My day began at 4AM.  I woke up, and got ready to go on a trip that I’ve been wanting to take since 1999.  The trip would take me almost 3,000 miles across the country from Pittsburgh to Seattle. 

My flight was set to take off at 6:15 AM, I’m not a morning person, so I decided to cut it close by leaving my house at 4:30, so by the time I got to the airport, went through security and found my departure gate, I wouldn’t have to wait long.

About mid way to the airport, I’d realized I made a Buckner-esque error.  I had forgotten my tickets.  The tickets were to see Dave Matthews Band and were in the Pit, which are the closest and best tickets available.  I turned around, broke numerous safety and traffic laws, and went back to my house to get them.  In all, it set me a half hour behind.

I ended up making it to my gate, in Home Alone 1 airport running fashion, with ten minutes to spare.

I first flew to Washington DC, and then to Seattle WA.  (Of course I was stuck in a middle seat on the six hour flight there, not good for a tall guy like me).

I rented my car from Thrifty, and then began my two hour drive to Yakima WA to check into my hotel.    The Pacific Northwest was pretty breathtaking.  I took some pictures on the way.

The mountains here put the Appalachians in PA to shame.
View to my right:

Panoramic:

I’ll leave you with this video I took from that spot, you might want to turn down the volume because the wind was ferocious.

After taking the video, I got back in my car and made my way a couple miles down the road to the Gorge Amphitheater  -  Check for that update in my next entry.

By the way, thanks to my readers, as this blog was the 8th most read mlblog in August 2010.