August 29, 2010 -- Welcome to Washington.

Once again, I am blown away by the west. Like every other morning, we began the day with an adventure to the local coffee shop, and today I found myself speechless when we entered “Liquid Planet.” Let me begin by saying, you should really check out their website to learn more about their mission. There you will also find what they sell besides coffee in the store. They go beyond the typical sundry of flavored coffees and loose leaf teas and offer a vast selection of beer, wine, and sodas (and no, not pepsi). Did I also mention they have 4, yes 4, different types of chai? Once I composed myself, I ordered myself a tiger tulsi chai and a raspberry scone. Both surpassed anything I ever tasted on the east coast. Things keep looking better and better, I tell you, I seriously love it here. This love continued to grow fonder as we drove the remaining few hundred miles to Washington. Unfortunately I found myself behind the wheel as we drove into the mountains of northern Montana and Idaho, and you can imagine the strength it took me to stay on the road. Idaho certainly took my by surprise, however. I always just assumed Idaho to have potatoes and flat land. Well you know what happens when you assume… We finally passed the body of water for all those people with boats we constantly saw driving past us pondering where exactly they have water activities. At last, we finally reached our destination. A “Welcome to Washington” sign tucked away in the median of the highway, and barely visible, greeted us. Since we made great timing, we arrived only a little past noon so after I spotted a sign for the Mount Spokane State Park, I decided hiking to be a necessity. As we pulled off the exit and past the shopping areas, we finally saw a glimpse of Washington’s golden wheat fields. The contrast of the blue sky with yellow from the fields brightened not only the picturesque view, but my spirit. The winding back country roads to the state park ignited my desire to explore the area more and more. As we pulled into the parking area for the trail head, we began reading the postings to beware of moose, cougars, and black bears. Welcome to Washington! I could sense my mood deteriorating, potentially due to driving and nerves, and, as always, a little nature cures all. Jay and I had an amazing hike and I felt after the whole trip we really solidified our relationship. With such an age difference, 12 years if you didn’t know, we always have been on different pages in our lives. Although these past few years have certainly had their bumps in the road, I am so grateful to have such a loving and supportive brother like Jay. I know I made the correct decision when I chose/asked/told him to drive with me across the country and I do not regret that decision. I especially realized the importance of having him when we ventured south to Pomeroy so he could see why he drove 3,000 miles. As we made our way south and away from civilization I could my emotions began to stray and my strength weaken -- where am I going? Soon, all you could see were miles upon miles of golden rolling wheat fields, its color vivid against the blue sky. With my eyes wide open and the anxiety increases as I anticipated the “Welcome to Pomeroy” sign, we finally arrived. Reality. Is this really it? My first reaction, “uh, shit. What did I get myself into. The google man lied!” (excuse my French). The 2 minute drive to get from one side of town to the other demolished my spirit. As we turned around and I begged to return to Spokane, back to people, buildings, traffic, real life, the breakdown ensued. My fearless mind quickly become flooded with a hurricane of negative emotions. “I can’t” became my new mantra that repeated in my head like a record skipping. I could not hold the tears in anymore and my brother kindly stepped up to the plate to handle his emotional distraught sister. He comforted me and I felt a connection with him that I hadn’t in some time. I managed to pull myself together enough to make it back to Spokane, knowing that in 12 hours he would be on a flight home and I would officially be on my own. Frantically calling my parents, I explained what I saw and they urged me to try it out before I judge it and if it doesn’t work out, then it’s not meant to be. I felt much more at ease and at last found myself able to sleep.