The Good ol' Tri-Cities...

Alrighty... I'm back...

Driving through Eastern Washington is a vastly different experience that that of Western Washington. The air is dry, the sky is big and there are rolling, brown hills as far as the eye can see. (However, during the months of March and April, the hills are actually green. It's a very brief sojourn into color, but beautiful if you happen to catch it... Nothing like a rolling stretch of spring sage... Especially after it's rained...) Anyway - The traffic thins out, minus the never-ending cavalcade of semis and the distance in between towns is stretched. Mix this together with a KIA Rio Cinco and a glowing 'check engine' light and you've got yerself one, fine adventure.

The drive was beautiful from Maryhill to the Tri-Cities. There was hardly anyone on the road and the sun was bright. The light gave the concrete and the brown hills a 'baked' sort of look. It wasn't hot enough to give off the heat ripple effect, but was at a point where I felt like I was driving through a dream sequence in an old western movie. I remember once as a child being on an afternoon drive with my family. We had gone up into the Ringold area on the Columbia River. There are some great bluffs up there and I remember my dad making a comment about imagining Indians lined up on their horses and sitting atop the ridge. For some reason, it stuck with me and that's what I was imagining as I was driving through this particular part of the drive ... That and the wild horses that used to live in the area when I was growing up... I miss them.

I finally arrived in the Tri-Cities later in the afternoon. My car was still alive and I was VERY happy to roll up into the driveway at my parent's house. It's always a bit odd coming into town and driving through the streets to my old home. Things don't really change that quickly in the Tri-Cities, but there's always a little bit of something new and it kind of throws me for a loop... ANYhoo... I unloaded my car and hung out with my mom for a bit before my brother's show... My dad was still busy taking in some music at the Bluegrass festival he was attending, so it was just me and my mom.

That night, we took off for good ol' Richland to see Josh play in his band, 'Retread.' They had a big stage set up in the parking lot of the Uptown Plaza. (An old-school type of shopping parkade in uptown Richland...Groovy 50's vibe in places... ) There were two bands performing that night and we were prepared to do whatever it took to bring Retread to victory. (Which included me dancing like an idiot...) I have to admit that it was odd to go check out a band in the parking lot of the Uptown Plaza, but whatever - it all worked out. They had a beer 'garden' and we ordered some food and hung out. *Note: Ummm, the 'garden' was a little sad. The only thing growing in this particular garden was Coors Light... ACK! They also had a small selection of mixed drinks to offer. Suffice it to say, I stuck with whiskey... Whiskey that contributed to me dancing like an idiot later in the evening...

My brother's band was great! They played a mix of 70's and 80's classic rock tunes and the crowd really liked them. It was nice to see Josh play - hadn't heard him in a while and he sounded great. When he lived in the Seattle area a while back, we played around with a rockabilly group with my friend, Chris. 'Naughty Dottie and the Hotties'... Ahhh, the good ol' days... Anyway - I miss jamming with him and it was great to hear him again.

It always makes me proud to see my family performing. Or doing whatever, for that matter... My other brother, Ryan is a great bass player. He hasn't been playing lately, but he's really good - wish he'd play more often. My dad is also a great bass player (even though he uses his THUMB) and is currently playing in a country/bluegrassy sorta band. My mom wouldn't claim to be a musician, but she has a great voice - Even though she'd probably never let you hear it. But I've heard her sing and she can definitely carry a tune... However, her forte seems to be keeping all of our artistic flights of fancy in the black. We should probably start giving her 20%. I think she could give any big-time manager a run for their money...

Anyway - the band was really fun and we all had a great time dancing and screaming like fools. A lot of my extended family was there, so not only was I dancing like an idiot, but I was dancing like an idiot in front of family and friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Way to represent! WOO!! The only saving grace, however, is that we'd all pretty much had a few drinks by that time. Because of this, maybe they didn't notice my dorky dance display as much... (Author's Note: Just noticed that it's 11:11...) Well, that's what I'm going to choose to believe, anyway...

