Eric Kimberlin Bowley

Seattle, why do you have to be so beautiful?

I am such a lucky boy.

Spending today with April on her 22nd birthday was absolutely wonderful. We had sushi for lunch at N’Joy in Mill Creek. And sushi for dinner (accompanied by Aileen & Jake, and Ayano!) at Umi Sake House in Seattle. We spent some time walking around the Seattle Center and relaxing at the fountain as we watched it dance along to the music playing.

All in all it was a great day. I just got home from dropping her off at the airport. She caught a red-eye flight back to Indianapolis and has classes tomorrow afternoon. I’m proud of her for keeping her word to her professors. (She cleared missing the first few days of school with them before flying out for my sister’s wedding.) I wish this distance wasn’t a factor in our relationship, but if anything could come from it I would say that it’s the lesson of us never taking a moment with each other for granted when we’re together. And for that I am very thankful.

I miss her already. She is my best friend; my confidant.

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY APRIL!

I am so blessed to be with you again this year to celebrate this special day. :)

I love and adore you beyond measure. You are my guiding light and better half.

The finished products!

(Left - Eric, Right - April)

Yesterday April and I adventured our way down to Pier 66 in Seattle near the waterfront and spent the afternoon painting our own miniature watercolor paintings.

Welcome to Iowa’s “Antique City!”

April and I had been cruising right along on our journey out to Seattle with over 550 miles (7 hours) under the wheels of her 2001 Ford Focus when we decided to stop for gas for the second time. We took the very next exit we saw and pulled into a gas station/McDonalds combo.

Long story short, after grabbing a quick bite to eat we were about to fill up the gas tank and continue on our way. We only had 3 more hours of driving before we would have arrived in Souix Falls, South Dakota (where we had booked a hotel earlier in the day). When we got back into the car and attempted to start it; only to hear the most awful grinding/banging sound (like a can of soup rattling inside of the engine) coming from underneath the hood. The car wouldn’t start. Period.

We went back into the gas station. A local mechanic was called down to inspect the noise and give us his opinion. His first words upon arriving to the scene and having April attempt to start the car so that he could hear the sound for himself were, “Woah, I wasn’t expecting it to sound like that…” Definitely not the kind of response we were hoping to hear.

Welcome to Walnut, Iowa.

Luckily for us the gas station was conveniently located next to a Super 8 motel where we were able to get a room. We canceled the reservation in Souix Falls, SD (after being on the phone with Priceline.com’s customer relations reps for over an hour). We called our families and let them know that we were safe and sound but that the car was having some serious issues. April and I put the car into neutral and huffed and puffed while we pushed/steered it into the Super 8’s parking lot. With all of her belongings in the car, we just felt much safer about moving it there.

This morning we called the most referenced mechanic in all of Walnut. His name is Louie. He was here within five minutes of calling him. We let him hear the awful noises coming from the engine whenever we’d try to start the car and his conclusion was that there was no real inspection needed: the engine is completely dead. He thinks one of the valves inside must have broken off somehow and that it’s banging around inside hitting some pistons. Both April and I have absolutely no car expertise.

After a few phone calls back home, April’s uncle and grandfather have now decided to drive her mother’s Ford Taurus out to us to act as a replacement vehicle for the summer while April’s out in Seattle. It makes no sense to replace the engine in her Focus and instead of trying to find, decide and buy a car in one day… it makes more sense to do things this way.

All I can keep thinking about is how grateful I am that we’re alive, safe and healthy. I’m working on some homework while we wait for the heroes of the day to get here. I think we’re gonna stay the night in Walnut again tonight and hit the road early in tomorrow morning. We still have 1,663 miles left in our journey to the Evergreen State! We’ll be fine. This has been quite the interesting little experience. I’ve definitely taken every chance I’ve gotten to document this in video form. Expect some of the footage to make it into my Montage #3 in the very near future. :)

I just booked my one way flight to Indiana so that April and I can drive her car back to Washington together when she moves here in late May!

We are going to roadtrip the 2,234 miles from her hometown in Indiana back to Washington! We’re estimating driving about 12 hours a day for 3 days in order to make it back. I’m looking forward to hotel pit-stops, fast food and high junk food consumption. Needless to say, there will DEFINITELY be a video montage made out of the video footage I plan on filming.

I am so excited to have her here! She’s going to stay for almost 3 months while she does some summer internship work in Seattle. I CANNOT WAIT!