Emilie and Deb's Next Great Adventure Begins Day #1

October 22, 2014 5:59 PM. Wednesday.  Day #1

Leaving Susan Lane
McMinnville, Oregon at last!

Emilie's friends cleaned the upstairs bedrooms and bath

Emilie's NOT a happy mover

The Door Shut Tight and Locked

After several days of intense packing the POD finally got full.  The adventures we had with that POD were forgettable but let me explain.  Originally the POD was to be delivered on Thursday.  Em thought we’d pack it up and leave that evening—because of a glitch in the ordering the POD was delivered before we even got home from Hawai’i.  That was a good thing because we needed several days to finish packing, clean the house and start driving.  Dave was still with us (he flew home on Tuesday night) so he helped a lot.  Em’s friends came on Tuesday night and cleaned the upstairs.  That was much appreciated.  The next day Emilie and I finished packing/loading/cleaning and got in the car at 5:59 pm.

6:00 pm

Leaving Susan Lane...again

Went back to Susan Lane.  Thought we left a bill on the counter.  False alarm.  The bill was in Em’s purse.  Here we go (again).  With McMinnville in the rear view mirror (which we can’t use because Henry is loaded to the gills—Explanation: Henry is Em’s Black 2006 Ford Escape.—we were a bit concerned about the POD because it was pouring rain all day and it was starting to leak.  Plus every time we opened it, more rain got in.  I’m talking cats and dogs here people. 

I asked Emilie to share some thoughts as we leave town. 

         I’m so ready

         No regrets

         No sadness

         I didn’t pack too well at the end but all is well—we’re on our way!  Here's the year in review:

 Good Things                                            Not So Good Things

Constantly challenged                          Unnecessarily stressful job

Met girls in Bible Study                      Never found a church home

Had a nice home                        Never connected with community

9:00 pm Rest Stop

Potty break at a little gas station.  Felt a little creepy because it was late and not very many people around.  Guy working there was nice.  We bought Rum and Cherry flavored lifesavers and lemon bars and Nilla Wafers. 

9:20 pm

Back on the road we see red, white and blue lights.  Should we go towards the light or flee?  What state are the lights in?  We decided to go towards the lights.  We think we’re in Washington State.  We know we’re missing out on a lot of gorgeous scenery because we’re driving through the area in the dark and it’s raining.  We just try to visualize what it must be like outside. that's why there are no pictures to accompany this section.

Uh-oh.  We’re still in Oregon.  100 miles to Pendleton, Oregon.  So we finally figured out we’re going east right along the Washington/Oregon border.  If you’re wondering how we managed to get this far without knowing where we were, Sam, the GPS Guy is telling us where to go—in a good way.

 10:33 pm Washington State

Birthplace of George Washington?  No but they have pictures of him all over the place. But this is the Evergreen State.

11:00 pm Anywhereville, USA

Gas, Pit stop and Coffee.  Safeway gas.  Saved 20cents/gallon with our Vons card.  Whoopee!  We are near Walla Walla, Washington.  Jessica says it’s the last of civilization.

No pictures of this drive because it was raining and dark outside.