three miles.

3:50 PM Out of traffic jam.

It was too late to go to Everett now. The temporary rating of I had given "Boeing 747/767/777 Division" earlier now became the permanent rating.

According to my "plan", I was now supposed to go back to the Space Needle. That was my plan. My plan changed.

The traffic jam mentioned above was due to an overturned car in the left lane. Two left lanes on both sides of the freeway were closed, creating traffic back-ups on both sides of the road. By the time I realized it was too late to go to the Boeing factory in Everett, I had already driven enough miles North that the other side of the freeway was now jammed. The only option left for me now was to end my sightseeing day. I exited the freeway and started driving on I-405 South.

Now, my "intention" was to drop Vancouver and see the Space Needle the next day. On the morning of August 18, I had already fixed with my Dad to drive down to Richland.

The photographs I had dropped at a Target two days ago were now ready, so I went there next. The last time I came to this Target, it was not raining when I went in and raining heavily when I came back out. This time also, when I went inside the store, it was not raining. I picked up my pictures and came out immediately. When I came out, it was raining heavily.

An hour later, I had checked in at Hometel Inn in Fife, WA. This inn was directly across the street from the "Travelers Inn" I had stayed in for the last five nights.

License Plates:

















































KRAFTYS WA Buick
RECLUSE WA Chevrolet truck
GOODGUY WA Ford truck
PRKDELI WA Chevrolet
I LUV U WA Chevrolet Lumina
MLDWORKS WA Mitsubishi
DUCKDOG WA Ford F100 truck -- couldn't decide on a pet?
SOBER 1 WA Chevrolet???
LIBRE WA Lexus GS300
WILLIARD NV R.V.
HUSKY57 WA Porche 911
AKAKIKI WA Honda Civic

Expenses:














































$176.57 Chase Travelers Inn -- total for five nights Fife, WA
$2 Cash Postcard-n-stuff at gift shop at Boeing 747/767/777 Division Everett, WA
$2 Cash Breakfast -- muffin from vending cart -- Boeing 747/767/777 Division Everett, WA
$5 Cash Snacks -- Albertsons Everett, WA
$8.66 Discover Camera battery -- Radio Shack Everett, WA
$7 Discover Lunch -- Dennys Everett, WA
$11 Cash Gas -- ARCO Sea-Tac, WA
$32.64 Discover Film developing -- Target Federal Way, WA
$6 Cash Dinner -- Burger King Fife, WA

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Go to start of this section

Day #132: Thursday, August 17, 1995
1,533 Miles


When I woke up in the morning, I had a choice of two things to see -- the Space Needle in Seattle or the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. I chose the Space Needle.

This time, I had no problems in finding a parking space in front of the Space Needle. I did not get lost anywhere along the way. Fortunately, it was not raining, although there were clouds in the sky.

Before going to the top of the Space Needle, I went to the Pacific Science Center museum, which is in the same plaza. I did not like it as much as previous science museums, and gave it a rating. The museum had exhibits that concentrated more on small children's interests. A large majority of the exhibits there were for the 6-13 year old age group.

There is also a mini-amusement park in the same plaza. I considered going on some of the rides, but did not go.

I remembered a conversation I had had with one of the tow truck drivers in Richland, WA. After I told him I was on my way to Seattle when the car broke down, he mentioned that when in Seattle, I should go to "Pike Place" market. He told me that I could take a monorail directly from the Space Needle plaza area ("Seattle Center") to a shopping center in downtown Seattle. From the shopping center, Pike Place is a short 1/2-mile walk. I was in no hurry to go to the top of the Space Needle, so I went to Pike Place next.

The monorail ride was nothing new for me. I had been on monorails several times before. Yet, this was my first "commuter monorail" ride. .

I walked to Pike Place and the first thing I noticed about the place was the stench of dead fish. But the tow truck driver (and the AAA tour book) had mentioned that the fish is the primary attraction of Pike Place. I would find out the real details later. At first, I walked through the market, which reminded a lot of the open-air markets in India. The sellers would shout out their products and prices to attract customers. The prospective buyers (of which there were several) would stop at each location and ask the sellers several questions, finally complaining that the price is too high and leaving without buying anything. Even the smell was typical of Indian open-air markets! Finally, I saw the fish...

