Thursday 21 November 2013

Tales from the road

So far, so blah.
We have been on the road since yesterday, 1:18pm, which still astonishes me since we have never left on time before. I was so skeptical in fact, that I seriously considered someone else impersonating Richard (I'm currently on a Harry Potter kick). But he answered my safety questions satisfactorily: "When we first met, how did you lure me away from the party so we could be alone?" "I wanted to show you the pots and pants in my camper." (It's a long story, and sadly, the right answer. Now I won't be able to use that one as a safety question any more.)

So yes, what have we done thus far?
Travelled 1600km in two days, 10 hours each day.
Everything was going very smoothly yesterday until we hit Seattle:


We got stuck in heavy traffic and moved at a glacial pace. Painfully slow. We approximately managed about 20km in 2 hours or so. Aaarghh!!

But we did see the Seattle space needle at sunset:

What I always love about being on the road is the little glimpses at life you get, joyful and sad:
- The people living in tents under the bridge by the highway. What is their story? How did they end up there? Are they dreaming of a better life or have they given up? Do they live like that by choice?
- A stranded car by the side of the road with the sign attached to the rear window: "Got gas?"
- The girl working in this teeny tiny drive-through coffee shop (I think), wearing a Santa hat - and a bikini. Wtf??
- A car being towed with the words plastered across it: "Shaggin waggon" (that was the exact spelling). 

Mt. Shasta
Today we had beautiful weather and no heavy traffic. Rich was in his driving mojo and we enjoyed the changing scenery, Josh Groban and some 70s disco music.
The people we have encountered so far are very friendly: they keep calling me either "hon" (I think it's sweet) or "ma'am" (which I hate). Sorry dear folks from Washington, Oregon and California, please stop calling me that? It makes me feel like an old, dowdy lady. But that's just me.

So far we have not taken the time to stop unless absolutely necessary. We are racing down to San Bernardino to see a pigeon show on Saturday (that's all Rich obviously) and stay a night at our friend's place.
Then we will get to the part I look forward to the most: slowly making our way up the coast. We have 5 days to do that! I'm really looking forward to exploring.

Because of Richard's haste to see his beloved pigeons I have missed a ton of amazing photo opps:
- Black angus cattle grazing on a frosted, glittery, sun-flooded pasture (it was breath-taking!)
- A deer standing on a ledge, with the sun behind it so it's silhouette was sharply defined
- Hundreds of birds sitting on a wire against the brilliantly blue sky
- The cutest little lambs in a big herd with the misty coastal mountains as backdrop

Missed photo opportunities start to bug me more and more. They haunt me. In the long hours in the car I keep picturing in my mind how I could have (attempted to) capture them in a photo.
What does that mean? Do any of you know that feeling too?

But I'm loving our little adventure so far. It is fun not knowing where we will sleep or eat, or what to expect next.

Tomorrow we will arrive in San Bernardino (if everything goes as planned), and from then on the pace will slow.

Good night!

Love, Miriam
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7 comments

  1. You will be so close to my hometown of Huntington Beach, California!! If you are going to be down in that part of Orange County and want some tips let me know!!

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    1. Thanks for the offer! We haven't quite decided yet where to go next because of the weather (it was cold and rainy today), but if we head that way I will let you know!

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  2. Missed photo ops are THE WORST!!
    My hubs thinks I take too many pics. You've really passed some beautiful things so far :)

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    1. So does mine, men just don't understand. It's been great so far, despite some minor mishaps!

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  3. I have so many missed photo ops from past road trips still haunting me to this day! Does your husband stop the car to let you take the picture? Mine does not. I have to keep the camera on the "sports" setting and lean out the window! LOL
    I love the pictures you did get to post though!

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    1. Neither does mine! I will have to try out the sports setting, that's a great idea! So far I have just clicked away and hoped for the best, which isn't very good for the most part. More than half of my photos are blurry or simply bad. But he has promised to stop more starting tomorrow, we will see...

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  4. Ahh...those safety questions remind me of the frequent elementary school assemblies warning about stanger danger (funny how things can jog a persons memory). Safe travels and can't wait to see pictures of your drive on the Pacific Coast Highway. I love road trips and that particular route is easily on my top three need to drive list.

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