The Week Of The Event I’m Too Embarrassed To Remember

August 2022

Su	M	T	W	Th	F	S
31	8/1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31	9/1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Summary

… In an instant, it felt as if the ground beneath me crumbled. It felt as if I had been plunged into the depths of chaos. There was no stability, no order, no hope. I had run out of options…

• A story I’m almost too embarrassed to tell
• Olympic National Park
• Hiking up ropes and ladders
• Proposal??

Locations

• Seattle
• Olympic Peninsula
• Back in Seattle

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Last Full Day In Seattle?

Started out the day in Armistice Coffee – a VERY cool vibe. I love finding little interesting and different places like this.

Spent the afternoon walking around Green Lake, my 3rd day in a row – it’s just the perfect distance.

Dinner at Burb’s Burgers (mostly because I ran out of space in my greywater tank to use any more water 🤷‍♂️, or at least that’s just my excuse LOL). This burger, nuggets, and shake were GOOD though…

The Event I’m Too Embarrassed To Remember

I’m not even sure I WANT to remember this event… but here it goes…

So I was doing laundry on Monday before heading out. I tried to find a laundromat that took credit cards because, well, I literally only had $1 of cash left in my wallet and I forgot to bring a debit card with me in the van to get more 🤷‍♂️.

When I got to this laundromat, I saw a slot for a card on all the machines – perfect. I put my clothes in and was pushing the buttons but nothing was happening. It seemed to be locked, or broken?

I asked the owner if the machine was locked. He was an old Chinese guy, who seemed to be actively managing the place – walking around cleaning up, talking to people, putting clothes in dryers, etc.

He came over and said “how many machine?”

I responded “oh, just one.”

He slid his card into the machine, pressed start, and it started right up. Oh… that’s not a credit card slot, I thought, it’s for a laundromat card…

“6 dollar” he said.

“Do you take credit?” I asked.

He said “Cash? You have cash?”

I said “Ah, I don’t have any cash.”

He responded “You can pay later.” And he turned around and nonchalantly waved me off.

Welp, I guess I need to find cash…

THIS was where prior planning would have helped me immensely. I’ve had “Get cash” on my todo list for weeks… Oof

The Mission

Mission: I have exactly 27 minutes to find cash before my clothes are done in the washer.

My first thought was, okay there’s a Starbucks across the street, maybe I could like buy a yogurt or something for like $20 and get $15 back in cash.

Nope.

What about a grocery store? I’m frantically browsing Google with mixed results if grocery stores allow this.

Screw it, next option.

(Remember… I only have $1 of cash in my wallet, no debit cards, and only credit cards, on which I’ve never done a cash advance.)

Ah, an ATM of course, that should work. I had read about doing a cash advance on your credit card. They typically charge a fee for it, but it can work.

So I find the nearest bank with an ATM and I insert my credit card. At this point, I’m thinking, okay, I’ll just pay the cash advance fee… I just need some cash.

“Please enter PIN” it says…

PIN? On my credit card?

I type in 4 digits.

“Incorrect PIN” it says…

I thought you just need a credit card to do a cash advance, what is this PIN nonsense? I take out my card and find the next bank’s ATM.

“Please enter PIN” it says…

I type in 4 digits again.

“Incorrect PIN” it says…

Okay, I guess NEED a PIN… I open my phone and log into my credit card account and search for “Reset PIN.” I find the form and type in 4 digits to reset my PIN.

“PIN reset successful! You should receive your new card in 7-10 business days.”

Bruhhhhhhh 😂

I open Google back up and keep searching. I search and search for “how to get cash” and “how to do a cash advance.”

What if I can’t do a cash advance… Am I actually screwed? At this point I only have about 10 minutes until the washer is done…

I close my phone, confused, and I go INSIDE the next bank. Maybe AN ACTUAL BANK would be able to do a cash advance.

I ask the clerk if they do cash advances. He says “unfortunately, no.”

Fuuuuuuck, really? How the hell am I suppose to get this cash?? How is it THIS HARD to get cash nowadays??

In an instant, it felt as if the ground beneath me crumbled. It felt as if I had been plunged into the depths of chaos. There was no stability, no order, no hope. I had run out of options.

… but then he gives me a crucial piece of information.

“Buuuut, I think Wells Fargo does cash advances. They’re a couple blocks down the street” he says.

The New Mission

Mission: Find Wells Fargo and pray.

I thank the clerk and b-line it out the door and down the street.

No shot I make it back in time before my clothes are done in the wash.

A couple blocks down the street, I find the Wells Fargo, open the door and walk up to the clerk.

“Hi, how’s it going?” he says cheerfully.

I give him a “Hah… weeeellllll 😅…” and ask if they do cash advances, and specifically cash advances without a PIN.

“Yes we do! All we need is an ID and the credit card.”

YESSSS oh thank GOD.

I tell him, “well, my day is going A LOT BETTER now 😅”

We finish the transaction, I get my cash, and head back up the street to the laundromat.

30 minutes of stress later, we have the cash. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest, like I’ve floated to the surface from the depths of chaos.

The Finale

Now confident, I get out my $6 of cash, put it in my pocket, and walk through the doors.

The owner, in the back folding clothes, turns to the door to greet me and says:

“I put you clothes in the dryer.”

“Oh… thank you!” I respond.

“Give me card” he says.

This is where 30 minutes of stress and running around exhausted accumulated to a single moment.

I felt nothing. There were no thoughts left in my brain. I had no more energy for emotion, for any questions, for any words.

I opened my wallet.

I got out my credit card.

I handed him my credit card.

He swiped it on his terminal and gave it back to me.

I turned around and walked towards the door.

What just happened. I thought…

As I opened the door a wave of emotion hit me. It was this combination of confusion, embarrassment, hysteria, and a huuuuuge facepalm.

I sat in my van, trying to piece together what just occurred, what I missed, where the miscommunication happened.

Well, at least I have cash now… 😂

I finished my laundry, folded it up, and headed out. I then proceeded to drown my sorrows in a burger and shake before heading out of Seattle.

🚐 To The Olympic Peninsula

I spent the next 4 days exploring the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park, an item high on the bucket list.

I’ll probably do another post just on Olympic National Park (that doesn’t have an embarrassing story in it) so here’s just a quick highlight reel.

Olympic National Park

Day 1

Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, Marymere and Sol Duc Falls.

You can just barely see Mt Baker towering about those low clouds (dead center) in the middle photo – so cool.

The salmon were swimming (i.e. “jumping”) up stream too!

Day 2

Cape Flattery, Shi Shi Beach, and just barely making sunset on Second Beach.

Day 3

A slow morning with a long “don’t-tell-mom” kind of hike through Third Beach climbing up and down fun ropes and ladders.

Here’s some perspective if it helps

Day 4

Hoh Rainforest Hall of Mosses and proposal pictures!

I was hiking the Hall of Mosses trail and heard giggling, sounds of surprise, and talking around the bend. I pieced together that a proposal was happening (she said yes 🙂 )! After they started walking back down the path, I congratulated them on my way by. After a couple steps though, I turned around and offered to take their picture!

Made some quick edits the next day and sent them off:

Jk, Back In Seattle

I came back to pick up some mail that I had forwarded here. THEN I’ll be on my way.

What’s Next?

Heading south??

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Location