Be sure to read Part 1 for a trip overview.

Travel Dates: 4/25/11 – 5/9/11
Blech.

Had lunch with my friends, Sean and Cassie. They just bought a Honda Pilot. Looks great!

Notice how its raining and cold. It stayed that way until I left in May.

Bo and Linda are selling their puppies

One of my dad’s border collies

Went to Domini’s downtown for lunch with Matt and Ian

Popcorn appetizer

THAT’S A HUGE SANDWICH

Corned beef, swiss

Went to Zip’s, a regional fast food chain, and ordered a “Big Zipper”. Its basically a long bun with meat and cheese on it.

Knowing I was impossible to wake up by telephone, Sean showed up the following day and tried to drag me out of bed to see Fast 5.

I wasn’t having it.

In the depths of my boredom in Spokane, I seriously considered buying an Audi TT Roadster. I realized what a poor decision that would be and bought this $3 die-cast model instead.

My dad’s other dog, a labrador and border collie mix. This one’s pathetically lazy.

Tire shop scratched my car. They had it fixed but it still shows.

GOD DAMN IT. I’m 29.

I don’t know what this means.

I drove Bo’s Yamaha ATV from 1983. I wrote a brief review with a couple videos.

I saw this blue Altima in downtown Spokane with a NICOClub banner on top. I did finally figure out who owned it.

Went to see Travis (drummer) at Zola

Met up with Floyd, who I hadn’t seen since… 2003? and his girlfriend

Matthew

Travis, Kim, and someone I didn’t intend to forget

Bo gives serious face

In Spokane, seen just south of the Hillyard neighborhood. If he doesn’t want people to dump their things, maybe he should keep his property from looking like a dump.

Stupid trashy idiot.

Bo gave me an Apple Messagepad 130!!!! I owned a 110 and a 2000 years ago and regretted selling them. THIS IS SO AWESOME. It even comes with the original Apple rechargeable battery pack.

Sean, Cassie

Went to Jack and Dan’s near Gonzaga University to celebrate Kara’s last day of undergraduate classes

Kara, Keari, Tyler

Tyler, Kara

Went to Atilano’s at the end of the night for food

DELICIOUS

Its a wall of… cocks?

Met up with Kim and Travis at Suki Yaki downtown. I haven’t seen either since high school which was 11 years ago.

Rainbow Bar in Spokane is the trashiest place I’ve been to in my entire life.

Kim, Travis, myself, Matt, and Zack were there

It was trashy, but delightfully so. The strippers remained on stage while strange looking folks filtered in and out of the bar. A few odd gentlemen with creepy stares were seated in the corners looking at the low-end dancers.

Something about this place was magical. After spending a half hour or so here, I stopped feeling miserable about having to be in Spokane. Maybe being surrounded by sad and unfortunate people made me feel better about myself. Maybe the good company I was with put me in a positive mood. Or maybe it was Rainbow Bar magic.

I’m going with magic.

Travis, Matt, Matt’s brother Zack

Kim, Me

We went to The Swamp, a bar just outside of a neighborhood called Browne’s Addition. The atmosphere was pleasant with an outdoor seating area and fireplaces. It was like camping without having to camp out.

These two questionable girls followed Matt home. They eventually left.

I had a massive hangover. This was Bloomsday in Spokane, a day where everyone in town pays $15 to run 7.5 miles and get a t-shirt. The runners were noisy, but the kid down the street banging on his drumset in the front yard (I’ll admit, he was good) was even louder.

I walked to the backyard and threw up.

Dick’s Hamburgers — This is a Spokane landmark. The food is mediocre, but its about the atmosphere and the environment. Located downtown, this burger stand is swarming with migrants, addicts, seagulls, and homeless people. You walk up to the window, they take your order, you pay, and you leave with your greasy sack of satisfaction.

Osama Bin Laden died, so the Spokesman Review blessed us with this awkwardly written headline.

Outstanding pizza at The Flying Goat. Tyler ordered a Thai pizza with curry and sriracha sauce. It was surprisingly good.

The tire shop scratched my bumper so they sent me here, where no one was available to answer the door. I called and was told they were out to lunch.

Went on Craigslist and found a paintless dent removal guy. $55 and he took care of it within 15 minutes.

I went to Northern Quest Casino and spent… a lot. I was really, really bored. Ian didn’t want to join me so I left him in the car like a bad parent.

Kara and Tyler cooked a roast, lemon asparagus, and mashed potatoes. It was SO F*CKING GOOD.

This is a blurry picture of Kara and Keari’s rabbit. Its HUGE.

Went home and fed the dogs.

PART 12: Second week in Spokane WA