Washington Weirdness

Although the State of Washington is obviously not in Canada, the only reason I am going there is because I live but can't work in Canada; therefore, I think it's ok to include stuff about it in this blog (I blame Canada for deflecting attention from itself).

Anyways, it probably be more fitting to call this new segment of my blog "Washington Uniqueness," but that doesn't sound nearly as good as "Weirdness," so there ya go. Driving almost 60 miles round trip through WA everyday gives me plenty of time to discover unique differences between it and the states in the Midwest in which I have worked and resided. I wasn't expecting to find anything in WA unique enough to write about, but I was pleasantly surprised at my following discoveries:

#1: Infestation of drive thru-only coffee houses

On my 27 mile-long commute through Northern Washington farmland, I pass what I deem a ridiculous number of drive thru coffee houses. If I stray from my usual route, I discover even more. Washingtonians love their coffee, and they love it fast. This really isn't surprising though since Starbucks is based in Seattle, a mere 2 hours south of here. I ironically don't pass any Starbucks stores--mostly rinky-dink little shack places in the middle of nowhere like this:

Maybe I live in a bubble, but I have never seen a drive thru-only coffee place like this in the Midwest, ever. There is no shortage of them in the big city of Bellingham either:

The majority of these places, even the ones in the middle of nowhere, are open 24 hours, apparently supporting the truckers and third-shifters of WA. Anyways, this drive thru coffee phenomenon isn't super bizarre by any means, but I just thought it was fun and unique.

#2: Fred Meijer-Fred Meyer Parallel Universe

A week ago I asked one of my coworkers if there was anywhere near the office that I could get a money order. He listed off a couple of places, including "Fred Meyer." I was like, "You guys have Meijer here?!?!" close to having a heart attack. He said no, it's different. I couldn't believe it, so at the stroke of 11:30 I drove over there, hoping to see the familiar red and blue Meijer sign. Instead I got this:

Doh! WTF?! I go inside, and "Fred Meyer" is the same type of department/grocery store that Meijer is, just a bit more ghetto. I was slightly disappointed, but maybe our beloved "Meijer" stores will make it out here someday and blow the impostor "Meyer" out of the Pacific.