I noticed the sign first. It said "CAUTION -- LOW flying FISH". That was what the tow truck driver had told me in Richland. Although the fish are dead, the people shopping next to that shop should keep an eye out for an occasional fish flying by! This was the primary attraction at Pike Place market. The buyers first select which fish they want. The seller then tosses them the fish. Sometimes, this toss could be as much as 20-30 feet long. Every once in a while, someone gets hit in the head with one of these flying fish. I took some photographs there, but regretted not having a video camera -- that would have been ideal.

After a couple of close calls of being hit in the head myself, I could not stand the stink anymore, so I decided to take the monorail back to Seattle Center and go to the top of the Space Needle. That would be my last sightseeing attraction in Seattle. Rating for Pike Place = .

By the time I took the elevator to the top of the Space Needle, the clouds had cleared up significantly. I had seen several postcards showing both the Space Needle and Mount Rainier in the same picture. These photographs were obviously taken on a clear day, and I was hoping that it would be a clear day when I went to the top of the Space Needle. Unfortunately, the Space Needle is in Seattle, where there aren't too many clear days! I could not see Mount Rainier from the top of the Space Needle. I could, however, see the Kingdome and Pike Place market and the downtown Seattle skyline, which was a good enough view for a rating. A view of Mount Rainier would have made it .

I was soon back in the car, driving towards a Days Inn in Mount Vernon, WA. I had seen everything in the Seattle area that I had wanted to see. The next day, I would drive to Richland and sell my car. The day after that, I would start driving towards Mission Viejo, CA. My trip was very quickly coming to an end.

"THE END." It seemed so near now. Funny... On April 8, "the end of the trip" was the last thing on my mind! So many things had happened since then. I had been to a lot of places... I had seen a lot of things... I had lost a good friend.

It took me an hour to get to the Days Inn. Immediately after checking in, I called a nearby Dennys restaurant and placed a "to-go" order. Half hour later, I picked up my food and ate it at the motel.

Expenses:







































































$38.41 Chase Hometel Inn -- paid upon check-in Fife, WA
$6 Cash Parking -- Seattle Center Seattle, WA
$80 Discover Cash withdrawal -- Seattle Center Seattle, WA
$8 Cash Admission -- Pacific Science Center & IMAX Theater -- Seattle Center Seattle, WA
$6 Cash Lunch -- Pacific Science Center cafeteria Seattle, WA
$18.34 CB "Pacific Science Center" T-shirt -- Pacific Science Center gift shop Seattle, WA
$2 Cash Fare (round-trip to downtown Seattle) -- Seattle Center monorail Seattle, WA
$6 Cash "Seattle" T-shirt -- Roadside vendor -- downtown Seattle Seattle, WA
$7 CB Admission -- Space Needle -- Seattle Center Seattle, WA
$19.42 CB Souvenirs: -- at Space Needle gift shop
"World's tallest postcard"
3-D map of U.S.A.		 Seattle, WA
$6.17 CB Bumper sticker and magnetic postcard -- Space Needle gift shop Seattle, WA
$5 Cash Seven "pressed" souvenir pennies showing Seattle area attractions Seattle, WA
$6 Cash Sprite -- Safeway Mount Vernon, WA
$6 Cash Dinner to go -- Dennys Mount Vernon, WA

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Go to start of this section

Day #133: Friday, August 18, 1995
1,632 Miles


Yet another one of those days that I consider to be one of the most significant days not only on this trip, but also in my life.

It started like any other normal day... I wrote a couple of postcards... I left the motel... I got in an accident... I almost got a speeding ticket... yep, this day was quite routine...

After checking out of the motel, I wrote the two postcards I had bought at the Space Needle on Thursday. One of these postcards was supposed to be the "World's Tallest Postcard", and that is why I bought it. It had a sunset-photograph of the Space Needle. The other postcard I bought was not a "regular" postcard either -- this one was a magnetic postcard, showing the Seattle skyline, together with Mount Rainier. So far on this trip, I had sent Parixit several "normal" postcards, one wooden postcard (Massachusetts), one puzzle postcard (Michigan), one copper postcard (Montana), and now a magnetic postcard and the World's tallest postcard.

After writing these two postcards, I went back inside the motel lobby and asked them to mail both cards[64]. I came back to the car and started the engine.

