I joined into the Reading Road Trip on Day 1, and here I am again, almost at the very end. This time I get another state that is a favorite, and it is because one of my favorite series takes place here, Twilight. But that's of course not all that is cool about Washington. While the state flag is kind of boring (in my opinion), I still want to include it!
- Like the flag shows, the state was actually named for George Washington, and is of course the only state named after a president.
- Its nickname is the Evergreen State.
- The capital city is Olympia, while Seattle is the largest city.
- Mt. Ranier is there, and is the highest point. But it also includes Mt. Saint Helens, a volcano that erupted back in 1980. And when I visited it a few years ago, it was active again, although nothing has really happened.
- The state fossil is the Columbian Mammoth.
- As it is summer, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you that it is where the world's first soft-serve ice cream machine was located.
- You probably know that Starbucks was founded in Seattle.
- Washington contains the only rainforests in the continental United States.
- It became the 42nd state on November 11th, 1889.
- The state of Washington is one of only 7 states that doesn't levy a personal income tax. (Hmm, maybe I need to move there)
Some famous people from Washington state are:
- Bob Barker, the original host of The Price is Right
- Octavia E. Butler, a science fiction writer, Orson Scott Card - author of Ender's Game and other science fiction books, Ann Rule- best selling author of true crime books, Gary Larson - cartoonist and creator of The Far Side, and Chuck Palahniuk - author of Fight Club.
- Famous singers such as Jimi Hendrix, Bing Crosby, and Kurt Cobain. And a favorite rapper of mine, Sir Mix-A-Lot.
- Bill Gates, one of the world's richest men
- Several actors and actresses such as Anna Faris (Loved her in What's Your Number, based on the book 20 Times a Lady), Rainn Wilson from The Office, and Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek and more recently Fringe.
- Apollo Anton Ohno, US Olympic Speed Skater, also starred on one season of Dancing With The Stars.
Unlike my giveaway at the beginning of the month, I will only be keeping this one going for a week. You will have a choice of one of the books below, they include books by authors from Washington, or that take place in Washington. And it is International as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
- Beyond the Far Side, It Came from the Far Side, or The Hound of the Far Side by Gary Larson
- Any book from the Ender that is available in paperback
- Any paperback copy of any book from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
- Any paperback true crime story by Ann Rule
- The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, or The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart
- Stuck in Neutral or Cruise Control by Terry Trueman
- Misfit by Jon Skovron
Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. There are no mandatory entries, in fact the first one is free! You may choose to follow my blog or any of the other choices for more entries though. And when you're done filling it out, you can click on the button on the sidebar to go to the other stops on the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
