Day 5: Baker City, OR

So close! Almost home... but there's serious snow and sleet on the next leg through the Oregon mountains, and I didn't want to do that in the dark.

Today I was surrounded by thunderstorms. They are AWESOME on a plain like that where you can see acres and acres getting hammered by rain... pic just flatten them out. They don't translate at all.

Anyway, I saw a trucker's travelcat sitting happily on his dash. Pretty sweet. Also spotted: A guy working on powerlines while perched on a helicopter's skids! This is not a job for a windy day.

Day 4: Lehi, Utah

Yes, I'm a little off track. :) I'm staying with Fignations, an internet knitting buddy, just south of Salt Lake.

The driving today was VERY challenging. Wensleydale is big and square... basically she acts like a sail when it comes to the 50+mph wind gusts that plagued us all day. So, two hands on the wheel at all times. And a death grip for most of that. Plus, between the winds and the insane grades through NE, WY, and UT, she's topping out at 35-40 on the bad uphills. Which means I can't drive after dark (black cab, small taillights, not so easy for a trucker to see as he's steaming up a hill). Which means three short days to get home instead of 2 longer ones. Thus stopping here... which means I get to meet a longtime friend for the first time. :)

No new songs to report. I did write a story, but that's not for public consumption.

Julie: I DID think of you - but too late - I felt it would be rude to announce I was in town and you had to put me up in an hour. :)

Song from yesterday:

Oh Scilla You're so light,
You’re so light that it ain’t right.
Hey Scilla (Clap clap)
Cinchilla (Clap clap)
Oh Scilla You're so light,
You’re so light that it ain’t right.
Hey Scilla (Clap clap)
Cinchilla (Clap clap)
(Repeat)

Oh Scilla, bad bad kitty
Can’t you understand?
We want you safe inside,
Not out stalking thru the land
Oh Scilla, bad bad kitty
Can’t you understand?
It’s cats like you Scilla...

Day 3, Laramie WY

Wrote a bunch more "songs" but they'll have to wait. Found myself singing (non-ironically) America, the Beautiful across that last bit of Nebraska and Wyoming. It really is a pretty hunk of land.

Day 2 (Again)

655 miles today. Chased the sunset, loving that dark blue band over the last strip of light at the horizon. The giant Iowa windmills were turning lazily... really pretty. But hard to capture by cell camera while moving. :)

Today's song is for my wonderful husband, to the tune of "Home, Home on the Range."


Matt, oh Matt he's strange.
With Corgis and Pez he does play
He seldom wears pants
but he makes the cats dance.
How he craves Japanese eel fillet!

Matt, smarter than Tina Fey,
He swears he's really not gay!
Has a hot tattooed bod,
Never sans his iPod,
And he makes up new words, but that's k!

Matt, hip, hip, Hurray!
On the couch with his headwrap he'll lay.
Used to make things for war,
Now he soothes blood and gore,
Sends me clever texts about his day!

Day 1 (Again)

I've done plenty of cruising around this big gorgeous country, and I love roadtrips, but not this one.

I've already done the route (what, a week ago?).

It's not a pretty route.

I have no partner or music.

As I always do, I have used this time in the saddle to compose new songs. Well... new lyrics to old songs. To the tune of "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" I give you "When You Already Know the Way."

Making your way cross the USA
Can be cold, it can be hot;
Mountains to look at, trees to shade
Sure can help a lot.
But it's no fun when you know the way

If you go South, you get Waffle House,
If North, Badlands countreeee
But driving due west,
It ain't the best
There isn't much to seeee.

You don't need a map,
or a phone with an app,
Cuz you've done it all before.
Seventy-Six, Eighty, Eighty-Four.

Ok, not my BEST work. Tomorrow I'll give you "Front Door" and maybe "Home." By the way, Wensleydale is getting 27.7mpg at 70-75 mph. Love that cab. :)

Faces to Names

Left to Right: Stephen, Tammy, Nicole. This was at a McMenamins (the one on NW 23rd), which is a local chain of pubs / breweries / restaurants. Some have theaters or hotels or other fun extras. They are often in historical buildings which are revamped and throughly decorated with whimsical paintings. God, I love Portland.

