The girls agreed, and it wasn't too long before we were on a northbound 594 into Seattle. We were dropped off at Westlake Center, specifically 4th & Union. We proceeded into the mall and made our way to the monorail station. It was only $1 per person per direction, not bad (too bad it doesn't take the SoundPass).

We paid fare, and boarded when the train arrived. "The monorail is a quick way to CivicCenter Seattle, but an agreement should should be reached to honor the SoundPass," I wrote on a comment card.

As the train approached the CivicCenter Seattle station, Kristine noticed a Arch's Burgers. "That's lunch," she said.

My sister and I laughed, but we were hungry as well, so why not. When the train dropped us off at CivicCenter Seattle, we proceeded right to the Arch's Burgers. The three of us were hungry, so we had a big dinner. Tracey and I sat down, and Kristine got drinks going. I politely asked, "Did you get straws?"

Kristine rudely (and out of character) snapped, "I'm only one human!"

"Please don't bite his head off," Tracey politely replied.

We had dinner, and I could feel a bit of friction. Unusual for me, I was feeling closer to my sister when this event happened.

Our plan was to catch the Sounder home, since we heard that Interstate 5 was going to be a mess. What we didn't know was that something was going on at Westlake Center, which would make travel horrendous.

A 590 showed up and I asked for the lift. It was one of those cross-country buses, so I knew the operator would have a great time getting the lift going. "Traffic's bad, and I'm already an hour late," the driver commented as he got the lift ready.

"The way I see it, we'll get home when we get home," I replied. "At least, in case you're running really late, you're Pierce and can try to hold the last 57 at 10th & Commerce." I was making a reference that the operator was a Tacoma/Pierce Transport Authority driver and could contact a supervisor to arrange for us to get home in case something happened.

We got onto the bus and I had Kristine sit next to me (thinking the Arch's Burgers incident was nothing much to worry about). The lift broke and we were stuck.

"Great. Now what," I mumbled. The driver called for a supervisor and mechanic, but they had to come all the way from Tacoma, so we knew we'd be there for a while.

Finally, the supervisor showed up. They arranged for a 594 to have its ramp deployed, but now how to get me off of the broke down 590. "Tracey, get behind me. Kristine, in front," I suggested.

They got me off slowly but surely. The 594, a low floor, already had its ramp ready for me. We boarded that bus and had no problems getting to 10th & Commerce. We made it just in time for the second-to-last 57 of the evening. We took the 57 home and into bed the three of us went.

"Please, stay clothed. I'm feeling depressed," I told both of them. Tracey was more than willing to comply, but Kristine got a bit uptight about the request. Little did Tracey or I realize the bad outcome that would happen in the morning...