After a few days off, the Bus got quite a workout -- a 40 hour marathon drive to be exact, up and over the Rocky Mountains. Mikey and Forrest were the only ones awake to witness a spectacular lightning show in Wyoming. Montana was dubbed “Best Smelling State”. In the end, though, the fields of the Potlatch Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Redmond, Washington, were a sight for sore eyes… and what a sight it was. Well, not really. At 5:30AM the quiet tent city around the acres of empty playing fields didn’t come alive for another couple hours. But when they did, the Big Green Bus experienced the athleticism and camaraderie of Ultimate Frisbee in all its intense, sweaty, and bizarre glory. Those Bussers with experience joined a team of Dartmouth Ultimate alumni to take on Bolting Broccoli (who bestowed us with a gift of unique flavored jello) and Chulawanna Brothel (whose lingerie uniforms made the game equally enjoyable for spectators). The Big Green Bus team was on the sidelines for the finals (Team Bomb prevailed over the Vagabonds), selling our custom discs and showing off the bus to old and new friends alike.
One of our sponsors, Five Ultimate, is owned by friends the Titcomb siblings, who in addition to playing at Potlatch also graciously accepted us into their home on Lake Sammanish for all the necessities: showers, sleep, slinky races, and World Cup action. Monday found the Bus in the University district of Seattle, parked in front of the local Whole Foods Market. Customers and passersby were jazzed about the Big Green Bus, and apparently we made all the other Whole Foods stores jealous. Seattle also marked the return of Bussers Andy, Mitch, and Zabel, bringing us to nearly full strength. We celebrated the 4th of July with another awesome Dartmouth alum, Naomi Bishop ‘06, and her family. Seattle and the suburbs have undoubtedly some of the best fireworks displays, catching us by surprise from every angle.
We bid Seattle farewell, but not before a much needed filter change and refueling session. Our next stop was Marnie Wolfe ‘06’s house in Tacoma, a town with more than one 30th Street, confusing the heck out of our trusty GPS “Tom-Tom.” The Bus made an impulsive decision to see “Superman Returns” at the local drive-in, where we promptly fell asleep. Alas. We cruised down to Portland, Oregon, the next day, checking out the Lloyd Center Mall and the enormous Powell’s Bookstore, before venturing further south to California… tune in next time for tales from Schwarzenegger country.
- Andy
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