Sunday March 3rd - Weed, CA - Tacoma, WA
A beautiful sunny day and a great view of Mt. Shasta to wake up to. It was another day of driving north. I stopped at some very nice rest areas along the way for some yoga and stretching. I hope the weather is this nice all the way home. There was a 60 cent drop in gas prices as soon as I crossed into Oregon. It will be a nice break from being over taxed until I get to Canada. After hours of uneventful driving I reached Pat and Nicole's house. We had dinner and caught up on old times back in Anchorage when we were kids. I played with the cats. They seem to be warming up to me. 

Tuesday March 5th - Tacoma - Seattle - Bremerton
Cloudy - I got my 5 months worth of mail today. I spent some time visiting with Leah wishing her a happy birthday. I then went to Bremerton to visit my buddy John (See October). We went to band practice. They were doing some recording and practicing. I got a few songs in on the guitar.

March 6th - 7th - Bremerton
Snow! - Ive been enjoying spending time with John's family while he is at work. He work as a sort of Vice principal at a grade school. Working with children and their social difficulties. His children are great. Sorrel, 2 and a half, is very interesting to hang out with. He has taken a liking to me and loves to play light saber ledges first thing in the morning. He's so cute. and smart! Kalen is older and more rambunctious. We enjoy playing Tag and Hide and Seek. The three of us took a stroll to the local park. It felt good caring and watching out for them. I guess Im entering that phase in my life. Now I just need to find the right woman.

Friday March 8th - Bremerton
Sunny - The snow didn't stick of course, its march. I keep watching the Canadian forecasts and it looks very cold and snowy. I guess Ill hang here for the weekend. John invited me to his school today. He does his rounds through every class. It was funny seeing the faces of all the kids when I walked in. Imagine Shaquile Oniel walking into a class full of munchkins. I met the staff. Nice people. One teacher tried to talk me into meeting her 28 year old single friend but I mentioned I was leaving to AK soon. I had mentioned to her that John was telling me earlier about how I could meet nice girls working in school. That was a thumbs up on the right thing to say. After school we stopped at the local tavern for a brew and I was asked out by the bartender! That's a first. Wow twice in one day.

March 11th - 12th - BremWA
Yukky weather prevails as I spend my mornings playing leggos with the boys and working on freelance projects from Anchorage. The weather may be looking up in Canada on Friday. Its been snowing up there for a week. Its got to let up sometime. So I figure Ill leave Seattle Wednesday afternoon after going to see Lord of the Rings on the big screen downtown.

Wednesday March 13th - Bremerton - Seattle - Bellingham
I packed up my stuff and said good-bye to John, Katie, Kalen and Sorel. Kale was sad to see his leggo partner leave. Sorel was very cute, I said "gimee five" and he did. Thank you all for having me in your home. I caught a ferry to Seattle and had lunch on the waterfront. I hit the I-5 and made Bellingham around 4pm after driving through a huge downpour. My Uncle Dick and Aunt Carol have a great home overlooking the ocean. They had just completed their new downstairs apartment. I am their first guest. It is very nice. We went out to dinner with another couple of friends of theirs. A very enjoyable evening. 

Thursday March 14th - Bellingham - Prince George, Canada
The roads were great until I reached Prince George. It was snowing and slippery. I made it to a hotel for the night.

Friday March 15th - Prince George - Fort Nelson
After removing a few inches of snow from my vehicle, I set off to Fort Nelson via Dawson Creek. The roads were dry and clear of snow. It appears that I timed my trip well. The sun cleared the way for me. The snow was mounded up along the highway from the previous week long snow fall. I made great time to Fort Nelson. At this rate Ill be in Anchorage by Monday.

Saturday March 16th - Fort Nelson - Whitehorse
Wow, making great time. The sunny weather has made for clear, dry roads. There is hardly any other northbound traffic either! Its very cold here. -26C. I don't know what that translates to in (F) but that's freakin cold! The motel was warm though. 
Sunday March 17th - Whitehorse - Girdwood - Happy St. Patrick's day!
My car just barely started this morning. I was so happy it did. I was able to leave at first light and make it to Girdwood by 9pm. The roads were great until I got past Glenalen. It had snow 2 feet in Anchorage that day and the roads down the Matinuska Valley were bad. It was the most stressful part of the whole driving trip. I had my summer tires on so I went extra slow and used great jedi skill to keep it on the road. The streets in Anchorage had not been cleared so there were foot high moguls to maneuver over. I stopped in for some dinner and was lucky to make it out of the parking lot. I arrived in Girdwood and went to Max's bar to find the Photon Band (excellent local group) playing and acoustic show. Very nice. The fire pit was goin out back and it was not very cold. I held my hands up and hooted with joy. "Its great to be here!" This concludes my roadtrip journal. I hope you enjoyed it. Please keep in touch. Russ -  feel free to eMail me