Washington Day 1

Monday morning, I ran to the district office to grab a cheap talk to take to Washington, and then over to Nathan's for him to take me to the airport. I got checked in, went through security, and then just waited. In the meantime I received several much needed text messages of encouragement, and made a quick phone call to my dad to promise him I would be back on Thursday.

I boarded my plane, and then turned on my music and just chilled. It was so nice to just kind of unwind. I was pretty nervous going on a vacation all by myself, but knew I needed to do it.

Quick fill in on what I was going to Washington for.

I am an educational consulatant for Battens Disease. Battens in a degenerative disease that is genetic and fatal. I was trained a few years ago, and I am currently the only one trained in the western United States. A school in Wenatchee contacted me a few weeks ago to discuss a couple of students who have this disease. We reviewed some information, and a couple weeks later they requested I come out and spend some time with them. So, I was going there to meet with the special education team, the parents, and specialists to help them grasp and understand the disease.

Once I got to Washington, I was completely overwhelmed. I had to take a train to get my baggage, then had to go out to an "island" and call for a shuttle to my rental car. Once the shuttle arrived, I drove to Advantage and was trying to get my car. Well, what Advantage did not tell me is they have a massive deposit, fees, and gas charges, on top of what was being paid, which was well over $500. I didn't have a credit card that would hold that much, and asked if they would let me split the charges. Well she ran my cards 3 times, and then told me she was sorry, but no longer would be able to rent a car to me. I asked why, and asked if she had seperated the charges, and after talking, it was basically "Sorry...sucks to be you."

So, back on the shuttle I got. I called Dustin bawling, telling him my sad story. I knew there was nothing he could do, but I was extremely frustrated. I went back to the airport, caught another shuttle, and ended up at Dollar rentals, which turned out to be a much better deal in the long run.

I plugged in my hotel address to Wenatchee into my GPS and was on my way. It was a beautiful drive, and about 2 1/2 hours away from Seattle.









I finally arrived to my hotel, checked in, immediately asked where a liquor store was, got back in my car, bought a bottle of Moscato, and then returned. I got into my room, settled in, and tried to relax. I spoke with my Dad, Dustin, Nathan, and Brad, and then called it a night. I was feeling much better being on a trip all alone, once I was there.