June 18

12:14 China

12:14 I was feeling guilty for not being able to sleep in Reno and ruin Angela's vacation. Trying to compensate, i searched on the map for casinos closer to home and found a huge one near Seattle. Muckleshoot Casino, "biggest in Northwest" with 3000 machines, at about 169 miles from here. We decided to cut the distance in two and stop at Lucky Eagle.

I tightened the bolt at the manifold and got in the car. But on the freeway. Everybody was taking a pass at me. Literally. Passing on the right at high speed, but especially tailgating. How many times did i have to get out of the way of big SUVs coming from behind (now i'm afraid, after the accident) at speeds faster than speed limit +10. The usual congestion before the bridge. The same trend after i started the blog with similarities in 2018 only more intense every time. Newest, semis speeding and passing cars and other semis.

But once in the State of Washington. While getting closer to exit 88, i started to feel sick. Soon i discovered the source. I've been driving behind a "classic car" for many minutes, that finally exited. Then i discovered other vehicles, like a Chevy truck from 70s, others that i passed one by one. Last one was a Japanese driver. Fighting to stay alert and on the road during the last 20 miles because smoke was getting me dizzy.

Deja vu. Lately it always happens in the State of Washington. Every time i hope it will be the last time, but they never stop. Also tailgating drivers simulate they are just bad drivers, continuing to tailgate at less than half second distance the next driver after me getting out of the way. But they are simply too many for me to believe that, basically one after another. Many are leading a line of several tailgating drivers, pretending are pushed from behind. But lately most of them have tinted windows so i can't see who they are when they pass.

One guy with a silver BMW going only 1 or 2 mph more than the rest was shoving all the cars in his way.
 
Some five miles to destination me driving in the second lane i saw a State Patrol vehicle (i think, did not see the mark) on the shoulder, flashing red and blue lights behind a stopped one. So i tried to slow down though they were coming like a herd of raging buffaloes from behind. Slowed at 70 (the legal limit) and still breaking, a white vehicle i think a VW almost hit me with its rear left side while trying to get in front of me from the first lane "trying to clear the lane near the shoulder", in the last possible moment or maybe after.

Had to further hit the brakes and let him pass in front of me to avoid collision. I now believe that after they were tailgating all the way they were now trying to demonstrate on a State Patrol vehicle camera it was me i was tailgating. Then after he merged in front of me within a second or two another huge white SUV came from behind real fast as now i was now going under speed limit as per drivers' manual and i had to accelerate real hard to get away. At the wheel a driver which at first seem Latino, but when i looked better i thought he was Japanese as well.

They were few empty spots in the pretty big parking lot at Lucky Eagle. First one i found was near a huge red truck (symbolism, later it moved away and was replaced with a smaller bright red car). Like usually i had a couple of drinks in the car and went in the casino. There i saw this Indian looking guy, with round face and long black almost blue hair, parading.

Then i went back in the car, with the soda paper cup in my hands, poured some more rum in it (i love rum and cola) and suddenly got very sleepy, i think i went back in the casino, could not fight it and went back in the car and slept for two hours. The Zyrtec i said to myself, but i believe the exhaust from the road was a factor, from driving behind smoking vehicles most of the way. When i woke up i saw through the tinted windows him sitting in a car besides me and checking his phone. Later when Angela came, a girl like 14, emerged from the roof top.

Angela came in the car and i started to drive towards Muckleshoot. Same tailgating story, only on the narrower lanes in the (sub)urban maze in south Seattle. I was telling Angela. This looks like San Francisco or LA.

From the distance i saw the fireworks near the casino. After finding a spot, i parked and went inside. First machines at the entrance, the most boring kind. As we advanced, we found the good ones only at the "bottom of it". Too many machines of the same kind packed together and i never seen machines so greedy. In an hour or so Angela lost 200 bucks (i helped with 40) or all her money. The casino at first seemed full of Asians, later some white people showed, while we were in the last room and spent our last money.

The interesting part. There was a live band with i think with Chinese instrument players and an American maybe looking girl at vocals and they were playing a Romanian song. Could have been herself, i don't know, i only looked from a distance and i again had a few drinks in the car. Nevermind, the lead guitarist (bottom right) only looks Chinese.

So we got cleaned and left in a couple hour or so. Direction. Red Winds, some 39 miles away, south from Seattle. Outside the fireworks were still on, more than one hour after we came. At Red Winds, i was so tired i could barely walk and barely speak in any language when Angela won a 1250 jackpot at a "Black Diamonds" game.

Amounts over 1000 have to be taxed and payed by an attendant but it took him more than half hour to come with the money. I started to get worried and tried to start the phone to take a picture and i realized the phone was just starting by itself in my pocket, but the unused phone malfunctioned (could not bring up the camera app). So i went in the car to grab the camera.

Outside i saw two Nisqually Police SUVs (and one car?) parked at the entrance. Got back with the camera, in the meantime Angela got her money (1060 after federal tax) and was fretting thinking she gave him only 20 dollars tip. She told me a woman came and asked her money "because she hit the jackpot" and she gave her 5 dollars. The win cover our losses for the "vacation". (But not the bitter taste).

Heading for the restroom and soda machine. While there with the soda cups in my hands the two cops passed, maybe like trying to warn me. Last time i was there i drank some coffee that tasted weird but now i don't believe anymore it had something in it. Could have been just very diluted coffee made with tap water. Though it's very easy to mess with it since the carafes with coffee which i think are not locked or something.

(The problem is here in the wall above the dryers vents around the corner. Especially when the fridge next to it starts it all start to stink like dog poop and of course the poops left outside, not so many lately). 

So i checked again the nut at the exhaust, very little loose, we left and behind me of course a guy with one single headlight tailgating as i was not able to go past speed limit because of being so tired. At a certain moment i saw a second lane on the right, tried to veer off his way only to see a deer grazing next to it so i just hit the brakes and went back in the lane where i was. He slowed accordingly (good thing he didn't hit me). Since he continued, at the first "roundabout" which nowadays abound in the State of Washington, i went 360 degrees, like in a merry go round and let him pass.

On the freeway. Again when i entered a guy tailgating and one occupying the first lane where i wanted to merge though at 2 AM the highway was deserted. Many people entering exactly when us passing which seems so weird on a empty freeway.

People passing on the right, a long time (minutes), to exit faster (i always set my cruise control on speed limit +9). I told Angela to look for a rest area, we missed the first one. Found one on gps 39 miles away. Too far (my laptop is playing tricks with cursor jumping all over). So i pulled in the first exit with services after about 25 miles on the way and slept one hour in a parking lot next to a Chevron gas station.

Same hell after i re-started driving back home. The mileage was not stellar, around 39, because of tire pressure going from 39 psi at 80 degrees during my trip to Reno to 35 at 50. Voltage at the plug stayed 14.4. Here in Tualatin Angela went to deposit the money at the bank (to pay bills of course) and then we went at McDonalds we knew was open to get some breakfast. At the window a woman who looked again like Frankie Adams. The nut on the exhaust was loose a hair only. Got to finally find the inner strength and tight it to specs.

Slept four hours and wrote this in about 2.