USA Day 57 - the best sushi ever!

Total States Visited: 46
Where Are We Sleeping Tonight: La Quinta Inn, Seattle, Washington

Waking up refreshed after a good nights sleep added to the joy of staying at the best KOA. After letting the staff know just how wonderful their KOA is, we headed off in a westerly direction to finish our visit of the northern states. Our first stop was the local Cenex for some fuel. After cleaning the windscreen, we couldn't help but notice the people driving in with their pet goat...

 

Continuing on our way, we started noticing lots and lots of billboards advertising Montana's largest gift shop and 50,000 silver dollar collection. After constant bombardment, we were suckered in to stopping in the town of Haugan to have a look. The 50,000 silver dollar coins are all over the walls of the western bar and more of a wall decoration than a collection. As for the gift shop, it had a very diverse range, from a huge range of cheap jewellery to a huge range of cheap weapons which included a full scale (and deadly) mace and chain for $19.95! Without wanting to test customs back home, we didn't buy anything. After a quick restroom break (in the scariest restrooms I have had the misfortune of using anywhere in the world), we continued on our way.

 

Crossing into the state of Idaho, we stopped to get a state map in the town of Wallace. Stopping at the first gas station we came across, we spotted a chocolate confectionary item called an Idaho Spud. Knowing how well the state of Idaho is known for their potatoes, we had to give this a try. Apparently a chocolate coated marshmallow, it was the most disgusting tasting thing I think I have ever eaten. Either it was out of date or the people of Idaho have a very warped idea of what a nice piece of con day tastes like!

 

Exploring the town, we chose to skip the Bordello Museum and visited a couple of antique stores instead where I picked up a DVD of JCVD for $2 - bargain! The look of the town reminded me a lot of the movie Dante's Peak and it turns out that this is where they filmed the movie! I was amazed to see how much the people building the interstate didn't care about the town of Wallace, building the Interstate 90 over the top of the town. It is also kind of weird that the town's claim to fame is that they are apparently the centre of the universe... I think Stephen Hawking might disagree with that...

 

Continuing on our way, after seeing a unique way of travelling with a boat, we entered the state of Washington. Our destination: Spokane.

 

Arriving at Gonzaga University we parked the car and headed off looking for the student centre. After seeing a wall covered in a wedding message, we found it - the Bing Crosby Student Centre, home of the Bing Crosby museum. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the size. Time Magazine listed only 2 musicians in its most influential people of the 20th Century - Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley - and after having visited Graceland, this museum in comparison is a little lame, especially when you consider Bing's career and achievements. Sure, they did have lots of interesting things to see, including Bing's Oscar from 1944, but I felt like they need to do something special. Granted, like so many places we have visited in our trip around the country, the student centre is mid refurbishment and I can only hope that once completed, there will be something much better here. Sadly the gift shop is closed as part of the refurbishment so I can't buy any Bing merchandise... sigh. At least I got to sit down and soak up the atmosphere.

After a brief stop at Ernies Fuel Stop in Moses Lake, we continued on to Seattle. After driving around the streets, we parked in the Bell Street Pier Garage and walked up to 2nd Ave where we found one of the best restaurants that I have even eaten at. Although a little pricey, Shiro's Sushi was brilliant and made the trip worth while. Sitting at the sushi bar, rather than at a table, meant we got to talk to the chefs who were fun characters, even changing my order of mushroom miso to clam miso because he knew I would like it better - and he was right! After a quick drive around the city, we found the Space Needle - it looks slightly different from the ground but still obviously the cities signature building.

After driving around a bit, we caught the crazy construction sites and excessive traffic to head to our hotel that we booked through Wotif. Arriving at the check-in desk, the hotel had no record of our booking so the woman working the desk rang the web company and sorted something out and luckily had a room she could check us in to. While the whole scenario was extremely stressful, the woman at the check-in desk did so much to help us that I can't thank her enough!