As usual, I'm the one in charge, and I decided to head out east into the Cascade foothills. Just like yesterday the fall leaves were in technicolor, and the roads quiet. Just like on our cross country trips Tony was able to take a few photos as well.
Now politically Washington is a pretty "Blue" state, although a number of the national polls show it as a rather fey baby-blue for some strange reason, but it really should be about as indigo as you could get. However, despite it's political leanings, particularly in the Puget Sound region, the state can be oddly conservative. We have liquor laws that make Utah look like a wet state for one thing, and in Eastern King County where we were riding, it becomes decidedly Republican. The further east we got, the more Republican it became. This year we have a very tightly contested Governor's race between the incumbent Democrat, Christine Gregoire who beat out her Republican challenger four years ago by only 131 votes. That same Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, is back again, complete with his idiotic clueless grin, and combination used-car dealer/real estate salesman personality along with typical Republican outright false negative ads. His campaign is even running ads in the conservative parts of the state saying "Don't Let Seattle Steal The Election Again - RE-elect Rossi", and the local Rush Limbaugh zombies all continue to bleat like sheep how the election was stolen. I got so tired of giving those signs the finger that we finally pulled off the side of the road and took one universal "F-U" picture for posterity.
And so we motored on enjoying the day, the warmth of the sun, the quiet back roads despite the occasional Rossi sign, the brilliant color of the fall leaves, and stopping for lunch at a great burger joint. And just like with skiing, it never fails, after a drink and a few miles in the cooler air, I had to stop and pee. Being no where near a bathroom, I took advantage of the closest outdoor urinal and felt quite good about it.
Meanwhile I get to dig back into the taxes in the morning. The latest demand from the IRS is that I provide a copy of each item deposited into any of my accounts in 2005 and 2006 so they can match them up with 1099 forms to see if I'm hiding any income. I guess they need to find more money to pay off those spa treatments for bank executives included in the latest economic bailout. Lets see, at a cost of $25 an hour plus $2 a copy times four financial institutions, I'm guessing I'll end up with a bill about $800 to $1,000. I also learned that the costs of complying with an IRS audit are not tax deductible! Isn't that just special?!? I just guess I need to find a urinal near an IRS office.