Dawn is breaking over the OIympic mountains with a golden kiss of morning sunlight. We arose with songbirds and forest creatures bringing us coffee on rough hewn wooden trays.Just kidding.I awoke at 6, looked over at the other bed where a towering literary giant of the science fiction field is sleeping.Why 6 A.M.? Well, one of the things they don’t warn you about in the SF Author Maintenance Handbook, is the snoring.Fortunately a well aimed pillow from across the room solves the problem and we are ready for the next leg of adventure, excitement and really wild things (™ Douglas Adams, R.I.P.)First order of business. Coffee.Coffee secured and somewhat consumed, it’s time for Producer A and me to plan out the day. Do we stop at the World’s largest egg? Maybe the scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge?(Spoiler alert - Mother Nature had other plans)These are the topics of discussion as the TV in the ‘breakfast bar’ screams at us about a poor unfortunate who hijacked a small prop plane and crashed it into pungent sound.This is not a re-assuring omen.A note on Holiday Inn Express Breakfast Bars. Don’t be fooled by the technological charms of the auto-pancake maker, we are fairly certain the batter’s primary ingredient is shredded styrofoam. Still one must appreciate the leaps in extrusion technology the pancake-o-tron represents.With Spider rolling out of bed around 8, we’re hustling to keep to our schedule and reach Portland in time for lunch.
Spider Sez: I was asleep for most of the above, but I can confirm the quality of both the food and coffee this morning. I need to figure out what I did to deserve either.