This is my favorite photo of all time. It’s in the About Me section of this blog and has probably been my Facebook profile picture for 90% of the days since it was taken. So, what’s the story behind it?

My friends have a tendency to rent large houses (some would even say mansions) and pack 20 people in them and party all weekend. Last summer, we rented one of these houses along highway 9, towards Steven’s Pass. Normally, we keep our shit together pretty well and it’s just a fun time with friends. That weekend, we had at least 5 different people vomit and one sprained ankle. So, on Sunday when we all woke up, most of the crew was ready to get home asap.

Tyler, Meghan and I were feeling great! The other group feeling spritely wanted to go on a hike but that’s not our style. Instead, we decided to have the best Sunday Funday ever and meander our way back to Seattle.

The first stop: The custom knife shop.

Imagine trying to drive past this sign. You can’t. You literally cannot ignore it. So, we stopped and started browsing for custom knives. Tyler was serious about his choices and just couldn’t find the right purchase. That’s when the overweight and wonderfully helpful shop lady came up and asked, “Did you see the hatchets were 50% off?”

Tyler immediately followed her to a bucket near the front of the store and started digging. He picked up one that looked like a shovel that came with a hatchet attachment. He was intrigued. Then our shop lady hostess inquired, “Did you find the knife yet?”

“Did you find my heart?” Tyler thought. She waddled over and pushed a button that released the head of the hatchet and pulled out a long knife, which turns around and screws onto the top of the shaft. With the knowledge that it came with a fabulous knife skewer, Tyler made his purchase.

I also bought a small blue knife that was on sale and have not used it to this day. It’s in the seat pocket of my car so don’t try to mess with me!

The second stop: Sultan Shindig

This tiny town called Sultan was having a shindig that couldn’t go unnoticed. Mainly because it’s a small, two lane highway and traffic was “bad” around the town. There was a street fair with many great purchases to consider. There were also the “Logger Games” and boy, were they serious.

These men were speed climbing up 82 foot pools with just a rope and some pretty serious shoes. Then this one lady decided to show off her chainsaw collection. Evidently, she liked to put car motors into a chainsaw so that they would run / cut extra fast but no human ever would be able to lift it. She had to bring over four gentlemen to help with her presentation. It really seemed like a good hobby for a closeted lesbian of Sultan.

They also had a fair with rides. I love rides. I’m a sucker for carnivals, amusement parks, piggyback rides, you name it! We only purchased enough to go on the Gravitron, but Meghan sat out. Despite our lack of hangovers, she didn’t want to tempt fate. This is where the photo in question was taken.

Last stop: The Reptile Zoo

This was also a tourist stop on the side of the highway that we just couldn’t ignore. As we wandered in, the first exhibit was the world’s seven deadliest snakes. I’m not a big snake fan but that’s pretty cool to see. Every single one could KILL you and there’s only a small tank separating you from their venom! Whoa.

The next exhibits had crocodiles in these tiny bathtub like fixtures. We started to get really sad for the animals. They barely had any room to move. It seemed barbaric.

Just then, we saw a sign that informed us that reptiles don’t think like humans do. They don’t have emotions (or something) and really just like being safe and warm. That’s what makes zoos the perfect place for them! Well, I don’t know how accurate the information was but it made me feel a million times better. Thank you, perfectly timed sign! We went from feeling sad and down, to feeling like this:

It was wonderful! Until… we got to the insects. Which, really guys, let’s be honest, curve ball. We were in a reptile zoo. Not an insect zoo. Grossness. I wanted none of it.

But, that was our day! It was a wonderful, glorious day! Oh, and I almost forgot! Tyler and I played some Dayruit when we got home. Gah, I love these kids.

Moral of the story: you should always enjoy the little things in life. Take the long way home. Adventure. Be happy 🙂

Also, if you made it to the end of this post, feel free to caption contest the photo in question. The person with the best caption can suggest my next topic. It can be anything.