'Goodbison, Hello Seattle!'

September 26, 2010 Sunday

Early start. We want to get some miles under the tires so that we can be at the service center first thing Monday morning before they even open. Oliver climbs into the cockpit backwards through the only remaining operational door to the time machine and we are off to Seattle. He says he’s going to pretend he’s an astronaut, and resign to the fact that he can’t just ‘get out’ whenever he wants to! We stop along the way to refuel and I pump the gas. He says I’m just showing off, every time I open my door! He refuses a cold soda, still in his ‘astronaut mind-set’, trying to keep his intake to a minimum. It’s a long drive through Montana; it really is Big Sky Country! Then a bit through Idaho and now Washington. Stopping only to refuel and quickly answer questions, allow photos, and collect a few donations. Seattle is in our sights but it’s getting VERY foggy and starting to rain (a cliche' for Seattle) so we decide to stop short, cuddle up in a small motel room, order some pizza and rest. Oli is happy to finally climb out of his rocket ship. "That's one small step for, -man am I glad to get out of there."
We hear from Toby Peterson who runs the DeLorean service center in Seattle, and he says he’ll prepare the hover port for us in the morning. However, concerning the supply of new hinges: it’s not good news. Seems that it’s a growing occurrence that the front hinges on gull wing doors fatigue over time and break. As a result, there are no hinges! The idea is that we can weld it back together and all will be well! Not going to think about that now, because Back To The Future just came on the TV and I’m going to enjoy it. Them. Part 2 follows. (No Part 3 though.) Who’s in charge of programming here???