The plan was to drive from here to Richland, WA, and to get there by this afternoon, so my car could be sold today itself. From Mount Vernon, Richland was a good four to five hours drive. It was already 10:30 AM, and I would have to hurry. I started driving, then remembered that I had not noted the car's odometer reading in my notebook. I was still in the motel parking lot, moving at about 5-10 miles per hour. I looked down to see what I had written in my notebook. A second later, I heard a "THUD" and the car stopped. I felt a jolt. My first reaction was that I had killed this car as well -- then I realized what had really happened. I had gotten myself into the first accident on this trip. What was worse was that this accident was my fault, since I had crashed into the car in front of me (while driving while looking downward).

Luckily for me, neither one of us were moving very fast, so there was no damage to my car and minimal damage to the other car[65]. There was a family of three in the other car. Fortunately, none of them were hurt. I was not hurt either.

The driver of the other car got out and we exchanged our drivers license information. The other driver was from Ohio, visiting Washington on vacation with his family. His car was a rental car, so he personally did not care about any damage to the car! As far as he was concerned, the accident was entirely my fault, and therefore if anyone would be liable to patch up the paint on that car, it would be me. As far as I was concerned, I accepted that the accident was my fault, but SO WHAT? There was absolutely no damage to the car I was driving. On his car, there was one little scratch that was very difficult to make out unless someone actually stared at it! Still, the shuffling of all the paperwork and the writing down of each other's names and addresses delayed me by a significant twenty minutes.

By the time I left Mount Vernon, it was almost 11:00 AM. I would now have to hurry to reach Richland at a decent time.

I stopped at two places along the way. The first was a rest area at Snoqualmie Pass rest area, which is about 50 miles East of Seattle and about 100 miles from Mount Vernon. I bought a "breakfast" muffin there "to-go".

My next and final stop before Richland was in the city of Yakima -- to fill up gas and buy my lunch -- also "to-go". I left Yakima at 2:40 PM.

Richland was still 70 miles away, and I was supposed to be there already! Just South of Yakima, the road goes through some hills, and there are several steep climbs. That slowed me down even more. After I passed the hills, I started speeding -- driving as fast as 95 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone. Fortunately, I was not delayed any further by getting a speeding ticket!

3:35 PM Entered Richland; 1912 miles.

3:45 PM Arrived at Columbia Center Dunes Motel in Richland. I found out my dad had already checked in. I went to the room, and saw a note there saying that he had gone to fill gas in his car. Since I was driving a rental car, I also had to fill gas in the car before returning it. I left the motel to get gas. By the time I came back, my dad was also back to the motel. The round-trip drive from Richland--Seattle--Seattle area attractions--Richland was 1,922.0 miles.

The first thing we did was go to the car dealership where my car was.

What followed was a sad farewell.

I signed a piece of paper that said I give up ownership of the car. I took out the radio from the car. Two hundred dollars more came into my wallet.

The car was no longer mine.

I had received that 3-door 4-speed white 1988 Toyota Tercel EZ hatchback with gray interior on August 15, 1993. That 3-door 4-speed white 1988 Toyota Tercel EZ hatchback with gray interior and a black velvet driver's car seat cover died on August 7, 1995. In those 103 weeks, it had driven more than 80,000 miles and gone to every state in the continental United States, zig-zagging across the nation a total of eight times on two trips, completing 25,000 miles on the second trip alone.

1988 Toyota Tercel EZ, California License Plate 2YCS421, August 15, 1993 -- August 7, 1995.

License Plates:









HANCHET WA Corvette
LIMA BN WA Mazda Miata

Expenses:































$53.90 Chase Days Inn Mount Vernon, WA
$2 Cash Breakfast muffin -- rest area Snoqualmie Pass, WA
$1 Cash Lunch -- Burger King Yakima, WA
$9.38 Discover Gas -- Arco Yakima, WA
$4 Cash Gas -- Exxon Richland, WA
-$200 Cash Sold car -- Employee at Simpson of Tricities Toyota dealership Richland, WA

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Go to start of this section
Continue on to August 19


[63]That was what the news reporters on television said the previous night. Although they meant it seriously, I took it as a joke -- when is there NOT a distinct possibility of showers in Seattle?!?
[64]I used to do this often on this trip. Since finding a mailbox was very difficult in small towns, I used to mail my postcards from the motel itself -- they always had a mail service, so they were very convenient.
[65]A little paint had been scraped off the bumper.