Note the intruding fingertip as I learn my new phone... It's red and flips open to a QWERTY and I can access my email now! I feel so high tech! I even got a Bluetooth thingy so the GPS lady can whisper guidance in my ear.

Settling in

So... we're here. Settling in nicely. Or at least we will be when our stuff arrives, tomorrow. It'll be great to have furniture again. Right now we have a blow-up bed but no chairs, so we eat sitting on the floor. With paper plates. :)

Our temporary apartment is wonderful: Very large, very open, with tall ceilings, a fireplace, and a cat window. Within 2 miles we have not one but TWO Fred Meyers (think Target + grocery store), Home Depot, Target, a great yarn store that carries roving, and Uwajimaya (sort of a Japanese Fred Meyer)... and it's half the rent we've been paying! It'll almost be a shame to move when we find our house.

Even better is reuniting with our friends. Nicole, Stephen, and Tammy have made us very happy. I went to a big social event this weekend and was surprised to see so many old friends from my previous life here. We've all evolved... gained and lost weight, or hair, and one even changed gender. I'm also busily making new friends. :) The one thing that hasn't changed is the love... I feel so at home and comfortable here. *sigh* It's good to be back.

I do have to make a quick trip back to Philly this Friday. The transport company finally admitted they had failed to even pick Wensleydale UP - they were supposed to collect her on the 10th. So I am flying back and will drive her home.

Diane, this pic is just for you. :)

whoops

I'm here! Sorry I forgot to tell you. Not that anyone reads this blog anyway.

Anyway we finally have internet but the TV is still on the moving truck which means I was forced to watch LOST on the laptop, not ideal but James Ford as a cop, about 12 inches from my face, not so bad at all.

I need sleep, can you tell?

The Road, Day 2

We're somewhere in Nebraska. Highlights of today: Um... Flat. Not the prettiest part of this incredible continent, especially in winter.

The best part was when Figgy's carrier came apart as I was bringing him into the hotel, and he ran for the car, but hesitated before diving under it so I caught him. *whew*

Road, Day 1

Today started with a mad dash back to PA from NJ (we had to drop Preston off at a holding site- he's going to live in NC), a whirlwind clean-up (THANK YOU!!!!! to Denise, who saved our butt soooo many times over...), professional carpet cleaning, walk-through with the landlord, and WHOOSH (at 12:30) we... were... outa there!!

We just checked into a hotel in Indiana. Time to lie down!

Movin' on out

Today is our last big packing day. The moving truck comes tomorrow. Wensleydale gets a lift tomorrow, too. Then there's the final scrubdown, Stanley Steamer, and the walkthrough with our paranoid landlord. If all goes as planned, we drive away Thursday AM. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Remember we won't have internet after Wed am, so call if you want me!

Things that happened in Portland

a) [before we got to Portland] Another airline clerk fell in love with Matt's legs and bumped us to an exit row.

1) We saw the kids. Lopey Lou suddenly resembles Audrey Hepburn (when she's not grinning ear to ear), while Maddie is channeling Joan Jett. Laura and Ann (the Mommies) both looked happy and healthy, too.

2) Matt's interview went swimmingly. More importantly, he really liked the clinic and the staff and feels he'd be happy there. It's pretty far out (Firwood) but he says that gives him more time to enjoy his car. :)

3) We saw friends Tammy, Nicole, and Andrew. Bad pics, great conversations.

4) We rented an apartment!! No mean feat, since we were hunting for a month-to-month while we buy, and have 3 cattle! The place we found is full of light and has a perfect cat window - superwide and looks out on bird-filled trees. The boys will be ecstatic. It's a little further west than ideal, but only 10 minutes from downtown. And it's half the rent we're paying now. :)

5) No Burgerville this trip. But I did have a Redneck Benedict (poached eggs, country friend chicken, biscuits & gravy), which firebombed my work on the Wii Fit Plus for the past month but was still worth it.

6) Matt liked his breakfast bacon so much that when we couldn’t finish it he stuck it in his beef jerky bag for later. My husband is weird but assures me it will be consumed before it becomes a health hazard.

We will be headed out on the 10th, most likely.