Day Seven: Little Shar Goes to the Game!

The morning of Day Seven broke lazily upon us in our free-upgrade-mini-suite-more-like-mini-sweet. We returned the favor. Lazily we enjoyed the delicious hot shower, our first since leaving Robyn's apartment. Lazily we munched a real breakfast at the hotel's diner. Not as lazily for me, I suppose, since I have decided to do as the Romans do and get caffeinated while we're in the Pacific Northwest. We packed up the car (we're taking votes on what her name should be, by the way) and barely made the check-out time at noon. Just a three hour drive to Seattle, so we could afford to be lazy. And, since Portland's paradise was our first real bed since our first night on the road, I think we rather needed it.


Before we left Portland, we stopped at The Grotto, an absolutely amazing Catholic shrine carved into the woods and stone. It was gorgeous. The surprising sun that had greeted us when we awoke this morning had melted back into the gray, wet afternoon, trapping the sacred place in a heavy stillness unbroken by the few dozen tourists and pilgrims who dotted its 62 acres. My feelings about religious sites tend to be complicated and clouded with different parts of my brain trying to talk at once. So I'm not sure I know what to say of The Grotto. I will say it is beautiful and save the rest for when you and I have a conversation.


As I guess will be the way of this road trip, we careened from the meditative quiet of The Grotto to interstate traffic. The sky dripped wetness on us throughout the drive, threatening to drown out Matt Dillon as he read Kerouac to us. But, just as we entered the metropolitan area, the skies cleared and we saw Seattle. We'll see more of the city tomorrow (our last multiple-night stay until we get to Providence). Today, we rushed to check in to our hotel (more on this tomorrow as well) and then hopped on a bus to the Sonics game at KeyArena.

Wow. I have to say that my very first NBA game was a rousing success. My recent months have been full of high school and college basketball, but I've never really followed the pros and haven't cared about a game since Shaq left the Lakers. Add to that the fact that Mike prepared me for a blow-out game, with Seattle losing in a high-scoring fist-fight against Denver, and you can see why I was a little wary. By the end of the first period, though, you can bet I cared who won. Mike's writing about it right now for LBPostSports, so you can read more about it there. Lemme just say two words to sum up the greatness of this game: double overtime. Let me add two more: Suuuuuuuuuuuuuper Sonics!!



I don't want to close out today's blarg without calling your attention to a very important issue. Pacific Northwest people are creepy. They're creepy, and they're pale, and they move silently through their gray cities like horrible mist monsters. Also, they seem to think I'm someone they know. I had three separate people "recognize" me today, and you can bet I didn't like that. Beware!

Today we listened to: more of On the Road, MTV Unplugged in New York (Nirvana), and 58 minutes of basketball stadium songs (most of which involved clapping and shouting).

Mystery words for today: "Basketball fouls: a cost-benefit analysis"

Check out Mike's blog: astoriedyear.blogspot.com