Note: You may want to first
read my previous post and try to guess the story behind some of the pictures. Once the truth has been revealed the truth, there's no going back!
The day before I left Minnesota, I was busy running errands and visiting friends. I finally visited the Dunn Brothers in Plymouth where my friend Meg is the manager. The
picture of the "floating teapot" is from there. The secret is that there is a clear, plastic connecting tube hidden by the water. Isn't that cool? I saw a similar device when I was at Caltech, but instead of a teapot it was a floating spigot: the water looked like it was coming from another dimension!
The next morning, before sunrise, I left Minnesota.
:-( On the bright side, I didn't have to drive to Seattle on my own. I posted an ad on the rideshare section of craigslist. I met three very nice people through the post. However, only one person was able to make the trip in the end: a Christian girl named Lindsay, who lives in Olympia, Washington.
The first night, Lindsay and I found a campsite in a small Montana town with one Chinese restaurant. (It was tasty, and it seemed pretty authentic!) There was also a carnival that had come into town!
Unfortunately, the carnival would start the next evening, so we didn't get to partake. But I did my best
strongman impression, and Lindsay showed off her athleticism.
As we drove, we listened to music, listened to sermons, and talked. I really liked looking at the countryside, especially the hay bales. At first I thought I liked the hay just for aesthetic reasons, but I think that was a hint of something deeper: 
The bales seem to rest in the fields in a random pattern, but there's actually a very rational and practical ordering, right? When the hay baler is full, it dumps out the bale and starts gathering a new one! (I wasn't a farm boy, so please correct me if I'm wrong!) That made me think of the universe, and God. Are the experiences in our life random, or could they be part of an incredible plan . . . a plan which makes perfect sense, if seen with the proper understanding? (Picture of hay baler from John Deere.)
The second day, we stopped in Billings, Montana, on a seemingly silly errand: my trip was partly timed so that I could arrive at the Billings airport to pick up my friend Jessica T., who was flying from Minneapolis to Billings for a family birthday. Of course, that meant I left Minneapolis many hours before Jess even got on the plane!
Actually, it was a really wonderful experience. Lindsay, me, Jess, and Jess' sister Davy had a pizza picnic on the bluffs above Billings. Montana is known as "Big Sky Country," and it was beautiful. In the pictures, Jess is wearing pink, Lindsay is wearing blue,
and Davy is modeling a pizza.
Davy was named after the girl in the amazing, true Christian love story, "A Severe Mercy." The book includes several letters from C.S. Lewis. I would say more, but I don't want to spoil anything.
There is one especially hilarious moment I want to mention. We visited Jess' relatives, including a cute baby boy. I forget how old he was, but he could only say certain words . . . like "Pepsi." Or "Diet Coke." Or "Mountain Dew." Nothing else--this kid's vocabulary was literally 90% beverages. So, we try to see what other soft drinks this kid knows. He knew "Sprite," "iced tea," "coffee," and some others. Finally, Jess' mom asks (totally innocently), "What about 'root beer'? Do you know 'root beer'?" The child stopped moving, looked at us for a few moments, and then said simply, "Be-er!" Isn't that precious?
After leaving Jess--the last small group person I've seen!--Lindsay and I made good time driving to Seattle. I dropped Lindsay off at her home in Olympia; the town seemed quaint and beautiful. Alas, it was time to move on, and people were expecting me.
Next up:
A Seattle wedding!
The day before I left Minnesota, I was busy running errands and visiting friends. I finally visited the Dunn Brothers in Plymouth where my friend Meg is the manager. The picture of the "floating teapot" is from there. The secret is that there is a clear, plastic connecting tube hidden by the water. Isn't that cool? I saw a similar device when I was at Caltech, but instead of a teapot it was a floating spigot: the water looked like it was coming from another dimension!
The next morning, before sunrise, I left Minnesota. 
The first night, Lindsay and I found a campsite in a small Montana town with one Chinese restaurant. (It was tasty, and it seemed pretty authentic!) There was also a carnival that had come into town!
Unfortunately, the carnival would start the next evening, so we didn't get to partake. But I did my best strongman impression, and Lindsay showed off her athleticism.
