Finally On Our Way

We embarked on the final leg of our epic trip across the country this Friday. Neither of us slept much on Thursday night - we were way too excited. Jesse finally got up at 6am to take a run and I rolled out of bed not much later to wash our sheets, make sandwiches for the road, and stuff everything back into my suitcase. We were on the road by 9:30 (with 6 Emily's muffins for emergencies).

There was hardly any traffic, so we made awesome time. I drove for approximately an hour on the highway and nearly had a nervous breakdown. I think I did fine, but was white-knuckling the steering wheel all the way. By the time we were past Redding, CA, I was back in the passenger seat with my camera in hand. Despite the fact that Highway 5 is pretty boring for a major stretch throughout California, it provides spectacular views on its northern-most section through the Oregon border. We passed by an amazing group of lakes on the way to Mt. Shasta and for miles the mountain peeked over the surrounding hills. I'm glad we got on the road so early that we could pass through this part of the trip while the sun was still up.

We arrived in Ashland, OR (just a few miles over the California/Oregon border) right around 5:00pm and decided to stop for dinner. Even though we weren't very hungry in the car, by the time we sat down at Greenleaf Restaurant we were ready to gnaw off our own arms. I got a fresh fish sandwich and Jesse had a delicious Thai chicken wrap. I'm so glad that we didn't press on for another 20 or 50 miles. After dinner and a coffee, we decided to head to Roseburg, OR to stay for the night - putting us just three hours from Portland for the Saturday morning drive.

This morning we were on the road again at 8am, both ready to finally be home. Since our Super 8 motel had coffee that looked like weak tea, we decided to take to the highway without a morning brew. Bad idea. One exit later we stopped at Dutch Bros. Coffee. It was also a bad idea - with very weak coffee - but there was an open road calling. We landed in Portland around 10:45am and were standing in our very empty apartment just a few minutes later.

It's great. We're extremely excited. It will be interesting living for the next week (or so) without any furniture. Or internet. But it will be fun!