53 hours in a car gave me a lot to think about. In Erik’s
absence, our good buddy Justin magnanimously volunteered to come along for the
ride. Both being adventurous, we decided to turn obligation into opportunity,
and used the mileage to visit long lost friends along the way. Here are some things I learned while spending six days in my poor, beaten up auto...
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| Go West Young Lady... can you count how many states are represented in this photo? (P.S. Don't miss the "Fortuna" reference) |
1.)
People in Missouri Midwest sent
us off with a sweaty adieu. As we
rounded the highway into Missouri ,
my Beetle seemed to just get louder. Deciding the muffler just might need an
eventual overhaul, we trudged onwards.
Just past the beautiful arch as we stopped to gas up, Justin let Keko
out in the ridiculous heat, while we worked together to revamp the roof of the
car since I had stupidly put the tarp over my bike causing an incredulous sail
of wind resistance. I heard someone softly saying, “Here puppy” and looked over
to see the gas station attendant hanging out of the window offering Keko
treats. So sweet. I loved seeing that random act of kindness on such a sweltering hot, stressful first day.
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| Pant-y. |
2.)
No matter what kind of mood you are in,
riding into St. Louis
3.)
Kansas Kansas just because of
the wind resistance! Similar to the last
time I drove through Kansas (heading east to Nashville from Utah), I misjudged
the mighty power of these fierce forces and spent the entire state wondering what
was wrong with my car…hole in the gas tank? Engine problem? (& berating
poor Justin for going too fast and sucking gas!) Low and behold, we roll across the Colorado border and the
gas tank remains magically full for several hours longer.
4.)
Separation is good. No, this is not about being
annoyed with Justin (I’ll get to that, don’t worry! JK!) In my previous post I mentioned that
ever-looming lump in my throat. Well on the third day of our trip, the lump had
not ceased. I was still contemplating the past and the future, and then Wyoming was upon us. I
don’t know why, but Wyoming
has always been my one of my favorites. I took a solo 6 week road trip for
thesis research one summer in grad school, and recently I found the journal
that I kept along the way. This line sticks out from that ratty old notebook: “Wyoming is the most
beautiful state.” As we crossed our 6th state border (Kentucky, Illinois briefly, Missouri, Kansas & Colorado were
before), I realized that physically driving my body across the miles & borders was
bringing a level of closure and
perspective which provided a healthy way to say goodbye. The changing landscape
started to mesmerize me so much as the west opened into wide vast expanses that I realized, everything is going to be just fine.
American is INSANELY beautiful.
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| Wyoming |
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| The "Ranch Exit" (where Keko and I lived in Park City, Utah) |
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| The Great Salt Lake |
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| That weird sculpture in the salt flats on the way to Reno that I can't quite explain |
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| Sunset over Nevada |
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| Mount Shasta |
5.)
A sense of humor goes a long way. So, we’re almost delirious as we are on our
biggest day yet, a monstrous 18 hours of driving from Denver
to Reno , and I
head to the bathroom inside the gas station. Justin had driven into this stop,
and since we had been driving for 10 hours already, and had 8 more to go, I
took my time in the store picking out a magnet for the new ‘fridge in Seattle . I come out, and
the car seems askew, so I say, “Did you get air in the tires already?” thinking
he used the extra time to take task. He says, “Oh no, let’s do it now.” We get
in the car, he pulls away, and as we sidle up to get air, we both hear a loud
thumping noise. It was not Keko’s tail. We realize at the same moment that Justin has
pulled away from the pump WITH THE GAS HOSE STILL IN MY CAR! Horrified I scream, “Oh My GOSH!! You deal with this! I'm not going in!!” To his credit, I did get in on the
passenger side, but thinking he had already moved the car, I didn’t even look
back to check. It kept us laughing for at least two more hours. Just so you
know, modern gas pumps have an emergency disconnect for this very type of
Griswold moment. Luckily, this was one such pump, and everyone inside the station got a good laugh.
6.)
