…as big as the whole state. We whisked up here for a quick weekend to visit an old friend. Pretty much drove the entire north-south length of the state in the pouring rain. Does anything exist beyond several hundred yards on either side of the 5? I’m not sure, as I couldn’t see anything. For all I know, there could be huge abysses on both sides, falling away into everlasting darkness and rain. That would be fascinating. The implication would be that the state of Washington, as taught in schools, etc., doesn’t exist, but is simply a huge coverup for some kind of sinister event in the past. Perhaps China bought the rest of Washington years ago and dug it up for transport across the ocean?
If you need a new conspiracy theory, that’s a pretty crazy one. Feel free to run with it.
One of my relations is convinced the Province of Manitoba is a hoax. A big government scam. Manitoba doesn’t exist. Washington is probably the US equivalent of Manitoba.
There is indeed an abyss; it is not a figment of your overactive imagination. If you detoured just a bit off the 5 and headed west on Route 16… the world drops suddenly away beneath your wheels and the dreary continent is swallowed up in clouds. Distant islands beckon through the mist and you grip the steering wheel a bit harder as you peer over the edge into a roiling current that hides the likes of giant octopuses… Across the ethereal span, a harbor beckons you to explore its Croatian past. But leave your umbrella behind – it just gets in the way. Too bad you didn’t stop by!
Driving up 5 was a mildly surreal experience. It literally felt like there wasn’t much of a Washington state out there. Just mist and fog and an unseen horrible drop on either side. We hurried up to Bellingham, spent a day with L and family, and then hurried back south to Portland. Rain and more rain (and it’s in the 80s right now, down in Monterey County). Still, very lovely country when the vistas opened up…