Driving To And From Work

My first day teaching up in Everett was today. The day went well, substitute teaching was great, but the most memorable part of the day was during my drives to and from work. I don't know if I've ever driven I-5 north of Seattle at 7am before, but the stretch just south of Everett is majestic. The freeway is elevated, and to the east is a long valley of farmland, flanked by the rugged Cascade Mountains. This morning, the valley was completely covered in a thick layer of fog. From the freeway all I could see was a blanket of fog, then the sharp peaks of the Cascades, back lit by the sun, and nothing but blue sky.

On the way home, I caught the sight again, without the fog, and with the mountains front lit instead of back lit. Not nearly as breathtaking, but still beautiful. The drive home provided a weird encounter with a spider. A tiny spider. This tiny spider appeared a few minutes into the drive, slowly walking across the dashboard of my car. Right in front of the steering wheel. It was just kind of chilling out, enjoying the ride. I was fine to let it chill on the dashboard--better on the dashboard than dangling from the ceiling above my head. The spider kept making its way towards the open window, then scurrying back to the middle, seemingly scared of the gusting wind. I enjoyed the show as I drove, and then I wondered if I put my finger out, would it climb on? I touched the side of the dashboard, making a bridge for the spider with my index finger. The spider stopped. It didn't run away, and then, not two seconds after I had placed my finger on the dash, it walked onto my fingernail. I had not thought about it actually climbing up my hand. I freaked out and flicked it out of the window. I felt bad about it afterwards, but I don't think I'll lose sleep over it. I had not intended to kill the guy, and who knows, he could still be alive and kicking, but the experience was very odd.