I will have to say, however, that the other band wasn't quite as good. They weren't bad per se, but something about the presentation was just lacking... Kind of just stood there on the stage... They also did some disturbing cover versions of various tunes... I remember a particularly odd version of the Bob Marley tune, 'Redemption Song.' They did it in an early, Beatlesque sort of bubblegummy vibe... Not likin' it... Nor did my mom who looked at me and said, "They're not a Bob Marley band..." That made me laugh...

At the end of it all, OF COURSE my brother's band won - DUH! :) We were all very proud and they went home as conquering rockstars. I don't think they trashed any hotel rooms, but the night was indeed a success. They will compete again within the next couple of weeks to hopefully advance further in the competition. I have faith that they will again be victorious. Hey, and they've even got merch! Josh actually designed some pretty cool t-shirts for the band and he gave me a couple to take home with me.

The next day, I met up with Josh, his family and my parents for breakfast. I hadn't gotten to see my nieces the night before and I was very excited to hang out with them for a bit. I don't get to see them very often and I absolutely ADORE them. Yeah, I'm a proud and dorky aunt - what's the problem?! Josh has two girls, Ezabelle and Emily and my brother Ryan has a little boy named Elijah. Suffice it to say that we've got the E's covered. My nieces and nephew are awesome and I love hanging out with them. They are all pretty much comedians and are going to contribute nicely to the Smith family comedy tradition. Well, what we like to think is comedy, anyway. We're amused by ourselves, so that's all that counts... :)P We have a great time making each other laugh and this weekend was no exception. In addition, I am the oldest in my family, so I feel like I should be given carte blanche with encouraging mayhem amongst my nieces and nephew. More candy? You bet! Wanna stay up late? I say, YES! Heh heh heh... It is my job to be the cool Aunt. It would be wise to not get in my way. I'm just sayin'...

After exhausting myself playing in the backyard with Belle and Emily, it was time to head for home. I made my goodbyes and off I headed, back to the land of rainy greenness... (That's a word, you know - "greenness.") I normally take the quicker route home, via Vantage, but since my 'check engine' light was still on, I opted for the road more traveled. It actually ended up being kind of nice going back that way. All the hop fields were in bloom and everything was sunny and nice... Washington truly is a beautiful state... And Eastern Washington is even MORE beautiful when you don't have to live there. Heh heh... Sorry, Eastern WA - You know I love ya...

It was all comfy-cozy until I got just past Ellensburg. (Where I OF COURSE stopped for a few moments... Because when traveling over the Pass, you HAVE to stop in Ellensburg. You have no choice. I think they've secretly rigged up some sort of giant magnet that just pulls you into town. And it doesn't matter if you have to pee OR NOT - You WILL stop in Ellensburg. Need gas? Who cares!? It doesn't matter - ALL ROADS LEAD TO ELLENSBURG. Ask anyway who regularly travels back and forth between Eastern and Western Washington. It's a fact that you can't debate. I'm sure there's some sort of complicated math involved...) When I got closer towards the Pass, the most ANNOYING collection of drivers seemed to just come out of nowhere. All of the sudden, traffic got really tight and people just started making really stupid and impatient decisions. It was this way for the rest of the drive home. ARGH. Oh well - I made it home alright and in SPITE of the freakin' engine light. Take THAT, KIA!!!

That night, as I actually left Eastern WA when I SAID I was going to leave, I got home before it was dark. I usually get home from any particular trip fairly late at night. This fact always makes for a painful morning if I have to be at work the next day. Because I got home at a decent hour, I was actually able to hang out, get some laundry done, watch some aimless TV, write some aimless journal stuff and just plain hang out. Ahhhh.... I sat and pondered the fact that I'd taken quite an extensive tour of Washington and Oregon over the last 48 hours. I reminisced over my escape from Portland… I daydreamed about having a new car that actually ACTED like a new car... I contemplated marching upstairs and investigating just what in the HELL my neighbors were stomping around doing... I basically just sat on my ass and fell asleep in the chair. It was a fine way to end the weekend.

So there.

p.s. The stupid 'check engine' light mysteriously went off a few days later... FAAAbulous! I can't wait until it goes on again! The amber glow of the engine light always makes for great company while I'm on the road...

Next up: I finish the camping story! (Insert crowd noise and fanfare *here*)