We are getting items around for our trip. We will be gone for 19 days. Eleven of the days will be travel days. Five days to Bend, Oregon, one day to Woodland, California, and five days home to Minnesota. If we feel like driving more each day, we can; however, we do need to drive a minimum of 475 miles each day. I suspect 475 miles across North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho will be nothing like driving from North Carolina to Washington D.C. area when it comes to traffic and stress. I am looking forward to the open expanse of these states.
When I was in my twenties I would drive across the country
from Woodland, California to Ney, Ohio at least once every two years, sometimes
every year. It was a 39-hour drive. My husband at the time, Greg, and I would
drive straight through with stops only for fuel and meals. One of us would
sleep while the other drove. Back then we did 4-hour stints. We did several of
those trips in the snow. We had a CB (Citizens
Band) radio and used it to keep in touch with truck drivers. The truck drivers
were our biggest asset on those trips. I remember driving up the side of a
mountain in a Chevy Vega, on ice, between two 18-wheelers, at night. Those guys
talked me up that mountain! No chains, either.
This time out, Joe and I are taking sleeping bags and our
air mattress, and we will stop and sleep when we are both tired. Now that’s not
to say naps won’t happen during the day. Joe often naps while I drive. If we are
on a straight away, no road changes, I nap when Joe drives. I am now at the age
when stopping so we both can sleep is important.
Joe and I have agreed we do not need to be as extensive in
our packing as for our road-trip this past spring. Still, it feels like we are taking
a lot! Joe likes to stage what we are taking so the living room couch is full
of stuff, the two chairs are full of stuff, and two small tables are full of
stuff. My tidy loving soul is a bit cranky. I reassure myself that tomorrow it
will all go in the car.
Joe, and Megan, love checklists for trips. Me, not so much.
I think it’s because they have all the lists and I just need to take care of
me. I need clothes, a hairbrush, toothbrush, shoes, deodorant, and my cosmetic
bag which includes facial wash and moisturizer. I don’t have to worry about
toothpaste, floss, or bath soap because it’s on Joe’s list. God forbid, I ever
travel on my own anymore. I won’t be naked, but I might end up with salad stuck
in my teeth.
The good news is that I am looking forward to the car ride
with Joe. He is a terrific traveling companion (and not just because he packs
everything except the kitchen sink), he stops whenever I need to stop without
question, and he doesn’t think we have to break the sound barrier to get from
point A to point B.
Thirty-three hours from now (it’s 8 pm Central Time) we will
begin our trip!
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