Big Cities

Chapter 2 || Seattle, Washington

They had split up the driving of about 38 hours evenly, so they would each drive about 9 and a half hours. Abby had called the first shift, knowing that she would quickly get tired. Around 11:30, because they had left around 10, they came into Baton Rouge. The unanimous vote was to stop for an early lunch. They found a small seafood place that seemed good, and quickly ordered a lot. It would be a while before they got dinner, you know. "Here's to the only good seafood we'll have before we go to New Orleans." Rosemary cheered, raising her iced tea.

"What do you mean?" asked Priscy.

"Never, ever trust seafood that isn't from good old Louisiana. Unless it's also on some coast." Rosemary explained.

"Or southern food," Hattie added. "Once my cousin tried to have some fried chicken when they went up to Boston and it tasted like a salty oyster."

Abby chuckled. She was the quietest one in her group. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she just found it amusing to observe from afar. After a nice lunch, they all piled back into the van. Only 8 and a half more hours before she switched with Rosemary. Rosemary willed herself to sleep, knowing that she would be driving for a while. Around 7 hours later, they stopped at a McDonalds to change and get a to-go dinner, which Priscy and Hattie devoured. Abigail, still cautious on the road, decided to wait until she switched with Rosemary, who was soundly sleeping.

At 9, Abby pulled over, woke Rosemary up, and switched seats with her. No more driving for her until after Seattle, thank goodness. After eating her now cold burger, she quickly fell asleep out of exhaustion. She woke up around 6:30 when Rosemary and Priscy switched. At around 8, Hattie finally woke up and the 4 went inside an IHOP, where they changed and got food to go. After eating, Rosemary fell asleep. Hattie and Abby entertained each other until lunch. Rosemary was still asleep, naturally, so the other three went inside a Chipotles and left the car on. After eating and stretching their legs, they got back inside the car, where Rosemary was still asleep. They had, however, gotten her something to eat. Hattie quickly fell asleep to rest before her shift.

It was quite simple how the shifts were done. Hattie wanted to be the one to pull into Seattle, Abby wanted to be first so she wouldn't be tired driving, and Priscy didn't want to drive at night. That left Rosemary with the first night shift. At 5:30, Hattie woke up and she and Priscy switched. None of them liked to be disturbed when driving, so while Hattie and Rosemary were both sleeping, Abby had had a lot of time to just think.

Abigail was the oldest in her family. She had six younger siblings, three brothers and three sisters, with one sister, Viola, having just been born. Abigail loves going to Hattie's house, where it had just been Hattie and her parents since they were 13, which was when Hattie's last brother, Joshua had gone off to college. It was a welcome respite from her loud, big family. It was Hattie who encouraged her to be reckless, to do crazy stuff like apply to colleges out of state and go on a road trip with only three other girls, a minivan, and probably 20 suitcases between the four of them. But Abby could see where Hattie was coming from. Her whole life had always been as straight and clear as the bathroom mirror. Go to school, get good grades, go to Edison like her parents and grandparents, get a nice job either in Edison or La Belle, find someone nice to marry, have kids, move to the family farmhouse when her parents died, and live a nice comfortable life. Just once, she wanted to do something spontaneous, something wild and exciting like she always read about or saw in the multitude of movies that Hattie had. That was probably why she had said yes as soon as Hattie had suggested it.

Abby was shook from her thoughts when they pulled up to yet another McDonalds. After changing, they all ordered to go and got back in the car, where all except Hattie finally fell asleep. At 3 in the morning, she was woken by Hattie's woop. "Seattle, baby!" she yelled.

Abby quickly opened her eyes and looked out the window. Her eyes got wider and wider. "This sure isn't Edison," Priscy muttered from the passenger seat, echoing Abby's thoughts.

"This is amazing and all, but it's 3. In the morning. Hotels won't let us in for another 12 hours." Rosemary pointed out.

"Then let's park," Hattie said cheerfully. They started driving, looking for a good place to park.

"Not in front of a house, please," Priscy begged. "Or they may think we're thieves."

"But still in a safe neighborhood," Rosemary added.

"Thank you, backseat drivers," Hattie said sarcastically. Finally, they decided to park in a Starbucks parking lot. "And we'll get coffee in the morning," Hattie pointed out.

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When they all woke up, they went into the Starbucks, which was now open, and changed and got something to eat with their coffee. Priscilla pulled out her phone, a map, and various other things at their table. "I looked it up, and there's apparently 15 must-dos. I say we divide it in half, do 7 today, check in this afternoon at the hotel and then relax, do 8 tomorrow, and then the last day just going around the city."

"That looks like the best way to do things," Rosemary observed.

"And all local food," Hattie declared. "We are going to live the Seattle EXPERIENCE!"

"Would you keep it down, please?" Priscy begged, blushing. "There's other people here, you know."

Hattie shrugged. "We're never going to see them again, are we?" She raised her voice again. "To Seattle!" She then jumped up and went outside.

Blushing, Priscy, ran after her, and Rosemary followed, laughing. Shaking her head, Abby gathered up the trash, and then went out the door and to the van.

"First up, the Space Needle," Priscy announced. She leaned over and plugged in the directions for Abby.

After that, they went on a ferry. Next, the Pike Place Market. After those, they went to Kerry Park, the Museum of Flight, Chihuly Garden, and finally Benaroya Hall, stopping for lunch in between. By this point, it was 5, and they all wanted to just find a hotel room and relax. Rosemary and Hattie were in charge of finding a reliable hotel while Abby and Priscy planned out the next day. "Got it!" Rosemary finally announced. "A two-night stay at the Kimpton Alexis."

Priscy leaned over and plugged in the address. After checking in, they all collapsed in bed and quickly fell asleep.

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The next day, they all woke up energized and ready to sightsee their feet off. That day, they went to the Living Computers Museum, Sky View Observatory, saw the Seattle symphony, 5th Avenue Theatre, Green Lake Park, Smith Tower, Chittenden Locks, and the Washington Park Arboretum, stopping for lunch at another local place. They all went back to the hotel room and freshened up for dinner. All in all, it was a very busy day.

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That last day, they packed up before leaving for the day. It was Priscy's turn to drive that day, and all they did was just drive around, in awe of the massiveness of Seattle, stopping at a small place for lunch. Finally, at around 1:30, they set out for Portland, with Priscy still driving. Part 1 of the epic road trip was done.