Day 1 - Home to Grant's Pass, OR

 

T minus 2 minutes and counting. The trunk looks pretty jammed, but it's not nearly as tight as when we go camping. The house is ready to leave (well, until Jim and Nancy get here next week) and the bookings have been double- and triple-checked. We looked at each other and, recognizing that we always leave something behind, shrugged and backed out of the driveway.

There is something magical in just getting started - the act of faith, which brings a sense of wonder and trepidation, quickly followed by a growing (but false) sense of confidence as each small step leads to the next. Getting on to I5 South was so familiar, but new this time because of where we were bound. It seemed right to start with Don McLean's American Pie blaring through the speakers. A little further down the road, we started a few chapters of our first audio book, John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. He sets a high bar for travel writing; we're hoping his inspiration will help this blog.

The fruits of preparation! Just before Vancouver and Portland, we stopped for lunch at the Battle Ground rest stop and dug into the bread, cheese and sopressata from De Laurenti's. The roar from the interstate and the lawn mowers kept our imaginations in check. This ain't Milano, Dorothy!

And then we were through Washington and into Oregon - the land of Birkenstocks and Pinot Noir. The little marks along the way, even the ones we've seen often, seem to mean something more. Here, just north of Salem, OR, is a bit of context to remind us that our BIG trip is pretty small potatoes.

Fueling isn't likely to get much love in this blog, especially with current gas prices, but our first fill-up in Roseburg, OR, was a wonderful throw-back - full service by the freshest-face young keener you ever did see. ("Actually, sir, it's not full service. We don't check your tires or your oil, but I love to clean windshields!") Why isn't this stuff on the news?  

423.7 miles after our start, we lit into Grant's Pass, a pretty little town that sort of reminds us of Anacortes except it's on a river instead of the Salish Sea. A friendly hotel and an even friendlier Bohemian Bar & Bistro, which has a sign in the corner proposing that "Bloody Marys are counted as a vegetable, right?"

Hailey treated us just the way you'd hope after a longish day on the road. She was excited that the weather had turned warm so she could get out onto the Rogue River with her new kayak. A great vibe.

Road trips are not complete without geeking out of the window and seeing where everyone else is coming from. Dad used to have us count the different license plates we saw along the road, I am sure this was to keep our eyes glued to the outside world rather than the cramped quarters of our station wagon. So, after all those miles our license plate count found cars from Alaska, California, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington. And from Oh Canada - British Columbia. Stay tuned.

Factoids - We passed the largest grass seed community IN THE WORLD. 

Finally, our first Route 66 book recommendation of the day. Lots of great writers from Oregon, but a favorite is Molly Gloss; her first book, The Jump Up Creek, is a great place to start.