Wedding Song - God Knew That I Needed You

Friday, May 28, 2021

A BOARISH/BOORISH DAY ~ Freewheeling Friday 2021: Centralia Daytrip

 A few days ago, I stretched my comfort zone by broadening my driving distance, southward … today, I stretched my comfort zone by broadening my driving distance, northward: these are important steps in restructing a new life for myself.

The early part of today went smoothly. 

I decided to drive to Centralia today - BIG step; it's been 4 years.

The boarishness did not start until GPS went off the rails.

I punched in the address – chose my route … and GPS took me waaaaay out of the way to get to the address, which was relatively simple to navigate; but I used GPS because there is a lot of road work being done all over the place, and if there was a detour along the route, I wanted to be notified.

Also, I did not recognize the addy given for the location of the Centralia Farmer’s Market setup.

All I have to do is drive to downtown Chehalis (via Toledo or Winlock) and drive straight through to Centralia without touching the freeway anywhere: that is the route Bob drove … GPS had me going every which way – zigzagging over State Routes 506 & 503: which looped me from Vader to Winlock via an overpass in a convoluted way that was asinine.

GPS was hogging my precious time (and wasting unnecessary gas) in a boarish manner.

Buffalo farm route - State Route 503 - right turn at Vader, loops back to Winlock; freeway side.
Chehalis from Vader; via Winlock-Vader Rd and Pleasant Valley Rd - 38 mins: easy-peasy.
Today, GPS took me on a wild-goose chase.
Centralia from Chehalis; via backroad that parallels I-5 N and drops into Harrison Ave - 11 mins: this I had to refamiliarize myself with, again.
Bob always believed I could do anything: he always encouraged me with tenderness and love – I cherish his encouragements, and employ them every second of every day as I move forward in life without him.

And when I did reach Centralia, GPS did not notify me of the detour that was rerouting traffic around the Courthouse road due to the road being torn up! The only detour along the entire route from start to finish, and I had to figure that out all by myselfthankfully, my brain is not shrouded in missingness fog this year (the loss Bob in my life, loss of the kids in my life, loss of the grandkids in my life: my life was seriously altered & my thought process was similar to PTSD), and I can think clearly again.

THANK YOU, Yeshua for keeping me calm! 

Thank you, Babe for riding shotgun in spirit 😊 

Thank you brain cells, for kicking in this year 😉

When I finally reached my destination, there was nothing there that piqued my interest – that could have been because the vendors were skimpy due to the boorish weather. I’ll go back next week when the weather is a bit more stable, and see if things are a little more interesting, then.

I finally arrived at destination.

I decided that since it was after 1 PM; and I hadn’t eaten anything since I woke up, I better cross under the overpass and nip in at Country Cousin to settle the stomach juices that were making boorish noises 😉

Supper at Country Cousin Restaurant in the Outlet Mall area; I like this place and enjoy eating here.
Metal structure Country Windmill for country appeal.
Fake chicken coop for the country feel.
Interior of Country Cousin Restaurant - barn like decor; for a country vibe. I like it

As I settled into my booth, I happened to notice that I had been placed under a stained-glass-plaque that featured a boar. It tickled my funny bone.

Stained-glass Boar plaque.

I’ve been dropping 2 pounds a week for a while now … and this week, I managed to shed 4 pounds – even while eating on the road when I am out and about on all-day-ventures: those junk food meals are my {big meal} of the day, and I eat light the remainder of the day following those splurges 😊

So, even if I had a pig hanging over my table today – I am not behaving in a piggish way. I am being good, and sticking to my ‘lightening up’ goal 😉

While I ate half my Rueben meal (boxing the rest up for later tonight); I reflected on the convoluted route GPS took me on to get to where I was, and chalked the frustrating drive up to road experience. On State Routes 506 and 503– I saw landscape, and animals (notably the buffalo farm on 503), I hadn’t seen in 4 years.

Timely message on sugar packet; Bob’s favorite saying – Bob never let life’s hiccups frustrate him … he easily rolled with whatever life threw his way.
Reuben Sandwich & fries Supper.

State Route 603 was the route I take to the Adna Floral Sales – and I always like that drive.

Leaving the restaurant, I back-tracked under the overpass again, and familiarized myself with Bishop Road & Rush Road that would loop me back to Napavine … and home: again, roads I hadn’t driven, and landscape I hadn’t seen in 4 years.

Chehalis from Centralia; via S Gold St and N National Ave - 8 mins.
Frosty's from Chehalis; via Rush Rd - Chehalis - 16 mins. It took another 53 minutes to get home from Napavine (+ the 16 minutes).

It felt good to be on that route again.

When I go back to Centralia next week, I am not using GPS.

My next trip to Centralia won’t be boarishly-boorish 😊

Maybe I’ll go earlier in the morning, and take some time exploring both downtown Chehalis and downtown Centralia: Centralia is the largest of the two small-town-cities, and looks like a city … Chehalis is more countified, and I really like the throwback vibe of the old brick and false-front business buildings lining both sides of the shot-gun “downtown” main street – and I believe I saw inviting book nook-bookstores in both cities 😉

 

**Wandering Wednesdays ~ 2021:

#5 https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/05/a-day-to-remember.html

Meaningful Mondays ~ 2021:

#4https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/05/meaningful-monday-mccormick-park.html

Traveling Thursdays ~ 2021:

#3 https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/04/traveling-thursday-sulkum-huff-and-puff.html

#2 https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/04/traveling-thursday-3-county-hopscotch.html

Sunday~Funday’s ~ 2021:

#1/2021 https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2021/04/sundayfunday-21soul-food-clandestine.html

#20 – The last of the 2020 Sunday~Funday’s – https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020/09/sundayfunday-20-deep-river-eden-valley.html (plus 10th thru 19th SUNDAY~FUNDAY links)

#9  https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2020_04_27_archive.html (plus 1st thru 8th 2019 SUNDAY~FUNDAY links)**

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