Eclipse 2017 T-3

I have been enduring some serious anxiety about this eclipse trip, mostly around the fact that we are not staying in eclipse zone central but 30 miles north of totality in Portland. This decision was partly strategic (I’d rather spend the weekend in Portland and then drive down to see the eclipse) and partly necessary (when I booked the hotel 18 months ago Salem was SOLD OUT). Anyway, Jeff, unlike me, is currently employed and had to work until 2 pm. Despite my fears, the rest of the day went pretty smoothly…

2:00 – We hit the ground running. I had the car packed and as soon as Jeff’s work day was over we burned out.

2:30 – The Peace Arch wait times were only about 40-50 minutes for non-NEXUS people like us (due to Jeff’s reticence to overshare personal intel and retina scan data with the government). We ate lunch in the form of Subway while waiting in line. I had cleverly purchased foot-long subs for everyone, under the assumption that half of it would serve as dinner later on, only to be reminded that we would not be permitted to take sandwiches across the border. Oops. So we ate the full foot and felt a little “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” for the next few hours.

3:10 – Welcome to the USA. We had one minor incident at the border crossing when we pulled up too close to the car in front and got in a bit of trouble for not being positioned properly on the radiation sensor. He let us through despite that … shame. Seems this was the day to bring our nuclear warhead to the US.

5:10 – Two hours to Seattle, record time! Minor difficulties through Seattle after we missed the exit for the bypass that was recommended by Google Maps, and then missed a second one (!), lodging us firmly in the middle of crawling Seattle post-work traffic.

5:50 – We have broken free! We appear to have made pretty good time, based on an earlier text from Chrystal indicating that they enjoyed the parking lot of traffic all the way to Olypmpia and we are just at Sea-Tac airport. Possibly the 2:00 departure worked in our favour after all.

6:25 – Tacoma. A couple of additional slow-downs, not more than 4 or 5 km. We also start to see ominous road signs from this point on.

7:00 – Olympia. We are about 1.5 hours behind the Palatys despite leaving about 4 hours later. Remember not to mention this …

7:40 – At a stop for gas, I meet the loveliest attendant, Kaylee, who recommended a few Portland tourist destinations, including a place called Voodoo donuts. Noted!

8:15 – Passing Mt. St. Helens!

8:40 – The other Vancouver.

9:00 – Checked in at The Nines, and enjoyed some Oregon Pinot with the Palatys. So far so good. I’ve put my concerns about Monday traffic behind me for now. Worst case, we get to enjoy a nice weekend in Portland.