Sometimes going 30 (or even 600) miles
out of your way simply to reconnect with old friends & family is the best
decision you could ever make, and that fifty bucks you could have saved on that
extra tank of gas lasts far less time than than the memories you made in the
process. In Denver we got to visit with Justin’s old
friend Damon and crash in his roommate Sky’s awesome mountain abode. It
reminded me (and I think Keko) of our old cabin in Utah , and she didn’t stop smiling or wagging
her tail the entire 15 hours we were there. In the Bay Area Justin & I
temporarily parted ways, when he ventured to Modesto
to surprise both his mom and grandma with flowers and Dynamo Donuts, while one
of my oldest friends Ben picked Keko and I up near the base of the Bay Bridge
in Berkeley .
Keko immediately sprinted for the Bay, intentionally displacing a flock of
seagulls in the process, dove in, and came up with a mouthful of water that she
immediately spat out. (I guess in the 7 years since she left Hawai’i she'd forgotten about the salt!) From there we met up with my dear friend
Timmay & had a beautiful lunch in Dolores Park , some brews (& bacon for Keko) at Liberty
in the Mission ,
and got to meet his sweet girlfriend Sarah.
My patient driver Ben then took Keko and I on her first trip across the Golden Gate Bridge Portland where we both
reconnected with friends there as well.
These memories alone made the detours worth every second!!
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| Justin & Damon in Indian Hills, Colorado (while Keko looks onward at the Horse Camp next door) |
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| Erik's mom coincidentally texted me to ask me why it was orange and not "golden" while Ben was telling me that the bridge spans the "Golden Gate Straight." Four years in San Francisco & I never knew! Apparently they chose the color "international orange" to blend in better with the natural setting. |
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| Toasting being "almost there!" with Samantha in Portland! |
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| Keko enjoying Indian Hills. |
7.)
You can be
healthy on the road! This is a
particular shout-out to Jill-1, J-Dub, Catherine & Johnny for the AMAZING
road trip stash. I was worried about being on the road for so long and eating
junk…and then they show up with THIS:
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| This healthy array of nuts, jerky, roasted edamame, mini-cliff bars, dried fruit, gum, mints, water bottle etc... got us all the way across the country without buying almost anything at convenience stores (except Justin's beloved sunflower seeds, and a bunch of water). Thanks also to Auntie Leslie for the Porter Road Butcher bone for Keko! |
8.)
State borders
need bigger signs, and not ones near telephone poles. I have more, but I think they're on another camera! It was nearly impossible to get them all!
9.)
Keko is the
best road trip dog ever. Period. (Did you really think you’d get out of
a blog without a Keko tribute?) Other than day 4 when we drove 3 hours from Reno to San
Francisco , she was a solid trooper the entire way.
That entire three hours heading down through the Sierras she sat up, staring
every which way, seemingly pleading with us to get the heck out of the
car! I can’t blame her on that day
though – after all she had spent 18 hours in the car the day before. Luckily we had such a great day in the Bay
Area after that.
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| NO SERIOUSLY, ARE WE THERE YET? |
ROAD TRIP STATS
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| Moving truck Nashville left, Seattle right. Thanks Stitty, JC, Adam & Emmy for the moving help! Lifesavers!!! |
Car Casualties: 2
1.) It
wasn’t the muffler- just a
wires & spark plugs tune up needed.
Not cheap.
Status – still needed.
2.) We
narrowly avoided a semi tire
hitting the car, but still got stuck with
some of
the tread – which ripped off
the front grille of my precious Beetle.
Hey, it
happens. I’m happy that was
the worst of it.
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| This is definitely BEFORE the 53 hours. We weren't so happy after. JUST KIDDING! Thanks Justin! You definitely made us feel safer and you were a trooper! |
Miles Driven:
Day 1 Nashville, TN to Salina
Kansas
Day 2 Salina, KS to Denver ,
CO
Day 3 Denver, CO to Reno
NV
Day 4 Reno, NV to San
Francisco , CA
Day 5 Corte Madera, CA to Portland , OR
Day 6 Portland, OR to Seattle ,
WA
TOTAL: 3244 miles
