Seattle, WA
Woke up about 8 A.M. - unusual waking up time. Got up. Went to see if girls were awake - No. Made some coffee for little old me.
Broke camp as much as possible. It was drizzling, almost raining so I didn't take the tarp down. Packed tent, plastic, sleeping bag, and mattress. Finally I washed myself. I got out clothes to change into after camp was set up in new place. (The girls and Ranger were very helpful and informative about where to camp and what areas of the city to stay out of.)
Finally I made my own breakfast and ate it. Then I went over for the 4th time to see if they were awake. It was 10:30. I wanted to be at Clearwater at 12:00 to see if my mail was there. If it wasn't I was going to leave and see Christy anyway.
The girls were awake - they said they'd be over in 20 minutes. I put the bacon on and cooked it. Then I went over to get them. They were talking with the ranger. He said we'd all have to pay. Oh well. We got caught.
We talked for a while then went to get breakfast and coffee. Margie reminded me to invite him for coffee too. He was interested in the girls so he came also. I cooked their eggs, made coffee, and talked. They dug out some more hash browns and we ate them too. They were good. Margie & Sandy complimented me on the way I cooked them.
Afterwards I washed and dried the dishes. I packed everything up then it was time to take down the tarp. It was all kinda sad, and for me, kinda happy. I was looking forwards to meeting Christy again. I just didn't care about the mail again. Everything was packed.
I said goodbye, a very awkward (job) thing to do.
Exuberantly I headed for the Post Office. There actually was mail for me there! It finally arrived. There was one letter from Mary - very small. She hadn't written at all. She dashed off one short letter which practically told me to get lost. Anger coursed through my body. “Damn her“, I thought.
The fact that I had Christy was a blessing. The other mail was much better. It was a letter from Mother (she's worried of course). She included photo stats of Dad's graduation. He was in all the papers. He was promoted - given command of the Harlem Division. I wonder if that's really a promotion. They might just be removing him from the PCCIU because he's doing too good of a job. I wish I had been there to see him. It made me extremely proud.
I wanted to go back and show Margie & Sandy. However I figured they'd see it in a while anyway. (They had asked me to look them up). With these thoughts running through my mind - anger at Mary, hope and anticipation of seeing Christy, and pride because of my Father - I took off for Seattle.
The first 100 miles were on Hwy 101, a small, winding country road. I zoomed over it at 50 mph, my mind on the steering. I got a good radio station from Aberdeen on and that helped me move too. I was happy. After Aberdeen was US 12 - a highway with traffic. I had to go slow. It was frustrating. Then came the freeways. Ohhh.
I opened up the Volks for the first time since leaving home. I zoomed along finally slowed after the speedometer hit 85 mph. Most people that day drove 75 - 80 mph. On a three lane highway no one uses the inside lane - that's for merging traffic and exiting traffic.
There are signs all over the place. Instead of painted lines to denote the lanes, there are little bumps. Hit one of them and they throw your wheel to the side. They're murder when passing. Trucks use two lanes. There are no merging lanes to speak of; the entrance ramp leads to the highway then continues for about 100 ft. Entrances and exits in the city are all fucked up, too. It would seem very easy to have an accident here. The only factor opposing this is the lack of rush hour traffic.
Their rush hour traffic is about like our empty, dead, dry noon day traffic. The Expressway (495) at home always has more traffic than their freeway. In the city itself, to me, the traffic patterns are even crazier. Again you have the bumps in the road to guide you. Sometimes, nay even often, two lanes of traffic turn left or right at once - the same time. Double turning lanes - watch out for them when you come here.
Sometimes a lane you're traveling in suddenly becomes a turn only lane. Then you either have to very quickly get out of it or you have to turn. Signals are sometimes on wires over the streets, sometimes on poles. There are crosswalks all over and the laws here say you have to stop when there's a pedestrian in them. I didn't know for a while; I kept going on through.
Traffic in downtown Seattle is just like New York - terrible. I got lost in there and nearly shivered to death because I was so nervous. I didn't recuperate till hours later.
I can imagine how stressed out I was by the time I got to Seattle. I must have been a total wreck. Between that, the frustration about the letters, my terrible horniness, and my desire to hold and kiss Christy, I can understand how poorly I must have acted with her. I sincerely wish I had apologized profusely to her back then.
I tried Bridle Path St. Park for camping but they were closed. I decided to go to Christy's house instead and crash at the University later on. I got lost about four times.
Finally I got to 130th Street, then Fremont, and then, finally to her house. Her mother came out as I was sitting in the car trying to become less tense. I didn't call to her or anything. I still hadn't changed - I was in the same clothes that Christy saw me in two or three days before. I felt dirty, ragged, and unkempt.
However I wanted to see her so I knocked. Her sister answered the door and immediately invited me in. I was extremely nervous from driving and getting lost and driving up one way streets. I couldn't sit down as they asked me to. Instead I just stood and looked around.
Christy lives in a beautiful house. It's even bigger that our house and millions of times better furnished. It was just beautiful.
I probably waited about 15 minutes before Christy took the curlers out of her hair and came up. She was dressed in a blouse and pants and was just beautiful (as usual). She was happy to see me and somewhat dismayed that I didn't call. She was unsure as to where to go.
We ate at home that night then went to a Naval Base (25 cents each) for a movie and afterwards met Karen and Alan for a short while. Then we went to the Center - an amusement park - cultural center. We went on some wild rides, walked around and found a place to neck and kiss.
As usual Christy was worried about people watching us and also oblivious to crowds. She'll kiss me in a supermarket but if we're alone she'll wonder if anyone is listening in on us. Anyway she had to be home by Twelve.
That's when I suddenly realized how good I had it in camp.. Here we simply wouldn't be able to stay out all night long. There were times we had to watch and people all over the place to interfere with our love making. Also Christy had decided that she had gone too far and that we shouldn't go that far again.
All in all it looked like I wouldn't be able to get her to come to California with me.
Odometer, July 2nd when I left Seattle: 60,243 (4,119 miles driven from Amityville)
