Tim

You know you're from Western Washington when: Someone asks what that sound is and you don't know what they are talking about (Fort Lewis). You've been snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking, jogging, boating, swimming and scuba diving all on one tank of gas. You've seen an orca whale. You can tell who isn't from Western Washington because they ask how to deal with this, and you don't know what they are talking about (the rain). Monitoring the suicide rate due to weather is a hobby. You can successfully pronounce atleast 10 Western Washington Rivers. You laugh at tourists in the summer who consider moving here. You know the difference between Coho, Chinook, and Sockeye Salmon. You know what it means when someone says "The mountain is out." You know what to do in case of the "Big One" and you've contemplated it. You wonder why someone would live in New Orleans and then realize that you live in the shadow of atleast one major volcano, and are threatened by major tsunami's and earthquakes, but you do nothing about it even though you've been told it's going to happen sometime in the near future ever since grade school. You've seen a "Volcano Evacuation Route" and "Tsunami Evacuation Route" sign on the same road trip. You know where the closest coffee stand is, and you're not worried where the next one is because you know it's right up the road without really knowing where it is. You know that good weather in the summer is just building up for a really bad winter. You've contemplated becoming a weather forcaster because you know you wouldn't have to be right. You have, or know someone who has, an Olympia Beer tatoo(R.I.P. Stubbies). You've gone camping in the rain and had a good time. You know what a Logger's Jubilee is. You feel guilty if you don't recycle. You've been sued or know someone who's been sued. You've intentionally set out to visit every state and national park in Western Washington to only realize that it's impossible in one weekend. You talk of the Puget Sound as if it's majestic. You know what islands to avoid on the Puget Sound to prevent being shot at or "bow and arrowed" at (mainly McNeil Island, those flares are something to pay attention to). 9 out of 10 people you know that has moved away want to move back. You know what a convergence zone is. Theres only one way to get anywhere, I-5.