Driving To Paris & Seattle

If the Seattle Space Needle were in Texas it'd likely wear a cowboy hat, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas. There is no elevator or stairway to the top of the Paris, Texas Eiffel Tower. Since there is no way to get to the top there is no revolving restaurant spinning under the cowboy hat. That's a shame. An equally shameful irony is the fact that there are no French restaurants in Paris, Texas. Several restaurants sell French Fries, though.

I've had another bout of insomnia. I've been up since a bit past 3am. I think this morning is an improvement over yesterday's early wakeup that'd been caused by a horrible nightmare where I was chased by 6 Giant Ugly Fat Women who were trying to eat me.

At midnight it was 58. It is 60 now. The pool should have warmed up a bit from yesterday's frigid ice.

My Mom and Dad are coming to Texas in January. So, I've decided not to go to Phoenix for Christmas.

Speaking of road trips. Despite having said, and totally meaning what I said, that being, that it'd be at least 10 years before I returned to the Pacific Northwest, it looks like I'm going to be up in the Seattle zone in January or February. Likely after my Mom and Dad leave Texas.

The last time I drove up to Washington was in August of 2001 for my Mom and Dad's 50th. I got back to Texas a few days before 9/11. A month or so later Mom and Dad were here for a week.

When gas cost in the $4 a gallon zone it seemed ridiculous to drive 5,000 miles. But now, driving is cheaper than flying. And way more fun. It only takes 3 days of easy driving to get up to Washington. First night, Pueblo, Colorado, second night, Twin Falls, Idaho, early the next day's afternoon, Seattle.

I've only driven north in the dead of winter, once. It was awful. That time the route went north through Oklahoma and Kansas. In Kansas there was a lot of snow and ice on the freeway. It was slow going. So, for the drive back, that time, I decided to get the driving south part done by taking I-5, which only gets icy in southern Oregon and northern California, but usually is not too bad. That time there was no ice. Mom and Dad lived in Yuma then. That was the last time I spent Christmas with them. That was a fun Christmas.