 Nick and Sarah were both still a little sore, but committed to training more. And finding more funky cities and diamond jewelry. They hoped that engagement rings in Spokane, Washington would contain some local Spokane flavor. The Pacific Northwest was like another world. It was an outdoorsy world where there were beautiful parks and funky tourist attractions and one thing that Sarah was particularly intrigued by. “How come we haven’t seen a bigfoot yet, Nicky?” She asked him as he steered their way east on Route 90. “Maybe we haven’t been looking closely enough,” he told her. He had sat through every conceivable documentary about the possibility of Bigfoot existing, and if so, then where. The Pacific Northwest seemed to be one of the maybe-fictitious creature’s favorite haunts, so Sarah was hoping for a sighting, or at least some evidence. Sarah kept her eyes on the woods in case she saw anything suspicious, and then fell asleep. When she woke up, Nick was pulling the Jeep up to the Davenport Hotel at 10 S. Post Street, Spokane, WA 99201. As she stretched and climbed out to grab her suitcase, she looked up. “Nice place,” she commented. “I figured we could use another bit of 4-diamond treatment,” Nick told her. They went up to their room, curled up, and slept the sleep of the dead before they began exploring Spokane the next day. When they woke up, the put on their rollerblades and headed out for Riverfront Park. Sarah had read that Centennial Trail would take them through the park, past Gonzaga University, and past one of the coolest oddities in Spokane: the World’s Largest Radio Flyer Wagon. First, they burned off steam and rollerbladed away any soreness leftover from their Grouse Grind adventure. The view along the trail was beautiful. After a while, they slowed down a bit to talk. “Every single city in the country is really beautiful in its own way,” Sarah said. “I never would have thought Spokane, Washington would have so many things that I want to see.” “It is cool here. I’m surprised, too. Everywhere we go has something amazing about it,” Nick responded. “You expect it in San Francisco, or Vegas. But it’s all these other cities that seem to have some of the coolest stuff.” Spotting a bench, Sarah skated over and began unlacing her rollerblades. “Speaking of which,” she said, “I really, really want to go see the wagon.” She pulled her flip flops out of her backpack and handed Nick his. Together, they walked to the World’s Largest Radio Flyer Wagon. It was so big that it could fit up to 50 people, although they would have to be pretty small people. And the best part: the giant handle was a slide. It was so big that they were dwarfed by it. Sarah giggled as she climbed up the stairs to get into it. Nick stayed on the ground for a few minutes and watched her. She was having more fun than the little kids there were. She reached down over the side, almost falling out. “Slap me five, Nicky!” She yelled. He reached up to smack her hand and then climbed up into the wagon with her. There were a few families around with the kids playing inside the wagon, lying down on the support for the handle, sliding down the slide. Sarah slid down the slide and then raced around to get back up. This time, she and Nick went down the slide together. “This thing is incredibly awesome,” she said. “Let’s go feed the goat,” Nick suggested. As they walked to the incredible garbage-eating goat, they kept their eyes on the ground for anything they might be able to feed it. Sarah had also brought some junk with her from the car. The goat, which was not much larger than a real goat, was powered by some kind of vacuum so it would suck the trash right out of their hands. Sarah fed it a few things, laughing the whole time. Nick fed it a few parking tickets from various cities they’d been in. He thought that was funny, too. After they exhausted their supply of garbage from Sarah’s backpack, they walked to the Spokane Falls Skyride. It was a gondola that took them out over Spokane Falls, the Huntington Park Natural Area, City Hall, and river. It was a great view. Sarah held onto Nick as they rode. “I will never understand,” Nick told her, “why you are perfectly willing to jump out of an airplane or off a bridge, but you can’t ride in one of these things without freaking out.” After walking around the park for a while, they went for a guided tour of Marvin Carr’s One-of-A-Kind in the World Museum. Marvin himself ran the tour. Not only did they get to sit in the Elvis Presley’s 1973 Lincoln Mark IV, but they saw a model of a ship made of 27,500 matchsticks, the largest black bear ever caught and stuffed, a skeleton in 70s attire dancing to disco music, a band of frogs singing “Frankie and Johnny” while playing instruments, and a 300-pound stuffed marlin. Nick’s favorite was the picture of a lovely pink parrot, and, hanging next to the framed photo, a hat made entirely of those lovely pink feathers. Then they went back to the hotel for a nap. Sarah had already decided that she was stealing the robe. “I think I might wear it out tonight,” she told Nick after she got out of the shower. “It’s so comfortable.” “At least I won’t have to wait while you find an outfit,” Nick said dryly. Sarah threw a pillow at him, stuck her tongue out, and put on some clean jeans and a tank top. She knew she’d need a sweater tonight, but bars were always so hot. They walked to the Blue Spark at 15 S. Howard St., Spokane, WA 99201, which proudly displayed the motto “No Crap on Tap”. They sampled some beers from around the country. Nick and Sarah chatted up some locals that they met. The bar had a very friendly vibe, and there were vintage posters of great bands all over the walls. The huge Pabst Blue Ribbon sign made Nick and Sarah laugh. They had a friend in college who wouldn’t drink anything other than PBR in a can. He was known for it. As the hours passed, they