Last week on our way to my parents, Ann told me she wanted to stop at the Teapot Gas Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_Service_Station), not to be confused with the Teapot Dome Scandal.  The Teapot Dome Service Station is one of those odd side-of-the-highway tourist stops along Interstate 82 in Zillah, Washington.

When you are bulleting past at 70 mph, it is one of those places where it is easy to say “we’ll stop next time”.  Well, I’ve been saying that for more than six years.  Ann has been saying it longer.  So, when she says “it’s time to stop”, I took her request seriously.   Well, almost seriously.  I did give her one of those looks of, “do you really mean it or are you joking”.  She returned the look of, “I am not joking”.  It turns out she really meant it.  I really didn’t mind as it was a beautiful day and we were in no particular hurry.

We pulled off the freeway, crossed the freeway over a bridge, and pulled up to the place where the teapot stop was supposed to be.  Only, it was missing.  Everything was there — pumps (can’t see them in the pic), a sign, a foundation — except for the teapot itself.

Confused, we both immediately reached for our phones and revved up our Googlers.  Truth was, we were also racing to see who could learn the fate of the teapot first.  We do that a lot.  We are both competitive.  In fact, it pains me to say it, but, yes, she won.  The Android beat the iPhone.  Maybe it was operator error?

Humbled by my defeat, we focused on the fate of the teapot building.  We learned that just over a month ago, in March of 2012, the Teapot was moved to a new location closer to downtown Zillah, a town not much bigger than the teapot itself.  Somehow, it had been hit by a car.  We both suspect that probably alcohol had been involved . . . or just plain stupidity.

After taking shots of the non-existant teapot, we raced into town to get pictures of us and this unusual landmark.

It just goes to show that sometimes stopping ‘next time’ will be too late.  Carpe Diem when you have the chance.