Day 11

Day 11; Marysville, Washington to Seaside, Oregon
I guess we hadn't ridden enough lately. After getting on the freeway, the Little Woman remarked, "You just passed five cars."
"I want to pass a thousand by Tacoma."
"7...8,9, well, you're doing good."
And that's the way our day started. Passing cars. A lot of them. The Little Woman kept counting.
We broke our rule (again!) and blew down I-5, to get to Oregon and on the beach. At Lacey, Washington, we stopped to see the Little Woman's Aunt Carol and Uncle Arden. We hadn't seen them in years, so the reunion- another one- was refreshing. By the time we hit the road again, it was 1 P.M. But we had already passed a lot of cars.
"78...79,80, 82."
"You missed 81."
"You passed two at once."
Rolling into Oregon, we stopped at a viewpoint to see the Columbia River once again. Mount Saint Helens peeked over the hills, our only view of it all day. A huge sawmill worked along the river, probably a mile long at the riverfront. We met a nice German couple at the viewpoint. I think they said their names were Hansel and Gretyl. Okay, maybe not. They just rented a couple of Harleys in Seattle, and were going down the coast too, then inland to Sisters, off to Sturgis, Glacier Park, Yellowstone, and back to Seattle. Here we were, on a great road trip, and I'm feeling a little jealous. But we had a good ride so far...
"156,157, 158, 159." I looked at the clock. Thirty five minutes into the ride. Passing cars like crazy on the left.
Let me clarify here; a bus counted as twenty (we only passed one), a truck counted as two, and if a car repassed us, we took one off.
Cruising down the blue roads, the trees crowded the roadway. Glancing into the woods, it grew dark quickly, they were so dense. We can smell the sea air, now. Soon we'll see it. We're just cruising now, not passing cars like a couple of crazy people in the morning.
"284, 285, 286, 287. That's it. I'm done counting."
I looked at the clock; 287 cars, in less than an hour into the trip.
We eased into Seaside and headed for the coastlands. We stopped at the first motel along the beach, built probably during the Eisenhower administration. A second floor room with a view? $114. I took the key and cautiously inspected the room. Surprise! The room is great, with a nice view, fridge, micro, stove, oven, and a water wasting shower. After a wild day of passing over 287 cars, I could use the rest.
How exactly does one pass so many cars?
Thank God for the carpool lane in heavy traffic.