This is the Pacific Northwest

Note: This is a work of fiction.

We pointed to the map, landed on Portland, Oregon and got into the car after borrowing $3000 in drug money from the man I'd been naked with outside and inside half a week before. The bills were gummy and smelled like the inside of the shoebox they'd been kept in.
The next morning was foggy and tired as we crept up the spine of the country. The eucalyptus trees were just waking up as we sped past out of their long state and through the thick forests that hid the road north. There are walls of ferns on the I-5!
Breakfast in the bottom of the state: in Elmer's parking lot, "Obamanation" is not a compliment. Jesus will show you the way. The average age is old conservative and I want a bloody mary. We are a jean vest and nose ring in a sea of weekday dining senior citizens.
Supertramp and Springsteen blare into our heads as we slide into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Kelly rips some Sally's moustache-b-gone and Tom's toothpaste from the shelves and we dance out in front of the security cameras. Five minutes later, we're careening down the highway, white upper lips, mine burning and hers staring back in the rear view mirror and seventy miles an hour.
Soon, the afternoon sun soaks tall metal buildings and an unfamiliar river. We get a beer and some vegan food after falling in love with the way the sun hits the backyard of what might be our new house. Everyone here has tattooed hands. and loves Obama. Did I mention we spent 3% of our loan on tickets to our welcome party? TV on the Radio, Ratatat and the Fuck Buttons are coming.
The next night, we're at a community farm with babies about music about trees and love. There are acres of green and home brewed chai with goat's milk. The babies dance and goddesses bang on drums. The stars are out and I realize that this is not a "break"-- mothers with their eyebrows pierced and thoughtful-eyed children live here, together, listening to each others music and silence. I wonder if this is a new America forming, a new mode of being for our country, which designates the enjoyment of good company and nature as the primary goals of a successful life. Either way, the fire was hot and the stars were bright.