Was in Walla Walla over the weekend, and I'll have more to talk about other towns on the trip later, but first up: Walla Walla.

We were warned not to mention we were from Bend. They have a fear of being "Bendized." Bumper stickers saying, "Don't Bendize Walla Walla." We stopped in a bookstore called, if I remember right, Earthlight. This bookstore had books in every nook and cranny. Books stacked to become, in effect, tables. I kind of liked it -- I've always liked bookstores like that. I was tempted to say aloud to Linda, "See, you can keep taking books in!" But I was afraid I was offend the owner, who was very nice to us.

I asked him how long he'd been in business. "35 years!"

"Ohmygawd!" I exclaimed. "When I tell people we've been around for 27 years, they're amazed. I'm very impressed."

We talked about books a bit. He started out as a new bookstore, and morphed into a combo (which is becoming more and more common, we're noticing, especially among more recent used bookstores.) Everyone seems to want to follow the Powell's books model, of mixing used and new together. I like the idea of carrying both, but dislike the idea of mixing them. Anyway, we had that kind of talk.

He said that the reason Walla Wallan's were up in arms was because Bauhofer's outfit wanted to build a destination resort.

But Linda and I had already taken on the mantle of Bendites. We whistled the Empire theme from Star Wars as we drove into town, and practiced our lines. "We are from Bend. We are here to assimilate you!"

We went into the local comic book store, North Star Comics, but Linda felt they were so unfriendly, she steered me out of the store. Now, I trust Linda's instincts on these things. She tends not to take offence easily, unlike me, so if she was feeling the vibes, then it confirmed my thoughts. The conversation went like this.

Woman greets me as I walk in, staring at my purple Bizzaro t-shirt. "Yes, I'm a middle-aged guy in a Superman t-shirt. I own a comic shop." I meant it to be friendly, but maybe I was too forward?

She shut down. "Oh."

Me, puzzled. "Don't you even want to know where my shop is?"

"If you insist."

"We're from Bend."

Linda says the owner (?) turned right around and walked away. I was glancing around the store, and Linda was steering me to the door.

It looked like a nice enough shop. Maybe a bit of a 'clubhouse' atmosphere; regulars sitting around, in an exclusive sort of way. Lots of Warhammer and gaming. But I really didn't get a chance to look around much.

One of the things I noticed on this trip, as well as the other trips, is there is a lack of curiosity on the part of store owners that to me, is stunning. At least the questions of, "Where you from?
How big is your store? What do you sell?" would seem appropriate.

So we walked around downtown Walla Walla, and it was very pleasant. It did remind me of Bend circa 1990 or so. Probably twice as big in area as Bend, but well kept up. A mix of regular and tourist type businesses that was nice (unlike Hood River which was all upscale and touristy, and reminded me of Sisters for Sunday foot traffic and Bend in the mix of shops.)

They have a couple of colleges, in their favor. Saw lots of wineries on our way in, but that isn't our thing. Anyways, a very pretty town.