many goodbyes

I didn't get to see Adam (the cool motel manager from my early days in Walla Walla); the lady at the front desk told me that he's on a trip and won't be back until next week, so I asked her to tell him that "Kevin says goodbye. He'll know who I am."

I also didn't get to see Mechelle today, though I did just send her a goodbye message; we were supposed to watch "The Matrix" together and discuss its religious tropes (a lot of sci-fi efforts are essentially religious parables or moralistic sermons; "hard" sci-fi is often difficult to come by), but given the suddenness with which my plans coalesced, this isn't going to happen.

I did, however, get to say goodbye to the Korean convenience store owner and his lovely wife (they've got two kids). I took their picture, talked about my plans, and promised to swing by their place again in the spring.

I also had a late lunch at the teriyaki-jip, where I said goodbye to the Korean couple running the place (yes, they're a couple!). They wished me well and even tried to give me a framed brush painting that was hanging on their wall. I also gave them this blog's address and told the wife to comment often. The husband had to take off for the bank, but before he did, we all took some pics together.

I also stopped and talked with two dudes who were busy renovating a house. One of the dudes, Mark, was the house's owner; his friend, Tony, was helping him out. We talked about their progress, and I told them about my walk and about staying in Walla Walla. I got their picture, too, and will slap it on the blog when I'm back in Virginia.

My route took me past the local K-Mart, where I bought a button-down shirt for $3.99 (end-of-summer clearance) and a container of oatmeal for Bob, who's been making my breakfast for the past week. Had I found some quinoa at K-Mart, I'd have bought that for him, too.

I'm bizarrely proud of the shirt purchase; I so rarely shop for clothing, and when I do, I almost never purchase it when it's on sale. Today's something of a red-letter day in that regard. I know, I know: my savvier readers are rolling their eyes. Big deal, Kevin. So you bought a shirt on sale. Yippie.

I've decided to save laundry for early tomorrow morning. I imagine that Chuck will be by in the early afternoon (is that right, Chuck?). Meantime, I need to figure out how the heck I'm going to pack my backpack and carry-on bag. The backpack has to remain under 50 pounds to avoid the dreaded excess baggage fee, but the carry-on can't be overstuffed: if it doesn't fit into an overhead compartment, it'll have to be checked as well. I wonder what, among my possessions, I can leave here.

Cousin Marie has forwarded me my e-ticket, so it looks as though I'm set. Because I'm flying standby, I won't be able to give Dad an exact arrival time until I'm safely aboard a flight from Houston.

One last note: today, I probably walked close to five miles. It was largely pain-free, but it became obvious, toward the end, that I've still got some healing to do.

I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Walla Walla yet; will do so tomorrow. I'll just end this entry by observing that, if the townies are any indication, Walla Walla is a very likeable city. I look forward to coming back here early next year, chase car in tow.


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