I like driving in my car

(beep beep, honk honk, beep beep, honk)

And here we are, once again, ridiculously overdue for an update.

It's been more than a month this time.

Admittedly in that time I haven't actually done a huge amount. I flew to Victoria and stayed with Malcolm, Pixcel and the kids for pretty much an entire month. I got to hang out with Bob and Alexis which was awesome - I've seriously missed those guys.

Pixcel and I joined Bob and a huge group of his friends for lunch the Friday after I arrived, so I got to see a few more familiar faces from my last visit. They have standing events which people can just show up to if they want to, which is pretty great. I've seen more of Bob's friends more frequently than I usually see my own friends back home.

We played boardgames a couple of times which was fun, and Bob and me went out for lunch one Sunday. I didn't see as much of Alexis as I'd hoped, but he had too much stuff that needed doing and not a lot of free time.

I bingewatched some stuff on Netflix at Pixcel's and drank a lot of coffee, and generally relaxed and spent time with them.

I felt I should actually leave at some point (despite Pixcel's repeated affirmations that I was never allowed to go) so I flew into Seattle yesterday lunchtime and hired a car.

The flight down from Victoria is beautiful. It's a really short hop so the plane never gets that high, and you're passing over a huge number of little islands - much more interesting than empty ocean.

I ended up being talked into upgrading from a subcompact to a Prius, and with the amount you save on fuel it's maybe worth it? If nothing else I haven't had to worry about filling it up yet.

I got lost driving around the part of Seattle by the airport. In had intended to get out of Seattle and maybe as far as Olympia last night (I landed at 2.30, so not unreasonable) but I was worn out and a bit stressed from not knowing where I was that I just pulled into a hotel and stopped for the day. It gave me the chance to have a bit of a cry and feel sorry for myself, as well as work out that taking the next left off the road I was on would take me to the I5, which was where I needed to be going.

All that driving around random streets also gave me a chance to get used to the car. I managed to overcome the 'fuck why is it breaking like that?' when I realised my left leg was treating it like the clutch and I needed to pin my foot to the floor. I still need to keep an eye on my lane position, though. I keep veering ever so slightly to the right and I'm constantly checking my mirrors to see where the lines are.

Anyway, I left Seattle this morning and found the right road. I missed the exit for the road I needed and ended up going too far south on the wrong road, but a stop for food and a check of the map (along with a helpful waitress) soon out me back on the right track.

I've made it as far as Astoria today, and I'm finally actually on the coast, I think. The 101 has been pretty good, and it's a nice, snaking kind of road that flows along.

I'm booked into a hotel with a view of the river and decided I should actually update, given I finally have something to update with.

It's just past 3.30 and I think it's time to find some food and maybe take a nap.