Day 18 (Ocean Shores - Kelso)

Today I'm heading to the airport in Seattle and I will continue my journey alone afterwards. I'm a little sad already. Even though I enjoy traveling alone. But in the past 2 weeks, I have been able to share something that I really enjoy sharing. Incredible experiences, unforgettable panoramas, incredibly beautiful evenings with memories of what I've experienced. And sharing is also like experiencing it twice. The 3-hour drive from Ocean Shores to Seattle-Tacoma Airport is dragging along - the traffic in the greater Seattle area is quite heavy and we occasionally get stuck in traffic jams. That's not really my thing. I'm glad that I don't have to drive at the moment.

Unloading at the airport is quick, and now I'm alone on my way back. I turn up the music. On one hand, I'm very happy to have these additional 11 days - on the other hand, I have to get used to being alone again. There is also traffic on the way back, so the 200 km back to my last stop in Kelso, Washington, feel quite long. I miss the unique lonely landscape that accompanied us a lot. Interstate 5 is not exactly known for creating romantic road trip feelings.

I arrive at my Motel 6, and Motel 6 is the Spartan basic accommodation among the chains. No fridge, no microwave, no iron, no shampoo, relatively small room. But always clean (at least in my experience) and relatively cheap. They can't find my Booking.com reservation. However, I can cancel it and offer to check in directly with them. Now here's the joke: the price will be $20 higher in that case. I show my confusion because in this case, the motel wouldn't have to pay any fees, but the girl at the reception says they want to promote online bookings and make the price cheaper there. Huh??? Well, I just make a new booking through the portal, and the booking appears. $5 higher than the old one. Whatever. In return, I jump right into the pool that comes with it. Or so I thought. Wrong thought unfortunately. The pool isn't available because the lock at the pool entrance is broken, and it's the law that it has to be functional. Huh? When will the locksmith come? Monday. I see. So no pool. Whatever. I drive to the Columbia River and go for a walk there. It's working. It flows just like it did 2 weeks ago. Wide and mighty. I buy a burger at Jack-in-the-Box and think afterwards what I always think. I'll never buy one again.

A strange day comes to an end.