Thursday, October 25: Leavenworth, Washington

First off, I just realized that I jacked up my dates for the last few posts and I just corrected that. It just goes to show that I have no humanly concept of the day, date or time anymore thanks to being on the road for going on six weeks now. Can you believe that? Six weeks, over 4,000 miles driven and 20 states. That shit is crazy and I'm only half way done!!! I'm still hoping to be back in south Florida to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and friends as we always do. That means that I have only about a month to do all the fun stuff down the west coast before I head back. Since I just finished the other big road trip across the southern states in July, I think that last leg is mainly just going to be a drive through...but we'll see where the wind blows me.

Moving on...
So I got to Leavenworth today and drove by some apple and cherry orchard, it was so cool. There were a bunch of fresh picked fruit stands that I want to visit tomorrow, but I needed to secure sleeping arrangements for the night first. So, let me tell you a little bit about Leavenworth...the entire town is German themed right down to the fonts on the street signs. It's a really cool little place and it's October which means only one thing, Oktoberfest. Oh yes, quite a good place to be for people-watching and such.

So, I got my room for the night and then walked through the little town and checked out the shops before heading to a bar right below my hotel for a hot meal and the Red Sox game. Being on the west coast, the game came on at 5:00 pm and there was nothing that was going to keep me from it, not even the locals who kept trying to pick me up. It was quite the evening. I got my soup and salad and watched ESPN eagerly awaiting the first pitch of the game.

This guy, Seth, works at the bar but was just hanging out and he hollered "Go Boston!" which was great. He shortly thereafter came and sat a seat away from me as I was chatting up the town drunk and interrupted the banter so that I could refocus my energy on him. He seemed harmless enough, a tad sleazy, but harmless. After that, the game came on and I only half listened as I stared intently at the TV screen. At one point I actually stopped and said "Dude, I'm not even listening to you, I'm watching the game." He laughed and agreed.

He bought a few rounds of drinks as the bartender flirted with me as well and the evening was shaping up to be a fun one. The Sox kept me on my toes, but the atmosphere was a great one amongst all the regulars. At one point, Seth went out and brought food back to the bar from another restaurant and sat right next to his boss. What a dumbass! So, he left all pissed off about it and I was glad, he was beginning to irritate me.

I struck up a conversation with the bar owner, Mike, and we talked about sports and art. He's an artist as well. He started laughing and told me that Seth was trying hard to pick me up and I laughed and agreed. Apparently Seth is somewhat of the town gigolo and often beds women much older than him. I thought this was hilarious and reaffirmed that the kid had less than a snowball's chance in hell landing me!

So, the other guys that worked at the bar hung out with me for the evening as I watched my Sox claim another victory against the Colorado Rockies. the guys want me to stay in town for another night as it will be Friday and Oktoberfest is happening. They promise me that I won't regret it. They are actually so adamant about me staying that they even say they'll pay for my room. Ummm, thanks, I can pay for myself. But that's apparently how it works in small towns like this one. Everyone knows your business and your name and they're genuinely nice people.

So, I'm staying another night to experience this great little town during Octoberfest while the Sox have a night off. I'll keep my mace on me just in case though. ;)