tried to drink a beer from each of the states they had already been to, repeating Colorado and Washington a few times. After a while, every time Sarah ordered a beer, she’d yell “No Crap on Tap!” and high-five the bartender, who showed endless patience. They walked back to the Davenport arm-in-arm, singing “Too Far Gone” by Elvis Costello. They slept late, and took their time getting moving. By the time they were ready to leave, it was lunchtime. They walked to Cap’n Juicy’s Super Duper Weenies at 122 N. Howard St., Spokane, WA, where Sarah got a Police Dog, which was covered in all kinds of cheese and bacon bits, and Nick got a Coney Island Dog, which had chili sauce, onions, and cheese. They both laughed when they found out that the hot dogs themselves were flown in from New York. They also got t-shirts for themselves, because who can resist a t-shirt that says “Super Duper Weenies” on it? They walked around the city for a while, taking in a few shops and buying some CDs that they were inspired to get while they were at the Blue Spark. After wandering back to the hotel, they went for a swim in one of the gorgeous indoor pools, racing each other half the time and floating on their back the other half. Then they went to the room and took a little nap before the night began. That night, they were going to Dempsey’s Brass Rail. They wanted to be there in plenty of time to catch the 10pm drag show, although they were sure they’d still be there for the midnight show as well. As Sarah was getting into her new dress, she looked at herself in the mirror and then looked at Nick. “Nicky,” she asked him, “Which city were we in when I bought this?” “I don’t remember, babe,” Nick said. “But you look hot.” Sarah kissed him on the nose and they set out for Spokane’s dance club that was a ‘favorite for both gay and straight patrons’. When they arrived, they sat down, ordered their drinks and watched the show. “I haven’t seen drag like this in years,” Sarah said. “Awesome.” Then the DJ started playing and Sarah got up to dance. Every time she glanced over at Nick, it seemed that a new young man was approaching him. After years of going to clubs with Sarah, he had been hit on by a lot of men. He wasn’t offended, but it wasn’t his favorite, either. When Sarah finally danced her way back to the bar, Nick put his arm around her. “Save me,” he whispered to her. “The only way you’re safe is if you’re dancing with me,” she said as she dragged him onto the dance floor. They spent the rest of the night dancing and drinking. A few of the nice drag queens bought them a few rounds of shots and the four of them spent the rest of the night dancing in a small group. When they left, Sarah took Nick’s hand. “You were certainly the belle of the ball in there tonight,” she told him. “I don’t know why you’re surprised,” he said, smiling. “You know the chicks dig me. Even the ones who weren’t born chicks.” “I know, baby,” Sarah said as she cuddled against him. “I’m the luckiest little girl in the world.” They got back to the hotel at 4:30am and barely made it out of their clothes before they collapsed. They had to do some actual research the next day, and then head out for their next destination, so they wanted to be well-rested. Sarah woke up to Nick shaking her. “Baby, check out time is in an hour,” he told her as he pulled the covers off of her. “I hate you, you know,” Sarah told him as she covered her head with a pillow. “Yes, yes,” Nick said. “I hate you, too, babe. Can you hurry?” After getting a 30 minute delay, Nick and Sarah checked out of the hotel and walked to another upscale jewelry store that was near the hotel. They walked in and were immediately greeted by a pleasant man in his late twenties or so. “I’m Steven,” he told them. “How can I help you today?” “We’re looking for an engagement ring,” Nick said. “But we’re only in town for another week.” “We have a number of pre-set rings,” Steven explained. “Let me show you what we have. Do you have a diamond shape in mind?” “Princess cut, please,” Sarah said, taking Nick’s hand. “Of course. This will only take a minute.” Steven took several rings out of the case and placed them on a display tray. “Can I offer you anything to drink?” he asked. “No, thank you,” Nick responded. He and Sarah looked at the displayed engagement rings. Sarah picked up a few, tried them on, and examined them from every angle. She smiled at Steven and whispered to Nick. Nick looked at Steven. “Do you have anything else?” he asked. Steven smiled. “Nothing pre-set, no. But we have a number of settings you can choose from, and you can pick out your diamond.” “That sounds nice,” Sarah said. “How long does that take?” Without losing his smile, Steven told them, “About two weeks.” Nick looked at Sarah, and they both looked at Steven. “But we leave in a week. We’ll be gone for quite some time,” Nick explained. “It takes a little time to get the rings specially set,” Steven told them. “It’s well worth the wait, though. You’ll be getting exactly what you want, in both setting and diamonds.” As Sarah flipped through a catalog of settings, she said, “These are beautiful, Steven. We just don’t have that much time before we leave.” Steven tried to keep them from going. “I can call to see about rushing your order,” he offered. Sarah smiled. “You’re very kind. But we have to pass.” She slipped her arm around Nick and they walked out of the store. Once they were out of earshot, she told Nick, “We’ve gotta find a way to improve that time.” “Writing it down, babe,” Nick told her. As Sarah got into the driver’s seat, she said to Nick, “We still haven’t seen bigfoot.” Nick reached down and grabbed one of her legs, pulling her towards him. “This looks like a big foot to me,” he said, laughing and kissing her ankle. Sarah giggled at him, took her foot back, and headed for the highway.
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