Third day, Not the band.

Salutations,

It's the 3rd day of the trip. Nick and Brennon woke up early to watch the UW basketball game. It was incredible. The dawgs were beating UNC at halftime. I must mention that Michael Jordan was in the house as well. For those who don't know, (which they should) UNC is MJ's alma mater. If he never went to college for basketball, he probably wouldn't have gone pro, which means we wouldn't have Space Jam.

Not cool.

Everyone woke up and they all went to Sam Sandquist's home church, Peninsula Covenant Church. They all enjoyed the message which was spoken from the book of Habakkuk. Afterwords, they met up with a guy named Carlos whom Jacob and Charlie were eager to meet. The two applied for an internship this summer.

Will they get it? Even though it is so far away from Seattle? Tune in next week to find out.

Leaving the church, they all headed to Sam's Sandquist's house for lunch. They watched some more NCAA baskteball. Jeremy decided that he wanted all the upsets to happen in the tournament, so watch out. Ohio State will still win it. Go Buckeyes.

It was bitter sweet leaving Sam's house. His family was very welcoming and provided great hospitality. Mark, Jacob, and Nick all went outside to enjoy the sun right before leaving. Jacob had a big water bottle and it turned into a fight between Team Jacob and Team MarkNick (watch out edward). Mark went up the front while Nick snuck around the back. Jacob, being so agile, flailed like an octopus and was using water for his defense. He tended to run towards Nick and fake like he was throwing the water. Nick was always one step ahead and used his Dodgeball skills to dodge it (note: Nick was part of the Happy Trees, the famed dodgeball team that consisted of all freshman whom won the d-ball tourney in 06' at Lake Stevens High School). Mark tried to make his move and Jacob soaked him hardcore. The water bottle dropped and Nick ran up like Freddy Montero and kicked the ball between the tires and it was a goal!!!!!!

Everyone was in their cars and stopped to get gas. The now notorious water bottle was brought out again. Some of the boys were tossing it around like a football and then it turned into a game of flyers up. Mark, mischievous as he is, unscrewed the cap and threw the bottle up into the air. He, Charlie, and Nick all ran to catch it. Nick survived unscathed while Charlie and Mark got hit. Pray for them.

Sam Sandquist forgot his computer at Graham's house so they went back to get it. Again, the water bottle is out. Round 3. Mark vs. Jacob. The only thing is, Mark snuck another water bottle and soaked Jacob to the bone. Jacob took off his shirt (not the only time) and got back into the car. Thus, all 9 embarked again on the trip.

This is from the Subaru's side of things. We missed our turn onto I-5. Sick. Then we got back on. Cool story Handsel. Nothing else really happened to them until they reached Grapevine pass.

It was closed due to snow. Before they figured anything out, the crew ate at In-N-Out burger. It was Nick's first time. With the grin of a child, he opened wide and took a monster bite of a scrumtioulescent burger. Like a Quentin Tarantino movie, this scene is driven by dialogue. A question was posed, Who is the best at Mario Kart in succession. Everyone tuned in as Jacob and Nick talked about who was, Thuh BEST! A decision was made, Mark was number 1, Sam Sandquist number 2, Brennon number 3, and Charlie number 4. They picked Brennon as 3rd because he has the worst luck in Mario Kart. Sad day.

Back to the decision, I know you've been waiting. It was either stay in Bakersfield area, or take the 58 highway around it. We decided to just do it because it would only be 4 more hours. It was about 8 o'clock. Again, the suburu made another wrong turn...sick. Back to the highway, Nick and Mark starting talking to each other in accents and went into character. Nick (Nick Nasty) and Mark (Mark Rawlins) were co-hawks (Yes, co-hawks according to Mark), and held a talk show. They had some great characters on the show including Vince Piehler, Travis McCoy, and Felipe Conrad. In between conversation, music was played, naturally. With hits like "Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra and Rockaway Beach by The Ramones, it was a talk show that everyone missed. Literally.

The subaru got to the pass and hit a dead stop. There must have been some accident. Then, snow started coming down hard and was sticking. It was about 10:30 pm and they still had to get out of the pass. During their pleasant stay in the mountains, Jacob, Charlie, and Sam Piehler got out of the car and had a snowball fight. It was pretty sick. They got back in and chilled for a sec. No pun intended.

Jacob, being Jacob, decided to go up to a random bus and see if he could get on. It was full of tourists. Jacob was acting as if he were super cold and asked if he could step in. He made it. Simultaneously, the traffic started to pick up again and the suburu traveled about 200 more feet. Where was Jacob? He told the driver that he was going to try and find his car again. Momentarily Jacob made it back onto the ship. The suburu was abiding by pirate code as well. Whoever falls behind is left behind. Thankfully he made it.

The traffic still wasn't picking up and it had been almost three hours. Nick was getting antsy and got mad at Mark for something trivial. Nick apologized that he let that get the best of him.

Silly Rabbit.

The traffic started to pick up again and the snow had not subsided. An option of taking the 202 arose. Mark stopped the car on the shoulder, obviously. They decided to keep going. Upon entering traffic again, they heard a rattling. The Suub's bumper had been ripping off. Jacob and Mark tried to put it back on again, but it just got worse. They ended up tearing it off. It only about a third of the bumper so everything was kosher.

This is where the story gets good, but we're going to save it for another post because I need to get going. The secret snow foothills is what is to come. Stay excited.

I tip my hat,
Nick