Reason 276

Bridges. Since you have never visited the great city of Seattle, Jason, you probably aren't too familiar with its geography. Well, without going into too much detail let me point out that folks here are surrounded by lots and lots of water. We have lakes and rivers and streams to contend with, and of course the regularly scheduled deluges this part of the country is famous for, so it was inevitable that city planners would have to come up with ways for us to move around without having to invest in amphibious vehicles (oh, how I wish the car from Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang was manufactured by Toyota!). One of the engineers' genius ides was to build floating bridges that span Lake Washington so all the rich snobs on the eastside could travel into Seattle to enjoy the theater and sports events and snooty restaurants that charge twenty dollars for a plate of cheese. Full disclosure - I live on the eastside so I can make fun of it; if you live elsewhere you better keep your mouth shut or I'll send Bill Gates after you. Anyhoo, any time you need to get into the downtown area quickly (or, conversely, want to evacuate the mean streets of Seattle for a simpler life in Bellevue), you just hop on I-90 or 520 and zip across a stretch of freeway that is literally built atop giant cement pontoons filled with air. That's right, the bridges actually float right on top of the lake, which is pretty mind-boggling when you think about it. In fact, there are only four floating bridges in the entire country and they are all in Washington state. What can your home state brag about, Jason? And no, a deadly level of smog is not impressive. When you finally realize you and I are meant to be the best of friends and then jump on a plane to fly north so we can hang out, I promise to drive you across the floating behemoths so you can marvel at the fact my little Subaru is practically sitting on top of the choppy water, seagulls gliding overhead and the majestic Mt. Rainier towering in the distance. Heck, when we get to the end of the bridge we can even turn around and enjoy the scenery all over again in the other direction. As long as I live I will never tire of the breath-taking drive in and out of Seattle and having you next to me in the passenger seat would only make it more amazing.